Chaplaincy landmark day

It was a big day for the Chaplaincy today, in every respect. The Annual General Meeting took place this morning and Acting Archdeacon Geoff Johnston came down from Nerja to preside, and his wife Carol came with him. I went into church early and prepared everything for him to celebrate the Eucharist before the meeting, read the Gospel and served for him. Then while he conducted the meeting Carol and I went off to a pasteleria nearby to drink coffee and catch up until the meeting was over. Clare stayed behind, preparing to welcome everyone after the meeting, as two thirds of those attending came up the hill afterwards to witness Fr Geoff bless the new parsonage in style, have a look around and partake of a glass of pink Catalunian Cava and nibbles.

It was a lovely occasion. The sun shone and the wind blew, hopefully to represent the presence of the Spirit. I think everyone was satisfied with the house and delighted at the way it has all worked out so well. The new chaplain's accommodation will have had most of the teething troubles sorted by the time an appointment is made and a new priest moves in, hopefully, by autumn this year.

After the crowd departed, Geoff and Carol stayed on for lunch with Clare and I before making their way back to Nerja to get ready for Sunday. He's had a busy week, as his duties took him over to Portugal for the few days preceding his visit to us. There are an unusual number of vacancies in the Archdeaconry of Spain at the moment. When he took over, there were almost none, and now the making of new appointments is occupying a great deal of his spare time. I admire his energy and am delighted to see him taking such pleasure in the additional challenges of his temporary post.

The wind continued to blow hard right into the evening, revealing some unexpected gaps in the fitting of some window frames as well as doors, which started emitting some curious high pitched wheezing noises, making the house sound well, not so much ghostly, but like an old asthma sufferer trying to catch their breath. And oh yes, there was another check up call from Telefonica about the vital key to the telecoms box. So conscientious! Here's hoping it will be retrievable on Monday.