Admin challenge

A good long sleep and sunny start to the day. Along with the weeking stint of housework I spent all morning after breakfast getting my head around preparing and distributing via email and WhatsApp the bible texts for reading at next Sunday's Eucharist. It goes with editing the Parish Sway newsletter. Taking on a legacy task isn't as easy as it could have been. It should be easier next time around, as I practiced by doing a set of readings for the Sunday after next, after we'd eaten lunch cooked by Clare while I beavered away at the keyboard. 

Then I went for a walk in the park which took me up to the Cathedral. More trees have been felled there, near the Prebendal House, and along the river bank. It seem there's been a spate of tree felling this summer and I'm not sure why. Many fallen trunks left to decay on site seem to have a healthy core. Some may be removed in a thinning exercise to make room for others, or because there are structural weaknesses in the canopy, or signs of disease. I'd like to know more. when our city councillors return from holidays, I think I'll enquire.

When I returned, the house was quiet, so I took the opportunity to record and edit Morning Prayer and the reflection for the week after next. It falls on what will be Mother Frances' last day in office before she moves to Lindisfarne's Marygate retreat house to work. Coincidentally, it's the feast day of St Aidan of Lindisfarne. 

It's the first time those who deliver the Daily Office are having to write their own. Ruth worked together Frances to produce weekly texts for the team to use and with her departure Ruth has decided it was too much to provide the texts on her own. How this will work out remains to be seen as the months go by. When a new Ministry Area Leader is appointed, things may change again. 

Left to my own devices, there will be deviations from the lectionary provision of Psalms for the day. Many of them are unsuitably miserable, angry and vicious for routine use. I believe it's better to start the day with praise and affirmation, and keep the darker stuff for times of penitence and introspection. It's interesting how the Roman Breviary makes sure that there's always one cheerful Psalm to be recited each morning - at the Office which used to be called 'Lauds'.

Having made the recording for St Aidan's Day I went on to produce the accompanying video slideshow, and uploaded it to YouTube after supper. That's quite a lot of work for a Monday. The third series of 'Blacklist' started on 5USA tonight. I watched and found it was just as confusing and ridiculous a story line as before. It was all I could find to watch after a challenging day of admin.