Grimm tale

As I was getting up this cold grey morning, the BBC Radio Sunday Worship programme was starting. It was from a charismatic evangelical church gathering of two thousand  called 'The Warehouse Church' in Manchester. It's an outreach ministry aimed at Generation Z, led by a popular Gospel rock group called 'Warehouse Worship. It offers worship through music, prayer and teaching at large social gatherings, and to an on-line membership. To my surprise Google informed me that its home base is in Newport where co-founding pastors Robbie and Donna Howells are based. Its missionary model has been reproduced in Canada and the West coast of America. Is this mega-church for Generation Z? 

The music has no appeal for me, nor the devotional ethos. It has strong similarities to worship in black Pentecostal churches I visited during my time in St Paul's Bristol fifty years ago. These have also evolved to meet the challenges of the rising generations, with digital ministries and well as live worship, making a positive contribution to the presentation of traditional Christian faith in this radically different era to the one in which I was privileged exercise ministry.

I drove to St Paul's Grangetown to celebrate the Parish Mass, with twenty adults and ten children, a good turnout. I was amazed to see primroses growing in the churchyard garden, as well as crocuses and a few daffodils. Apart from a few places where I've seen them in front gardens, I've not seen any in the parks so far this year. Primroses can flower from December if it's mild through to May. March-April as their best months, so mid February is early. I believe I wonder what's special about the church garden environment? I was able to leave straight after the service as it was followed by a congregational planning meeting.

After lunch walk in the park. Although the temperature was a few degrees higher, the cold east wind was back. I was suitably dressed but still got chilled. In the evening I watched the last three episodes of Danish crimmie 'Fatal Crossing'. In the penultimate episode we learn that an English murderer has groomed two Danish teenage girls and manipulated them into killing on his behalf. They disappear for forty years, missing not dead, changing identities and murdering on their own initiative. It's a grim story, or should I say Grimm? As there are two wicked witches in this story. Very slow paced, suspenseful, psychologically complex, very dark, and a tad philosophical, with rambling feminist moral to conclude the story. I wasn't quite convinced about its plausibility over such an extended period of time.

Easy bed now as we have a train to Birmingham catch in the morning. We're going to see Kath's new show 'Dance in the Dark', at the Midlands Arts Centre in Edgbaston. Rhiannon is come to collect us from New Street station in her car!