A creaky Advent start

I had yesterday to myself, wrote my Sunday sermon, cooked lunch and prepared vegetables to cook later when Clare returned from Worcester, then went for a long walk. Clare then texted me to say a train strike left her stranded in Worcester so she had to return to Gail's for a second night's stay. The veggies remained ready in the pan uncooked. I prepared another portion more for myself to add to them, ready to cook for Sunday lunch.

With nothing better to I watched telly all evening. I watched the latest 'New Amsterdam' episode on catch-up, also the first two episodes of 'The Sinner' series two. Then I watched the latest episodes three and four of the same live. It's another slow moving psychological thriller figuring the reason behind a double murder committed by a thirteen year old. A New Age back-to-the-land cult with a bent for psychoanalysis features as part of the context of the story. In series one it was a Millennial Survivalist cult that featured. Curious.

Up early today to be out of the door by half past eight for two Solemn Masses, one at St Saviour's and another at St German's, as Fr Phelim is away this weekend. The parish now has two St Padarn's ordinands on placement, Geraint, now in his second year of placement in the parish is joined by Natasha, also a second year student, but she had a job related placement last year in Reading, having been employed as a CofE children's officer for the four years before then. 

It's the first time either church has had a female ordinand, and I think she's been well received. I believe she and Geraint were involved in preparing children for first Communion. Three of them received the sacrament at St German's. Tomorrow, Phelim is leading another Parish Pilgrimage to Rome and Natasha is taking part.

It was lovely to be back in that parish again, as people welcome me as a familiar friend. It was also good to be able to concelebrate again with my old friend Fr Graham Francis, who has grown weaker since we we last together at the altar, as a result of an advanced stomach cancer, but he still battles on, making sure everything is in order and done to order, using up his day's quotient of energy to do what he loves most in life, being a priest at God's altar.

When I got back from church I had a text message from Clare to say that she was on a train that was going to arrive in Cardiff at one fifteen. I started cooking the veggies, and by the time she arrived lunch was ready to serve.

The morning left me feeling pretty drained, not just because of early rising, but because I had to cope with my old neck and back problem, caused by a misaligned pelvis, itself due to the long term impact of the open wound. I must get an osteomyologist appointment to straighten me out soon! It started to develop after my third op, probably because when unconscious surgeons fix your body in a position which makes it easy for them to work on without regard for later consequences. Whole body medicine isn't practiced in this reductionist era regrettably. I have been fighting a losing battle keeping this under control how I have learned to through a succession of osteomyology treatments over the years, but there are limits to what anyone can do on their own.

I went to the St Catherine's Advent Carol service this afternoon, before going for a walk in the dark. The choir was double its normal size and made a good effort, albeit a little under-rehearsed in parts.

I watched a fascinating account of the life and work of the French painter Paul Gaugin on BBC Four before turning in for the night

  .

 

One small landmark

Confident that I can now manage, I got up early today and went through my usual morning routine, to be out of the house and walking in good time to St John's to celebrate the nine o'clock Eucharist. Our St Padarn's pastoral placement student Peter preached, and did the same again when we both went to St Catherine's for the ten thirty. I had to listen to him carefully both times, and later on give a written assessment of his effort for himself and his tutor. I thought he acquitted himself very well. 

The day's scripture readings weren't easy. Earlier in the week, I looked through my sermon archive and was unable to find a sermon based on them. With time on my hands, I passed a few hours writing one to see what I could make of them, just for pleasure. Our different efforts reflect just a couple of many ways it's possible to approach preaching at the Eucharist. It's good to have the opportunity, all too rare for me these days, to pay attention to another preacher. It did me good. 

I was pleased to find I can do two normal Sunday services again and not be exhausted as a result. It's the first time for a year, I think, and it's very much a measure of how far I've come in getting through this 'thorn in the flesh' of mine.

Late afternoon, a walk along the Taff, then in the evening, a catch-up session with BBC iPlayer for all four episodes so far broadcasted of a new Danish terrorist kidnap hi-jack drama 'Below the Surface' series two. Did we get series one on telly? I really can't remember. We've had several crime series over the past couple of years exploiting the islamist terror plot them. I'm not sure how edifying this is or what's gained by it.

Double duty day

I spent yesterday lying low. Clare and Owain went shopping in town, and Owain came home with a new Samsung phone for his birthday from us. He's also inherited my treasured Toshiba Chromebook and is delighted with it, as it performs so very well compared to the early Samsung he's been using for the past couple of years. He went out to a friend's birthday party for the evening, and once I'd got my sermon ready for the morrow, I went to bed early. There was nothing I wanted to watch on telly, and I needed to put my energy into recovering.

I was up early and out of the house on my way to Splott before nine this morning., to celebrate Mass at St Saviour's Parish Church. It must be over three years since I was last there. Sadly Fr Graham was away visiting his sister for her 70th birthday. I was a bit of a disappointment, as I had looked forward to sharing the Mass with him again, for the first time since I worked for USPG thirty five years ago. Never mind, I'll be here again in August, when I cover for Fr Phelim's annual holiday. Geraint, the St Padarn's ordinand assisted at the service and again at St German's. He's thoroughly enjoying his time in this long term placement, which is pleasing to hear. And the congregations are enjoying him too.

It was delightful to return to St German's, having been unable to offer cover on a Sunday since Fr Phelim's appointment because of being away or ill. It's a place I love to share in worship, whether celebrating or praying with the people. The sun shone brightly in the sanctuary during the Eucharist. It's awesomely beautiful, and slows me right down, it seems, almost to a halt, in pure enjoyment of being in The Presence. This is surely one of those 'thin places' the Celtic mystics talk about.

Clare cooked him a vegan recipe birthday cake, which we had slices of at tea-time. I was grateful to have come through my morning's work and feel none the worse for wear. It was good to know that I can manage to do two service back to back if needed like that. This is a distinct result of my general improvement over the past month, so that I can not get up and get going earlier than at any time in the past nine months. Slowly getting my life back!

News at the surgery

I was pleased to stand in for Fr Mark and celebrate the Eucharist at St Catherine's yesterday and then  this morning, I stood in for Emma at St John's. She had a meeting elsewhere this morning with a small group of Saint Padarn ordinands she's been invited to work with, in the same way I worked with a small group at St Mike's five years ago. She said how delightful and inspiring she found their enthusiasm for ministry. It's great to have an arrangement where priests active in early ministry can help nurture vocations, and share their own fresh exploration and discovery of parish life. 

The new training placement arrangements are an improvement. While I enjoyed my time working with such a group, I found the academic hothouse ethos, similar to the one I endured fifty years ago, no longer as necessary for sound formation. Today many people come later to ministry, and are more mature with a lot more experience of life. It can mean some are set in their ways, and a few less open to a range of different ways of expressing faith, as it's commonly found throughout the church these days. Both the exchanges in College and in the parishes help broaden understanding and perspective, helping students to learn to live together with differences, and focus on serving others.

I went into town in the afternoon and visited the Castle to take photos. Sister June said she'd not seen any pictures I've taken before. When I checked my archive, I discovered it was ten years since I last did so, and that was before I started to use Picasa Web (of blessed memory) and then Google Photos. I was delighted to discover how my Sony Alpha 68 with its new wide angle lens worked, as its broad field of view invites a photographer to step forward toward the subject to fill the frame, rather than step back. New things to learn.

The Castle's annual Garden of Remembrance with its field of crosses had been dedicated in the morning, as befits the ceremonial home of the Royal Welch Regiment. At the opposite end of the grounds a special Armistice centenary art installation has been created which resembles the layout of a Commonwealth War Graves cemetery in Flanders. A superb idea to touch the imagination of Cardiff visitors who have never see such a cemetery in real life. I was there just before four, and witnessed the evening flag lowering ceremony, carried out, I believe by a senior and two junior members of the Regimental museum staff. I felt privileged to be there and my photos are here

This afternoon I had a GP appointment, ostensibly to review my blood pressure medication, but it was an opportunity to review what's been happening with my various recent medical appointments and tests. To her surprise as well as mine, the ultrasound scan report had arrived. It seems I have one 4cm stone in my gall bladder, meriting an operation to remove it later on. Thankfully, adoption of a dairy free low fat diet is keeping pain and discomfort at bay, so it's a matter of 'watch and wait', and get through the MRI scan and fistula removal operation to follow. I'm managing that problem fairly well at the moment, limiting pain and discomfort to several hours in the middle of the day. I can work around this, and keep making an effort to stay active. Exercise does me good.

I'm still watching 'Berlin Station' on More Four, but find it somewhat difficult to work out who's who among the spooks, much of the dialect seems to be delivered sotto voce through gritted teeth, quite undistinctly. I fiddled with the TV sound settings to see if I could improve things, but it didn't. Also, considering the American CIA dramatis personae are all supposed to well trained and educated, the office dialogue is littered with the F-word. 

It's not that it's so offensive these day. You expect it in violent movies maybe, but in a 'corridors of power' mise-en-scene, it feels out of place and smacks of poor dramatisation. Nor am I entirely clear I can follow the various plot lines, as there are so many mysterious hunky 'men in black' fornicating their way in each episode, it's hard to work out their roles. It's not that it's a spy mystery, but rather that its obscurity fails to retain interest.

     

  

Christian New Year refreshment

I was glad of extra sleep time and not having early start today. By ten fifteen I was on my way to St German's for the Sunday Mass, with all my favourite Advent hymns being sung. I love the simplicity of this season inside church. It's such a refreshing contrast to the kitsch and craziness of city life during the pre-Christmas rush, not to mention Black Friday weekend consumer frenzy. There was a positive and cheery mood among worshippers too. A new liturgical year, a fresh start, albeit on familiar pathways through the celebration of the mystery of faith, is most welcome in this dark and dreary season.

I got back earlier than usual for lunch, as the church hall was occupied by a social event and there was no after church coffee and chat as usual. In the evening Clare and I went to the Advent celebration of readings and carols by candlelight at St Catherine's. There were seventy people present, with twenty of them singing in the choir.  Several Advent anthems were sung whose musical settings I hadn't heard before which was refreshing. Dominic, one of the St Padarn's Institute students on permanent placement in the parish during his training gave a thoughtful address on Advent waiting, confident and enjoying the moment. 

Mulled wine and mice pies were served in the church hall afterwards. I chatted with Dominic who said he'd preached several times before, but this had been the first occasion to preach from a proper pulpit - six feet above contradicition - as the saying goes. A reminder to me of how pulpits have gone out of use in many churches in favour of lectern or legilium at floor level in the nave. In times past when churches were full all year round, and there was no public address system, the pulpit was the best vantage point for addressing the entire assembly and being heard. With smaller congregations, a more intimate kind of engagement is necessary most of the time, and the pulpit seems too formal a place to stand. Adaptation to circumstances and surroundings is vital for preaching the word, 'in season and out of season'.

We got home in good time to settle down and enjoy another episode of 'Y Gwyll' (Hinterland) on S4C. Watching the full Welsh edition with subtitles is proving helpful to my comprehension of informal everyday Welsh conversation. Because of regional differences in accent and use of dialect words it's far from easy to start with, but over the years I've learned a fair amount of vocabulary I've rarely had an opportunity to make use of socially. Spending so much time in Spain hearing conversation and trying to understand what's being said may have sharpened my listening concentration somewhat. There does seem to be some benefit in working at acquiring different languages, despite the potential for confusion.

Perhaps because it's set in a part of Wales with which I'm familiar, with stories that reflect the impact of rural poverty and decline on families and personal relationships, there's a freshness about the series. Last night's Swedish crime thriller 'Modus' seemed more formulaic, ticking the thematic boxes for another hit TV movie and by the looks of it so far, targeting yet again a far right religious extremist sect as the source of tribulation - well, we'll see as it unfolds. Does this reflect this a collective anxiety in Scandinavian society these days, I wonder?