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A challenging question

Sharing my story with a homegroup from Newbury Methodist last night gave me a chance to reflect aloud on some of my recent journeyings. A member of the group asked me how I perceived Newbury Methodist after an eighteen year absence. I found it a hard question because this wasn’t a casual enquiry to which I could give a bland or trivial response, but a heartfelt concern about what they might do/have done differently. I sense the questioner was herself dissatisfied or saddened by the perceived failure to attract or keep younger people in the church. I was challenged by the question because in my ten months here I have remained uncommitted to the life of the church, partly through being away at Cliff some of the time, but also because coming from the centre of things in another church it is hard to get involved without being totally involved. Sitting on the edge of things is not normally my style, but it seemed right for the moment in order to help me reassess things and to be honest I ne...
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Nothing new about 'Evidence-based Healthcare' On the 18th October the church traditionally celebrates the Feast of St Luke. As Luke was a physician, church and health communities use this anniversary to celebrate the work of healing. In a book called ‘Pills for the Poor’ Samuel Rogal explores Wesley’s contribution to the physical well-being of his followers. ‘Wesley's campaign to relieve the physical suffering of the poor began in 1744-the same year in which he instituted the lending-stock at the Foundery to ease the financial burdens of his London converts. Armed with a generous supply of pills, nostrums, and elixirs-in addition to £30 with which to replenish his inventory-Wesley proceeded to dispense, free of charge to those who came to the Foundery, both remedies and medical advice. "I found," he noted in his journal for 6 June 1747, "there had been about six hundred in about six months. More than three hundred of these came twice or thrice, and we saw...
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New beginning

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I start my new job as chaplain at Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital on 1st Nov 2010. Some people from my time at the George Eliot Hospital in Nuneaton have asked if I can keep in touch, so I thought the easiest way was to share my story on line. I will try and reflect on my experiences regularly as a sort of online Reflective Practice. If you want to post comments on my blog you are welcome to do so. My reflections will have to be of a general nature and not be specific to my work at the Hospital, but I hope to be able to put into context what it means to be a Christian Minister in a non-church setting.
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