Everyone needs some Time Out

Earlier today I had a meeting with Sue and Janet, two ladies from church. The purpose of the meeting was to continue planning for a "Quiet Day" which we are having at Priory on 17 December. After I had made tea/coffee for us (always the best was to start a meeting!) Sue produced out of her bag some Time Out chocolate bars. I must say that the chocolate went very nicely with my coffee.

The slogan on the wrapper was, "Everyone needs some Time Out". How appropriate, I thought, as we were meeting to plan a Quiet Day! The whole purpose of the Quiet Day is to give people the opportunity to take some time out from what can often be a hectic and very busy time in the run-up to Christmas. We are hoping to provide an oasis of quiet and reflection as a kind of antidote to the hussle and bussle of the season.

We are taking as our theme "Stations of the Nativity", and will be setting up a number of prayer stations where visitors can stop and reflect on elements of the nativity story. There will also be suggestions for practical responses and prayers. The final stage of the journey will be the manger itself. Just like the wise men, we will be given the opportunity to worship the Christ child. I am excited at the possibilities of the day, and how it might bless those who come.

To come back to the Time Out bar, there is, of course, a sense in which its slogan is a very Biblical one. Time out, or rest, is a God ordained element of life. There is an occasion recorded in the gospels when Jesus said to the disciples, 'Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.' We live in such a busy society, everyone rushing around, people in a hurry, no time for.... Even in the wonderful Christmas season we can become so tied down with planning and preparations that we don't allow ourselves any time to step aside from the rush, and focus on what really is the heart of Christmas - the birth of Jesus, God's Son.

We are not machines. We were not created to become workaholics. We need times out to rest and reflect.

The Lord works in mysterious ways..

In a recent blog ("Strength in weakness") I mentioned our current state of uncertainty in that we knew that in summer 2012 we will be leaving Doncaster, but we didn't then know where we would be going. Now we do!

For 4 days last week all the Methodist District Chairs (the Methodist equivalent of Bishops) met together to make decisions about my future and the future of about 120 of my ministerial colleagues. They had before them a list of Ministers who will be moving in 2012 and also a list of vacancies in churches around the UK. Mainly because of family considerations, we had asked that wherever we were sent it should be somewhere within 2 hours drive of Nottingham (we don't have any particular connection with Nottingham, but it seemed to be a fairly central part of the country!) Although that ruled out some vacancies, is still covered a large geographical area.

Sue and I, and many of our friends, were doing a lot of praying over those days, that ultimately we would be sent to the place where God wanted us to be. I didn't feel particularly anxious, but I was eager to discover the result of the deliberations. Last Thursday evening I received a phone call from our District Chair who informed me that I had been matched with the Leicester West Circuit [in Methodist parlance, a Circuit is a group of churches in a particular area]. The following morning we received a phone call inviting us to travel down to Leicester to meet the folk there and visit the churches. So on the Saturday we visited the Methodist churches at Glenfield, Markfield and New Parks. In each church we met some of the people there, asking and answering questions.

Over lunch we met the Circuit Superintendent (lead Minister), then went back to one of the churches for a final meeting, this time with representatives from the three churches and some of the Circuit leadership team. It was a long and rather tiring day, but we enjoyed meeting the people in Leicester and seeing the area. We left it that Sue and I would do some more thinking and praying about the situation, as would the folk in Leicester.

During the course of the following 24 hours, Sue and I had a growing sense that this was indeed the place to which God was calling us; I felt a very real sense of excitement and anticipation about the future. However, we didn't yet know what the Leicester people thought about the matter! On Sunday evening we received a phone call from the Circuit, inviting me to become Minister in the Leicester West Circuit, and of course I said yes!

I still think that the Methodist system of moving Ministers around is rather strange, and in one sense I'm amazed how it seems to work. At the same time, I know that God is in control, and I am convinced that we are going to the place he is preparing for us. And one very great added bonus is that our first grandchild, who is due to be born in early January 2012, will be living only about 15 minutes away from our new home in Leicester - thank you God!

Inevitably some of our thoughts over the next few months will be towards our future in Leicester. Yet we know that there is still a great deal for us to do here in Doncaster. We know also that when the time comes for us to leave the area, and the people who we have come to know and love, it will be very hard. Ultimately, though, the best place to be is always where God wants you to be.

That's For You, Son

For better or worse, I've been a football supporter for most of my life. I realise that there are people in the world who can't stand football (sadly, my wife is one of them!) Personally, I have found lots of enjoyment in football, though I do tend to agree with those who are of the opinion that football at the top level has lost some of its connection with ordinary supporters, not least through the vast amounts of money which the top players are paid.

In a sense, my football experience has been an image of life in general: there have been tremendous highs and lows over the years. As a lifelong supporter of Hull City I have lived through relegations, dismal performances, and a time when the club looked as through financial woes would drive it out of business. I have also had many times of celebration at wonderful performances, promotions and last minute winners.

Undoubtedly the highlight was the Wembley play-off final victory in 2008, a result which saw the Tigers achieve promotion to the Premiership for the first time in their history. What topped that weekend off (my first ever visit to Wembley) was that on the following day Doncaster Rovers (a team which I also support as the club chaplain) also achieved play-off final victory at Wembley. My best ever football weekend!

But I have to say that the emotion experienced at a recent Rovers' home match was deeper that anything I had previously experienced. One of Rovers' star players, Billy Sharp, had just experienced the tragedy of the death of his two day old son, Luey. It came as a great shock to everyone when Billy decided that, notwithstanding his personal tragedy, he wanted to play in the match.

Before the match kicked off, both sets of players stood in the centre of the pitch and, together with the supporters of both teams, offered a minutes' applause in Luey's memory. A hugely emotional moment. When Billy scored the opening goal of the match with a superb volley, there were great cheers and much celebration. Billy lifted up his football shirt to reveal a t-shirt underneath bearing the words, “That's For You Son”. It's a moment I will probably never forget. Even the national media took up this heartbreaking yet remarkable story.

At the centre of the Christian faith is a cross. A strange symbol, perhaps, as the cross was a place of suffering and death. It was on the cross that God's Son, Jesus, hung and died. God knows what it is like to suffer the death of his Son. Jesus died on a cross so that our sin could be dealt with. Through faith in him we know can know forgiveness, and have the assurance of eternal life. That's how much God loves us. When we look at the cross we discover God's message to us and to the world, “That's For You”