Clapham Calling

The Phoenix Express

Yesterday, Lee an Elder in our Church and myself visited a member in Hospital. I was astounded at the change for the good in her condition since we last met. It seems she may get to go home next week. A real answer to much prayer.

On the way home we had 30 minutes until our train arrived so we popped in to the Phoenix at Denmark Hill Station. It literally sits over the railway tracks. It looks like it may have been the main station building at some point. This just the sort of place I love to examine the architectural details of while sampling some Burt's hot chilli and lemon crisps, a great flavour combination it turns out. I must put this into my Moleskine London city note book for the food and features.

 

 

On my desk

 

At my desk I enjoy listening to online sermons and making notes in my ESV Journaling Bible (at the top right) but the print is tiny. I find the ESV helpful in study but find it somewhat stilted and wooden when reading it out loud. I love this edition with the ancient looking cover. I have this thing about moleskine. I have a diary and a Moleskine London city note book. In that I like to record details of favourite London places to eat! You know me! but also the buildings of London I like the most.

I am reading a lot of Mark Dever at the moment particularly The Gospel and Personal Evangelism and The Deliberate Church. Why Dever? I think because I really respect his ministry out of a City, Washington DC. which I imagine is a lot like London. Also he has helped me in my thinking about how Church is done practically. In addition he is a great person to meet one to one.

No one sings at funerals anymore

The only thing that went wrong at the funeral yesterday was that when I got there I discovered that I had left the CD at home that the family wanted played at the end. I didn't have time to go back so I went to Woolworths nearby and after much searching I found it. The staff were helpful and after I explained that I only needed 1 track from 1 of the 3 CDs, played 1 time they agreed that I could return it and get my money back.

So for me an uneventful funeral.

"German Panther" is a 2007 sculpture of a Panzer tank made out of balloons, from Hans Hemmert. It's nearly 10 metres long!  Link

"German Panther" is a 2007 sculpture of a Panzer tank made out of balloons, from Hans Hemmert. It's nearly 10 metres long!  Link

I have another funeral Today.

I wonder what will happen at it (apart from the obvious!). I am recycling the following from the old blog in case you missed it. Sorry to all who have already read it - not much time for something new. Yes before you ask I have done this with sermons from time to time (recycle that is!)

Events at a funeral.

At the start of the year I took my second West Indian funeral. I thought after all that happened at my first funeral the next would be less eventful.

As I waited for the coffin to arrive at the Church a phone call came to say that the horse drawn coffin was running 20 mins. late. I knew this would have a knock on effect to our very tight time frame. It would turn out not to be a problem at all. The service went well and we managed to keep everything going including the viewing. Until that is another phone call this time from the cemetery to say that as they were digging the grave a water pipe was hit and the hole was rapidly filling with water. It wasn't to be a burial at sea so a new grave had to be dug this meant there was no rush for us to get there in fact they wanted us to go slowly.

Once there I wanted to use the toilet but as I tried to unlock the door it wouldn't open. No matter what I tried nothing worked. I did have my mobile so I thought that I could ring Abigail and ask her to look up the telephone number of the cemetery on the Internet then I could give them a call to say I was stuck in their toilet. I prayed and tried the lock one last time, it worked, what relief!

At the graveside, just before the committal (that Pastor Paul Read was going to do) the funeral director came to me and said "we must release the doves now" I replied "what doves?" It turned out that the family had arranged for three doves to be released but they didn't tell us. As it was getting dark and cold the doves might have refused to fly off. They did but took a very short flight path back to their boxes. Then sleet fell hard for 15 minutes, long enough to soak me right through. At the reception there was industrial sized heaters that I warmed myself on. In five minutes my suit was dry but steam poured out as though I was on fire. As I sat down at the table a plate of curried goat arrived in front of me. Being a Pastor means you don't have to queue for food - I can cope with that, just.

At the start of the year I took my second West Indian funeral. I thought after all that happened at my first funeral the next would be less eventful.

As I waited for the coffin to arrive at the Church a phone call came to say that the horse drawn coffin was running 20 mins. late. I knew this would have a knock on effect to our very tight time frame. It would turn out not to be a problem at all. The service went well and we managed to keep everything going including the viewing. Until that is another phone call this time from the cemetery to say that as they were digging the grave a water pipe was hit and the hole was rapidly filling with water. It wasn't to be a burial at sea so a new grave had to be dug this meant there was no rush for us to get there in fact they wanted us to go slowly.

Once there I wanted to use the toilet but as I tried to unlock the door it wouldn't open. No matter what I tried nothing worked. I did have my mobile so I thought that I could ring Abigail and ask her to look up the telephone number of the cemetery on the Internet then I could give them a call to say I was stuck in their toilet. I prayed and tried the lock one last time, it worked, what relief!

At the graveside, just before the committal (that Pastor Paul Read was going to do) the funeral director came to me and said "we must release the doves now" I replied "what doves?" It turned out that the family had arranged for three doves to be released but they didn't tell us. As it was getting dark and cold the doves might have refused to fly off. They did but took a very short flight path back to their boxes. Then sleet fell hard for 15 minutes, long enough to soak me right through. At the reception there was industrial sized heaters that I warmed myself on. In five minutes my suit was dry but steam poured out as though I was on fire. As I sat down at the table a plate of curried goat arrived in front of me. Being a Pastor means you don't have to queue for food - I can cope with that, just.

Happy Mother's day

For Mother's day this morning I am looking at the story of the Mother of Moses. Two small points I love from this story are:

1. "Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you. So the woman took the baby and nursed him." Exodus 2:9

2. The river that was meant to kill Moses became the means of his salvation.

Yes he did have hair once and it was curly.

I love this old high school year book photo of REM's Michael Stipe.   

 

Here is a picture I took at the live8 concert in hyde park a few years back.

Getting shirty.

This my seem odd to you but for me there is a real simple pleasure to be had in buying a new shirt and taking it from its wrapping. Depending where the shirt is bought you can end up with a small mountain of pins, card board, care instruction booklet attached to the shirt by string, spare collar stiffeners and replacement buttons. I love it.

My favourite shirts have double cuffs and a longer back to it.

All this makes sense to me anyway.  All life is found here the mundane, the profound.

In case you can not picture what all of that looks like, here is a picture:

   

From the old blog

I just had a look at my old blog that hardly works now and this entry from May 22nd 2003 made me smile

Barry Mark II

I went out to get a new goldfish after I managed to kill the original Barry. I had bought a slow release fish food capsule but hadn't read the instructions properly. It contained enough food for 20 - 30 fish we had 2! So we now have a new Barry and I couldn't resist getting another little one who I have named Larry.

I went out to get a new goldfish after I managed to kill the original Barry. I had bought a slow release fish food capsule but hadn't read the instructions properly. It contained enough food for 20 - 30 fish we had 2! So we now have a new Barry and I couldn't resist getting another little one who I have named Larry.

"Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things."

I went to our prayer meeting feeling sorry for myself last night. Micah is not allowing us to get enough sleep and I think that is impacting everything else, including me getting extra grumpy with Caleb and Jacob. At the meeting it didn't take long for me to realise that yes I am struggling at the moment but what other people are going through seems to be Mammoth in proportion to my to me lack of zzzz.

One lady who has badly injured her back when her trolley on a travelator rolled back and knocked her to the ground, could only speak of the good it had allowed her to do by being confined to one space.

A relative dying lonely in Hospital of cancer. A son wanting to be a Muslim. 

Lack of sleep? - what lack of sleep?

I am glad I went.

"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."  2 Corinthians 4:17,18