Random Visitors....

Our church is in the middle of town, along a sort of back street, that is busiest at night, when people are out drinking and clubbing. It's usually quite quiet in the day. Over the last week or two, we've begun to get random people dropping in. We're planning to start a sort of drop in / church thingy on a Tuesday tea time, beginning in May. We prayed about it last Sunday, and, as previously posted, ended up spending an hour with a homeless guy.

Since then, every time we've been open, someone has dropped in. Usually someone who would be an ideal candidate for our up-coming Tuesday thing, called 'Wings'. At a meeting on Tuesday, someone called Kay stuck her head round the door and told us she thought we were doing marvellous things and that God would guide us. She came in for a few minutes and talked about how God had helped her and that she's not having so much trouble with her mental health currently.

Then on Wednesday night, we were having a Nightchurch meeting. About 12 of us sitting round chatting, and a drunk bloke called Patrick asked if he could come in. So I said yes of course, and made him coffee. And he sat through most of the meeting, probably fairly bemused. At one point he went to answer a phone call, and I heard him telling the caller that he was in a church, and that we were nice and not brain-washing him. Then he came and sat down again and asked everyone to tell him what their favourite films were.

This afternoon, it was a heroin addict and his friend that came in. Andy was able to provide expert drug advice. I was able to provide coffee and cake.

Crummock Water

Andy and I visited a friend in the Lake District recently, and she's just sent us some photos of our walk round Crummock Water. Just the most beautiful place...

Worship and Kebab

We had a great time at church on Sunday. Tracey, from an excellent band called 'Tall Trees' came and led an evening of worship. We don't have any musicians amongst us, but Tracey comes about once a month with her guitar and her passion.

Usually at church, one tries to do a bit of everything every time. So a bit of worship, a bit of prayer, a sermon. But it occurred to me that there is no law that says one has to do everything every week. So I decided that this week we would just do sung worship (well, and tea and cake of course), with space for prayer and for people to share thoughts and readings ad hoc if they wanted to. And it was very lovely. Usually we meet from 4-6pm. But by the time we'd overrun a bit with the worship, stayed around and chatted and drunk more tea, the last of us didn't actually leave the building until quarter to eight!!

As we were leaving a homeless guy came over and began telling us his life story. So three of us went with him to the kebab shop and opened up the church again so he could have his take away in comfort with coffee. Interesting evening...

Sand painting

Have regained some composure since yesterday. At peace and trusting God that our lives are in His wonderfully capable hands.

Check out the Sand Painting by the winner of 'Ukraine's got Talent'. Awesome!

Today I am pointlessly CROSS

Have been ringing social services this week to find out what's happening. The first person I spoke to said 'your assessment has been put on hold until June.' When I expressed my dismay, she put me on to the manager. (Who I dislike intensely on the basis of the limited evidence of encountering her at the end of the course. When she appeared incredibly officious. And because she returned our application form to us because we filled it in and gave it to them rather than taking it home and posting it).

Pat, the manager, tells me that the delay in the assessment is not until June. It's just until the end of April. So we shouldn't expect to hear anything more until then. (They have a very small team, they are very busy. etc etc etc...)

Oh well. That's OK then.

I resisted expressing my anger and hurt about her insensitive officiousness on the course. I resisted telling her what I thought about her returning our form to us. And I refrained from telling her that all the other things her social workers have to do, and how small her team is, is not my problem. I also didn't tell her that if they DON'T WANT adoptive parents they should just *************ing well tell us so and let us get on with our lives. And I didn't say that if they stopped sending back forms we've already filled in and sending us letters to explain why they're not doing anything, they might just have time to get on with the assessment.

Despite all my restrained-ness, I still sounded cross. And I wasn't polite. Or caring. Or understanding.

Instead I told her that I assumed she was aware that we first enquired in November 2007.

She said she wasn't but that her social worker is busy with some study and with placing children during the Easter Holidays and so we'll have to wait.

I probably sounded like a selfish, pushy individual who doesn't care about the children they are working with.

In most situations I am laid back, reasonable, fairly patient and incredibly understanding of other people's points of view and perspectives. I don't swear about people on the roads whose bad driving inconveniences me and I always try and remember that the fact I've been on hold for 20 minutes doesn't make the person who answers any less entitled to my respect as a fellow human being.

But I appear to be capable of quite frightening levels of anger in response to almost any interaction we have with social services. As I say, I am pointlessly cross. Probably because I feel completely powerless. They will do what they want to do, at the speed they want to do it and no amount of discussion makes any difference to what happens. Which leaves me feeling completely dehumanised. The consequence of which is that I don't feel like treating the social worker at the end of the phone like a human being either.

Hmm.

I am reminded of the sermon on the mount. And that thing Jesus said about treating other people the way you would like to be treated. And I've made a decision. We've got the name of our social worker. I am going to write her a card to say I hope her placements go well over Easter and that we are looking forward to meeting her. And maybe. Just maybe. With the Holy Spirit's help, by the time I've posted it, the words 'best wishes' will actually mean what they say.

Loadsa stuff

Sunday evening. No adoption news this week. Will ring them on Monday.

Have had a good week anyway though. Loads of church stuff going on. Nightchurch (see link on left for more info) was great on Friday. We had lots of people in, including a birthday party all dressed in 80's costumes. And a young man who is really interested in history. He wasn't a Christian as far as I could tell, but knew lots about the reformation. Offered to help out at Nightchurch and said he could do a talk on history for us if we wanted him to. Not sure that a drop in for drunk people is quite the venue for a history lecture. Might see if he would do a talk for Church Without Walls though. I think that could be really interesting.

Also working on starting a drop in / informal church for people on the streets. We've got a perfect location for it. Beginning to get a team together now, which is fantastic. Two of them came along to church this afternoon to talk about it and so we could pray for the project together.

Met a guy called Simon this week. He's a Methodist pioneer minister who has just started work in the city. Really good guy. Refreshingly thoughtful in his theology.

And on Thursday went to an evening event run by the local 'seedbed' group. An organisation that funds small projects so long as they are mission oriented, run by people from more than one church and who are not church leaders. Really about helping people with a dream to make a difference, make a difference. Everyone said something about the project they were running and how Seedbed had helped. There was someone working with prostitutes, someone who'd set up a radio station, a bloke trying to set up a long distance footpath for pilgrims and a couple of people with a mobile coffee bar amongst other things. A whole world of passion and creativity. Amazing.