Making a mess in the kitchen

The somewhat complicated process of changing the oil in Mrs G's brakes requires two syringes and five hands. The oil is a pretty colour though.

Managing Expectations Tuesday.

I am just about to hammer together the order of service for Sunday coming.


This week is the start of Lent, in case it had escaped your notice.  I had best mention that.


There is also a requirement to do something about Fair Trade.

And having recieved comment from the choir the other week, I need less tunes that are in unison.

They would also appreciate more tunes played in a major key. 

Throw in some intercessions based on topical events, and a children's address that may morph into an opening thought for the adults, depending on whether there are any children.

All this was planned to be done last night, but a failed attempt to synchronise my pc with my tablet resulted in my pc needing a system restore.  That was when I gave up.

First thing first.  I'm going to brew up. This may require a lot of tea.

Sickness

I received a text on Saturday night from my supervisor saying that she had been sick for a couple of days and to let me know that I may be on my own this morning.  There has been a bug going round so it was her turn to share in the misery.  I was doing the whole service this week, so I replied saying to have a day off, and I promise not to break anything.  When I spoke to her on Sunday, she told me that, holidays aside, it was the first time she had missed a Sunday in ten years.   She hasn't had a student that would be able to pick up the load before.

Businesses usually have contingency plans in place, so this got me thinking about our church contingency plans.  When I crashed my bike, I was supposed to be on the projector that day, so as a result, there were no words on the screen.  No great hardship, but what if I had been preaching.  The Session Clerk of Lane End used to keep an emergency service in his briefcase, to be opened if both of the Ministers were indisposed.  Other churches have instructions to do a service of songs of praise if the Minister doesn't arrive.  I have a couple of generic services that aren't lectionary based that I can use if I am called at short notice.  At some point in the future, perhaps at lease one of these will be transfered to my phone or tablet.

Ministry is unlike any other job I have worked in.  Most jobs I have had involved me working with dozens of other people that could fill in if required.  And I had no jobs that required to be undertaken at a specific date and time.  As Ministers, we have to be on stage at 11am, or have arranged for someone to take our place.

The other thing is, my supervisor couldn't have just sat at the back and gone unnoticed.  Whatever happens, the Minister is still the Minister.  Ministers still end up getting told the concerns of the congregation, whether or not they want to sit at the back and be unobserved. 

Lesson for the day.  Ministers need business contingency plans.