Holy Week

I posted this last year but thought it was worth posting again. Holy Week and the events surrounding Jesus' last week are often missed in our church calendar because we don't meet every day of Holy Week so we miss important bits. Below is a list of references from Mark's Gospel (courtesy of Marcus Borg & Dominic Crossan) as I thought you might like to follow the story up to Good Friday.

Palm Sunday

Mark 11:1-11

Monday

Mark 11: 12-19

Tuesday (A very busy day!)

Mark 11:20-25 (This picks up from Monday and completes the story. The fig
tree is supposed to be like the Temple).
Mark 11:27-33
Mark 12:1-12
Mark 12:13-17
Mark 12:18-27
Mark 12:28-34
Mark 12:35-44
Mark 13:1-4
Mark 13:5-37

Wednesday

Mark 14:1-11

Thursday

Mark 14:12-16
Mark 14:17-25
Mark 14:26-52
Mark 14:53-65

Friday

Mark 15:1-21
Mark 15:22-32
Mark 15:33
Mark 15:34-41
Mark 15:42-47

Am I part of the problem?

Once again I have to apologise for not blogging sooner, but Easter has been a very busy time although last week was much lighter for some reason and I had some time to reflect on what I am trying to do. Trouble is that I am starting to wonder what impact I am having. Hopefully it's positive! But I have recently encountered two more people who have fallen or who are falling out of church. One was a man in his thirties - well educated and well schooled in church but said to me that he was struggling with the idea of church and finding it less and less relevant. I fear in a few years he will stop going and will struggle with what it all means. I then had a 'phone call from someone who I had never met. She said that she had heard what I was doing (starting a meeting for people to be much more honest about the way they feel about church and to express their fears about their dwindling faith). She lived hundreds of miles away and had been a life-long church member and had heard of our group. She too was fed up with church and wanted a safe place to say what she felt without being told to pray harder or read her Bible more. As a Methodist minister I questioned whether I am becoming the problem. My prayer is that I am showing people the way to the solution. It made me stop and think; if people who have been part of church for many years are starting to question their faith in this way, how many more people in our own churches are doing the same but don't feel they can voice their fears? If so do I ignore them and hope things will right themselves or do I do something expressly for them but risk opening Pandora's box? I'm still thinking. Will I be able to close the lid on the box if I open it?

Doh!!!

I'm now 6 months into being a Methodist minister and as usual at the end of each day I look back over it and reflect on how its gone. You know, what went well, what didn't etc. If I am thinking about a lot of things then I sometimes forget things, so reflection is always good. Well, last Sunday was the first in Lent and a communion service. Communion is very special and I always try to get it 'right' and try to strike a balance of propriety and excitement/reverence. It all went well and afterwards I thought that the right balance had been struck and everything was as it should have been. I conducted the service on my own but on reflection I felt I needed some help at the front next time. I went to the person who helped me last time (when I was ill) who was a great help and asked her if she would assist next time. Of course she said and smiled broadly. Then she asked me why I hadn't taken communion this morning...Doh!!! In my concern to get it right and serve everybody I had forgotten myself. 'Don't worry' she said, 'I don't suppose anyone noticed'. Nobody has mentioned it yet, but time will tell.