I’m giving a slightly better score this week: 5/10. Although it’s an improvement, the rubbish-ness of last week has leaked into this one a bit, and there’s been a bereavement at my home church, which is really sad.

But it has definitely not been all bad. We had a nice weekend. Saturday was Grandpa’s 80th birthday and so we went and sat in his garden and ate fish and chips. We also had a Zoom quiz in the evening, accompanied by raising a glass in our respective homes.

On Sunday, the services went well and we hosted an afternoon tea for Nathan’s Mum whose birthday was also on Saturday.

On Monday I had a zoom chat with a friend and a coffee with another. I have also started to prayer walk the parish, saying the Lord’s prayer at every street corner and praying for each house as I walk by. My aim is to have completed each of the 107 streets in Good Shepherd parish by the end of the year.

Tuesday was Food Pantry (7 deliveries) and at Foodbank on Wednesday we fed 13 people. On Wednesday afternoon I did filming for the service on Sunday, and I’ve edited it over the last couple of days.

I had a funeral yesterday afternoon and another this morning. It was my first time taking 2 in the space of 24 hours, and both times I had a panic in the middle of the service that I was getting the name wrong! I think it was fine though, and hopefully my face didn’t betray my thoughts!

I’m introducing a new element to my Weekly Check-in called: This Week’s Small Win. It’s a bit like Mrs Hinch’s Ta-Da List in which we celebrate what we have done rather than beating ourselves up for what we haven’t managed. So, this week’s Small Win is: the recycling bins have arrived at church!

And the weekly star this time is Gerry from Aintree. He noticed that I was overwhelmed by all the building management that I now have to do, and he met me at church to talk through the health and safety policy and to teach me how to check the fire extinguishers. I know it sounds pathetic to be intimidated by fire extinguishers, but it’s just one of the many things I have got to quickly get my head around as a vicar. Anyway, Gerry is fab and he’s determined that Nathan and I should feel comfortable and supported, and I am very grateful for that.

I’m also grateful for the parishioner who told me that they had faith in me. It really stood out this week, and I needed to hear it. Thank God for people like that.

More next time.