Hello and happy Sunday! It’s weekly check-in time.

We’re still trying to shake this cold thing that’s been plaguing the three of us. I think it’s been six weeks with one of us feeling down, so we’re very ready to feel better!

Anyway, the week has involved the first Start Course session, lunch with local clergy, a meeting to talk about Young Priests Theologians Network, ecumenical prayers, a nursery Trustee meeting, a funeral visit, time in the community Hub, a Zoom meeting to talk about a Worship Course, sermon writing and preparing the order of service.

The highlight of this week for me was having a bit of time on retreat. I call this ‘First Love Day’ because it’s designed to remind me of my first calling, my calling to be a disciple of Jesus. I started the day at home and I couldn’t concentrate because I kept thinking of all the jobs I had to do. So at 11 I got in the car and took myself off to the Cathedral. I had lunch, walked around and found a little nook to pray and read the Bible in. I didn’t stay for a long time and it wasn’t the whole day’s retreat that I had intended, but it was a huge improvement on nothing!

The biggest challenge for this week was the tech for the Start Course, which when I checked it earlier in the week was absolutely fine. But then on the day the screen didn’t work and the sound didn’t carry. I wanted to host the course in the Hub to give it a more casual feel, but the tech was a bit of a mess. But it’s all a learning curve and next week we’ll use the tech in church!

To quote Mrs Hinch, the Ta-Dah moment was clearing my inbox!

I’m especially grateful this week for kind, generous and wise retired clergy friends. I got in a bit of a muddle, sought advice and was given a way to move forward, prayer and support.

God moment: if you’ve been reading for a while, you’ll know that sometimes things happen that I can’t really talk about jn any detail. But I had a bit of a problem on one day, prayed about it and then it resolved itself first thing next morning. It was a great reminder that even when I’m bleary eyed and only half way through my morning coffee, God is on the move!

Mum moment: I took Sophia to Sweaty Mamas on Friday for the first time in ages and she is a lot more mobile now than she was last time. She took herself over to her changing bag and dug out a half eaten milky bar. I let her have a piece and carried on with the exercise which was a plank. The next thing I knew she toddled over to me and tried to feed me the chocolate! I interpreted it as an attempt to motivate me, although it was very odd to be offered milky bar in an exercise class!

As the banner at the top shows, Sophia is into everything and causing no end of mischief! Her new words this week are ‘church’ and ‘no Mama’ – and on that note, I’ll leave it there!