4.10am (again!) Soph awake. I’m not risking being awake for over an hour like last night. She’s coming in with us, I need to sleep!

9.15am Nathan and Soph are on their way to Warrington for Soph to spend the day with her Nanny and Grandad!

9.40am Yikes, Nathan just called and Soph has been sick all over herself in the car. He thinks she was just exploring her mouth with her fingers and might have made herself sick. I really hope he’s right and that she’s not coming down with something – that would be terrible timing!

11.30am He says she’s fine, and Nanny and Grandad have sent pictures of her in a high chair looking very happy! Time for me to crack on with our outdoor prayer station on the church railings.

12.15pm I love a prayer station. I love being outside. I love the idea that people might come across something that makes them think. So I’ve put this together and just I’m hoping that people engage! The crosses were the idea of one person, the flowers were picked by somebody else, and I came up with the prayer bit – teamwork!

It says: ‘On Good Friday we remember how Jesus died on the cross. On Sunday we celebrate how He rose from the dead to bring us life! Take a leaf and add it to the cross, remembering all that He has done. Thank God for the things that bring you joy. Watch as the cross turns into a lush, leafy tree over the next few days!’ – Let’s just hope it does!

2pm Nathan and I are in Costco – again! Our Holy Week coffee and cake turned into Holy Week pizza and hotdogs at Costco. It was a nice pause in a busy day.

4.15pm I’m back at my desk, attempting to finish the risk assessment for Saturday. This is one of my least favourite things to do. Still, needs must!

5.30pm Soph is back and we are having cottage pie made by my lovely Mother-in-law, so it’ll be delicious!

6.30pm I was not wrong! It was a very tasty tea and Soph tucked in, too. She’s been great all day and hasn’t been sick again, phew! Polly is watching Sophia tonight because Nathan and I are both involved in Maundy Thursday services. I am so grateful that we have family close by who can help out.

7.25pm I’m at St Nic’s in Blundellsands for the ecumenical service. I’m down to help with foot and hand washing, which I’ve never actually done before. Lots of services involve this on Maundy Thursday because it was just before the last supper that Jesus washed the disciples’ feet, showing them the kind of leader he was.

Back then feet were very dusty and dirty and it was the job of a servant to freshen up the feet of travellers before they ate. It wasn’t a nice job, it was a job for somebody who wasn’t very important. Jesus showed that true leadership looks like serving other people. He then went on to break bread and share wine with his disciples, just before Judas betrayed him.

8.30pm I found washing the hands and feet an interesting experience. Most people opted for hands, but I still knelt down as they sat in a chair and put their hands over a bowl. Somebody kindly asked me if I needed a kneeler. I said I was fine, and I was, but I could really feel it in my knees by the end.

The service tonight ended with all the shiny objects and colourful banners in the church being taken down and the lights being turned off. We finished in silence and near darkness. It’s been a while since I went to a service like that, and I was reminded how powerful it is. Honestly, I prefer most churches without all the decoration. I think they look better with less to distract people. I love the quiet, the simplicity, the darkness of the stripping of the altar. It symbolises something of what Jesus was going through. I think of Jesus alone in that cell, having been arrested but not yet sentenced to death. What must that have been like? It is hard to fathom.

I whispered goodbye to my fellow clergy and went to my car, reflecting on how nice it is to be involved in a service but not in charge of it.

9.20pm On my way home, I needed to go to Asda to buy 150 bread rolls for the hotdogs on Saturday. So far, over the past week, I’ve bought bonnets, Easter bunnies, hotdogs, and bread rolls in bulk!

11.20pm Polly and I had a lovely chat over a cookie before she went home. Nathan is back from his late service and all is well – very well, actually, but it’s not my news to share!

Now to pack a bag for tomorrow, and go to bed.