Yesterday morning at church Danny preached on Jesus’ parable of the new and old wine and wineskins of Christian faith…
Yesterday nine of us enjoyed a lovely family lunch together, relaxing, chatting, catching up… Rachel remembered that in the spring the traditional family Easter Egg hunt had been impossible because of the weather…
We found the box of chocolate eggs that had been bought for the occasion. I hid the eggs, the youngest hunted first, followed by older children and adults. Finally I had to remember where I had put those that hadn’t been found… Easter in July!
Yesterday evening we watched swimming world record holder Adam Peaty win an Olympic silver medal. We saw his wife, young son and mother in the crowd… and couldn’t miss his tattoo of a cross and ‘Into the light’ written below it.
Since winning gold at the last Olympics he left swimming to deal with periods of depression, poor mental health and alcohol abuse… subsequently discovering faith, peace, balance and prayer in God and the church.
Last night he said: ‘It’s broken me, this sport, but it’s also given me life.’
Local news has reported on this weekend’s Latitude Festival… good weather, huge crowds, blocked roads, Duran Duran, The Darkness, Keane…
We’ve been appreciating reports from ‘Chaplaincy Lowestoft’ friends who were at Latitude. There were hand massages… glitter and creativity were spread around. There’ve been stories of God gently ministering to festival goers… gifts given that speak of God’s guidance and identity… praying with and blessing people… sowing seeds of faith.
I still love the old wine and wineskins of the Christian faith – church, traditional hymns, well-known liturgy, Christian festivals, studying the bible, praying with other Christians…
I also love new wine and wineskins… the creativity and openness of a Christian presence amongst festival goers… the life changing story of a national athlete portrayed in a body tattoo… remembering Easter in the middle of summer – including a glass or two of wine.
malcolmsmusings.org 