scherzo

Thursdays. Yes, well, they're often like this. As I've said before.

Busy. Full. Fairly non-stop.

If my week is akin to a symphony, Thursdays would be the scherzo.

I think. I'm not that hot on the technical terms in music.

The fast part, anyway. In layman's terms.

I was back and forth to the school three separate times in the morning. An assembly for P4-7, first of all - on the use of the imagination. Then back later on for coffee and chat with the staff. (They had the coffee, I had the chat). And finally, over lunch, back for the SU group.

It makes for a 'bitty' morning. Since the moment I was back from the school, each time, there were people to see and things to be done and then a quick about-turn. And off to the school again.

But it was productive, all right!

The P6 teachers approached me and fixed up a series of four different classes they want me to take on the theme of Jesus' life. I did it last year and enjoyed all those times with the P6 pupils. So I'll look forward to that in the next few weeks once again.

I also popped in to the Primary 5s. By request.

They'd wanted to give me their letters of thanks for the sessions I'd had with them. A whole huge wad of letters, each one written with care. It was really quite humbling!

The contact's always good, of course. And being in and out all the time like that means I'm pretty much part of the scenery there at the school.

And I think it's mainly friendship, fun and the faith that I'm giving to all of the children there.

Certainly that's what the SU group accentuates. It's not really all that long we get - a quick half hour. But it's packed with these three things. And again there were close on twenty children there.

It's the contact that's important, as I say.

There's not that much which anyone really can do - I mean, in terms of prgressing the kingdom of God - if there isn't any contact. That's where it's all got to start.

And there's only so much contact that any of us can have. Like, if I'm at the school, I can't be somewhere else. At least not at the same time.

So that's a choice we make. The chance to have that contact with the pupils at the school we see as being a pretty big priority.

In some ways our whole life here is built around the importance of making contact with the people of the place. Building little bridges into other people's lives.

For God to walk across.

There was some of that at lunch again. With four of the 'pregnant Mums'. Mothers to be attending the ante-natal classes that are run here on our premises - and who meet as well for lunch.

It's good to be bale to stop for a bit and have the chance to chat.

Contact with folk we otherwise wouldn't have seen. Gentle, easy bridges for the meeting of our hearts. It's really very thrilling when you stand back from it all and see just how it works.

Well, how he works, more to the point.

Because this is the Lord. This is the way he works. Always meeting people. Always being with people. Always making contact and engaging other people in their needs.

We were working at this sort of issue at night as well.

Re-thinking the way our pastoral care is expressed. Going back to basics and starting from scratch. And feeling we made some progress.

I found it quite exciting!

Being reminded again of what the whole thing's about. And what God means to do. And how he works. And why it is we all end up involved.

When I finally got away, though, from the meeting tonight at just after ten, I felt for the first time today I was getting to stop. The scherzo had come to a close.

The scherzo's just one of the movements in the symphony living can be.

Thankfully.

I mean it's good-going stuff and I love days like this.

But the music would not be the same if the whole thing went on at this pace.

Bring on a bit of adagio!