Goodbye; Hwyl Fawr; Au revoir!

The time has come and now I have to say 'farewell' to everyone in Penrhys. I have been here a little over four years now and it has been a real privilige and joy to minister here - not without its challenges of course, but an oyster can't make a pearl without a bit of grit.
I took the picture this morning, as we were getting ready for our harvest service. The banner is new, especially for harvest, comissioned by Paul who insisted that a black sheep be included (if you want to know why, you'll have to ask him). The harvest banner shows a tree with leaves that have written upon them the words of the fruits of the spirit. So, our tables held the fruits of the earth and our banner proclaimed the fruits of the spirit, all of which God wants to produce the best harvest. As I prepare to move on to take up my journey amongst another group of God's people, I will take this symbolizm with me. Penrhys is place that has fertile soil for spiritual growth and the memories and experiences we shared together have helped me learn more about my journey with God. I will always cherish the time I spent here and I thank God for the people I have come to know and love.
I'll never forget you and I will continue to pray and think of you all often. I will visit - I've promised the children... with lots of love, Sian xxx

After-words

Well, again I apologise for being silent for so long. since I last wrote there have been many changes and there are more to come. We celebrated the end of the school term by attending various concerts, assemblies and Sport's Day and we wish all our ex-year 6s all the best as they prepare to move on to Secondary School in September.
We travelled (with some of our young people) to Snowdonia for our annual holiday in Rydd Ddu. everyone survived and had a good time, so - result! We also held a football tournament which turned out to be a very civilized and sportspersonly event.
I forget the result, but it was fairly close and very well played.
So now we have a short respite before all the fun starts again. We've said our 'goodbyes' to Heritiana, Mampionona and Rema (although we hope to see Rema again soon, when he returns to us after a holiday in Mizoram). It is enormously humbling to meet our overseas volunteers. They bravely offer their services for a whoe year and come thousands of miles to live with,and serve this community. They give us a great deal in terms of work hours, but more than that they give us a great deal in terms of sharing their lives and cultures with us. All of us here gain so much from their offerings and we are extremely lucky to have our lives enriched in this way.
We hope to hear news soon of new volunteers; 2(including Rema) from Mizoram and 2 from Madagascar.

Bible study: Theology 37; John 8:1-11

Bible study: Theology 37; John 8:1-11

1. This chapter opens with Jesus going to the Mount of Olives before he begins his day's work. Why do you think he went there and what did he do?
   
2. It seems that Jesus was a popular teacher, 'all the people came to him…' why were they so drawn to him?
   
3. Perhaps Jesus' popularity was the reason the scribes and pharisees wanted to test him. How do you think they felt when they saw him in theTemple?
   
4. Jesus turns from them and begins to write in the sand. Why? What did he write?
   
5. Eventually, he responds to their questions and then resumes writing. What's he writing this time?
   
6. 'When they heard it, they went away one by one…' What might the scribes and pharisees be thinking as they leave?
   
7. Jesus tells the women that he does not condemn her – what does this mean for us and the way we think about others who make difficult choices that challenge us?

Our Bible Study Responses Theology 33

1. "In the beginning...." How can we know what really happened in the beginning?

Well, we had a bit of a go at this one. We talked about the many theories that people have concerning the beginning of the world. We talked about the famous, 'Big bang,' theory, but we all had to admit that in the end, no one really knows what happened in the beginning. It is a mystery. We spoke of the fact that every culture has its own creation story and that some of those stories
are even older than the Genesis account. We concluded that humanity has a deep and abiding interest in knowing where we came from, how we came to be and what that means for our life here and now and in the future.

2. Do you think that this is literal account? Why or why not?

None of the assembled group thought that this was a literal account because, as we had already decided, no one could ever really know what happened in the beginning. We felt that this was an intelligent way of explaining very complicated issues in a simple way. We felt that its main purpose was to underline God's work in creation, rather than to just tell a story of how we began. God's love for and delight in creation is evidenced all through this passage and that, we felt, is the main purpose of telling it like this.

3. Why does the story tell us that God speaks? Who was there to hear it?

This was very interesting! We felt that it was important to acknowledge the power of God's word. God speaks and creation manifests. We also thought about the way in which we communicate – why do we speak to each other? We speak so that what is inside us can be made manifest. We share ideas and what is inside us is communicated to others. This then, gives us a picture of God choosing to share with us, something of what is inside God. We are part of a world that God has imagined and brought into being. Creation is a word that, although first spoken long ago, still speaks to us today.

4. What pattern(s) (if any) do you see in this account?

This is a very organized and systematic approach. There is repetition and rhythm which seems to contain a blessing, 'it is good.'

5. Why do you think that God's actions are divided into 'days' here?

It is part of the order mentioned in previous question. It also points to there being a process involved and that it took time. It wasn't like magic, "hey presto" and suddenly everything exists! Plants bud and grow; animals grow and mature. God is involved in world of progression.

6. What does this account tell us about God? Make a list.

This passage tells us that God is a creator; God cares; God builds; God speaks; God takes time….. we went on and on with this. We actually came up with more than 23 adjectives about God and there are only 23 verses in this week's reading. I've left the majority out because I'd like to see how many you can up with. Please click on the comments button below this post and tell us what you think.

Bible Study for Theology 33 - Genesis 1:1-23

The photo was taken a couple of Sundays ago when we decided to take Sunday School out into God's creation to soak in the beauty and wonder of it. It seems a good opportunity to use it to illustrate this week's reading which tells of God speaking the world into being.

This evening some of us will be meeting to explore this week's reading from Genesis. We shall be considering the following questions:
1. "In the beginning...." How can we know what really happened in the beginning?

2. Do you think that this is literal account? Why or why not?

3. Why does the story tell us that God speaks? Who was there to hear it?

4. Wha pattern(s) (if any) do you see in this account?

5. Why do you think that God's actions are divided into 'days' here?

6. What does this account tell us about God? Make a list.


If you have any ideas/opinions/comments on any of the above, please feel free to join in by clicking the 'comment' button at the foot of this post.

Festival Time at the Urdd, Cardiff Bay

Eistedfford time has come around again and because the Urdd (Young people's organization in Wales - we think it may be the largest youth movement in Europe)is currently situated in Cardiff Bay we were able to go down and enjoy being surrounded by Welsh culture. The sun shone brightly down as we made our way around the various stalls and we stopped by various places to see what was on offer. We went into the Millenium Centre to see the young people perform and were very impressed by the high standard of the various perfomances we saw. It was so good to see so many young people taking a pride in their heritage and we came out thinking that the TV talent show, Britain's Got Talent is nothing compared to the talent of our young people.

Visit to Logos Hope, Cardiff Bay

This week is half term, so we are enjoying a bit of a rest. Some of us have been out and about a bit and yesterday we made our way down to Cardiff Bay. We were joined by our friend, Elyse, who was a volunteer here about 5 or 6 years ago. Elyse is currently working aboard 'Logos Hope,' the enormous vessel in the picture. Logos Hope is part of an initiative set up by Christians in Germany to spread Knowledge, Help and Hope.
Elyse took us aboard to show us around. We had lunch together and then toured the ship. The Galley (where Elyse works) is very like the kitchen you may find in any large hotel. Gleaming stainless steel everywhere and large, computerized ovens! The galley supplies around 450 meals 3 times a day, so a lot of hard work work goes on there. We finished our tour in the Book Fair. The ship carries around 6,000 titles all very reasonably priced - so reasonable that at least one of us gave in to temptation and bought some (no names mind). The ship is staffed by volunteers from all over the world, some of whom join for a few weeks, others for longer. Elyse has been on board for 2 years, we met someone else who's been there for 17 years and has raised his family on board too! Mampionona, in particular was very taken with the visit and is interested in joining the ship later on. If you're in Cardiff Bay sometime between now and the 7th June, do have a look for yourself - it's well worth a visit.