Welcome to the Friends' Meeting House

This is my first posting.
I mean, I have put stuff on other people's blogs and forums - mostly Fulcrum.
Thing is, I like the idea of getting stuff off my chest, especially about the Church of England and the Anglican communion, but a blog like this is a little bit more discreet than something quite high profile like Fulcrum.
A few months back I started a Leadership programme for vicars in which we were encouraged to keep a journal, something that I find really difficult, so in a way this blog is the offspring of that challenge.

So anyway, I do church for a living, (if you want to see the churches I serve, go here) but I am in fact quite a normal bloke - a dad, a husband, a neighbour. I like to have the occasional beer or two in our local pub, The White Hart, which has it's own brewery. People sometimes say I find it hard to switch off work, but then since I am a professional Christian, I can't exactly stop my faith from surfacing in my conversations.

Our churches are all in small villages, but we love rural life and we enjoy the fact that (for example) in Lindsell this morning we had nearly 10% of the population of the community in church - around 15 people. It's just easier to do community in small places. When I go to London and walk down the street I look at everyone's face, with a view to smiling at them or even exchanging a greeting. Some people clearly think I am a loony, but the thing is, in a village, that is normal behaviour (even if you are not the vicar) because there is a greater degree of familiarity - people know lots of other people if not everyone in their village. that's how it's meant to be I think.

That'll do for now