A weekend in Bristol and an afternoon out - what more could a girl ask?

As Martyn said we spent the weekend in Bristol. At Wesley College I spoke about my journey towards and through the Vice Presidency including bits about being a Christian at work and how my thoughts on inclusivity are based on theological reflection about God - God is inclusive so we should be and also that Paul's list in Galatians 3 "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" is unlikely to be an exhaustive list and that we need to continue to watch out for excluding people from the offer of the Good News of God.

I stayed with the Borgas family - Rachel and Martin and Christopher and received wonderful hospitality. (Christopher also took the photograph - thanks CB). I was also able to meet up with a few old friends on Saturday evening and that was good. Paul and Angela, David and Liz and I had all been in the same Circuit some years ago so we had a bit of time to catch up.

On Sunday morning I preached at Keynsham sharing the leading of the service with Rachel (the minister there) and Ward Jones (the District Chair). I am a bit worried about having so many District Chairs listening to me preach - maybe word has got out that I should be monitored - it feels a bit like I am undergoing an Ofsted inspection! We had a great time.

Sunday evening at the Cathedral was also great with the Methodist gathering filling the Cathedral in good voice and a hearty welcome from the Dean and his team to what Martyn referred to as their "little chapel".

Back on the train then and in to work this morning to catch up on the e mails before going across the road to Westminster Central Hall this afternoonfor the annual Daffodil Day service with a cast of thousands! Well a congregation of a couple of thousand anyway. It was good to share the platform with a range of people including Pam Turner, Network President and Steve Wild, Director of Evangelism from Cliff College as well as Steve Murray whose mime reduced me to tears. Kate Semmens sang some wonderful solos and was ably backed up by the Daffodil Day Ladies Choir - who only came together earlier in the day! The young boys of Trinity Boys Choir were great and sang a good range of songs and we heard from children and staffof St Vincent's Family Project. The Circuit staff all contributed in different ways but I certainly mustn't forget to mention Clarence the Frog!! It was good to sit next to the Lord Mayor whose grandfather had been responsible for setting up the garden of rest around Charles Wesley's grave 60 years ago when he was Mayor of Marylebone - but I was a little jealous as her bling was particularly flash! A great day - put the 2nd March in your diary for 2009.

PS if you are interested there is a very flattering article about someone who looks like me on the UMC website http://www.umc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content3.aspx?c=lwL4KnN1LtH&b=2072519&ct=5066575

Celebrating the life of Rob Frost

Wow! What a celebration. Around 3 hours of music and dance and drama and tribute celebrating different aspects of Rob Frost's life at Westminster Central Hall yesterday afternoon. After some singing and a welcome from Rob's two sons, Andy and Chris, the celebration began with an opening prayer and introduction from Martyn. As he said, he was there in two capacities - President of the Methodist Conference giving thanks for one of "Mr Wesley's preachers" and friend, there to remember and to take the opportunity to see Rob's life as a challenge to move forward in faith.

Then the programme was split into three key parts - Rob as a Visionary, Rob as a Mobiliser and Rob as a Conversationalist. In each of these sections we heard tributes and testimony of lives touched and changed and were touched again by music from Paul Field, Simeon Wood, a Ghanaian choir and the All Soul's Orchestra and singers, among others. There was drama and dance and poetry - written by Rob and by others. Adrian Plass, the writer, was unable to be present but he had written a piece - Letter to Rob which began - "You are in heaven now so I can be as rude as I like". Another line from that which I particularly remember suggested that what Rob and demented squirrels and Jesus had in common was the expenditure of enormous energy and passion in order to save as many nuts as possible!

These sections were followed by an address (by Martin Turner, Superintendant of Westminster Central Hall) who invited us to ask where we were in our relationship with Jesus and not just in our memories of Rob and to take our faith seriously recommitting ourselves as we celebrated Rob's life. A commissioning of those who will take forward the work of Share Jesus International took place after we heard a word from Rob's father, Ron, who spoke of his own faith commitment and that of his great gandfather, who had been a bare knuckle fighter. Jenny Impey, Co-Chair of the London Methodist District gave the blessing.

I found that it was an amazing opportunity to think of all of the ways that Rob and his work had made an impact on my own life as well as the wider work that he had been involved in. When I was 18 and at college, Ron Frost was my minister and I remember Rob coming to speak as a student minister. Over many years as a youth leader I linked in with Rob's initiatives, putting on musicals such as Daybreak and Breaking Bread, taking groups to Easter People, attending big productions of the musicals such as Hopes and Dreams and considering the missional and financial impact of Rob's work when I was a member of the Connexional Team. Just this last year Rob and I had become "facebook friends" and he wrote to me with sensible advice and concern when I said that facebook was taking over my life.

Rob wasn't tied to sharing his faith in the way he had always done it. He recognised that sometimes things had run their course - like the 20 years of Easter People. He did big things but still had time for individuals. Lots to think about, to give thanks for and to be inspired by.