Invitations

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This morning was the first of my weekend services of Holy Communion, and it went very well.

There was a good attendance, as usual, with many familiar faces among them. Karim played the piano beautifully, and entertained us with some Beatles tunes afterwards!

After the service, it was coffee outside with the congregation, and we had a good chat about my sermon and the idea of hope and love as bastions of Christianity.

It's nice to know that people are taking in the Sermon and that its giving them pause for thought. 

We discussed the problem of evil and in particular, its ramifications from a political point of view. 

This of course is something that preoccupies many people here who have had to leave their homes because of conflict and persecution, particularly the Sudanese community, of whom there are quite a few.

I also had a lovely compliment from a lady who is a member of the Myanmar congregation here, and I was invited to their service which takes place this Sunday afternoon.

Incidentally, this Sunday will be my last Sunday service here. 

Time is really flying now, and its hard to believe that this time next week I'll be packing up, checking in, and making final preparations to return home.

I was also invited to the home of one of our parishioners tomorrow afternoon for lunch. Hospitality is very important here and I'm looking forward to it immensely.

I am a bit daunted, however, having received the message, 'And come with an empty stomach. My wife is a great cook!' 

As I was walking back from picking up my water supplies, it was interesting to see Muslim men
praying on the side of the street near the bank. One chap had even spread his reflective jacket on the ground, not having his prayer mat to hand. Now that's dedication!

This evening I had a look over the service sheet for next Friday, as that will be my last Eucharist here, and I'll start preparing a sermon tomorrow afternoon.

Then it was off to Granita for an early supper in the sunshine, as I'm feeling a bit tired today. 

Perhaps its the heat, which is relentless!


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