On the road to Blackburn tomorrow for a 'Greenbelt wedding': Michelle Waterworth and Stuart Rogers make their vows in what's bound to be a good occasion, a festival of friends. How many 'Greenbelt couples' do you know?
A perforated eardrum has left me literally grounded and unable to attend a friends’ wedding in Dublin today.
The pain is quite astounding, but even it couldn’t stop me smiling as I received a text message letting me know that as of this afternoon Greenbelt 03 has a licence!
So whatya doing August Bank Holiday? Fancy being one of the chosen 15,000?
Welwyn ymca here ...............just done my first day of the rest of my Welwyn life.
Fine .....thanx for asking. People. So many people. Beautiful people. Caring people. Warm. Welcoming. Accepting.
It is strange for me as a 18 years veteran of one ymca community. Strange to be entering into an existing community and stepping onto the moving train of life and relationships.
"people get ready there's a train a comin' "
sing the Blind Boys of Alabama
Their new album great and don't I remember SO well their Greenbelt performance which rocked the place. Take me to them races I say.!!
It is srange for me but also fantasic as I practice the stategy of:-
listening
learning
lingering
So I meet new people both staff and residents. Also a child or so who were also under the ymca mission in terms of development experiences. We have so much to learn from the work with 'small people' development and the fragile adults growth and development methodology.
Live music ended my day at Welwyn ....in the bar and talking in a sense of security to people who themselves feel secure in that environment.
Is there anyone out there who lives around Welwyn and is interested in contacting me regarding feeding my brain about Christian networks around there and ......................you never will know unless you contact pip@pipwilson.com
amen -live-in-wonder- bhp
Tonight I am wondering, what must it be like just now, livin' in Wayne's house? We call Croxteth 'Croccy' and don't think of it as at all bad, unlike the national press. We know (well, my pal who teaches them knows) that the Rooney boys can be naughty, like any young teens, and Wayne himself is no academic, but he's an honest, hardworking, good, determined lad.
We know they'll move soon, the Rooneys, because sad people are firing paintballs at their modest gable end walls these nights, but they won't move far because why would anyone want to move far from Croccy?
What must it be like livin' in Wayne's house tonight? Pretty much like livin' in any other Liverpool family's home. Chase those noisy scallies away from outside, settle down to Corry (we don't watch Brooky here, it's not like us at all), chase those kids to bed late on. Wayne's probably already up there, sleepin'. Busy day ahead, preparing for West Brom, away, Saturday.
Well here I am tired after my first day at school feel.
All this in the first two days of my new job at Kingston ymca. The people have been fantastic with me to me. It is said that the first four minutes of contact lasts forever. You never have a second chance to make a first impression! These guys have been glorious.
The community.
The welcome.
The acceptance.
The naturalness.
Love it.
So tired now.
Makes me think/feel what a new resident coming to the ymca feels on their first day. The bigness,the routines, the policies, the strangers all around which includes the staff.
All the residents here have special needs at Kingston ymca. All unique. All a precious one-off. All hand made and, like me, a broken offering to the world. Some have been through hell. Some still there. Some with a lifetime of rejection. Some feeling 'not ok' to the depth of their being. Some hiding all these feelings and stigmas with artificial distractions.
Among the them are angels. Some are staff who seem to give and give and share the journeys with the stumbling ones. Some are residents themselves who have been blessed and supported through crucial times and are longer only 'ymca takers' but have become 'ymca makers'. They are giving back from their life skills to others who are stepping in their footprints. So beautiful ......God must weep with Joy and weep with sadness at all the pain and the beauty .............
'sorrow and love flow mingled down' ............................................. the good book says about the man called Jesus who we remember at Easter ........ so real. .......so real when we ponder, linger and take in the madness of it all that ...........He should die that we .............. And follow all year ever so inadequately.
If Jesus came today into our culture maybe, maybe, thats where he would be .......in our ymca hostel. Looking such a scruff. Damn ......and the special needs are so clear. So the stigma cuts into his soul just like that crown of thorns rammed on his head ......but it hurts SO much more .......
I am tired but the reflection to the depth of my soul does me good ......so bless you as you read and join us on this little journey over the coming days
................we need each other and ___________________________
___________________________________- 'fill in' space for you
bhp
www.pipwilson.com
the first day of the rest of ......... yes three new jobs started today,or should I say this week?
Today employed by YMCA England as the 'Christian and Spiritual Development Officer' for two days a week and Tuesdays/Wednesdays as 'Housing Group Worker' at Kingston YMCA. Thursdays I am employed by Welwyn YMCA as a 'Youth and Community Worker'. You will read the vibes as I live the life as you read the blog.
I am appreciative that these humans and organizations will employ me. They will get everything I have to give
"God wants what we have not what we haven't" ........Living Bible bit here.
Been to Greenbelt Board meeting tonight and always exciting. Fantastic peoples. Heaven must be like this.
The site plan,always changing every meeting,is always exciting. The whole meeting becomes excited and vision-full when we picture the venues and the .......you must expect from tonight's meeting some major injections of colour on the site ........it will be different ........do 'not' expect the 2002 site you regulars.
Then the pint after. So beautiful the talent . Some of the body shapes a bit like mine of course BUT ........ the uniqueness dribbling down the chins of these people is ...........words will not come out of these two stubby typey fingers to describe ........
And ticket sales are good but book soon before the end of April to get the best prices and avoid not getting a seat at the diving place for pearls www.greenbelt.org.uk
Having left the y Romford I have lost the use of my fav little logitech digital camera coz it won't function with mac .......so tomorrow I will get to a pc and become picmad again .....you can see many fine results on www.romfordymca.org
Well .....time to click my favorite blogs and go to bed:-
http://jonnybaker.blogspot.com/
www.moby.com
http://www.johndavies.org/
and trot to bed ........big new day tomorrow
stay beautiful
bhp
I'm living on the minimum wage for Lent so no chance of a petrol-guzzling day off out in the North Wales sunshine today, as I would otherwise been tempted to do. Not even the option of revisiting FACT, Liverpool's shiny new Picturehouse cinema. Instead, it looks like a night in with an old video of Babette's Feast is what's on the cards.
Not that I'm in any way unhappy with this state of affairs. Fortunately my Lent Challenge has not denied me the greatest joy of 2003 - because I bought a season ticket months ago I'm still able to visit Goodison to watch the mercurial Wayne Rooney. After yesterday's win over Newcastle (fully deserved despite Shearer's moans) I felt I had to write a few words in praise of that young man's maker, for giving him such divine gifts.
Just got back from Lille - sound like a world traveller eh? Well Joan and me took four days off before starting the new work on Monday. Some people laughed, expecting that I would take a month off after 18 years at www.romfordymca.org , but I wanted a short break and then getting into my new lifestyle/work style before I go to the YMCA England National Assembly this next weekend. I did not think it would be good for me being on holiday for a month and constantly thinking of 'how
things will be' sorta thing.
It was good to drive away to France and experience the culture which of course included the excellent food, a glass of Champagne or two, street life and of course a late night Margarita. We stayed in a hotel converted from a monastery. A good time was had by all without the excuse of a birthday !
The interesting thing which I thought about a lot while there I slept four times in that first day! First time in the car when we waited for the ferry, then on the ferry, and twice in the hotel all before we hit the town and really went to bed to sleep! I kept asking myself 'why'. I put it down to the 'unwinding spring'. I was away fro all the work both YMCA and all the sorting needed at home (having brought home 18 years of files and artefacts) the brain needed a break (interesting, it is said that the body does not need sleep but only the brain !)
So as I listen to BBC 'One World' playing/streaming music from Brazil - I love this DJ show which is repeated online for 7 days before the next programme is pumped down my broadband SO easy me and the cat Zig are going to zzzzz to rest the dance music brain (www.clubberstemple.com ) and get ready for the next mission full day.
I must tell you about my conversation at the back of a coach with Oyvin,all about Mission. ......and don't forget the next nasty person you meet is a hurting person.
bhp
Utterly shattered after a Site Ops Planning Weekend down in Leicestershire.
Loads achieved and I’ve come away with pages of things to do! Looks like the number of hours spent on the phone and email each night isn’t about to let up anytime soon; so apologies if these blogs are somewhat erratic.
Part of the weekend was spent pouring over the latest site plans, trying to work out how we can fit everything in and make it all work. We’re really packing the site full of great stuff this year - I won’t give away any clues just yet, but it’s looking fine. Mighty, mighty fine.
Just slightly nervous that the date on the plans was 1st April…
So maybe I shouldn’t get too concerned about that crocodile wrestling pit next to Hu:Manic just yet?