A Day for Baking, Cooking, Communion and Prayer.

 Now we have the kitchen space there is nothing like taking time to cook and bake. So after going along to the weekly communion service at Marlborough Road Methodist Church in Banbury, where the focus was  'Teach us how to pray' I spent an enjoyable afternoon in the kitchen. The warming drawer ( a special treat for me) really does help get things speeded up so you can be doing a number of dishes at the same time. 

Brown bread well kneaded, as well as needed!!! takes half the time to rise in the warming drawer.

Then onto the dough to make some Paul Hollywood Christmas buns. I made some last week, and while delicious if I do say so myself, they did vary a lot in size. So I worked hard to get them more presentable. Not yet ready for the Great British bake off.

Celeriac is a root vegetable that I have only in recent years come to appreciate and use. So one Celeriac Gratin curtesey of 'Nigella' made ready to take to London to feed the family as we undertake our grandchildren care. 

But we still needed to eat and so it was time for a Nigella 'Fish Finger Borta' whose flavours are an amazing combination of ingredients. 

So all in all a very successful and relaxing time in the kitchen.

Of course cooking gives you time to think and reflect as well. 

The devotions at communion reminded us of the question the disciples asked of Jesus 'Teach us how to pray'. Like Robert leading us I too have heard people often say they don't know how or what to pray. You then wonder what on earth we have been doing all these years in worship and fellowship groups. Of course we have sometimes fallen into the trap of professionalising praying and so it's left to the minister. Yet as one of the hymns we sang at communion states 'Prayer is the Christians vital breath'. Talking, chatting and listening to God is the very oxygen of Christian living. God is concerned about every detail of our living, and every detail of our living is where we express our trust in God. So it's not just the big things of life we talk to God about. 

One thing I quickly came to believe in as a minister was the need to get people to be involved and that meant giving them the tools. So sharing worship materials, short prayers, interactive bible studies, writing our own sketches in groups all became a means to equipping people to be disciples and not reliant on the minister. As I begin to seriously explore what I should now be doing in church life I feel it will be about leading groups rather than taking Sunday services. 
Doing group work and small group worship  reminds me that there is a cross over with cooking. Each dish means selecting the right ingredients for that particular meal. When preparing worship for a Sunday or small group you have a variety of resources to draw upon. You select carefully depending on the occasion. You don't always have to sing, or have a bible reading or even pray. What you do recall is the one to whom you offer your worship and those with whom you worship. So I look forward to carefully working with others to deepen our shared discipleship.

God 

we want to show you

how important your are to us

that we adore you

that we are thankful

that at times we are sorry

that sometimes we need help

that we are concerned about the needs of others.

Help us then to chose the right ingredients

to express these needs.

Sometimes silence.

Sometimes words.

Sometimes a candle

Sometimes a hand held.

Sometimes a song sung.

Sometimes a picture shared.

Sometimes nothing.

Sometimes a meal shared. 

God in all things

reveal yourself to us. Amen.           (c) Mark Goodhand 24th November 2023