A play, a church service and the Pub quiz. I wonder which helped me the most?



A play, a church service and the Pub quiz. I wonder which helped me the most?


We took the opportunity to make a last minute booking to see Chekov’s Play the Seagull at the Oxford Playhouse. I had never seen it before. It was excellent.  A very young cast drawn from students from various Oxford colleges. While it has elements of humour you could not describe it as joyful. It explored as all good writing does the interplay of human relationships. Manipulation by a parent that undermines a son. Infatuation that leads to betrayal and hurt and so much more. Even the suicide in the story, which saw one cast member remain at the end wiping the blood off the screen, a reminder how I had scrubbed a floor when a church members husband had committed suicide at their home. Yes it was all about relationships. As an experience it was one which made me think deeply as all good writing and performances do, and I would love to see it again to get more out of it. That’s what happens when writing is so good and touches on the truth about human relationships. I found it very helpful and a really good use of time.


Sunday service was the very opposite of the experience of the theatre. I came away disappointed as to what it has all been about. We had two Baptisms and  Holy Communion but something of the profound was absent. I came away annoyed and questioning is this the place for me.? While we have come to be part of this community, and value many of the relationships we have formed, however I was just itching to get away. A change in leadership has altered everything and not for the better for me. Again it’s all about human relationships. I did not think it had been a good use of my time.


Sunday evening was the local  Pub Quiz. Our neighbours, who we go with very occasionally, asked were we free to make up numbers for the team. So though tired we went and had a great time. They gently asked about our grandson whose undergoing chemotherapy, in an unobtrusive way that revealed genuine care. It was just good to be in a normal environment, wracking our brains on quiz questions, and somehow being part of a community. It’s all about human relationships. It was a really good use of time.


Three very different events in a  space of a  few days. Only thing was, the one which should have been the most helpful wasn’t.!!!


God of community

you reveal your presence

in unexpected ways

and unexpected places

but of course

you made that clear

through your life

as Jesus of Nazareth.


It wasn’t the supposedly 

holy ones 

who revealed your kingdom

but the tax collector who cheated

and repented.

The woman who was looked down on

but washed your feet with her tears.

The alien soldier

who understood authority

and accepted Jesus.


Help us all

to understand 

what community truly is about

and live the life 

of the community that is God

Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen 

 

© Mark Goodhand 28th October 2026


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