i. . . in a day without falling off? This was a question posed to me by someone today.
They said I was like Tarzan swinging from tree to tree - they didn't mention whether they thought I was doing the yelling bit, but I hope that in their minds eye I was! "Don't you ever stand still?" they asked. I merely smiled and reminded them that drinking tea whilst on the move was hazardous and swung on.
Today went like this: admin, pastoral, meeting, pastoral, pastoral, ring hospital to check on member, book home visits, lunch @ Church 'drop in', funeral visit, FDs, pastoral, Kid's Club, Communion service (baptism of Christ), DCC meeting. Loads of ropes and in between them plenty of telephone calls and texts. I've never thought of checking before but there were 26 mobile calls and 32 texts. I didn't manage to be behind the desk much today so only managed four calls on the landline - non 'spam' emails numbered 38.
I'm trying to cut down on electronic communication and will, where possible, try to engage by telephone or in person. It isn't any less efficient and the opportunity for people misreading the content or the tone is remember, they merely have to cope with me; which is probably equally confusing :-).
I realised today how much the ABEND (abnormal end) that is death - that system crash where life encounters a zero and comes to an end - affects people. There are the people who examine the code and seek answers, there are those who tear their hair out and get in a bit of a tizzy, others still who stop to reflect on the event and the impact it brings, and those who merely put the hat and coat on and withdraw from it all.
Funerals firmly in the four digit realm I always expect to encounter the unexpected and am rarely disappointed. From just me and the deceased in the crem, the 'walk through', the deceased waiting outside in the hearse whilst we do the service and the secret cremation before the funeral - and more besides - the options are many and the realities expand to keep you guessing.
But funerals are the bested bit of my life - they bring pastoral opportunities and the chance to debug and restore the lives of the bereaved such that they continue stronger and calmer through, and from, it all.
The pastoral, especially the home Communion, is another joy - Church and belonging made real for me and the person/s before me. Add to this the chance to visit in hospital and take the light of Christ into that place and the cake just bets bigger and tastier. The opportunity to be one who 'comes alongside' (parakletos - it's what the Holy Spirit does with us) is the opportunity to bless ourselves, and I hope the people we are engaging with, it's not work at all is it this ministry life - just time spent generally partying.
So Lord, for all the engagements today, may they have shown your love and compassion. For those who I know with needs, may they have been met and situations salved just a little more. Thank you for the lessons I learned yesterday - may I put them into practice today.
I thank you for Jesus, the Christ, the word made flesh and as we celebrate His baptism I thank you for mine - keep me faithful to my baptismal calling - keep me rejoicing in the salvation I have been given through the life, death, and resurrection of this God made man.
And for the person who asked me to do this: comm: 49 and hrs:15 (just realised it's a day off tomorrow - so should stay static).
Showing posts with label texts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label texts. Show all posts
Tuesday, 10 January 2017
Monday, 13 October 2014
When Technology just doesn't help
I have spend the first part of the day so far (150 minutes) telephoning people and having conversations and arranging stuff and it's been sublime (thus far). I've heard happy things, sad things and generally found out so much more than I would have done had I merely engaged in the usual run of the mill email exchanges that have become the norm' in the wonderful world of ministry.
In addition to this I found myself clearing some seventy emails - most of which required a 'Thank You' or 'noted' or 'in the diary' comment to render them 'dealt with'.
When in conversation with people, especially clergy and others whose life is full of engaging with people, the day-to-day reality is that we are finding ourselves shuffling more and more virtual paper and engaging less and less with people in real 'flesh and blood' settings - but this was not always the case.
Talking to a man who was ordained around the same time I was born I heard of the days when the clergy would get on their bike and be out there visiting the people in their patch. There were few telephone calls to be handled and what needed to be done was done with the people when and where the need was (and they had a good idea where and when the needs might arise because they knew their people!). He spoke lovingly of the days when every day was a 'drop-in' and a day to drop-in on those he served and paperwork was a small part of the job and never in the way of being the Vicar the people needed. Rose-tinted glasses? Perhaps - but a more idyllic picture than my mountain of emails, texts and voicemails :-)
The problem is that we appear to be living our lives remotely. People send me an email and assume because they've sent it the job is done and that's whatever it was about is sorted. I had email problems and found that much of what I sent vanished (or worse still, turned up some weeks later - which caused chaos) and so I began to contact people on the really important stuff and it has paid dividends in terms of relationships and local knowledge - and considering I'd rather have a meeting than a message I wonder how much truer this might be for some of my friends and colleagues?
So here's a challenge for me (and you can join in if you like):
1. I'm going to try and telephone five people every day to touch base and see how they are,
2. I'm going to engage with people on a face-to-face basis wherever the need is found, not by mail, message, text or other means that stop me being relational, wherever I can.
3. I'm going to try and cut down the 100+ work emails by better communications practices, and
4. I'm going to engage with people over diary items rather than just click the mail and assume that the link will create (and pass the thing on to all my devices) the event because there's a free slot.
I've had eleven calls out and five in thus far today and it's wonderful.
Tea drunk and ten-minutes on soapbox away,
Happy Monday
In addition to this I found myself clearing some seventy emails - most of which required a 'Thank You' or 'noted' or 'in the diary' comment to render them 'dealt with'.
When in conversation with people, especially clergy and others whose life is full of engaging with people, the day-to-day reality is that we are finding ourselves shuffling more and more virtual paper and engaging less and less with people in real 'flesh and blood' settings - but this was not always the case.
Talking to a man who was ordained around the same time I was born I heard of the days when the clergy would get on their bike and be out there visiting the people in their patch. There were few telephone calls to be handled and what needed to be done was done with the people when and where the need was (and they had a good idea where and when the needs might arise because they knew their people!). He spoke lovingly of the days when every day was a 'drop-in' and a day to drop-in on those he served and paperwork was a small part of the job and never in the way of being the Vicar the people needed. Rose-tinted glasses? Perhaps - but a more idyllic picture than my mountain of emails, texts and voicemails :-)
The problem is that we appear to be living our lives remotely. People send me an email and assume because they've sent it the job is done and that's whatever it was about is sorted. I had email problems and found that much of what I sent vanished (or worse still, turned up some weeks later - which caused chaos) and so I began to contact people on the really important stuff and it has paid dividends in terms of relationships and local knowledge - and considering I'd rather have a meeting than a message I wonder how much truer this might be for some of my friends and colleagues?
So here's a challenge for me (and you can join in if you like):
1. I'm going to try and telephone five people every day to touch base and see how they are,
2. I'm going to engage with people on a face-to-face basis wherever the need is found, not by mail, message, text or other means that stop me being relational, wherever I can.
3. I'm going to try and cut down the 100+ work emails by better communications practices, and
4. I'm going to engage with people over diary items rather than just click the mail and assume that the link will create (and pass the thing on to all my devices) the event because there's a free slot.
I've had eleven calls out and five in thus far today and it's wonderful.
Tea drunk and ten-minutes on soapbox away,
Happy Monday
Wednesday, 17 July 2013
Say one for yourself!
One of the brilliant things that technology brings is the potential to make things accessible and by virtue of this accessibility make them commonplace and one of the best areas this can be seen is in that of prayer.
Prayer is perhaps one of the most over-claimed and under-done areas in the lives of so many of those I encounter. I'm assuming that's a statement that will confuse and perhaps inflame some reading this, but it is the truth. Let me explain (yeah, you'd better I hear you mutter) ...
Whenever I talk about prayer, those in the conversation will nod sagely and agree that it's the oxygen of Christian living and that it is not only essential, but is a given that they do it. 'Of course we're praying,' they say. So I ask what they're praying at the moment and whether they pray alone or with partners or in triplets, prayer groups or something else. It's about now they shuffle a little more and mumble a bit and then tell me that they 'did it' , errrr, 'Last week (I think) ... ' Then it all goes quiet.
Now I don't ask to put people on the spot or to make them feel got at. I don't do it to tell them to pray, because I don't have to, they already know that conversation with the other party in a relationship is one of the ways of keeping thy relationship real and engaged. We all now we 'should' pray but we also have lives, families, things to do, televisions and so many other distractions that crowd in to stop us praying - and this is not an accident. I happen to believe that stuff getting in the way is part of a planned strategy that seeks to get in the way.
So how do we overcome this? Well part of the answer is immediacy and accessibility and this, coupled with desire, is ninety percent of the battle. The good news is that the immediacy and accessibility come in the shape of texts and Web presence, such as blogs).
One of the reasons this blog carries a shortened form of the daily office morning prayer is to make it available for those who find time during the day when they can read their Bibles and engage in prayer. Another thing that we have tried in our church is sending out by text the daily readings and the name (or names) of those who we are praying for that day. This helps those who want to pray have the passages directly or in a form they can use with their own Bibles as part of their daily devotional life.
There are so many ways we can use technology to help those who want to pray and study the word do so, and I've just come across another great system which uses QR codes (more on that over en next couple of days) and yet another which sends emails out every morning to subscribers.
I'd welcome any ways you have come across that work because at the end of the day, the more methods open to us, the more effective we can be in finding the way that works for someone and the reality is that I really do believe the desire is there in so many of us, it's just the opportunity and availability.
And prayer, although one of the main keys to revival and effective discipleship, is even more important as the primary means of communication in the relation that we have between us and God, for without it we are left with religion - and who wants rules you can't keep and confirmation that you need saving every day?
Prayer is perhaps one of the most over-claimed and under-done areas in the lives of so many of those I encounter. I'm assuming that's a statement that will confuse and perhaps inflame some reading this, but it is the truth. Let me explain (yeah, you'd better I hear you mutter) ...
Whenever I talk about prayer, those in the conversation will nod sagely and agree that it's the oxygen of Christian living and that it is not only essential, but is a given that they do it. 'Of course we're praying,' they say. So I ask what they're praying at the moment and whether they pray alone or with partners or in triplets, prayer groups or something else. It's about now they shuffle a little more and mumble a bit and then tell me that they 'did it' , errrr, 'Last week (I think) ... ' Then it all goes quiet.
Now I don't ask to put people on the spot or to make them feel got at. I don't do it to tell them to pray, because I don't have to, they already know that conversation with the other party in a relationship is one of the ways of keeping thy relationship real and engaged. We all now we 'should' pray but we also have lives, families, things to do, televisions and so many other distractions that crowd in to stop us praying - and this is not an accident. I happen to believe that stuff getting in the way is part of a planned strategy that seeks to get in the way.
So how do we overcome this? Well part of the answer is immediacy and accessibility and this, coupled with desire, is ninety percent of the battle. The good news is that the immediacy and accessibility come in the shape of texts and Web presence, such as blogs).
One of the reasons this blog carries a shortened form of the daily office morning prayer is to make it available for those who find time during the day when they can read their Bibles and engage in prayer. Another thing that we have tried in our church is sending out by text the daily readings and the name (or names) of those who we are praying for that day. This helps those who want to pray have the passages directly or in a form they can use with their own Bibles as part of their daily devotional life.
There are so many ways we can use technology to help those who want to pray and study the word do so, and I've just come across another great system which uses QR codes (more on that over en next couple of days) and yet another which sends emails out every morning to subscribers.
I'd welcome any ways you have come across that work because at the end of the day, the more methods open to us, the more effective we can be in finding the way that works for someone and the reality is that I really do believe the desire is there in so many of us, it's just the opportunity and availability.
And prayer, although one of the main keys to revival and effective discipleship, is even more important as the primary means of communication in the relation that we have between us and God, for without it we are left with religion - and who wants rules you can't keep and confirmation that you need saving every day?
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