Pull up a pew (or a fetching plastic chair) Religion Chat Thread No 6

[madhairday]

Helloooooooooo!

A shiny new thread :)

How are we all today?

DS seems to have the beginning of what may be chicken pox so is in bed feeling sorry for himself. My laptop is playing up - a picture fell on it yesterday and killed the b key - it takes ages to make it respond now grrrr - and cracked the screen, so not sure what to do :(

[niminypiminy]

(further ramblings) where you have a bishop (say, of London) who doesn't ordain women you would normally have a suffragan who does.

[Tuo]

Ah... right... But, well, it's not very clear (to me) but it looks as if our Bishop will have something like the status of a Suffragan anyway. He's a very lovely Bishop - he baptised and confirmed DD2 - so I have no objection to him at all... just curious about the politics of it. He's on the record as saying nice things about how important it is to all get on with one another and play nicely, which is a start.

[nickelbabe]

This is totally not about church, but i had to tell someone (and i couldn't put it on facebook because it might embarrass the person involved )
i asked a booklady if she had any gothic fiction, she said "yes, i've got some horace walpole" so I ordered them, received them today, and they're 19th/20th century novelists Hugh Walpoole
I'm not bothered, really, as I will enjoy them, but i still haven't got any 18th century gothic horror!

[nickelbabe]

ps Tuo - it all went over my head rather, too

[madhairday]

I'll ask dh about the suffragen bishop thing, it confuses me too, but as far as I am aware a 'flying bishop' does not agree with the ordination of women.

I need a general rant moment on behalf of dd. Why does she have to have so much going on health wise, it seems we are forever at the hospital for one thing and another, it's bad enough me with a chronic disease that she has to have some too :( She's had to go on a heavy duty toxic drug for her psoriasis that could shut her kidneys down, and at the moment has an ear infection that she's been referred to acute referrals tomorrow at the hospital for to have it cleared ('hoovered'!!) out, bless her, then there is all the orthodontic treatment, then the dyspraxia....poor love. DS is healthy as anything, despite his recent chickenpox.

I just feel like we've had a year of it with one thing and another, with my lungs going downhill even more (39% last time) since that pneumonia, work being tough and just stuff.

Sorry for the moan. There is much much worse for so many, I'm being pathetic I know.

[Dutchoma]

You are not being pathetic at all MHD, you just have an awful lot going on. You and your dd, which is probably worse than being poorly yourself.
I'm glad you feel you can rant here. I'm praying for you all.

[nickelbabe]

Oh mhd. You must feel like you're being put to trial
I can't say anything, but I'll carry on praying for mental strength for you :(

[Tuo]

(((MHD))) How is DD now? And how are you?

I've been feeling a bit guilty about my question above, as I've always been a bit grumpy about the way that the Church is portrayed in the media as if it's all about issues around gender and sexuality and nothing else... And then I came along and did the same thing. I do realise that the main issue is whether the person in question is/will be a good Bishop and not where he stands on any one single 'political' issue. It's just because there's so much uncertainty atm about everything in the diocese... but there are more important things to think about than one person's views on one specific issue.

[madhairday]

I'm OK thanks. We had a fabulous day out for ds' birthday at the Harry Potter studio tour which was amazing, so we're all happy :) DD doing fine, she had the procedure and now has drops for 14 days to hopefully clear it all up bless her. I was having a wobbly moment, things are OK really. we're starting this new service this afternoon so a bit nervous and hoping people come.

TUO, don't feel guilty, I know what you mean but it is important to know where people stand as well and square things up a bit. I find it all pretty difficult as an issue and get very cross with people over it, and i| know I just have to put it aside and see that God works through them despite their wrong views

[Tuo]

Thanks MHD and , yes, that's what I think too. There's just so much uncertainty around atm, but I imagine that, as we get closer to Easter (when all the changes come into effect), things will get clearer and people will understand better how things are going to work. It seems that, at the moment, everyone knows that a big change is coming, but no-one's sure precisely what will change and what won't and what form the changes will take... and that's bound to cause some collective anxiety.

I hope your new service goes well and that lots of people come. We had our labyrinth service last week and got about a dozen, including a couple who were just visiting and happened to wander in, and stayed.

[niminypiminy]

MHD hope the new service went well. Tuo, change that's hanging over you is so unsettling, isn't it? I'm sure there will be more of that kind of thing dioceses merging and so on because of the financial position of the CofE.

I'm having a really hard time at the moment with DS1. He's only just 10 but it feels like we have entered the teenage years already. In the last 24 hours alone we have been sworn at, had endless sulks and shouting and fights over everything, throwing stuff (in one case at me). And he's so charmless! I am trying to remember that the ASD kicks in when he's under stress, and that he's usually at his worst when things are changing (new school year, prospect of house move), and that he's frightened. But quite honestly sometimes I just want him to say 'ok I'll do it', or whatever, and not to have an endless, unwinnable battle/give up and walk away from an endless unwinnable battle. Sometimes I just want him to be polite, and not to swear, and not to domineer over DS2 and not to have to control everything that goes on in our family. And sometimes I want to like him more.

[Dutchoma]

Oh niminy, that last sentence is so telling, praying for you, your ds and all your family.

[niminypiminy]

Thank you. That means a lot.

[Tuo]

Oh niminy. Joining Oma in prayer for you all.

[niminypiminy]

And my sister has just texted to say that mum has had a fall, and possibly a broken hip. Waiting for her to text news from A&E. Now sad and scared.

[Dutchoma]

Oh my dear. It never rains... How are things this morning?

[niminypiminy]

Still not clear whether there is a fracture, need to wait for more x rays this morning. She's been admitted and I'm waiting to talk to my sisters about visiting and support.

[thegreenheartofmanyroundabouts]

The waiting for results is horrid. At least when you know what is going on you can plan for it. My MinL fell last year and we thought she had broken her hip but it was the bone in her leg right at the top. It slowed her down for sure but she was back home pretty quickly.

Hormones in teenager are a horrible thing. They do pass but in their early emergence where they come and go with incredible speed they are pretty wild. Prayers ascending.

The bishops thing gets me as well. In the dioceses I've been in we have had a bishop and 2 or 3 suffragens. The FiF parishes had one of the flying bishops in (PEVs) as all of the suffragens were unacceptable to them as they had ordained women. It sounds like MHD's bishop is a suffragen who has not been tainted by ordaining women and thus acceptable to the FiF lot. Or it might be that the lot that don't like women in MHD's area are more reform minded and thus don't worry about the sacramental side but maybe prefer a bishop who speaks their language. My bishop was not allowed to celebrate the eucharist down in the FiF deanery as he had consecrated me and my fellow women deacons and priests. That felt foul.

[niminypiminy]

Thank you. The worrying thing is that mum's bones have been eroded by years of high-dose steroids, so if there is a fracture then healing will be difficult and long. Also she has a hip replacement in both sides, I don't know that affects things. I keep turning over all the different outcomes in my mind (will she be in hospital for weeks, will she have to go into residential care, will she be able to live independently). And the other factor is that she suffers from chronic, very long term depression, and has no resources of hope at all. And is completely dependent on her daughters for support.

[madhairday]

Oh niminy. Praying for you and your whole family, especially your mum.

Totally understand about those unwinnable battles - I feel stretched to my very end with dd some days. It's just so very hard.

I'm not too well. another chest infection this time has really floored me so I can barely get on my feet. feel like utter crap :( Had lots in my diary this week too :( Maybe did too much over the weekend, with the HP tour then our new service, I did do a lot in that (it went v well btw, thanks) - all in all I got exhausted, but seem to have picked up a bug on top.

[nickelbabe]

I'm getting terribly confused with you lot on facebook - I can remember a couple of who-is-whos, but not all of you.
(I suppose that's good for anonoyminity )

[nickelbabe]

(I haven't ignored all the interim posts - I've been grappling with work and stuff, but I'll get round to reading them soon, I promise!)

[nickelbabe]

niminy so sorry to hear about your mum.
prayers that she recovers quickly (or as quickly as is expedient)
(and prayers for strength for you and your family)

[LollipopViolet]

I'm having a tough day today. We've had the results of granddad's post mortem, and we've got a date for the funeral. I picked the music we're going to play - I hope he'd approve :)

It just all seems real now, and I sort of don't want it to be. I'm also dithering about whether to go and see him before the funeral. He's being cremated so it will be my last chance to see "him" IYSWIM? I'd like to leave a letter and a photo, but don't know if I'd be allowed.

[nickelbabe]

oh, {{{{{hugs}}}}} Lollipop.

It's very normal to get this stage - the first few weeks are a proper whirl because there's so much to organise, and once it hits, it really does hit you like a sledgehammer.

Make sure you lean on your family as much as they lean on you (together you can hold each other up)