Thank God for Calendars!
So, a meeting that I forgot to add to my list the other day (because I'd forgotten the group was meeting again) was the St L's Ministry Team. Which is this evening, after work.
When I saw it sitting there in my calendar looking all smug, my heart sank. Two meetings yesterday, one on Sunday and one next Monday - I don't WANT another meeting tonight. My brain wailed and gnashed its figurative teeth and tried to find a reason not to go. BUT, this group is actually the support group that D was asking about. This is my opportunity to let it all go and have a good moan. Only I won't. Not because I'm suddenly a martyr or some kind of masochist who enjoys being put upon, but because realising what the meeting was and who will be there gave me some much needed perspective.
All the meetings I'm attending involve groups of people. I'm not running St B's on my own, I have a whole support network spread across those 5 or 6 groups. And I really am a volunteer. I could choose not to go to any or all of them - unlike the Church Wardens who have a legal responsibility.
But there is a member of the Team who really is managing stuff on their own. They have all the stuff to do that we have at St B's - but they have to carry it all. They need today's meeting far more than I do and it's part of my commitment to them to be there for them.
The other thing I realised last night is that I actually find these meetings energising. We're talking about things that matter, we're sharing the load, and we're bouncing ideas off each other. We are a community and we manage ourselves accordingly. What, perhaps, we don't do as well as we might, is feed into the wider community. We're not a clique but there is a sense that there are people at the core and people at the edges.
Having said that, Worship Planning is a way in for literally ANYONE. It's an open meeting for people to come along and have a say in the shape of the services for the next three months or so. That's powerful and democratic and we should celebrate that more than we do.
OK, really have some work to do. Bye for now, LJ!
When I saw it sitting there in my calendar looking all smug, my heart sank. Two meetings yesterday, one on Sunday and one next Monday - I don't WANT another meeting tonight. My brain wailed and gnashed its figurative teeth and tried to find a reason not to go. BUT, this group is actually the support group that D was asking about. This is my opportunity to let it all go and have a good moan. Only I won't. Not because I'm suddenly a martyr or some kind of masochist who enjoys being put upon, but because realising what the meeting was and who will be there gave me some much needed perspective.
All the meetings I'm attending involve groups of people. I'm not running St B's on my own, I have a whole support network spread across those 5 or 6 groups. And I really am a volunteer. I could choose not to go to any or all of them - unlike the Church Wardens who have a legal responsibility.
But there is a member of the Team who really is managing stuff on their own. They have all the stuff to do that we have at St B's - but they have to carry it all. They need today's meeting far more than I do and it's part of my commitment to them to be there for them.
The other thing I realised last night is that I actually find these meetings energising. We're talking about things that matter, we're sharing the load, and we're bouncing ideas off each other. We are a community and we manage ourselves accordingly. What, perhaps, we don't do as well as we might, is feed into the wider community. We're not a clique but there is a sense that there are people at the core and people at the edges.
Having said that, Worship Planning is a way in for literally ANYONE. It's an open meeting for people to come along and have a say in the shape of the services for the next three months or so. That's powerful and democratic and we should celebrate that more than we do.
OK, really have some work to do. Bye for now, LJ!