Useful Methodising Words And Addresses

GLOSSARY:
Methodising - The word my Dad uses for "Becoming a Member of the Church"

Minister - The person in charge in a Methodist church. In the Methodist Church system, the churches are joined up in circuits of about ten or so churches within a similar locality. Within a Methodist Circuit, each church has its own Minister, who would lead the service approximately once every month. The other weeks, we are visited by other ministers from within the circuit or by Lay-Preachers, who are volunteer preachers who maybe take one or two sevices a month at one or other of the churches. If this is still confusing, I'll draw you a diagram. (P.S. This is Inez)

Responsibilities of Chruch Members - Within the Methodist Church, there are people called Stewards, who are responsible for general maintainance of the Church's wellbeing. They greet everyone as they arrive and read out the notices and say a prayer before the Minister begins the real service. Another important role of the Steward is to say a quiet prayer with the Minister before the service in the Vestry*, thanking God that they are here and asking for guidance.

Vestry - A quiet room behind the main Church hall, kept for prayers and genarl organisation (in our Church it is where the photocopier is kept, plus anything we don't want to keep on public display [like the chocolate biscuits, and extra Bibles])


USEFUL WEBSITES:

www.methodist.org - The national website for the Methodist Chruch in Britain
http://www.goffsoakmethodistchurch.org.uk/Welcome.html - The website for Goffs' Oak Methodist Church; one of the most awesome places in the world ever.
http://www.springharvest.org/ - The Spring Harvest/Jesus Camp Homepage. If you have even an inkling that religion is not totally useless, you should definitely go to this at some point; it's such an amazing experience.
http://stuffiponder.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/jesus-camp-spring-harvest-2012.html - my Jesus Camp Blog post, from April 2012.

Becoming a Member

OK, today I have made a life decision, which I have been pondering for an astonishing, err, three days. (OK, I've been thinking about it for a while, but it became an actual idea a few Fridays ago - I should not be given free time.) I spoke to Inez, our Minister* at Church, over the summer and  have decided to become a Member of the Methodist Church, in a process my Dad has named "Methodising". Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I am being Methodised*.

The Official Methodising Process (but not) goes something like this: (Information c/o The Methodist Church In Britain Website*)

• "The Service of Confirmation and Reception into Membership includes two questions asked as an Affirmation of Faith: 'Do you turn away from evil and all that denies God?' and 'Do you turn to God, trusting in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, and in the Holy Spirit as Helper and Guide?' The answer to both questions is 'By the grace of God I do.'"
• "After confirmation and the reception, the newly-confirmed are asked to make three promises: 'Will you commit yourself to the Christian life of worship and service, and be open to the renewing power of God?', 'Will you seek the strength of God's Spirit as you accept the cost of following Jesus Christ in your daily life?' and 'Will you witness, by word and deed, to the good news of God in Christ, and so bring glory to God?'. The response to each of these is 'With God's help I will.'"

After this, I have to shake the hand of the Minister (Inez) and am welcomed into the Church. OK, that's the difficult bit out of the way, but every time I've told people about this so far, I have been asked what the difference is between Conformation and Becoming a Member. So I looked it up, and the Methodist website explains it very well. Basically, Confirmation is exactly that; confirming your belief in God and publicly reaffirming the promises made for/by you at your Baptism/Christening. Becoming a Member makes you a member of a specific Church and allows you to take on certain responsibilities within that Church*. I am becoming a Member at Goff's Oak Methodist Church*, where I have been attending services and activities for a very long time.

*See next post, a glossary and "Useful Websites" index.

The Royal Family

OK, like many others throughout the country, I am currently pondering the Royal Family. In the news today (as I'm sure you've heard), there is a scandal about a French newspaper/magazine printing photos of Princess Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, topless whilst on a private holiday in Provence.

Seriously, why?

Last month everyone was all excited because Prince Harry got his kit off at a party in Vegas. (Kelly says he was especially excited about this.) The papparazzi had a total field day saying things like "it's a disgrace that royals can act like this in public!" He's now back out in Afghanistan, serving for his country. Something much more noble and respectable than most journalists have ever done. Get some perspective people! That party, which you so rudely exposed (if you'll pardon the pun) was probably the last one he attended before going out to risk his life for his country. He's just a normal guy; he does deserve some down-time now and again without the fear of ridicule.

And as for this apparent stalking of Kate and Will, it's ridiculous! You saw what happened to Diana when the press followed her around (as Prince William apparently said to The Sun); just get over it already! No other royal family on the PLANET has this much underserved bad press. Not even the Scandawegians. And whether or not Prince William and Princess Catherine are having a baby or not, is it really our problem? (P.S. Chances are that they're not) The only reason we should care if Kate gets pregnant is if the baby ends up ginger. And they should totally call it Emma if it's a girl. Just saying.

So yeah, just leave off the Royals, please. They've done nothing to deserve this except be born/marry into a particular family. That's no reason to follow them around.

Scout Group Family BBQ

Howdy folks! As a true Brit, I was hoping to open this blog post with a polite comment about the weather, but it's so changeable at the moment that whatever I write will be wrong. Plus, I'm not sure what I would write anyway, as it is both sunny and cold at the moment. Anyhoo. Today I am pondering the Group Family BBQ on Sunday; it should be fun, if the weather holds up (or at least, doesn't chuck down).

There are several reasons for me pondering this topic. The first is the number of people who appear to be going without their families. Whilst I understand that some people's families are embarrassing (mine more than most), that's no reason not to drag them along to a Scout event. And if you've got a big family, even better! There'll be more people to laugh at/with. It is a FAMILY event and thus you should at least ASK your family if they want to come! (If your brother is hot, you should make him come. Of course, I'm not thinking about anyone in particular... *cough* Pip *cough*)

Secondly, I'm hoping that Gabi and Markus, our German friends (from Germany, because they're just totally awesome like that) will still be in the country on Sunday (I can't remember when they go home) so as to part-take in our "fantastic" British Grillfest. Except that it will be nowhere near as good as a Grillfest, and we're probably more likely to call it a "sausagefest", which gives entirely the wrong idea.

Finally, the Bro Code. I'm not sure how many of my one reader actually know about the Bro Code, so I'll explain. TBC is based on a legen(wait for it)dary tome which is frequently cited in the American Sitcom "How I Met Your Mother" and is (by all accounts except his own) written by Barney Stintson, an infamous (fictional) playboy. I recently bought a copy of this book for myself and one for a friend for her Birthday, and we and the rest of the 'Splorers are planning to live by it for as long as we possibly can (we're all terrible at it, none of us can drive and we all get topless in front of each other sometimes, but only when camping). But we will be upholding this code at Sunday's festivities.

So, that's why I'm excited/pondering the Scout BBQ on Sunday. Not particularly interesting I know, but hey - you didn't have to read it :)

As always, you can follow me on Twitter at @EmPernilla for more random wafflings.
Much love xx

Fridgey Fridgey Fridge Fridge

Hallo zusammen, as they say in Germany (yes, it does mean "hello together", but try not to be so literal, it's just a general greeting) My ponderances today are on the madness and determined-ness of the human spirit. It really is a fantastic thing.

This morning, I heard an amazing interview on the radio (BBC Radio 2, Chris Evans' Breakfast Show - possibly the best show on the radio) with a man named Tony "The Fridge" Morrison who has set himself the challenge of running thirty half marathons - the equivalent of fifteen actual marathons- with a fridge strapped to his back! It is simply amazing; I could do anything with a fridge strapped to my back, except for lying on top of a fridge...

Anyway, it turns out he's trying to raise money for the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation, which work to diagnose and treat cancer in its early stages. The fridge he's carrying weighs about 6 stone and he's now on day 26 of 30, cumulating in the Great North Run (whenever that is, presumably soon). The best bit about this is that he's running the same course 30 times, instead of visiting 30 different organised half marathons in order to (I assume) raise the money quicker.

This has really shown me how amazing humnas are as a race (no pun intended); why would anyone feel the need to run 633 kilometres (393.3 miles) with a fridge strapped to their back? Because they want to raise awareness for a fantastic cause and help others. This is one of the most wonderful things I've ever heard of someone doing, as well as one of the most mad, so if you're interested in following Tony's excapades, please look him up on Twitter: @tony_the_fridge or check out his Just Giving account here if you want to donate some money.

This really is a great cause, so please check it out and add your support.
Much love xx

Passing The Time Between Sleeping

Hey, sorry it's been so long - yet again - since I last posted (not that anyone reads this anyway, unless I put a link on Facebook). Anyway, I've been all over the place recently, doing all sorts of stuff for various motives. What I thought would be an easy way to ease myself back into this would be to briefly outline everything I've been pondering (well, everything relevant) and maybe revisit them at a later time if I feel the need.

SUBJECT: University Entry
REASON FOR PONDERING (RFP): Education
EXPAND? Basically, by October 15th, I have to have decided the next apart of my future. Hazzah(!) Anyway, it's a lot of stress, because I have no idea what to think/do and, even though I know what I want to study, I'm worried I won't get into the place(s) I want to get into. And filling out the UCAS form continues to be a pain (ask my Dad...)

SUBJECT: School
RFP: Education
EXPAND? Once again, I have my nose thoughtlessly shoved up against the grindstone of the everyday system. Once again, I am having to wake up at 7.15 (yes, I know that lots of people have to wake up a lot earlier than I do, but I'm really not a morning person) and get into school, but this time I am adorned with more responsibilities and even more work, most I which I asked for (obviously not the work).

SUBJECT: EPQ
RFP: Education (again)
EXPAND: OK, for those who don't know, the EPQ (which stands for Extended Project Qualification) is exactly that. I have to do a long and interesting project on the removal of the prisoners' right to vote; it's actually really interesting (well, for me at least) and I'm really enjoying the work I'm doing, but I'm finding that I don't know what to research and I'm constantly worried that I've not done enough, even though I have done a lot of work for it. I also don't seem to have the time to get as much done as I want.

That in mind, I'm going to stop writing this now and actually get on with something useful, probably the EPQ. I'm sorry this turned into a rant about education, but that seems to be what's dominating my life at the moment. Much love xx