I name this ship …

We did a house opening and dedication on Saturday. Blogstead Episcopi was looking its best. The combine harvester had just dealt with the barley field out the back. We invited some of the brave people who have invited not just us but, in many cases, entire congregations to lunch when we have visited. That tells you something both about the size of our congregations and the size of their houses. +Bruce, in the first major act of his retirement, did the dedication – may its effect permeate sideways through Marybelle’s house to his own at No 2.

And so life moves on. There are the big issues of sexuality, secularisation and sectarianism – to name but a few. But life seems to come down, as always, to the problems of dealing with the house, dealing with the office, sorting out the finances, laying to rest difficult history. And the kingdom, I suspect, is to be found somewhere in between the two.