a grand day out

Well, I don't want to disappoint the staff at Baptist House, so I'm posting a blog after spending a delightful day with most of them (that's most of them came on the outing, not most of them are delightful - of course, the latter, applies to everyone!) - on their annual day out: this year in Bristol.
I was originally contacted to suggest a Church they might visit, near the river where they'd booked a trip, so we went to Totterdown. Thanks to Laurie & Karen who arranged some splendid hospitality - that's what they said too. Laurie told the story of recent years & how Totterdown has grown. A big feature int heir story is their engagement with the Community of Perrett's Park http://www.thecommunityofperrettspark.btik.com - a good story.
We then went on the bristol Packet Boat Trip with lunch on board. Now, anyone visiting Bristol - try it out as it's really worthwhile and I hope the staff from Didcot enjoyed the day and those, who shall remain nameless, will now believe Bristol has a lot to offer.




So, why should the staff of BUGB have a day out I hear you cry! Well, I guess I've become more aware than most people that these folk are basically running a great deal with too few people and too meagre resources. Many Anglican dioceses have more staff & yet we resource 13 Associations & 2000 Churches with around 50 people. this includes pensions, finance, home mission, mission, ministry, trust work, faith & unity, communications, etc. So, if anyone thinks we're pushing too much money into admin think again - they deserve it.
Now, same theme, why are we paying a Regional Minister to spend the day entertaining this group, muscling in on their very nice lunch on the river and generally having a good time? Hey, I just ask the questions, don't expect the answers!

This was the nearest I could find to Wallace & Gromit - which one's which & what are they saying? Could be a nice little earner for HM! Would you trust a Ministry Advisor taking life so joyfully, or a Finance Head wearing a hat like that?


The winning feature of the 'are they really human test' was the inclusion of the announcement for who won the Fantasy Football League. Now, having apologised I don't pester the various departments because we don't meet at Baptist House now as much as was once the case, I have the perfect excuse! This is extra-curricula I heartily approve of! Oh, full marks to Chris for spotting the Arnolfini where the pre-election debate took place. Anyway,here's Rob with his certificate -

The only disappointment (apart from no spraying of champagne at this point)  was when he said 'can I now talk about something serious' I thought he was going to share his fantasy football team insights, but actually wanted to talk about a loan to one of our churches! Anyway, thanks guys for a grand day out. Remember, there's lots more to see in Bristol next year.