not so silent

Some of you may have detected I have been a bit church E, not overly religious, but over my lifetime have seemed to be drawn towards church. I do not know why this pull I have not always liked it, its not always liked me, I have often disagreed with it, it often disagrees with me. But still the pull is there. Sometimes I have been on the edge of church, other times I have been at the centre of its activities. I remember my first sabbatical (thank you Bishop David and Mark) I was driving away from Pype Hayes the weight of the responsibility falling away was an eminence freedom, thinking for the next three months I am not responsible for this church, on reflection it was like being saved again. Saved from the church. But I went back pulled back. This Sunday morning was first church service after the South Africa lockdown began, we are down to level 2 now. We met in our friend’s garden. Bring your own chairs, coffee, flask, mask, bible this is church paired down.  But, and here is my ...

When we started to build our Farm Workshop, I was not to sure what we would be repairing inside it , we have ride on mowers, slashers, tractors, brush cutter broken and damaged furniture. But today Erin delivered to me our first wheelchair, it belongs to a 6-year-old young lady called Confidence. Her mom Daphne is part of the Msholozi nursing team who care for those on the edge of society, not able to afford doctors or not welcome at the hospitals. There are no tar roads on Msholozi, and the chair takes a battering on the sand roads.  So my apprentice and I get stuck in pulling, pushing, banging, straightening and of course adjusting the jiggle pin on the up shaft allowing the rear shaft to align with the pishcon drive. (yes some of that is made up) So when you have on the wall of your workshop ‘love your neighbour’, and the neighbour needs her wheelchair fixing it’s a good opportunity to love you neighbour and get fixing.       .