No post weekend blues here

After a busy last week and a crazy busy weekend at Soul Mates I'm off on my travels again. I know there was good reason to book it for the very next day, but as I started to pack at 10.30pm last night I began to think it wasn't the best idea. When I was still up at 1.30am I really did wonder what I had been thinking. And by 3.00am, when I went to bed, I vowed never to do it again.

At 6.00am I was up to put my jeans in the tumble dryer and throw the final things in the case. Three hours sleep was a new low in a week of little sleep. Actually, I got more sleep at Soul Mates than I did at home. And that's even including Steph's extra early alarm at 6.00am on Sunday.

But the weekend was brilliant! It's hard to explain why it was though. I had little sleep, I was constantly on the go and I practically never sat down. Nurse Carol was appalled at my lack of bathroom breaks on Saturday. Well, I either needed to go but didn't have time, didn't need to go or there was a queue of 14 kids for the one toilet in the church. And so from 7.10am until about 11.30pm I held it.

Despite that, there are three main reasons I loved it.
1. I worked with some fantastic new people. They really stepped up to what we were asking and did a good job.

2. The kids and leaders loved it. It's always easy to work for people who so visibly express they're glad they're there.

3. Johnny made his annual trip on Sunday. Three years old and already four Soul Mates under his belt. That's my boy!

But now I'm very much looking forward to the flight so I can sleep. And I'm already writing in my head a blog post about the hen party who were just ahead of me in the security line. We'll save that for the other side though.

Well, if you've been here long you'll know travelling brings out the best in my blog.

Methodist Newsletters of yesteryear (Part 3)

Well, I haven't heard of any of my friendships being terminated. So that either means no one knows they are here or no one minds. Or of course, maybe they're just eagerly awaiting Part 3. Well wait no more, here is it!

Of course, I liked seeing people I know, but seeing family members was best of all! Dad and David, never having worked for the Church, didn't really feature much. Mum and me on the other hand...

Spotted: Mum (in white) at NE Synod c.1986. I knew the instant I turned the page that was my mum!

Rumour has it she taught Dennis Taylor everything he needed to know about snooker.

Then I found me!

Here's me at Soul Mates Challenge. Oh, I'm not the one with yo-yo; I'm the one sitting down.

Alright, alright, here's a proper one with me.

We had problems clapping in time it seems.

I saw a few others, but they are far too recent (2007 on) to be interesting and I don't appear to be doing anything funny, such as, oh I don't know...hula hooping.

But then I struck Methodist Newsletter gold, GOLD I tell you. Right there on a front cover from 1986 was this classic.

I got told that I look like Mowgli from Jungle Book but with a broken nose from playing rugby. Trouble is, I really can't argue with that description. (Glad the awkward growing-out-the-bowl-haircut stage was documented for all of Methodism to see.)

I remember this photo being taken. It was the only time I wore that dress (this photo makes it look good which is one small mercy). Our minister came and took the photo for us. And it took ages, like an actual age and this was the best photo he took?! Like, really there wasn't one where I looked, I don't know, normal?

It was Mark (McE) who told me I look like Mowgli. But I think that was only because I had shown him this one of his family.

This makes me feel better.

Best of all was that these two photos were side by side in the bound Newsletters. It was like an early Awkward Family Photos.com.

Methodist Newsletters of yesteryear (Part 2)

Funny adverts only took my so far in my amusement writing my dissertation. The Newsletters from the Czechoslovakian farmer years onwards were full of photos. I found it practically impossible to turn a page without looking to see who was in them. More often than not I found someone I knew!

If you worked for the Church, have been on Team on Mission or received into full membership chances are there's a photo of you in there. I laughed at it and then took a picture of it (again, just my phone, no flash, please don't throw me out of the Historical Society).

In the interests of...well humour I thought I'd share some of my finds. However, this is a bit of a risky post to make. First of all if you're not that involved in the Methodist Church you might not have a clue and be bored by it all. Or if you are, you might enjoy it or more worryingly, never speak to me again.

Let's just remember that Methodists are the friends of all and I post these photos full of Christian love.

Quite the head of hair you... all have there! And nice waistcoat! And boys, what ties!

Again, all the hair!

On the plus side, they could have used this photo when your engagement was announced.

I am stunned that I had to find out from the Newsletter of your hula hooping skills. 

>insert jokes here<

I don't even know what to say.

A haircut we're more familiar with! Kind of.

Proving that he's always been a hit with the laydeez.

Who's hiding under her fringe?!

YET with two young ministers to be.

Here's one of them again!

I love the stripy trousers!

The blonde years?

These are definitely the curtain years.

Oh young love!

Just young.

You're right that is Jenny Bristow encased by Team Barclay.

I feel like I'm back at BHS where these two ruled the school. Or so they they liked to think.

Mamma S!

I don't know, I think this photo was staged.

I doubt those of at the YET & TOM celebration night will ever forget this moment. It's good the Newsletter had their photographer there.

The boys don't look that different, but I included it because it's got Sasha the Wonderdog in it!

Check out the side burns!

This is the face that goes along with his infamous prayer voice. It's very serious.

I think it's grossly unfair to have a membership photo where you actually look good!

Knock new membership gold!

Friends of all, remember?!

[Don't worry, you'll definitely enjoy Part 3. I guarantee it.]

Methodist Newsletters of yesteryear (Part 1)

I don't know what you know about what I was writing my dissertation on so I'll tell you. I had two options. One involved looking at Irish migration to North Carolina. But that might have been hard to do and I might have had to travel to NC, which I would not have minded one bit of course, but it would have dented the old finances somewhat. My other option was to do something on the Methodist Church and the political situation in Northern Ireland. A trip to the Methodist Historical Society is way cheaper than flights to NC. Although this depends on where you're coming from, I suppose.

Despite an earnest start, it took a while for me to get into it if I'm honest. Like I most students I left it to the last few months to really kick into gear. I had two big turning points and one was talking to someone very smart about Methodist history and the other was going to the Methodist Historical Society.

I ended up going there a lot. Well, when you're in the business of researching Methodist History then they're the ticket. In fact, I ended up joining. In fact, and I say this proudly, I have it on good authority I am their youngest member! Stephen McC (Dublin) has threatened to join and he would beat me by a few years, but until I see him with a membership card then I shan't believe him.

Technically speaking you don't get a membership card. You get a receipt. I might get mine laminated instead.

And you also get lots of reading material too!

I know the Methodist Historical Society gets a few rolls of the eyes and some people don't think it's...well they don't seem to like it. I think it's the lock of Wesley's hair that does it. It's hard to get excited about about a lock of hair but easy to mock those that do. But I will come out and say I am a fan of the Methodist Historical Society.

[I may not have been allowed to take these photos, so incase I get ejected from it, let's not tell them ok? In my defence, it was just my phone, no flash.]

Well, I could probably do without the busts of Wesley if I'm honest.

And these things.

And I'm not so much about the mug collection.

But the stories? Tell me the stories about the Church, tell me about the people, tell me about how we got to here and then I'm in! Furthermore, I think the way we have treated our history, heritage and artefacts is nothing short of shameful.

So if it's the stories you want to read, then there's still no place better than the Methodist Historical Society. They have the full set of Methodist periodicals - the Christian Advocate, the Irish Christian Advocate, the Methodist Newsletter. They have the Minutes of Conference, they have the Blue Book, they have it all!

I spent full days reading the newspapers and Newsletters. More from the 1960s onwards, but some of the earlier stuff too. Fascinating stuff! Like did you know they used to have Scouts on duty during Conference? Nope, me neither. The number of times I got totally sidetracked reading an article which was completely unrelated to my research...well that's why it took me so long to get started.

I found myself reading all sorts of stuff and I became familiar with the names of people. So much so that when I was a few years on and got to someone's obituary that I had once been President or something, I was genuinely shocked and sad. It was typical for my brain to say 'Aww, no! Did he die?!' Yeah, Tina, of course he did, he was born in 1885.

Of course, I did get a good laugh at some of the headlines too, like 'New kitchen in Trillick' (I promise, a genuine headline). I learned very quickly that if you're going to have a Methodist based cliche in your article, it needs to involve one of three things. I'll count them down, top ten stylee:

In at number three, hearts being strangely warmed. We like to refer to warm hearts. Allows us prove that we've Methodist blood pumping round our system.

A climber at two, 'And are we yet alive?' This is a big hit with Conference members, which is odd, because for me it could be renamed 'And have we yet found a tune?' but whatevs. No conference report is complete without emphatically answering this question. (The answer is yes, by the way. Unless it's a deep, soul-searching article in which case you ask some hard questions and restate the question at the end to really make the reader think.)

But at the top, it's a non-mover, 'Friends of all'. There is no limit to the situations we can use this phrase. Mission at home, mission overseas, ecumenical relations...if it involves people and the slightest modicum of tension us friendly Methodists are there! Heck, even I used it in the title of my dissertation. You've got to, it's the law.

The best things though about reading all these were the adverts and the photos. In the Christian Advocate and the Irish Christian Advocate it was the adverts. I took a sneaky selection for you, all from 1893.

I vote for more adverts of umbrella emporiums in the Methodist Newsletter. In fact I vote for more umbrella emporiums all round.

Yes, that is 'marvel' and 'tea pot' in the same sentence. Ah 1893 technology!

'Stories from the Indian Wigwams and Northern Camp Fires'. Book reviews sure were different.

You know, up to this point I had never given my liver's performance any consideration whatsoever. How would one know if it is 'sluggish'?

'Indigestion upsets the entire system, makes you cross, miserable, and you are sometimes unable to speak a kind word to anyone.' Isn't that just being cranky? And why would some Brandreth's sugar coated pills help this situation?

Conference was a big deal back in 1893. Although much like today, you had to prepare for it.

By donning your top hat and special cloths clerical wear, 'warranted not to glaze with wear'! Ah, if only they could see us now!

The Irish Christian Advocate offices were destroyed by a bomb in 1972 and it never recovered. Which is sad, because the detail its weekly publication covered is immense. But fear not! The Newsletter was born!

4p? Bar-gain! Success was on its way - 'occasional' soon became monthly.

Well fancy that! Around and About used to be at the back of the Newsletter.

There weren't any photos in this style of Methodist Newsletter and the only colour was at the name. Things changed with the Czechoslovakian Farmers' Gazette format (you know, big sheets, crap print, black and white dotty photos) which ran from, like, 1982 to 1996. And I began to get more distracted by the things I was seeing.

Like this. There was actually a 'Caravan Accommodation Co-Ordinator' at Castlewellan? Seriously? Like, I know it was way smaller, but that job has got nightmare written all over it.

And this I reckon is the first ever Bobby Morrison advert in 1988. He love us long time! No sister staple ad for the Florida apartment in this edition though. Johnny-Come-Lately.

But like I said, there were photos too. And they're what really distracted me...

Alternative acknowledgements

This week I found I passed my dissertation! Hurrah and huzzah for me! I have some stuff for on here relating to it and now that I know it's in the bag and because this weekend is Methodist Conference it seems like a good time to refer to it. 


So to kick off with I'd like to offer my alternative acknowledgements to those that helped me but didn't get a mention in the formal acknowledgements at the start of my dissertation. So...


Thanks to my supervisor from constantly telling me to 'bring the argument forward'. I found that really helpful and directive. Also for teaching me the meaning of the word 'infelicities' by picking out examples from my drafts. Every day really was a school day with you!

To the wee small hours of 12.00am to 4.00am. Quite simply, if you did not exist this dissertation would not exist.

Equally to Cadbury's Creme Eggs and Coca-Cola. You sponsored this work. If only you had paid for my tuition as well.

And finally, to ________________ at ___________________.  Thanks for lying to my face and indirectly prompting me to do this course. I think you're a bozo.

This is dedicated to all the people who told me they 'couldn't go back to university again'. You only think you can't.

Stuff Christians Like

I've told you about this blog before. I love it.

And now I have a guest post from Jon Acuff himself! That's like having Donald Millar write on your Facebook. Kind of.

Through this post-a-thon, Jon is looking at how you can spot a Christian on American Idol with:

The "Is that contestant on American Idol a Christian? Scorecard"

91. Their name is Biblical but not like John or Mark, we're talking about Asher or Gideon = +4 points.

To add up your score with over a 130 other ideas on this scorecard, visit stuffchristianslike.net

(Yes there might be a typo, just proves it's authentic. Plus who doesn't make typos? Well, yes, God. Which further goes to prove that God is God and Jon Acuff is Jon Acuff.)

Did you know there's a book as well as a blog? You can get it on Amazon and the Book Depositary as well as other good bookshops.

My copy arrived today, thus making today officially Stuff Christians Like Day!

Church signs

Of course when I was in South Carolina, I just had to drive past my favourite church sign, ready to see what witty slogan they had come up with now. I had my camera at the ready so I could show you too.

Hmm. Seems there is no funny to be made about Haiti.

But every resourceful and not wanting to let you down, I turned to Mellissa's photos from her birthday photo scavenger hunt, just a few weeks before I was there.

I wonder can you guess what they were supposed to do in the hunt?