Advent 4

Today was my first Sunday actually resident in Bermondsey, so it was a much shorter journey to church than in the two previous weeks.

There were many good things about today but the highlight for me was the young man, in church for the first time, who said to me after the service: 'I really want to find out about Christ.'

We've really enjoying being in situ  - you realise how very odd it is being a vicar and not being resident in your parish - starting to get the feel of place, visiting the local shops (is it just me or does Bermondsey have an unusually high number of barber shops/hairdressers?), walking along by the river,  and, yesterday, going to the panto (highly recommended - Jack and the Beanstalk with a very fearsome ogre) at the Theatre Royal Stratford, a theatre I last visited when I was eighteen (Altogether now: Oh, no you didn't).

Last year my favourite piece of panto dialogue went like this:

FIRST MAN: 'At times like this I wish I had listened to my dad'
SECOND MAN: 'Why? What did used to say?'
FIRST MAN: 'I don't know. I never listened to him.'

Back to today (Adrian preaching, me leading), before church I climbed up into the belfry with churchwarden Pat to meet the bellringers who also ring at St Mary's, Rotherhithe (before us) and Southwark Cathedral (after us). It was good to meet them. I have really enjoyed their ringing each Sunday - it kind of gets the message out all over the parish that the church is here and people are meeting for worship.

For non-local readers here is a sample of their work: