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At Last

At last I am ready to do some real work in my christian life. All my life so far has been a preparation for what I am able to do now. I am so glad to have discovered that I have a real ability to officiate at a funeral in a sensitive and caring way. This is wonderful. My training as a Local Preacher has ,of course, prepared me for the actual speaking I have to do, but God has also given me the ability to care for the relatives of the deceased before, during and after the funeral. I do not want to be one of those professionals who go through the motions and trot out a service with no personal involvment. This is a difficult time for the family and I want to be "there" for them and not just trot out platitudes. I am able to care but also able to keep that little bit of distance that means I am not so emotionally involved that I cry. That is for the family to do, I am there to express their feelings in words and to present the good news of Jesus in the Bible readings and prayers without breaking down.Mind you the good news of Jesus is so wonderful that it should move us to tears.

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Constructive criticism

First of all thanks to Fat Prophet for your interest. I see from your blog you are having trouble commenting. To get back to my assessed service. Criticism albeit constructive is harder for some to take than others. I felt a little crushed after my assessed service but then remembered I had recorded it on my dictaphone. I listened to it all through and although my assessors were quite right about me speaking a little quickly and rushing from item to item, I was actually very pleased with the content of my sermon and how I presented it. So I have decided to take heart. I highly recommend other trainees to record your services. You can hear your good points and your bad and there is no argument about it, it is all caught on the recorder.

Section A

I've posted off my work for section A. Now to get on with B. Onward and upward as they say. It does feel good to have completed A, progress is being made.I think my tutor is more nervous than I as to the outcome, but then I am his first student. We are learning from each other.But then that should always be the case. It's an adventure we go on together.The course seems to be suiting me alright but I feel there are a lot of potentially excellent local preachers out there who are put off by the study. Something should be devised to include these good people, we can ill afford to do without them, especially as the numbers of ministers is dropping. What did Wesley do? You don't need a degree, or even A levels to preach. You need a call, and a close relationship with God.

Life after death

When we lose a loved one it is natural to wonder how they are faring in the next life. I would warn against going to a medium to find out. At worst these people are charlatans after your money, the rest misguided or worse. We are told in the Bible not to try to reach the dead. The best person to call on in this situation is Jesus. That's right, go to the top. He is always available through prayer and doesn't make a charge. All he requires is that you look for him with all your heart. He has the answers to all of life's difficult questions.