I’ve decided that I’m not very fond of this time of the year! You know – the time when holidays are over, and you have to go back to work, and school is getting under way again, and all of life’s normal routines and schedules are “taking over” once more. I have to confess that I wasn’t that keen to come back to work after a few weeks of very pleasant holiday break! And the four members of my family who’ve had to start back at school this week (two pupils and two staff members) have felt a certain reluctance as well!

Of course, it’s not nearly so bad once you get under way. And of course, we’d eventually get bored with endless holidays – at least that’s what I’ve always been told! But it is really nice to have a period of relaxing, without all the usual pressures and timetables.

Getting back into the normal routines of church life can also be hard! Programmes and activities and meetings and responsibilities … staying in “holiday mode” for as long as possible can be very appealing.

I think there’s probably a balance here that all of us need to seek … On the one hand, it’s important to be willing and committed to use the gifts and resources God has given us for the work of His Kingdom. On the other, it’s important that we don’t settle for a church involvement that is a life-sapping, “institutional” thing, rather than a life-giving, Spirit-fuelled adventure. Let’s endeavour to make the latter our experience together as the KBC Community in 2009