My new role in Church on Sundays and my love affair with Amazon.co.uk

Cosy evenings round at the Vicar's house, Pheasants and Elderflower cordial.

John asked me if I would like to attend a Lent Course in the 6 weeks running up to Easter Sunday. I had no idea what this involved but happily agreed.

It turns out that the Lent Course is a specially structured course studying the Easter message and relevant parts of the Bible relating to this.

The first night I went armed with my Bible (a gift from my friends at Breedon church on the day of my Confirmation), a pot of Daffodils I'd planted as a gift, a notebook and pen and some hesitancy (hesitancy only because I'm a complete beginner as far as knowing the Bible is concerned)

The vicar's wife offered me a glass of Elderflower cordial she'd made herself, YUM!! (I'm making my own as soon as the bush outside my garden is ready) and I was amazed to see a male Pheasant literally hanging off their bird feeder, right outside the kitchen window - what a treat!

The next 5 weeks saw me getting more bold with my interpretations of what parts of the Bible meant, offering up my own suggestions and ideas and by the end of the course, I'd not only gained more confidence in my understanding of the Bible, but I'd also gained some very lovely new friends.

I seem to have the role of the Intercessions reader in church on Sundays now. Briefly Intercessions are a set of prayers you write yourself but which are on behalf of the whole congregation, and are the congregations prayers to God for themselves, the world, the church and those who are suffering. Writing them is no easy task, and I was lucky to find an Intercessions Handbook on Amazon which helps me to write imaginative and interesting Intercessions.

My Amazon account is well and truly battered, let me tell you this.

I now own all sorts of books to help me - Lectionaries, handbooks, prayer books - you name it. Amazon.co.uk must love me!

So now I'm getting better at writing Intercessions and all the little old ladies in church compliment me on them after the service has ended and I'm sucking down a much needed coffee, what a lovely feeling it is!