A Day to Remember

This morning another church in Yarm marked a milestone but this one isn't quite such a happy one - the Anglican congregation celebrated the retirement of Simon, rector since November 2001. The parish has seen some changes in that time and no doubt will see more in the future. Meanwhile it was an occasion for sharing fellowship and wishing Simon and family well for the future, with a suitably decorated cake of course. As always at that church, there were plenty of willing hands to provide food, set out tables and make it so easy for others to share in the community. If the success of the church is in any way measured by the welcome for strangers in their midst, that church is successful!
This afternoon saw a different kind of community spirit - people drawn together in their love of football and their hopes for the England team. Sadly, those hopes were dashed. I'm no expert but even I could see that England were not playing like a winning team. OK, they were robbed of a goal by the referee not seeing it go in, but .... Enough said. Suffice to say that football is rapidly becoming the national joke rather than the national game. At least I don't have to worry about what time to ring people now - they won't be engrossed in the England match!