Virtual Methodist

Today is Fathers' Day... It also happens to be the closing day of the 2013 Methodist Conference.  As I was reflecting on the latter and remembering my own Father, or my Da as I am more comfortable calling him, I remembered that whilst he had many fine qualities, including the love of gardening that is captured in the included photo, he also had at least one unfortunate trait... Whether you had a new car, a new motorbike or a new suit, if you brought anything to my Da for approval, he would look at it and say "Its very nice... BUT..." before going on to outline one, two or two hundred short-comings in the said item... Sadly I have not inherited his green fingers, but I have inherited his diabetes and a certain element of that trait... Whether it is down to nature or nurture, I tend to see negatives quicker than positives... It doesn't mean that I am a pessimist... I'm with Pete Grieg in believing that pessimism and realism are not the same thing... But nor ...

If you haven't come across Team Hoyt before, do yourself a favour and check our the story of Rick Hoyt and his father Dick. The story has become a little over-egged in the telling, but check it out on their own website . It is a tale of real love and determination. There is, as the Team Hoyt website says , some grounds for making Dick Hoyt the dictionary definition of what a father should be and voting him the father of the century. Certainly he is setting the bar pretty high for the rest of us. But as I said to my own congregation this morning, even Dick Hoyt's love for his son is only a pale shadow of the love that our heavenly Father has for each of us. That is the reason for Paul's prayer in the letter to the Ephesians: I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through...

Philip Larkin's famously misanthropic "This be the Verse" will probably not be quoted much in Fathers' Day Services tomorrow... Although there is a certain truth in it, and whether mothers or fathers do more of the ****ing up in general is debatable. However, I discovered a few weeks ago, thanks to Maggi Dawn , this more positive riposte to Larkin... They tuck you up, your mum and dad They read you Peter Rabbit, too. They give you all the treats they had And add some extra, just for you. They were tucked up when they were small, (Pink perfume, blue tobacco-smoke), By those whose kiss healed any fall, Whose laughter doubled any joke. Man hands on happiness to man. It deepens like a coastal shelf. So love your parents all you can And have some cheerful kids yourself. Adrian Mitchell To be honest, I can never remember being tucked up, or tucked in, by my own Dad. He wasn't that kind of man, or from that kind of social background. But I do hope that my own kids will ...