Trainees

I was musing on the rather surprising picture of what I presume is the Revd David Cloake on his site. Not the first picture - the second. And then pondering on the title of his blog, and remembering that he's not going to be a vernacular assistant curate any more, it occurred to me to wonder how our own trainee was getting on.

I've adopted what I believe is the traditional induction process with Charlii, adopted by those responsible for trainees in godly ministry the world over. That is, I've declared her to be the perfect person to deal with "youth" matters. Which means that, when I finally caught up with her while she was limewashing the Moot House earlier, she was covered in a nasty red rash. It turns out that she's got a nasty allergy to the squirrel outfit she's been wearing for "youth" services and this week's first Holiday Club of the summer. Unfortunately she overheated a bit, and some of the four-year-olds ran off screaming when she took her costume's head off. We've had to convince them that it's possible to heal decapitated giant squirrels, given sufficient prayer and some super-glue. But even so I don't think some of them will ever sleep again.

But as I pointed out to her - the role of Trainee Assistant Druid brings with it the requirement to wear distinctive clothing. Our Big Book of Rules doesn't prescribe what that distinctive clothing should actually be - but I think that a giant red squirrel outfit fits into specification quite well.

Turns out that Charlii's been wearing it so much, she forgot to take it off one day and attended the Ladies'  Bright Hour still wearing it. It's been a long time since we've had to sedate so many Bright Ladies on one occasion. Although Deidre still clings to the belief that they were in fact visited by a genuine giant red squirrel, and is very worried that next week they may have to deal with a gang of gray squirrels coming after it. She had a bad experience with a G.I. during the War, and she's never really trusted Americans since.

Still, I think Charlii's really getting the concept of "servanthood" cracked. Although not an Anglican or Catholic deacon, or even a Baptist one, I've managed to persuade her that the concept of "diaconate", involving as it does waiting on tables, is a valuable one. And she's been first out every morning on the ditch clearing exercises. It's fair to say that, in every way, Charlii's becoming more and more humble. Which has got to be good for the soul. Mine, not hers, obviously.

But I am aware that, with all that trouble over the number 5152 and the last Full Moon and the summer celebrations and everything, I've not been giving Charlii the quality time a trainee needs from the one responsible for her development. So I've organised a slot once a month in the evening, when we can go through the Training Lists. It's a great routine. Every month Charlii is going to keep a log of all the activities she's done. And then when we get together I can think of a load more things to add to it, to ensure she's getting new experiences all the time. And then we'll light a tea light and sing "Orinoco Flow". It's important that we build up her spiritual dimension as well as her heart for service.