The Times They Are A Changin'

There's a danger in responding to an earworm, and daring to play the tune that is resounding in your head. It is like giving a visitor a key to your home, you never know quite when they are going to arrive. However, if they do appear, you cannot turn them away, for you have issued an open invitation.

Rotas are strange beasts, that are intended to bring order. The one certain things about a rota is that it will 'evolve'. No matter how tidily it starts off, other factors will come into play that necessitate change. And so it came to pass that yours truly ended up preaching on the Holy Spirit two weeks in a row. Fortunately, the congregation appears to have survived the experience.

When preparing for Sunday, I often get an earworm. Usually, this is a worship song, which can often be woven into the service. On this occasion, it was a Bob Dylan track which took up residence in my brain - which explains how I discovered yesterday that the cat didn't approve of Bob Dylan, or to be more precise, his mouth organ playing.
In case you are wondering how that fitted into a service, it linked to John 16:5-15, where Jesus explains that things were going to change. He was going to leave his disciples and that the Holy Spirit would come instead, and how things would be both different, but similar.  Dylan's writing includes quite a lot of theological imagery

In the evening there was more changing, as we rang the bells before the evening service.
For the uninitiated, every time the order of the bells differs, it is called a 'change'.
As it was the fifth Sunday, we came down into an empty church. We were aware that this would happen, so although it was a change, it was not unexpected, and we knew where to find the congregation.











They were all in the Huband Room next door for a Celtic Communion.  It was a very relaxing way to spend an evening, and we focused on the familiar passage of 'the road to Emmaus', with people sharing their thoughts on the passage.












The grey skies and below-average-for-the-season temperatures have continued, but we did see the sunshine for a short while this afternoon. That has to be change for the better!

As we drove home,
the sun was setting
and it was not raining.
The sunset was not spectacular,
but after all the rain it was very much appreciated.













Finally, even the cat was pleased to see us, which made a change. We are mere substitutes, and we and the cat know it.











The Times They Are A'Changin'

Come gather 'round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you
Is worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won't come again
And don't speak too soon
For the wheel's still in spin
And there's no tellin' who
That it's namin'.
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside
And it is ragin'.
It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is
Rapidly agin'.
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'.

The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin'.
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin'.

Songwriters: Bob Dylan

The Times They Are A-Changin' lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Audiam, Inc