God At Ground Level, Peter Cruchley-Jones (Editor), 

Journeying Out, Ann Morisy

Leading Ordinary Churches Into Growth, Alan How

Mission Shaped Church - A Theological Response, John M. Hull

The Word Militant, Walter Brueggemann

and yesterday in Leicester I picked up up Christianity's Dangerous Idea, Alister McGrath on the sale shelf - I do like a bargain

But I've begun with David Cornick's Letting God be God: The Reformed Tradition. So lots of reading to be done, hopefully picking up some ideas about mission and the ways in which a modern Reformed Church might respond to the 21st Century. And I will try to write some book reviews as I go along.

But it's not just all reading. At the end of July Chris and I will set out to attend a series of Music festivals in a campervan we will hire from Derby, leaving our youngest to look after the house and the dog. The sabbatical purpose will be to to look at the way in which performance space is used and see what lessons can be learnt for worship. I'm particularly keen to move away from everything being done from the front facing rows of people who take a passive role - and have made various innovations that are equally loved and loathed by my congregations. So what can we learn from a different sort of performer? But of course we also looking forward to hearing some great music. At the Stokes Bay Festival - Glenn Tilbrook, The Saw Doctors, Show of Hands, Martyn Joseph, Bellowhead, Phill Jupitus & The Blockheads. At Cropedy - John Tams & Barry Coope, Levellers, Julie Fowlis, Fairport Convention. At Bideford - the way lots of venues around the town are used by different performers. At Beautiful Days - Squeeze, Levellers (Again!), Seth Lakeman, John Cooper Clarke, Arthur Smith. Then at Greenbelt, I have volunteered this year, so will see a different side of that festival - although Greenbelt need to pull their finger out and let me know for certain if they want me as I've not been impressed with the way they have taken ages to respond and then the long delays between each part of the process and then the sudden "Oh sorry didn't we send that to you?" - doesn't inspire confidence.

And that will be August. In September the aim is to visit churches that are using a different pattern for their main Sunday morning service and places where midweek worship is happening. In doing so I want to see what is going on and of course borrow for my own context. Ideally these churches will be URC, Congregational, Methodist or Baptist and will have developed from a traditional inherited way of working - and will be small or medium side (< 60 congregation) and within decent public travel distance of Rochdale or can be visited whilst on our festivals jaunt, or visiting family in the East Midlands.  So If anyone has any ideas of who is doing what or want to invite me to something you are doing - then please do so.

October will be spent at Westminster College, Cambridge - with three purposes in mind, reflect and write up the previous two months; get along to some lectures around the Federation; and as a Governor of the College get to know the staff and students a bit better than has been possible so far.

So for those who sent me off last week with, "I wish I could get three months paid leave from work" - I hope you will see that there is some work going on ... but right now it is time for a brew and then the Tour de France without having to worry about hymns for Sunday!