Christchurch day 3

Worthwhile futility. At one level many of the activities that Christchurch people are engaged in are pretty futile! Today's major task was sweeping the drive which is covered in fine dust - leftovers of the silt produced by liquefaction. The fact that friends who arrived to help couldn't actually tell which parts of the drive I'd already done was a little discouraging! The dust is so fine that you can literally sweep the same spot 5 times and remove a thin layer each time. It felt futile - but the end product was a drive which LOOKED much cleaner. Little things matter in situations like this, because little things are holy, and filled with the stuff of God.

My friends swept and cooked. They could have gone to church to pray, or prepared a sermon, or done some other such worthy act, but instead they swept and cooked. The outcome - a shocked "I can't believe a Vicar is sweeping my drive!" - and another vicar is cooking your dinner. As I said, little things are holy and filled with the stuff of God.

Christchurch will need countless such little holy things to happen, because the road to recovery will be seemingly endless. The people here will need to be reminded and reassured time and time again that they are remembered and loved. So please tell them and show them. Send love parcels of chocolates and other goodies, be extravagant and waste money on postage because they are worth it! Send stuff to me if you like and I will make sure it reaches worthy recipients!

I missed a wedding today - Ryan and Stacey I wish you endless joy and love in your years together, filled with fun and meaning and impact on the world around you.