Best Foot Forward

After what seems like an age away from them, I was back teaching my sunday school class today. They were really on form – the lesson was about the man with leprosy from Mark chapter 1. Jo had begun this lesson over a month ago [but it got interrupted by Nativity Play rehearsal] She has told them all about leprosy – but had not got as far as the bible passage.

They remembered so much of what she’d told them – so that was a great help. We went through the story and talked about the characters, and how they would have felt at the various points in the story. And we made some cardboard sandals – I’d explained about leprosy sufferers often having damaged feet because loss of feeling means they do not notice when they walk on things which cut, sting or burn.

 

The group produced excellent footwear and despite the camera on the table, I forgot to photograph them. Found this picture on the internet though, which shows sandals very similar to those we made

Having made our sandals we had a race across the room in them!

We also did a wordsearch from the Leprosy Mission website

World Leprosy Day is actually three weeks away [January 30th] but I can recommend their site as a great resource if you are looking at the subject. Leprosy is a distant relative of the TB bacillus, but nowadays is treatable through multi-drug therapy.The Leprosy Mission is at the forefront of delivering this treatment to thousands of sufferers throughout the world.

Meanwhile the adults were listening to a sermon from exodus – Bob has planned a series on this for the next few weeks. Today was all about the time between the Israelites leaving Egypt and reaching the Red Sea. Walking along, in what seemed to many of them, quite the wrong direction.

Earlier in the service, we had watched a clip from Moses – a ‘made for TV’ film with Ben Kingsley in the title role*. Tantalisingly, just at the moment the Israelites are on the edge of the Sea, and hear the news that Pharaoh and his armies are behind them, Bob stopped the clip . The congregation gasped as the picture disappeared. [it’s not as if they don’t know what happens next!]

So many people told me over coffee that I’d missed a good sermon, I made Bob tell me the salient points as he was eating his lunch [poor chap, no wonder he suffers from indigestion, it is probably not healthy to preach and eat at the same time]

A number of visitors this morning and a lovely atmosphere. So many people were kind enough to ask after The Broken Wrist. I was even given another Late Christmas Card. It is so good to be back!

I am really enjoying the Radio 4 KJV readings today. Not altogether sure about the odd little commentaries linking these passages – but it is wonderful to switch on the radio and hear someone reading the Bible – and reading it well. The words are so powerful. They have chosen some cracking readers too [so many from the acting ‘dynasties’ – West, Fox, Kinnear, Cusack, and other gifted people like Hugh Bonneville, who studied theology before going into the theatre]

I am going to the kitchen to make some sandwiches now – whilst listening to the passages from Exodus!

*It is a great film, but a little bizarre to have Aaron played by David Suchet [aka Poirot] and Miriam by Geraldine McEwan [aka Miss Marple]