Aperitivo, Corretto and Brexit ......

Lunches are long ..... and where possible people sit with their backs to the wall!

This is Sicily so, after an interesting Eucharistica, concelebrated with the Lutheran minister for Sicily, lunch was taken in a small family restaurant just off Corso Umberto.

Here people are still well wrapped, leather jackets and padded and quilted coats and scarves.

Even though the temperature is well into 16 degrees and there is wrap around sunshine morning ‘til evening, people are still well wrapped.

Meanwhile, aware of minus figures being reported from home, we are wandering from breakfast to lunch in shirt sleeves.

Etna is covered in cloud but around the Island the sky is postcard blue.

I sometimes see sermons posted on facebook.

Often they are very good.

Learned, thought provoking, theologically literate.

I am sure that my Lutheran colleagues sermon was of this order, She delivered it from a typescript from the pulpit, I preached as well, at the joint service the unfortunate congregation receive  addresses, one preached in German, one in English.

My address was shorter and focussed on Jesus affirming the ministry of John and the ministry of those who dwell in the wilderness, the deserts, the poor, the refugee, the immigrant, and how God just shows up and is well pleased.

No show no fanfare of trumpets, when Christians live the good news, God is just well pleased.

So you can see how this is a busman’s holiday.

A beautiful Island, warm, welcoming climate, friendly people, caffe corretto and wonderful food, but I still turn out on a Sunday for the team.

This Sunday will be the small, welcoming congregation, that keeps the Church here, going week by week, I will accompany the singing on comb and paper, or at least press the go button on the CD player for the organ accompaniment to the hymns.

This Sunday John the Baptist gets a bit more of a speaking part so we will have to think about that but from the prologue of John’s Gospel we get some interpretation of what the word ‘in the beginning‘ was articulating.

And alongside Jesus we get introduced to Peter, Cephas, ‘ROCKHEAD’, on whom the church was built.

But I still have a week to think about that!

The main thoroughfare is Corso Umberto, the street is quieter in January than it was in September But the shops are still full of elegant expensive clothes and jewellery and perfumes and the passers by, enjoying their passiegiata, are elegant and well dressed.

Our return flight is scheduled for January 28th, and one can only hope that there are no delays as there were a few weeks ago when flights were delayed for 19 hours and I would still wish to enter the UK as a European rather than have to sneak in under the cover of darkness.





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