Monday my writers group met despite it being bank holiday, actually I spent most of the day doing practical administrative work for my PhD, getting copies of the recordings made while based at Chesterfield ready to send to the interviewees. This includes finding out what I had done previously, summarising content and making sure I have CDs, preparing covering letters and so on. It is also amazing how many mistakes you can make doing it. In the evening however I walked out through the Collegiate Campus of Sheffield Hallam University and on through Endcliffe Park to the home of Jenny one of my writers group. The walk out was good after the day doing admin and a small group of us meeting around Jenny’s dining room table was also nice.
Tuesday was back to work and I needed to finish off work I had intended to do on Thursday but the computer had been playing up. I sincerely hope the new computer comes soon. Tuesday evening I shopped as I did not need to go to bible study. Wednesday was also quiet with just seeing a single student but I had work that needed to be done. Thursday I joked with Margo after her first appointment of the day that I would get the piece of work I had been doing the previous day finished if there were no emergencies. My computer heard me because the keyboard promptly stopped working. I am pretty sure it was completely knackered as at one time the computer thought it was a mouse rather than a keyboard. So despite the fact that I have a new computer coming I had to get hold of another keyboard. They gave me what I suspect was old stock from the workshop which worked fine with my computer.
On Thursday evening my supervisor emailed me about making a study day at the start of July. There are three people associated with him who are all finishing ethnographic placements over the summer so the study day is to discuss finishing placements. Actually I would like some advice on balancing PhD with home church demands. It is very clear St Andrews is counting the weeks until I get back, but it is also clear that I need space to work on my PhD as I will only have a year to get it into a full draft.
Friday was my day off and I just carried on with doing the admin by early evening I had got them mostly finished. I still need to do this for all but one of the Herringthorpe ones. Anyway by afternoon they were ready and I went out to get them posted. So that is one admin job out of the way. There is plenty more to go before I can get writing. However chance to do some reading. So I took the plunge and started Jonathan Edwards “The Religious Affections”. Two things I have been reminded of in reading it. Firstly that by affections Jonathan Edwards does not mean affectations nor emotional responses. He means something much closer to purposeful intentions. That is not to say the emotions don’t have anything to do with it. For example if your intention is to visit your Grandmother, there is one thing that that is certain and that is it is not unaffected by emotions. Your emotions may be indeed very strong. In other words the will is affected by emotions. What makes these different from just assent is that it intentions that are strong enough to be followed through on. The second point is Jonathan Edwards is steering a middle course. He is not saying reason bad, emotions good; nor is he saying reason good, emotion bad. Rather he is saying that at the heart of religion is a synthesis of the two which leads to the development of the fruit of the spirit.
Saturday I went shopping, most of it was routine but I had seen a nice set of clothes in Marks last week and I decided that I would treat myself to this. I have really not had going out clothes for a while and there are a few things coming up where I could do with something smart but not too showy. Other than that I spent quite a bit of time curled up in the back room in a space I had cleared on the sofa trying to read some more Jonathan Edwards. Actually started enjoying it once I had actually got onto his own writing rather than the academic preamble. I am reading the Yale version.
Today was a normal Sunday. Herringthorpe seems to me at times to be a hyperactive child. To my knowledge today there was there was morning worship, pastoral visitors meeting 12:00 noon, pre-baptismal lunch-discussion, music group meeting and evening service. I suspect some people were here for three or more of those and NOT JUST THE MINISTER. That must be an exhausting pace to keep. Oh well I have got another interview set up.
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