TUC Talks
Every week the Rev Richard Harris and special guests delve deeper into the reading of the week.
TUC Talks
What is a blessing ?
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The Rev Richard Harris is joined by Anne Hand to discuss this weeks big question - What is a blessing ?
#terrigal #church #questions
Hello everyone, it is me back again with TUC Talks. I've had two weeks away where I actually did listen to the TUC Talks podcast to sort of catch up on what was happening. So it's Richard Harris with Terigal Uniting Church Talks. That's the acronym. I'm trying to find another name, but failing dismally. Today I have Anne Hand with me. Hello, Ann. Hello, Richard.
SPEAKER_02Lovely to be here.
SPEAKER_01It's excellent to have you. I'll explain why I've got you here in a second. So, yes, we are looking at Sunday the 26th, I think it was, of June. And it's the last of our big questions. And the big question this time came from one of our congregation members, Ann Hand. Yeah. So Ann, you asked the question about blessing. I did. Yeah, which I found a really interesting one to play with. Because to be honest, we talk about blessing a lot. And I actually went to the dictionary definitions to find a definition. They were terrible definitions. Yeah. They just don't fit with the concept of what we're talking about when we talk about blessing.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. They they sort of say happiness and those sort of things, or leaning on the lines of what you were talking about yesterday, not to go into with prosperity and that sort of thing. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01So it like it ended up. I looked at it and I thought, I don't like the dictionary definitions of blessing, and I don't think they fit with the Christian understanding of blessing. So what what what kind of blessing, what kind of definition would you give, do you think?
SPEAKER_02Ah for me personally, um a blessing is something that is enriching your life through God. Uh I did look up the Christian version of what a blessing is. And I know we have some wonderful scholarly people in our congregation, and I'm not one of them, but apparently the Greek word, and Dennis can tell us this later. Something like makarios um is what is used in the Bible, and it means um the ultimate joy of sharing in the life of God.
unknownOh.
SPEAKER_02So it's not just something that is joy and happy, but it's in you are sharing in that life of God, and that's the blessing of in that sort of a way.
SPEAKER_01Gee, if you had a good minister, you'd actually look that up before they do a sermon on it, wouldn't they? No, no, no. Sharing in the life of God. Yeah. I like that image because that means that a blessing is in a sense us stepping into the God stuff and experiencing the God stuff.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. And and in that way you can understand um why people that don't have a lot can still feel the blessing because they're sharing in what God is doing in their life.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02So it's not about material things, it's not about um how much we have. I mean, you can be blessed to have a house, food, as you said, you know, um, some enough financial stability, but it's more than that. It's sharing in what God has for you in your life.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. And so, like when I went to try and work out Bible readings for this, like there are hundreds of Bible readings you can pick and choose from.
SPEAKER_02Yes. I did also read that there's over 600 references to blessing in the Bible.
SPEAKER_01Good grief. Real ministers look these things up.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely not. Yes.
SPEAKER_01Wow. Yeah. Because that that's it. So the the three readings that we got for a Sunday, the reason I chose them was because they sort of play, they meld together and play with the different aspects of blessing. And particularly the Philippians passage to start with. I really wanted that because it was the Philippian church blessing Paul. Yeah. Um and I think blessing is the right term there. Definitely, yeah. Because like the church uses. Can I say I've heard some terrible users, use and abuse of the term blessing. I remember a salesman once found out that I was a min minister, and the they switched from their sale can't sales campaign to saying, well, if you buy this, I will be able to decrease the price a little bit and I'll be able to bless you, and you could buy it off me and and you'll be able to bless me. I've got to say, I ran so fast from that sales deal because it felt yeah. I really don't like that abuse of faith.
SPEAKER_02Yes, I don't quite see God in that little picture there right now. No, no, no.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. But but for Paul here, he's he's being he's being blessed because he's actually being sustained by the Philippian church.
SPEAKER_02Yes, yeah. And that that is like uh a wonderful example of of blessing because he in his own way is blessing the church, but they're also blessing him to be able to do that. So you can see God's hand on both sides of that.
SPEAKER_01And so, in a sense, when we're saying the word blessing in the midst of that, really what we're saying is he's doing God's work, thus blessing people. Yeah. And the Philippians are doing God's work by supporting him, thus blessing Paul. Like it's uh, we do things for God or God does things for us.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah. And I think one of the things you mentioned yesterday was sometimes we feel like uh you might have been talking about um doing the feeding at um Gosford. It's like we go to these sort of things to bless people, but don't we come away feeling blessed? And it's not a art I good sort of feeling. It's like, wow, you know, I can see God's hand in this, and I just feel that I feel blessed for even being able to do that, and that God's using me in that positive way.
SPEAKER_01The privilege of praying with someone, yeah. Like that is when when you sit with a person and pray with them. I we'll come to that that next reading in a second, but that's really about that priestly blessing. It's that calling on God for a person. That really does bless you when you do that. Like you feel a sense of God using you and working with you in that way.
SPEAKER_02Working through you in that way. Yeah. Yeah, which is wonderful. And I think um, I know I keep coming back to our mission trips and things, but that's just because that's what we've done. Yeah. But we've we've gone on these journeys, um, sort of thinking, well, we'll go away and we'll do all we'll feel that we're blessing these people that um have these, you know, living in the slums or, you know, being rescued from slavery. But we come home every single time we've come home and think, wow, I feel blessed, you know, that I was able to sit in the dirt in the slums in Kampala and and pray with somebody and feel God just working through me to bless that person. But for me, it's like, aren't I blessed to be here and be able to do this? And I think that to me is why I I put this question forward too, is like do we do we do enough of a church to to know that we can be blessing in a way to other people?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. And look, I know over the last couple of years we've talked a lot about the repair cafe, but in a sense, being able to set up something where people can come and and have something repaired and and get that sense of community and then go away. But I personally think to being touched by God, that's blessing the community around us. Absolutely. And it's really interesting the amount of people that come for the pe when they come up to get a pizza and they sort of say, Well, how much does this cost? And the answer is, look, if you can give a donation, that's wonderful. People it it melts people a little bit. It actually takes away that hard edge of a financial exchange into being we're a community, not a business.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah. We had some visitors here on Saturday, friends of ours that hadn't yet got to come to the repair cafe that I'd been sort of suggesting for a while they come for a visit. And they came for the first time and they said, Wow, this is amazing. You know, now I understand what you're doing in the community. And and basically they said, Yeah, this is a real blessing for your community. Yeah. So I just think, you know, I think when you're caught in the middle of it, you don't always have that opportunity to step back and sort of say, Yep, this is a an amazing thing that God is is creating in this community. So yeah.
SPEAKER_01I remember I worked with a minister when I was training as a youth worker, so we're talking a long time ago now, and this person at one church that he worked, he had a benevolent fund, which most churches we have a benevolent fund for someone in crisis, and a person travelled, it was in Sydney, and they travelled, you know, about half an hour on the train system to get to him, and it was sort of a bloke wanting something, and he said, I've heard you're the softest touch in Sydney. And the minister said, At that point in time, I couldn't send him away. I had to give him his, you know, I I had to give him his bit of support, and then he went. And he wore that you know the one of the softest touches in Sydney with a bit of a badge of pride because it was I'm being compassionate, yeah, and I'm being known for it.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah. And isn't that part of what a blessing is to uh yeah, as I come back to it's it's you know, it's God working through us um to um yeah, to support others, help others, pray for others, whatever it is we're doing.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. Which is where the second reading came in for me, actually, that one from Numbers, it was an interesting one because it was about the priestly blessing. And I wanted to make sure that the congregation knew as a uniting church, we don't believe in priests. Yeah. Well, sorry. We don't have them. We don't have them. We don't we don't see a person as the assigned intercessor between the people and God. So I'm a minister, I'm not a priest. And by the way, when you're running a funeral in the community, two-thirds of the time either the funeral director or the people will say, Oh, you're the priest. And you don't correct them at that point in time. But but the but we can take a priestly role. Yeah. And I think because the United Church genuinely has a theology of the priesthood of all believers. We are all priests, we all intercede with God, but occasionally it means that you act as a priest for a person, you act as that intercessor between them and God because they just can't do it themselves or don't want to do it for themselves or just feel awkward about it. Yeah. Yeah. And and I think that is that's a blessing for someone.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And and I think, you know, for us to um understand that's part of our role as a Christian, um, and to accept that, um, it takes it takes a bit to say, wow, you know, I can do this. I don't have to um go to the priest or in, you know, in this situation a a minister. But there are times when you feel that that's important to do that as well. Um, but I still feel that it's such an such a privilege to to feel that we have that connectedness with God.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and that and that and that we can take on some of that connectedness ministry of God's. Like we can do the God stuff. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02So that the second reading, which was the ironic blessing, Aaron's blessing. Um, it's interesting because you know, we use that at baptisms, don't we? We we sing that. Um, but I also remember when I was doing the pastoral care role here and also working at Nareen Gardens, and I'd be sitting with someone that was, you know, obviously dying, or you know, may have may or may not have been um conscious. It's one of those things that I would often pray, or sometimes I'd even sing it quietly if no one else was around. Because I just think it's a beautiful blessing uh to give to people, and we give it at the beginning of their life in a baptism, but it's also for me, it was a just one of those things that I felt we could bless people at the end of their life, just knowing that yeah they're part of that that story of God as well.
SPEAKER_01That is a really powerful statement. Yeah, that we can wrap it up. With the ironic blessing, one of the things that probably this conversation has triggered for me is that when we do that song at church for a baptism, I wonder whether we've actually thought of it as we are singing a blessing, like we are interceding for this child on to God, like and it might be good for us next time we have a baptism to remind ourselves what we're doing there. Yeah. We are singing this song and we are requesting that God bless them.
SPEAKER_02Because that's I mean, it's come from you know that Bible reading, so yeah, which is lovely that you brought that one up in that conversation because because when I had was thinking about blessing and things like that, I had that was one of the ones I came up with. Um, but I hadn't picked the other two verses which you came up with, which was great, but I was also thinking of things like the Beatitudes, yes, which is a which is a whole nother sermon in itself. So we won't go down there.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, although very much links with that that Franciscan prayer that I looked at at the end.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I did, I did connect those thinking, yeah, that's very much, you know, we're not um we're not saying that we should be poor to be blessed, but if the God will bless those that are poor in a way.
SPEAKER_01So look, I'll I'll read that Franciscan prayer because I think it's for me, it is such a beautiful thing. It's it may God bless you with discomfort, at easy answers and half truths and superficial relationships so that you may live deep within your heart. May God bless you with anger, at injustice, oppression, exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace. May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger, and war, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and turn their pain to joy. And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in the world so that you can do what others claim cannot be done, to bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor. Amen. It it really does mesh with that Beatitudes, the blesseds, doesn't it?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah. Very much so. And I and I mean I love the Beatitudes. Um and I mean I guess the one that I most of us know better is best is the the um the Matthew one, but Luke also has the Beatitude, his his own version, which is obviously written to a different audience. Um but the two of them go beautifully together and it's the same sort of thing. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And and and sort of the concept of being blessed when we are sad or blessed when we are angry, or blessed when we are hurting, or blessed when we are foolish or naive, uh is really if we're talking about again coming back to the concept of we're aligning with God's mission and ministry, we're playing our part, we should get angry with uh as a we should see anger at those situations as a blessing. Yes. Yeah. Because we're aligning with God where God would be frustrated at the world.
SPEAKER_02At the injustice in the world.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Yes. So that that's a really I I I hadn't thought of it in the Beatitudes way, but it's it really does mesh.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. As you said, the blessing in the Bible is so much of it. Um but yeah, it covers a lot.
SPEAKER_01Uh in the Old Testament, I have to say that a lot of the references around blessing are around prosperity and and they are around the concept of wealth. But then there are some great and stark examples that actually hold up against that. And the book of Job is your classic, because in a sense he was wandering around wealthy and powerful, and everything was stripped from him, but he held to his faith. And in a sense, because of the experience that he goes through at the end of that life, even though much of that wealth returns and all that kind of stuff, the blessing for him is that he's got a different perspective. Yeah. He yeah, he's got a relationship with God through all of it.
SPEAKER_02Yes, yeah. And a deeper relationship with God, even though he was probably thankful to God initially for all that he had, you know. And I think we can get like that. We can get very cruisy in life thinking everything's fine and you know God's good and isn't it wonderful? But then when you do go through a hardship and then you realise that God is still there with you in that hardship, I think it brings you to a deeper understanding of what God is about. Absolutely. And then even if you come when you come out of that, or if you come out, you know, like Job did, and you sometimes you regain some of that um what you had before, then um, but you still for me it's like uh you know, I f I feel stronger in God and I feel more I don't want to use the word blessed. More connected more connected, yeah. And a deeper understanding of my relationship with God.
SPEAKER_01And that's the blessing, isn't it? The blessing is not the money or the power, the blessing is that connectedness to God.
SPEAKER_02Yes, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Because if if God, the creator of the universe, draws closer to me or I draw closer to God, then that is the blessing.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Right it's it's being connected or working as one a bit more. Yeah. Um I'm not much of a horse rider, although I have ridden a horse a few times. But if you talk to people that just love riding horses, one of the things that is for them is the best, the ultimate in the horse riding, is when you are at one with the animal, like you are what you're riding and and you and you and the horse are going in the same direction. You're you're not trying to control one another, but you are it's flowing. And I think that kind of connection is what we're talking about here with God. God's not the horse. But you know, that sort of that oneness.
SPEAKER_02Yes, yes, yeah, yeah, yeah. As as our friend Steve Stewart would say, you're moving in that rhythm of the kingdom and you you're aligning yourself with God so much that it's just a beautiful pathway. And you know, things might not be necessarily um you might not have all the things that you think you want, but you're just moving in that in that kingdom, and it's yes, it's uh it's wonderful.
SPEAKER_01And moving in that rhythm of the kingdom is the blessing. Yes. Yeah. That's the blessing.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. You and I have a very good friend who every time I sort of see run into him, I say, Oh, how are you doing? And he says, I'm blessed. But then I realize he's blessed because he's living in that knowledge of the goodness of God. Yes. Um, and I know for a fact that their family is not rich in material things, but they work for giving others. And I think when you know that you have that uh connectedness to God, I think we come back to the fact that that's where you want to give that away. You know, I am blessed because I know how much God is good, I know how much God loves me. And isn't that wonderful that uh I can sense that even in my troubled times, but gosh, I want other people to understand that as well.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So for me, coming back to the repair cafe, one of the things that I am very strong about is that we don't tell people, and this is how much you've got to pay to get this fixed. Um, and also when it comes to the men shed coming up and the garden club coming down, one of the things I said to them at the start was we don't charge people a price. You know, you can negotiate about what this is probably what we need to recover costs, or but it's meant to be about this is a gift to you and your generosity is a gift back to us. And and I actually think that changes it is that I bless you and you bless me. Yeah. And it changes the it changes the relationship. Yeah. Yeah. Because our society has become a commercial transaction in every way. Like I get that I get that the medical profession absolutely needs to charge. I'm not but but even down to our medical health is a transaction. Um there are very few things in the world where it's a relationship.
SPEAKER_02Yes, yeah. Yeah. And you can see that with the people that come back, or even talking to people that are there the first time, and you know, if I'm showing someone around and sort of the question comes up sometimes about cost and that, and I said, No, there's no cost. I said, if you can afford a donation, that's great, but we don't, you know, if you can't, that's okay too. Yeah. Uh it's it's all because of the you know relationship with this community that we we do this. And there's a a a surprise look on people's faces. Uh, and it's that wow, you know, people are doing something for nothing or doing it out of love. And, you know, for us, yeah, that's the blessing.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Yeah, yes. It yes, it's the bless we are wanting to bless others in in that response to them. The the gift, the the free sandwich when it's at the meals program, or the free knife sharpening when it's at the repair cafe, or the free love. Yeah. You know, we offer love and acceptance to people. No strings attached. No strings attached. Absolutely. And that and that and and that actually means sometimes loving someone that you might disagree with their actions because if you actually want to put a string on there, then you've lost the no strings attached part. Yeah. And blessing someone might actually mean no strings attached.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and letting go of something you think, okay, it's okay.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. God's got this. God's got this, God will work with it. For me, that really connected with the third reading, our Ephesians passage. Because the Ephesians passage was all about Jesus. Like it basically, what I suppose what I was doing is in the Philippians one, I was talking about how a church is blessing Paul and that Paul is blessing people through that action. The second one was that priestly blessing of we we we do stuff for people, we pray for them, we we take on that role of an interceder between them and God and call on God to bless them. And the third one is just a reminder that we are blessed because Jesus Christ came and lived and died and rose again and forged a pathway for our eternity.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01You know, yeah.
SPEAKER_02And that that's sort of connected to that second one because um, I mean, Jesus before he left said, I give you the authority. So, you know, the authority of doing things in his name comes back to well, we are those priests because we have been given that authority of being um, you know, his his hands and feet uh on this earth. Yes. Uh until we get to a better place.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Yeah. So so the yes. The the the Jesus stuff is is the is the way that we are blessed by God. You know, we are blessed through Jesus Christ. And we're blessed to be a blessing.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. You often talk about the thin place. Yes. And to me, uh a blessing is in one of those thin places because that's where we sit with God, being able to do something that you know, through God doing something through us for somebody else. Yeah. Uh it's that that kingdom now, it's that thin place of of being able to sit there and do something.
SPEAKER_01So yeah. That the the the separation between earth and heaven is so thin. And we might know those kinds of places. If you've ever walked into a cathedral where people have worshipped God for hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years, and it just feels like the place uh has the presence of God in the walls. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. There's some other places. I've heard a few people talk about Uluru, a bit like that, like a place where you think, oh, I can understand God in this spot.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, but it can also be in a relationship that you know, if you're sitting with someone who's dying, or you're sitting in the dirt in the slums, or um that sort of place where it's just you and the person and God, and you just know that there's something amazing and spiritual going on, and you feel that this is the thin place, this is the kingdom now, this is what it's this is what we're we're meant to be doing to each for each other.
SPEAKER_01And and there is that moment of sitting with someone as they are dying that is an absolutely horrible privilege. And you do sense that as you pray for someone, sometimes you can sense that feeling of calling God in and God being in the midst of that. Yeah. And that is a blessing for them and a blessing for you. It is.
SPEAKER_02It is.
SPEAKER_01So I don't know if we've actually come up with a definition of blessing, although I did quite like the research that you've done and I wish that I was a really good minister and did that kind of research.
SPEAKER_02You're a wonderful minister, don't worry about that.
SPEAKER_01Um is there any more that you would want to say about blessing?
SPEAKER_02Um The only thing I was thinking about was um it when we talked about blessing people or blessing um things being a blessing, I've also been in situations where we've actually blessed the land. And I know that's I think we've done it in places around uh I don't know whether when the safe when the Bush Chapel was opened up here. Yes. That the land was was opened with a blessing. And I think part of what I've come to appreciate is a blessing from God is also blessing the land that we walk on. And we've been to places um where I remember that we have prayed a blessing over the place um before we've gone out for the day, like when we've been on journeys. And I remember standing in Bulgaria looking out over a city, um, Plovdiv, where we were working, and we actually sang and blessed the city. You know, so it's it's a whole different level of that personal relationship, but it's it's again, it's that calling on God to to be with us and to be a blessing for the people that have that need for God.
SPEAKER_01Calling on God for action and for us to participate in that action of God. Yeah. Yeah. And I think that is actually it can be for a a big space or a small space or a person.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. And it's like, you know, we've we've been on prayer walks where we've walked around the streets in in different countries, but we've also done it, you know, locally. It's like walk around the streets and and bless the neighborhood that you live in. Walk around, we have we have good friends that walk around um Terrygal Primary School and and or Terigal High School and actually bless the school as they walk around. And I thought they're the sort of things that we as a church can also be participating in. Because it's not something you have to do as a as a church, it's as as an individual. Next time you're out walking around the shops or walking around, you know, see somebody and think, Lord, will you just bless that person today with whatever they need? And to me, that's part of why I get excited about blessing is like it doesn't have to be a big thing, it's something that everybody can participate in.
SPEAKER_01Had a really interesting question at the end of the 6 p.m. service last night. Um, we're recording this on Monday. Um and that was the question was what does it mean to bless the Lord? Because right through the Psalms and a lot of the Old Testament, and there's some of our songs that we sing that quote those psalms. Bless the Lord, oh my soul. Bless the Lord, O my soul. What do you reckon it means to bless God? If if if us aligning with God's mission is us being blessed, what do you think it means to bless God?
SPEAKER_02And your answer was.
SPEAKER_01In the end, like I did actually say, I have no idea, but I think in the end, us aligning with God's mission, us aligning with God in the work of this world, that is that is God God is excited by that. Yeah. You know, we shouldn't see God not being excited by our actions. And so, in a sense, God is blessed, excited, enlivened by us aligning with God.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah. I think it bring brings God joy to see us participating in whatever it is that He's got for us. Um, you know, going back to our spiritual gifts, when we start using our spiritual gifts, we're blessing God by using the gift that He has given us. So, yes, I think we can certainly bless God in those things.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that was that that was my feeble attempt at trying to answer that question as well.
SPEAKER_02Any more? Uh I know. I think I'm I'm I'm not done with blessing, but I think it's been a good starting point.
SPEAKER_01Look, I think it's been a fantastic question to play with. And for me, one of the underlying factors is we believe in a God that engages in the world. Yeah, that God is not an innocent, not a bystander. Yeah, God is an engaged and living God, and we can be blessed when God steps in and acts with us.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_01Well, everyone, um, there is a couple of notices that I probably should say. Now, one is I've been talking about the coffee and cars for a while. It was a great day yesterday. It was absolutely excellent. It was a good vibe. Yeah, a good vibe and a good atmosphere. So coffee and cars went well, which means that we've got to move on and find the next thing that we're talking about. Um, one is on the 9th of August there is a congregational meeting. Uh uh Anne, Anne's just leapt through the excitement there. You should have seen her eyes light up with thrills. Um, yeah. I'm feeling blessed to be there. Yeah, yeah. Congregational meeting. Look, it's a good chance for people to ask any questions they have about the life and the mission and the ministry and the finances and all of those things. It's important, church. It's important. Yeah. I found out that we only need to do two of them a year. I thought we had to do three. There you go. Thank goodness for that. Um, and the other thing is there's that congregational survey out because we're going through a bit of a process of doing looking at our mission plan. Yeah. Just what are what's what are we on about for the next little bit? Because for the last little while, we've had that mission plan of engagement with the community and children and young people.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And can I say people sort of go, well, what does that mean? It I like because you and Arthur were actually a pair that went off and looked around and asked the question of the community center, what is there any way that we can work with you? And that was how our community garden started. Yeah, yeah. You know, so before people say, Well, do you know, did we ever do anything with our mission goals? Yes. Yes. Yes, we did. We we have our community garden now, the permaculture patch, and we have the repair cafe, both coming out of our mission goals.
SPEAKER_02Absolutely, yeah. And I think that's the mission goals, um, praying about what it is that we can align ourselves with God in what He wants for this church in this particular time in this location to do for our community.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So um, we would love you to do the survey, everyone, if you can. So do that congregational survey so we can sort of have a bit of an idea of what people's thoughts and opinions are. I think they are the two key things that I can think of as far as right now in the notices. Um, believe it or not, Claire and I are already starting to talk about Christmas.
SPEAKER_02Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_01Sorry. Yeah, that's great. It's it's coming. We're on this, we're in the second half of the year now. We've got to start preparing. Anyway. Um five months till Christmas. Five months till Christmas. Yeah, it is a while away. Well, everyone, um, thank you very much for listening to TUC Talks. And we're going into a new series starting next week looking at how do we live out this faith stuff? I'll explain more next week when I've actually started researching it. Sounds good. Um, so thank you so much for listening, and and thank you so much for joining me today. Welcome. It's been a blessing, may I say. Blessed. I felt blessed as well. Okay, everyone, thanks so much. We'll talk to you next week.