To the Beginning

This is an All Saints Church which my daughter photographed yesterday, when at her evening walk after work.

https://www.allsaintskingston.co.uk/

All Saints is the historic parish church of Kingston, whose bounds stretched at one time from Richmond to Molesey.

It is a place of significant heritage. The first King of England – Athelstan in 925AD – was crowned here making this, arguably, the place where England began.

As you can see we have made a transition to Kingston Upon Thames in London (and Surrey, with Kingston being "the capital" of Surrey, the way Southampton was "the capital" of Hampshire).

I have not been out yet. Still recovering from my return trip, after sending the movers away, arranging and overseeing the end-of-tenancy cleaning, clearing the property of our last belongings which we chose to leave there, and wrapping up.

Now, I did not do much work. The professional aka Lord of the Clean from Bournemouth, an honest and hard-working man Tom, he did the cleaning. And thankfully my friends from my former, Victory church across the road, Jim and Dawn, came and carried the fridge away. The property came without a fridge, so we had to buy us one a year ago. Now, I do trust it shall find its way into the hands of someone who will treat it with all the love it deserves. In the meanwhile it will serve the people at the Victory church. Also the paints and the painting equipment went that way. The Indian DIY man who so promisingly told me that his working hour cost £35, somehow used different math at the sight of my skylight window shaft which went an extra floor up. Then his three hours of work would have cost £250. And since he was unable to do it immediately, and would have returned only in the evening, I decided to let it go. I used the white spray paint in the can to spray the corner to make it more aesthetically pleasing, and ended up giving the spray paint can with my bed, and some other supplies to a neighbour who came out to have a look. Glad it went into loving hands.

So, whether the Indian property management company who owns the building will or will not decide to give me back my deposit, is in God's Hands. I, in the meanwhile, was so tired, that I boarded prematurely a 3 minutes earlier train which took me to Clapham Common instead of stopping in Surbiton. Thankfully, I found the way to a return train which stopped in Wimbledon, and then in Surbiton. I took a black cab which was waiting conveniently in front of the Station building, and it took me home.

I paid attention to the fact that when I mentioned the name of the house where our new home is, it peaked the driver's curiosity and he said with a remarkable dose of respect in his voice, "I KNOW this house!".
And yes, the house where our home is in, has its own name, and its own post code. So, I guess it is a big deal. And it looks nice. Yesterday I came across a reference to a brief history book about our street. So I suppose it is a fine street indeed, full of historic, mostly Victorian buildings.

Our house has two funeral parlours, and our flat is above one of them. The other one is on the other side of the main artery, which is both busy, and relatively quiet for the main road. And opposite the house on the other side is the Railway Station. Plus a Local Sainsbury's shop, in case of emergencies. And, there is also a corner shop in our house, called Blue Moon, featuring Guardian logo instead of the customary Daily Mail one. Yes, we are in Kingston Upon Thames, and in Surrey where the named logo is used also when it comes to the local newspaper.

So, our street, which we can see from our windows, takes us right into Richmond Park. My daughter made her first stroll there on Sunday, and came across some creatures who inhabit the park. The deer. And some of them with the antlers, or stags-in-the-making. The young ones, the dotted ones like Bambi. Remember her.
So yes, the park is half a mile away, right up. And today my daughter has every intention to return there, after spending last evening in the city centre which is similarly relatively close, along the straight road in the other roadside direction - about 0.8 mi away. The city centre was eerily quiet and void of people. But she did smell some weed which felt a bit fishy. (Do not ask me how she knows about the smell of the weed, as I do not. But maybe she learned some in her Birmingham period. Not to smoke it, evidently, but there might have been some weed-smoking folks around.)

And yes, mentioning her Birmingham period when she was living in a small flat on top of Liberal Democrat MP's office - Kingston Upon Thames, and our constituency which is called the Richmond Park which unites both, Kingston and Richmond area, have Liberal Democrat MPs. And the leaflet I found yesterday from mail was also sent from the Council, headed by a Liberal Democrat Councillor. Well, while my daughter is in these days apolitical due to her allegiance to the service of the Queen which means that she is not active in any political party, we can still guess where her loyalties lie. (I do have to say though that I have grown quite fond of our Prime Minister and his Chancellor Rishi Sunak in these days, but will I vote for them...maybe, or maybe I would do the way the American Republican voters do, no matter the candidate, and go for the party - even if I do not particularly side with their current stance at all. But nevertheless, it makes me feel as if we already half-way as if knew someone here due to Liberal Democrat presence in the Borough).

And then naturally, there is Janet, aka Janet Success who was our Victory church mate when in Southampton and who headed to build up her own life here, nearby, in our Borough.

I felt warm when I came across a red booklet in my mail. It was from the Cornerstone church. I have not even had enough time to read it properly through, but I can definitely appreciate the effort, and moreover ingenuity. These people do not simply send out the ordinary Christianese-filled tracts (which, be not mistaken, are absolutely good!, but when dealing with people, we cannot just pull out the cookie cutter in hopes that this would be sufficient for all), but their booklet is well designed, and I can see that a lot of thought and effort has been put into it, and the result is something thought provoking and interesting, which can potentially pave the way to the hearts of various people. It has a Christian-themed professionally made poem at the end, and a history brief about the former Kingston resident minister Edmund Staunton and much more. I promise to come back to it when I have given it a proper read by myself.

But now, coming to the church itself and the question would I go there?
Yea. To visit.
To visit, definitely.

Why not more, you may ask.
I naturally did some research before coming, and when I came to this page https://www.cornerstonechurchkingston.org/leadership/ it was very nice, but quite uniform. Not even a couple in sight. All men. Only men. Nothing against men, and as you can see they are doing a fabulous job which I wholeheartedly welcome and cheer. But this is their race to run.

Now, on the other hand, I do not also support the idea of having to turn your spouse who is not called into ministry into a pastor, for the sake of appearances. Whether a man or a woman, being a pastor is not just about the title, it is about the calling of God, and the qualification. The question is here whether God has, or has not called you into ministry, and into this particular office. If yes, then all is well, whether you are a man, or a woman. If not. Then better find your gift and calling and place in the Body of Christ and in God's master plan for your life. As He has a plan and a place for all of us, and better for us - His church - to come to the realisation of it, and make some adjustments in our churches to accommodate this, as it is His idea for His church.

'nuff said.

And, we have made our first Olio pick up appointment for later tonight. Which is a 5-pack of Walkers Cheeseburger Gourmet Burger Kitchen crisps. With a free burger, or 2 for 1 burger voucher in it. Near the park, from a lovely young Asian lady. Life is a flower, and a blooming one. And this park, and this place, it is right from the Hand of God. While I was trying to pray and see which way to go, when the time came, everything fell in its place, and it was fast and easy and smooth sailing with God opening the right door which no man could shut. With Him opening the Red Sea, and the Jordan after that. A miracle, and every lesser miracle in its wake. For this is our God. And He took everything I had breathed upon my mind, at the depth of my dreaming and desires, and turned it all into reality. He gives us beyond our boldest expectations. And it is good to know that we have been going with Him, at His timing, and in His direction to the place He has led us. And that gives every peace and faith to face the future.

EPHESIANS 3:20
KJV
20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

And last, not least, the Hampton Court Palace where King James Bible Version was translated, is right here.
http://www.blackletterkingjamesbible.com/Library/HamptonCourt
https://www.historytoday.com/archive/hampton-court-conference

https://www.hrp.org.uk/banqueting-house/history-and-stories/james-i-and-anne-of-denmark/#gs.88gl1w