It's been busy....

I have had one or two nudges via email to update my blog. I'm sorry that I haven't had time to put anything worthwhile up for a while.

After coming back from a glorious week of retreat at the uMariya uMama waThemba Benedictine monastery in Grahamstown (you can read about it on Pete and Peter's blogs) I have found myself quite busy!

This week I had to finish editing a book that I have been working on for Prof Jan van der Watt at the University of Pretoria (the book is on the ethics of the New Testament and has articles by a number of realy big names, including Dr Richard Hayes from Duke Divinity school). Thank goodness that is now done. I finished writing up the corrections and edits for the preface and conclusion this morning. I also had to draft all of the tutorial letters for the undergraduate and honours students in Systematic Theology, Ethics and Spirituality at the University of South Africa. Prof Kretzschmar, with whom I work, is on sabatical so that leaves me holding the baby. Then of course I had my normal day jobs (teaching my own students and running things at the seminary, as well as preparing for weekly worship services at the Bryanston Methodist Church). Did I mention that I came back from the retreat and found that I had about 100 scripts to mark [that means 'grade' for our American friends]? Well, that was fun....

Anyway, I enjoy being busy. I have done quite a bit of the forward planning for 2007 already (the seminary year plan, prospectus, term dates, provisional timetable, academic and board meetings etc.) it always helps since the year starts at quite a pace with the January seminars starting in the second week of January. Of course, it is also a good idea to look ahead since we will be having a baby sometime around the end of January or the start of February! Then time and energy will be at a real premium.

The only major tasks I have left for this month are to edit the paper I delivered at the South African forum of Science and Religion (SASRF). It is being published in a book called "African indigenous knowledge systems". My paper was entitled "Identity in relationship: The ethics of ubuntu as an answer to the impasse of individual consciousness".

I also need to write up the LONG overdue chapter for the book on Mission that Wessel Bentley and I have been working on (sorry Wes!).

And then, I need to work on the little book that we want to get out to help Methodist members and clergy to engage on the issue of same sex relationships. I'm still not sure where to go with that one!? I'll keep praying about it.

So... If you haven't seen anything posted for a while it is quite simply because I haven't had a lot of free time! It will come ... (the free time, and and updated blog!)

By the way, the lovely painting above is entitled 'The reading room'. It is from here.