Never judge a book by its cover, nor, dare I say it, a church by it’s outside ha ha!  Just cos a church don’t have no steeple or tower, even in a country full of ’em and in a city with one of the most beautiful cathedrals in the whole world, well it don’t mean nothing!

And so it was that I’ve just spent a wonderful weekend with the very delightful people of St. John’s Church, Neville’s Cross, Durham City.  What a welcome!

An amazing congregation ~ all so lovely, so welcoming, so interested in everything.  But preaching there is not for the faint-hearted, lol!  Being a famous university city with a famous theological college, theologians galore fill the congregation, disguised as ordinary people.  Ordinary people with families too. So disguised in fact, that I can’t tell who is one and who is not. Ha ha, they are all so nice, and well, just so normal!

Some extra-special people at St. John’s this weekend ~ Douglas, one of my former teachers; David and his family, my former CMS Link vicar at St. Andrew’s Church, Haughton, Darlington; Yin-an from Taiwan, and of course Mike and his family ~ he and his daughter came to Taiwan last July to visit ~ ah it’s a small world!

Started our weekend with a Chinese meal on Saturday night, then 3 services yesterday, and a visit this morning to the rectory to meet the vicar, Barnaby.  Photos (and a welcome banner and balloons) galore!

Finished my visit to Durham with a trip up the cathedral tower ~ that’s not for the faint-hearted either, but that’s also a whole nother story!

Thanks to you all at St. John’s Church for for all your support over the years, and such a great welcome this weekend, truly fantastic!