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From Canon Ann Easter, Chaplain to the Queen:

During the Bible reading the other Sunday, a lady suddenly gasped and ran out of church. I wondered what on earth I’d done - but It turned out that when she heard a Bible story about a feast, she remembered she hadn’t turned the oven on for Sunday dinner!

Our church was built in the eleventh century and is full of beauty which I believe is intended to lift our thoughts away from the mundane and towards God and other Heavenly stuff. But sometimes we can’t help but think about what’s going on in the rest of our lives; I wonder how many people heard the prayer set for yesterday and thought ‘Christmas Pudding!’  because the prayer starts ‘Stir up, O Lord, the wills of your faithful people……’ and over the years that has become a reminder to get making those puddings so that they can be nicely rested and matured by December 25th.

On Stir Up Sunday, as we call it, we assemble the ingredients – traditionally thirteen to remember Jesus and his twelve disciples - and put them together in a big bowl and get everyone to have a stir - they say you should stir East to West like the Wise Men, but, since I’m geographically challenged, round and round will have to do - and each person makes a wish. Then the whole thing’s consigned to the steamer for six or seven hours, later to be cooled, wrapped up and put away until the great day!

I don’t think God minds if I think of worldly things while I’m in Church; quite the opposite. I think God longs for us to bring our whole selves, and our lives with all their little foibles, to ask for God’s help and blessing on them. I find I can often be stirred – and occasionally even shaken – by God giving me a nudge in the right direction.