001 Become a Mystery Worshipper and review three services

What's this about?

A Mystery Worshipper is a kind of church reviewer. From the Ship of Fools website:

Since ancient times (ok, 1998), Ship of Fools has been sending Mystery Worshippers to churches worldwide. Travelling incognito, they ask those questions which go to the heart of church life: How long was the sermon? How hard the pew? How cold was the coffee? How warm the welcome?

The only clue they have been there at all is the Mystery Worshipper calling card, dropped discreetly into the collection plate.


Why do I want to do this?

While I'm settled and happy at my current church, I enjoy visiting different churches and seeing what goes on there. I've always found the Mystery Worshipper reports to be a source of joyful snark, not to mention a useful guide to what one might expect at a particular place of worship, and a reminder that not all Christians work the same way. I'd like to join in with this.


How will I know when I've done this?

I will have applied to become a recognised Mystery Worshipper on the Ship of Fools website, and have been accepted. I'll have visited services at three different churches, and will have produced and submitted a report for each.


I'll record this on this journal, and add links to any of my MW reports that are published.


Accepted as a Mystery Worshipper - 13th December 2010

Evensong at Guildford Cathedral [Two] [Three]

002 Go on a retreat

What's this about?

The term retreat, says old friend Wikipedia, has several related meanings, all of which have in common the notion of safety or temporarily removing oneself from one's usual environment in order to become immersed in a particular subject matter. A retreat can be taken for reasons related to spirituality, stress, health, lifestyle, or social or ecological concerns. In particular, I'm thinking of the spiritual sort of retreat: getting away from my everyday life, spending some time in prayer, perhaps with other people, perhaps alone, on an organised retreat.


Why do I want to do this?

The photograph above shows Buckfast Abbey Church; I took it on a snowy day in 2005, when I was on retreat with the Methodist and Anglican Society of Exeter University. It was a fantastic experience, a relaxed weekend with friends coupled with a serious spirituality. The thing is, I haven't been on retreat since. The other thing is, I was on the committee at the time, and had taken on responsibility for catering for the whole group - so it wasn't quite as stress-free as I'd have liked.

I want to go on retreat again. Five years is a long time to go without doing something I know is worthwhile. I'd also like to leave the stress to someone else.


How will I know when it's done?

I'll have spent at least seven hours at a religious retreat organised by somebody else.


I'll record this in a post on this journal.

003 Swim 500 lengths in one go

Why do I want to do this?

I had 'swim 50 lengths without having to stop to wheeze' on my last list. I completed it, and haven't been to the pool since. Which is silly: I like swimming, despite what it occasionally does to my chest; it's just the getting round to it. I'm hoping that this distance will take me a bit longer to work up to, and get me swimming more regularly.


How will I know when it's done?

I'll have swum 500 lengths in one session. The pool I have in mind is 25m long; if I somehow manage to complete this goal at a 50m long pool that's just a bonus.


I'll record this in this journal, and on my Daytum page, if I can work out how to use it.

004 Collect 400 FitCash hours on Wii Fit

What's this about?

Wii Fit is an exercise video game that uses the Wii console. It very helpfully tells you how long you've spent on it each day: "FitCash"


Why do I want to do this?

I find that physical exercise has the effect of making me more aware of my body, and more confident in it, as if the more I use it, the more it belongs to me. Therefore, I'd like to exercise regularly - say half an hour per day. But I might not have half an hour every single day. Half an hour per day for 1001 days would be 500.5 hours. I rounded it down to 500, then knocked off another hundred to account for the days when I'm out/ill/tired. I think 400 hours is ambitious but manageable.

I want to make one thing clear: this is not a weight loss thing, it's an activity thing. It doesn't matter whether I spend 400 hours jogging or 400 hours doing deep breathing. The point is that I'm aware of my body and that I'm using it.


How will I know when it's done?

The total number of hours on my FitPiggy will be at least 400 greater than it was on day 1.


I'll record this in occasional updates on this journal, and on Daytum.

005 Update ancientandmodern 101 times

What's this about?

ancientandmodern is the journal where I talk about hymns. A typical post would include the lyrics, a video, if I can find a decent one, a short(ish) meditation, and possibly some historical notes on the lyricist and composer.


Why do I want to do this?

I've let this slide recently, and it's a pity. I think I need a bit of a kick to post more often.


How will I know when it's done?

I'll have posted articles on 101 hymns at ancientandmodern.


Progress can be tracked on the journal itself, and at this post, where I'll put links to individual articles.


1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15 / 16 / 17 / 18 / 19 / 20 / 21 / 22 / 23 / 24 / 25 / 26 / 27 / 28 / 29 / 30 / 31 / 32 / 33 / 34 / 35 / 36 / 37 / 38 / 39 / 40 / 41 / 42 / 43 / 44 / 45 / 46 / 47 / 48 / 49 / 50 / 51 / 52 / 53 / 54 / 55 / 56 / 57 / 58 / 59 / 60 / 61 / 62 / 63 / 64 / 65 / 66 / 67 / 68 / 69 / 70 / 71 / 72 / 73 / 74 / 75 / 76 / 77 / 78 / 79 / 80 / 81 / 82 / 83 / 84 / 85 / 86 / 87 / 88 / 89 / 90 / 91 / 92 / 93 / 94 / 95 / 96 / 97 / 98 / 99 / 100 / 101