My first solo outing

No sun, pool and lounging today. Oh no. Have driver, will travel.

First item was to get the family admin out the way:

Laundry - check

Kids to school buses - check

Toby's Tae Kwon Do form filled in/out/up (delete as local sensibility requires) - check

Purchase Tennis racket for Toby - check

Purchase snack boxes to prevent banana mush in school bags - check

Then:

Prepare for unknown length of car ride; biscuits, water, mints - check

Ensure available head covering in unlikely event I need one - check

Explain destination to our driver.

I had decided to head to St. Mark's the Anglican/Church of South India Cathedral. Any readers who were present for some of my first lectures at St Andrews will recall the Church of India being held up as a poster child for Protestant Ecumenism.

Quick side note: I have been surprised by the very visible Christian presence here. Lots of evangelical/non-denomination missions around. Today I saw a sign for the 'Reapers of Christ'. Will not be joining their Bible Study next Wednesday - partly as it is in Tamil, but mostly just... well...

So we're in the car heading for MG Road. Our driver is Roman Catholic and so he seemed pretty relieved that one of us was finally requesting a Church destination. He still had no idea exactly where it was we were going, and the fact it is right by the cricket stadium was helpful, but not interesting to him - turns out he really likes soccer and is highly amused that I like cricket.

We eventually arrived and after some negotiating with the security guard we were allowed into the grounds, and I was given the OK to look around the Cathedral itself. Not much in the way of literature, but I did pick up a copy of the 'Central Diocese of Karnataka Nurture and Witness Committee Mission and Evangelism' pamphlet. I'm guessing the former Congregationalists named that :)

It is by no means a perfectly kempt building, but the light in there is quite wonderful. White walls, judicious staining of windows - what a treat. And CHAIRS! A Cathedral with chairs, as I believe they all should be. I may not always get inspired by what gets offered, but I do think all Churches should have flexible worship spaces and Cathedrals have an obligation to lead the way.

They also have what appears to be a modern sound system and some strategically placed flat screen TVs for the folks that maybe need to see around corners. Anyway, I took a few pictures and you can see them here. I did not get one of the kids playground or the Rectory/Manse/Parsonage or whatever they call it. If you're visiting, then leave time to get to the loo - it is far off in the corner of the admin block... reminded me a bit of the time Toby had I found locked toilets during a Bermuda Church service and he had to pee under a tree in a thunderstorm. Happy Days.

A good first day out. I counted at least 6 very appealing shoe shops from the car, and many more silk emporia.