Martin Hamilton is an Acoustic Engineer who lives a stone's-throw from the Christ Church centre with wife Jude and children Wilfred (11) and Kitty (10).

So, Martin, tell me about your typical weekday.

My first responsibility in the morning is towards the children, giving them a good start to the day; getting them out the door with the right things; trying to foresee and avoid possible last minute panics by asking them the right questions in advance; thinking ahead to what they will be doing after school.  At the moment, I work 30 hours-a-week in Biggleswade while Jude has a rather longer day in Luton so I'm last out in the morning and first back.  Jude is first out, leaving for the station on her bike at around 7-30am but somewhere between my cup of tea and her departure I usually manage to go for a run locally.  The kids and I set off for school and work at about 8-15.  Then there is Biscuit, our Jack Russell.  She's rather like a third child who needs to be taken into account in all the planning and preparations.

I get in from work about 4pm, closely followed by Kitty.  Wilfred is involved in various school clubs and activities after his lessons and especially likes playing football with his friends.  He arrives home around     5-30pm.  That means that Kitty and I share some prime time together between 4 and     5-30pm, although piano lessons and the like impinge on it a bit.  I don't get much "download" from Kitty from her day but we chat and do things together.  She has started using "Moshi Monsters", an internet environment for communicating with her friends, which she enjoys a lot.  It also involves doing quizzes and other activities which earn points to "feed your monster"!  The kids and I generally eat together about 6pm and sometime during the evening Wilfred will fit in his 22 allowed minutes of computer time!  The precise number is a consequence of Wilfred's addictive tendencies(!) with computers and the fact that this is just long enough for two sessions of his favourite football game!  However, we are now entering a new phase as he has finally grown tired of this particular game.

Jude gets in around 7pm and, although we don't get to eat with her most week days, we do all eat together on Friday evenings and at weekends.

Tell me about your job

I do noise consultancy work for a company in Biggleswade and my particular speciality is unsteady flows in pipe systems and the acoustic response of piping networks to compressors.  Which basically means making sure that the equipment doesn't shake about too much and break!  I took a first degree in engineering and an MEng in manufacturing engineering before going to work for ICI on Teesside.  When that job came to an end I ran my own consultancy company for 3-4 years before merging with the Biggleswade company which is why the family moved here to Bedford.

My work is largely technical: me and my computer!  I don't usually work in a team and I don't manage others.  There are about 15 of us at the company and it's very friendly and flexible; flexible enough, for example, to accommodate me and my unusual working arrangements!  It's very stable with incremental responses to changing needs rather than drastic restructuring.  There are no appraisals and little purposeful career building which suits me because I'm not a very ambitious person in the conventional sense.  I love working out how to do the same things better; I usually get more satisfaction out of optimising the process for doing a job than I do out of delivering the final result!

What difference does it make that you are a Christian acoustic engineer?

It can be inconvenient!  I am very aware of a moral responsibility to do a good job for my clients, not to cut corners and to be honest in how I gather and interpret data.

Do you think God much cares about pumps, pipes and liquid transients?!  What do you think it means for you to glorify God in your work?

I feel a responsibility to use the skills and talents he has given me and some of them happen to involve pumps, pipes and liquid transients! I m also aware that I can glorify God by the way that I interact with my colleagues and clients, for example, being honest with them when I've made a mistake.  It's also about speaking up when I think things are not right.

Back to the family: how do bible study and prayer work in the Hamilton household?

Jude has been reading through Luke's gospel with Wilfred and Kitty over the summer, preparing for sessions with them by reading the Bible Speaks Today commentary herself.  The usual pattern is that we read the bible and pray with the kids (separately) just before they go to sleep.  We always make use of the Christ Church prayer diary and also pray about news items we have heard during the day.  Of course, sometimes they (or we!) are very tired or there's some kind of upset that means that they (or we!) are not really in the best frame of mind for praying!

What's the best thing about being part of the Christ Church family?

Christ Church is our "home" in Bedford, where we belong.  It's inspiring!  It's great to be surrounded by inspiring people.  There is encouragement and opportunity to relate to other people about spiritual matters.  It's an easy place to rejoice; may be too easy!  It's important to check it is not too comfortable for the wrong reasons.!

What challenges you?

Trying to answer your questions! I  was involved in an Alpha course this time last year and I found it quite a challenge getting to know new people.  Getting to know the Christ Church family is challenging.  Youth work (with the Explorers) is endlessly challenging!  I want to do better this year than last.

What would "better" look like?

Well, the group I am involved in will be in their last year of Explorers and most will be moving schools at the end of the year. I want to make a real difference in their lives, helping to prepare them for the challenges ahead. Last year, we introduced a one-to-one passport scheme to encourage them to grow in their knowledge and experience of God so they have some solid understanding to move forward from but I've some ideas for making it work better. I also want to get to know their parents better and find ways to make encouraging links.

What would you like to be doing 20 year from now?

I'd like to be a wind turbine farmer!  The world faces a massive energy challenge and, from the engineering point of view, wind turbines are great.  I love the idea of being responsible for a "herd" of wind turbines, checking they're all working properly, maintaining them, making them work better, maximising their outputs, minimising their noise.  Just like giving individual care and attention to a herd of cows!  May be on Orkney. (Cut from Martin's front room to a sunlit island cooled by a breeze animating row upon row of noiselessly turning wind turbines, with Martin wandering contentedly among them, oil can and spanner at the ready!)

the Joys and Challenges of having parents who are (or are becoming) dependent on you