GATHERED AND SCATTERED

Prayers for a Day of Myers Briggs

2011-09-22T09:55:00.002+01:00

Leader Each of us is different
All but in Christ we are all one

Leader We are extrovert and introvert
We live by sense and intuition
All Each of us is different
but in Christ we are all one

Leader We live by thought and feeling
Through judgement and perception
All Each of us is different
but in Christ we are all one

Coming back

2011-09-14T16:12:00.003+01:00

There are alot of reasons why I've been away from blogging: sabbaticals (from church and sitting in front of a computer), a new job, looking for a new house, discovering facebook(!) oh and this little guy: Euan. But here is my intention to return ... maybe not today, or even tomorrow, but I do hope to be back soon.

Breast-feeding in Church

2010-12-09T14:18:00.005Z

The other evening I attended a talk by Mark Greene, it was organised by the Cymru Institute for Contemporary Christianity http://cicconline.org.uk/and was entitled: 'Of Logic, Logos and Me Plc’. It was a look at what powers and forces help shape our culture today.

I like Mark Greene and have enjoyed listening to him and reading his stuff before: so it was no surprise that the quality of insight and humour was all there (although there were a number of points with which i would want to have taken issue along the way). Perhaps it all stopped a little short and a little early ... because I had one burning question about breastfeeding in church that never got asked.

In one of his illustrations Mark spoke of how a favourite teddy or toy is often introduced by a mother when weening the child off breast milk. The idea is that an object is introduced as a temporary substitute for the relationship that is being broken. Mark argued persuasively that this is often what happens in the contemporary advertising industry ... it seeks to offer us (sell us) objects that substitute themselves as the antidote to our longings for love, affirmation purpose and contentment when really these are only discovered through an encounter with God and grace. Thus the industry keep us in a perpetual infantile stage of life ... always seeking a quick superficial satisfaction to perceived needs rather than attending to what is of greatest worth in us.

All this I agree with ... except it seems to me that so much of church life seems to mimic the advertising agencies ... substituting themselves, their programmes and their busyness, their celebrities and their products along with their often over-simplistic systems of theology as the ready made antidote to our deepest longings ... stifling the space and time that might otherwise be used to enable a real encounter with God.

So it was I wanted to ask:

Are our churches keeping us perpeutually infantile?

Is there too much breast feeding of disciples?

When are we ever going to come-of-age

and what will church look like if we do?

Have we tested and tasted too much already?

2010-12-06T11:49:00.000Z

With the numerous Christmas parties and activities well under way (including many of those organised by the church) it is easy to forget that Advent is supposed to prepare us for the feasting of Christ’s nativity by leading us, like Lent, through a period of fasting and penance. Given how easily the word ‘austerity’ has been recast as the universal bogey-man of western living in the last twelve months there seems little prospect of the High Street embracing a more penitential or self-denying Advent, but we might expect more of those who claim to follow the child who will be born with the government of the world upon his shoulders.

The hopeful imagination on which we reflect in this Advent blog is rarely nurtured at the table where people have already ‘tested and tasted too much.’ Knowing so much and being materially so satiated many lives can turn stale and cynical, bereft of hope or imagination. Tipped into the perpetual activity of tinselled light and jingling sound that so infects this time of year it can be difficult to anticipate the deep mysteries of Christmas or appreciate it when it finally comes, because ‘through a chink too wide there comes no wonder.’ But the virtue of a hopeful imagination is commonly found among those who inhabit the disciplined rhythms of fasting and feasting, silence and speaking, lament and celebration.

Patrick Kavanagh’s poem ‘Advent’ offers us the possibility of a wonder restored and indeed an innocence reclaimed … in these lines below he shares his own hopeful imagination for life lived not only in the spirit of Christmas but through the disciplines of Advent: Four weeks of reading will not exhaust its treasure or curb its challenge:

We have tested and tasted too much, lover-
Through a chink too wide there comes in no wonder.
But here in the Advent-darkened room
Where the dry black bread and the sugarless tea
Of penance will charm back the luxury
Of a child's soul, we'll return to Doom
The knowledge we stole but could not use.

And the newness that was in every stale thing
When we looked at it as children: the spirit-shocking
Wonder in a black slanting Ulster hill
Or the prophetic astonishment in the tedious talking
Of an old fool will awake for us and bring
You and me to the yard gate to watch the whins
And the bog-holes, cart-tracks, old stables where Time begins.

O after Christmas we'll have no need to go searching
For the difference that sets an old phrase burning-
We'll hear it in the whispered argument of a churning
Or in the streets where the village boys are lurching.
And we'll hear it among decent men too
Who barrow dung in gardens under trees,
Wherever life pours ordinary plenty.
Won't we be rich, my love and I, and
God we shall not ask for reason's payment,
The why of heart-breaking strangeness in dreeping hedges
Nor analyse God's breath in common statement.
We have thrown into the dust-bin the clay-minted wages
Of pleasure, knowledge and the conscious hour-
And Christ comes with a January flower.

Here is a truly hopeful piece of imagining worthy of the prophets and of our attention: that after Christmas, wherever life ‘pours ordinary plenty’ there will a new richness in our lives so that we might bin the ‘clay-minted-wages of pleasure, knowledge and the conscious hour’ and truly welcome the Christ who comes ‘with a January flower.’ In the mean-time we might try to test and taste with some restraint and let the wonder in.

Odd Shoes for Austerity

2010-10-22T10:01:00.005+01:00

My reflections with Roy Noble on BBC Radio Wales this week began with the very true story of my trip up North the other week. I had to go to Newcastle for a meeting It meant catching a flight from Bristol at seven in the morning. Of course that meant being there by six, which involved leaving Cardiff by 5 so the alarm was set for half past four. Being considerate I got dressed in the spare room so as not to wake my wife, but I had forgotten to leave out some shoes. So I crept back into our room and under the cover of darkness slipped on my trainers and made my way down stairs.

Ninety minutes later I was in the queue at Bristol Airport. Security was tight. Laptops out of the bag, belts removed from trousers and shoes off, if you please. And that’s when I realised my mistake: in the darkness I had managed to put on two very different shoes.

Suddenly I felt sure that everyone was laughing at the fool with the odd footwear. I tried to hide my feet beneath my bag but even though my mistake seemed glaringly obvious to me no-one said anything … not even the security guard who then asked me to remove both trainers. On the way back people were too preoccupied with talking into their mobiles to notice what was wrong with me or no-one thought it was their place to mention it.

That’s an amusing story for the pub but of course it’s trivial when compared with all that goes wrong in the world, particularly the economic cuts that have been announced this week. But my escapade reminded me that as austerity begins to really bite there will be much that may go seriously wrong in the lives of those around us. And whatever the politics involved in all this, the harsh reality will be that jobs will go, bills will lie unpaid, homes may go without heat and tables will be empty of food.

And the temptation for many will be to say or do nothing. Some of us who really need the help will be too embarrassed to say anything about what has gone so wrong. We may try to cover it up even though it may be through little fault of our own. And people who are better off may be too busy with their lives to see what has gone wrong for others, or feel it’s not their place to do anything about it.

The world’s religions have always argued that we should care for the weak and the vulnerable in our midst. The Psalms speak of God as father of the fatherless, defender of the widows. Jesus spoke of bringing good news to the poor. On a day that announces so many economic difficulties we should remember that the quality of our lives in these times of austerity will be measured not by how we survive but on how we care for one another.

Nice rocks?

2010-10-17T15:15:00.003+01:00

Just can't help thinking that the President of Chile must have had some other pressies already wrapped before he came to the UK giving everyone rocks from the ill fated mine. Can't help thinking the Queen and the Primeminister are wishing it had been a diamond mine.

Imagine all the people?

2010-10-08T16:27:00.017+01:00

When in October 1971 John Lennon released his most popular solo album 'Imagine' the single of the same name quickly became his signature song and remains an enduring plea for a world of harmony and peace. In the chorus Lennon assumes that people will say he’s a dreamer and perhaps he is quite right, because it’s hard to imagine a world where there’s no countries or possessions.

But in Lennon’s dream there is no place for religion either. This is an understandable perspective when we look at the harm brought to the world by men and women acting in the name of religion. Wars have been fought, truth has been suppressed, ideas of Heaven and Hell have been used to manipulate social control: all this and worse may have been perpetrated by those who profess belief in God.

But to my mind religion, or better, faith in God, has also been a force for good in the world because believers could imagine a better way of living than that which they saw around them. When the ancient prophets spoke of a time when the wolf and the lamb would lie down together they were encouraging people to imagine just that: and to live with one another as if such alternative realities were actually possible. When Jesus brought all their hopes to life, bringing good news to the poor, the sick and the oppressed, it was not just a dream he had, the reality of what he did so upset the Powers that Be that they killed him for it. Some things are still worth dying for, John.

So while I want to live with no need of greed or hunger

With all the people sharing all the world as one

if it is to happen then I must not just dream about it

I must act and live not out of fear but in love

And maybe you will join me

Dear God help us to imagine a world

Where we do on earth

as it is done in heaven

And help us to believe

that such a world can be here today

Amen

Prayer is like a telephone ... or not

2010-10-07T23:04:00.004+01:00

Another prayer from Radio 4 this week

On my desk is a cartoon of a man talking on his mobile telephone.

The caption reads:

I am just calling to make sure you got my e-mail following the letter I faxed this morning.’

For many of us calls like that will be all too familiar. Technology seems to drive our life at a pace that few people want but equally now we are communicating with such momentum that hardly anyone can resist or stop it. And amidst all this is a myriad of changing social protocols.

We wonder how long it is reasonable to wait for an email to be answered

If it is appropriate to text a partner telling them the relationship is over

And should we accept our boss’s invitation to be a friend on a social network site

In an age where we assume an eager audience is instantly interested with our status updates, where seemingly every emotional response to life is a matter of public record, and others are encouraged to add their comment, are there changing protocols on prayer?

When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, he began by telling them to go into their room and close the door and pray in private … for God who sees what is done in secret would then reward them. No-one else need know what they told their maker or what their Creator had said to them. Anticipating our lack of patience in such an endeavour, he quickly followed the words of the Lord’s Prayer with a parable on persistence … assuring us that if we ask, then it will be given and if we seek then we shall find.

Jesus does not confirm a timescale for heaven’s answer

Nor indeed the method by which it may be communicated

But he leaves us with the promise - that if we knock upon his door then it will be opened for us.

Dear God

In this fast moving world of ours

Give us patience and persistence in our prayers

Open our hearts that we may hear you clearly speak today.

Amen

Happy (belated) Birthday Charlie Brown

2010-10-05T08:30:00.004+01:00

Sorry the blog has been silent for so long ... lots of interesting things have been happening, going to worship with the Pope in Westminster Abbey, Stuart Murray and Roy Searle on Celts, Anabaptists and New Monasticism, and flying to Newcastle with odd shoes on, but so often away from my computer that i've not blogged them later. Some of this will out in due course no doubt. Anyway if you are up early or like the radio 4 shipping forecast then you will have heard these prayers for the day already ... I am doing this week's prayers ... so playing catch up a bit ... here's the one from 2nd Oct.

Today is the 60^th birthday of Peanuts, the celebrated cartoon strip penned for so many years by Charles Schultz.

Charlie Brown and Snoopy may be the stars, but I love an episode that featured two other characters, Lucy and Linus.

They were talking about a baby called Sally.

She is pictured crawling slowly round the room and Lucy, frustrated at the baby’s lack of progress, asks ‘When will Sally start walking?

Linus replies,‘Let her crawl;

once you’ve started walking

you’re committed for a lifetime.’

There are not many things that people will commit to for a life time now.

We might give a year or two to this hobby or that job,

we may devote time to living in a certain city

or even to a particular religion,

but so much these days seems subject to the

possibility of moving on to something else.

We are often reluctant to dedicate ourselves like this because we fear if we do so

then we might be loosing out on something else

maybe something better.

But this is exactly what is needed if we are to make a difference in the world ...

if we are to see any real change in ourselves.

Many people liked Jesus when it was easy and exciting, but he needed disciples who would still be loyal when things got tough. When a would-be disciple asked to go and say good-bye to his family before signing up for good, Jesus told him straight: No-one who starts following me and then looks back is ready for where I am going.

Tough words, I know, But in a world of seemingly infinite choices, we need the courage to make tough decisions and know that we will remain steadfast for a life time.

Dear God, all of us are tempted to look over our shoulder

To wonder with regret at what might have been

Give us the courage today

To start walking towards the future you have prepared for us

Help us to be faithful for the life-time of that journey. Amen.

The First Victory of Peace

2010-08-17T09:44:00.004+01:00

This post is A bit after the fact I know but I was doing Radio 2 Pause for Thought on VJ Day, Sunday.

When I was a child my dad used to let me stay up late to watch the war-time programme Secret Army. It was a lot more serious than the hilarious Dad’s Army, much more like the classic Colditz, for which I had the Action Man figures and the Board Game.

Even though it won Seven Oscars, one war movie that was not for viewing in our house was The Bridge over the River Kwai. It carried painful associations for members of our family and it was always switched off. The film tells the story of Allied Prisoners of War forced to build a bridge by their brutal (and brutalised) Japanese Guards.

Years later, when I was actually working in Japan, we were talking about the national stereo types we have of one another. I was amazed to discover that they thought that British people lived in the dangerous and foggy streets of Sherlock Holmes and they were taken-a-back to realise how much war time movies had shaped what I thought of them. It’s always a bit of a shock to see ourselves as other people see us, to hear what others say of us.

I’ve been thinking of those conversations recently and of the cultural clichés we exposed and left behind, because today Britain will commemorate VJ Day: It’s 65 years ago that the war against Japan was finally brought to an end. I have huge admiration for those who gave their lives back then, but I hope we’ve come a long way since, especially in understanding one another better.

Because if the first casualty in war is truth, if propaganda encourages us to see the other people as being somehow less human than we are, then the first victory of peace should be for us to see each others as equal partners in a shared and redeemed humanity.

And maybe that’s why Jesus told us to love our enemies.

I think it was a challenge even in the midst of conflict

for us to see ourselves in others,

to value in them the identical image of God that lives in every one

And so for all we humans are different,

we’re really just the same

And I hope onm VJ Day we don’t remember just the victory of some

and the defeat of others

I hope we celebrate the chance for peace to overcome in the hearts of everyone.

It's not about the money ... it's the principle

2010-07-13T11:33:00.005+01:00

When I was a lawyer handling personal injury claims, my boss gave me a helpful piece of advice. She said when someone says to you 'it's not about the money it's the principle' you can be pretty sure its about the money.

Her words were in my mind this week as we sat down to review our Church Constitution, looking at the standard Governing Document for BUGB churches. In the section on 'Belonging to the Church' it talks about members giving financial support to the Church and there is a footnote which says 'Although there may be encouragement to give financially this is a private matter.' Why is this a private matter? Why should a people called together under God keep this information from one another. Why should we shrink from being financially accountable to one another, to those we love adn who love us? I understand the fear of a church developing a 'richest members league table' and the jealousies that may ensue, but surely we are called to be better than that.
Surely we can be better than that.
Why is money to be kept as a private affair in today's churches?
What purpose is achieved by such secrecy?

The poet Alice Walker says:

We alone
can devalue gold
by not caring
if it falls or rises
in the market place

Wherever there is gold
there is a chain you know,
and if your chain is gold
so much the worse for you

Feathers, shells
and sea-shaped stones are all as rare

This could be our revolution:
To love what is plentiful
as much as
what's scarce.

This is not about the money ... but it is about the principle.

Feed the World ... what Sir Bob didn't know.

2010-07-12T09:23:00.008+01:00

A seminal moment in my experience of music was Bob Geldof's (and of course Midge Ure's) Live Aid Concert. It also was a foundational moment in rekindling my personal determination that politics and faith needed to kiss and make up ... (but not get married).

Bob and Midge and the many musicians at Live Aid encouraged us to 'Feed the World.' But there was something that they didn't know ...

something I discovered this weekend.

Putting aside recent questions as to how successful Band Aid was at actually delivering aid at the point of need, the shift in public consciousness here was undoubtedly immense. But many still went hungry in Africa.

I am pleased to announce that this need happend no more.

Because I have discovered a way to feed the world for free.

I went into a well known shop (it could have been one of so many) to buy and sandwich and a drink.

Total cost 3.49

But if I took a packet of crisps it would become a 'meal deal' and only cost 2.99

'But I don't want the crisps' I explained.

'No, crisps, no meal deal. Its not a meal without crisps', the cashier explained.

'Couldn't we just pretend ...

The shop would be a packet of crisps the richer? I asked

'No,' she said.

So I bought the meal deal and offered the crisps as a present to the cashier.

She declined my offer.

So did the near by security guard who had become curious.

But he did intervene when I went to replace the packet of crisps on the shelf.

Seriously, he stopped me giving them stock.

It would mess with the system he said

'But any system as crazy as this needs to be messed with!' I said.

So folks here's what to do.

Mess with the system.

Go to whatever local shop is offering a meal deal

Save yourself 50p and get your bag of crisps

proclaim to all the world that a meal is a meal without them

and then we can collect them all

and ship them off to Feed the World

The 50ps we save will even cover the cost of shipping.

If only Sir Bob had known.

Prayers for today that come from Yesterday

2010-06-18T22:10:00.002+01:00

I heard this prayer many years ago, but had forgotten it until today when it was used by Rev Dr Pat Took at Momentum, the Assembly of Baptists in Wales.

Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.
We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.

In case you're wondering, it's by Sir Francis Drake.

FATHER'S DAY

2010-06-17T09:29:00.004+01:00

Back on the radio sharing some thoughs on fathers' day I wanted to get my favourite father's quotation in there but it didn't really fit.

'A father never stands so tall

than when he bends down to help his child'

but anyway this is what was said.

In case anyone’s forgotten, this Sunday will be Fathers’ Day again, and this year it’s the hundredth anniversary. There’s no need to panic if you haven’t sent a card or bought your present, it’s only Thursday after all.

Of course like the corresponding Mother’s Day, this special anniversary brings mixed emotions into many of our lives. Some people get on well with their dad and they may be looking forward to a cheerful celebration lunch. But this happy picture isn’t true for everyone. There are many ways that the relationship between a father and his child may end up strained or even broken these days, and all the hype around a special day can just make things seem worse. And of course there will be other men who’d love to be a father, but for whatever reason it hasn’t happened for them.

I sometimes wonder if these special days with their over-commercialized sentimentality don’t cause more hassle than they’re worth, but then I am reminded that behind this one anyway lies a century of people expressing their love for dads.

It all began when a young woman called Sonora Smart-Dodd heard a Mother's Day sermon in her local church. Her own mother had died many years before when Sonora was 16 but it was on that Sunday morning that she realised the sacrifices her father must have made to bring up her five brothers and sisters, including a new born baby, all by himself. After church that day she began to think about a way to honour how he and other fathers had so loved their children.

She’d hoped to organise the celebrations to coincide with her dad's birthday, on 5^th June, but there wasn’t enough time to get everything ready and so that first Father’s Day took place on the third Sunday of the month in 1910. Since then it’s gone from strength to strength, winning the approval of US presidents and spreading from America right across the world. But it’s only been successful because time and again, sons and daughters want to say ‘I love you’ to their fathers.

I don’t know what bible text the preacher chose to speak about on the day that Sonora had her great idea. No doubt she’d listened to many a minister give a sermon before and her dad had probably done so too, but I suspect it didn’t matter whether the scripture came from Genesis or Revelation or any point in between. Because sometimes the greatest texts are those found in the people who love us come what may. Often the greatest sermons are those expressed in the touch of gentle hands and the power of a reassuring smile. Perhaps they come too in a calm voice of correction.

And maybe no-one does that more

Than our Father who is in heaven

Character and characters

2010-06-05T13:29:00.003+01:00

A church full of character

is not the same

as a church full of characters.

(Just a line from tomorrow's sermon)

Women, God and the Baptist Times

2010-05-16T11:42:00.000+01:00

I am posting this on the move so unable to put the whole letter to the BT from Simon, Andy and Neil and me, but check it out at the BT or on their blogs and let's carry on this conversation:

Catching up with friends ... and catching up with God.

2010-05-04T09:36:00.005+01:00

Just back, as are others, from the BUGB assembly in Plymouth.So many have agreed it was the best one for years. Which of course will give a problem for those who planned it ... what did we do differently that worked so well this time and how do we keep it good for Blackpool.

Unusually I was only an infrequent visitor to Prism, (which has been my venue of choice for a number of years now) but from what I saw and from conversations with others, it seems to have reclaimed its truly alternative status, being something distinct in itself again, not just the 'mini-me with a pint' it was threatening to become. So well done to all the others who worked so hard there. I will pledge my renewed patronage now.

However the Main stage events engaged me much more than over the last few years. I have not listened to the recordings of Friday night yet (so I will hold judgment on Amy's talk) but the celebration of difference in the style of speakers was most welcome. For me Anne Wilkinson Hayes had the most depth and resonated most distinctly but I found myself being spoken to by God through others on many occasions. So too did I appreciate the diversity of worship. The musicians showed themselves more than capable of a number of styles but for me a lot of this must go down to the great work of Chris Ellis, hardly on the stage at all but influencing so much with his care for overall development of the worship. I enjoy the Spring Harvest celebration stuff when it is balanced with world church, Taize, (thanks to Tony Ruth and Helen) as well as traditional hymns etc. Very well blended stuff.

So perhaps for the first time in a number of years I have come away not so much thinking that it was a good chance to catch up with friends ... but a good time to catch up with God.

Oh and an appreciative PS ... thanks for so many voting for the Public Resolutions ... whatever happens on Thursday i think there will be a chance for us to have a go at Trident next year.

Oh and a final PPS ... I really hope the final words from David Kerrigan on Monday were not throw away rhetoric but a first glimpse of genuine engagement with people too long unwelcome in our churches.

First glimpses

2010-04-29T16:43:00.004+01:00

The first glimpses of our new baby came thanks to the lovely people at Llandough hospital today. We don't know if it is a boy or girl just yet, frankly we were just relieved it was not twins!

Time to start thinking about names again.

One nuclear bomb can ruin your whole day

2010-04-20T10:51:00.004+01:00

At the moment I am preparing for the public resolutions at BUGB Assmebly in Plymouth later this month. Norman Kember and I are proposing a BUGB stance on Nuclear weapons and the Non Proliferation Treaty review: It is over 20 years now since I visited Hiroshima but the images and stories of what humanity is capable of doing to one another have never faded behind the fear mongering of deterance arguments. Recognising that such instant and decimating violence can be inflcited on those also made in the image of God and purposed for God's blessing makes the continued presence of 23,000 nuclear weapons (each more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb) in our world unncessary and immoral.

The BUGB resolution will say:

Recognising the continuing threat to peace posed by the existence and development of nuclear weapons, and the potential significance of the May 2010 conference to review the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), this Assembly:

· affirms its commitment to uphold the vision of a world free of nuclear weapons.

· calls upon the UK Government to join with others in taking courageous steps to strengthen the non-proliferation regime and build a secure future for all.

· calls upon churches to give support to the ‘Now is the time’ campaign.

If you don't know about the 'Now is the Time' campaign then have a look at Global Zero, an international movement for the elimination of nuclear weapons. Presidents Obama and Medvedev just signed a historic agreement to reduce their nuclear arsenals. With Russia and the US standing ready to lead, the following months could see the beginning of the end of nuclear weapons, but that will only happen if we seize this moment. To join me and the hundreds of thousands of people in every country in the world who believe in zero, click below:

http://www.globalzero.org/en/sign-declaration

We must now choose between two very different futures. In one, nuclear weapons continue to spread, increasing the chances that a country or terrorists use them, with catastrophic consequences. In the other, all nuclear weapons are eliminated according to a comprehensive global agreement for phased and verified reductions.

We want to show world leaders that the public supports the idea of a world free of nuclear weapons as they prepare to attend a special summit to address this global crisis.

If you are going to be at BUGB Assembly please don't skip the Public Resolutions, come and listen and debate and help us discern what God is saying to us and to the world.

Apollo 13

2010-04-12T07:59:00.002+01:00

Forty years ago today the ill-fated Apollo Thirteen space-craft took off for the moon. Two days later the world heard those famous words: ‘Houston we have a problem.’ An explosion left the crew stranded with limited reserves of power, water and oxygen. Back on earth NASA began a rescue mission: teams of workers improvised scenarios for survival and helped as best they could with the preparations to sling-shot the rocket round the moon and bring it safely back to earth. That was an audacious plan and it seemed like the whole world held its breath to see if it would work.

Recently I watched the movie that recreated the events. I was impressed at the efforts NASA made to get the astronauts home. No expense was spared. All their resources focused on just three men. And the whole world sighed with relief when they splashed down safely in the ocean.

Time and again in the face of trouble the human race proves itself able to overcome what seem like impossible odds. But sadly, just as often, we appear unable or unwilling to put the same effort and resources into events that may be less dramatic, but are no less tragic.

Maybe it’s because we do not recognise the face the one child who dies from hunger every five seconds in our world, perhaps it’s because we haven’t met the families struggling in extreme poverty, it could be that climate change hasn’t threatened the life of those we love just yet, and so these people and the seemingly inevitable catastrophes they face do not receive the urgency of care that we might extend to beleaguered astronauts.

Jesus told his followers, that where ever their treasure was found, that’s where their heart would be. Our hearts once went out to just three men facing an almost certain death in space. How audacious would it be if today we could treasure the millions of people facing a preventable death here on earth?

the secret is ...

2010-03-31T18:07:00.003+01:00

A thought for today that stuck from Anne Lamott in 'Travelling Mercies':

The secret is that God loves us exactly the way we are ...

and that he loves us too much to let us stay like this.

Sick of Church?

2010-03-25T15:18:00.003Z

Sick of Church??? .
.. er ... umm ... well actually no.

Nicest thing I've heard for a while was last week when one of the children who is part of our church told her mum that she'd been feeling 'church sick.' By this she meant that in the same way as people may get home sick, the family had been away for two weeks and now she was missing being in church: she was therrefore church sick!

Makes perfect sense to me ...
wish it did to more people

Letting Rima stay

2010-03-09T09:30:00.002Z

If you've been following and supporting the campaign to let Rima stay with Robert and Alison in the UK here's the good news ... they visited the UKBA yesterday and came home with confirmation that no removal directions were being prepared and a review date is set at the end of June. Things are far from settled and it is still a stress to live under this shadow so do not give up campaigning, but lets give thanks for this blessing of respite. Don't forget www.letrimastay.org.uk

Before you give anyone your vote ...

2010-03-08T09:42:00.003Z

The first ripples of election fever are finding their way through my letter box. I have decided to set a task for every prospective candidate I meet ... I will consider the proposals of their manifesto if they promise to read this book and come back and talk to me about it. I may even buy copies to give away.

The Spirit Level by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett gets to grips with the central thesis 'Why Equality is Better for Everyone.' These two well respected epidemiologists name the way the quality of life diminishes for everyone when we value growth over equality. Looking at everything from crime to mental health, stopping on the way to review education and life expectancy it almost has the chapter headings of a political manifesto but it's central theme is simple: almost everything we do is affected not by how wealthy we or our nation is .... but how equal a society we live in. Cultures with a bigger gap between the 'haves' and 'have nots' are bad for everyone ... including the well off.

I didn't always spend the time I should have on the statistical analysis and the graphs included (not my way of thinking) ... and perhaps I lingered much too long on the cartoons (but they are both funny and poignant) ... but the book remains compelling if disturbing reading for how we might shape our country in the future ... because here is the proof that we do life better when we do it together and do it as equals.

Of course it is not just about how the politicians might make this happen, it's what I (or you) might do about it too. So maybe I won't just give it away until I'm doing something more about this stuff myself.

No word has come ...

2010-03-01T15:16:00.006Z

Today is Day Fourteen for Rima. Or Zero Days left of Border Agency grace remaining. The Facebook entry from Alison says so much: 'Today our home is no longer safe.'

In such a moment 'homes' often become no more than 'houses.'
but I cannot bear the imagining of Rima Robert and Alison being without a home ... left only with a house. The foundations of hospitality go too deep in them in their place of belonging for 'home' to be lost.

As I prayed for them all today it felt to me as if a robber had posted a calling card through their front door and said 'I might be back anytime soon.' This may be an unfair image for the UK Border Agency or the Home Secretary but it is what came to me. And it came on the day when Wales celebrates its patron Saint, David. It seemed significant that Robert and Alison live as a Columban Home ... offering sanctuary ... as part of their commitment to the Rule of the Iona Community and it seems to me that whether it was Columba or David no-one I know is more in need of the protection of the saints, the angels, and all the host of heaven than this family. If St David could make the ground grow beneath him so better to speak to his congregation ... perhaps another miracle today ... that the words and prayers of those who have written and petitioned and spoken out would be raised high so that those in power and authority could hear better and respond well by doing what is right...

So today I did in private what I managed to avoid twice in the pulpit yesterday ... I wept for them. Psalm 121, the text for yesterday evening, promises that God will watch over us ... not that no bad thing will happen, but that God who made both heaven and earth is present even in the apparent absence ... in the darkness ... in the silence ... and so I bowed and knelt and offered my hopes and fears but as RS Thomas once said: for one who knelt no word came.

Except perhaps the word to keep on kneeling
and believing that goodness remains stronger than evil

If anybody's out there ... help!

2010-02-22T09:48:00.005Z

I am never too sure who reads this blog (if anyone) but if you are then please do not just read it, today i am asking that you do something too. Something that could radically change three lives for the better. Those lives are Robert Swinfen, and Alison Phipps, friends of mine in Glasgow and Rima. This is Rima's story.

Rima, now 17 years old, arrived in the UK in March 2008, fleeing persecution in Eritrea and then racist neglect, destitution and physical harm in Italy. She came to stay with Robert Swinfen and Alison Phipps in Glasgow in March 2009, and they have become a close-knit family unit. Rima has a strong case for asylum from Eritrea, but under the Dublin Regulation is now liable to be returned to Italy.

She has come to love Robert and Alison as her Dad and Mum, and they have very strong parental feelings for her too. For the past year they, with some help from friends, have provided her entire support as if she were indeed their foster daughter. Rima is extremely vulnerable and in need of a secure family to recover from the trauma and chaos of the past three years of her life. She is doing very well, but is far from ready to live on her own and both wants and needs to continue living with her British Mum and Dad. Rima is now in real danger of being forcibly taken from her home in Scotland, in the next week, sent into Yarl’s Wood, and then deported to Italy.

You can make a difference by writing to your MP, MEP and the Home Secretary or even just by signing an on line petition to get the Home Sec. to intervene in this case to allow Rima to remain in the UK because she now has many strong relationships and a foster-family who will continue to support and love her for as long as she needs.

Rima will be 18 on 1st July this year, but the trauma and upheaval which she has suffered mean that she will need to be part of a family for some years to come. It would be so cruel to tear her away from parents for a second time, repeating the trauma from which she is beginning to recover, and so I am asking that you do what ever you can to help her to stay in the UK.

Please go to www.ipetitions.com/petition/rima and www.ncadc.org.uk/NCADC-Campaigns/rima/html or email me if you want a sample letter to send to the relevant people which you can do on line by http://www.writetothem.com/.

If you feel unable to do any of that and you believe in prayer, then please pray.

High Heels or Trainers

2010-02-12T08:49:00.011Z

Yesterday I was sitting in St Giles Cathedral Edinburgh having a quiet moment or two, marvelling at the sunlight coming through the stained glass windows and how quickly the early morning sounds of the city disappear in sacred silence when I became aware of a teetering muffle behind me. I glanced over my shoulder and watched as a women in high clicky heels tried very hard, (but unsuccessfully) not to break the quiet. In fact the more effort she gave to hushing her steps the less she seemed to achieve.

I am not sure what it was she wanted to preserve from disturbance. Not my silence, I doubt thtat she had noticed me. I wonder did she fear that her stillettoed reverberations would awaken the holiness of God or perhaps the holiness in herself.

Either way this well posed icon of fashionable elegance seemed less in balance with her location than the curly haired three year old who refused to be shushed into being quiet by her father. As he whispered to her 'shh ... its a church... you have to be quiet' she climbed on a pew and decalimed with free abandon, 'Why do I have to be quiet when its pretty.'

Well that made up for missing Radio 4's Thought for the Day.

But she had more to offer.

The slip-slapping footsteps of this lassie as she then out-manouvred her father and cheekily ran towards a side chapel somehow seemed more at home with the joy of holiness than the self conscious tiptoing of the earlier lady. But for all that I'm sure God found pleasure in them both ... I know I did.

Ssshh ... its the sound of God

2010-02-09T16:08:00.005Z

A few years ago I was fascinated by a radio 4 broadcast featuring Noirin Ni Riain, renowned Irish singer, talking about theosony, the sound of God. She spoke with passion of how we learn to be silent and listen with the ear of the heart.

I contacted her as she said that she'd just completed a PhD in Limerick on this theme and i was able to get a copy. It is a powerful piece of theological reflection but to my knowledge it has not been more widely published. So I was happy to discover that her autobiography has just been released by Veritas books in Ireland.

I have just finished it and apart from making me nostalgic for an Ireland I never really knew, it also many theological and spiritual insights that made me stop for a moment or two: including this one.

'No two silent listenings to the inner voice of God's self-disclosure are the same either. The God who reveals will be known not only in names but also silence. This silence does not reduce God to absence or mere emptiness, but is fullness, which is a Trinity of Persons. It is almost as if the Trinity is not composed of just three parts but of four: the fourth is the silence that reveals the triune God to the universe and wherein cosmic sound disappears into the silent mist. Human silence, which human ears can perceive, arises out of the silence that cannot be heard, yet which is drawn back to the world by an organic momentum. The Word is the fruit of the silent seed of Divine/human encounter. To taste the full fruit is to taste the revelation of God in and through the dialogical Trinity' (p78)

It's a sin ... or maybe not ... please convince me!

2010-02-05T07:07:00.003Z

Yesterday I did something I've not done in a very long time ... its been about fifteen years or so since I last enjoyed this particular pleasure and it felt so good to do it again but I'm not sure if it was a sin.

I ate a Nestle's Kitkat.

For a long time now and for the much documented reasons of some of Nestles ethical policies I have avoided their products where possible. Hardly a huge sacrifice in the plethora of commercial alternatives but some products were missed more that others, a certain chocolate bar among them. But now the long lamented Kitkat has gone Fair trade. No less a man that the Archbishop of York John Sentamu endorsed the move so I thought to myself that can't be bad ... in fact, I reasoned I almost have a moral duty to make a purchase to applaud them for their actions and encourage them further down the road of chocolate fairness.

But now, wrapper in the bin, crumbs licked off my fingers, I am thinking that while KitKat may have gone Fair-trade and proudly sports its new ethical credentials with the obligatory advertising logo, but the Company haven't reversed the policies to which I have long objected. In which case what has really changed? Is this all no more than marketing smoke and mirrors? What does it mean for the Fair-Trade Dairy Milk now that Kraft are taking over? I know there is lots of chocolate on sale who's company credentials are more sound ... most of it tastes great in the mouth and in the Spirit too but then again that Kit Kat didn't half taste good. That said, perhaps it's 'mea culpa' on the ethics and so it may have been the last one that I eat for some time yet. Unless you all convince me otherwise.

Papa Don't Preach ... or maybe do ... really I'm not sure.

2010-02-02T11:59:00.005Z

I am not sure what to think about the Pope's latest comments. What about you?

Usually I blog here with fully formed opinions or at least considered reflections ...

now I only have a bunch of questions.

As an clearly intended attack on the equality legislation that seeks to bring much needed justice for gay and lesbian people in many places in this country, I am not happy with what the Pope has said. Such equality is long overdue. I make no comment here on whether it should apply directly to Church except to say as someone who does not like the state interfering with religious liberty I kind of understand where the Pope is coming from as well. I value the freedom of conscience that I, my congregation and others in my denomination enjoy. There is a self determiantion (albeit a covenantal one) that has long stood up for its convicitons. But historically the Papal position has always been tied to the Power and Authority of Christendom and to the conflicts and / or alliances within that structure that can be made with the Secular Powers nad legislature. And that's where we part company. My tradition (at its best) has been ever been a dissenting or confessing one, we have historically has come under persecution from such powers adn authorities, religious and/ or state, and many followers have paid the price of their convictions.

And so I suppose I think that if the law of the land demands of me something which i believe to be unconscionable and a fundamental point of my essential confession of Christ as Lord then for sure I will protest the law in its making but if it then is passed, then there seems no alternative but to break it and suffer the consequences. I am not so sure that this is the case for me in this surrounding debate although it may yet prove to be so for my denomination. And I'm not so sure that the Pope is advocating large-scale Catholic civil disobedience here either. Although I will confess that prospect is appealing to me not least for the precedent it might set for other matters and the shift that it might herald in how the Church behaves.

Either way it does look like the forthcoming Papal visit will draw people, their energy and resources into choosing one side or another, pitting them against each other, which is the thing that saddens me most when there is so much good that might be done in the world if we learnt to work together.

Money money money

2010-01-29T10:12:00.005Z

The world's leading bankers have arrived again at Davos in Switzerland for the World Economic Forum. They are there to argue the case that what they call heavy handed financial reforms will delay or even hamper the green shoots of global economic recovery.

In 2009 not so many of them made the trip: maybe they felt chastened by the fact that we the public of many different countries round the world had had to bail their business out with public finance that might otherwise have gone on healthcare or education or reducing climate change. (or perhaps it was because their expenses had been capped)

But with governments declaring that "we want our money back" and threatening to do so through curbs on trading, taxing bonuses and in other ways clipping the risky wings of banking, the bankers have turned out in strength to say 'touch us and it all comes down around you', or words to that effect.

I don't claim to understand this all (but they do and look where that has got us). I have enough trouble keeping track of the twenty pounds I got out yesterday from the ATM. But I have two words of caution ringing in my ears as the bankers seem to think that their world should stay they way it is.

The first is from George MacLeod in 1968:

Something needs to be done about the money boys who run our world. It is urgent that the whole issue of international monetary finance be reviewed.
Have you ever queried the bankers? I have. Try the lower echelon of banker, and most of them will say, ‘These things are too high for us, we cannot attain unto them.’ But a small minority will whisper, ‘You’ve got something there boy; isn’t it exceptionally cold weather for so late in the month of May?’

Try the upper echelon of banker. I have. I wrote to the top man of a London bank, a charming man, asking his comments on a similar document to the Haslemere Declaration. He replied that the figures were inaccurate. I immediately asked which figures but had no reply.

They are in training for the job of international bankers. They know what is good for us. Don’t consult us, the paltry crowd. But do they know what is good for us ... Or are they sowing the seeds of the next war?

The others words come from Alice Walker and a poem that in some ways sadly didn't make the final edit of my thoughts on BBC Wales this morning:

We alone can devalue Gold
But not caring
If it falls or rises
In the market place.
Wherever there is golf
There is a chain you know,
And if your chain
Is gold
So much the worse
For you.

Feathers, shells
And sea shaped stones
Are all as rare.
This could be our revolution:
To love what is plentiful
As much as
What’s scarce.

Reverse Course

2010-01-29T09:18:00.003Z

My thoughts on BBC Radio Wales this morning went something like this:

Good morning: I was about eleven when a group of us spent a day learning to canoe. By the evening we were sure that we had mastered it and we were bold enough to think we’d not get caught, if later on, we sneaked down to the lake and had another go. Well we made it to the jetty undetected and I was daft enough to climb in first. I’d only got one foot in the boat when my comrades had the bright idea of pushing it into the lake.

The problem was my other foot still planted on the shore. As my right leg travelled onto deeper water and my left leg tried to remain just where it was, the distance uncomfortably increased. Decisive action was needed. I lunged toward the shore and caught hold of the jetty. But to my horror the canoe maintained its course. I ended up horizontal to the water, stretched out like the Severn Bridge, but with no such means of support. An inevitable disaster ensued.

I thought of that this week when I heard how the gap between the richest and poorest people in Britain has increased again. This has been going on for forty years and so I wondered just how long can those with plenty, distance themselves from those in need. How long before society is simply stretched too far?

The government’s definition of impoverishment is a relative one: where we draw the poverty-line is dependant on the average income of our nation. As that changes so does our understanding of who is poor. So, poverty in Britain looks different to somewhere else like Haiti, even before the earthquake. But how we care for those with little, wherever they may be, ultimately defines who we are. And nothing is more suggestive of a dangerous malaise than the simple truth that the rich are continuing to get disproportionately wealthier.

The bible recognises that taking care of the least of us is not just a matter of political expediency. It’s not even about economic justice, important as that is. Closing the gap between the haves and have-nots is about our spirituality. Because it is not money, but the love of it that can corrupt our living, whether we are rich or poor. It’s the misplaced adoration of pounds and pence that can make us indifferent to the plight of others, trapping our Spirit within a poverty of heart that becomes the root of all our problems.

Something must change:

not just in government or banking

but in us and what we value

if we’re ever to close the gap and change the course of what we have become

I'm (not) walking in the snow

2010-01-25T10:15:00.006Z

It's been a while since i blogged, something to do with spare time going on a catalogue of things that broke down, inc: my desktop PC, the washing machine, tumble drier (I know its bad for the planet) the car (also bad) the electrics dying in the house, and then a leak in our kitchen ceiling this week. But all that is over now (i hope) and we had a great walk round the Museum of Welsh Life on Saturday, where there was still snow piled up high and out of the way. It reminded us of all the fun we'd had with snow over the festive period.

I remember the first time my daughter really encountered snow.

‘Oh … wow’, she said and then, proud of some recently acquired knowledge, she pointed a finger and proclaimed with certainty, ‘White!’ Snow was a wondrously strange new object to behold, a fresh mystery to be embraced, one that made her shiver for an instant and then ran between her tiny fingers. I was just happy to see her sense of wonder in God’s creation.

The next time Niamh saw snow outside her window we were impressed that she remembered what it was called. This time the conversation went:

‘Oh … wow! … Snow … White.’

Apart from making me look for seven dwarves, I was again impressed with the wonderment she offered to the falling flakes of white that gathered on the ground. While grown-ups were worrying about journey times to work and if the Gritters had been out, (and I know these are legitimate concerns) she was more than happy to welcome this occasional but spectacular visitor back into her life.

Snow fell again just before Christmas in 2009 and it was half-way through January before the thaw set in round here. During that time Niamh went walking in the snow, slipped and slid across the snow, threw balls of snow and built men of snow and eventually … she kind of became bored with it. Snow became a part of every day, taken for granted, no longer greeted with cries of ‘wow!’

Sadly, many of us do the same, and not just with the snow. We loose a sense of wonder with the world that God created. We hurry past sunsets and primroses, and forget the excitement we once enjoyed by chasing squirrels. The world becomes, as some say, dull as ditchwater; though as any naturalist will tell you, that too is teeming with exciting life. Some of us loose our sense of wonder with the church, this wonderful family that God has called us to be part of and which He’ has chosen to show the world His love. And some of us loose our sense of wonder with other human beings: equally made in the Image of God, we quickly reduce them into ‘interesting or boring’, ‘beneficial to my purpose’ or a ‘hindrance on the way’. And so we easily forget that every person whom we meet carries in their living something of God’s glory and reveals Christ to us.

As the days go by we need to keep alive our sense of wonder. I am reminded of the poet John O’Donohue who once said:

I would love to live

As a river flows,

Carried by the surprise

Of its own unfolding.

It's a season not a day.

2010-01-08T09:22:00.008Z

For a couple of years now I've been going on about (some might say moaning about) how Christmas is a season ... not just one expectation laden day. In a December post I mentioned how our Renovare group had had some conversation on how to make this actually happen.

Well as so often in my life, it was my wife that made it happen.

On Christmas Day I received twelve envelops, one to be opened on the appropriately allocated day of the festive season. Each gift referenced the spiritual meaning behind the original Catechismic Twelve Days Poem and also managed to incorporate one of the 6 streams of Spirituality that feature within Renovare (http://www.renovare.info/stream s) ... so on one day I got a new bible, on another I got 50 trees in a threatened area of forest, then there were the onion bulbs, the fairtrade chocolate bar and who could forget the pan pipes. Most of this unfolded on the beautiful, if snowy, Isle of Bute (plus a quick trip to Colintrive for festive jazz) and amounted to a wonderful Christmas Season.

Only 350 days before we get to do it all again!

More Big Bangs

2009-12-21T09:19:00.004Z

I was using my exploding crackers story (last post) as an illustration in last night's carol service ... how the glory of the lord shining all around the shepherds is anything but quiet and peaceful when all of a sudden our occasionally visiting teenagers slipped round the side of the church and kicked the emergency exit door an almighty Whack! The huge noise it made came just as I said 'angels are loud and scary" and before the next line in the sermon went: 'That's why God reminds us over and over, not to be Afraid!

I was going to reference Ireneaus, 'the glory of God is a human fully alive' and how sometimes our greatest fears are about being fully alive to who we are' but we had to give it a minute for the shock to die down. Funnily enough there were some seasoned church folk who were wondering if I'd actually planned it to happen. Wish I had now!

Have an explosive Christmas

2009-12-18T09:40:00.005Z

The other day I wanted to give out Christmas Crackers as part of the responses in a worship time. I went to the local supermarket to purchase the crackers and seeing the large queue took the self service option for payment. The machine scanned in the boxes but refused to let me pay, it said 'Assistance Required!'

So I sought assistance and it came from a young man who with due respect to him looked about twelve years old. He told me that he had to confirm my age to make the purchase, as i was buying a potentially explosive product.

So having looked me up and down and coming to conclusion that my 18th birthday had indeed been and gone some years ago he presented me with my ticking Yule Tide time bomb. I have no intention of terrorising anyone this Christmas but it did remind me that so many people in the story were terrified ... Mary, Joseph, Zechariah and the Shepherds all at some time had to reminded: Do not be afraid!

So however it is God wishes to explode his glory in us or through us this Christmas may none of us be afraid.

12 Days of Christmas

2009-12-13T14:33:00.003Z

There's a lot of talk (and rightly so) about what Christians might do through Advent to make Christmas more meaningful, closer to the purpose of celebrating incarnation etc. But at a recent Renovare gathering we began to think about how we might reclaim something of the truths of Christmas by taking seriously the twelve days of the season and sharing through them some common acts of discipleship and mission. We haven't come up with a plan just yet but I wonder what others would do / or are planning to do this year?

In the meantime the poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy has a new poem on the 12 days which is worth the reading ... it is published in the Christmas Radio Times... verse twelve (usually the 12 drummers drumming) reads:

Did they hear the drums in Copenhagen

banging out their warning

On the twelth day in Copenhagen

was global warming stopped in its tracks

By Brown and Barak and Hu Jintao

by Meles Zenawi and Al Sabban

by Yvo de Boer and Hedegaard

Did they strike a match

or strike a bargain

the politicos in Copenhagen

Did they twiddle their thumbs

Or hear the drums

and hear the drums

and hear the drums?

The Earth remains our mother

2009-12-09T15:05:00.007Z

These were my thoughts on radio Wales this afternoon.

My two year old daughter has reached another milestone in her life. She's sorted out the walking and kind of got to grips with talking, so we reckon that she's ready for the next big challenge:

it's time for potty training.

But if that's a daunting prospect for my household it's nothing to what the Davies family from North Wales have had to cope with on the BBC One programme, Changing Lives.

For those who may have missed it this family of four are part of the Green Wales project, an initiative that's tested the nation to see how environmentally sustainable our lifestyles are. I now that Roy (Noble) and other presenters at the BBC have been doing their bit for this, but as world leaders gather in Copenhagen to discuss the changes in our global climate, it's been the eco-skeptical Davies folk that I have warmed to, swapping their energy guzzling home to live amongst a green community in Powys. There they're learning to generate their own energy, recycle everything and live off the land. Recycling everything has included the challenge of re-using the very stuff my daughter is leaving in her potty.

Meredith and I once spent a week living with twenty other people on a similar project in Scotland. The toilets there were composted too ... the food was mostly home grown and the power sources mainly were sustainable. After seven days there was just one bag of rubbish to remove. On the wall there hung an ancient Celtic prayer reminding us that the whole earth proclaims God's glory ... that there's nothing in the sea, the air, the land that doesn't' contain and reveal God's goodness.

That is not reducing God to nothing more than nature, but it is acknowledging that traces of the Creator can be found in every part of the Creation. It's recognising as St Paul once said, that all things hold together in Christ. And that must means that every thing we see and touch is connected to God, each part deserves our respect, our care and our devotion.

The old prayer on the wall reminded me of Dietrich Bonhoeffer who once commented

The earth remains our mother just as God remains our father

and our mother only lays in the father's arms

those who remain true to her

Whether we are leaders of the world in Copenhagen

or families in Wales hoping there's a future for our kids

remaining true to the earth is a challenge none of us can avoid.

Fasting and Feasting in Advent

2009-12-03T16:59:00.005Z

There will (I hope) be plenty of feasting tor me to enjoy this Christmas, but what about this Advent time, this space for preparation, ought I to be fasting now in anticipation of what is to come?

I'm thinking about this as I prepare a series on fasting for the New Year (or maybe Lent 2010) I've been reading, among others, Scot McKnight's new book 'Fasting', where he speaks of fasting as a whole body response to a 'serious or grievous sacred moment in life.' This is not fasting to cajole something out of God but as a response to something in life that iwe perceive to be amiss, some moment or period of what Walter Brueggemann would call our 'disorientation.'

In the midst of the reading comes a quotation that seemed so right for Advent: its from Thomas Ryan's book The Sacred Art of Fasting.

Fasting is one of the ways the servants of Jesus keep themselves alert in this future-orientated waiting until the bridegroom returns. To what could you liken their discreet, mysterious joy as they wait? you could say it is like the quiet humming or whistling of a choir member earlier in the day of a concert. it's like a mother and father cleaning the house and making up the beds in anticipation of the kids coming home home at Thanksgiving or Christmas, it's like standing at the airport terminal or train station, waiting for your loved one to appear. its' like a fiancee patiently addressing the wedding invitations. The long awaited event is not here yet, but it will come, and this is necessary preparation, In each case the energy is upbeat, forward looking and marked by the quiet joy of anticipation.

Bonhoeffer, Fundamentalism and Secularism

2009-11-26T16:06:00.005Z

Just published is this slim and slender (not) 424 page volume Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Theology Today: A Way between Fundamentalism and Secularism? It's not cheap, at around £45, but it is a great collection of papers from the International Bonhoeffer Conference in Prague 2008 and it contains lots of interesting material from people like Jurgen Moltmann, John De Gruchy and Martin Marty ... oh and it has a section from me too.

Things that Get in the Way at Christmas

2009-11-26T13:14:00.009Z

Tomorrow evening (Victoria Pub, Canton, Cardiff, 7:30) sees me leading an ecumenical event that seeks to build on some of the common journeys our 'churches together' have made during Lent. I have used the picture above in the publicity material, (a Banksy pic where Mary and Joseph can't get to Bethlehem today because the Israeli Security Wall might get in their way) . The idea was to have a dramatic metaphor for how things can get in the way while we are on the way through Advent towards Christmas. However it has already generated some debate that I didn't intend ... and while I am happy to reflect with people on the issues of peace ,justice, security and poverty in Bethlehem, Palestine, Israel and the Disputed Territories that really wasn't the intention here.

Although clearly these issues are of great importance for many (including the creator of this display in a Vancouver,) that is not what i want to engage with on this coming Friday evening.

As with Lent I try to do less rather than more in these traditionally penitential periods ... but it is very hard
(especially if you are a religious professional).

There is, for better or worse, a lot more to be doing around this time of year and much of it does not help me actually prepare for the depths of the Christmas experience. I'll try and do some more pruning over the next four weeks but i wonder what gets in the way on the way back to the manger?

Civil Partnerships

2009-11-13T14:42:00.002Z

BUGB Council spent some time this week discussing if and how a Baptist pastor might participate in Civil Partnerships. There was, as you might except, a wide diversity of opinion but I thought we had covered all the possible positions. Until that is, I listened to Jeremy Vine on Radio 2 this afternoon. He had as guests a woman and man who do not wish to get married (in Church or civil ceremony) because marriage discriminates against gay and lesbian people who are denied the instituion under law. What the couple want is to have a Civil Partnership, but they can't do that because they are not gay. This they claim (not without some logic) is also discrimination. As a commitment to justice they wish no part in any arrangement that sustains such inequalities. I am not going to make any further comment on the rights and wrongs of this, except to say that we never thought of it arising when we were at Swanick.

Friday 13th: Put your money where your mouth is

2009-11-13T10:53:00.006Z

This afternoon I have to see the dentist. And yes I know its Friday 13th ... which due to weird conflation of inaccurate Christian story-telling and natural superstition is said to be unlucky. When I spoke to the receptionist about the appointment I mentioned that Friday 13th was not a date I would have chosen to visit my dentist she casually checked her records to confirm the facts before her and then chalenged me

'But you're a Reverend ... we thought such things wouldn't matter to you.'

So off I go at 1 o'clock to put my money where my mouth is

and my mouth in someone else's hands.

Faith eh?

This is not the light of the World

2009-11-12T12:26:00.004Z

Carrying on from my carol singers last week I discover that tonight's the night when the Christmas Lights in Cardiff will be switched on. I do not want to be a perpetually whinging Scrooge, but it is not even Advent yet. If we complain that our weather no longer seems to know the proper season, is it any wonder, for we do not know the time or date ourselves. Surely we must do something to reclaim a proper rhythm and an appreciation of time as a discipline for ourselves and as a witness to a watching world. Pretty as it is ... this is not the Light of the World and i am not convinced that all the premature illumination will help us find it.

What is the measure of a friend?

2009-11-08T14:46:00.008Z

Finally I have bowed to the increasing pressure of friends and circumstance and joined Facebook.

Having done so I am faced with the question of friendship ... people are being recommended to me as friends ... worse still, I am being recommended to others. It seems impolite to refuse someone who wants to be a friend ... but do I want to be friends with everyone on the planet who has a tangential connection to two other people I once knew? Is this friendship? Are these people for whom I would lay down my life ... would they reciprocate?

I want to value the friends I have (on Facebook and in real life) but like love, I wonder do we debase the meaning of friendship by using it so lightly.

I am reminded of Emily Dickinson

"My friends are my estate.
Forgive me then the avarice to hoard them.
They tell me those who were poor early have different views of gold.
I don't know how that is.
God is not so wary as we,
else He would give us no friends,
lest we forget Him."

Mmmm.

Remember Remember

2009-11-07T23:34:00.007Z

I think Remembrance Sunday should always be a time for celebrating Communion For while this is a day when we should remember the sacrifices made in the past and things that make our present freedoms possible, it is also when we should remember the Day that is coming when the kin-dom of Shalom shall soak up every tear.

Tomorrow is surely a day when we remember not just the conflicts of the past but recall the peace of the future that is ours. It might even be a day when we dare to start acting in the knowledge that such peace is among us already. Christ has died, Christ is risen and Christ will come again.

Vanity Vanity

2009-11-07T23:24:00.004Z

A Welsh guy on the run from police has sent a picture of himself to the South Wales Evening Post because apparently he disliked the mugshot they had printed of him as part of a public appeal to track him down.

Matthew Maynard is the man of the moment, helping the Police with their enquires but from a distance! The cheeky bit is the fact that he sent the newspaper a replacement photo of himself standing in front of a police van.

He might live to regret this I fear

and in case you're wondering the one on the right is his preferred photo.

What price vanity eh?

I don't beleive it ... Carol Singers!

2009-11-06T09:20:00.004Z

Yes folks it happened here last night ... I came home from a church meeting at about 10:30 and as my wife had an early flight this morning I decided to get ready for a relatively early night ... whereupon at 10:47 pm the door bell rang, the knocker was knocked, and fearing some pastoral emergency I rushed down stairs to be greeted by two young women serenading me with Silent Night. I told them that it was not a silent night and that their approximation at carol singing was exactly the reason why but if they would remove themselves from my doorstep I would indeed retire for said nocturnal season free of external cacophony. (Well it was words to that effect).

But really carol singing, at that time of night and Guy Fawkes hardly turned to a crisp.
Its enough to make you go 'bah humbug'.

On which tangential note

my copy of the Atheist's Guide to Christmas has just arrived.

Always good to know what other folks are thinking

Youth of today ... church of today

2009-11-03T08:55:00.005Z

So I had just finished my preach on Haggai on Sunday evening (John Bell says that prophet sounds very Scottish ... think about it) focusing on getting our worship of God at the core of our lives and then I moved to the communion table ... to celebrate Eucharist ... just began the liturgy whereupon about 15 young people, (11-14?) burst into church seemingly full of the 'joys' of Hallow e'en. What to do now?

There is no pastor's remote control for such events (and I am glad of that) but what to do?

It had been a busy morning, a wet night and Cardiff City were playing at home with a five o'clock kick off, so attendance was a little low on Sunday evening ... the late comers effectively doubled our numbers. Imagine if it could be sustained I thought: 100% growth to nonchurched teenagers ... a new youth centre established ... we would be a feature in Transform Magazine!

Except that's not how it panned out. I was impressed with our welcome stewards ... they didn't panic ... they were indeed welcoming ... they invited the young people to come in (with or without bikes) ... many of them did ... and in fairness the boys were fairly respectful of what was going on (I was adding my welcome from the table, explaining what was happening and hastily editing the usual religious speak out of the liturgy). I took a certain 'theological risk' by letting them know that it was not my table or the church's table, I had no right to say who could come or not (some in church may not agree) it was the table of Jesus so if they wanted to participate they could. But it was the girls who were for messing about ... by which I don't mean surpressed giggles adn embarrassed shuffling of feet, it was deliberate disruption of the remainder of the service ... shouting ... mickey taking ... running around the balcony.

Now don't get me wrong ... there was no malicious damage ... no threatening behaviour ... just a lot of high spirits and disruptive messing about. What to do? We want to be welcoming and inclusive ... we want to be a missionary people who reach young people just like these for Christ ... you could pray for years before 15 young people would darken the door of a church today. I am not so dedicated a liturgist to think that the Communion must be preserved at all costs ... indeed in many ways it is the most effective symbolism we have for mission and it may have been that for some a connection there was made. I am also conscious that they may have been the Spirit's gift to us ... breaking our comfortable familiarity as surely as bread was lying broken on the table ... they may have been the gift we failed to unwrap or accept ... but in such a scenario ... when disruption is seemingly the only intent what is the right response?

The temptation of course is to focus on the ones causing disruption ... asking for some respect / (ie compliance with our norms), but surely the danger there is that we miss the one or two quieter people who were perhaps genuinely intrigued by what was going on. What to do? As they said in the 90s what would Jesus do?

What would you have done?

Just say No???

2009-10-31T22:44:00.007Z

Welcome to November: although the greeting sounds a little strange to me. November doesn’t seem like a welcoming time of year. The ruby reds and burnished golds of early autumn have mostly gone, taking with them beauty of October’s ‘mists and mellow fruitfulness.’ But the seasons of Advent and Christmas still seem a little far away. What lies between them is this new but unpromising month of November.

I think the poet Thomas Hood summed it up well in verse I remember from my childhood.

No sun - no moon!

No morn - no noon!

No dawn - no dusk -

No proper time of day

No sky - no earthly view -

No distance looking blue -

No warmth, no cheerfulness,
no healthful ease,

No comfortable feel in any member

No shade, no shine,

no butterflies, no bees,

No fruits, no flowers,

no leaves, no birds,

November!

It’s not the whole of the poem, just the first and last stanzas, (I love the version recorded by the Art of Noise) but the verses in between offers up a similarly desolate view of the next 30 days.

But Christians need not worry about the gloom of the coming month. With God there is always the possibility of what George MacLeod once called the ‘Glory the Grey.’ There are wonders from God to be found, not only in the rage of thunderstorms or the splendour of sunsets, but in the most ordinary of moments, the most nondescript of days, glories in the greyest of times. I can’t help but wonder if it was in November that St Augustine once wrote:
.
How many common things are trodden under foot

which if examined carefully,

might awaken our astonishment.
.
So mind how you go this month,
For who can tell what glories might slip past us,
what moments of astonishment lie left asleep beneath us
if all we know of November is ‘no!’

Great fun with a woman... who is not my wife!

2009-10-26T09:11:00.004Z

Yesterday's preach in the morning was slightly different: We were using the Tearfund material on Water, and the text was John 4, the woman at the well. I considered doing a narrative sermon based on the woman but as I reflected on this I felt it was not right for me (not least cos I'm a bloke) so I decided to tell the story from the perspective of the woman's 6th 'husband.'

Having taken the precaution of warning my own good wife as to what was coming up I proceeded to tell a story of how I had got rid of my first wife and taken up with Betty, having met her myself one hot afternoon down by the well, from where she offered me a drink but we settled on so much more. So imagine how I felt when she told me she'd met another bloke at the same well, the sort of mood i was in when I went off to meet this man who told her all she'd ever done. Anyway we went on from there reviewing her and his encounters with Jesus, linking his dreams of Jesus Kingdom of Shalom with the unfinished business of social justice today.

We ended with the thorny question of personal reconciliation too: as having introduced his sons to Jesus when he stayed in the village, the boys then want to go and bring the Christ to their mother, my ex wife ... and they want to bring Betty along.
What would Jesus do!

You can't preach this kind of stuff every week, it would loose the impact but as a piece of Lectio for me it was personally very revealing and I hope helpful for the congregation. Certainly I got more feedback than usual.

DISCIPLINE OR DISAPPOINTMENT

2009-10-20T09:27:00.005+01:00

I did enjoy reading Christian George's book God.ol.ogy, although I must admit it was often more because of the authors he quotes than what he writes himself.

I am not familiar with James Rohn, (I think he is some kind of motivational business guru in America) but I did like this comment quoted by George:

We must all suffer one of two things:

the pain of discipline

or the pain of regret or disappointment

SOAP OPERA GOSPEL

2009-10-20T08:57:00.008+01:00

I was doing a year nine assembly in a local High School last week. When I had finished my talky bIt, much to the surprise of staff and me alike there were no announcements, reprimands or congratulations to impart, which left us with 4 minutes to fill before the bell. The RE teacher filled the gap by announcing that he and I were going to do a quick soap opera serialisation of the bible, or at least part of it. (he turned to me and whispered but 'we'll have to end on a cliff hanger moment and then next term we'll carry on.'

A very hurried discussion led to him kicking off the background biography on David, shepherd boy, giant killer, poet, musician and King, all round good egg for God. Then one day something happened that would change his life forever ... and I'll hand you over to Rev Gardiner.

There were two minutes left on the clock but I managed to spin out the roof top voyeurism until the critical moment where David did the necessary calculations, (three streets over, second house on the left) and dispatched a servant to get her. So the class time bell rang just as Bathsheba announced 'but I can't, I won't, I'm married.. get your hands off me...'

Sorry year nine but you'll have to wait until after half term!

The students didn't want to leave, (ok I know the alternative was double maths) but it did make me think again about the power of narrative and how I tell our message week by week.

Glory, Glory

2009-10-19T09:35:00.003+01:00

Jim at Living Wittily has reduced his blog output to a sentence a day, I enjoy reading his longer posts but already the 'one liners' are shaping up to be great provocations to thought. Coincidentally, yesterday in the pulpit a singular line returned to me unexpectedly from my reading the evening before. I think I even abandoned the script to use the phrase twice. It seemed an appropriate turn of phrase given the lectionary reading in Mark, where James and John ask Jesus for the best of seats in glory.

It comes from Christian George in his book God.ol.ogy.

He says:

Glory shines,

but it also bleeds.

Ears to hear but its the feet that vote

2009-10-19T09:03:00.007+01:00

In days gone by (and still in other places around the world today) Christians would band together in close knit communities, each bearing the burdens of the other, and protecting one another from persecution that might lead to imprisonment, torture or death.

So how is it that we've come to this:

According to the Baptist Times a London church has recently been issued orders from their local council to lower the volume of their amplified praise and worship. This does not seem particularly like persecution to me, it more resembles the secular authorities reminding the church what it is to love their neighbour, but what has astonished me more was the claim from church leaders that this might lead to their congregations loosing members. I have no wish to criticise another fellowship of Christians but surely something is amiss in a gospel people when we have ears to hear when the volume's to our liking, but when it is not, we up and move to somewhere else, presumably either to the middle of a large field where noone can hear you sing or to another urban church where we may well still be annoying the neighbours. It seems we now have ears to hear, but its the feet that carry the vote.

Covenant belonging ought not to be so easily laid aside.

When they say 'Its not about the money ...'

2009-10-18T20:14:00.005+01:00

When I worked as a lawyer there was a general rule that applied in nearly every case: when a client said, ''it's not about the money, it's the principle ...

you knew that it was all about the money!

Harvest this year at church was not about the money, good as it was to raise the funds for BMS and needy situations round the world, harvest was about saying thank you to God for what we have and then standing in solidarity with those who have not. And it was good to be reminded of just how much we do have.

This happened of course in our offerings

in the Seeds of Hope we planted

but also in the display
And in the words of the Brian Wren hymn: Praise God for the Harvest:

Praise God for the harvest of orchard and field,
praise God for the people who gather their yield,
the long hours of labour, the skills of a team,
the patience of science, the power of machine.

Praise God for the harvest that comes from afar,
from market and harbour, the sea and the shore:
foods packed and transported, and gathered and grown
by God-given neighbours, unseen and unknown.

Praise God for the harvest that's quarried and mined,
then sifted, and smelted, or shaped and refined:
for oil and for iron, for copper and coal,
praise God, who in love has provided them all.

Praise God for the harvest of science and skill,
the urge to discover, create and fulfil:
for dreams and inventions that promise to gain
a future more hopeful, a world more humane.

Praise God for the harvest of mercy and love
from leaders and peoples who struggle and serve
for patience and kindness, that all may be led
to freedom and justice, and all may be fed.

23 kilos of money

2009-10-18T09:30:00.005+01:00

Sorry it has taken so long since my last post but we have been busy counting the 23 kilogrammes of change we collected through the Seeds of Hope for BMS at harvest. Actually that's not true, my Treasurer and his family have been the ones spending their time doing the counting, which when added to our harvest 'lunch money' is going to be around £800 raised to help agricultural projects in war torn areas like Lebanon. Once again I am reminded of the huge privilege to pastor such a great bunch of people and how we connect into the wider unfolding purposes of God.

Harvest Hopes Part 1

2009-10-02T10:36:00.003+01:00

Last night we had our Harvest Supper at Church, focusing on the work of BMS and their Seeds of Hope material, how hope is being sown in war torn, bomb strewn parts of Lebanon through help from BMS. In some ways, the supper was the usual stuff, lots of food and fun and conversation, but with lots more children staying up for the occasion, we were running out of space and seats in the church hall. Thankfully there was enough dessert with chocolate cake left over for Sunday (except Sunday is an austerity lunch). Anyway we watched the excellent DVD presentation and tried our hands at the quiz (although quiz was a bit hard and serious).

But there was lots more too. We were decorating plant pots with ribbons and stickers to use in symbolic offerings in our All Age Service on Sunday, (my daughter has made three already) and picking up the theme we were physically planting seeds as well. So out came the packets of cress seeds for what we are hoping will have flourished into a living crop of symbolic hope by Sunday morning.

Burning Bush and Floating Leaves

2009-10-02T10:15:00.003+01:00

I am not sure it was as captivating as Moses' Burning Bush, but it held my attention for a good few minutes yesterday. Walking through Victoria Park, with only an ice cream for my company, there was a leaf, floating in the air. It was going to and fro a little, with a gentle lullaby-esqye feel, but it was neither going up or down, just hanging around, doing its own leafy thing.

Eventually, realising that I could be scuppering the magical moment i grabbed the air above it, expecting to find some fine spider's thread that had enabled its suspension, but nothing was there. It continued unperturbed my my violent interruption to just lay back and go with the breezy flow. For all I know it might still be there. I'm going on later and I'll let you know. As I watched it for a while I remembered reading once, (Eckhard or some Celtic saint perhaps) that to observe a beetle well could tell you all you needed to know. Maybe it works with leaves as well.

FLOSS FOR THE SOUL

2009-10-01T09:16:00.004+01:00

The other day I had my regular check up with the dentist. Normally the questions he asks before I lie back and say ‘ah’ are as predictable as those from an airport check in desk. Instead of ‘did you pack this bag yourself?’ and ‘have you left it unattended?’ I am used to regular dental enquiries like, ‘How often do you floss?’ and ‘are you having any trouble with your gums?’

But this visit was different, this time I was asked: ‘on a scale of 1-10 how happy are you with the appearance of your teeth.’

The question kind of threw me even though I knew where it was going. If I answered less than the average 5, then no doubt there was a range of cosmetic adjustments to be offered, but no doubt also at a price. Coming from a very practical approach to dentistry (if it ain’t broke then don’t poke about in there) I didn’t want any such work undertaken, but I felt duty bound to be truthful and the present pearly whites didn’t quite meet the 50% mark: maybe 3.5, possibly 4 by a dim light.

Now I like my dentist very much so I kind of fudged the issue saying, ‘once upon a time the image might have been important, but I’m married now and she loves me 3.5 and all!’

But all the same, the powers of insecurity had begun to work their dark magic. Would a little work up here and there do wonders for my photos, my image and my self-esteem? How much would it cost to raise my dental profile to a 5 or 6? Of course what I am worth is not down to pearly whiteness of my teeth or a body that is tanned and toned to within an inch of perfection: and it’s just as well. Neither is it down to the size of my bank account or the heights of my IQ. Again we say, it’s just as well. Instead, each one of us is beautiful simply because we are created and loved by God. Each one of us is priceless because of the rich inheritance we have in Jesus Christ.

So often fears and insecurities over what we look like, what we’ve done, how we’ve failed to be the person that we’d like to be, can undermine our belief in this good news of God’s unconditional love, but for all that heaven wishes to transform us, still God accepts us as we are. As the song says, we can come no other way. And so again, we might all say that’s just as well. And if you don’t believe me then print and pin this to the bathroom mirror.

Retune your life

2009-09-29T15:54:00.003+01:00

Every so often this week my television has reminded me that if I've got a Freeview Box I need to retune it tomorrow in order to ensure ongoing good reception. I don't know much about the digital revolution in television and I'm sure this side effect is not intended by the nice folks who send me the information, but every time the messages come on the screen I am reminded that so often its my Spirit that most needs retuning, if I am going to continue with good reception. Just a thought.

More refreshments please.

2009-09-28T21:28:00.007+01:00

I have been catching up on the various blogs of ministers taken away for a few days of R and R courtesy of the most highly beneficent BUGB Refresher scheme. I have received such a time in the middle of my NAMS and another since then too i think (too many conferences) and I am looking forward to more of the same in the future. I think it is a vital part of our nurturing mature (and I don't mean old) pastors.

Like going to Assembly, some of the greatest benefits are in catching up with friends now flung far and wide across the country, but there has obviously been a rich array of studies and reflections this year which has left participants sufficiently enthused to blog on them. I ma sure this has happened in the past as well, but this year i was paying attention. Of course nothing beats being there, (even a second rate gig will trump a CD /i tune download) but it seems that there was so much to which a wider audience might listen that's its a shame to not share it all around.

So I am wondering if anyone thought to record the Bible Studies and Lectures and if so do they or BUGB have the technology to post them somewhere for us all to have a listen. I know the team from BMS had down loads of Tony Campollo on line within a day of his talks at the Joint Welsh Baptist Assembly which helped me capture a flavour of the time even though I could not be there. It too was a great refreshment.

I suspect that no-one did it this time but here's an appeal for next year
could we all share in more of the refreshments please?

So I say 'Thank you for the Music'

2009-09-28T20:52:00.004+01:00

What a great day of Jazz in Worship we had on Saturday with Scott Stroman. Scott is a composer. musician /conductor at the Guildhall School of Music and came to Cardiff this weekend at the invitation of Kelvin Thomas and Cambrensis Ministries. It was a privilege to host the day in our church building. Scott brought with him the gift of music, he had us all singing and playing for hours on end ... not only enjoying every minute of it, but encountering it as a rich time of worship to God. High point for me was probably the fantastic Benedictus from his Jazz Mass and a setting of Psalm 65 that captured all the mystery of the Psalmist's prayer, but we also did wonderful arrangements of more popular songs like 'Is it Well With your Soul' and 'Happy Day.' You can listen to some of this at http://www.scottstroman.com/

But what will stick with me most is how Scott came enthused and passionate about what gave him meaning and joy in life (music and faith) and passed in on to us by getting us to join in. He didn't teach us very much that we were not actively doing ourselves within a matter of a few minutes. Although most of us could read music, he didn't distract us with black dots on pages instead he we caught the music from him, learning one another's lines by ear, watching for cues that led into improvisation, knowing how to listen to what others were doing ... even on occasion swapping parts around (some worried sopranos at the this point) so that we knew how to carry the music of one another.

This wasn't just music or worship (although it was all of the best in that) this was a whole lesson in mission and discipleship just waiting to be performed.

If he's not already coming, invite him to a church near you!

Free the dream

2009-09-23T09:27:00.006+01:00

A few days ago I mentioned the naming ceremony I had attended (albeit late cos I was leading a service at church at the same time as the celebrations began). Although I may have missed many of the wonderful words that were shared by parents and mentor parents, I did get there to see a parable in action.

Guests were invited to write down their hopes and dreams for Phoebe and tie them to helium filled balloons which would then be symbolically released to fly free. The imagery is powerful ... but all the more so when it doesn't work .... when your child's dreams barely get off the ground because the balloons have got tangled in a tree. But greater love hath no dad but that he risk life and limb to ensure his baby's dreams will fly. So we watched as Pete climbed over a high wooden fence, located and borrowed both a a ladder and a big stick after which he balanced said ladder against said tree and precariously perched upon its top rung poked at the branches with the big stick. Eventually the balloons and dreams were freed and Pete returned to the family safe and sound.

It was what dads do after all, risk themselves to see the dreams for their children come true. I may have missed the promises made by mum and dad at the ceremony but this spoke loud and clear as to the vocation parents have and indeed we all have as human beings to help release and realise the dreams of others.

Name the baby competition

2009-09-21T08:58:00.005+01:00

Choosing the name for a baby is an awesome responsibility. I always like to know what a person's name means. I was at a naming ceremony yesterday afternoon for Phoebe, a lovely name (it means radiant) for a lovely girl. It was followed by a lovely lunch as well (thanks Mel and Pete)

But then last night I continued the preaching on the Minor Prophets, this week it was Hosea. Many of you will know the story: God commands Hosea to marry a whore called Gomer because Heaven thinks it will make a good illustration of Israel's unfaithfulness to their covenant with God. There is no indication that Gomer is reluctantly 'on the game' because life has left her with little option, no hint that she would get out if she could, the whole idea of the illustration is that she voluntarily embraces her wanton lifestyle in parallel with the idols and false Gods to which Israel has given their devotion. Gomer has three children, the later two of which God tells Hosea to name Lo Rahamah which means 'No Mercy' and Lo Ammi which means 'No-body': in other words God has run out of compassion for the people and he will now treat them as nobodies to Him.

Which led to a discussion time in the sermon slot: who are the partners with whom the church has had illicit affairs?

And if God struck in the same way twice, what names would God suggest for our babies today?

Origins of Species

2009-09-18T13:22:00.005+01:00

My 'Weekend Word' Reflection for Radio Wales this morning went something like this:

Yesterday I visited the National Museum in Cardiff for their exhibition on the Origins of Wales. It's a captivating journey that takes you through the land of our fathers and our mothers, beginning with the bones of one family who are now 230,000 years old. Walking through the years from then 'til now, I was struck not so much by the differences between us, as the similarities. People in every age have struggled for the same basic things: food and shelter for their families, trade and security for their tribe, art and other symbols created as reflections on their patterns of living and indeed their spiritual beliefs: these things appear again and again in the origins of any nation and Wales is no different.

But this national exhibition managed to get personal as well. I was fascinated by the reconstructed faces of four ancient Welsh skulls. Who were these people? In another life would we have been friends ... might we even have been relatives? Of course they say, go back to your roots in any family tree and it is not long before you uncover criminality, madness and even worse.

Searching for truth in our origins, in the family or the nation is always risky, especially when its personal and if it gets spiritual.

So I left the exhibition wondering what might happen if this weekend I did some archaeology on my Soul, what if you or I dug down through the layers of who we are what might any of us uncover half hidden in our hearts?

Of course we’d all find some unsavory aspects to our character ...
There’s none of us without such flaws ...
But a great truth of the Christian faith is that if we dare dig deep enough, we will discover that far back in our origins, each one of us has been fashioned to life in the Image of God. Heaven's love and goodness are planted more deeply in us than any hurt or sin or wrong.

We need to rediscover this vital truth about our origins, we need to believe this truth about ourselves no matter how beautiful we discover that we are.

Life After Festivals

2009-09-03T12:13:00.007+01:00

So, the summer is over and the canvas festival season of Leading Edge, Keswick, Greenbelt and others is done and dusted for another year. But what is it that we come back to and have our trips away helped us any with what is to come?

I'm reading George MacDonald's Fairy Tales at the moment and in the one called The Shadows, a mortal has returned from a mysterious journey to the Shadow Church, and he reflects on what he's seen with this;

This made it more likely that he had seen a true vision; for instead of making common things look common place, as a false vision would have done, it had made common things disclose the wonderful that was in them.

May you have a wonder full day and may all your vision be beauty full too.

I will believe the truth about myself ... no matter how beautiful it is.

2009-09-01T17:46:00.009+01:00

I always enjoy keeping up to date with the life of my friend at Stuart's Nicaraguan Blog. On a recent post he mentioned reading Macrina Wiederkehr's book, Seven Sacred Pauses. Book recommendations from blogs is costing me a fortune, but this purchase was well worth it, for within its pages is this most wonderful and challenging prayer. I have been using it for several days now and it pulls me to new depths every time I try to say it.

I will believe the truth about myself

no matter how beautiful it is:

I believe in my power

to transform indifference into love

I believe I have an amazing gift

to keep hope alive in the face of despair.

I believe I have the remarkable skill

of deleting bitterness from my life.

I believe in my budding potential

to live with a nonviolent heart.

I believe in my passion to speak the Truth

even when it isn't popular.

I believe I have the strength of will

to be peace in a world of violence.

I believe in my miraculous capacity

for unconditional love.

I believe the truth about myself

no matter how beautiful it is.

Universalism Unmasked

2009-09-01T13:17:00.004+01:00

Robin Parry has finally revealed himself to be the hitherto anonymous author of the book, Evangelical Universalist. It makes no difference to the stimulating arguments he makes of course, and although he has gifted the evangelical churches with much to think about, I kind of liked it when we went by the pseudonym of Gregory MacDonald. He reminded me of that old rabbi sent to tell the disheartened monastery that the Messiah was living among their monks. Every monk then spent so much time thinking that it might be brother So-and-So or Abbot Whatshisname, that every monk in the community was afforded the respect due to the Christ that really dwelt within them and the life of the monastery was thus enriched and restored. Now we all know that Gregory is really Robin, I hope the monastery of universalist conversation will survive.

U2: Magnificent

2009-08-24T09:36:00.009+01:00

U2 on Saturday night in Cardiff's Millennium Stadium were, as the song says: magnificent. The much publicised 360 degree stage, dubbed 'the claw' for its four arms that encircled the stage and its lighted runways and from which hung hundreds of stretchy TV screens, was undoubtedly impressive ... but it didn't steal the show.

The night belonged to four guys doing what they have been doing for decades: being the best rock and roll band in the world. A healthy mixture of the new album along with some serious revisiting of the back catalogue gave a stunning performance over 2 hours of the most energetic music.

Front man Bono has always worn his politics (and sometimes his Christian faith) boldly on his sleeve and Cardiff was no exception. So the thousands who had gathered in listened not just to the music but to impassioned protests against the government in Burma and expressions of solidarity with Aung San Suu Kyi. We were privileged to hear a short recorded 'sermon' from Archbishop Desmond Tutu, his beaming smile shining brightly from the many TV screens suspended from the Claw as he encouraged us to sign up to a U2 sponsored charity, One. (Have a look at their blog at http://one.org/international/blog). So throughout the night we joined our voices to prophetic songs against war and poverty, we even sang Psalm 40. Amidst all the driving decibels and fast-paced illumination there were moments that felt quite genuinely sacred, almost as if Sunday (if not Christmas) had come early.

ps Liz, I hope you are feeling better soon.

Kenny MacAskill, Jonah and al Megrahi.

2009-08-24T08:49:00.007+01:00

Notwithstanding my last post, lasty night I continued my sermon series with the Minor Prophets ... this week it was Jonah. It was an interesting week on which to reflect how the story of this obstinate prophet and events int he media touched upon one another. Forget all the stuff about the big fish the bottom of line of this biblical narrative seems to be that Jonah wanted only judgment on people he (and God) regarded as evil … but God offered mercy too and that was too hard for him to swallow.

The balance of judgment and mercy is never an easy one and never more so than last week for Kenny MacAskill Scotland's Minister for Justice. His deliberations and decision on the fate of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi has brought these tensions into sharp relief. So have the comments made from both sides of the Atlantic. I'll admit I've found the whole incident deeply problematic … it has left me with many unresolved questions and dubious answers … it has troubled me all week and still does, although on the grounds of compassion I cannot fault Mr MacAskill's decision. But I do know this much: There are many situations in the world today of barbaric behaviour that i would think deserve the judgment of God.

Some of these have undoubtedly come from nations like Libya who whether or not it was al Megrahi in person, as a nation have effectively admitted that they lay behind the deaths of 270 at Locherbie. But a few years before Locherbie the American Navy shot down Iran flight 655 with 290 on board. If it were an accident, even one where the crew got sucked in to what they call ‘scenario fulfilment’, then it seems to me that it due to some pretty reckless military behaviour. Yet the crew were subsequently decorated (along with all those who served in the Gulf at that time) and the captain awarded the Legion of Merit. Although 62 million dollars of compensation was later paid, America offered no apology and admitted no responsibility. In fact the then vice-president George Bush went on air to say: "I'll never apologize for the United States of America, ever. I don't care what the facts are."

We already know that Britain is far from immune in all this. Our actions here and overseas have often been no better. The conviction of corporal Donald Payne for war crimes in Iraq seems to be only the tip of a huge and troublesome iceberg of systemic and racist torture in the military. It would surely be naïve in the extreme to presume that Iraq was the first and only theatre of conflict in which this kind of thing has ever happened.

I am not seeking to condemn men and women who go to places and face dangers that I do not and could not and in the process protect my freedom. I have much respect for them. But war is hell and those responsible for such acts of violence have often faced horrors themselves. War dehumanises everybody. Military personnel may well have gone through more than we can ever imagine before they snapped and did things that they would never have imagined doing. It is not just them and their commanders who are responsible … it is the governments who send them and the people who elected them and then did nothing to protest.
Ask not for whom this bell tolls it tolls for us all.

Just as no child is born a terrorist or with that hatred in their hearts. They become so by the horrors they experience in life. Their bell tolls for us all as well.

And we could pick on any country round the world and ask the same question: Who can come to God and demand judgment or plea for mercy with clean hands? Which nation is good enough to demand judgment from God? Which is sinless enough to expect mercy.

Or if we got personal again: What person thinks they can come to God and think they are on a par with the wisdom of the Almighty and so can demand judgement on another? Who is sinless enough to think they are good enough to expect mercy?

We don't know if Jonah become chaplain to First Church of the Withered Vine in Nineveh? He may have hopped on another boat to Tarshish or thrown himself under a passing chariot and finally get his wish to die?

Seems to me we don’t know … and we’re not supposed to. The story is supposed to hang around in mid air .It invites us to write our own response … our own chapter 5. In doing so however we will need to ask how do we feel about a God who really loves the world as much as he loves the Church? How do I feel about a God who loves Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi as much as he loves me? How do we feel about a God who loves mercy as much as he loves judgment?

Educated beyond Obedience

2009-08-21T08:44:00.004+01:00

Are we in the church being educated beyond our obedience?

The idea of being 'educated beyond obedience' comes from Neil Cole's book Organic Leadership and it struck a chord this week. Last Sunday evening my congregation began a series on the Minor Prophets. Week 1 was Joel, from which I suggested that in response to the world today we might need to gather the church and declare a fast from all that is harmful ...to us and to others and the planet herself.

This week is Jonah ... and I'm thinking to myself .... why are we moving on to another prophet when we haven't really wrestled with what the last one said. So it struck me that maybe I and others should be fasting from preaching ... (at least on Sunday evenings) ... and instead of moving on to something new, acutally stay with Joel for a while, at least until we have not simply heard what he has said but put it into some kind of practice. Otherwise people will have been educated into knowing what the Word says, but not led into the obedience of it.

Either you go or I do.

2009-08-20T20:20:00.005+01:00

'Either you go or I do' is not so much a threatening ultimatum in this case as it is a fact of life and particularly one of ordained ministry. Today I and some others had lunch with a pastor friend who is off to pastures new. I have known him for about seven years during which time it has been a privilege to share some journeys together, both physical, spiritual and theological.

Of course I am sad to see him leave my immediate circle of friends in South Wales, but I am excited about where he is going and the new opportunities he will have there. I guess it is just a fact of ministry that almost inevitably and eventually one or more of us will go somewhere other than where we are now ... its either going to be him, or her, or me.

Saying goodbye today reminded me again of why I gave this blog the title that I did:

It comes from the liturgy of the Iona Community:

In work and worship

God is with us

Gathered and Scattered

God is with us

Now and always

God is with us.

May you go well my good friend Ashley

and may God be with us all.

If you build it they will come

2009-08-20T09:14:00.004+01:00

On Tuesday I had one of those days that lifts a pastor's heart (or not)... all the things of God they taught me in College found their place in life ... (or not). I spent the morning talking with some very nice solicitors about whether or not our neighbours can have exit rights over our church property and the rest of the pre lunch period opening up the church for architects and engineers to measure and plan the renovation we are working towards at the front of our building. It was all very worthy stuff I am sure, but it wasn't one of the core competencies tested before my ordination nor was it really part of my vocational vision. Of course it is reality and it must be dealt with and yes, God is to found in the midst of it ... but into Tuesday came a heavenly twist.

No sooner had I opened the front door to let the measuring begin, than an elderly gentleman with no prior connection to the church but looking quite distraught came in through the open doors looking to talk to someone. So instead of listening to design specifications I listened as a heartbreaking story unfolded. There was nothing much I could do to put things right, but we prayed and agreed to talk again.

I missed most of the architectural conversation I was there to have ... I got the gist of the summary. What i did have was a conversation that probably did me more good that it did the gentleman who arrived so upset and unannounced ... but it was one where we shared something of life and of God together.

I know I cannot just sit on the steps of church all day waiting for the people just to come my way ... but I did start to wonder how many other conversations go unspoken by the closed doors of the church,

and if somehow we built it differently would they come?

And the word became flesh ...

2009-08-17T19:49:00.003+01:00

It is a well rehearsed comment that in Jesus, the Word became flesh and then in preachers, the flesh became words again. One of my favourite paintings in Iona Abbey reminds me of this every time I stop to visit. But now one of my friends and colleagues in Cardiff has gone and reversed the whole process over again.

I caught up with James last week, he blogs at preachingwithapint.blogspot.com and he was sporting a new tattoo which looks very accurate to me and my increasingly rusty Greek. Feel free to let him know what you think!

IMPROMPTU EUCHARIST

2009-08-08T15:49:00.004+01:00

While my Anglican friends are busy issuing health and safety guidelines for the Eucharist (no more common cups until the swine have officially flu) I found myself at a most impromptu celebration of the Lord's Supper this week.

Occasionally I visit a Roman Catholic man who is seriously ill. This was the first time I had seen him since he had moved from home into care.

He was having breakfast when I arrived around 11am. We sat talking about deep things, he sharing his fears and toast with me, I listened and took the occasional nibble at both the buttered slices and the theological concerns being raised.

Then he looked at me and winked:

In the kitchen, the staff have half a bottle of asti spumante for me ... would you like a glass?

I was about to mutter excuses about it only being 11:30 and needing to drive home, until it struck me that this invitation was teetering on the edge of the holy ... this was sacramental.

And so we shared some bread and wine

toast and asti

whatever it was we did it in remembrance of so much and so many

And as I left to go,

I could have sworn I had heard the rustling of angels wings.

SIMPLE FAITH, LOVE AND HOPE

2009-08-03T10:25:00.004+01:00

I remember once as a young Christian going to a service where the bible passage was from Ezra. The preacher told the congregation that if they didn't know where Ezra was it was right beside Nehemiah. Like that helped!

I always remember that incident when seemingly learned people say things like: As everybody knows ... xyz ,

or it is commonly accepted that ...

and then they look at you as if you were a numptie for admitting you had never known that until then.

So I was thinking the same thing again this morning while reading Micheal Gorman's book Cruciformity: Paul's Narrative Spirituality of the Cross. The paragraph (on p7) reads:

... what a biblical text says about faith, lover and hope, (in that order) corresponds to an ancient Christian way of reading the Scriptures that flourished in the Middle Ages (from Augustine to Luther) and is enjoying something of a renaissance in the present.

I hadn't even heard of the renaissance never mind the original methodology ... or at least I had, but those who told me always made it sound more complicated that it might have been. The gist of this ancient way of reading the bible (for those of you who didn't know it) is simple, Mr Gorman again:

It asks not merely what a text says but also what it enjoins us to believe (faith), to do , (Love) and to anticipate (Hope).

What a wonderfully simple paradigm for engaged bible study. What does this tells us we are to beleive, to do and to expect.

(incidentally I did already know the footnoted parallel technical terms of what was going on, allegorical, tropological and anagogical, but no one had ever put it as simply as being centred on Faith Love and Hope.) This isn't what Mr Gorman's book is about and its already stimulating the little grey cells on other matters, but I liked this and will no doubt use it soon.

TRANSITIONAL OBJECTS

2009-07-27T17:13:00.005+01:00

I spent this afternoon sharing home communion with members of the church who have not been out and about of late. One person in particular featured anonymously in the early life of this blog and reappears today.

This afternoon she was no closer to my reality than in previous months, her mind seemingly locked on a horizon far beyond that of any other but this afternoon I found the poem she has reminded of for months, even though the title, author and indeed the lines themselves have been elusive until now. It is by U.A. Fanthrope.

TRANSITIONAL OBJECT

Sits, holding nurse's hard reassuring hand
In her own two small ones.

Is terrified. Mews in her supersonic
Panic voice: Help. Help Please.

Cries for Mummy, Daddy, Philip, the bus. Tries
To get up, to escape.

Is restrained by adult, would-be comforting
Hands and arms. Fights them.

Is brought a sweet warm drink, and is too shaky
With fear to swallow it.

The nurse cuddles her, snuggles the young amber
Ringlets against the grey.

Is not to be consoled. Her only comfort
The white blanket she hugs.

Whispers, Help, Help, Please. Cries for Mummy,
Daddy,
Philip. She is 83,

Resisting childhood as it closes in.

JAZZ WORSHIP

2009-07-23T09:23:00.005+01:00

Oh I am looking forward to this: having spent many years of my life devoted to a PhD that looked at church and ethics through the medium of music, I am pleased to announce that Scott Stroman, a jazz musician, will be spending a day at our church, Calvary Baptist Church in Cardiff, looking at Jazz in worship (along with other musical styles as well).

Hailing from the Guildhall School of Music in London, Scott will lead us through three sessions beginning at 1:30 on the afternoon of 26th September finishing with an evening event of music and word that starts at 7pm.

Tickets are £10 for the whole thing

or £5 just for the evening.

If you want to know more then call 02920 310414

Take your time... or not

2009-07-21T11:10:00.004+01:00

Putting off some serious work this morning I picked up a book to delay the inevitable only to be confronted with the line:

procrastination is not only the thief of time ... it is also the grave of opportunity.

So of course I thought I'd blog instead!

Never mind the choir, I've been preaching to the preacher

2009-07-20T09:05:00.004+01:00

Anyone who engages in the art of preaching may have had the occasional feeling that they are preaching to the choir / worship group but perhaps they will also have experiecned this too: something I said in a sermon, suddenly came alive in the delivery and has been bugging me ever since I said it. Last week I was preaching on Ephesians 4:1-16 and particularly Paul'/s (?) injunction to the churches to live in Unity. I was reflecting on this alongside Jesus' prayer for unity in John's Gospel:

I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,
that all of them may be one, Father,
just as you are in me and I am in you.
May they also be in us

Why?

So that the world may believe that you have sent me.

And suddenly it hit me with a new clarity, that this is as much our mandate for mission as teh end fo Matthew's gospel or Luke 4: the quality of the church's life together is our strategy for evangelism. Get the unity wrong at it won’t matter if we have wonderful sermons, or engaging programmes that attract people to church, or even if are distancing ourselves from attractional models of mission and moving to more incarnational approaches.

Jesus tells us that our unity will be our witness to the world.
Why?

Because he knows that the world around him is broken and divided, he knows that everyone in someway is trying to out do each other, he knows we’re all getting wounded in the fight, physically, emotionally, spiritually, we’ve all been damaged and
disconnected from the bigger picture

Jesus knows all that and so he prays for us to be at one
With another and with God
Because that’s what leads us into wholeness
And because that’s what will speak most powerfully to a broken world
Perhaps there is no greater proclamation of God’s love for the world than for the church to live lives that are truly reconciled to one another and to God.

But that doesn't seem to feature in the literature I read on mission:

reading the wrong books,

am I just wrong,

or do we need to rethink our patterns of mission.

A DOUBLE WHAMMY OF JOHN CALVIN AND MICHAEL JACKSON

2009-07-09T15:58:00.008+01:00

By some strange scheduling serendipity I was doing Prayer for the Day on Radio at 5:45 this morning and then was live on Radio Wales for the Weekend Word slot at 7:30. Below are the scripts for both, sadly Messrs Calvin and Jackson did never met ... not even in my reflections ... but you've got to pray they're getting on just fine now. Anyway here's some thoughts on Calvin: Happy Birthday Jean: 500 today

I find it strange in the summer, to emerge from the darkness of a cinema or theatre and discover that it still is bright outside. Daylight forces me too quickly to leave behind the characters of fiction and return to the realities of life.

Of course if the show is true to the promise of the arts, then it will provoke me to think afresh about the real world too.
This is what good drama can achieve.
And it’s also a great challenge of the Christian faith.

Five hundred years ago today a boy was born who would rise to such a task. That he continues to be read and revered half a millennium later is testament to the depth of his work and the dedication of his purpose … his name was John Calvin.

Although he might not be everybody’s favourite, the man ought not to be confused with populist notions of Calvinism. As often happens the man behind the books can be eclipsed by the rhetoric of his supporters and the caricatures of his enemies. So let’s forget the cartoon images of Calvin as an intolerant, black robed legalist who saw depravity at every corner. Because John Calvin’s hope was for us all to see the world in a new light, to understand creation as the theatre for God’s glory.

God was not only to be discovered in the church, but in the world. And not just in the wonders of nature or the beauty of the arts. If all life carries with it something of God’s glory, then finding glimpses of heaven here on earth is not the sole concern of priests or poets, it is present in the tasks that any one of us may attempt today, as nurses or teachers, journalists or politicians, as children and as parents.

Lord God, may we enter the light of your glory today
In whatever occupies our time
In whoever crosses our path
May we discover something of You. Amen

And now ... here's some thoughts on Michael J. and the rest of this week:

This has been a memorable week …

or at least it’s been a week of memorials.

The unveiling of the poignant tribute to those who died in The London Bombings was not quite the same as the fans who gathered to say goodbye to Michael Jackson, and that Hollywood farewell was very different to those who stood quietly in the rain to honour the fallen service personnel whose bodies were returned home from Afghanistan … but everyone was committed to an act of remembrance.

A few weeks ago I went back to the town where I grew up. My old school yard was pretty much the same, but I was horrified to discover that new class rooms had been built where there used to be the carcass of a once proud oak-tree that had a hole within its trunk, big enough to conceal boy. I was surprised at the strength of my reaction ... how angry I was that they'd removed this witness to my childhood: couldn't they tell that it was special, after-all, I'd left my initials carved into its bark.

I don't remember now, why I must have spent a number of lunch times with a blunt pen knife, making my mark and recording the date, but perhaps somewhere, even at eleven, I was trying to ensure that the earth had some memorial of my time upon it.

It’s a longing most of us will share ... it’s a dream that many will pursue.

But this week has given us these many different moments when people have been concerned, not with carving their own name into history, but in honouring people who’ve died, offering their last respects to someone they loved and who is now most dearly missed.

In ancient times we might have erected a standing stone for such a purpose, in the bible they often built an altar to remember some significant event or person: now days we may sing hymns at a grave or leave flowers at the side of the road. The Christian Church has had its fair share of building memorials, but what the faith has always taught us is that the greatest memorial we can build to anyone is to continue what they've have done, to live how they have lived.

That’s why the first disciples tried to do the things of Jesus and why many Christians still attempt the same today. The greatest thing to do, he once said, was to love God and to love our neighbour as we love ourselves.

Such a life is not an easy one
but imagine what our children would remember of us
if that were how we lived.

IRON AND WINE

2009-07-09T15:31:00.005+01:00

Thanks to the 6 points of separation / connection of the internet and by the grace of Spotify I have just discovered Samuel Beam and the band Iron and Wine: apologies to those of who you have been listening to this great music for years, (why did you not tell me). But for those of you who like your music whisperingly intimate and flip-your-soul insightful (and with the optional extra of your singers extra hairy) Beam's album Around the Well is the new favourite on my ipod ... until i get the full set of his CD's in the post.

EINSTEIN'S TOMATOES AND CALVIN'S TULIPS

2009-07-09T08:40:00.004+01:00

Another Prayer for the Day from Radio 4 ... tommorow its John Calvin's Birthday ....

so it'll be less tomatoes and more TULIPs!

This year I’ve changed where I grow tomatoes. For two summers now, my crop has failed and a friend who knows about such things advised I make the move. She quoted Albert Einstein’s famous line that it is simply madness to keep doing the same thing, and expect different results.

Perhaps Einstein deserved another Nobel prize, this time for stating the obvious, but it’s amazing how even after personal crisis or international disaster we do return to the same old things, but expecting that somehow, life will change. So often we see catastrophes that result from the changes we have made to the global climate, but we seem incapable of doing what is necessary to avert calamity. The world goes into financial turmoil, but we carry on with economics that have seen wealth and opportunity being taken from the poorest people of the planet.

Most of us are aware of the need for a healthy diet and an exercise regime, but even after warning bells, or a shock to our system, too often our lifestyles settle back to the way they were before.

But we are not destined to this madness of mistaken repetition. The prophets told the people that God would do a new thing for them, finding fresh streams in the waste places of their lives.

When it eventually happened it was not so much a thing as a new person, one who lived in ways that ran counter to so much the world had ever known. Jesus was so different that they killed him for it, but some folks say he’s still doing new things in the lives of people who will dare to pray for change.

Lord in whom all things are possible
Lead us into patterns of life

That will bring good news

and lasting change to our world

Amen

Caravans and the Three Mile an Hour God

2009-07-08T09:01:00.003+01:00

Good morning,

I don't normally find pleasure in other people's misfortune, but the other week it was almost inevitable. We were on holiday in Scotland. We'd caught an early morning ferry before driving across the open roads that cut through the rugged highlands. The views were truly beautiful and I couldn't help but smile as the radio warned me of other people facing tailbacks on motorways, congestion on ring roads, and delays to commuters of more than an hour.

Maybe someone up there saw my smile because no sooner had it flashed across my face than I found myself behind a caravan that slowed my progress for the next ten miles.

Whether you are stuck behind a mobile home in the countryside or in between two lorries on a motorway there's not much you can do but stare out at the world around you.

Later on, when all the travelling was over, I lamented the tedium of such journeys to a friend, but he reminded me that Jesus spent a lot of time on the road as well, moving round the towns and villages of Galilee, but most of the time he walked, seeing the world at a steady 3 miles an hour.

Travelling at that kind of pace probably helped him to become such a keen observer of life, gathering the insights that would reappear in the stories he told. Nothing much to do except pay attention to people and places, the times and seasons. I think that's when Jesus would've done much of his thinking and even his praying. Could it be that he was stuck behind a camel when he realised that in God's kingdom, the first would be last and the last will be first?

Lord, who knows what we might discover this morning

If we're moving slow enough to notice:

Help us in the busyness of this coming day

to keep pace with you Amen

THINGS BEST FORGOTTEN ... THINGS BEST REMEMBERED

2009-07-07T11:32:00.003+01:00

This was my Prayer for the Day from Radio 4 this morning:

On the inside of my wedding ring an inscription marks the date when I gave up my bachelor life. My wife and I tied the knot in the year 2000, so working out how long we’ve been together is a simple mathematical process. But people warned me at the time that my bride would not thank me, if in twenty years, the best I could remember was that it all happened sometime around September.

Thankfully, so far, I’ve never needed a reminder and maybe that’s because the day still holds happy memories for me.

There are other days that I’ve tried hard to forget and that is probably true for everyone. Their recurring presence is not welcome in the diary of our minds and if we could banish them then we would.

For some of us today will be the anniversary of when life was changed forever. Perhaps when we lost our job, or the trust of someone dear to us, the date of that accident or when we took the phone-call from the hospital. And today will be remembered as the time when four years ago, 52 people died and hundreds more were injured in the London Bombings.

As Jesus approached his darkest day, he asked his friends to remember him with a simple meal. It could’ve turned into a morbid fascination, except that death was not the end for him. New life was born out of that most cruel of events, and in the moment of his resurrection a fresh future was unfolded, one that the church remembers regularly, a time when all tears are wiped away and every hurt is healed: it is a future to remember.

Lord God who comes among us as wounded healer
Heal our hurting memories
And lead us to a time where all is well.
Amen

TAKING A LOOK AT WHAT WE CANNOT SEE

2009-07-06T09:38:00.005+01:00

Back on Radio Four this morning with a Prayer for The Day.

I suspect that if you're like me you often wonder if these observations on life that feature in such broadcasts or in sermons really ever happened, or if they are fictions created to help make the speaker's point. Well I can only comment for myself and for today, but there's a photo here, taken seconds after the event referred to.

Good morning,

A month ago my wife and I travelled to the Scottish Island of Iona. Over the years we’ve often spent a week living in the restored Benedictine Abbey there. But this was the first time our daughter came with us. She’s nearly two now and we thought that she’d enjoy the grassy spaces, sandy beaches and the clear blue waters.

We were not wrong … she had a wonderful holiday, except for all the wind. She’d never encountered gusts as strong as those on a Hebredian island, even in the summer. Imagine her surprise when she went running round a corner, to be lifted off her feet and thrown down to earth.

Undeterred she got back up: ready to do battle with the assailant. But to add insult to her astonished injury there was no-one there to grapple. As another rushing whoosh left her struggling to stay upright she shouted in defiance, waved her arms in defence, but fundamentally she was stunned her inability to get a grip on her enemy.

She may be too young to know it yet but I suspect there’s something deeper for us all in that. Our toughest battles are often against those things we cannot get a grip on. The fears that rush in at the beginning of a day, the doubts and the worries that often threaten to blow our lives off balance and land us on our back.

Jesus never promised anyone that such struggles could be avoided, and that has rarely been the testimony of those who tried to follow him, but we may be sure that God is with us, strengthening our spirit for the coming day.

Lord your perfect love
Can drive fear from our hearts
Give us the courage to wrestle with life
And make us strong this day
by your Holy Spirit
Amen

INTER-DEPENDENCE DAY

2009-07-04T09:52:00.010+01:00

I've been away at BUGB Racial Justice Training and then a week's holiday in sunny (yes really)Ireland. I just got back in time to record six Prayers for the Days for BBC Radio 4 on Thursday. This was all pretty tight as the first one was broadcast this morning at 5:45 am. Just in case you were not up so early (I know i wasn't) the script is below. I'll put the rest up as they go out.

Americans round the world today will be in jubilant mood. This is Independence Day: a national holiday when friends and families go to baseball games and concerts, picnics, barbeques and firework displays. They will be remembering the birth of their nation, the day when many years ago they declared their Independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain.

From that day on the character of independence has been deeply enshrined in American life. We see it played out often on the movie screen from Hollywood, maverick heroes win the day against incredible odds and all without the help of anyone, except perhaps the token female.

Of course Independence can be a positive characteristic: I remember the joy when my daughter could stand up on her own, and when she learnt to walk, but it can have its downside too. The poet John Donne famously reflected that No man is an island, and in the Book of Ecclesiastes, the bible reminds us that two are better than one, if one falls down then a friend can help them up.

That is the power of interdependence: For all the values that is found in national and personal autonomy, real strength in life often lies in being working with two or three or even more; giving and receiving help.

There will be times for everyone when circumstance will leave us feeling that we can’t go on, moments when the only thing that makes tomorrow possible is the helping hand from friends today.

Or as we try to work together for the common good, this morning might bring the opportunity for us to return a favour and offer our support to someone else.

Lord God

may we remember today
Our dependence on another:
And in those who offer us help

May we see your face. Amen

Evangelical Universalists

2009-06-21T23:19:00.005+01:00

Following on from a previous (Chicken and Egg) post earlier this month, and thanks to all who commented, the conversation with some members of my church continues and has led me to this blogging spot of theological reflection: http://evangelicaluniversalist.blogspot.com

and the book 'The Evangelical Universalist.'

I hate labels for people, so getting two for the price of one, even two so seemingly incongruous as the title of the book, has got my attention, if not yet my agreement. I haven't read the work of Mr Gregory MacDonald, (whoever he may be), it slipped past my radar when it came out a few years ago. Apologies to those for whom this will be old hat, but it's all on order now, along with some other recent publications which will have to fight for their place in the reading queue, but i guess my initial reaction is to the very fact that he felt he needed to publish under a 'pen name' ... surely says something (and it can't be good) about the character of our theological reflection within the evangelical movement?

Would You Adam and Eve it?

2009-06-19T21:49:00.005+01:00

I don't normally put jokes up on the blog but I kind of liked this one and as I'm off the BUGB Racial Justice Training tomorrow, I thought I'd head off with a smile:

One day in the Garden of Eden, Eve called out to God...

"Lord, I have a problem!"

"What's the problem, Eve?"

"Lord, I know you've created me and have provided this beautiful garden and all of these wonderful animals, and that hilarious comedy snake, but I'm just not happy."

"Why is that, Eve?" came the reply from above.

"Lord, I am lonely. And I'm sick to death of apples."

"Well, Eve, in that case, I have a solution. I shall create a man for you."

"What's a 'man', Lord?"

"This man will be a flawed creature, with aggressive tendencies, an enormous ego and an inability to empathize or listen to you properly. All in all, he'll give you a hard time. But, he'll be bigger, faster and more muscular than you. He'll also need your advice to think properly. He'll be really good at fighting and kicking a ball about, hunting fleet-footed ruminants, and not altogether bad to look at and curl up beside."

"Sounds great," says Eve, with a raised eyebrow.

"What's the catch, Lord?"

"Yeah, well.... you can have him on one condition.

You'll have to let him think I made him first."

Valediction Day

2009-06-19T14:16:00.008+01:00

Last night I attended the South Wales Baptist College Valedictory Service, held at Moriah Baptist Church, Risca. It's always a privilege to see students complete their studies and to hear of how God is continuing to work in their lives.

Since long before my time in the College (and that seems a long time ago now too) each student has been given the chance within this service to reflect on their time of learning and offer a passage from the bible that has inspired them on their journey so far. Some of this year's students are going into pastoral ministry, others are heading off in different, but no less challenging directions. As they did so, it was interesting to note that all five of them chose verses from the Hebrew Scriptures (with one Epistle exception from one person who sneakily got away with selecting two brief passages!)

I don't think Cardiff has become a Rabbi training college, but it offered a brief pause for thought.

Some things have changed over the years that I have been attending, (we never sang Oasis songs in my day!) and this is how it should be... I mean of course the changes not necessarily the Oasis riffs!)

At times last night I must confess I wondered what the former giants like Neville Clark (he of precious memory) and other Baptist Principals would make of all we do today, but in the end I do remain convinced that they would applaud the faithful dedication to Christ shown by all the staff and students, and that they would add their blessing to those who go and those who stay to live another year on Richmond Road.

May the Creator bless the earth beneath their feet

May the Saviour bless the path on which they walk

May the Spirit bless the people they will meet

May God bless the people they are called to be.

Baptists Assembling in Wales

2009-06-14T14:38:00.008+01:00

It was with great regret that I decided not to attend Momentum: the Assembling of Baptists (BUGB and BUW) in Carmarthen this weekend but having the Fair Trade Fashion show at church on Friday night proved to be a great success. I was hoping to go down for the Saturday but having been on church activities the Saturday before, having BUGB Faith and Unity Exec in Manchester for two more days last week, and going away again for two more days of Racial Justice training next week I decided I needed to be at home and see my family.

But rejoice, rejoice, the clever techno wizards have already got the main talks from Tony Campolo and David Kerrigan on the net which you can download from http://www.baptistassemblyinwales.org

The folks who went from my church have claimed it was a great event so let's pray we go from strength to strength and I'll organise my diary better next year.

Fair Trade Fashion

2009-06-12T10:44:00.004+01:00

One of the things I love about the building where my church meet is its location. On a busy main street and right round the corner from Cardiff's Fair Trade Shop, Fair Do's. www.fairdos.com

Makes it very easy to stock up on ethical chocolates!

Tonight is more than coffee and chocolate

its their annual Fashion Show,

and I am pleased that they will be holding it in our building.

(134 Cowbridge Road, Canton, Cardiff.)

7:30 start, tickets £4.

The whole world will be more pleased to know

that I am not doing any modelling

but who knows what new attire I may come away with!

Chickens, Eggs and Failing to be Quiet

2009-06-12T10:29:00.006+01:00

Last night our house was the venue for a church housegroup. About ten of us squeezed into our front room to chat through the opening verses of Ephesians Chapter 2. I tend to move from one house group to another week by week and on each occasion try to keep well out of it, letting the group do their thing, working on the basis that I'll learn a lot more about how everything works for them (or not) if I shut up.

Last night I failed.

Maybe it was because it was in my front room but my tongue I did not hold.

Somehow the discussion came to repentance and forgiveness (not that unusual for a church housegroup) but here's the thing: which comes first.

Are we forgiven by God, an encoutner with whose grace then calls us to repent,

or is God's grace waiting for us to respond and we are unforgiven until we repent?

Needless to say I found myself in a different place from many of the others and so i wondered what any of you might think?

This is not a go at theology by democracy, I'm just curious.

To whom it may concern

2009-06-05T17:25:00.007+01:00

I was struck by a comment this morning

I'll just leave it here for others:

Are you willing to surrender

what you are

for what you could become?