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CREATING COMMUNITIES OF WHOLENESS WITH CHRIST AT THE CENTRE
Blog Archives: April 2008 - March 2008 - February 2008 - January 2008 - December 2007 - November 2007 - October 2007 - September 2007 - August 2007 - July 2007 - June 2007 - May 2007 - April 2007 - March 2007 - February 2007 - January 2007 - December 2006 - November 2006 - October 2006 - September 2006
25th February, 10.40pm
Center Parc's was great, exhausting in a kind of way, swimming, football, fencing and cycling, not all on my own and there were plenty of times when I was just watching... But I discovered that I can occasionally stop a ball and even kick it back in the right direction when I stood on the sidelines of Adam's mini soccer school [it was a discovery, I've never managed it before!] and I worked out how to push Alice on her bike while riding my own, and had lots of practice on carrying her bike and mine up steep hills!
We're now back to work, trident - fixing up a public meeting with the MP's, wedding visits, the annual report, Sunday Services and more, although I haven't completely got my head round what's happening next week.
15th February, 8.20pm
David, another David, has got me set up on my 'new' laptop, which I've had for weeks/months but still haven't fully sorted - I'm a technophobe in disguise - some disguise!
14th February, 9.37pm
As David left Jane's meeting he looked into my study and said 'I understand that you're church wouldn't let you schedule meeting for Valentine's day' 'That's right' I answered. 'Well Liz [David's wife] will be coming to your church from now on! And he hurried off to his candlelit dinner.
I did actually write Jane a card and get her a gift today, but Valentine's day tends to completely pass us by. Jane scheduled an evening meeting rather than candles and roses, so I've had an evening of working at home, and a chance to catch up on some of the stuff that's been in my in-box for far, far too long, and a chance to discover how much is still there.
I guess its about how you express your love, and about how you cope with commercialization of festivals, and about how those who don't have anyone to spend the evening are so often excluded. Love is such an amazing and enormous thing and it often feels tragic when we confine it to Valentine's Day.
11th February, 9.00pm
I've said and/or written three things in the past 24 hours for which I could get shot for heresy [depending of course on your viewpoint], so, before the arrest at dawn and execution at sunset I might as well go public.
The first heretical charge is that the latest James Bond film is the best ever and that Daniel Craig is a better Bond than Sean Connery!
The second is the disclaimer at the head of the HomeChurch Group notes for the coming week - as follows:
Disclaimer There are many discussions and much contention about creationism vs. evolution vs. intelligent design vs. big bang theory etc. I’m not getting into that here in any detail, but … my personal perspective is that there doesn’t need to be a conflict between the science of the big bang and evolution and the presence of a creator God, and that the Genesis creation narratives are ways to help us to understand the mystery and wonder of the creation, not strict timelines or scientific explanations. We also need to remember that there are two creation stories in the first chapters of Genesis, they have much in common, most importantly God, but there are also differences.
The third act of heresy comes in response to questions that have kept on coming about sexuality and the churches response. To start with there isn't much of a co-ordinated response, at least not within the Anglican communion, we have too many diverse groups with very strong views, liberal as well as conservative. My fundamental response is that I'm bored of the whole issue [and that itself will wind up plenty of people]. Its not that its not important, it is - our sexuality is incredibly important to each of us and within our communities. But there are so many other issues that trump it - poverty, peace, mission, all of which dominate the bible and the gospels, whilst sexuality is almost an also ran. And I think that God sees the whole of us, and doesn't define us, or want us to define ourselves, purely by whether we're gay or straight.
But I'm for monogamy. I think that the jury is still out on whether our sexuality is a result of nature or nurture, whether its something we're born with or a result of our culture or a combination of the two. I also think that the jury is still out on the biblical passages - is the condemnation for homosexuality in general or homosexual rape, pedophilia etc. And I believe that the most important thing is that we are all human, we are all loved by God and called ourselves to love God and love our neighbour.
And as a footnote, in response to an article by Joan Bakewell in the Independent on 8th December I wrote the following letter, published on 11th December.
I have campaigned among other issues, for gay rights, for faith schools and against assisted dying [Joan Bakewell: The Christian Lobby is flexing its muscles. 8.12.6]. But Trident is the first issue since Make Poverty History on which I will be mobilising my congregation, friends, neighbours and anyone else who will listen, the first issue since Make Poverty History for which I will take to the streets. Christians can no more be stereotyped than readers of The Independent. And on Trident, as with Make Poverty History and other campaigns, Joan Bakewell and others may well find that the churches are rather more successful than they would like to imagine we could be.
It's all true, but what I didn't expect was an invitation to join the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement which came though the post the next week. In case you're wondering I didn't take up the invite - principally because I believe that as a church we're better off together than divided into separate campaigning groups.
6th February, 9.55am
Today started with the pre-dawn dew getting frozen in my hair and eyebrows! I went in to a church that was still swathed in mist, the moon castings only the faint shadows and the dawn barely imagined. And I read words from Isaiah that always move and inspire me - 'then shall the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped, then shall the lame leap like a dear and the tongue of the dumb sing for joy, for waters shall spring up in the desert...
In some ways its been a rough week, but I found that as I read my voice was rising until it echoed from wall to wall, throughout the church, filling the empty spaces and shouting aloud, again, the miraculous promises of God.
From there to Taw Hill, the gym [briefly], Cricklade, St Andrew's Ridge, Parks, home and finally Red Oaks school, prayers, staff meetings, swimming, strategy lunches, baptism visits, Steering Group meetings, tea, reading stories and bed, and a discussion on future direction and the possibility of faith chaplaincy at Red Oaks. And then home again to check the e mails prepare for tomorrow and decide that I really don't want to begin a new piece of work tonight.
BLOGGERS NOTE
You'll notice in this blog that I use clauses and sub clauses and square brackets and lots of other grammatical aberrations! Also that I can't spell. Jane sometimes compares my sentence structure to St Paul, going on and on and on... I'm afraid that you're going to have to live with it. I try to edit it all out when I'm writing for print, but I'm going to indulge myself here.