What If Jesus Meant All That Stuff?

Now this made me sit up and take notice! How amazing (and, I would venture to suggest, how Christlike?) that regular Greenbelt speaker and author Shane Claiborne has this hard hitting article in the mainstream blokey magazine 'Esquire'? It starts with a challenging apology:

To all my nonbelieving, sort-of-believing, and used-to-be-believing friends: I feel like I should begin with a confession. I am sorry that so often the biggest obstacle to God has been Christians. Christians who have had so much to say with our mouths and so little to show with our lives. I am sorry that so often we have forgotten the Christ of our Christianity.

Forgive us. Forgive us for the embarrassing things we have done in the name of God.

As we accelerate towards Christmas it pains me to sing some of the choral stuff we do, gorgeous tunes and harmonies, yet words that bear no resemblance to the real thing. Shane doesn't miss making this point either:

It is this Jesus who was born in a stank manger in the middle of a genocide. That is the God that we are just as likely to find in the streets as in the sanctuary, who can redeem revolutionaries and tax collectors, the oppressed and the oppressors... a God who is saving some of us from the ghettos of poverty, and some of us from the ghettos of wealth.

Go read the full article!

h/t Greenbelt Blog

I don't understand your love...

On Sunday 22nd we welcomed Lily Hope ....... into the church family through the sacrament of Holy Baptism. So why do I choose to impart this to Blogworld you may ask...? I'm very glad you did!

It was special! Not the service itself, certainly the all too well used phrase 'the worship did nothing for me' could justifiably be applied as it was relative chaos with musical mistakes aplenty (aka Jazz!) and the usual undercurrents that happen in churches all going on....

So why was it special? We started with the blockbuster 'Crown Him with many Crowns' (celebrating 'Christ The King') blasted out on the organ and I was delighted to see the Baptism family guests enthusiastically singing along for starters. As the service moved along we sang 'The River', with its provenance of inspiration from tragedy and forgiveness. The sermon was a familiar message (albeit with theology that makes me squirm somewhat) then the ceremony was lovely, kids running around, a 'Happy Christening Day' balloon floating aloft and the Junior Church singing.

For the last hymn we brought on a late sub, swapping a trad hymn for a song the baptism parents had sung at their wedding, 'Give me oil in my lamp'. Again, that was belted out with obvious joy and exuberance despite, in many quarters, being thought of as naff and passé.

Even though this family have only been coming to church relatively recently as part of their Baptism preparation they had laid on abundant munchies and cake, choosing to celebrate with our worshipping community in the church hall during our regular coffeetime... what a spread! It was during this that I was completely floored by a comment from the mum... 'this (as in 'coming to church') is my constant at the moment'... wow, suddenly that little phrase made everything worthwhile. And, unsurprisingly, it also made everything else a total nonsense, all the other church crap we worry and obsess about. Through our flawed efforts and imperfections this had become Holy!

I was recently reminded, when listening to a talk Frank Schaeffer gave at Greenbelt 2008, about how we attempt to rationalise the sacraments. Therefore we assume, in human terms, that it is not 'right' for a child to receive Holy Baptism until they can make up their own minds yet we acknowledge a mother whispering to her newly born 'I love you' is fine despite knowing the babe is unable to actually understand what is being said. It came home to me so powerfully to allow God to act in a 'mysterious way' we need to forsake our human rationality.

And God saw (to it) that it was good!

We remember them...

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In 1944 Major John Pott was shot on the battlefield in woods near Arnhem. Struggling to write what he imagined was a final letter to his new wife he was discovered nearly 20 hours later by German troops and subsequently incarcerated for the rest of World War Two in a Prisoner of War camp until released by American in 1945. His grandson, Joel Pott, lead singer of rock band Athlete has penned Black Swan Song which the band will be performing at the Royal British Legion Silence in the Square event on the 11th Nov 2009.

I saw Athlete perform at this year's Greenbelt Festival 2009 and when they performed this song it was one of those special moments when, despite the conflict of emotions the song deals with, you are lifted up to another place. This morning I read the lyrics as a form of Intercession in our Family Service which preceded our main Remembrance Day service.

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It's High Fashion...

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A gentle video which so ably articulates many of the fears and concerns I have about church and worship... Stan's the man!

Links in to my post about the 2009 Greenbelt Festival Communion nicely!

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I need(ed) some time to think...

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Random beliefs

Rev Sam tagged me with this yonks ago! I'm supposed to 'Post a collection of 10 things you believe, ethical, philosophical or theological' and here, finally, it is:

1. I believe music is, therefore I am!
   
2. I believe I am in a good place most of the time.
   
3. I believe it's time to leave the sinking ship.
4. I believe food and feasts, with love, can change any world.
5. I believe listening is more important than trying to shout loudest.
6. I believe it's better to build bridges rather than walls.
7. I believe the veil of the temple should always remain torn in two.
8. I believe I am ok with being a servant yet struggle with being a slave.
9. I believe I don't do enough good things to help others.
10. I believe it is essential to individually do what would make a difference even when it seems everyone else won't.
    
11. I believe complication leads to confusion. (As a muso my amp goes up to 11!)

Now I'm going to tag: Phil R, James W and Joe H (please forgive me if I hadn't seen you've already been had!)

And on that Sunday...

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This Sunday, just after hearing the sad news about Stephen Gately's untimely and unexpected death, was driving off to a busy day at church and turned the dial to Radio 2. Out came the dulcet tones of the very wonderful Martyn Joseph singing 'Cardiff Bay' on the Aled Jones morning programme. This is a highly moving and evocative song and it was so good to hear it unexpectedly on such a strange Sunday, especially as the song revolves around happenings and recollections on Sundays.

Most music journalists would class Martyn's songs in the folk and protest song genre, however, my view is that what sets him apart is whilst his songs do indeed 'protest' he does not abdicate or pass responsibility on to others like most of his songwriting peers.

Meanwhile for many their world this Sunday changed so abruptly and would never be the same again. Oh how I wish they could also have felt the peace that came over me as I listened on a Sunday...

Respect.

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Blowin' in the wind

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Maybe I am becoming more tolerant as I get older? I know I do tend to resist becoming institutionalised and, hopefully, as my roots grow a bit deeper, I can sway more readily as Rob Bell so beautifully described at this years Greenbelt Festival.

In stark contrast I am concerned there is an undercurrent developing amongst some Christians who prefer their Worship to be that which they perceive as only happening when singing so called Worship songs. Evidence of this is clear in the hurtful responses on the Greenbelt website to a request for feedback on this year's (2009) Communion Service. The majority of the complainants stating that Tim Hughes should have ‘led’ the Worship are the very ones with the most unforgiving and consumerist views!

So, is this the future, I wonder? A new breed of Christian who only wants to Worship exclusively their way and with their preferred style of music who don’t get the idea of a ‘community’ of fellow travellers?

I was deeply saddened to read some of these comments on the Greenbelt website, I thought the service was fantastic. It was obvious there were some issues with the music, but, frankly, the music has been grim at around 225 of the last 250 communions I have been to in the last 5 years or so and Greenbelt has only run 36 since 1974. The vision of the service was so much larger than who led worship and whether the music was inspiring.

And why do I sway more? Well, regardless of what I think of so called modern worship music (not a lot!) I do stand up and play it when needed, I don’t walk away from services because ‘the worship is doing nothing for me’ and I try to be sympathetic to other points of view even when I don’t necessarily agree. I am no saint and I often think my preferences are best for everyone but I accept there are times to just let things happen around you for the greater good.

Ok, ok, I have to confess I would really struggle if Greenbelt sold out and did get Tim Hughes, or one of his ilk, to lead the music at communion ;-)

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The two kinds of new...

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Here is a collection of assets to support the audio of Rob Bell's second talk at Greenbelt 2009. Viewing the youtube.com videos will fill in music missing from the audio for copyright reasons.

The first picture he showed was a photograph taken on his cellphone (bet it's an iPhone!) of Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama embracing when Rob was up close and personal at a special event. Have Twittered Rob to see if we can add his pic, meanwhile:


Then Rob talked about round the globe sailor Joshua Slocomb, 1st pic from GB official photographer Jonathon Watkins:


This was supported by a picture of the vessel, 'Spray', which Joshua had rebuilt over a 3 year period and then set sail in (my view from afar!):

After Rob showed a lady of 73, he also showed a photo of legendary composer and producer Brian Eno at 60:


Having already introduced some of Johnny Cash's work in his Saturday talk, Rob showed the sensational video of Johnny's cover of Nine Inch Nails' 'Hurt':

It would be impossible to capture the interaction Rob had with the lady signing for the deaf, you had to be there! The picture he put up was of Flo-Rida and the 'hit' was played, here's the song with a pic:

If you haven't already bought the audio, available here from the Greenbelt Webshop I thoroughly recommend listening, it was hugely inspiring, uplifting and challenging.

Harvest Festival

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Saw the very wonderful Seth Lakeman perform last night at Harvest at Jimmy's, a new cosy and intimate festival of food and music at our customer Jimmy's Farm just down the road near Ipswich, Suffolk. Seth is a consumate professional and a seriously gifted musician - launching into his 'defining' solo fiddle and stompbox piece, Kitty Jay, as shown above. This piece illustrates that special place where musician and instrument become as one, a truly uplifting experience which I first witnessed when he headlined at the Greenbelt Festival in 2008. The band is excellent, too, with unfussy, solid drumming, great musical support on guitar from brother Sean, a new guy on guitar/mandolin/etc. and a very tall double bass player.

The event was excellent, too, bearing in mind this was the first time Jimmy's Farm had staged something of this magnitude. Another one of the irrepressible Jimmy Doherty's great ideas!

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Of All The People In All The World at Greenbelt...

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(Photographed by Samuel Banks)

This year at the Greenbelt Festival I made it a personal mission to check out more about physical art as well as the usual reasons I go. The latter are, primarily, for the edifying and inspiring talks, the music and, additionally, for all the 'chance' encounters whether they be with folk you already know or complete strangers.

One of the first and most talked about pieces of art, more of a complete and dynamic installation, was the display in the Christian Aid tent by Stan's Café entitiled 'Of All The People In All The World'. This inspiring and challenging piece is based on a grain of rice to represent a person and from there piles of rice to represent various juxtaposed worldwide statistics. Seeing this brings into stark focus our Western unbalanced World View. Click to expand the picture above to see the largest heap of rice represents all the people who have died in the Congo since the conflict began in 1998, the medium sized pile to the right is the number of civilian deaths in Iraq since 2001 and the adjacent relatively tiny pile represents all the forces' casualties in Afghanistan (again since 2001).

I also attended one of the panels discussing use of Art as part of Alternative Worship which was also inpsiring but I will return to that again as they dissed the use of music because of the conflicts that are raised between using traditional and modern worship stuff... the short answer is use pop music as well as hymns, see here!

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On a more general level the whole Greenbelt 2009 site had lots of complementary 'vibing' which just seemed more complete this year from the start of the festival along with some very accessible (in every sense of the word!) sculptures.

So, myth one about Greenbelt dispelled, GB is NOT just a music festival!

Standing in The Long Now... GB09

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Now back from an incredible Greenbelt Festival, feels like one of the best ever! I have loads of notes, books, audio files and musings to absorb and ponder, so may well return to this topic again soon! Meanwhile check out this excellent blog post from Steve Lawson that I feel captures some of the essence of GB.

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