These Brethren really know how to party..!

A little historic gem found whilst tidying away some old papers... it is genuine, by the way ;-)

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Thinking Naughty Thoughts... (in church!)

How could anyone resist a request to review a book on church practices entitled thus?! The byline, 'On church, and why I think we need to change', will bring groans from most clergy whilst the rest of us, that rapidly growing denomination on the edge of Exile, will celebrate. Written as a personal journey of discovery, de-discovery and re-discovery by South African author and 'thinker' Johan van der Merwe (JVDM), Thinking Naughty Thoughts covers a handful of sacred cows many Christians hold dear.

Despite the author having many close friends within the clergy, he tackles each topic, broken down per chapter, with vigour and clarity giving historical and theological context that question validity of much we accept without question. In fact, it is, indeed, written in a questioning style and although I sometimes found it a bit long winded that was only because my emerging thoughts have so much resonance with his subject matter.

JVDM covers questions such as 'Do I really have to belong to a local church?' and other thorny issues such as church leadership, tithing, church buildings and the biggie; worship. And it was when I reached the discussion on worship I was tipped over the edge, the PDF I'd been sent was no longer sufficient, I had to order the paperback!

In addition to the questions and personal conclusions there are some great quotes:

p96: ‘Christianity started out in Palestine as a fellowship; it moved to Greece and became a philosophy; it moved to Italy and became an institution; it moved to Europe and became a culture; it came to America and became an enterprise.’ (Sam Pascoe)

p226: However, now it seems that Christianity is more affected by Western culture, than Christianity is actually affecting the West. (John Michael Talbot)

p239: In my own case, the natural progression in my understanding and practice of worship went from noise and sound and lights and music to silence and solitude. Embracing silence and solitude, which Thomas Merton called 'the supreme luxuries of life,' has opened up my life to a rich and deep heritage of worship of which I was unaware in the time when my practice of worship was too one-dimensional and preoccupied with itself. (JVDM)

Some will say the practices critiqued are an easy target and I personally have some sympathy with that view, I cannot say I agree with absolutely everything JVDM says, particularly as he appears to still view through a lens tinted (tainted?) by fundamentalism, yet overall it was such a joy to read even if it serves to simply reinforce my own views. Regardless I feel hats need to be tipped in his general direction, at last someone has articulated views of all of us on that narrow edge of Exile, I rest our case...

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Synod stalemate...

...shamelessly nicked from Bishop Alan's blog...

Whilst the synod vote on women bishop's failed to reach the overall 2/3 majority of all three 'houses' and despite the profound sadness so many feel, on reflection perhaps we should consider the outcome may be for the best? Whatever the result yesterday evening there would have been no winners as such, even staunch objectors to the introduction of women bishops concede that there will come a time when women are appointed so. But at what cost would it be if the vote went through yesterday?

Personally I am totally in favour of bishops, regardless ;-) I was also taken by surprise at the depth of sadness I felt when the result was read out. But what I cannot endorse is the idea that we cannot be one in communion when served by a woman. And if the vote had gone through, as has been so more eloquently been expressed by most commentators, it would have enshrined in law that there should be provision BY A MAN for those that objected on theological grounds.

Now I know there are some that are sincere in that belief, however, listening to the live stream from Synod yesterday it was revealing how many that hold that view see it as a 'right', a personal preference for which a theological objection has been tailored. It was also made abundantly clear that advocates of the no vote felt this 'provision' had not been fully documented. I am unsure whether the church (in this case, read C of E) and Bishops in the House of Lords will have legitimate or legal standing to comment authoritatively on other matters whilst condoning the discrimination that is still rife and would have been formalised.

So yesterday has produced a mixed message. On one hand there was an overwhelming majority to accept women bishops, on the other hand the church has not moved any further forward. On one hand the Bishops and Clergy do seem to be more of one mind and yet on the other it would appear the House of Laity do not proportionately represent the rest of us. Furthermore whilst the clergy will feel the laity are a waste of space (see Twitter last night!!!) without us there is no church?

And the best moment during the debate? When the Bishop of Leicester attempted to bring some Christlike perspective with this comment during his speech: "Will this chamber be as full for the Living Wage debate tomorrow. Will the queue for the public gallery be as long?"

There is always hope...

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The church is dead... long live church...

Pitching far too High

All that I know now
I'm pitching far too high
I cannot behold
The gilted angel's robe
The guilted pierced soul
I cannot behold

And the heavens roll
And the trumpets blow
And the sun outside burns this uncertain soul

All my learning stops
Whilst trying to join the dots
That pin-prick the night
Sun streams its life through the glass
Scriptures and sermons elapse
Suddenly, I'm with you
I'm old enough now to decide
To leap out and loosen these ties
But something is grounding me
And it's something I like

And the heavens roll
And the trumpets blow
And the sun outside burns this uncertain soul

The truly wonderful Hope & Social - download this song Pitching Far Too High

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Chariots of Fire... Let the Athletics commence...

This a re-post from way back in January 2010 of my Drama selection for the Art and Christianity meme commenced by Jonathan Evens. With the start of the Athletics at London 2012 today and the re-release of an enhanced version of the film it just seemed the right thing to do ;-)

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Artwork: Antony Gormley - 'Field for the British Isles'
Drama: Film 'Chariots of Fire' (1981)
Music: J S Bach - St Matthew Passion
Novel: Victoria Hislop - The Island
Poem: Wilfred Owen - The Parable of the Old Man and the Young

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Drama: I have chosen the film Chariots of Fire - Pleased to say I saw it way before the Oscar nominations and other plaudits poured in, so I was an early 'adopter' of this great period piece set around the 1924 Olympics (so expect to see it on the box a few times over the next couple of years!).

There are many issues tackled in the film which revolves around the counterbalance of ambitious Englishman Harold Abrahams, who is Jewish, and Eric Liddell, an instinctive Scottish sprinter who, as a devout Christian, makes the wonderful statement 'I believe that God made me for a purpose (i.e. supporting his mission work) but He also made me fast, and when I run, I feel His pleasure.'

The story doesn't end with the film, Eric went on to become a respected missionary in China and despite his athletic physique still died at a young age during incarceration in the Japanese Weihsien Internment (read concentration) Camp from a brain tumour. However, it was the film that nudged my interest to read more about him and Sally Magnusson's excellent book, The Flying Scotsman, was where I turned first in those pre-web days.

This film has so many resonances for me and refreshed me when the church simply didn't or couldn't. Athletics was the sport I was best at plus I had a relatively strict upbringing which meant we kept the Sabbath (Sunday!) holy. Creatively I love the daring combination of a period drama with the symphonic and quirky synthesiser music soundtrack composed by Vangelis on devices I know my way around. However, it is the example of Jesus that Eric clearly was that is so moving and challenging that gets to me everytime.

He did not get out of China when he could because it would desert friends and family. For example he was able to support his exhausted brother in a rural mission station. He was also fiercly anti-class and to demonstrate the importance of equality shared out some extra food with everyone that had been bought by oil company inmates who'd bribed their guards.

His example was remarkable and sacrificial, despite much personal hardship he never stopped putting others first and whilst passionate about his faith he led by example rather than proselytisation or seeking any glory for himself. This was highlighted in a recent revelation that when he was offered, as a former high profile athlete, an opportunity to take part in a prisoner exchange he gave his place to a pregnant woman. During his time in the camp he even took part, as referee, in a football match on a Sunday to prevent the teams from fighting because he was trusted to be completely impartial...

Church and Drugs and Rock and Rollins...

Regular Greenbelt Festival contributor Peter Rollins at his provocative best.... Let us discuss?

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Ash Wednesday Sacred Surprise

A view from across the not-so-wide pond from authoress Diana Butler Bass. A conclusion could be that the word 'Religion' has a less virtuous interpretation over there? However, the narrative (~3.17) about the priest in the Chicago area going outside the church to offer the Ash Wednesday marking with a cross is surely truly sacred? Perhaps this is a compelling illustration of the important distinction between the yearning for religious practices rather than seeking sacred moments...

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The end of the C of E as we know it...

'I don't care about the Church of England' is an obvious soundbite that journalists will inevitably latch onto that Bishop Stephen Cottrell proclaimed during the Chelmsford Diocesan Transforming Presence event this Saturday 21st Jan. I first encountered Bishop Stephen's inspirational style at another conference, Transforming Worship, at Chelmsford cathedral when he was still serving as the Bishop of Reading. Then he encouraged us to think much more creatively and holistically about the experience of what it's like to attend a church, explaining that planning services must go way beyond simply preparing for a liturgical, lectionary based hymn, prayer and reading sandwich.

The Transforming Presence event was convened to draw together around 1,000 people from all over the Diocese, which covers all of Essex and East London, to discuss the pressing issues facing the C of E in terms of attendance, finance and clergy. The process was one of structured discussion and feedback gathered from delegates grouped in tens around circular tables. We were guided through a creative SWOT analysis exercise, each topic culminating in filling out conclusions onto friendly and varied 'homely' forms which were collected and then displayed around the venue.

However, the overall experience was very much like church, a see-saw of good versus the uncomfortable. On arrival at the Brentwood Centre it was a joy to see the Bishops modelling high-vis fashion (see photo above) and directing the not inconsiderable traffic. Regardless of whether some thought that was, maybe, a tad contrived, it positively demonstrated the 'renewal of the mind' from the day's familiar reading, Romans 12, as a way to think in reverse of the expected.

Next one of the truly saddening moments! Depsite the church banging on about the 5th Mark of Mission drinks were served in polystyrene cups with plastic teaspoons... To some that may seem insignificant, but surely a powerful 'evangelistic' message was missed because of that lack of joining obvious dots?

Moving along the next uplifting moment was hearing Bishop Stephen's opening remarks as he unpacked the vision for the day. Sadly this was then swiftly followed swiftly by another downer as the first hymn we sang, despite having great words, was set to the wretched tune of Danny Boy. I must stress this was an exception in the day's liturgy as a whole. However, to me it was such an irony that, as the Brentwood Centre stages professional boxing tournaments, I kept imagining everyone else at the Centre, those making use of the usual sporting facilities etc., must have been left wondering why such a strait laced bunch was so robustly endorsing Fighting some sort of (good?) Fight? OK, I'll fess up, I only see and hear Barry McGuigan's dad singing whenever I hear that tune!

The main part of the day then ensued, with the aforementioned discussions. My table had a good mix, clergy were in a minority (3), our geographical locations and church types were varied. Despite having to bite my lip (a lot!) it was a good process and although, overall, I felt we were somewhat parochial, there were some surprising contributions along with some changes of heart as the day progressed. To generalise, I don't think we were realistic. For example, am I cynical to not expect an imminent revival?

This process was interspersed with other elements, including sharing lunch on the table and simply wandering around to meet acquaintances. A Twitter hastag was running, #timetotalk, which both started to produce some good comments and enabled a Tweetup moment for those of us who partake to meet in real life (ie non-virtually) ;-)

After the lunch break we were called back by singing 'Spirit of the Living God', played most sensitively by Elwin Cockett, now an archdeacon, no less! Next came a really weird moment... We were shown a new video of some relative youngsters, I assume teenagers, talking about church and what it meant to them. Frankly it was dreadful, and that is a gross understatement. It was typical of something a church / Diocesan committee would produce. Great content, awful production. In the car one of my buddies proposed that the way the contributors had delivered their pieces to camera was the result of some rendition process deep within the Guy Harlings complex! In line with the rhythm of the day, and another irony, next up was an interview by BBC Essex broadcaster Ian Wyatt who demonstrated how much better professionals handle things. Ian's programme covering the conference is on iPlayer for a few more days.

So, back to our table and the mission thereon. We resumed by filling out a mythical edition of Diocese's publication 'The Month', predicting the content for the year 2020, fleshing out a Headline we had invented in the last pre-lunch session. My question here is why were we even talking about the print edition without at least acknowledging on-line or mobile / tablet apps and media that we would most likely consume in 8 years time? With converging of Internet and TV technology it is likely everyone will have access to some sort of online media, even without broadband. Of course, it is not the point that was being sought, the possible stories were, but it does show a lack of vision for it not to be even mentioned. Equally not actually having the #timetotalk hashtag displayed anywhere seemed a bit of an omission as people were trying to figure it out.

And so on to the closing remarks that Bishop Stephen gave. He started by giving his imagined headline for 'The Month': 'The Church of England ceases to exist' explaining whilst we have too many churches his solution is to actually have more. He qualified the daring opening statement in the first sentence of this post, 'I don't care about the Church of England', as he concluded, 'but what I do care about is the Gospel of Jesus Christ'. There ensued a passionate rallying call about how inevitable a terminal decline of the C of E will happen, in the short term, unless we engineer radical changes, starting now, which he summarised as 'I do not want to manage the graceful decline of the Church of England'. He added an even more daring thought when he said 'the C of E may still decline, but that's up to God'. His call is for all of us to be transformed, to let go of our preferences and desires, for the church to break from the cultural constraints that may have worked well in the past but do no longer, and to develop such that we, as both disciples and as the church corporate, are distinctively Christian.

It was a priviledge to be at the starting point of this vital and prohetic initiative. Of course, I will not be the only one to have found some niggles but if this collaborative approach is an inkling of real transformation in the way things move forward from now on, that is refreshingly good. Yes, I was pleased to feel part of the day and whilst still harbouring concerns about how big an ask this may prove to be it is one giant leap in a brave direction.

And one more thing... I had one of those weird 'moments'! Whilst visiting the rest of the Brentwood Centre complex to avail myself of the facilities I felt assailed by the loud 'piped' music. It was a strange contrast to be part of what I can only describe as a quite a noisy 'holy hubbub' yet to still find that bit of the outside world so strident when, normally, you wouldn't even notice?

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Revival comes to West Mersea...

Residents of St. Peter's Road receiving the Wood of the LORD this morning.... a parishioner was encouraged by the new and charismatic preacher saying they would fit in well 'as our services are usually a bit wooden'. We're told the reading was from Isaiah 55:12 along with a relevant chorus.

The good news is the message Sufjan Stevens brings us which I wouldn't have found if I'd not searched for the obvious song!

Hands down for coffee...

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Greece in crisis, Captain Corelli time...

Colchester's Mercury Theatre has this incredible knack of running a production that has an uncanny amount of synchronicity to current affairs. And they've scored yet again with this intriguing depiction of Louis de Bernières novel 'Captain Corelli's Mandolin', a collaboration between the Mercury and the Kote Marjanishvili Theatre of Tbilisi, Georgia. The play features both live action from a trim cast of five supplemented by a series of puppets playing both mini versions of the main on-stage characters and other parts.

What was no surprise was the compelling quality of the acting and the stage production, the latter not only providing stunning visual effects but also giving Health and Safety a scare with so much exposed naked flame! The puppetry really came into its own in the 2nd act, whereas in the first, whilst admiring the impressive technical skill, I found myself occasionally wondering what it added apart from the show stealing pet goat. As mentioned, in the 2nd part the interface between real and puppet action became an essential element, able to sensitively depict the harrowing scenes that are so distressing in the book (and film) without lessening any dramatic impact.

All the action is set on the Greek Island Cephallonia (Kefalonia) which suffered Italian and then German occupation during the 2nd World War. The characters are given more time to develop their personae than in the film and, one of leading actors, Mike Maran, is, indeed, credited for this excellent adaptation. He plays the long suffering Dr Iannis who opens the play with one of the most memorable scenes, as depicted above. Captain Corelli is cast as a bit of a buffoon! Having said that, Tony Casement plays him brilliantly, both as romeo and as the commander of his squad of loyal but slightly reluctant soldiers. Roger Delves-Boughton plays both Corelli's Quartermaster and the humorous British Spy, 'Roger', would you believe? Mr Bond, I presume?! Mandras, the local Greek fisherman was played by Gus Gallagher and Dr Iannis' precious daughter, Pelagia, was wonderfully brought to life by Natalie Kakhidze.

Although the music was all pre-recorded, it was specially written and provided some contrasting moments of joy and pathos. As a result I was relieved I could blame the smoke units for making my eyes water! The set design was sparse, mainly working with a set of moving risers and drapes. However, the lighting, sound effects, pyrotechnics and prop movements were seamlessly slick, providing amazing impact with iconic images via models and projections.

Another aspect that came over well, which the film failed to convey, was the subtle, yet effective, portrayal of the differences betwixt the Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches. In fact, religious imagery, practice and concepts were very evident throughout as part of life and death.

So, if you have read the book, you will definitely not be disappointed. If you've only seen the film, watching this will make you yearn to read the book and glean even more! Highly recommended...

Captain Corelli's Mandolin is on until 12th November - book tickets here

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God's extraordinary symphony...

Rapping theology...

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Stages of Faith...

Things you see on a church bookstall that make you ever so grateful your mobile has a built-in camera...

Rupert Murdoch and the Bible...

The Bible Industry. From Geez magazine, Fall 2009. Credit: Darryl Brown and Aiden Enns.

Seems some Christibods are in a bit of a panic as this article by Canadian author Will Braun first published in Geez Magazine receives greater coverage having been re-run in Sojo.net. Not only are Zondervan the biggest publishers of the Holy Bible they also carry books by leading authors like Rob Bell and Shane Claiborne, who will both speak at the Greenbelt Festival this year. It is Shane Claiborne's wisdom that puts things in candid perspective in these couple of paragraphs:

The Zondervan advantage
'I want to have the broadest readership possible,' Claiborne says by phone, 'I don’t want to be someone who just speaks to the choir.' He says smaller publishers have their advantages but the books he has written for them cost 'two or three times' more than what they would if Zondervan published them.

To judge, or not to judge
The ongoing News Corp scandal concerns him. 'The current issues ... in England raise all kinds of ethical questions,' he tells me, 'and I would hope that a company whose mission is explicitly Christian, as Zondervan’s is, would take the opportunity to bear witness and to speak into the culture which is so terribly fallen.'

Claiborne is not sure if he will write for Zondervan again. He doesn’t rule it out.
There’s good and bad in each of us, he says, 'we are called to work on the log in our own eye, and I’m sure as heck trying to work on the compromises that I make so that those are minimal when it comes to integrity.'

Whilst this must be a dilemma for Claiborne, he is a great voice in the very media everyone is apoplectic about, for example, I blogged about his article in lads mag Esquire here. To conclude buying from Zondervan is contributing directly to the devil incarnate, we'd should also stop using the Interweb, oh yes, and stop going to church!

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The Peace of the Lord be...

Well, I, for one, can't wait to see this movie based on Don Miller's cracking book 'Blue Like Jazz'. Instead of a 'coming of age' storyline it's a bit more of a re-discovery with some seriously perceptive observations of the church.

Love it!

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Song for Rapture(fail) Saturday...

Such great lyrics for today, h/t Maggi Dawn's tweet yesterday on what a great funeral song this is ;-)

I'm coming up so you better get this party started
I'm coming up so you better get this party started
Get this party started,
on a Saturday night,
everybody's waiting for me to arrive
Sending out the message to all of my friends
we'll be looking flashy in my Mercedes Benz...

Clearly the LORD did buy Pink her Mercedes Benz then?

More Rapture links:

The wonderful RaptureFail website
Some Grey Bloke's farewell message to Rapturees
Maggi Dawn's historical look at the previous failed rapture dates
The Rapture flow chart to see if you make it

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The Gospel of the Blues...

Film trailer of acclaimed Canadian blues singer Rita Chiarelli's journey of discovery within the intimidating walls of Louisiana State's maximum security prison entitled Music From the Big House. Stunningly shot with an intriguing mix of both Gospel music and the Blues... official wording reads:

From acclaimed director Bruce McDonald, teaming with an Emmy and Oscar nominated documentary producer, comes a rare and exclusive musical journey. Rita Chiarelli, an award-winning recording artist, has decided to take a pilgrimage to the birthplace of the blues - Louisiana State Maximum Security Penitentiary a.k.a Angola Prison. She never imagined that her love of the blues would lead her to play with inmates serving life sentences for murder, rape and armed robbery.

In what was once the bloodiest prison in America, inmates relatives will be invited to listen alongside other prisoners, to hear remarkable voices singing stories of hope and redemption. Let yourself be swept away by one of Blues' most soulful pilgrim daughters who is finding out if music really is an escape.

P h/t The Wedlocks

The case of the Vanishing Verger...

Sometimes being human is simply not appropriate... after a good day at the office the Church of England acts quickly to cover up any exuberance ;-)

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Springsteen's Good Friday meditation...

h/t Stiller's Blog, Zac's Place

Archbishop Rowan busts a move...

Another advert and although it's a rip-off of the famous original YouTube wedding entrance video still made me laugh! Plus I used to live in E17... and we will get a holy day...

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Rob Bell in his own words...

Am grateful that George Luke, writer and radio presenter, recently chose to post this mini-interview he recorded when Rob Bell spoke at the Greenbelt Festival in 2009. It struck me both how prophetic it was back then to have predicted some of the grief Rob is getting now over his new book Love Wins and also what grounded perspective he has...

There have been some excellent blog posts in defense of Rob from both sides of the Atlantic:

Maggi Dawn's blog
Julie Clawson's blog
Sojourners' Blog
and one that made me smile:
Is Rob Bell a Universalist?

PB