Following complaints about my silence I thought it was about time I 're-appeared'. So what I have been doing for three weeks?
Well if I answer that I start to get into defensive mode. My absence is easily explained - I've simply been making other things more of a priority than this. Life comprises a complex blend of work, college, family and church - and although my diary is empty for this week, it is more than filled with an essay for college and several services to prepare as well as paid work.
One activity occupying me a lot though is 'freecycle' - a wonderful web-based community of people keen to offload their unwanted items onto one another. If you can resist what others are offering, it is a wonderful way to de-clutter without going to all the hassle (and potential finanacial reward) of doing a boot fair. So far this week we have passed on two kitchen worktops, a collection of beer making equipment, a miscellaneous collection of wooden rails and 116 paving bricks. Now I don't think we could easily have sold any of these which is good news for the local tip as that is where they would inevitably have ended up. Or perhaps we are simply indulging ourselves in delaying tactics and passing on the burden of disposal?
In today's economic climate this all feels very good though. And if you're wondering why this can be considered remotely theological then take a look at the fifth mark of mission that many of the churches embraced a few years back.
This coming weekend sees me involved in both All Saints and All Souls services on Sunday. For some reason I see this weekend as the start of the big countdown to Christmas. But then it is snowing as I write this so I'm probably just feeling slightly wintery.
All Saints and All Souls are a fascinating combination to celebrate on the same day. Two sides of the same coin. We're all part of the company of heaven and the distinction between those who are alive and those who aren't is incidental. And I wonder which are truly alive anyway? The dead or the living? The living or the dead?
Tuesday, 28 October 2008
Thursday, 9 October 2008
More thoughts from Iona...
Yesterday brought bright sunshine and the possibility of a boat trip to the island of Staffa, the home of Fingal's Cave that inspired Mendelssohn to compose his Hebrides Overture. The cave itself is stunning of course, but I was moved more by the geological construction of the island as a whole which is quite breathtaking. The volcanic events that created it must have been awesome in their destructive power and yet the result is amazing beauty. Surely no architect - other than a supreme creater - could design such a place?
Not one for heights I didn't stay in the cave for long but returned along the narrow walkway to head up above onto the top of Staffa and across to the other side. There I found another natural and wondrous sight - a large grey seal basking in the shallows a few yards from its recently born (7-10 days?) pup. I hesitatingly made my way down the bank and onto their beach, careful to keep my distance and avoid being noticed. For some minutes I simply sat and watched and took a few pictures.
Full of admiration for our skipper who managed to land and collect us on a tiny pier amidst an increasing swell we made our way back to Iona - a ride that became increasingly bumpy. The weather was deterioating and that has continued through to today. The ferry is still working but it doesn't look comfortable out there.
Liz and I spent the afternoon walking up Dùn Ì (101 m, 331 ft), Iona's only hill, from where we had glorious views right over to Coll in the north and Islay in the South. Then just before dinner a pair of porpoises could be seen playing around the ferry as it made its way back to Fionnphort
With nothing but rain today I have now moved on to reading Walter Brueggemann's 'The Word Militant: Preaching a Decentering Word'. Every page excites me - like every other book of his I've read - and although the book is shorter than it looks (for Brueggemann is generous with his notes!) the value to be derived from almost every paragraph makes it - for me - far more valuable than other less precise writers (some of whom seem to stretch articles into volumes when they don't deserve it). Let's hope my preaching listens to his wisdom.
Not one for heights I didn't stay in the cave for long but returned along the narrow walkway to head up above onto the top of Staffa and across to the other side. There I found another natural and wondrous sight - a large grey seal basking in the shallows a few yards from its recently born (7-10 days?) pup. I hesitatingly made my way down the bank and onto their beach, careful to keep my distance and avoid being noticed. For some minutes I simply sat and watched and took a few pictures.
Full of admiration for our skipper who managed to land and collect us on a tiny pier amidst an increasing swell we made our way back to Iona - a ride that became increasingly bumpy. The weather was deterioating and that has continued through to today. The ferry is still working but it doesn't look comfortable out there.
Liz and I spent the afternoon walking up Dùn Ì (101 m, 331 ft), Iona's only hill, from where we had glorious views right over to Coll in the north and Islay in the South. Then just before dinner a pair of porpoises could be seen playing around the ferry as it made its way back to Fionnphort
With nothing but rain today I have now moved on to reading Walter Brueggemann's 'The Word Militant: Preaching a Decentering Word'. Every page excites me - like every other book of his I've read - and although the book is shorter than it looks (for Brueggemann is generous with his notes!) the value to be derived from almost every paragraph makes it - for me - far more valuable than other less precise writers (some of whom seem to stretch articles into volumes when they don't deserve it). Let's hope my preaching listens to his wisdom.
Tuesday, 7 October 2008
Misc thoughts from Iona...
A particularly poignant moment for me this morning when I came across the very simple grave of John Smith in the Abbey cemetery. I wonder how different the last 11 years might have been if he had lived to led the Labour Party through a successful general election in 19971? That thought is a reminder perhaps that we can only live in the present, and that this is the true purpose of a memorial - to help ensure that the mistakes of the past are not repeated and the dreams of yesterday never forgotten.
The weather is not good which has meant much of today has been spent inside reading although Liz and I did make it onto the beach this morning. We also had lunch in the Heritage Centre (the old vicarage), visited the parish church (designed by Thomas Telford) and had an interesting discussion about beekeeping with one of the local artists who is contemplating it as a new hobby.
And we've been to worship too of course. Both at Bishop's House, the local Episcopal Church retreat house where we participated in the Eucharist and at the Abbey for the weekly Healing Service led by members of the Iona Community.
I am reading all sorts of things this week as you might expect. I will shortly finish Take This Bread by Sarah Miles, an amazing story about Christian conversion and the importance of food as a central tenet of Christian community in the broadest Eucharistic sense. It has interesting parallels perhaps with Barbara Glasson's 'bread church' in Manchester. Both raise challenging questions about the extent to which churches should and can be inclusive. They are also both intensely contextual in the way that mission emerges from a process of theological reflection - visions of what might be are not our ideas but God's and we need to be open to being dragged into things and places that make us feel distinctly uncomfortable.
More tomorrow perhaps, especially if we manage to climb Iona's only hill...
The weather is not good which has meant much of today has been spent inside reading although Liz and I did make it onto the beach this morning. We also had lunch in the Heritage Centre (the old vicarage), visited the parish church (designed by Thomas Telford) and had an interesting discussion about beekeeping with one of the local artists who is contemplating it as a new hobby.
And we've been to worship too of course. Both at Bishop's House, the local Episcopal Church retreat house where we participated in the Eucharist and at the Abbey for the weekly Healing Service led by members of the Iona Community.
I am reading all sorts of things this week as you might expect. I will shortly finish Take This Bread by Sarah Miles, an amazing story about Christian conversion and the importance of food as a central tenet of Christian community in the broadest Eucharistic sense. It has interesting parallels perhaps with Barbara Glasson's 'bread church' in Manchester. Both raise challenging questions about the extent to which churches should and can be inclusive. They are also both intensely contextual in the way that mission emerges from a process of theological reflection - visions of what might be are not our ideas but God's and we need to be open to being dragged into things and places that make us feel distinctly uncomfortable.
More tomorrow perhaps, especially if we manage to climb Iona's only hill...
Thursday, 2 October 2008
The missionary opportunities of economic depression
The raw awfulness of the current economic downturn (or should we be honest and say recession?) is heartbreaking. But what kind of opportunities does it present the church?
Many will rightly want to respond at a social level to ease the worst effects of economic hardship. But I think there is also a role for a more prophetic witness.
A few prophetic critical voices from within the churches were warning us of the difficult times ahead well over a year ago. We need to find new ways of helping those voices to be heard in our churches, leave alone beyond them.
For prophecy is not about predicting the future but of drawing attention to the true nature of reality. And so the need for prophetic witness during this recession is no less important now that it is upon us. Arguably it is even more important.
So what is reality as it faces us today?
I'm old enough to remember homework by candlelight in the 1970s and my parents having to queue up for a mortgage. Those days may not return in precisely that form, but the speed of economic change is now slowing rapidly and might remain slow in this country for years.
The UK economy is largely driven by the housing market. So if first time buyers are required to save 25% of their house value, instead of nothing or even just 5% (which was my situation in 1986), the impact on the wider economy is instant. Spending across the board disappears as people save.
The side effect of that is that people will need to find alternative forms of entertainment and focus for their time and energy. Doing up the newly acquired house is not an option. And there is less and less equity to spend on hobbies and holidays - even if you can access the credit.
As economic times get tougher, there are therefore fewer and fewer ways to avoid the difficult stuff of live - like relationships.
So people will need to turn to friends, family or wider engagement in community, including the churches, to find meaning, purpose and occupation.
If people can't spend their way to happiness, isn't that an opportunity to promote other routes to satisfaction - including those that don't cost a bean?
Challenging economic times present the church with a huge missionary opportunity. Are we up to it?
Many will rightly want to respond at a social level to ease the worst effects of economic hardship. But I think there is also a role for a more prophetic witness.
A few prophetic critical voices from within the churches were warning us of the difficult times ahead well over a year ago. We need to find new ways of helping those voices to be heard in our churches, leave alone beyond them.
For prophecy is not about predicting the future but of drawing attention to the true nature of reality. And so the need for prophetic witness during this recession is no less important now that it is upon us. Arguably it is even more important.
So what is reality as it faces us today?
I'm old enough to remember homework by candlelight in the 1970s and my parents having to queue up for a mortgage. Those days may not return in precisely that form, but the speed of economic change is now slowing rapidly and might remain slow in this country for years.
The UK economy is largely driven by the housing market. So if first time buyers are required to save 25% of their house value, instead of nothing or even just 5% (which was my situation in 1986), the impact on the wider economy is instant. Spending across the board disappears as people save.
The side effect of that is that people will need to find alternative forms of entertainment and focus for their time and energy. Doing up the newly acquired house is not an option. And there is less and less equity to spend on hobbies and holidays - even if you can access the credit.
As economic times get tougher, there are therefore fewer and fewer ways to avoid the difficult stuff of live - like relationships.
So people will need to turn to friends, family or wider engagement in community, including the churches, to find meaning, purpose and occupation.
If people can't spend their way to happiness, isn't that an opportunity to promote other routes to satisfaction - including those that don't cost a bean?
Challenging economic times present the church with a huge missionary opportunity. Are we up to it?
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