Monthly Archives: October 2006

Think before you choose that url … a Monday Funny!

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Each Monday I send a mail of what I hope to be useful stuff to the YFC centres. The last item on the list of 4 or 5 is always a ‘funny’ as I like to think of us and laughing at the start of the week and not getting to the stage where we take ourselves too seriously!

This weeks funny shows just how important it is to think carefully about urls for your company. I found this funny. Funny how I try to get past that adolescent sense of humour, think I might nearly be there only to come crashing back to earth!

stand in the gap

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Interesting weekend, although Sarah and I did not see a lot of each other as we were both fairly tied up with work or study stuff.

Today I got to observe Jen’s sermon at St Giles which was excellent. I was made to think more about the rich young ruler and why in particular Jesus specifically looked at those commandments in Mark.

In the evening I had the pleasure of sharing some thoughts at the St Mark’s informal service. The young people asked me to speak which was a real honour.

We looked at walking the Christian walk and I was struck by how Jesus seemed to walk with the oppressed (by standing in the gap) and messed up while he judged the hypocritical leaders of the time. I suggested that much of church does the opposite in my eyes; by judging the oppressed and messed up while we walk with the leaders!

Some Christians seems to love judging people for their lifestyles or behaviour while they welcome politicians or funders without challenge that develop policies and practices that oppress others.

If I’m right (and it is a generalisation aimed to provoke) then where did it all go wrong?

more in vino veritas down the bar

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I have been having a little think recently about friendships and the result, or effects, of friendships on disagreements, different ways of doing things and so on.

This conversation started last week on the SEITE weekend when we were acknowledging that it’s both good and interesting to see that we all get on so well as a year group despite our very different church backgrounds. It seems that we have developed friendships with each other as people, and our church-personship has been very secondary in this process.

Along the way we have had great and sometimes heated discussions. I remember a time at last years Easter school in the pub after a veneration of the cross service. The discussion got heated, but not once did we lose the respect of each other. More importantly, we did not lose the friendship of each other. I think the fact we were already developing strong friendships enabled open discussions to occur without offence being the result.

I have just got around to reading last weeks Church Times, and there Giles Fraser (the first article I normally go to) writes on the same subject:

If Christians, and specifically Anglicans, spent more time developing friendships with each other, we would be so much less willing to press the self destruct button at the first sign of disagreement. A bit more in vino veritas down the bar a bit less manipulation through mini sermons masquerading as intercessions.

Giles Fraser goes on to say that one of the crises of the church is that clergy have not spent time investing in friendships with each other. I think he is right. I don’t agree with all my SEITE colleagues in how they do things and in particular views, but I do value their friendship. As individuals they are important to me. If we value friends it is harder to say ‘if you don’t like the church leave it’ and gives the energy and inspiration for the drive needed to ensure that we can continue to work together in the wider church.

SEITE enables this to happen more than maybe other, more narrow church based colleges, might be able to do. At SEITE we are good, no exceptionally good, at ‘vino veritas down the bar’ – now we can continue in that custom knowing that we are protecting and promoting the long term health of the Church of England!

Leveled by a puddle!

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The time away was great.

We were able to appoint a great person to become the new director of Taunton YFC. An outstanding person whom I think will develop the centre in exciting ways with a clear vision. More will be announced later.

Catching up with friends and supporters in Nailsea was great and its hard to think that it was over 12 years ago that we left there to come back to set up Gillingham YFC. It was great to see a couple of the people whose warmth and love that I remember from that time has not disappeared. It’s also exciting to see a number of these people who we worked with then supporting us now financially through YFC. It’s always weirdly humbling and exciting meeting up with those who support us in this way.

A unique experience on the way home. The rain was so torrential earlier in the day that the M25 was closed for 45 minutes to allow the police to suck up a giant puddle in the outside lane. Drivers turned off engines and we walked on the carriageway.

For those brief 45 minutes we were stranded. There was nothing we could do. There was a calm resignation to just having to wait. There was a fun type atmosphere as we milled around and chatted, maybe knowing we were doing something that we should not be. We noted that we (hopefully) would never again actually get the chance to walk on the M25!

Looking up and down the motorway, I saw 3 lines of stationary traffic as far as I could see, and dots of humans milling around, waiting until they could re-start their journeys. I wish I had got my camera to record the experience. The picture was vaguely funny. Hundreds if drivers brought to a standstill by a puddle! Whether you were in a £80 000 Mercedes or a £800 Escort made no difference. levelingng haoccurreded. We were equal as we waited. Sometimes we forget, but ionlyny takes a little bit of rain to remind us.

It was a reminder to me that in the eyes of God we are all equal. Some may feel inferior, superior, rich, poor, in, out; but however we feel, or don’t feel, we are all equal in the eyes if Creator God. It is with that equality that we stand before God not just at ‘the end’ but also in the present of today.

I’m off westwards!

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It’s been a long day.
With long careful nurturing the Tamagotchi is as good as new, so there have been no major stresses this evening!

It’s been a long day and I’m tired but I look ahead to an exciting week, or at least a few days in the west country.

I will be leaving the house very early in the morning to get to Taunton to sit on the interview panel for the new director of Taunton YFC. Leaving the house at 530 should mean I miss the traffic!

After that I plan to catch up with Annie and Phil Williams in Nailsea who head up Christian Surfers UK. It will be great to see them after such a long time. Following that I will be meeting and staying overnight with good friend David and visiting the Ring o Bells, which was a local haunt when I was the youth and childrens work coordinator at Holy Trinity.

On Wednesday morning I hope to pop in and say hello to a few of my financial supporters in Nailsea before driving home and hopefully catching an England victory on a big screen somewhere.

Lots of exciting things in just a few hours.

Mondays … but boys make me laugh!

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Monday mornings – what are they about!
I don’t like Mondays.
Bad things happen on Monday mornings.
The children are stressed and don’t want to go to school.
The adults don’t want to work.
This morning we diverted, or maybe only postponed, a disaster!

The washing machine is running.
Inside we can see Beth’s new Tamagotchi!
It was left in the trousers and we never noticed.
Beth was not aware.
I hid it – that was the best idea for an interim strategy.

At the moment the said toy is in pieces drying out under my table lamp, but it looks pretty wet!

Mondays ….

but sometimes you find something funny on Mondays
like this
which if you have sons is probably even funnier!

Highlights

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I had a great welcome home this afternoon.
Joe ran out into the street in his new football boots to show off and then just gave me this massive long hug. It was one of those special moments with no words and just able to enjoy being.

On the journey back I had an opportunity to think and talk about my anger experience of yesterday evening. I don’t think I am any clearer of the why of my emotion and I think that concerns me – not a lot, but enough to make me stop and wonder.

I don’t feel guilty for being angry as I don’t think anger itself is a wrong, or bad, emotion to feel. I am interested though in the triggers and I’m sensing I feel an injustice in that I was challenged, criticised, (call it whatever), but was not then given the opportunity to respond. Whatever, I need to chat with the person concerned and share my thoughts!

Anyway …

lowlights of the weekend:
our good friend Jeremy not being able to join us – we missed him
most of Saturday’s lectures for me
England failing to win
Gillingham losing a 3-1 lead
missing the family
restrictive ‘no drinking, no smoking, back by 11pm rules

but ending on a high …

highlights of the weekend:
Laughing with Iori, Nichola, Jen, Lynette, Barbara, Brian, Dave and others…
Enjoying the football and dinner in Wetherspoons with Dave
Spending good time with good friends
Friday night’s curry at Herne Bay Court
Catching a quick vodka made me feel like a naughty schoolboy – and it felt good!
Mr Whippy ice cream!

Frustration and Pedestals

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It seems that Herne Bay Court has a wifi signal in some part of the building and my room is above it … so as it’s free it would be a waste not to make use of it.

The weekend so far , and I guess it’s nearly over as we are leaving after lunch, has not been as bad as I thought but I genuinely fail to see how the stuff we have been looking at is of great use to me. The skills of listening and reflecting and so on are useful and important, and they will be used in my role, but there are so many other things that I feel I can be spendng time doing, and things I am less well equipped in, especially as the first year of my training has been exactly the same as ordinands being trained for parish life.

I sense I am starting to get frustrated as I keep hearing that as an person training for OPM my training needs altering, and yet I fail to see this happening. I fear that time is running out and I wish to have the opportunity to prepare and reflect as best I can be with the limited time we have.

Last night I got angry in a lecture as I was told my pratice of 20 years or so of not getting into a pastoral situation with a woman was ‘the cowards way out’. I found myself getting angry as this statement was, in my opinion, called into question the legitimacy of my whole youth work practice, alongside that of YFC and others, and belittling it with a rash statement while denying me the chance to enter into dialogue. Interesting that during the day we were talking about priests putting themselves on pedestals and how we should stop doing that. I think this was an example of self pedestal placing by making a bold statement to contradict what I had shared earlier and then denying the opportunity for ongoing dialogue by using authority to move on to the next topic due to time constraints.

I’m finding it interesting to note the anger I feel. I believe I am quite laid back person in most situations and being a youth worker for so long means I am very able to take knocks and jibes and do not usually rise to the bait. I guess being on the receiving side of knocks from those we are serving are easier to bear, and more expected, than knocks from those who are serving us. It’s an interesting thought.

I am confused as to why this statement in the lecture has made me so angry. I wonder if it is the statement itself or if it is a combination of this and the frustration I was talking about earlier. Maybe it was a combination of lots of things. I guess I will have to reflect more on the why of this but now I need to get ready for morning prayer.

I wish others would realise that God is not up on a Sunday morrning so early! In fact, our prayers might wake God … so shhhhhhhhh.

SEITE residential weekend 1

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Tonight is the start of my first residential weekend of the year for SEITE. This one’s at Herne Bay Court and we are looking at Pastoral Psychology! Must admit … the title / topic does not grab me either! I’m not sure entirely how this fits with pioneer ministry as I want to be planting, not pastoring! (And before anyone says … no I a not knocking pastors – we need them, but I’m not one of them which is not a problem if I work on a team where some people are!)

It’ll be good to see friends and chat over stuff with people, but it’s been a long week and the last thing I want to do is sit and listen to lectures for hours … and there is an England game on!

Ridiculous!

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This is a great ridiculous idea. I’m going to get my pineapple today – not the tinned variety, but a real one!

Should I wrap it or not?!

Want to know why the free Burma Campaign is suggesting we send Margaret Beckett a pineapple? Read here or click the pineapple to find out more.