Monthly Archives: September 2010

prayer stool

Posted on by
Reply

This week I got a prayer stool delivered.

I have been looking for one of these for a little while as I like to be kneeling when I pray compline at night as, for me, it seems to concentrate my mind.

I know there is no need to pray and in fact people can pray in whatever way they wish. I regularly pray with a cup of coffee in my hand, while walking down the street, swimming in the pool or driving the car. I also believe it is ok to keep my eyes open when I pray! But, for me, kneeling at key times in my day is very symbolic of my relationship with God. For me the symbolism is about reminding myself who I am before God and I like to end my day in particular recognising that the relationship I have is of Creator and created, or King and subject, Rabbi and disciple.

Anyway … David at Just Crosses was very helpful and made me a stool with 2 pairs of legs so I could experiment which height was more comfortable for me. On his website you can see other simple but well made things that david makes … but of you are looking for a reasonably priced prayer stool why not check out him out.

the temporary …

Posted on by
Reply

I have been catching up on some podcast listening which is made easier now that I have started to return to the gym as I like to challenge my thinking as I challenge my body physically.  I particularly like listening to Rob Bell sermons from Mars Hill Michigan. Two other podcasts I listen to regularly are the Moot podcast and, more recently I have discovered, the Nomad podcast.

It just so happens that both the moot and the nomad podcasts have an interview with Kester Brewin. Complex Christ, one of Kester’s book, was pretty formational for me and so I was intrigued to hear what he was speaking on in these podcasts and I was not surprised to hear him covering a lot – both are worth listening to, and you don’t need to go to the gym to do that!

One of the things that Kester speaks on is ‘the temporary’ which is worth giving some thought to. I think Kester was saying that church and communities like that only ever are temporary as they serve a purpose. If they become permanent then they risk become idolatrous such that people end up serving the church rather than the church serving the people. When organisations become idolatrous in this way then often we see violence occur as people as people feel the need to protect their structures.

This, claims Kester, is one of the things that Jesus demolished when he came through his words in Mark 2:27. WE need structures, says Kester, that we inhabit rather than structures that control us and therefore we need to regularly look at them to ensure that the structure/organisation/church is being helpful. When it no longer is then it needs to be brought to an end or changed.

I think I partly agree and I think I partly disagree. Part of me wants to stand up and shout ‘yes’ because it actually makes a lot of sense. The other part of me is concerned, however, for the many people who need some stability and who would be quite unsettled to think that everything around them is temporary. But then, one of the things that so frustrates me about established church is the ‘we’ve always done it like this’ attitude which destroys any attempt to engage with real life.

I guess, on balance, if we have an attitude of temporariness acknowledging that we need to keep asking the question ‘is this helping’ and being ready to chance to enable us to hold on to the permanence of our need to engage with God, people and culture relevantly then that coud work. Or is that just a little too confusing?

games makers

Posted on by
Reply

I signed up today on the 2012 website to apply to be a games maker … in other words a volunteer. I have applied particularly to be a chaplain as I think this would best use the skills I seem to have developed over the alst few years, but to be honest I think I will be happy to volunteer to support the games in any way that is offered.

Still hope I’m accepted as a chaplain though!

They are going to need thousands of volunteers – so why not sign up to be a games maker too?

a ‘spoons meeting

Posted on by
Reply

Last night I attended the first ‘customer liaison meeting’ at my local wetherspoons. I thought it was quite well attended and it was interesting to hear what customers thought of how the pub was being run alongside hearing the vision of the senior staff for the pub to become ‘a local pub’ that interacts with the community in ways that ‘the local’ does. It was great because the senior staff clearly care what their customers think.

It was good to be a part of this meeting and hear the views of other people. It was quite fascinating to see how different people saw things differently. Personally I think most of the staff do a great job – after all I have had no hassle from them about sitting there throughout most mornings over the last 2 years!  From a gathering and personal point of view the meeting was good too as Nick, the pub manager, thought it would be a good idea to reserve some tables for us for pub theology which will now be happening on the last Monday of every month. This will make things slightly less worrying but also to have the ‘blessing’ of the management is, I think, quite important.  The next pub theology is next Monday, 27th. September and there will be people there 7.00pm although it is easy to get in on the conversation whenever you arrive.

I really enjoy being connected to the community of this pub. I hope even more that the vision of the staff becomes a reality and if there is any role for a pioneer priest in supporting them … well that could be quite interesting!

Right … well I’m off to ‘spoons for a coffee …. or maybe a root beer and if I stay longer then they have a nice looking porter on tap!

curating worship

Posted on by
Reply

Along with many others I have been reading, and enjoying, Curating Worship by Jonny. I have particularly enjoyed reading it as it draws from many people who are involved, or rather live in, the world of creative worship and of re imagining church.

Many have blogged about the book already (I am quite slow off the mark) but I particularly like and agree with  Ian’s encompassing comment: ‘what this book emphasises is that this form of worship is a skill, and needs much thinking and engagement with theological thinking, engagement with metaphorical meaning, liturgy and ritual.’

I have been both excited and challenged as I have read this. It has caused me to start to think more deeply about the how and why we do the things we do at the gathering. Some parts of the book have resonated stronger than others; one in particular being that the art of (curating) worship has something to do with leaving space for people to discover the reality of God and how they can engage with whatever is being considered for themselves.

I guess this counters the frustration I have with the style of church worship that I (we?) have grown up with where a person ‘in authority’ decides what a bible passage means and what we need to ‘go away with’ and then sets up activities or preaches a sermon so that we all arrive at the same place with the same conclusion.

I am starting to feel everything needs to be a little more open, a little more permission giving so that we can really hear what it is that God wishes to share with us. I guess it has amazed me for the last few years that we speak of a ‘great big God’ and a God that do anything and is all powerful …. and yet we try to confine God and cause God to act in a way that we want God to act.

If God is so big and so mighty why do we feel a need to control so that we all believe the same? Surely, if God is so big and great, then God can get the message across if we allow the space for God to do so? For this to happen, I wonder whether our worship needs to be more open ended rather than aiming to get people to a particular ‘point’.

I think (hope!) that is what we are trying to do in the gathering. I think we are trying to allow people to discover God in their lives and where they are and so respond in a  way that is meaningful to them. I think there is a desire that we plan to allow God to find us where we are.

Sometimes this is confusing to explain and a lot of time we don’t get it … but I do think it is a healthy kind of confusion.

photo Friday: Reflect

Posted on by
Reply

this weeks submission for Photo Friday may be seen here.

be careful what you pray for …

Posted on by
Reply

caught this the other day from Naked Pastor …

the death of bloglines

Posted on by
Reply

I just picked this up by accident which I guess may have an effect on a number of bloggers. I have used a blog roll from Bloglines to highlight blogs that I regularly go to in my blog reader when they have been updated.

If you use google reader it is very easy to set up another blog roll – which I have just spent 5 minutes doing. The upshot is I now have a new blog roll in the sidebar at the bottom of this blog. Why not go check them out – they all write a lot more interesting stuff than me!

vine and vespers

Posted on by
Reply

Tonight the gathering started to regularly meet together for prayer. Tonight was the first time we tried Vine and Vespers as a way for us to pray together and join together in an ancient form of prayer.

As with many Christian communities of the past, some of us met together in my home to pray, while others of the gathering followed a similar format at various locations depending on where they happen to be today. Tonight was the first of our monthly prayer nights

Tonight was small, but small is beautiful and it is a start of the community praying. Tonight was exciting as the gathering was united in prayer without being limited by location. Tonight’ Vespers was a mixture of ancients prayers and newer thoughts that I had reworked over the last few weeks. YOu can read more of the origin of vespers here.

I feel that tonight we have made some milestone. By that I do not mean we have reached a stage and we should feel pleased and slap ourselves on the back; but rather that God seems to be moving us forward as a community and I find that quite exciting as well as being a challenge.

changing habits

Posted on by
Reply

We have been doing a bit of energy awareness education in our house and it seems to be having a good effect!

I recently switched our energy supplier to British Gas. As part of the deal they sent us a free energy monitor which attaches itself to one of the electrical cables going into the meter and transmits how much electricity is being used at any one time and, more importantly, how much that is costing us each day and each month.

I guess I am like many dads and I am constantly moaning about the TV being left on when no one is watching it, and lights left on in empty rooms. I think we have all been shocked how much power we have been using as a family – discovering, for example, that just turning the hall light off could save us nearly £5 per month.

The result … the house is in semi-darkness! But … this has got to be better for the planet and it’s quite interesting that a simple meter by the phone has had such a great effect on our behaviour. the good thing – this has got to be better for our carbon footprint, and also for our wallets!

I guess, reflecting on this, it shows me again how key meaningful illustrations or activities are if we are to make an impact and change behaviour. I have been ‘going on’ for years about turning lights and things off … no one has listened to me … but the little meter with the £ and kw sign has had more impact in minutes than I have in years.

I guess people just need to see the reasons plain and simple!