This looks like it will be a good series from the BBC and starts on Sunday evening on BBC1.

Richard writes:

‘I want to commend the forthcoming ‘Miracles of Jesus’’ thoroughly. It deserves a very wide audience within the church as well as outside it. The BBC has responded to a request from church leaders for a new style of programme, which asks questions of meaning rather than science. It is a bold experiment which I think works well, giving Christians a valuable opportunity to talk about our Christian faith in natural conversation. It will also provide excellent material on video for discussion groups of all ages too.

Rageh Omaar, the presenter says, ‘As a Muslim I am fascinated by this man Jesus. Jesus has changed the lives of millions of people, so lets try and ask the question why?’

This could generate a lot of questions and give lots of opportunity for dialogue.

Today has been a great day for talking with wonderful people.

This morning I met with Jean Kerr and we chatted about pioneer ministry and how that might start to look. Jean is also my spiritual director so she had some challenging questions for me on other stuff, so this was a really great time. Jean is one of those few people that I will allow to ask me tough questions about stuff, and we all need to be able to answer those in safe locations from time to time.

I then went on to have lunch with Becky Farrell Roberts, excellent youth pastor of Chatham Evangelical Church. Becky and I have known each other for a good few years and it was brilliant to be able to catch up and just laugh and see what is happening on the youth work front in Chatham and in each others lives. Following afternoons like this I always realise how too embroiled we become in programmes and activities when we all know it is people that are important.

This evening we caught up with Chris, Josh, Sam and Caitlain who are good friends. Gary is currently in Uganda on a St Marks team visit and so it was good to hear news from there as well as spend some good time laughing (and eating and drinking again) with Chris.

Today has been a great day for spending time with people. Little else has been done, but at the end of the day I feel far more energised and feel I have had a little taste of heaven.

Thanks people for a great day.

I managed, finally, to get to the gym today. I have been away for over 4 weeks, (world cup, heat, work, laziness etc.)which is probably the longest gap I have had away for about 2/3 years.

I foolishly tried to continue at the rate I did when I last visited and rapidly realised that my body was not able to do that and so settled for a shorter workout and longer sit in the sauna (yep I know – it’s a hard life for some!)

I was amazed at how quickly my body got out of shape, or rather how quickly I had become un-used to the discipline of exercise and thought it must be pretty much the same with God. If you don’t red your bible for a while, don’t pray, don’t do this and don’t do that, you can quickly ‘get out of shape’ and have to start again with God.

Actually, and thankfully, that is not the case!

I realised I was falling into the western evangelical way of thinking that says we have to perform, we have to be disciplined, we have to do this and do that to be good, or real, Christians.

Actually, in reality, I believe God makes it all a lot lot easier for us.

Yes, discipline is helpful, but if we lapse like have with th gym, God does not get us to start again.

In fact, here, with God, we can carry on from where we left off.

If we are heirs to th throne, if we are citizens of the Kingdom, if we are part of God’s family, God’s children, then we do not have to start again …. ever. God carries on with us from where we left off, as if we had never been away – because actually WE ARE NEVER AWAY from God.

I am part of God’s family. To remind me of this I have a blank key on my key ring. The blank key reminds me that to join God I do not need to ring a bell, I do not need to announce my arrival, I do not need to wait, I do not need to remember proper ritual or protocol, I do not need to sneak in quietly, I do not need to wear the correct clothes, I do not need to catch up.

All I need to do is use my key, as a member of th family, to let myself in and everything was as if I had never been away.

That is the amazing love and acceptance of my God.

Received this week from Make Poverty History:

The European Union and the USA have made it totally certain that there won’t be a world trade deal that will help make poverty history at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) this year. The world trade talks at the WTO have hit a new crisis and only a few days ago were suspended. No one knows yet for just how long.

The responsibility for the WTO failing the world’s poor rests with the governments of rich countries. They have not shown the political will to deliver trade justice and make trade work for poor people.

The WTO talks may have been put on ice, but they are not the only trade negotiations the UK takes part in.

Last year, in response to your calls to make poverty history, the UK Government promised to make trade work for the poor. Yet it is on course for a devastating act of betrayal. Together with its partners in Europe, the UK is part of a push to have some of the poorest nations on the planet sign up to grossly unfair trade deals.

The deals are called Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) and we have to act fast. Poor farmers and vulnerable producers will be forced into unfair competition with rich nations. The lives of 750 million of the world’s poorest people in Africa and poor countries worldwide are in the balance.

Take action today and send an email to Alistair Darling, the UK Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. Ask him to use his influence to stop these deals going ahead, to listen to the serious concerns of poor countries and work with those countries to develop new deals that will help deliver trade justice.
To send your email to Alistair Darling click here now.

Thank you,

Trade Justice Movement
A key network within Make Poverty History 2005

It makes me angry to think rich nations are trying to worm their way out of promises made a little over a year go. It makes me angry, but sadly, it does not surprise me. It is still true, as it has been for the last 12 months, that EVERY 3 SECONDS a child dies unnecessarily due, in some way, to poverty.

This is a crime of inaction, a crime of greed, a crime that this country, and the countries of the western ‘civilised’ world, sit back and allow to happen. The only reason, the root reason, can only be because we do not care. If we did, this would not still be happening.

This is just plain wrong and I can’t see what is holding things up, why aid can’t be more readily available, why trade deals cannot automatically be fairer, why GB and USA do not lead the way in righting this injustice. Instead they insist our rich workers must get richer, and others must continue in their deathly poverty.

A year ago we found campaigning and writing works, we made a difference. Today, write that email or send that letter, I just wish I could do a lot more!

The week has been fantastic. It has been a real privilege to be part of this and to hear Serpentina say that this is the first art project she has worked on (and clearly she has worked on many!) where people have not fallen out with each other is a real encouragement and a real witness to God’s spirit working within and uniting us to enable us to work together.

It has been mindblowing to see young, old, catholic, pentecostal, baptist, URC, Salem, anglican, methodist (and possibly others) all working together for a weeks mission within the town.

It is strange but today in our meetings we heard at least 2 people starting to beat themselves up because they felt they had not shared enough about Jesus. Sarah, quite rightly, challenged this and reminded them that we are to love others in action and not just words (1 John 3:18. Too often we feel we need to bring God into a conversation, too often we feel the need to take God into the community; too often we forget God is already there, too often we make it difficult for ourselves. The Good News needs to be good news to all, even those sharing it! If it’s hard work and scary, how can it be ‘Good News’?

God makes it easy for us. God is there already, God is everywhere, and when we show love and acceptance to others, as we have been doing this week, then God is able to shine in such a way that others experience that love of God in ways that mean so much to them, in ways of their culture and in ways of their community. While we show love, God shows people that he has been there all along, and they have just been too busy, too unfocused, too uninterested to notice.

A week like Love Gillingham reminds us how everyday and normal the gospel is, how everyday and normal bring the Kingdom in can be, how everyday normal ‘being a Christian’ is.

It’s been a fantastic week, but I want to ask what next, where do we go now, can we wait another whole year before we do something, should we wait a whole year, or could we, as th churches of Gillingham, do something ordinary more regularly so that we really can continue to serve our town, to love Gillingham.

Thankyou to everybody that has made this possible, but particularly to Jim and Sarah … and of course God!

For those of you visiting here from Love Gillingham, the pictures of the week may be found in my Flickr album which you can get to by clicking on the Flickr box which flashes photos at you on the right hand side of this page.

There is a feeling of accomplishment about which I will write more later. For now, though, one of the lasting memories of today will be seeing John at the front of church with an army of children who take the bread and wine to th ret of th people there. It was a special moment which words cannot adequately describe – you really did have to be there to understand. There is something very special about receiving communion from your son, daughter, nephew, niece or friends child.

The day 5 pictures are up in Flickr.

Today was hard work and I think at the start of the day it was tough for the team generally to get into the idea of working on the art project again. Once ‘on location’ outside Somerfield, however, it became easier and things seemed to flow. It seemed a quieter day outside the supermarket but e seed to be involved in a lot more conversations. In the main it seemed like children and teenagers did the art work while the adults responded to questions and generally spoke to shoppers and those willing to stop.

The mural along the wall is coming along really well and people are stopping to thank us for making the place look a little nicer.

Today I have been struck by how appreciative many people are in our community. On day 1 people were ok and happy to see us, but now, 5 days into the project, they are really pleased that we are doing something. I’m reminded of some of the descriptions of the Kingdom of God as I write this, particularly that of yeast working through dough and how it takes time to have an effect, to enable growth.

This week many of the team still think they have been doing odd jobs, or community work, or being friendly, but surely this is what mission is about; the furthering and welcoming of the Kingdom of God as we see it appearing in th art, in the relationships and in the conversations e are having day by day.

This is Kingdom work!

Surely this must be one!
54 dead civilians.
Over 30 being innocent children.
Killed by Israeli bombs.
If this is not a war crime, what is?

The pictures from the service in the park are in Flickr. There were about 250/300 people there – I lost count as people kept moving!

I can’t remember when so many Christians of the town got together to worship and there was a special atmosphere. This was a good witness but I do have a question – why do we need to many church buildings in Gillingham – if we can agree to work together for a week and worship together today, then what keeps us apart for the rest of the week?

Ok … I know it’s a simplistic question!

I was pointed to this by Gordon.

My Elven name is Aloniver Tinúviel.

Go find your name. I had a thought to who would be first from people who read here – obvious, bet it will be Malcolm! I wonder if I am right …