Another borrowed post in my days of infrequent blogging. A Northern Hemisphere prayer for this time of the calendar year with every time and place wisdom
RevGalBlogPals: Sunday Prayer 11C
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010
Friday Five: Decisions, Decisions
Time for the Friday Five again. This week Songbird has posted a seemingly simple meme that provokes a bit of thought. She writes:
Since I've been in the midst of a discernment process, I've done a lot of reflecting on how we make decisions. But don't worry, I'm not going to ask you to reveal a dark story about a poor decision, or a self-flagellating story about an embarrassing one. Let's keep it simple and go with five word pairs. Tell us which word in the pair appeals to you most, and after you've done all five, give us the reason why for one of them.
Here they are:
1) Cake or Pie
2) Train or Airplane
3) Mac or PC
4) Univocal or Equivocal
5) Peter or Paul
I bake cakes more than pies, but enjoy few things more than a delicious pie; train is a daily journey with smaller carbon footprint - I also enjoy long distance train especially in NZ; use a PC but really miss the Mac from a previous workplace; I had never even heard of the word univocal so I'm clearly equivocal; and the final decision required a bit more thought.
In a nostalgic Rove-like moment I initially thought "What the!" And then began reflecting. The story of Peter and Cornelius is one of my all time favourites. The way I remember it, Peter was a compliant, careful, rule-abiding person who was confronted by a dream that urged him to break the rules. And to realise that his allegiance was to the law-giver and not the law itself. Which opened his eyes to new experiences and to appreciate that people different from himself could be equally followers of the Way, of the Christ who claimed Peter's love and allegiance. Paul was also a faithful follower who had an experience of a new relationship with the risen Christ. Somewhat more aggressive in his pursuit of righteousness, he saw rooting out opposition with fatal combat as the way to demostrate his devotion to truth. I am way more a compliant, seeking-to-please, reared in a faith with an emphasis on personal piety and a later awakening to the 'social gospel' and issues of justice and equity. Peter I think. Rather than Paul.
Try not to pull on the big cat's tail when you answer. :-)
Here they are:
1) Cake or Pie
2) Train or Airplane
3) Mac or PC
4) Univocal or Equivocal
5) Peter or Paul
I bake cakes more than pies, but enjoy few things more than a delicious pie; train is a daily journey with smaller carbon footprint - I also enjoy long distance train especially in NZ; use a PC but really miss the Mac from a previous workplace; I had never even heard of the word univocal so I'm clearly equivocal; and the final decision required a bit more thought.
In a nostalgic Rove-like moment I initially thought "What the!" And then began reflecting. The story of Peter and Cornelius is one of my all time favourites. The way I remember it, Peter was a compliant, careful, rule-abiding person who was confronted by a dream that urged him to break the rules. And to realise that his allegiance was to the law-giver and not the law itself. Which opened his eyes to new experiences and to appreciate that people different from himself could be equally followers of the Way, of the Christ who claimed Peter's love and allegiance. Paul was also a faithful follower who had an experience of a new relationship with the risen Christ. Somewhat more aggressive in his pursuit of righteousness, he saw rooting out opposition with fatal combat as the way to demostrate his devotion to truth. I am way more a compliant, seeking-to-please, reared in a faith with an emphasis on personal piety and a later awakening to the 'social gospel' and issues of justice and equity. Peter I think. Rather than Paul.
Try not to pull on the big cat's tail when you answer. :-)
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Friday, July 2, 2010
unwhinge and imagine
This has been quite a week for institutional churches with the conclusion of the first ever meeting of the newly-formed World Communion of Reformed Churches, the election of Rev'd Dr Kirsty Thorpe and Mrs Val Morrison as Moderators of the URC in the UK and new leaders of the Methodists as well. Over at RevGalBlogPals Sally has set an inspiring Friday Five based on the inaugural address of the new Methodist Vice-President. Sally writes:
This has been a good week for British Methodism, The Annual Conference has discussed and debated many things and not shied away from some difficult stuff. New Ministers have been Ordained and received into Full Connexion. Add to that the fact that two amazing ladies; Alison Tomlin and Eunice Attwood have taken up their posts as President and Vice-President for 2010/2011- and that they have both inspired us in their speeches and preaching , and you begin to get the picture.
In the Vice- Presidents Address Eunice gave an inspiring account of the type of church she wants to be a part of, almost poetic she said:
I want to be part of a church that is prayer-filled -
A church that is resourced and sustained by the Bible,
A church that can offer hope even in a credit crunch,
A church that can live well with difference and diversity.
I want to be part of a church that welcomes the wealthy, those who have power and influence -
A church that knows how to party and celebrate life,
A church that acknowledges death and speaks boldly of resurrection,
A church that doesn’t pretend to have all the answers but encourages all the questions.
I want to be part of a church that throws parties for prostitutes -
A church that welcomes those who seek asylum,
A church that longs and yearns for justice,
A church that listens to those no-one else wants to listen to.
I want to be part of a church that believes in transformation not preservation -
A church where all who are lost can be found,
A church where people can discover friendship,
A church where every person takes responsibility in sharing the good news.
I want to be part of a church whose hope is placed securely and confidently in the transforming love of God -
A church that engages faith in its communities,
A church that makes and nurtures disciples of Jesus.
A church where the story of God’s love is at the centre.
I want to be part of a church that offers outrageous grace, reckless generosity, transforming love and engaging faith.
This is God’s story Transforming Love: Engaging Faith.
My prayer is that by the power of the Spirit of God at work amongst us, it will increasingly be our story.
I want to be part of that church too, and at the danger of trying to add to such a wonderful litany of dreams/ visions and prayers I wonder which five things would you echo from or add to this. What kind of church do you want to be a part of in the 21st Century?
Simply list the five, and as an added bonus is there a hymn of a Bible passage that you would make your inspiration?
This has been a good week for British Methodism, The Annual Conference has discussed and debated many things and not shied away from some difficult stuff. New Ministers have been Ordained and received into Full Connexion. Add to that the fact that two amazing ladies; Alison Tomlin and Eunice Attwood have taken up their posts as President and Vice-President for 2010/2011- and that they have both inspired us in their speeches and preaching , and you begin to get the picture.
In the Vice- Presidents Address Eunice gave an inspiring account of the type of church she wants to be a part of, almost poetic she said:
I want to be part of a church that is prayer-filled -
A church that is resourced and sustained by the Bible,
A church that can offer hope even in a credit crunch,
A church that can live well with difference and diversity.
I want to be part of a church that welcomes the wealthy, those who have power and influence -
A church that knows how to party and celebrate life,
A church that acknowledges death and speaks boldly of resurrection,
A church that doesn’t pretend to have all the answers but encourages all the questions.
I want to be part of a church that throws parties for prostitutes -
A church that welcomes those who seek asylum,
A church that longs and yearns for justice,
A church that listens to those no-one else wants to listen to.
I want to be part of a church that believes in transformation not preservation -
A church where all who are lost can be found,
A church where people can discover friendship,
A church where every person takes responsibility in sharing the good news.
I want to be part of a church whose hope is placed securely and confidently in the transforming love of God -
A church that engages faith in its communities,
A church that makes and nurtures disciples of Jesus.
A church where the story of God’s love is at the centre.
I want to be part of a church that offers outrageous grace, reckless generosity, transforming love and engaging faith.
This is God’s story Transforming Love: Engaging Faith.
My prayer is that by the power of the Spirit of God at work amongst us, it will increasingly be our story.
I want to be part of that church too, and at the danger of trying to add to such a wonderful litany of dreams/ visions and prayers I wonder which five things would you echo from or add to this. What kind of church do you want to be a part of in the 21st Century?
Simply list the five, and as an added bonus is there a hymn of a Bible passage that you would make your inspiration?
- I want to be part of a church where the daily newspaper and the Bible are brought together
- I want to be part of a church in which children are welcomed as full and contributing members
- I want to be part of a church with living international relationships
- I want to be part of a church where first peoples are acknowledged and respected
- I want to be part of a church that "welcomes those who seek asylum...a church that longs and yearns for justice
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
never satisfied
In the busyness of everyday I find myself composing mental blog notes that never progress to keyboard or screen. So why is my mind so blank as sit in front of the computer this cool winter evening? Seeking to develop reflective practitioners, I need to exercise those capacities within myself. So of what am I thinking?
One recurrent thought echoes Mick Jagger: I can't get no satisfaction.
It troubles me that I feel so negative attending worship week after week. There seems no depth in the music. The theology is often appalling (to me). Or lacking. In an unguarded moment I once said to the President of our denomination that a thing I find difficult is so often having to switch my brain off as I walk through the doors of the church building. Which was unfair. But heartfelt. There seems an unholy intimacy in the "Jesus and me/ I am a friend of God/ Happy Clappy" atmosphere that distresses me, but that others find life-enhancing.
Yet at the funeral last week, which was an excellent acknowledgment of a life lived well, I did note the absence of any prayers directed to God and the palpable sense of carefully keeping everything rational. "She lives on in our memory of her" is totally true, and yet I yearned to hear the word 'resurrection'. There was an arm-length-ness about the conduct of worship that also did not satisfy.
One of our children said to me the other day "You really miss Cafe@Church don't you Mum?" This was a monthly event in a past hometown which did seem to find a third way that was neither self-consciously 'liberal' nor 'sentimentally evangelical'. This memory is partly why I was so energised by Sally's no hymns plan for this past Sunday. I do miss the creativity that was somehow more readily nurtured in a tiny island country than in a vast island continent.
Jane reflected a few days ago on interesting challenges facing the newly formed World Communion of Reformed Churches which "will have to work hard to try to hold together confessional and faith concerns with the deep desire for social justice. Many of the churches in the Global South do this naturally - it's part of being a Christian, as is praying and bearing witness. Somehow in parts of Global North some churches seem to have decided to say that they are either liberal or traditional and assume that those on the other side either don't pray or read the Bible or don't serve the world or speak out prophetically on social issues. Perhaps one day we will understand that the body of Christ is bigger, more diverse, more open and more challenging than any of us have dared to believe. A place of security from which we can find the courage to overcome the temptations of safety."
A couple of weeks ago we ran a session on leadership for first year students. In which we acknowledged leaders as people who ask "What can I do to change things" rather than whinging about what they do not like. At the recent Queensland Synod meeting the President's second Bible Study focused on Jesus' sayings that we often call the beatitudes (and demonstrated that careful theological scholarship is alive and well in our denomination). I was especially struck by his interpretation of 'meekness' which was, from memory, about not needing to puff oneself up but instead to have the internal strength to do what is right regardless of the reaction of others. Way back (I just discovered it was in March! I have thought about it and talked about it a lot since) Jane posted about the French translation of 'blessed' which is en marche with "the meaning of get up, get going, let's go. If someone is "en marche" they would be setting out on a path, walking ... if something is en marche, it is switched on, working, going." For this whinger then there is a challenge: demonstrate the blessedness of internal integrity. And change that theme song:
How can we get satisfaction?
One recurrent thought echoes Mick Jagger: I can't get no satisfaction.
It troubles me that I feel so negative attending worship week after week. There seems no depth in the music. The theology is often appalling (to me). Or lacking. In an unguarded moment I once said to the President of our denomination that a thing I find difficult is so often having to switch my brain off as I walk through the doors of the church building. Which was unfair. But heartfelt. There seems an unholy intimacy in the "Jesus and me/ I am a friend of God/ Happy Clappy" atmosphere that distresses me, but that others find life-enhancing.
Yet at the funeral last week, which was an excellent acknowledgment of a life lived well, I did note the absence of any prayers directed to God and the palpable sense of carefully keeping everything rational. "She lives on in our memory of her" is totally true, and yet I yearned to hear the word 'resurrection'. There was an arm-length-ness about the conduct of worship that also did not satisfy.
One of our children said to me the other day "You really miss Cafe@Church don't you Mum?" This was a monthly event in a past hometown which did seem to find a third way that was neither self-consciously 'liberal' nor 'sentimentally evangelical'. This memory is partly why I was so energised by Sally's no hymns plan for this past Sunday. I do miss the creativity that was somehow more readily nurtured in a tiny island country than in a vast island continent.
Jane reflected a few days ago on interesting challenges facing the newly formed World Communion of Reformed Churches which "will have to work hard to try to hold together confessional and faith concerns with the deep desire for social justice. Many of the churches in the Global South do this naturally - it's part of being a Christian, as is praying and bearing witness. Somehow in parts of Global North some churches seem to have decided to say that they are either liberal or traditional and assume that those on the other side either don't pray or read the Bible or don't serve the world or speak out prophetically on social issues. Perhaps one day we will understand that the body of Christ is bigger, more diverse, more open and more challenging than any of us have dared to believe. A place of security from which we can find the courage to overcome the temptations of safety."
A couple of weeks ago we ran a session on leadership for first year students. In which we acknowledged leaders as people who ask "What can I do to change things" rather than whinging about what they do not like. At the recent Queensland Synod meeting the President's second Bible Study focused on Jesus' sayings that we often call the beatitudes (and demonstrated that careful theological scholarship is alive and well in our denomination). I was especially struck by his interpretation of 'meekness' which was, from memory, about not needing to puff oneself up but instead to have the internal strength to do what is right regardless of the reaction of others. Way back (I just discovered it was in March! I have thought about it and talked about it a lot since) Jane posted about the French translation of 'blessed' which is en marche with "the meaning of get up, get going, let's go. If someone is "en marche" they would be setting out on a path, walking ... if something is en marche, it is switched on, working, going." For this whinger then there is a challenge: demonstrate the blessedness of internal integrity. And change that theme song:
How can we get satisfaction?
Friday, June 18, 2010
Haere haere haere kuia ma ...
My first experience of Tiger Air today, flying to and from Melbourne to pay respects and bid a final farewell to 'Aunt Jean'. My husband's only remaining aunt, she has become increasingly frail over recent months and died on Sunday after 97 very full years of life. As he is in Grand Rapids, I really wanted to represent the 'wider family'. And so pleased I went, as I was the only relative apart from the immediate family. Even if I am a relative-in-law. So for the first time, and as the first in my own immediate family, I have met my cousin-in-law and his wife, children and grandchildren. Strangely and yet too frequently it is a death that facilitates this happening. Now that I can no longer exchange seasonal greetings with 'Jean', I look to make new contacts and ensure that future generations know the heritage they share.
It makes me think of the important role of networker or family connector that is present in several branches of my family.
This has been a very timely day. The right time to open up new relationships. The right time to try a new airline and enjoy discount fares. A very measured pace (partly due to the early hour of the cheap fare). A call from work about a serious student matter came just as the afternoon tea was finishing. And returning home at just the right time to collect youngest household member from music practice. Taps seems very appropriate:
Day is done, gone the sun
From the lakes, from the hills, from the skies
All is well, safely rest;
God is nigh.
And to Aunt Jean - Haere ra kuia ma, haere ki toku kainga tapu, ake ake ake, amine
Go beloved child of Alice and Matthew, go repected matriarch of our generations, go to your true home forever, Amen.
It makes me think of the important role of networker or family connector that is present in several branches of my family.
- When my grandfather left England to settle in NZ in the first part of the 20th century, his cousin Olive made sure that successive generations knew of the antipodean family
- My grandmother and father were wonderful recounters of family lore that has enriched my understanding of identity
- My mother has handed down 'heirlooms' with details of the history of each. Today I wear a brooch that first belonged to my great-grandmother. And in the china cabinet is the vase given to my grandmother by my grandfather on their first anniversary
This has been a very timely day. The right time to open up new relationships. The right time to try a new airline and enjoy discount fares. A very measured pace (partly due to the early hour of the cheap fare). A call from work about a serious student matter came just as the afternoon tea was finishing. And returning home at just the right time to collect youngest household member from music practice. Taps seems very appropriate:
Day is done, gone the sun
From the lakes, from the hills, from the skies
All is well, safely rest;
God is nigh.
And to Aunt Jean - Haere ra kuia ma, haere ki toku kainga tapu, ake ake ake, amine
Go beloved child of Alice and Matthew, go repected matriarch of our generations, go to your true home forever, Amen.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
It hurts
Why am I surprised to find that it hurts to put a hand in the fire? I have found a new/additional bottom line. When a colleague is treated unjustly. Threatened with disciplinary action for speaking out about quality and safety concerns. And 'meek and mild' M challenged the attack on integrity. Hurt for a couple of days. Found little had changed. Left feeling a bit winded.
I remember reading a poem once along the lines of 'Why do I feel so bad when I know I have acted rightly?' It's interesting, I think, that in movies and fiction the 'hero/ine' is often squeaky clean and their goodness shines forth in a blaze of righteous confidence. Not often is the 'goodie' perplexed and dismayed and uncertain of how to respond.
But hand in the fire, kia kaha, there is no other way to be
I remember reading a poem once along the lines of 'Why do I feel so bad when I know I have acted rightly?' It's interesting, I think, that in movies and fiction the 'hero/ine' is often squeaky clean and their goodness shines forth in a blaze of righteous confidence. Not often is the 'goodie' perplexed and dismayed and uncertain of how to respond.
But hand in the fire, kia kaha, there is no other way to be
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