Eternal Echoes

A cry for renewal

I want to encounter

life anew

to see it

through your eyes.

 

I want

to be lifted

beyond myself,

and the narrowness

of my thoughts.

 

I want to burst free

from apologetics,

systematics,

and dogmas!

 

I want to

to breathe air

filled with

fresh possibilities;

to seek out

sweeping vistas,

of renewed visions.

 

As I encounter you

today

will you

transform me?

 

Will you release me

from my

limits?

 

Will you

grant me a

baptised imagination,

and set me alight with

childlike wonder?

 

For I long to delight

in you again!

***

 

C.S Lewis is quoted as saying that the work of George McDonald "baptized "his imagination, quoting McDonald as saying that imagination is the light lit within us by God himself through his Spirit. That quote and the inspiration of those words have fuelled my imagination and drawn fro me this prayer.

God spoke (introducing the prophets) a story for KS 1/2

I have written this story as a lead in to a series of Christmas assemblies which will culminate in a Christingle service. I looked high and low for an uncomplicated story to introduce the idea of God speaking through the prophets and couldn't find one, so I am happy to offer this to anyone who would like to use it. I am very aware that most of the children who hear it will have a limited knowledge of the Bible, and through it I am trying to show how the Old and New Testaments are linked!

Thousands of years ago, and hundreds of years before Jesus was born God spoke to his friend Isaiah; "Go and speak to my people," he said.

 

"I can't do that!" said Isaiah. "I don't have the right words."

 

"Yes you can," said God, "I will give you the words to say."

 

So Isaiah went, he spoke to the people: "God is going to do something special," he called "listen, he's told me special things, he's told me to tell them to you!"

 

But the people didn't listen, they'd forgotten how much God loved them, and they didn't believe that he would talk to them any more. So they covered their ears, and chased him away….

 

But it didn't stop Isaiah from speaking. He believed God!

 

Years passed by, sometimes the people thought about God, and sometimes they didn't, God wanted them to remember how much he loved them and so one day God spoke again. He spoke to his friend Jeremiah; "Go and speak to my people," he said.

 

"I can't do that!" said Jeremiah. "I am not strong enough to speak to the people."

 

"Yes you can," said God, "I will make you strong."

 

So Jeremiah went, he spoke to the people: "God is going to do something special," called the prophet Jeremiah "listen, he's told me special things, he's told me to tell them to you!"

 

But the people didn't listen, they'd forgotten how much God loved them, and they didn't believe that he would talk to them any more. So they covered their ears, and refused to listen, they even dropped poor Jeremiah down a well!

 

But it didn't stop Jeremiah from speaking. He believed God!

 

The years went by, God sent other friends to speak to the people. Sometimes the people thought about God, and sometimes they didn't, but God still thought about them, he wanted them to know how much he loved them.

 

I need another plan thought God to himself, he thought and he thought and then he smiled to himself! Now I know what I am going to do he said to himself….

 

But that is a story for another day….

For Wimana; I saw you on the news yesterday…..

my heart aches for you,

and i,

unable to help

can offer you

no comforting words….

my arms cannot hold

your hurt

or

your confusion

 

but i can tell

your story…

i must

for i heard the anguish

in your voice…

 

"he was born in a time

of peace…

into a loving home

to a family

untroubled

by war,

 

we buried him

yesterday

far from home,

in a banana grove…

…he was a smiley, happy child….

……..he had just learned to walk…."

 

i hear your question…

 

" will his sister be next?"

 

my question is for God alone….

 

"is there a place in your heart

where the tears

do not stop?"

 

Wimana Ruhuwreru has been displaced seven times in the last 15 months in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo as a result of continued fighting between rebels loyal to renegade General Laurent Nakunda and government soldiers. Over 1.6m people remain displaced throughout the region and the humanitarian situation deteriorates daily as fighting continues.

 

Forced to flee a camp for displaced people that Wimana had sought refuge in on Friday when fighting broke out, she travelled to Goma with baby Emmanuel and her other children in search of safety. Emmanuel was in hospital in Kibati at the time, but Wimana took him with her to ensure his safety. On arrival in Goma there was no shelter, food or water for them and they are still sleeping in the open air, with little support. Wimana had five children until Emmanuel, her youngest, died on 9^th November 2008 of malnutrition.

 

We can and must hear these stories, we cannot and must not become detached from them; they are not another world away, they are in this world, fellow human-beings, loved by God. We must speak out, and pray and give what we can, for this is the way of justice and of peace, and peace does not flow from mute lips….

 

Wimana watches as Emmanuel's grave is dug…

 

Here lays baby Emmanuel, we cannot forget; we cannot afford to forget…

 

More here

This post is part of a sybchronised blog initiative; Bloggers unite for refugees

Pass me not

 

Pass me not O Gentle Savior,
hear my humble cry;
while on others Thou art calling,
do not pass me by,
do not pass me by.

Over busy, and over tired.....

the title says it all....

Truly forgiven, truly free (narrative musings John 8 1-11)

I have no excuses, I knew what I was doing, and I knew the danger I was placing myself in, but I had given myself to madness of passion, but I will never forget that day, even now ten years later I have to remind myself that it was not a dream. You see according to the law I should be dead; when they caught me I really thought my fate was sealed, that I would be stoned to death! That day held so many emotions for me. The hot passions of bodily lusts were soon followed by the icy flow of terror, and lastly the amazement and wonder at love revealed in just a few words!

 

They were waiting for us, Eli and I had been meeting secretly for months, but that day he seemed ill at ease, his usual energy and enthusiasm for me were subdued, and yet he seemed over eager to get to bed. No sooner were we naked and in one another's arms that they appeared, those sneering religious rulers! They dragged me from the room with only a sheet to cover my shame, and dragged me through the streets to him, to Jesus.

 

He was in the temple courts teaching when they made me stand before him; there they demanded that he passed judgement upon me. I was shaking with fear at this point, but he was in no hurry, he squatted down and began to write on the ground with his finger. They began to shout, to demand that justice be done, that he should pronounce the sentence upon me, the sentence of death!

 

Jesus spoke, his voice was calm and sure; "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."

 

Then he resumed his writing on the ground. The silence was tangible, it fell like a thick blanket upon my condemners, and one by one they left, melting away into the city as if they had never been there.

 

When the last one had gone he looked at me, his eyes were full of compassion, but at the same time all knowing. He understood my guilt but he did not condemn me, he straightened up and asked "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"

 "No one, sir," I stammered

"Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."

I left, and from that day on my life has never been the same. He died soon after the incident, crucified upon a Roman cross, but that was not the end, for along with many others I came to believe that he had risen from the dead, and I experienced power when his follower Peter spoke and God came amongst us in a special way!

 

But Peter did not need to explain forgiveness to me, for Jesus himself had forgiven me. I changed that day and began to see myself and my life in a new way; I even found the strength to forgive Eli for betraying me in order to save himself (the religious leaders had bribed him with his life as the price to give me up so that they could test Jesus). Eli and his family have also become followers of Jesus new way of living.

 

I tell my story today without bitterness, for although I was both justly and unjustly treated, I knew that was guilty. Through Jesus I experienced complete forgiveness, and that forgiveness set me free to begin my life afresh. That day God's grace overwhelmed my lusts and helped me to channel my passions towards a new kind of wholeness.

 

Today I speak to you as a new creation, and I am truly free.

Picture- Woman thinking by Asuman and Atanur Dogan

A prayer for President elect Obama

May God grant you wisdom,

patience,

and vision.

May you display God-given passion,

and compassion.

May God give you strength,

and gentleness.

May you be known for a clear mind,

and pure heart,

as you seek to lead

your country

in the ways of justice, peace, and truth.

Amen

In the world but not of it- servant leadership for the 21st Century Church

Leadership- an interesting word, especially today when the eyes of the world are turned towards the U.S.A. and the Presidential elections. Even here in the U.K. we have been party to debates, reports and discussions about the difference between the two candidates which have highlighted not only their policies but also their leadership styles. It is perhaps an auspicious day then for a synchronised blog on the subject of leadership.

 

I began by suggesting that leadership is an interesting word, I say this because in today's church good leadership is something that is often discussed and debated, there are numerous books and courses on leadership; a variety of patterns and structures are suggested to us, some drawing from Biblical sources whilst others look to secular institutions and management structures for inspiration.

 

Again and again then the question is raised, what does/ should effective Church Leadership look like in the 21^st Century? I dare to suggest that we have all too often missed the point when seeking to answer this question, because we are in a success driven numbers conscious society we fail to embrace the true servant nature of leadership as modelled for us by Jesus and even by Paul. Every now and then we catch a glimpse of someone completely different, someone who stops us in our tracks and challenges us about what true leadership might look like; people like St Francis of Assisi, and more recently Mother Theresa to name two.

 

In his book "Ministry in three Dimensions" Steven Croft calls us to look afresh at Jesus, noting that;

 

"In much of Jesus ministry he is challenging the use of power among the secular and religious leaders of his age; again and again he repudiates their attitudes and their methods, and some of his strictest censure is reserved for those who misuse authority in the name of religion." p. 36

 

Croft then goes onto look at patterns of leadership in the early Church, and calls us to remember that the church is neither a nation- therefore Old Testament models of leadership should be viewed with an appropriate cultural hermeneutic, nor is it a corporation- therefore we should exercise careful criticism of our desires when we choose to embrace models of leadership from the secular world.

 

I believe that it is also essential to remember that we are a Community of the Spirit, and as such the Holy Spirits gifts are given to the whole church in order to build up the Church- those who we call leaders- pastors, teachers etc, are called first and foremost to serve, and continually reminded by the apostle Paul in his letters that with authority come great responsibility, and that much is expected of them.

 

We must remember that Jesus turned the expectations of those who had waited for him for so long upside down, he called an unlikely bunch of people to work and walk with him, and he embraced prostitutes, tax collectors, and lepers. Jesus had a natural authority because it was God-given- and it is God who calls his leaders forth from within his church today.

 

If we take then the picture of God as Trinity and recognise the non-hierarchical picture of perichorisis , and then we see the church also as a community made in the image of God- leadership needs to find itself a new name! For I believe that if we are to truly challenge and surprise the world today with the message of the gospel, then we need to start living out our God given calling as his people, recognising that we have all been gifted to take our place within the body of Christ, that hierarchy though inevitable to some extent should be a channel of grace rather than a movement of worldly power.

 

Yes decisions need to be made, and some folk are called to be responsible for them, yes some will teach whilst others wash-up, and yes some are more able than others, but none are more valuable than others , and none are to laud power and authority over others in an ungracious and unloving way.

 

Those who are called to be leaders in the church should seek to follow the pattern of Christ who;

 

"…………knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him." (John 13: 3-5)

 

For the Church as a community is to be noted and noticed for the mutual love and respect that its members hold for one another (John 13; 34-35), and the Church as it models this attitude of love to the world it needs to remember that, in the Words of William Temple:

 

"The Church is the only society that exists for the benefit of those who are not its members."

 

We are called to be salt and light in God's world, and we claim to follow the leadership of the one who turned this world's values upside down. We would do well then to follow his example of leadership in the Church today.

This post is part of a synchro blog on leadership, you can read more at these posts;

Jonathan Brink - Letter To The President

Adam Gonnerman - Aspiring to the Episcopate

Kai - Leadership - Is Servant Leadership a Broken Model?

Sally Coleman - In the world but not of it- servant leadership for the 21st Century Church

Alan Knox - Submission is given not taken

Joe Miller - Elders Lead a Healthy Family: The Future

Cobus van Wyngaard - Empowering leadership

Steve Hayes - Servant leadership

Geoff Matheson - Leadership

John Smulo - Australian Leadership Lessons

Helen Mildenhall - Leadership

Tyler Savage - Moral Leadership - Is it what we need?

Bryan Riley - Leading is to Listen and Obey

Susan Barnes - Give someone else a turn!

Liz Dyer - A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Polls…

Lionel Woods - Why Diverse Leadership is Good for America

Julie Clawson - Leadership Expectations

Ellen Haroutunian - A New Kind Of Leadership

Matt Stone - Converting Leadership

Questions, frustrations and self knoweldge

I have spent most of the day struggling through reading for my MA class, the topic this week is the place of ritual in Christian Worship, we are looking at anthropological and sociological aspects of ritual and their relation to the community at large, and at how the church engages in ritual/ ritualisation. ..... and the whole subject left me feeling stretched and dry both spiritually and intellectually! Needless to say that my paper will not be centered around ritual/ ritualisation!!!! I find it interesting because last weeks reading was on symbol and I really thought the two topics would be related to one another, the work on symbol was exciting and seemed full of potential, but the work on ritual was deadly....(my opinion of course)...

Alongside all of that reading I have been considering Stationing forms which arrived today, I am astonished and encouraged by the number and depth of the questions that I am being asked.... I meet with two college tutors later this month to finalise filling them in.

...my mind and heart are full of questions, questions to myself, and about faith and work and priorities. I am fed up of reading and writing assignments, I want to escape to a desert island with a pile of novels and poetry.

Oh to dream.....

Being real in worship….

I have written the following litany for a Church that is facing a crisis in its life, the congregations confidence in themselves and in God is at an all time low. Questions about their very existence are asked at many of their meetings, and yet almost all of the members voice an individual need and love for the church in this place.

 

I firmly believe that there is a place for pastoral care within worship, but my experience is that too often worship services become places for wearing masks, and for declaring to one another that all is well. When this is not the case the congregation cannot worship in spirit and in truth for they are hiding the truth from themselves.

 

I hope that this short litany to be used at the beginning of the morning's liturgy will enable us in some way to be real with God and with one another.

 

 

 

Living God,

we come together today as a community joined by your Spirit,

we rejoice in the memories of those who have gone before us,

remembering the strength and depth of their faith,

remembering how they responded to the way

you came amongst them in power.

 

Voice 1: When we look at ourselves and lament our weaknesses,

when we look back and fear that we have failed you.

 

Living God help us to remember that this is your church,

and that we are your people. (a candle is lit)

 

Voice 2: When we look at ourselves and lament our weaknesses,

when we look back and fear that we have failed you.

 

Living God help us to remember that you have promised that

you will not leave or forsake us. (a candle is lit)

 

Voice 3: When we look at ourselves and lament our weaknesses,

when we look back and fear that we have failed you.

 

Living God breathe your life into us afresh today

help us to worship you, and help us to live for you

in spirit and in truth. ( a candle is lit)

 

Amen

 

Let us listen together to the words of comfort that Jesus brings to us his people:

 

Voice 4: I am leaving you with a gift; peace of mind and heart. The peace I give is a gift that the world cannot give. So do not be troubled or afraid. (John 14: 27)

 

Let us remember together that the Scriptures tell us that if God is for us none can be against us, and that nothing is impossible with God.

 

Let us remember together that God has called us here for this time in this place, and let us remember together our love for God, and for one another.

 

A short time of silence will follow and then we will sing our opening hymn:

 

Come, Holy Spirit, heavenly Dove,

With all Thy quickening powers;

Kindle a flame of sacred love

In these cold hearts of ours.

 

In vain we tune our formal songs,

In vain we strive to rise;

Hosannas languish on our tongues,

And our devotion dies.

 

Dear Lord! and shall we ever live

At this poor dying rate?

Our love so faint, so cold to Thee,

And Thine to us so great!

 

Come, Holy Spirit, heavenly Dove,

With all Thy quickening powers;

Come, shed abroad the Saviour's love

And that shall kindle ours.

 

  The service will end with the much more rousing Hymn: And Can it be!

I am conscious that the whole thing may come over as a rather introspective/ navel gazing exercise, but tomorrow I sense a real need to name and to begin from where we are, and pray that God will meet us there. I also pray that any visitors will see and experience a real integrity held in the congregations worship.

 

I welcome your comments.