The road to Emmaus

Today we had our monthly children's church; a 1/2 hour service for pre-schoolers and their parents or carers. I looked at last Sunday's lectionary, and thought we should have a stab at the road to Emmaus. it's a nice visual story which children of this age can identify with. Often we use a technique we've called the 'Bible Storyboard' where we draw the story on a large (A1) piece of paper as we tell it, paraphrased from the biblical original. Sometimes we use a Godly Play story, with the appropriate set of toys. Sometimes we act out a story with props and accessories. Today I decided to look for a video, and I was not disappointed. We watched this video a total of three times, because they loved it so much:

We had a bit of discussion about whether Jesus was actually an elephant, but the children and adults all loved it.

At the end of our time of worship, we then all set about creating our own road to Emmaus scene using biscuits, ready made icing, gravel (coloured sprinkles) for the road, and jelly babies for the characters in the story. These went down well in more ways than one!

The most important thing about a service like this is that the children have fun in church. If they do that, they are more likely to remember the stories we tell them, and more likely to want to come back. Our numbers are small at children's church, but the children who come keep coming back.

So thanks to the people who put together the video we used - I'll be subscribing to their channel in case there's anything else we can use.

To frack or not to frack

There's been a lot in the media this week about fracking and the CofE's response to it. My own diocese made the headlines earlier in the week with the publication of a leaflet about fracking. The matter is clearly a complex one. We don't really know what the environmental effects of fracking are. There's lots of mythology from the experience in the USA, and there's genuine fear as a result of the earthquakes near Blackpool which resulted in the cessation of fracking work there.

The CofE has done its best to undo some of the publicity surrounding the Blackburn diocese leaflet. There seem to be some high-level politics at play here, and the church wants to remain neutral for whatever reason. There certainly seems to be unease at the CofE being landed with a universally negative opinion on fracking. Fair enough.

My own opinion is fairly simple; maybe too simple! I oppose fracking for the following reasons:

Moral and legal

If the uk is to get anywhere near its commitment to reduce carbon emissions, developing new methods of extracting fossil fuels from the ground isn't going to help. As I understand it, we have made a moral and legal commitment to reduce our carbon emissions. Fracking does not help us to achieve this; it actually makes it less likely! We can't keep digging up new fossil fuels and still manage the reduction unless the UK government gets interested in carbon capture - something that doesn't seem to be on the UK research agenda.

Theological

We have a fundamental responsibility to care for God's creation; stewardship of the earth is not primarily about using the earth's resources for our benefit; surely we are called to care for and preserve the earth. Digging holes which we fill with noxious chemicals under high pressure does not seem to be a good way of caring for God's creation. This isn't about NIMBYism, it's about NIGBYism - not in God's back yard.

Strategic

The problem with fracking is that it doesn't deal strategically with the energy problems we have; it's a temporary stop-gap 'solution'. If we are to deal strategically with the problem, we need to do much more to reduce our energy requirements and we need to do much more to find new and better ways of generating energy from renewable sources. Fossil fuels will run out. Fact. We need to start behaving like this is true, rather than running after each and every 'get out of jail card' that technology offers.

So I'm glad that the Blackburn Diocese came out and voiced concerns. As Christians, we should be concerned. I hear the cautionary notes about those who cannot afford to heat their homes, and how fracking may be a way of keeping fuel prices down. Of course, fuel poverty is something the church should be concerned about, but I don't think the solution to fuel poverty is to grab the latest fix of fossil fuel energy to maintain the current prices. That seems to be a deeply flawed argument.

Ultimately, I think my big problem with fracking is the direction in which it looks. It seems to look back into a time when it seemed as though the earth would forever supply our fossil fuel needs. What we need are energy solutions which look forward into a world with depleted fossil fuel resources and a problem with greenhouse gases.

UPDATE: For more on the fuel poverty angle, have a read here.

Food is a blessing

Clitheroe Food Festival, 2013

This weekend saw the third annual food festival take place in Clitheroe. I missed out last year, as we were on holiday, but I was determined to be there this year.

A few months ago, I started talking with people in our local ecumenical group (Clitheroe Christians in Partnership) about what we might do while the festival was on. We had an open meeting a couple of months ago, and after a wide ranging discussion, we decided to raise the issue of food poverty by handing out a simple leaflet to people on the day.

So a small group set about drawing up the flyer (which you can see below). We just wanted to remind people that whilst we were all enjoying our locally-sourced, hand-made, organically-grown produce, there are many in the world who would settle for any kind of food! We used UN data along with data from the UK government to make the following points:

• 1 in 3 children, in developing countries, is malnourished.
• 1 in 8 people across the world goes hungry every day.
• 4 million people in the UK suffer from food poverty.

CCP's Food Festival Flyer

We weren't trying to rain on anyone's parade, or to make people feel guilty. We were simply raising the issue on a day when we were already thinking about food. We also worked to publicise Clitheroe's new Food Bank; asking people to donate food and money to the project which has already served 84 clients! Clitheroe is thought of as a prosperous town. Poverty is not something you expect to find amongst the expensive four-wheel-drives and ubiquitous barn conversions, but poverty is here too!

On the day of the food festival, CCP volunteers gave out 1400 food poverty flyers (and we could have given out double that number). We didn't ask for money or push a religious agenda. We just felt that it was the job of the church to remind people of what they probably know already. That there are many people both here and abroad, who do not have enough to eat. Most of us don't really know what that feels like, but for some people it's a daily reality.

It was a brilliant day in so many ways, and many of our parishioners got involved in volunteering work. Some through CCP and the Food Bank, and others with organisations like Rotary. As last year, our Parish Hall hosted the celebrated 'Pudding Fest' in support of the Friends of Chernobyl's Children Charity. People donated their finest cakes and puddings, and punters paid £3 to sample 3 different puds. A bargain, and over £900 was raised for the charity. Also at the festival was a very popular fairtrade stall, which seemed to be doing a great trade all day long. Familiar faces from Clitheroe's churches were involved here too.

So now we will review this year's efforts, and think about what we do next year. The Food Festival seems to be growing each year, and the Christian population of Clitheroe seems to be responding with acts of service along with words of challenge over matters of justice.

Another sermon from Advent 3

But not one of mine. This sermon from a friend and fellow rookie-minister who's based in the States is an interesting read. Thanks Brekke.

Sermon for Advent 3

It's been a hectic time here in Clitheroe. We returned from a visit to the States for the start of Advent, and our feet haven't really touched the ground yet - I suppose that's what the week after Christmas is for.

I got some really positive feedback from my sermon last Sunday, so I thought I'd stick the script up here. For those reading this post a long time from 2012, you need to know the immediate context... Two days before I preached the sermon, this happened in Newtown Conneticut, and it heavily influenced some of what I had to say. The readings for the day were Zephaniah 3.14-20, Philippians 4.4-7 and Luke 3.7-18. They also influenced what I had to say.

As always, apologies for the odd formatting, but this is the way I lay my sermons out to guide my delivery.

I wonder if you can think of a time where you experienced pure joy?
Or where, perhaps, you witnessed another person’s joy overflowing.
...
Let me tell you about one of my joyful moments...
3 years and two months ago, my wife was admitted to hospital. 
She was a few weeks away from her due date,
and the midwife had decided to send her in for tests, 
because some of the measurements seemed a bit odd.
Lets put it in seasonal language, she was great with child, a little bit too great!
After a stressful few hours, a scan showed that the baby was fine, 
But to avoid complications,

the doctors wanted to speed things up a little bit. And they tried and tried.
Over a period of five days, they tried every trick in the book,
But that baby was not budging!

Eventually, at around midnight on a Thursday,
the medical staff recommended that a Caesarean Section
was the best option.
And an hour later I held Eleanor in my arms for the first time.
At that moment,
Surrounded by the busyness and messy chaos of an operating theatre, 
I experienced pure joy.
It was one of those moments where there are no words to express how you feel.

Where you can barely take in the significance of what’s just happened,
And where you’re so grateful that everyone is ok.
In a situation like that
The only response most of us can manage is to shed a tear.

So great is the joy of this one moment.
Our joy literally spills out – it cannot be contained!

That kind of experience is an essential part of being a healthy and happy human.
Most of us would struggle through life 
if we never even glimpsed what it is to be joyful.
The people to whom Zephaniah is talking... 
in our Old Testament reading have had their fair share of hardship.
His first two chapters are dedicated to familiar prophetic warnings

About the coming judgement of the whole world, 
And the approaching ‘day of the Lord’,
And the fact that they’ve brought it all on themselves!
Then the end of his final chapter,
which we heard this morning,
Is a glimpse of joy for his weary listeners.
It’s all about joyful restoration,
Where God will ‘take away the judgements’ against his people, 
And renew his people in his love.
Zephaniah commands his audience to
‘rejoice and exult’ at this time.
To be joyful, with God, at their restoration.

And then we have our reading from Paul’s letter to the Phillipians.
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.”

And it’s these words which are the root of the advent tradition 
of ‘Gaudete Sunday’, which falls today.
Gaudete is a latin word which translates as ‘rejoice’
In some churches, Gaudete Sunday is a spectacular event, 
Especially for lovers of vestments and embroidery.
The third Sunday of advent is one of two days in the year 
where the ministers will don their rose coloured vestments!
That’s right, rose – as in pink!
If you’re not into all the silk finery,
Maybe you’ve seen the pink candle in some advent wreaths... 
This marks ‘Gaudete Sunday’ in a somewhat more 'British' fashion.
But the meaning is the same.
Amidst the sombreness of our advent lectionary,
Gaudete Sunday is the day where we look forward with joyful anticipation!

The point of all this pink is to identify the joy 
which exists in this season of penitence and preparation...
That the event which we anticipate at Christmas is so joyful,
it is ok for some of that joy to break into advent.

So today is all about joy then?!
Well not quite.
Amongst all this language of joy,
Our Gospel reading this morning,
Arrests us with some of the challenging prophetic words of John the Baptist.
He challenges the people in a similar kind of way... 
as the Old Testament prophets.
He challenges them,
not only to repent,
and to prepare for judgement,

But to consider their ethical responsibilities in this life,
And the ways in which they exercise the power placed in them.
Like Zephaniah and the other prophets,
John the Baptist is not afraid of upsetting people.
Let’s face it,
it’s hardly good manners to address your audience as a brood of vipers!
But John is telling them bluntly that they are in a mess.
That, first, they need to repent,
But then, they need to live lives of repentant people,
And not rely on their heritage to see them through.

Judgement is coming.
They need to repent,
And they need to be changed by that experience.
They need to be reformed. They need to clothe the naked,

And deal more fairly in their business dealings.

And when asked if he is the Messiah,
John tells them that someone more powerful is coming. 
A Messiah who will come to judge,
To sort the wheat from the chaff,
And to burn that chaff with unquenchable fire!

You don’t get that verse on the inside of your Christmas cards do you?!

But this odd mixture of solemnity and joy, 
Of judgement and excited anticipation,
Is a feature of advent.
Dark and difficult ideas about future judgement 
sit side-by-side with the promise of a messiah 
who takes away the sins of the world.

And I suppose that reflects a reality about our experience of the world.
Dark and light often sit together.

For many families in Conneticut,
This Advent and Christmas will be the darkest time in their lives.
What happened there on Friday morning was so deeply tragic, So horribly dark...
Like the American president,
the only response most of us can manage is to shed a tear,

So great is the darkness of this one moment.
Our sorrow and grief literally spills out – it cannot be contained!

For many people,
Advent and Christmas are difficult times.
Times when they remember loved ones who have died.

Times when the light and joy of Christmas... 
...Sit next to the pain and sorrow of grief.
We need to acknowledge that this is the case, 
And especially for those families in Conneticut.

My prayer for them and for us,
As we struggle with the light and dark parts of life,
With the light and dark parts of advent,
Is that we are able to hold on to those moments of joy in our lives.
Those moments of joy and light are a foretaste for us, 
And we know that, in Christ, the light will prevail!

As we glimpse forward to Christmas Day,
I’m reminded of the prologue of John’s gospel... 
that we will hear on Christmas morning...
John puts it in simple and elegant language:

‘the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.’
This is the joy and hope we anticipate on Gaudete Sunday. 
Jesus is the light of the world.
And though life sometimes seems far from joyful
Joy and light will not be overcome by darkness.

So as we continue our advent journey,
Let’s take a moment to look for those points of light in the darkness.
Let’s lift our heads, and remember the joy of Christmas. 
‘Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.’ Amen.
  

A blogging curate?

It's been a while since I last posted. Lots of water under the bridge. Massive milestones. I'm now an ordained deacon in the Church of England. After a long time of discernment, upheaval and training, I am now a curate in Clitheroe.

Blogging as an ordinand was relatively simple, but now I'm a curate it feels different. Partly it's because as an ordinand you deal often in hypotheticals. Your practical work is controlled and contained. You can blog about the issues you're encountering in college quite easily. But once ordained, you are embedded in a real parish situation with real people. The issues you discuss, as an ordinand, in abstract terms are suddenly real people's issues. And unless you keep your online persona completely secret, your parishioners will be reading your posts. Anyone who knows what's going on in the parish will be able to join the dots.

So I'm a bit puzzled about where this blog will go from now on. Any ideas in the comments please. I feel I ought to continue, but I need to work out a way that can happen without it becoming very dull.

Endings and Beginnings

The end of term is nigh. I have now had all the teaching I will get in Cambridge, and am looking at the pile of work that needs to be done between now and the dreaded submission date in May; not to mention the small matter of revision for four exams. So whilst I'm nearly there, it's fair to say there's much more still to do. That said, we're most definitely on the home straight, and looking towards the next phase of our life in Clitheroe.

We'll be sad to leave Cambridge in many ways. We've made some friendships here that we sense will be important constants throughout the rest of my ministry in the church, and despite our hard experience of life at theological college with a toddler in tow, Westcott is home. We're not looking forward to 'Leavers' Week'. Saying goodbye is hard.

On a personal level, the last 24 hours have been up and down. Yesterday we heard that some friends are expecting a baby. This was great news - smiley faces all round! Then today I heard of the death from cancer of a member of my family back in Lancashire. Even though his death wasn't a surprise, it still hits hard. We hope to get to the funeral, but saying goodbye will be hard.

The perspective brought by these two items of news is sobering. The emotions of ordinand life are thrown into sharp focus when we have to face up to the end of life, or wonder at the miracle of new life. It reminds me of why I'm doing all this vicar stuff in the first place. It makes me realise I'm doing something worthwhile. These are precious times, and the church has a duty to help people when they need it most.

Moved by the music

I love music. Of many different kinds. I hate musical snobbery. I'm not a purist. But I love music.

I love being moved by the power of music. It's one of the things I love about the church. In some places, we have remembered the power of music to move people, and have continued to use it appropriately in church.

Anyway, that's not the point of this post. Thanks to a Facebook post by Maggi Dawn earlier in the week, I came across this song by Sheffield band, Native and the Name. I was stunned. Stopped in my tracks. For me, the experience was reminiscent of the first time I heard Allegri's Miserere sung live, or Saint-Saens organ symphony performed at the Bridgewater in Manchester. It was like discovering the angelic voice of Kate Rusby earlier in the year, or wandering past the Greenbelt Mainstage in the summer and wondering who was making the superb music this time.

With Plain Song, I can't quite work out why I haven't already come across it before. Nick Park's video is beautiful, and it's creation to mark the release of the band's new album, is why it's come to my attention now. Anyway, I've discovered it now, and have followed the various twitter streams and Facebook pages to keep me up to date with the band. I will probably buy the album once we've got past the financial pinch-point of Christmas.

I know musical taste is a subjective thing, and my recommendation doesn't count for much. All I can say is that I like it a lot, so maybe you should give it a listen.

So that's it for procrastination. Back to the books.

Most highly flavoured gravy

The title of the post says something about my irreverent sense of humour! In church this morning, we heard 'Gabriel's Message', one of my favourite advent carols. When we were in Lancaster, we sang it lots, partly because the celebration of Christmas in academic institutions tends to be a little premature for the rousing 'Yea Lord we greet thee...' type carols. So Gabriel's Message became a familiar friend; partly because it's quite easy to sing, even for a thrown-together choir. Most highly flavoured gravy' was the deliberate corruption thrown by a devious director into practices to try and raise a smile from a flagging choir. The risk was always that it might come out in the service we were rehearsing for.

The Church of England captures a range of views about the position of Mary in our religious life as Christians. I've never been persuaded beyond a 'dabble' with the rosary, and I've always been in church settings where Marian devotion is viewed with suspicion. That said, today's readings remind us of the important place of Mary in God's plan, and of her unimaginable trust in God, beautifully rendered later in the first chapter of Luke's gospel.

I don't suppose I'll ever be much more enthusiastic for Marian devotion in my own prayer life, but I'm reminded today of the richness and breadth of our tradition in the C of E.

Christmas is coming, and I have time to write a blog post

Well it's been a while since my last post here. Its been a hectic end to the term at Westcott, and there has been little time to engage with anything apart from essays, reading and trying to keep sane. As always (regular readers will note the theme), the difficulty I find is in balancing the different aspects of life which seem to compete for the same time. I won't rehearse those particular issues again.

The Christmas vacation has truly started now, and I see, on various social media sources, that many of my colleagues have been hard at work with essays. I, on the other hand, have not. I've been winding down, and doing enjoyable things like visiting friends in Newent near Gloucester - seeing their new house, and visiting Gloucester Cathedral. And now North Norfolk, though we arrived to find that my Father-in-law had been cruelly attacked by a Christmas tree (long story), and had broken his left leg in 3 places. An efficient dose of NHS emergency care, and he's home now. Next week is a work week for me. My target is 10,000 words for the vacation, and I know that most of these need to be churned out next week.

Anyway, I thought I should write a post, as there are many things I want to say to the world. Here are my headlines, in brief:

Gareth Malone has upset the X Factor apple-cart by producing a worthy song for a Christmas number one. Let's hope the military wives choir last the distance! As I have said on this blog before (and here), I really rate Gareth Malone. His work is completely inspiring, and his TV shows are uplifting without being escapist. So if you haven't already bought the single, do it now and keep the production-line dross away from the top spot this Christmas.

Rev. has just come to an end again. I wish UK comedy seasons ran for more than half a dozen episodes, but even with only a handful of slots, Hollander, Wood et al have done it again. I loved the end of season scene, and the twists and turns in the plot. I loved the fact that they examined the peculiar notion of vocation from a number of different angles. Nigel's experiences will have been hauntingly familiar to large numbers of applicants to the priesthood. The archdeacon's character-shift will have been painfully close to the bone for a number of clerics, whilst twanging a nerve for the many ordinands who know that, as it stands, they are unlikely to be in the running for senior posts in their impending careers in the church. What Rev does best is to deal respectfully with the big issues in the church. Yes, it's comedy, but it's not simple victim comedy. It's thoughtful and situational comedy at its best. Like the first series, a slow burn, but of exceptional quality.

David Camoron has been spouting some opinions about the Christian-ness of Britain, and the mission of the church. Given his self confessed status as a "committed" but only "vaguely practising" Christian, I'm not sure anyone should pay attention to him. I'm not saying the church always gets it right, but I know that politicians rarely do. ++Rowan's Radio 2 pause for thought is where the church is, and where it ought to be. Alongside ordinary people in the mess of life. Of course, Dave has a right to say what he likes about the church, but I have a right not to listen.

UPDATE - For a more thorough and thoughtful analysis, see +Nick Baines' post here.

I think that's all for now. As I'm meant to be reading and writing next week, I predict there may be a few more posts on the way before Christmas.