Revd. Phil Evens, 1936 - 2007

Revd. Phil Evens, 1936 - 2007

My dad died peacefully on 12th December 2007, aged 71, at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham. As a family, we are very grateful to the staff at the QE (in ITU and ELG B) for the care that they provided for dad and also for their sensitivity towards us. Dad's funeral will be held at Aston Parish Church, Birmingham on Friday 21st December from 11.00am, followed by a family interment. The service will be led by the Rt. Revd. Keith Sinclair, Bishop of Birkenhead. There will be family flowers only but donations can be made to Rejuvenate Worldwide and Headstart Birmingham. Donations can be sent c/o William H. Painter, 398 Yardley Road, South Yardley, Birmingham B25 8LT.

Past Life - Present Mission

Past Life - Present Mission is a booklet summarising my Dad's M.Phil exploring the relevance of Celtic Christianity to urban mission. The M.Phil was his final major piece of writing and, as a family, we are thrilled that the Community of Aidan and Hilda (of which he was a friend) have made Past Life - Present Mission available as a download from their website.

The Community of Aidan and Hilda is a world-wide fellowship whose members seek to live out Christianity as a complete way of life. Being wholly available to the Holy Trinity and to the way of Jesus as revealed in the Bible, they seek to cradle a spirituality for today: weaving together the separated strands of Christianity; healing the land; and resourcing people. In earthing these aims, they draw inspiration from Celtic saints such as Aidan and Hilda.

As well as offering retreats and workshops etc. at the Open Gate on Lindisfarne, the Community organise various activities and events around the UK and internationally. The book 'A Pilgrim's Way', which has recently been published, deals extensively with the Community's history, its Way of Life and its aims.

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Show of Hands - Roots.

Order a Cookbook for Christmas!

There's still time to get a copy of the CF Celebrity Cookbook for Christmas!

The Cookbook has lots of nice yummy things to eat suggested by famous people and raises lots of nice yummy funds to help with research into improving treatment for Cystic Fibrosis.

The Cookbook is now also available via its own website, where you can pay online via PayPal, and you don't need a PayPal account to do so. There's also a link to the Cystic Fibrosis Trust website for more info.

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PETER CASE - After Hours On Pico Blvd

Lent & Eastertide Schools

The Lent and Eastertide Schools are a collection of education, training and skills events across the Diocese of Chelmsford during Lent and Eastertide each year. Subjects covered are as diverse as art and theology, pastoral care, leading small groups, healing and wholeness and evangelism. The courses are open to anyone.

On this occasion I will be involved in two of the available courses:

• The Big Picture 2 - How can Christians respond to controversial art: protest or engagement? How have Christian artists expressed their faith through popular culture? How has Christianity influenced popular culture? How does popular culture portray or critique Christianity? These are some of the questions the course will explore using multi media resources with plenty of opportunity for discussion and practical response. Tutors: Revds Philip Ritchie, Jonathan Evens & Paul Trathen. Tuesday Evenings 7.30-9.30pm at St Lawrence, Ninefields, Waltham Abbey. April 15, 22, 29, May 6, 13.
• Living with Other Faiths - This course helps people explore why we should engage with other faith communities and how we can go about doing so. The course objectives are to identify biblical principles for engaging with other faith communities; to develop an understanding of the beliefs and sensitivity to the practises of other faiths and to consider a range of ways of engaging with other faith communities and to identify particular approaches appropriate to your situation. Tutors: Revd Jonathan Evens & Canon David Driscoll. Friday Mornings 10am-12pm, Cathedral Learning Centre, Chelmsford, April 25 May 2, 9, 16, 23.

Living with other faiths will also happen at St Margaret's Catholic Church, Canning Town on Monday evenings from 7.30-9.30pm - April 14, 21, 28 May 5, 12. The tutors on this occasion will be Revds Sean Connolly & Angus Ritchie.

Among the other courses available will be Let Us Be Human to be led by Revds. Paul Trathen and Sam Norton on Wednesday mornings from 10am-12pm at Diocesan Office, Chelmsford - February 20, 27, March 5, 19. We are all increasingly aware of the debates which have now gained huge momentum around questions of climate change, our ecosystems, and related matters. Some of these debates are about where the evidence points towards human activities contributing to a rapid degradation of the earth’s capacity to sustain life. Other parts of the debate are now starting to address questions about how we might live differently in the light of these realizations, and in mitigation of disaster. The Christian faith has plenty to say about living sustainably and faithfully within God’s created order. How might we put our theology, our big global questions, and our own choices of lifestyle into a constructive dialogue? This short discussion and workshop course will help us in this daunting task.

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Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

Girardian reflections

A new website provides an opportunity to understanding the Bible anew through the Mimetic Theory of René Girard. The site contains Girardian reflections on each Sunday's Lectionary readings.

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Bruce Springsteen - The River.

Arguments against the evangelical atheists

Click here to read a review of John Lennox's book God's Undertaker. The review was written by Colin Tudge and is an excellent summary of arguments against Hitchens, Dawkins et al: 'the evangelical atheists, shouting from their pulpits'.

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Joan Osbourne - One of Us.

Go gently

The lifeforce runs deep within our veins.
After conscious actions become involuntary,
after eyes become unfocused,
after hands become still and lifeless,
the heart still beats and lungs inhale,
breaths are snatched as something precious
and coughs battle secretions
to obtain air.
I pray, let go,
lose life to love life.
I pray, surrender,
from striving, for serving.
I pray, release,
returning, reviving, resting.
I pray, knowing that,
from fisticuffs at Grammar School,
you have been a fighter.
I pray, knowing that
throughout trials and tribulations,
your spirit has stayed strong.
I pray, knowing that
the lifeforce runs deep
in your veins.
I pray, knowing you will not,
go gentle into that bright light.

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Cat Stevens - Father and Son.