Interesting piece from Giles Fraser, as ever, in today's Guardian:
'In a brilliant speech to students, the American novelist David Foster Wallace, who took his own life four years ago this month after struggling with depression, did a brilliant job of exposing the nightmare of any reality that is determined by our own desire. "There is no such thing as atheism," he writes, because we all worship something. "If you worship money, you will never have enough. Worship your own body and beauty and sexual allure and you will always feel ugly. Worship power – you will feel weak and afraid. Worship your intellect, you will end up feeling stupid, a fraud, always on the verge of being found out." These are ultimately forms of worship that eat us alive and they are forms of worship that are so much more prevalent and all-consuming in a world that has the technology to make reality all about me.'
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bill Fay - City Of Dreams.
Saturday, 8 September 2012
Friday, 7 September 2012
Tax dodging hurts us all
The Tax Justice Bus Tour launched last week at Greenbelt 2012, to inform people across Britain and Ireland why tax justice is so vital for the world's poorest people. The Tax Justice Tour sees Christian Aid join forces with UK poverty campaigners Church Action on Poverty and head out on the road across Britain and Ireland to bring people together in a bid to end the injustice of tax dodging at home and abroad.
Since the bus set off, hundreds of visitors have called on David Cameron to end financial secrecy, so that tax dodgers have nowhere to hide. Tax dodging hurts us all, especially when global companies and large sums of money are involved. It robs countries of the taxes they're owed – money that could be spent on essential services.
Christian Aid can show that in poor countries tax dodging results in a lack of clean water, sanitation, roads, schools and hospitals; and in people going hungry. Their tax justice campaign has highlighted how developing countries lose $160bn every year - one-and-a-half-times what they receive in international aid. Church Action on Poverty can show that in the UK tax dodging contributes to cuts in benefits for families, children and disabled people, reduced care for the elderly, less childcare and fewer libraries, youth services and other vital community facilities.
Financial secrecy is at the heart of these problems – especially the secrecy offered by tax havens. Thanks to loopholes in the global financial system, money that could provide vital services like schools and hospitals, is being pocketed by unscrupulous companies. The prime minister, David Cameron, has called for a fairer, better-governed world economy. Tell him that tax justice is the answer. Join us by sending an email to David Cameron today.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bruce Cockburn - Call It Democracy.
Since the bus set off, hundreds of visitors have called on David Cameron to end financial secrecy, so that tax dodgers have nowhere to hide. Tax dodging hurts us all, especially when global companies and large sums of money are involved. It robs countries of the taxes they're owed – money that could be spent on essential services.
Christian Aid can show that in poor countries tax dodging results in a lack of clean water, sanitation, roads, schools and hospitals; and in people going hungry. Their tax justice campaign has highlighted how developing countries lose $160bn every year - one-and-a-half-times what they receive in international aid. Church Action on Poverty can show that in the UK tax dodging contributes to cuts in benefits for families, children and disabled people, reduced care for the elderly, less childcare and fewer libraries, youth services and other vital community facilities.
Financial secrecy is at the heart of these problems – especially the secrecy offered by tax havens. Thanks to loopholes in the global financial system, money that could provide vital services like schools and hospitals, is being pocketed by unscrupulous companies. The prime minister, David Cameron, has called for a fairer, better-governed world economy. Tell him that tax justice is the answer. Join us by sending an email to David Cameron today.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bruce Cockburn - Call It Democracy.
Church of England: managerial avoidance
There is an excellent article by Jon Kuhrt in the current issue of the Church Times in which he, to my mind, accurately identifies the reasons why so many in the Church of England regard the 'phrase "managerialism" as code for all that the Church does wrong.'
Common symptoms include: 'clear expectations are established, proper structures are not in place, and ... robust action is not taken against those who ignore requirements.' In addition, there is a 'reluctance of clergy to accept their management position' - as they feel 'called to be priests, pastors and preachers, not CEOs of mini-corporations.'
Kuhrt speaks good sense about all this and has useful proposals to make which need to be heard and understood as in the Church of England we have 'consistently seen the bitter cost of poor staff management.' As someone who accepts that clergy have a management position, I read his article and can identify much of what he criticises in my own practice; an indication, I think, of how difficult it is to effectively manage in the Church of England with its current structures, processes and priorities.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bob Dylan - Early Roman Kings.
Common symptoms include: 'clear expectations are established, proper structures are not in place, and ... robust action is not taken against those who ignore requirements.' In addition, there is a 'reluctance of clergy to accept their management position' - as they feel 'called to be priests, pastors and preachers, not CEOs of mini-corporations.'
Kuhrt speaks good sense about all this and has useful proposals to make which need to be heard and understood as in the Church of England we have 'consistently seen the bitter cost of poor staff management.' As someone who accepts that clergy have a management position, I read his article and can identify much of what he criticises in my own practice; an indication, I think, of how difficult it is to effectively manage in the Church of England with its current structures, processes and priorities.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bob Dylan - Early Roman Kings.
Thursday, 6 September 2012
Spiritual Life: Support for human flourishing
The Paralympic Games are having a major impact on people’s attitudes to disability a recent survey suggests, with 78% of people agreeing that the UK media should do more to promote people with disabilities as role models in society.
I’ve had several conversations in the run up to the Paralympics about using the term differently abled instead of disabled, as the Paralympians show us that those labelled as disabled actually posses high levels of ability and have huge potential to fulfil.
This is also what the Bible says of all people. We are all made in the image of God it suggests and therefore have each been given significant gifts and abilities which can be developed and applied. The presence of God’s Spirit is shown in some way in each person for the good of all.
The issue that differently abled people consistently face is that our society is structured for able-bodied people. We have not yet sufficiently adapted to enable society to enable those who are differently abled to always reach their true potential. Many are also rightly worried that the real advances which have been made to enable those who are differently abled to take their rightful place in society will be eroded through current changes to welfare provision.
To enable God’s Spirit to genuinely be seen in all people for the good of our whole society we need to support the culturally, political and technological developments that were celebrated in the Paralympic Opening Ceremony. The Paralympians are role models showing what each of us can achieve but the examples they provide demonstrate the need we all have for appropriate support and encouragement.
At the same time as valuing the Paralympians as role models, we can also recognise the extent to which we need to do more to structure churches, faith communities and UK society, as a whole, to support human flourishing and wellbeing.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Extreme - Run.
Monday, 3 September 2012
Bill Fay - 'Life Is People'
Bill Fay's Life Is People is an album to treasure produced by a man of real humility with a wonderful back story.
The story is as follows:
"Bill Fay was born in North London, where he still lives. His debut on the underground Decca Nova label, Bill Fay (1970), included spacious big band jazz arrangements by Mike Gibbs, but it was the follow-up, Time Of The Last Persecution (1971), that cemented his reputation — a harrowing, philosophical and painfully honest diagnosis of an unhealthy society and a messed-up planet, that featured the cream of London's fieriest jazz session players such as guitarist Ray Russell. Unable to make ends meet as a musician, Fay wandered through a succession of jobs for years, writing songs privately. His albums were reissued in 1998 after being deleted for 27 years, and when the likes of Jeff Tweedy and David Tibet (Current 93) began singing his praises in the early 2000s, Bill began to come back into view. A third album, recorded piecemeal in the late 70s, was released in 2005 as Tomorrow Tomorrow And Tomorrow, by The Bill Fay Group. And Wilco even convinced the shy singer to join them onstage in London in 2007.
A CD of Bill's early demos and home recordings has also since emerged, but Life Is People is his first properly crafted studio album since 1971. He was motivated by American producer Joshua Henry, a fan who had grown up listening to the Bill Fay albums in his Dad's record collection. Spooling through Bill's home demos, Joshua discovered an incredible trove of material and decided to do something about it. Guitarist Matt Deighton (Oasis, Paul Weller, Mother Earth) assembled a cast of backup musicians to bring out the songs' full potential, Tim Weller (who's played drums for everyone from Will Young to Noel Gallagher and Goldfrapp), and keyboardist Mikey Rowe (High Flying Birds, Stevie Nicks, etc). In addition, Bill is reunited on several tracks with Ray Russell and drummer Alan Rushton, who played on Time Of The Last Persecution."
Fay's humility seems to run throughout this project - in his low-key, almost hestitant delivery, in lyrics such as "The never ending happening / Of what's to be and what has been / Just to be a part of it / Is astonishing to me" ('The Never Ending Happening')) and "I don't ask much, for myself / But for the one's I love" ('Thank You Lord'), and in liner notes which simply express profound gratitude for the support he has received from others in the making of this album.
His songs are simply astonishing - simple and melodic yet with unusual imagery and insights delivered with gravity and grace:
"Ranging from intimate to cosmic, epic but never grandiose, Bill's deeply committed music reminds you of important, eternal truths, and the lessons to be drawn from the natural world, when the materiality and greed threaten to engulf everything.
From the Eden-like hope for a better world in the opening "There Is A Valley" to the street sweeper gazing past the neon lights to the heavens in "City Of Dreams"; from the grand historical sweep of "Big Painter" to the compassionate hopefulness of "The Healing Day"; Bill's perceptive songs strike at the heart of the big issues facing us all today. But they're humble and down to earth too, full of striking images: witness the panoramic "Cosmic Concerto (Life Is People)", with its windblown seeds and grandmas blowing kisses into prams: as rapturous and soul-stirring as any music you'll hear this year."
'Cosmic Concerto (Life Is People)' is a highlight from a collection of stand-out tracks; a celebration of the miracle of ordinary life, the infinite variation in each human face, which stirs his soul. This is music to stir the soul, as Jim O'Rourke has stated "Bill Fay has quietly held his head high above the fray of chaos for years with the beauty of his music and the power of his spirit."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bill Fay - Cosmic Concerto (Life Is People).
Windows on the world (210)
Birmingham, 2012
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Deacon Blue - The Hipsters.
Sunday, 2 September 2012
Transforming Presence: Inhabiting our world distinctively
The opening and closing ceremonies for the Olympics and the opening ceremony for the Paralympics have all raised issues of what it means to be British; what there is in our history and culture that can be seem as being distinctively British. Between them they have included our green and pleasant land, the weather, the industrial revolution, scientific and technological discoveries, multi-racial popular culture, the Suffragettes, the NHS, popular music, the Queen, James Bond, Shakespeare, Isaac Newton, Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Stephen Hawking.
While all these have something to do with being British, do they sum up what is distinctive about the British? John Major famously described Britishness as being,"Long shadows on county cricket grounds, warm beer, invincible green suburbs, dog lovers and old maids bicycling through the morning mist." Would we identify with that, living where we do? Perhaps not! By contrast Gordon Brown stated that "Britain's roots are on the most solid foundation of all - a passion for liberty anchored in a sense of duty and an intrinsic commitment to tolerance and fair play." We might be more likely to agree but how distinctively British are those values? Aren’t they values that many around the world would agree with and practice, can we really claim them as distinctively British?
All of which goes to show that defining what makes us distinctive is a difficult task but it is one that our Bishop is asking to undertake together as Christians. Bishop Stephen has written a document for the Diocese called Transforming Presence which aims to give us four strategic priorities to focus on as a Diocese for the next 10 to 15 years.
Bishop Stephen’s hope is that every Christian and every Christian community in the Diocese will begin to prayerfully consider its own response to these priorities and to engage in a continuing conversation across the diocese as we seek to discern what sort of church God is calling us to become. Our Ministry Leadership Team has suggested that we begin thinking about our response to Transforming Presence by studying it in homegroups (some of our groups have already done this and others will begin shortly) and by having a sermon series on it during September (our Stewardship month).
The first priority is the issue that we’ve already begun thinking about together this morning; inhabiting the world distinctively. In Romans 12 Paul speaks about the new life in Christ describing the members of the church as being "one body in Christ" (Romans 12.5) He goes on: "We are members of one another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given us." (Romans 12. 5b & 6) From verse 9 onwards he describes the marks of true Christian living and discipleship. He is saying that the Christian church is the Body of Christ in the world and each individual Christian a member of it, each called and equipped by God for ministry and service. It therefore follows that every Christian has a ministry and that every Christian should live a distinctive life.
Living that distinctive life is the way we worship God and it happens as we stop conforming to the standards of the world around us and instead let God transform us inwardly by a complete change of our mind. Of course this kind of inner transformation is the work of the Holy Spirit. It cannot be achieved by our hard work alone but there are certain things we need to do in order to create the fertile ground in which the Spirit can bring our faith to life, enabling us to live out our faith and give a reason for the hope that is in us.
First among these is prayer. More than anything else, we need to place a new priority on becoming a people of prayer, whose daily lives are formed and punctuated by our relationship with God in Jesus Christ. He is the centre of our lives, and new life in Christ is nurtured and shaped by a life of prayer and a commitment to worship and the discipleship that follows from it.
Therefore – and before anything else – teaching people to pray, encouraging greater biblical and theological literacy and developing a diocesan rule of life must become our priorities and must be reflected in the work that is done at every level of diocesan life: in every church school, in every parish community, in every chaplaincy.
Developing a diocesan rule of life would be so that there is a unity between us over the sort of lives we should be leading as God’s people in this place and some sort of mutual accountability. This rule will encompass those aspects of Christian living that we consider annually during Stewardship Week such as giving, participation in worship, ministry in our daily lives and also the way we inhabit the planet itself, including issues of ecological, social and political wellbeing.
"Hate what is evil, hold on to what is good. Love one another warmly and be eager to show respect for one another. Work hard … Let your hope keep you joyful, be patient in your troubles, and pray at all times. Share your belongings with your needy fellow Christians, and open your homes to strangers. Ask God to bless those who persecute you . .. Be happy with those who are happy, weep with those who weep. Have the same concern for everyone. Do not be proud, but accept humble duties. Do not think of yourselves as wise. If someone has done you wrong, do not repay him with a wrong. Try to do what everyone considers to be good. Do everything possible on your part to live in peace with everybody … conquer evil with good."
So giving generously to God, others and our world using our treasure, time and talents is what Stewardship and a Diocesan rule of life would be all about. God loves a cheerful giver, we are told, and whoever shares with others should do it generously.
So, the way we inhabit the world as Christians should be about this kind of generous living and the rule of life would form a basis of expectation about what it means to be a Christian in this diocese but, of course, this does not mean that we are somehow better than other people or that generosity itself is distinctively Christian. It is manifestly true that there are all sorts of good and generous people who are not yet part of the Christian community. It does mean, however, that there should be something distinctive and attractive about the way we live our lives. Conversely, if our lives are indistinguishable from anyone else’s it is then little wonder that people conclude that the Christian faith is our hobby; a fascinating and exhausting pastime, but not the life changing transformation that should be evident in the lives we lead Monday to Saturday.
By 2025 Bishop Stephen wants this to change and says that without this inner transformation no other worthwhile change will happen at all, and we will simply carry on managing church decline as gracefully as possible. None of us want that to happen although we all recognise the challenges we face as Christians and as a church. We did not choose to be born or to live in such an age; but if we let its problems challenge us, its discoveries exhilarate us, its injustices anger us, its possibilities inspire us and its vigour renew us then it will be as though we were born for such a time as this.
If we live distinctive Christian lives, as Romans 12 directs us and as Bishop Stephen encourages us then we can make a difference where God has placed us, here at St John’s, here in Seven Kings, here in our family, here in our workplace, here in our diocese, here in our nation, here in our world. Let us pray …
Saviour Christ, in whose way of love lies the secret of all life and the hope of all people, we pray for quiet courage to match this hour. We did not choose to be born or to live in such an age; but let its problems challenge us, its discoveries exhilarate us, its injustices anger us, its possibilities inspire us and its vigour renew us for your kingdom's sake. Amen.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Woven Hand - In The Temple.
While all these have something to do with being British, do they sum up what is distinctive about the British? John Major famously described Britishness as being,"Long shadows on county cricket grounds, warm beer, invincible green suburbs, dog lovers and old maids bicycling through the morning mist." Would we identify with that, living where we do? Perhaps not! By contrast Gordon Brown stated that "Britain's roots are on the most solid foundation of all - a passion for liberty anchored in a sense of duty and an intrinsic commitment to tolerance and fair play." We might be more likely to agree but how distinctively British are those values? Aren’t they values that many around the world would agree with and practice, can we really claim them as distinctively British?
All of which goes to show that defining what makes us distinctive is a difficult task but it is one that our Bishop is asking to undertake together as Christians. Bishop Stephen has written a document for the Diocese called Transforming Presence which aims to give us four strategic priorities to focus on as a Diocese for the next 10 to 15 years.
Bishop Stephen’s hope is that every Christian and every Christian community in the Diocese will begin to prayerfully consider its own response to these priorities and to engage in a continuing conversation across the diocese as we seek to discern what sort of church God is calling us to become. Our Ministry Leadership Team has suggested that we begin thinking about our response to Transforming Presence by studying it in homegroups (some of our groups have already done this and others will begin shortly) and by having a sermon series on it during September (our Stewardship month).
The first priority is the issue that we’ve already begun thinking about together this morning; inhabiting the world distinctively. In Romans 12 Paul speaks about the new life in Christ describing the members of the church as being "one body in Christ" (Romans 12.5) He goes on: "We are members of one another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given us." (Romans 12. 5b & 6) From verse 9 onwards he describes the marks of true Christian living and discipleship. He is saying that the Christian church is the Body of Christ in the world and each individual Christian a member of it, each called and equipped by God for ministry and service. It therefore follows that every Christian has a ministry and that every Christian should live a distinctive life.
Living that distinctive life is the way we worship God and it happens as we stop conforming to the standards of the world around us and instead let God transform us inwardly by a complete change of our mind. Of course this kind of inner transformation is the work of the Holy Spirit. It cannot be achieved by our hard work alone but there are certain things we need to do in order to create the fertile ground in which the Spirit can bring our faith to life, enabling us to live out our faith and give a reason for the hope that is in us.
First among these is prayer. More than anything else, we need to place a new priority on becoming a people of prayer, whose daily lives are formed and punctuated by our relationship with God in Jesus Christ. He is the centre of our lives, and new life in Christ is nurtured and shaped by a life of prayer and a commitment to worship and the discipleship that follows from it.
Therefore – and before anything else – teaching people to pray, encouraging greater biblical and theological literacy and developing a diocesan rule of life must become our priorities and must be reflected in the work that is done at every level of diocesan life: in every church school, in every parish community, in every chaplaincy.
Developing a diocesan rule of life would be so that there is a unity between us over the sort of lives we should be leading as God’s people in this place and some sort of mutual accountability. This rule will encompass those aspects of Christian living that we consider annually during Stewardship Week such as giving, participation in worship, ministry in our daily lives and also the way we inhabit the planet itself, including issues of ecological, social and political wellbeing.
"Hate what is evil, hold on to what is good. Love one another warmly and be eager to show respect for one another. Work hard … Let your hope keep you joyful, be patient in your troubles, and pray at all times. Share your belongings with your needy fellow Christians, and open your homes to strangers. Ask God to bless those who persecute you . .. Be happy with those who are happy, weep with those who weep. Have the same concern for everyone. Do not be proud, but accept humble duties. Do not think of yourselves as wise. If someone has done you wrong, do not repay him with a wrong. Try to do what everyone considers to be good. Do everything possible on your part to live in peace with everybody … conquer evil with good."
So giving generously to God, others and our world using our treasure, time and talents is what Stewardship and a Diocesan rule of life would be all about. God loves a cheerful giver, we are told, and whoever shares with others should do it generously.
So, the way we inhabit the world as Christians should be about this kind of generous living and the rule of life would form a basis of expectation about what it means to be a Christian in this diocese but, of course, this does not mean that we are somehow better than other people or that generosity itself is distinctively Christian. It is manifestly true that there are all sorts of good and generous people who are not yet part of the Christian community. It does mean, however, that there should be something distinctive and attractive about the way we live our lives. Conversely, if our lives are indistinguishable from anyone else’s it is then little wonder that people conclude that the Christian faith is our hobby; a fascinating and exhausting pastime, but not the life changing transformation that should be evident in the lives we lead Monday to Saturday.
By 2025 Bishop Stephen wants this to change and says that without this inner transformation no other worthwhile change will happen at all, and we will simply carry on managing church decline as gracefully as possible. None of us want that to happen although we all recognise the challenges we face as Christians and as a church. We did not choose to be born or to live in such an age; but if we let its problems challenge us, its discoveries exhilarate us, its injustices anger us, its possibilities inspire us and its vigour renew us then it will be as though we were born for such a time as this.
If we live distinctive Christian lives, as Romans 12 directs us and as Bishop Stephen encourages us then we can make a difference where God has placed us, here at St John’s, here in Seven Kings, here in our family, here in our workplace, here in our diocese, here in our nation, here in our world. Let us pray …
Saviour Christ, in whose way of love lies the secret of all life and the hope of all people, we pray for quiet courage to match this hour. We did not choose to be born or to live in such an age; but let its problems challenge us, its discoveries exhilarate us, its injustices anger us, its possibilities inspire us and its vigour renew us for your kingdom's sake. Amen.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Woven Hand - In The Temple.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)