Wandering4loveofGod

The Christmas Story: Good News of Great Joy

2011-12-24T10:17:00.000Z

I offer two little films from New Zealand which re-tell the Christmas narrative. I feel they capture the spirit of Christmas beautifully, with genuine charm and gentle faith.........

Good News of Great Joy (2011)

The prequel to our film, The Christmas Story http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWq60oyrHVQ as told by the kids of St Paul's Church Auckland. Anyone is welcome to show this film publicly, but not change it in any way, nor make money out of it. Except for Joe. You can buy his music here: http://les-enfants.bandcamp.com/

The Christmas Story (2010)

The Christmas Story' (2010), as told by the children of St Paul's Church, Auckland, New Zealand. Anyone is welcome to show this film publicly, but not change it in any way, nor make money out of it. Except for Joe. Good News of Great Joy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttInl1ewJVo

Saturday Night and Sunday Morning

2011-12-18T22:26:00.000Z

Another oil pastel of a girl partying, inspired by a series of largepainting I saw in a London Restaurant. The originals were done by Paul Lemmon as part of an Exhibition: 'a Slice of Lemmon' put on by the Art Movement. Other picture featured in previous blogs

Given the near freezing temperatures it made me thinkhow COLD it is on a Saturday night in Winter Woking when you are just dressed up to party. We were on another 'street angels' shift from 10pm on Saturday night til 4 am onSunday morning.

'Saturday Night and Sunday Morning' was the name of anovel by Alan Sillitoe (1958), which was made into a film with Albert Finney(1960). Over half a century ago. It portrays life in the raw, in the urbanised sprawl ofthe industrialised Britain. The drudgery of factory work as a machinist duringthe week and spending wages at the weekends ,"drinking and having a goodtime". Nothing is new under the sun and the samepattern continues for many ...... The traumas of the week are played out at theweekends

Mind you we cannot see beyond a small glimpse of whatpeople are going through. As Street Angels, we meet people 'by chance' on thestreets and get involved with a few for a short period of time. I waspatrolling with one of the newly commissioned angels – ‘the reinforcements’which meant we could now cover Saturdays as well as Friday nights.

It alwaysstarts out quiet with people intent on going out and ‘having a good time.’ Sothat’s the time we walk and talk and get to know each other and greet one andall. GalaxyCabs have constructed a new control centre – and we met the Pakistani owner andended up talking about his father who died early in the year aged 102! He hadserved in the British army and been evacuated from Dunkirk.

Michellefrom Maybury was very drunk and had been kicked out of RSVP and couldn’t getinto Chameleon. She was sitting on a wall on her own and could hardly sit straight. We stayed with her and triedto get her to contact her friends. She was COLD in her minimalist dress. We walked her to MacDonalds andsat with her for a while. She wouldn’t have a coffee but ordered a burger. Andwe couldn’t stay there all night. Outside again we tried a space blanket, butshe just looked like an oven-ready chicken. It was only when a policewoman suggested she go home thatshe agreed, so we found a taxi and that we thought was that.

It wasonly later we discovered she had been sick all over the back seat and the taxihad returned to base. She had stumbled out and according to the taxi-driver wasescorted home much later, by the police. As I said you only ever hear part ofthe story….

Otherwise the usual pickingup bottles, and giving out our trademark 'lollipops and flip flops' (not so many tonight). We also got called out tothe other side of Woking Railway station in response to a radio call about adistressed girl, but whatever thesituation was had finished when we arrived. Back on the Chertsey Road, a couple were having an argumentopposite Subway but they made it abundantly clear they didn’t need any‘interfering do-gooders’. We just ensured CCTV kept an eye on it, cos the girlhad banged her head against a shop window lots of times

After 3amthe Chameleon punters spilled out onto Chertsey Road and a fight broke out onthe street It lookedlike 10 against 2. But it was really difficult to work out what was happening I thought theywere messing about. But one lost a number of teeth, the otherhad cuts a round his ears. The odds were certainly stacked against the two guys. Theangels, called a police officer and talked to the guys afterwards as thepolice took verbal statements and generally calmed things down. One thingI learned from the incident is how very difficult it is, as a witness to afight, to work out what is going on. I’ve no idea how people stand up in courtand tell ‘the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth’. I’m sure CCTV camera’s help. But somuch is open to interpretation.

At theend of the shift, in the wee hours of Sunday morning, as we were making our way back to base, we met Mark, a bouncerat one of the clubs, who had been in the army ('The Vikings') and was wounded in Helmand. Heknew my fellow angel well from the army camp in Pirbright. I was impressed athis cheerfulness, given all he had been through. Funny how some people seem to come through trouble and rise above it, discovering the newness of Sunday morning, whilst others seem to fall victim and get stuck in the perpetual round of Saturday nights.........

Dual Belonging ?

2011-11-30T12:28:00.001Z

The picture is a oil pastel painting I did based on apicture I saw in Bangkok, Thailand of a common religious image – a Buddha figure sittingunder a Banyan tree in thetraditional Lotus position. It made me think whether Christ would be portrayed in that culture in such a way - Jesus the Enlightened One.

I have been attending a consultation at Pilgrim House in Korea on Global Network of Centers of World Mission (GNCWM 2011)

A colleague of mine presented a paper. He is currently working on a doctorate on the concept ofdual belonging - the idea of following Jesus from within another religioussystem.

This has been well established among the Peoples of the Book - Messianic Believers who areJewish and follow the Messiah, and Muslim followers of Jesus – Muslim Background Believers (MBBs ) and theidea of Insider Movements.

But my colleague is from Malaysia and from a Buddhist background. His brother is a Buddhist ‘priest’. It is part of who he is. And religion and culture are difficult to seperate, socially politically, legally. Howdoes he as a Christ follower continue contact with his family and their culture?

Taking it further - Is it possible to be a Disciple from within anotherreligious system? He writes:

The last frontier for Christian mission in the 21^stcentury is the meeting between religions, and the most important task forChristian mission, I would like to propose is not the challenge ofcontextualisation but the challenge of in-religionisation. Evangelicals must, “ask not only for ‘inculturation’ but‘inreligionization’, i.e. not only Chinese Buddhism or Indian Christianity, butalso Hindu Christianity”[1] (David Bosch, TransformingMission)
Beyond the debates ofinsider movements, “inreligionisation” will be attempts by Christians comingfrom Asian religious traditions to "believe that it is possible andeven necessary not only to accept in theory certain doctrines or practices ofother religions and to incorporate them, perhaps in modified form, intoChristianity, but also to adopt and live in their personal lives the beliefs, moralrules, rituals, and monastic practices of religious traditions other thanChristianity [1]

How can a person remain true to their own culture anddiscover afresh the Global Christ - Jesus ‘the man for all men’ without necessarily converting to Western forms of Christianity.

It’s a fascinating concept and has raised eyebrows in someparts of the world. How is it possible to belong to two religious systems atthe same time? Some woulddifferentiate between faith and religion, and suggest that a true faith relationship with Jesus is possible within a religious system other than Christianity. They would say it is possible to believe and be a disciple and follower of Jesus without having to convert to the whole package. And retain some of the key cultural-religious identity.

It is I know contentious.

A strong missional principle is contextualisation - the gospel needs to be interpreted from within the lens of another culture, but the line between contextualisation and syncretism is a thin one and depends on what position you are arguing from.

There is a sense where most of us carry more than onelabel:

No one today is purely one thing. Labels likeIndian, or woman, or Muslim, or American are not more than starting-points,which if followed into actual experience for only a moment are quickly leftbehind. Imperialism consolidated the mixture of cultures and identities on aglobal scale. But its worst and most paradoxical gift was to allow people tobelieve that they were only, mainly, exclusively, white, or Black, or Western,or Oriental. . . . No one can deny the persisting continuities of longtraditions, sustained habitations, national languages, and cultural geographies,but there seems no reason except fear and prejudice to keep insisting on theirseparation and distinctiveness, as if that was all human life was about.Survival in fact is about the connections between things; in Eliot’s phrase,reality cannot be deprived of the ‘other echoes [that] inhabit the garden .[3](Edward Said, in Culture and Imperialism)

This suggests that it is not simply an 'either-or' issue, and that it may be possible to carry more than one label at once; 'both-and'

As a Hindu, Ram Gidoomal discovered Christ, as the "Sanatana Satguru" - the eternal and true guru. Now as a Christ follower, he describes what Jesus achieved in Hindu terms: “Jesus is the bodhisattva who fulfilled his dharma to pay for my karma to negate samsara and achieve nirvana!”

[1] David Bosch, Transforming Mission, Maryknoll:Orbis Books, 1991:477-478.

[2] Peter Phan, Being Religious Interreligiously: AsianPerspectives on Interfaith Dialogue (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2004, 61

[3] Edward Said, in Culture and Imperialism (New York:Alfred Knopf, 1994), p. 336

Prayer for the Fallen

2011-11-11T19:49:00.000Z

I came across this beautiful piece of music

Nick Ashman - A Prayer For The Fallen

As well as dedicating the music to his grandfather, he writes:

I've put together this video to commemorate Remembrance Day as a lasting memorial for all the other brave men and women that gave up their normal lives to fight for freedom in both the first and second world wars. We live in their shadow, but somehow that shadow bring light not darkness!
The piece uses the poem 'For The Fallen' by Laurence Binyon, read by Tom O'Bedlam who you can also find on youtube and big thanks go to him for letting me use his voice!

For me too it captures the spirit of remembrance - respectful silence for sacrifices made. For me it brought to mind my own family history searches, particularly the visit to Flanders to see the trenches of WW1, where 2 of my Great Uncles fell. I commend this to you over this Remembrace weekend with the 2 minutes of silance at 11o'clock on 11/11/11 and the services around memorials across the country this Remebrance Sunday

You can read more of Nick Ashman's reflections on his Blog post Those who gave us Freedom

Lighten our Darkness....

2011-11-05T17:23:00.002Z

LIGHTEN our darkness, we beseech thee, O Lord; and by thy great mercy defend us from all Perils and dangers of this night; for the love of thy only Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.

The 'Collect for Aid against Perils' from the Book of Common Prayer seems a good prayer for Street Angels. We started with it on Friday night. The language maybe a bit ancient, but the sentiment is real. In fact it seemed strangely appropriate as we went out and encountered Vampires and Witches, the Living Dead, Zombies, frightened teenagers dripping blood, Cruella Deville, and men with capes and sinister 'Scream' masks. It was of course the Halloween Party at Schism Rock Club at the Quake Nightclub. We were told that 650 people were inside. As I said the language of the BCP seems to fit the Gothic nature of the night.
What was particularly entertaining was seeing the 'smoking cage' outside the night club on the pavement, opposite the car park full of such characters It looked like they had all been captured in some sort of a police round up.

You can watch a video of the Foam Party at Schism (featured on the Schism Rock Club website) to get an idea of the electric atmosphere, Or click the YouTube link below

If you go to their Twitter page there is a link to a Facebook photo album with 169 pictures from Friday night's Halloween Party.

In fact there were no problems from the Rocky Horror Show itself. Everyone seemed happy enough inside and made their way home afterwards At least we didn't see any trouble. I don't know if the police had to deal with anything.

Otherwise it was a fairly 'normal night' Outside Lights were on duty under the Station Canopy from 10-12 giving out tea and coffee and an opportunity to chat. There were just 5 angels on duty, so we went around in 2 groups. There were drunks vomiting near NatWest. One a soldier looked after by two mates and a younger man who was eventually picked up by his parents (I can just imagine breakfast conversation the next day!) The other team stayed with them until it all settled down. We spend time with 'Bruce Forsyth' as we called him, wobbling his way home after a night out at O'Neils where there had been a live band. He could hardly walk straight but we had a good long chat (at times quite philosophical) with an nice, if somewhat lonely 75 year old. He was very local, so no problem getting himself home.

And there was noise and verbal abuse. a lady trowing punches at people. Everything is watched carefully on CCTV and communicated by Radios. I don't think punters always realise that. We spend a lot of time keeping an eye on a young woman in a tight black skirt and orange high heels who was having a raging argument with an abusive boyfriend. It started in BED Bar and seemed to encompass most of Chertsey Road and the parallel street where the buses and taxis are. Standing by and keeping watch isn't always appreciated ("Who the %*@* do you think you are! %*@* off! ") but there is little more that you can do. We stayed around until they went their separate ways in Taxis.

I am full of admiration for the Taxi Drivers who exhibit so much patience and politeness in the face of some very mixed behaviour to say the least. Sure, they get paid for it, but they also put up with an aweful lot.

Do Street Angels actually have any effect by their presence on the streets at night? That was a question we asked ourselves. I have absolutely no idea of the actual effect, but we do have some significant conversations and sometime we even seem to be in the right place at the right time.

And there again you get to see the urban foxes on the streets of Woking in the darkness of the night. And I don't mean the ones in fancy dress costumes... We spotted a pair by Christchurch when we were going out at 10pm. And as we were leaving, by the Y-Pod at 4am.

Other Blogs about Street Angels:

February 2011 Good Samaritan
March 2011 Friday night in Woking
April 2011 Out with the Angels
June 2011 Angels in the Town Square
July 2011 Putting Angels into Ev-angel-ical
August 2011 Worn to be wild

New World: Old World

2011-10-21T18:03:00.002+01:00

I have just been reading an excellent piece in 'Down the Avenue' on a talk by Prof Anne-Marie Slaughter (from Princeton) : A New Networked World Means Rethinking Professions

Figure: "The Whole Internet," a popular visualization of thediffusion and interconnectedness of the global Internet. Image ©1999Peacock Maps, <http://www.peacockmaps.com>.

It's all about Foreign Policy but it equally applies to the Mission World .....

We're at the beginning of a new world, she asserts

"Where we're going is bottom up: build local and go global"

Advice that she gives:
1. Don't just stand there, do something.
2. Connect, but not too much. Do not connect all the time. Be focused about their networked communications and don't overdo it.
3. Small is beautiful. She refers to Clay Shirky's work. If you want to get the energy of collaboration, you want small communities to be more effective.
4. Portals and plug-ins everywhere. Government has always thought in silos. Open government is about breaking down those silos.
5. Self-organization is better? The power of what we see in the Middle East is self-organization. Government needs to facilitate not do.

The whole idea of what foreign policy is going to change profoundly. She says, "If we're going to do this, we're going to have to change the way we think about our professions."
In a New World, we have to think about existing professions differently and gives the following 'spot-on' answers.

Editor (old world) to Finder, Mapper (new world)
Publisher (old world) to Aggregator (new world)
Reporter (old world) to Verifier, Curator (new world)
Public Relations (old world) to Convener (new world - person who brings together lots of actors)
Diplomat (old world) to Connector (new world)
Leader (old world) to Catalyst (new world)

In these new roles, she concludes, we can build a networked world, one that is open, working from the bottom up. And, as a result of this, foreign policy will dramatically change. Enter, the new actors on the global open platform political stage.

The implications for Mission are equally old world: new world. In our new decentred, interconnected world, we need new paradigms. Network Mission requires new ways of organising.......

Bert Jansch - Legendary Folk Guitarist

2011-10-05T21:29:00.000+01:00

Bert Jansch died this morning, at the age of 67, following a two-year battle with cancer ( a friend Graham notified me by email and sent me the links below). He was a great guitarist and below are some of his all time greats. You probably have your own favourites ....

The Wheel

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face

Reflection

and a fabulous YouTube clip of Angie

I particulalry loved his album 'Avocet'

There is his obituary in the Guardian

and an old clip of him performing 'Black Waterside'

carmina gadelic

2011-10-04T15:28:00.001+01:00

God to enfold me,
God to surround me,
God in my speaking,
God in my thinking.
God in my sleeping,
God in my waking,
God in my watching,
God in my hoping.
God in my life,
God in my lips,
God in my soul,
God in my heart.
God in my sufficing,
God in my slumber,
God in mine ever-living soul,
God in mine eternity.

Ancient celtic oral traditions - carmina gadelic

Read more at Celtic blessings
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution

How different Christian denominations see each other

2011-10-02T19:50:00.001+01:00

How different denominations view each other. A fantastic infographic. Posted by ThomastheDoubter

Modern Worship by 'Holy Parodies'

2011-09-22T11:38:00.001+01:00

A 'sobering' parody of modern worship by 'Holy Parodies' and 'the don't worship this way band'. It's available as a free download.

If you've got 46 minutes and are up to it you can even watch the sermon by Dr David Uth (I didn't bother)

If you like this sort of thing you might also like another 'parody of modern church services ' Contemporvant'

Special FX church

2011-09-15T22:58:00.000+01:00

The image is a bit of a doodle that became a version of Rublev’s Icon of the Trinity crossed with a hint of Eric von Daniken ‘Chariots of the Gods: I remember asking 'was God an Astronaut’ as a youth)

The mysterious visit of the 3 men/angels in Genesis 18, who somehow represent the Trinity in Orthodox thinking, lends itself to a bit of speculation, full of mystery.

My picture came about as a result of drawing the halos which somehow looked like space helmets, and it sort of took off from there...... !

I can vividly remember watching the Apollo moon landings, so maybe in our age its appropriate to portray the church in these cosmic terms...

A MISSION-SHAPED GATHERING

CMS was hosting a visit by 4 Korean clergy, who wanted to look at Mission Shaped Church. We attended the Fresh Expressions and Pioneering conference run by centre for Pioneer Learning It was too good an opportunity to miss.

Over 50 participants gathered from mainly from Europe - Scandinavia, Germany, France,

Scotland. US and Canada: Australia and New Zealand. Plus the 4 Koreans.

The centre is run by Dave Male with input from Andrew Roberts on the Mission Shaped Ministry (MSM) course, Adrian Chatfield on mission-shaped spirituality. Bishop Graham Cray on the mission shaped movement; and Mike Moynaugh on mission-shaped theology. Everything was mission shaped. Even the sandwiches were mission shaped (they were nice triangles!)

SPECIAL EFFECTS

Fresh Expressions is often abbreviated as FX. For me that is Special Effects (I remember the movie of that name and FX2 the deadly art of illusion. Maybe that is what the Church is seeking to do - add some special effects making it more trendy, more audio-visual, more sexy, more appealing in the 21st century. enabling church to take somehow off.

Special effects can be gimmicky, all about lights and tricks and illusions. there can be expectations on pioneers to be similarly gimmicky.

Yet I was struck by how 'ordinary' many FX churches are : Messy church; Cafe church; Network church; rural church; Cell-church run by people who are trying to be essentially Mission-Shaped.

We visited Thirst a Friday morning Cafe Church meeting in a school and Cambourne, an ecumenical (Anglican Baptist Methodist URC) Church which started in a garage and a Doctors surgery and now has an expandable A-frame church building in the middle of a new Estate. And there was nothing gimmicky about them. They were ordinary people trying to make the church relevant to their context.

PIONEERING - TO BOLDLY GO

Like the star ship enterprise, there is a sense of pioneering being about 'going boldly where no man has gone before' A lot is experimental and exploratory, tentative and partial informal and flexible.

Pioneers are people who don't quite fit in with the centre, and like to push out into unexplored territory, they are happy on the edge.

IT'S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE!

Graham Cray reminded us its not rocket science. a Fresh Expression is defined simply as 'a form of church for our changing culture, established primarily for the benefit of people who are not yet members of any church'

The Archbishop of Canterbury coined the phrase Mixed Economy to describe the range of church, traditional and modern , fresh expressions Not either or but BOTH/ AND. "celebrating and building on what is mission -shaped in traditional forms of church and finding new, flexible appropriate ways to proclaim the Gospel afresh to those who do not relate to traditional ways" Permission has been given to allow Church to take off.

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS

Back to the Trinity and Rublev's ICON. Mike Moynaugh reminded us that the Missio Dei originated in the Tri-unity of God, drawing us into Communion. Mission is the eternal decision of God the Trinity 'communion in mission;

which the church takes and becomes 'community in mission' The church is misisonary and 'becomes missionary by attending to each and every context in which it finds itself' - 'The word became flesh and moved into the neighbourhood'

There is a sense that in Church, (FX or not), we are creating something 'other worldly', because in church we encounter the Divine.... sort of 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'

Yeshu Satsang Toronto

2011-09-14T23:00:00.000+01:00

an excellent example of multi-cultural worship from Yeshu Satsung Toronto, recommended by one of the participants at the recent Fresh Expressions and Pioneering conference. Similar to Pal Singh's Sanctuary in Birmingham. It also reminds me of the music of Aradhna

What is a fresh expression ?

2011-09-12T23:00:00.000+01:00

What is a Fresh Expression of Church? a nice video trip to the Middle Ages to find out (from the Fresh Expressions website)

A fresh expression is a form of church for our changing culture, established primarily for the benefit of people who are not yet members of any church.

Greenbelt 2011: Dreams of Home

2011-08-30T14:25:00.018+01:00

Dreams of Home was the theme of this year's GB and in the tent at night after the long walk to the site when it was pouring down and COLD then I must admit, I dreamed of HOME and a hot shower and a warm bed. But most of the time at Greenbelt I felt I was home.

The painting is the view from the flap of our tent on the final morning as we were ourselves packing up and Homeward Bound. So it captures for me something of the 2 homes. The temporary tented home that GB manages to create each year at Cheltenham Race Course and the anticipation of my own home, my place of being as part of family which maybe (hopefully) reflects a dream of a more eternal home...

DREAMS OF HOME

Greenbelt represent a space which generates freedom to explore faith and belief, in the context of music, Art, creativity, Justice, variety, spontaneity, humour, food and drink, challenge, concern, It attracts all ages, all types, children, youth, families, elderly, monks and punks, laity and clergy, speakers and listeners, promoters and punters.

The CMS presence was much smaller than the usual CMS marquee , reflecting hard times. But we were there in G-Source and we had some great conversations with GB punters. We were featuring the Pioneer training, but we were able to also talk to lots of CMS members and supporters as well as ex-Misson personnel. Chuli Scarf, ex CMS Area Coordinator was there to lead Salsa dancing. She is off soon with CMS-Asia to teach cricket to girls in Nepal.

I also spent some time on the Musalaha stall. GB is currently focused on the Wall dividing Israelis and Palestinians and Musalaha represents a small action - taking people of conflicting backgrounds into the desert on camels to leave their baggage behind and to encounter each other. They have been a CMS partner for a number of years.

There are lots of other groups in G-Source: YWAM, Tearfund, Medair, Applecart's 12 Baskets, Mildmay; Retreat Centre, and lots more ....

For me the highlights this year included good wholesome food Nuts (with especially good deals for crew) Mushroom, Dhal, Veggie Berger, Falafel which could be consumed whilst listening to live music in the Performance Cafe; Foreign Slippers, the Ronaldos (a skittle Band) singing Ghost Riders in the Sky ; folk singing from Peter and the Wulf (Pete Ward was the ABC's youth Advisor and used to be a CMS Trustee). Their music 'Foolish Folk' is available for download from bandcamp

Soul space is a GB tradition for quiet creative meditation. There is lots more on offer Taize singalong in the Big Top: Ian Adams was doing a meditation/reading on his book Cave Refectory Road in Abide, next to a Christian Meditation Yurt 'Breathing Space'. And then there is the Worship Cooperative - I dropped in on an excellent session on Curating Worship but I unfortunately missed Pal Singh's Sanctuary (Asian Worship) although I did encounter his Sitar player tuning up on the stairs.

The GB communion is the only event that everyone is more or less expected to attend - vast crowd packed in front of the Main Stage. The collection at the communion service always goes to support Trust Greenbelt. For me there is no doubt that eating and drinking together as an act of worship does create a sense of community, a feeling of home coming.

I didn't get to any main talks this year. I just heard snippets of Rob Bell telling a story about a Jawbone of an Ass on MainStage and Paula Gooder wondering 'Do Angels have wings?' in Jerusalem. Talking of Angels, there was a big push this year for more supporters - Greenbelt Angels account for 15% of Greenbelts income. Do think about becoming an angel....

ART FOR ALL

The Methodist Art Collection was stunning. it was my Greenbelt 11 high: 'Jesus in the Everyday'. Each year there is an art stream 'Art for All' and I have increasingly found a home there - which has maybe helped to ignite an inner passion for drawing/painting. They had 6 areas to visit with a free poster at the end (they ran out of posters but I did it anyway) Angels of the North; a Huge steel and enamel Bowl by Mel Howse (Christian Aid Cathedral Exhibition); an participative 'where the wild things are' mask making which caught people's imagination; a light show Lumina Domestica by Willie Williams; and the Scriptorium , where individuals hand scribed Matthew's Gospel from The Message, as well as the Bible Society's People's Bible project.

IN THE ARMS OF JESUS

a pint of 'Jonah (and the Ale)' in the Jesus Arms, catching up with people I know well, Peter and Grace, Nigel, Katie, Colin - various friends. They used to serve Deliverance, Redemption and the best name in my opinion 'Absolution' There were lots of other ideas for names: He-brews. Ale-Mary, Holy GrAle. Ale-luyah. Unfortunately I missed Beer and Hymns.

I downloaded the #GB11 APP before Greenbelt, but it still didn't get me to things on time. There is far too much to do and to see. Everyone's Greenbelt is different, but then again everyone's home is different, reflecting something of who they are. Greenbelt gives you the space to be yourself .... safe in the 'Arms of Jesus'

'Worn to be wild'

2011-08-23T23:00:00.003+01:00

Another painting inspired by some very large pieces I saw in a Restaurant in London. 'Worn to be Wild', is a mini A6 version in oil pastels - part of a series (2 other pics were featured in a previous blog). The originals I was copying, were painted by Paul Lemmon as part of an Exhibition: 'a Slice of Lemmon' put on by the Art Movement.

Again it represents being out with the Street Angels on a Friday night in Woking, when people are out for a good time ...

It was a quiet night. I can almost hear the bouncer at BED BAR touching wood and exclaiming 'never say the Q word' !

But it was Quiet - although I suppose it's all relative. The Police did arrest someone who was drunk outside the BAR for punching a policeman.

We were patrolling the street looking out for anyone vulnerable, particularly under-aged. Making sure people have a good night out, without getting into trouble.

Not a lot was happening, The place was packed the night before because it was A-level results night and Thursday is cheap booze for students with a prolonged happy hour. We are currently recruiting more angels so we can cover Saturdays as well as Fridays, and maybe even some of the 'specials'

Our pair was actually a four, since we had a new angel with us having a look-see. Four is an intimidating number, more like a flight or squadron of angels than the usual two-by two. So a lot of the time we keep a little distance, even walking on opposite sides of the road, so as not to crowd people out.

I followed a suspicious looking pair who were on the look out for coals for their shisha (but that turned out to be my son and friend, getting supplies for the party I had left back home!)

We did the usual and picked up lots of bottles, and spoke to a variety of people - punters and bouncers, taxi drivers, fast food sellers. We got into good conversations with a number of people - some who were initially aggressive. Some were curious. Others just liked the idea of Angels on the streets and wanted to chat.

One woman wanted to become a Street Angel herself. She was a community based carer, with children of her own who was having well-earned time off and a night out with a friend . But she loved the idea of giving out lollipops to one and all and flip flops to ladies struggling with high heels at the end of the evening.

The line between the punters and the angels is a thin one. Angels also like to party.

I suppose it comes down to what is written on the clothing. Designer dresses and labels, 'Diesel:Worn to be wild' on the one hand or a dark rain jacket with florescent yellow 'Woking Street Angels' emblazoned on it

In the Angels' case maybe we should have a label which reads: 'Worn to be Mild'

Cycle2Kenya ....... because we can

2011-08-21T14:44:00.007+01:00

The cycle2kenya Blog why are we doing this captures some of the spirit of adventure behind this crazy venture.

Dan Martin, a fellow adventurer planning a simply ludicrous Global Triathlon, gave an answer to the ‘Why?’ question in a recent interview that chimes with our own reasons. He said:
"There’s a certain element of ‘if you have to ask, then you’ll never understand’ but I rationalise it down to two things. One, because I want to and two; because I can.”

As I was thinking back over the past 70 odd days from the farewell in Woking Town Square on Friday 3^rd June (and follow up farewell in Brugges over the weekend) to the finish in Nairobi on Sun 14^th August , and then meeting them at Terminal 3 Heathrow Airport......

...... Sir Francis Drake's prayer came to mind about true Glory "not the beginning but the continuing of the same" I remembered it having inspired me in my youth

O Lord, when thou givest to thy servants to endeavour in any great matter,

grant us also to know that it is not the beginning but the continuing of the same

until it be thoroughly finished that yieldeth the true glory;

through Him who for the finishing of thy work laid down his life,

Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

cycle2kenya - it is finished

2011-08-18T18:47:00.000+01:00

Congratulations to cycle2Kenya on completing their epic cycle ride from Woking UK to Nairobi Kenya. The sketch was done at the time of them leaving UK (and Brugges) at the time we waved goodbye in early June. Now they have arrived back at Heathrow Airport, and have officially finished.

They had a press conference in the Kibera slum Nairobi, organised by VISA one of their sponsors. It sounded a great events with Kids from Turning Point Mamas from the Farm, Press from The Nairobi Star and Nation, plus members of the Kenya Cycling Team

It has also been an example of the power of social media. A good number of people have been following the Blog, particularly the map, plus feeds from Twitter (599 followers) and Facebook group (246 followers) and community (193). And by the way, its not too late to support them with a donation to Turning Point Trust via JustGiving (currently at 67% of target)

They were featured in the local Woking paper, The Diocese of Guildford The Wey, and Kenyan National press The Nation and Star. Maybe some more in the future

Finally, as they have officially finished, let me finish off a few bicycle quotes

When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. ~H.G. Wells

It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle. ~Ernest Hemingway

Life is like riding a bicycle - in order to keep your balance, you must keep moving. ~Albert Einstein

Cameron Highlands - Hospitali-Tea

2011-08-14T22:49:00.001+01:00

We visited the Cameron Highlands in the Malaysian Peninsular. It is a well known Hill Station where people can escape the heat of the valleys. The picture is a drawing I did of the Boh Tea Estate. So restful, peaceful with various greens and patterns on the hills, like dollops of paint on a impressionist canvas - very heavily cultivated and fruitful.

It is a very British area - for example there are over 4000 land rovers - more land rovers per capita than anywhere else other than a British Army base. These are constant reminders, along with driving on the left and English plug system, all vestiges of the Colonial past.

This was after all a Hill station, where those who could afford it went to escape the heat of the Plains. The rest were left to sweat it out...

The tea plantations, strawberry fields and Butterfly farms are all part of the scene. A Little England - with the Old Smoke House maybe epitomising this quintessential Englishness. We had a Cream Tea in the Rose Garden, wondering for a moment just where we were. Real hospitali-tea!

We stayed at the OMF mission bungalow, which was like going back 20 years to another time and place. Wonderful hospitality,with 3 good meals a day and large bedroom with polished furniture. All set in a beautiful garden with a well mown lawn and cultivated orchids.

It was a great place to read and relax as well as a base for a jungle trek and great mountain views. And of course visits to the Tea Plantations and Strawberry Farms.

My Brother used to go to school in the Cameron Highlands - Slim School, named after the British General who fought the Japanese. So part of the idea was to find where he went. We lived in Penang but in the 3 years we stayed there in the 1960s, I never once visited Cameron Highlands. I was making up for it now....

We managed to find the school, now an Army Camp - 'Kem Slim' - now home of 'Kompeni Bravo, Batalion 165 Risik Tentera Darat' but were not allowed to go beyond the Camp Gate

We also looked around the Town of Tanah Rata, helped by an elderly local restaurant owner, who used to cut hair for the British soldiers garrisoned there. He told me about some of the buildings that had been around in the 1960s:

The Catholic S.K Convent School - now Heritage Hotel. Lutheran Bungalow and the Methodist centre that had taken over the old ‘Chechoo’ mission school.

Rev Simon Soh, a young vicar in training based at the All Souls Anglican Church, (Gereja Anglican), a converted Army Nissan Hut. It was situated just in front of and below the old Slim School. The diocese had plans to upgrade the Church and also build a retreat centre ont he land.

I went to his Bible study group later in the week . a dozen people in a nice apartment, who met as a regular House group. On this occasion they were studying the prophet 'Amos'

It was an interesting passage about 'destroying the summer houses as well as the winter houses' in the Mountains of Samaria, as the 'Cows of Bashan' sit and say 'bring us a drink'. It almost seemed relevant - particularly in the heydays of the Raj.

Now things have changed - the area is no longer British but Malaysian , though as I said vestiges of the past linger. It's as if the Malaysian Chinese have come back from Exile and 'reclaimed the land' ....

“The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when the reaper will be overtaken by the plowman and the planter by the one treading grapes. New wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills. I will bring back my exiled people Israel; they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them,” says the LORD your God. (Amos 9:13-15)

Maybe not vineyards but Tea plantations, and definately fruit gardens of strawberries. And it certainly looked like they settled well in the land the Lord had given them.........

The Twin Towers: Post-colonialism & Globalisation

2011-08-10T15:17:00.000+01:00

The drawing of Malaysia's twin towers – in KL - otherwise known as Petronas towers - represent the emerging South and shifting centres of power, especially after the destruction of New York's Twin Towers 9/11 nearly 10 years ago.

Kuala Lumpur was the context for our CMS Interchange Network meetings in which we reflected on Post Colonialism and the search for a new mission.

We were using Jonathan Ingleby’s book: Beyond Empire: Post-colonialism & Mission in a Global Context (Author house 2010) There is a Facebook page if you're interested and an article on Redcliffe e-zine.

The issue is that although the church has expanded in the Global South, Mission is still very much controlled from the Global North (or the Western World) through traditional leadership structures that are hierarchical, patriarchal, territorial, legalistic, and membership-based.

The search is on for a post-colonial mission which expresses a more Radical orthodoxy

I felt it was appropriate to be meeting in Malaysia ("truly Asia"), a culture of fusion where India meets China, with expatriate Europeans, overlaying the native Malay culture and the deeper ‘orang Asli’ (aboriginal peoples). Malaysia has I feel, through its very context, many lessons to teach the wider mission world.

The book helpfully explores 5 main tactics for reversing this trend (see Tactics from Beyond Empire pgs 46-60) exploring the freedom to think otherwise. Post-colonial resistance involves emphasising the subaltern voices,hearing thevoice from the margins. It is a non-violent, confrontational approach.

(i) Interpolation: appropriating the colonial in order to dismantle it, and then reassembling by translating the message into another culture ie I play our game but by my rules

(ii) mimicry: using analogy and metaphor; being ‘like but not like’ more a copy not a clone; As an example I remember in Pakistan (the land where copyright meant 'my right to copy') cars were proudly ‘made as Japan’

(iii) archaeology: the idea of digging up the past - looking for the indigenous experiences that have been buried by colonial culture - hearing voices from the margins and thus subverting the prevailing modernist orthodoxy

(iv) Palimpsest: re-using a canvas or Papyrus/ manuscript. The idea was reusing them because they were so rare and valuable - re-writing the story, giving head to what had already been written. The idea that no inscription is indelible - the past can be re-written. Indeed an alternative version of events must be written.

(v) Representation: This is against ‘history written by the victors’, Other narratives must be explored as sites of resistance "Nothing that has happened should be regarded as lost for history" (Benjamin) Even something as well established as Remembrance Day also involves a forgetting of other conflicts (inc current ones)

So Post-Colonialism honours the 'subaltern voices', digs deeper in order to understand complexity and has a wholehearted tolerance of diversity.

Post Colonial Misison may well involve exploring a new form of partnership - maybe co-mission, companions, co-participants, or co-workers, which are more cross-cultural partnerships. I explored some of this in an earlier blog on East and West - see Two States of Marriage

Gillian Ross (pg 92) talks about the broken middle, and how in holding extremes in tension, a new level of trust emerges. Post-Colonial Mission may well involve exploring alternatives to the arrogance of power ("my grace is sufficient for my power is made perfect in weakness"), a weaker mission from the West, more subservient to the leadership of the East.

The undefended Leader

2011-08-07T02:39:00.008+01:00

The painting is another copy of Sieger Koeder's, the catholic priest-painter. As you can tell I like his pictures. This time it is Jesus washing the feet of his disciple. The ultimate example of Servant leadership. I particularly like the idea of Jesus face reflected in the water of the bowl he is using. The story has inpsired many to go and do likewise....

The Undefended Life

I have been reading Simon Walkers book: ‘The Undefended Life: Recovering God’s Freedom to Live Beyond Fear’ (2011) whilst on holiday. Leant to me by a colleague, so I needed to finish it before I get back. I have ordered the trilogy from Amazon but they did not arrive on time. I’ll read them later: ‘Leading Out of Who You Are’ (2007); ‘Leading with Nothing to Lose’ (2007) and ‘Leading with Everything to Give’ (2009)

Simon Walker has developed the Personal ecology profile, based on his brief introduction to the theory of `Human Ecology’ (2009)

The Undefended Life book I’m reading, deals with the theology behind his undefended leader trilogy. He draws on people like Jurgen Moltmann: ‘The Crucified God’ (1974) and ‘Trinity and Kingdom’ (1981) and Paul Fiddes: ‘Creative suffering of God’ (1988) and ‘Participating in God’ (2000)

I like the 4 characteristics of the undefended life he has developed (p 101)

(i) ability to live life as Gift;

“Love is what we are born with, fear is what we learned here” (Anon)

(ii) living in the present moment;

Wherever you are, be all there (Jim Elliott)

(iii) relinquishing control but taking responsibility;

Maturity is the freedom to live an undefended life (Melanie Kline)

(iv) taking risks

‘If a man wishes to be sure of the road he treads on, he must close his eyes and walk in the dark’ (St John of the cross)

You can follow more through the web presences

www.theleadershipcommunity.org

www.undefended.org.uk

I found myself agreeing strongly with lots of what he has written, so I quote a great chunk of one particular passage on leadership (page 100). It captures some very helpful insights into the type of servant leadership Jesus epitomised when he washed his disciples feet:

Leadership itself is an act of followership. There is no such thing as leadership in the sense of executive agency and decision-making that we often take it to mean. The leader is not in the business of taking decisions about the things that happen. Rather she should be in the business of responding to the leading of God’s Spirit.

The only kind of leadership possible is described in John 5:19, where the Son describes his following of the movements of the divine Father. The chief quality of the leader, then, should not be the capacity to make decisions or be visionary, but rather to listen and be attentive.

It is startling that we often seek to train our leaders to be better communicators (by which we mean ‘speakers’) believing that leadership is some act of persuasion. In fact, we should be looking for individuals who have cultivated a stillness of spirit such that they can attend to the movements of God. We should look for leaders who are sensitive to the tone of the room, to the unconscious voices in the discussion. We should be elevating women and men who have an awareness of the spiritual dimension to life, that runs in parallel to this world.

I am not in the slightest bit interested in following men and women who can depict some grand vision, or who have a confidence about ‘the way we should be doing things’. I want to follow and learn from the men and women who struggle with the pain in the world and who are generous, kind, self-effacing, seeking to learn, fragile, patient, still and free, those who have known failure and not been crushed. I want to follow the one who can laugh at him- or herself and who does not try to achieve mighty things.

As someone once said: ‘The immature man seeks to die heroically for a cause; the mature seeks to live humbly for one’

************************

As an alternative to the WWJD wrist-band (what would Jesus do), I have often thought it should read DWYSTFD – which sounds like a place in Wales! ‘Doing what you see the Father doing’, which is, after all, just what Jesus did:

The son can only do what he sees the father doing because whatever the Father does the son does also. For the Father loves the son and shows him all that he does (John 5:19)

For the Sake of the Name

2011-07-31T16:02:00.001+01:00

These are a couple of pictures taken by Caritas, of a CMS communion during a residential Core Training at All Nations some time back.

Yours truely is holding up a painting started during sacred:space 'Drawing near to God' It ws done in Acryllic and represent the start of the current painting obsession, which have illustrated my Blog over the past year.

On the Table a woven blue cloth representing water with an armada of Origami boats, made by participants as floating prayers during a previous session. A French Stick and an Italian Red as Bread and Wine.

On the screen behind the text from 3 John 7: 'For the sake of the Name they went forth, taking nothing.....'

The Communion Service is based on the Northumbrian Community's liturgy - all projected as a Power Point.

It was all very informal and relaxed, with contribution from the children. I was telling the tale of St Bendon and teh Perigrinati - Wanderers for the Love of God who set out in their Coracles, allowing the wind and the waves to direct them believing that behind the circumstantial and the elemental is the Hand of God.

Fear not, for God will be unto us a helper, a mariner and a pilot. May God do unto us his servants and his little vessel as he willeth

The story of St Brendon is the subject of our next sacred:space in September on Navigatio: Spiritual Journeys.

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you, 
wherever He may send you. 
May He guide you through the wilderness,
protect you through the storm. 
May He bring you home rejoicing
at the wonders He has shown you. 
May He bring you home rejoicing
once again into our doors

Something beautiful for God

2011-07-17T20:50:00.000+01:00

I first discovered Mother Theresa through Malcolm Muggeridge's book: Something Beautiful for God (1972). Since then she has been an inspiration to an ideal of selfless engagement with people on the margins of society. Practical demonstration of love, up to her death shortly after Princess Di, and beyond...... The Time magazine article Mother Theresa's crisis of faith demythologised the spirituality of Mother Theresa and was particularly helpful in that it made her far more human and accessible.

I have been to Calcutta (Kolkotta) on at least 3 occasions, but too late to meet her. But I have met others inspired by her. Her spirit and her legacy live on...

This poem prayer 'do it anyway' has been attributed to Mother Theresa.It has also been printed on many inspirational posters. (There is also another verion called The 10 Paradoxical Commandments by Dr. Kent M. Keith)

The quotation sort of makes you want to get on with it and 'do stuff' that matters. To make a difference like Mother Theresa - to 'do something beautiful for God'

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.

Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.

Starfish Asia

2011-07-16T15:00:00.002+01:00

This time it's a painting of a starfish based on a picture in a brochure in a hotel. We were by the beach in Thailand at the time.

Starfish have become significant since I read the book and have engaged with the ideas. I now seem to see starfish everywhere. You can read some excerpts here

I did a blog previously on the Starfish and the Spider which includes a brief outline of some of the main points and some useful links.

I even came across a Starfish Asia web page owned by someone I know, dedicated to children's education in Pakistan.

As we consider the setting up on a separate CMS entity in Asia, the Network ideas contained in the book have grown in significance.

I was at a conference on Samaritan Strategy and 3 people mentioned the Starfish book as sinificant It seems that it has helped a lot of people to think out side of the box and re-imagine organisations. In a more networked less centralised way.

So back to the 5 simple strategies for building networks (based on the ideas in the book - slightly adapted)

1. Catalytic leadership - a style of leadership that enables people to participate , an instigator and enthuser who gets people on board and inspire action.

2. Core Ideology - for AsiaCMS this is the Missio Dei - the mission of God that binds people together. But what is core will grow and become clearer.

3. Champions - a variety of people - maybe volunteers, or staff or 'people in mission' who champion the cause and spread the message and get others involved .....

4. Cells of Participation or Communities of Practice - maybe in certain locations, Seoul, Delhi, Bangalore, Kathmandu, Manila, Islamabad, etc who share stories and pray and encourage each other to participate in the Missio Dei.

5. Connecting using pre-existing Networks. Rather than re-inventing the wheel it is using what is already there. Networks like DNA/Samaritan Strategy, ISAAC, Micah Challenge to name but a few.

This book inspired me as we started the enquiry process - looking at what AsiaCMS might become. It continues to provide a helpful alternative, light, networked structure as we look at implementation. And I suppose its all about simple actions repeated again and again . A bit like the original Starfish story

A well known author and poet was working and vacationing on the southern coast of Spain. One early morning, he was walking along the beach - the sun was rising, the rain had ended, the rainbows were magnificent, the sea was calm. While enjoying the beauty around him, he glanced down the beach and saw a lone figure dancing about. Fascinated by this person celebrating the new day, he moved closer. As he drew nearer, he realized that the person was not dancing, but in one graceful motion was picking up objects from the beach and tossing them into the sea. He approached the young man and saw the objects were starfish. "Why in the world are you throwing starfish into the water?" "If the starfish stay on the beach, when the tide goes out and the sun rises higher, they will die," replied the young man as he continued tossing them out to sea. "That's ridiculous! There are thousands of miles of beach and millions of starfish. You can't really believe that what you are doing can possibly make a difference!" The young man picked up another starfish, and tossing it into the waves, said, "It makes a difference to this one."

'Woof, woof': a walk on the wild side

2011-07-13T23:50:00.003+01:00

I did this picture to remember Jess, our Border Collie for many years. We had lots of fun and great walks and good memories.

The picture evokes some of those walks ...... But also a sense of looking out at the wilds and contemplating the beauty of what is out there... Beauty to be enjoyed. Country to be explored. An adventure to be had.

When Jess died last year we buried her at the bottom of the garden, her garden, under a pile of stones in the midst of a wild patch - a sort of memorial pile of stones, a cairn.

MEMORIALS

Sometimes the Church is also thought of as a sort of memorial in a very positive way - ('do this in remembrance of me'). Walk around any ancient church and you get that sense of faithfulness over the centuries as people have worshipped and prayed in the same location. A great sense of tradition and history. The very stones cry out .....

Stones also act as a marker, a beacon. They can point in a certain direction. They were put there for a purpose - maybe to mark a trail. What they were for is not always obvious. It requires local knowledge, a sense of history.

But there is a danger of just becoming just a 'pile of old stones' - a memorial to the past. The church must always be dynamic, changing, relating to the context and the times. a message that is vibrant and fresh. Good news to all people.

RELIGION SAVES

I picked up a copy of Mark Driscoll's book 'Religion saves; and nine other misconceptions'

I liked the title but as I read on I was less enamoured with the content. It was a great idea:

'Driscoll set out to determine the most controversial questions among visitors to Mars Hill Church website. IN the end 893 questions were asked, and 343,203 votes were cast, and in Religion Saves Driscoll answers the nine questions receiving the most votes. in his responses Christians and non-Christians alike will find much to convict, to encourage and to shock them out of complacency'

It was democratic process of arriving at questions to address. Almost a bit of Crowd intelligence or Crowdsourcing. But the answers are not postmodern, wisdom of the Crowds, more the modernist, authoritative voice of the individual. And he is outspoken and frank.

Three questions deal with sex and dating, two questions cover the emerging church, then there is one question about Calvinists and Armenians, one covers the differences between Protestants and Catholics, and lastly the difference between old school and new school Calvinists.

But I was most interested in Question 2: The Emerging Church.

Driscoll talks about 'The four lanes of the missional church highway'

1 Missional Evangelicals

2 Missional House Church Evangelicals

3. Missional Reformed Evangelicals (his preferred position) and finally

4 Emergent Liberals who he particularly critiques - Brian McLaren, Doug Pagitt and Rob Bell.

The first 3 positions are more or less the same... changing the church from within. He argues the last road is however reinventing the Christian faith. And to be avoided....

You can watch Mark Driscoll's video addressing the issue of 4 Lanes of the Emerging Church or look on the Mars Hill Blog

Facing different paths and wondering which direction to take

At the end of the chapter he cites Tony Jones:

'Emergent Christians. too, are pushing over fences and roaming around at the margins of the church in America. Once domesticated in conventional churches and traditional seminaries, more and more Christians are moving into the wilderness. They occasionally wander back, feeding off the structures and the theologies of traditional Christianity, but they never stick around long. Attempts to redomesticate them will fail. They've gone feral.'

In the video Mark Drscoll adds 'I think they've gone off the highway and are lost out in the woods.....'

where the wild things are, the place of adventure and fun, not just of sterile domesticated orderliness. I was left wondering which one I would prefer to travel on ? The well worn highway or the uncharted byway.....

"Two roads diverged in a wood and I took the road less travelled by, and that has made all the difference" (Robert Frost)

I was surprised by the strength of the opinions he cites about these emergent leaders: 'Attempts to redomesticate them will fail. They've gone feral.'

And Driscoll ends the chapter even less ambiguously (and less graciously): 'This must have been what the apostle Paul was talking about when he said false teachers are 'dogs!'

Well all I can say is 'woof, woof'........

.... walkies anyone?

Love Wins: 'between heaven and hell'

2011-07-12T23:48:00.000+01:00

I told you I like the story...... This is another version of the same story of the prodigal's return. Based on a painting by Sieger Keoder, the catholic priest-artist.

The father embraces his wayward son and the older brother looks on from around the corner. Almost like he is a spying from a distance.

The father and younger son are lost in the moment of their reconciliation. The older brother is immobilised in his jealousy.

One is in heaven; the other is in hell ......

Rob Bell elaborates on this in his book: 'Love Wins'. The English version has a different subtitle: 'at the heart of life's big questions'. The US edition is subtitled ' Heaven, Hell and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived' - a video outlines the questions behind the book and the questions behind the questions.

The idea he pursues is that it is possible to be in heaven or hell whilst occupying the same space and time.

I'll just pick out some quotes to give you a flavour, but to get the whole you will need to read it yourself.......

Now most images and understandings people have of heaven and hell are conceived in terms of separation. Heaven is 'up' there, hell is 'down' there. Two different places far apart from each other. One over there and other over there.

This makes what Jesus does in his story about the man with two sons particularly compelling. Jesus puts the older brother right there at the party, but refusing to trust the father's version of the story. Refusing to join in the celebration.

Hell is being at the party. That's what makes it so hellish. Its not an image of separation, but one of integration. In this story, heaven and hell are within each other, intertwined. interwoven, bumping up against each other' (169-170)

Hell is our refusal to trust God's retelling of the story (170)

The older brother's failure to trust, we learn is rooted in his distorted view of God. There is a problem with his 'God' (173)

The younger brother believes he is cut off, estranged, and no longer deserves to be his father's son, because of all the terrible things he's done. His badness is his problem, he thinks (185)

Now the older brother believes that the reason he deserves to be a son is because of all the good he's done, all the rules he's obeyed, all of the days he's 'slaved' for his father. His goodness is to his credit, he thinks. (186)

Neither son understands that the father's love .... cannot be earned and it cannot be taken away. It just is. It's a party, a celebration, an occasion without beginning and without end. It goes on, well into the night, and into the next day, and the next, and the next. Without any finish in sight. (187)

The older brother is in hell

The younger in heaven

You can see it in the picture. ....

Both are invited to the party.....

The father has taken care of everything. It's all there, ready, waiting.

It's always been there, ready, waiting.. (188)

Love Wins - The Prodigals' return

2011-07-11T12:26:00.008+01:00

I've been reading Rob Bell's 'Love Wins' - a very easy read. My son had been reading it and his enthusiasm was contagious. Described as 'a Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived'. Have a look at the introductory video on Rob Bell's website to get some of the questions behind the book.

It advocates a more inclusive position on the whole question of Salvation, and particularly looks at sticky issues of heaven and hell, propagating what has been called a 'wider hope'. It has caused quite a stir in evangelical circles, especially across the Atlantic. The Evangelical Alliance have a response by Derek Tidball, which is starting a conversation.......

At the heart of the book is the story of the Prodigal son. One of my favourite stories. More of that later ....

I have been compelled by this story - we used it when I was in Karachi working with drug addicts. Everyone seemed to find their place in the narrative. We were heavily influenced by Kenneth Bailey's 'The Cross and the Prodigal' looking at the story afresh 'through Middle Eastern Eyes' which seemed to help in a Pakistani context.

Henry Nouwen also took me deeper in the Return of the Prodigal Son, meditations based on Rembrandt's painting, which I also visited at the Hermitage in St Petersburg ( I wrote a blog post on it in April 2001)

So I had to have a go at painting my own 'impressionist' version of part of the Rembrandt, concentrating on the detail of Father's embrace of the returned younger son with older brother looking on, rather judgementally, from the shadows.

Back to Rob Bell's book. He has a chapter: 'The good news is better than that' (Ch 7) in which he describes three stories within the one story.....

The younger son who as he heads home in shame after squandering all his money, is convinced he's 'no longer worthy' to be called his father's son. That's the story he's telling, that's the one he's believing. Its stunning then when he gets home and his father demands that the best robe be put on him and a ring placed on his finger and sandals on his feet. Robes and rings and sandals are signs of being a son. Although he's decided he can't be a son anymore. his father tells a different story. One about return and reconciliation and redemption. One about being a son again. (165)

There are two versions of the same story The son's and the father's. And the younger son has to choose which one to believe, which one to trust and to live in. His own version of events or his father's.

Same it turns out for the older brother. He too has his own version of his story. He tells his father 'All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours (he cant even say his brother's name) who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes come you kill the fattened calf for him!' So much in so few words. One sense he has been saving it for years and now out it comes, with venom. (166)

The father isn't rattled or provoked. He simply responds 'My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours..... But we have to celebrate and be glad because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found' (167/165)

Its the same issue of which story to believe. His own story of slavery and his father's meanness and cheapness and how unfair it all is. Or his father's redefinition of the narrative. The father tells a different story. about sonship not slavery, about the abundance of resources not their scarcity, and a redefinition of 'fairness' which is replaced by grace and generosity. People get what they don't deserve. Parties are thrown for younger brothers who squander their inheritance' (168)

The difference between the two stories is , after all, the difference between heaven.....and hell (169)

to be continued.....

Prophets of a future not our own

2011-07-04T12:18:00.010+01:00

Paul Kollman our CMS Missiologist in Residence shared the story of his visit to El Salvador. He focused particularly on the work of Archbishop Romero, who was martyrted as he shared mass with the people he loved and served. Paul quoted from a well known Poem/Prayer attributed to Romero: 'A future not our own'

I particularly liked the sentiment behind the lines:

We plant seeds that one day will grow
We water seeds already planted
Knowing they hold future promise

I suppose that, more than planting new seeds, watering seeds others have planted has been an integral part of my work for a long time. It is what I do as I travel around Asia on behalf of CMS, encouraging mission and the transformation of communities. Hence the painting I have featured - a 'VanGogh-ish' picture of an impressionist harvest which I did earlier this year. A Harvest represents that 'future promise', which is normally 'beyond our vision'.....

The text of the full poem I have taken from ekklesia

More information about ongoing work in the spirit and memory of Archbishop Romero can be gleaned from the Romero Trust: http://www.romerotrust.org.uk/

We are prophets of a fuuture not our own

It helps, now and then, to step back
and take the long view.
The kingdom [of God] is not only beyond our efforts,
it is beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of
the magnificent enterprise that is God's work.
Nothing we do is complete,
which is another way of saying
that the kingdom always lies beyond us.
No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No programme accomplishes the church's mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
This is what we are about:
We plant seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces effects beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything
and there is a sense of liberation in realising that.
This enables us to do something,
and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
an opportunity for God's grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results,
but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders,
ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.

Putting angel into Evangelical

2011-07-02T22:46:00.006+01:00

This painting was inspired by some very large pieces I saw in a Restaurant in London. I call it 'Red Girl Clubbing' and its part of a series (2 girls on a mobile is at the bottom of this blog). The originals were done by Paul Lemmon as part of an Exhibition: 'a Slice of Lemmon' put on by the Art Movement. Described as:

Voyeuristic, fixated and fetishist, Lemmon’s work is also exciting, provocative, atmospheric and compelling, in the way it inhabits an unstable, detached, partial and intrusive modern gaze. Like a Toulouse-Lautrec turned sinister.

I found his pictures very compelling.

On Friday night out with the Street Angels down Chertsey Road, Woking, we came across a lot of girls who had been out clubbing.

Quake had reopened after a couple of weeks with a Heavy Rock Band night. Plus of course there is BED Bar, Yates, O'Neals, Cameleon and RSVP

We met one girl who was very upset that she had been thrown out of 'Spoons for bumping into someone. Just 18 she said she had graduated from Police academy and was out celebrating. She was with her fiance. She was quite tearful. We saw her a number of times through the night talking to various people.

Two female street angels spent 2 hours with one girl who was very drunk. Her friends had left her and she had no money and was very upset and agitated. She tried phoning her friends - no joy. At one point she went to relieve herself , squatting down in the dark and a man came and squatted next to her. (I am still appalled at the lack of public toilets in Woking at night) So the 2 angels stuck with her to protect her. Eventually she thought of phoning her father who then came a picked her up by Toys'R'Us. and took her home. He was very grateful.

I suppose that epitomises what the street angels are about - having time to be with the vulnerable and see that they are alright and get home safely.

Very short skirts which leave little to the imagination, and high heels, seem to make girls even more vulnerable. We swept up glass and picked up bottles and gave out all our flip flops. Prevention is always better then expensive medical treatment.

After the drinking comes the eating as the Fast food outlets fill up with hungry punters. McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, Subway, and the numerous kebab shops.

As one of the Pakistani taxi drivers told us: ' it seems the idea is to drink as much as you can, then get some food down you and be sick then you feel better and you get a taxi home'

It's what people call 'a good night out!'

The Angels patrol the streets to try and help people have a good night and not get into trouble, with a particular eye out for vulnerable girls.

The gospel reading for Sunday is from Matthew when Jesus is described, in contrast to John the Baptist, as 'eating and drinking' and called a 'glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners' (11:19)

I like that. He is at home on the streets, mixing with ordinary people. Those who are having fun, eating and drinking. Partying. Jesus felt at home in such company.

I was left reflecting why it is that the Church has been perceived as being so judgemental and unable to relate to people, so out of touch. Associated more with the aethetic, abolutionist John the Baptist - the puritanical, pietist streak of the church. Whereas Jesus the founder was so at home and so in touch with people. 'Come to me' he said, 'all you who are burdened and heavy ladened, and I will give you rest for your souls'. He understood people and knew what they needed. And being accepted and understood and listened to is so much of what people need. .....

Street Angels in some small way is helping to help put the angel back into evangelical ! So that the church (and not just the church) could also reach outside of itself and serve the young and the vulnerable on the streets. (By the way we are looking for more Angels to we can patrol on busier Saturday nights as well as Fridays - if you are interested let us know or signup online)

During the night, we also saw two foxes near the council offices where we are based. Running around frollicking in the town square. Maybe they too were looking for a good night out. They were certainly in search of food and drink....

Securing Freedom: Reith lecture part 1 Liberty

2011-06-29T10:14:00.002+01:00

Inspirational stuff from a lady who displays such dignity in the face of so much oppression.

Stairway to Heaven: Jacob's dream

2011-06-15T23:58:00.000+01:00

This painting: 'Jacob's dream: Stairway to heaven' is one I did based on Sieger Koeder's painting. I've been inspired by him before. He is a German, Catholic priest-painter. My small A6 oil pastels do not do his paintings justice. His are painted on a large canvas with great attention to details. Mine are much more approximations.

I'm from the Led Zeppelin generation, brought up on Stairway to Heaven so the very name carries certain meaning ....... ' Oooh, it makes me wonder'

The image of dreaming is a powerful metaphor of engaging the imagination. 'Dream dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly'

Dream Dreams

Individuals dream but what about organisations. How do you capture the corporate dream of a group? The whole not just a part…..

Acts 2:17 “I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.

One methodology is Appreciative inquiry. We have used this is many contexts to enable groups to explore their joint vision of what they want to achieve together.

Think Positive

Phil. 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things.

Appreciative inquiry works in four stages:

Describe: the best of what is by telling individual stories of what has worked within their context and then drawing out principles. This is based on the belief that organisations turn to what gives them life. It is NOT problem focused.
Dream: about what can be, though thinking about what these ideas and principles will look like in the future through a simple exercise
Design: ‘what could be’ - a road map for the future
Deliver: ‘what will be’ small actions that bring about change

This can work for groups of 10-20 people or even congregations of 150-200. Larger groups just take more time. The key is handling the process and enabling all present to have a say in what is being produced.

Back to the Future

Having shared stories of what works in pair, get pairs to join together (4-8) in the group –depending on the size) They then review the principles and are given a task of producing a newspaper dates 3 to 5 years into the future (depending on your vision process). They are invited to produce a Newspaper – with a name, headlines – small articles / pictures, This can include International News, local news, sports, cartoon, obituary, award ceremony. Anything. The idea is to be creative but to connect it to stories of what has already worked.

The groups are then invited to share their Newspapers with the rest of the people present. Creativity can generates lot of hilarity and laughter, which in turn produces a sense of energy and connectedness.

From Dreams to Reality

These newspapers then form the basis of group discussion on if that is where we want to head and what we want to see in the future then how do we get there. Groups are encouraged to start to get concrete and focus on what is achievable

The final stage is agreeing next steps. These become corporately owned and provide rich material for leadership teams to craft into vision statements and strategic plans. But the voices of the people have been heard and they can recognise their input.

It is also helpful to finish with individual commitments / public statements (to complete a sentence: ‘as a result of this time together I am moved to …….”

Which is what after all church is about: “to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up” Eph. 4:12

Angel in the Town Square

2011-06-11T12:08:00.007+01:00

The oil pastel picture is of Christchurch with the Woking Angel on the war memorial in the foreground, so it looks a bit like a tower on the church.(see picture on Woking Surrey Online Gallery)

Since joining the Street Angels, this Angel in the Town Square has become something of a symbol for me - a Guardian Angel keeping watch over the Town.

It is on top of a memorial to men and women of the town who gave their lives in service to their country, during the wars, defending freedom. And that in a sense says it all: 'Greater love as no one than this, to lay down their life for their friends' That sense of service for the freedom of others.

Going out on a Friday night isn't exactly 'laying down your life', but it can be a bit inconvenient at times. We go out from 10pm til 4am focus on the Chertsey Road area where most of the pubs and clubs are: Quake next to HG Wells Suite, Big Apple, O'Neals, and Yates, Weatherspoons, R.S.V.P., The Chameleon and the BED Bar.

After they close, revellers will also frequent the fast food shops, numerous Kebab, and burger bars, KFC, MacDonalds, Subway in search of sustenance.

There are no loos after the pubs and clubs close they are also searching for dark corners and flower beds. I am intrigued why the public toilets behind Weatherspoons are firmly closed after 5:30pm. It wouldn't take much for them to be opened up (maybe the Angels could act as guardians of the keys!?)

Friday night was generally quiet. (We are consistently told Saturday in busier and Thursdays on Student night) The Imam from the local mosque was visiting with the Angels and the team he was with encountered a very disturbed girl, who was definitely not having a good night. Two female angels were able to accompany her back to her house in a taxi (arranged by the Imam) and make sure she was settled.

We were unusually 2 blokes in a pair, which is probably more threatening than a mixed pair, especially when approaching young, potentially vulnerable ladies. We did manage to give out one pair of pink flip-flops to a young woman who had lost her handbag and shoes whilst in BED bar. But others indicated in no uncertain terms that they didn't want help

We had a long chat with one young man who just wanted to talk, and picked up quite a few bottles and gave out the usual lollipops.

Other than that the most exciting moment was watching the landlord of Weatherspoons trying to get a pigeon out of the netting above the pub doors with a long bamboo pole Quite a crowd puller that one.

So the evening was spent keeping an eye on things, making sure people were OK and able to get home, which means following some as the wiggle and giggle their way down the street. We must have looked like we're a couple of old stalkers ! (except for the Angel jackets)

As we were finishing we encountered a Czech man who was celebrating his 23rd birthday in Woking with a friend he knew from school. But he had lost him and had no idea where his house (and all his gear) was.And he wasn't answering his mobile. We went with his to the local hotel to see if they had space. But it was full and expensive. So in the end we walked back to the Station canopy with him and left him with a bottle of water and a space blanket (cos it was getting rather cold) He was simply thankful for the company and that people had taken an interest. ..

These things I warmly wish for you:
Someone to love,
Some work to do,
A bit o' sun,
a bit o' cheer,
And a guardian angel always near

~ Irish Blessing

Cycling through Europe... to Kenya!

2011-06-03T08:28:00.008+01:00

The bike painting is based on one by Bob Dylan. I saw some of his pen and watercolour prints at the Woking Lightbox a year or so ago. And they inspired me, in that I thought: 'I could do that!' I wrote a blog about it in Jan 09: Drawn Blank

The bike makes me think of 'the Continent' as we Brits call it. The idea of leaving your bike propped up against a tree, whilst you have a coffee and croissant in a street cafe. There is something very appealing about it all.....

My son Tim and his mate Mat have just set off from Woking to Kenya on an epic 6500 mile cycle2kenya. You can follow their cycle2kenya blog or Facebook group and Facebook community or track them on twitter. You can also donate online via Just Giving to the Turning point trust. They are cycling to raise money for farms to rehabilitate mamas from the slums of Kibera Mat's sister Emily works for TP and has written a blog about her brother Woking-2-Nairobi tandem adventure. I also wrote an older post on this improbable bike ride

(If you are a firm and are interested in sponsoring, then be in touch by email cycle2kenya@gmail.com)

So this painting evokes something of the beginning leg (or wheel) of their journey through Europe. Except they are riding a tandem not a normal bike.

We're off soon for the Dover-Dunkirque channel crossing and on to Brugge/Bruges to meet them on the first leg. This was partly inspired by the darkly humorous, violent comedy thriller film in Bruges (2008) which we watched together - you can read a review by Philip French in the Observer.

With its cobbled streets, Bruges is not so good for bikes. But then with Africa in view, who's worried about a few cobbles.....

'Two States of Marriage'

2011-05-31T14:36:00.009+01:00

'Indian Bride' is a sketch I did on my last trip to India, trying to capture something of Indian culture and custom.

An Indian Wedding as a celebration is the mainstay of the Indian social calendar for the whole community. Hospitality in abundance. They are colourful, lavish affairs.

And so often, it all comes together at the last minute, just like the Delhi Commonwealth Games
(I came across this poem along the same lines and some great pictures.)

The painting is based on a photograph used by an Indian NGO and it suggests something quintessentially 'Indian', indigenous. Maybe a little is 'lost in translation' but there is a sense that somehow this reflects the culture of organisation

Chetan Bhaghat's book '2 states: the story of my marriage' suggests that an Indian wedding is not so much about the coming together of 2 individuals, but more the coming together of 2 families, 2 cultures, 2 states..... As the book cover suggests:

Love marriages around the world are simple: Boy loves girl. Girl loves boy. They get married.
In India, there are a few more steps: Boy loves Girl. Girl loves Boy. Girl's family has to love boy. Boy's family has to love girl. Girl's Family has to love Boy's Family. Boy's family has to love girl's family. Girl and Boy still love each other. They get married.
Welcome to 2 States, a story about Krish and Ananya. They are from two different states of India, deeply in love and want to get married. Of course, their parents don’t agree. To convert their love story into a love marriage, the couple have a tough battle in front of them. For it is easy to fight and rebel, but it is much harder to convince. Will they make it?

It feels a bit like that as we consider the future of CMS in Asia. The coming together of 2 different cultures. Socially as well as organisationally. East and West. The desire for AsiaCMS to be indigenous, culturally appropriate. Clearly Eastern in all its structures, governance, leadership, projects, programmes. But with people from different cultures. even just within India - North and South, East and West. So many languages and cultures.
Somehow it is about embracing the best of all worlds. A sort of fusion

In Monsoon Wedding (2001) the film culminates with a great dance sequence: young and old, male and female, all celebrating and dancing to the same colourful tune.. Maybe that's as good a picture as any.

And like an Indian Wedding, we plan and trust that it will all come good on the actual day. But there is an awful lot to do in the meantime....

It is often quoted: 'East is East and West is West and ne'er the twain shall meet' and it is left there ... that there is somehow an unspanable gulf between the two...

But Kipling's poem goes on to suggest the possibility of mature relationship, before God, standing face-to-face:

East is East and West is West
and ne'er the two shall meet
Til Earth and Sky stand presently
At God's great judgement seat
But there is neither East nor West
Border nor Breed, nor Birth
When two strong men stand face to face
Tho' they come from the ends of the earth

Self Portrait - free of heart

2011-05-25T17:21:00.009+01:00

This is a self portrait I did recently - my 'Afghan look' - an image I feel very comfortable with. It is part of my identity.

I have just been in Kabul where I chair the board of a partner NGO. I travel every May and November. It is something I enjoy immensely. There is something about Afghanistan and the Afghan people that gets inside you. It is a privilege to be involved in some small way.

The NGO work is demanding, with many projects designed to serve the people of Afghanistan. And sorting out governance and management We have just had a consultant with us helping to restructure the board governance. There was an overwhelming sense of agreement in the direction we are going. But it all takes time and is necessary. And sometimes seems a distraction form the real work.

Afghanistan is not an easy place to be. The demands are high, with constant security threats and the need to be vigilant. I recently wrote blog on the Mazar UN murders

There is a lack of infrastructure - so many basic things to do. Yet there is a sense of excitement in what some have called the Wild, Wild East.

I remember reading the classic 1960s novel set in Afghanistan - James A Mitchener's 'Caravans' with stories of play readings in Kabul and packs of wolves wandering the streets, of Nomadic Kuchi peoples wandering the Steppes on Camels, of a German engineer learning about how flexible Afghan bridges survive better than solid Western ones. There's a lesson there...

'I love Afghanistan. Who cares about the dysentery and the loneliness? For I knew that Afghanistan was the toughest assignment on record. Here was the post which sooner or later tested a man and for me the preliminaries were over. I was about to plunge into one of the world's great cauldrons' James A Mitchener: Caravans

People get romantic about Afghanistan and see enormous significance in its untamable wildness. Maybe none more so than Mohammad Iqbal (1876-1938) Pakistan's Poet laureate:

Asia is a living body, and Afghanistan is its heart.

In the ruin of the heart lies the ruin of the body;

So long as the heart is free, the body remains free;

If not it becomes a straw adrift in the wind.

A reminder to us all to be free of heart, free spirits ...
like the young woman in James Mitchener's 'Caravans' in spite of the trouble it may get us into.

London: 'Sun breaking through fog'

2011-05-03T22:51:00.008+01:00

I did this version of Claude Monet's Houses of Parliament, Sun breaking through fog (1904)

He used to live in Lower Norwood, not far from where we used to live in Penge. ( seperated by a couple of generations!). The Houses of Parliament were one of his favourite. He did a series of 8 painting, all on the same size canvas, since they were the same view from window. But all very different. His last, more impressionist painting is startling for its more liberal, less literal use of colour. And that certainly suits me ! Mine is but a pale reflection of a part of his picture. But it is still evocative of London and the Thames.

It also evoked T S Elliot's poem about his journey to London, part of his 'Choruses from the Rock' Collected Poems 1909-1935 (97) The poem remains a wonderful reflection on the relevance of the Church, in the City, in the suburbs and in the country ......

I journeyed to London, to the timekept City,

Where the River flows, with foreign flotations.

There I was told: we have too many churches,

And too few chop-houses. There I was told:

Let the vicars retire. Men do not need the Church

In the place where they work, but where they spend their

Sundays.

In the City, we need no bells:

Let them waken the suburbs.

I journeyed to the suburbs, and there I was told:

We toil for six days, on the seventh we must motor

To Hindhead, or Maidenhead.

If the weather is foul we stay at home and read the papers.

In industrial districts, there I was told

Of economic laws.

In the pleasant countryside, there it seemed

That the country now is only fit for picnics.

And the Church does not seem to be wanted

In country or in suburbs; and in the town

Only for important weddings.

Given the Royal Wedding this week the last line seemed particularly pertinent. And it was a Very Important Wedding. The Nation seems to want the Church then ... for State occasion and National functions. Mind you I did like the pagentry and bits of the service - the reading from Romans 12: 1-2, 9-18 and the talk by the Bishop of London

I attended another, family wedding this week in the country, in Pembrokeshire in S Wales. Whilst it took place in a URC Chapel, it was effectively a secular wedding. The singing was superb and lots of fun. With popular songs like 'I'm a Believer (The Monkeys)' and 'That's Amore' (Dean Martin) The congregation put their heart and soul into it. And a lot of imagination had gone into the poems and readings. It was a great wedding .... but God hardly got a mention. And that felt somehow empty.

I suppose it was a 'more liberal use of colour' which I enjoyed... But as in the Monet painting, I continue to look for Sun breaking though that fog.........

An 'improbable' CYCLE2KENYA

2011-04-26T22:30:00.003+01:00

The painting is based on a photo which I saw in a magazine last summer, when I started drawing and painting.

I am dedicating the picture to two mad cyclists, Tim and Matt, who are planning to Cycle2Kenya to raise funds for Turning Point. My daughter, Jo and another son, Jonny are going there with Graceworks this summer to help with a Kids Summer School. In fact all our kids have been there. But the sponsored cycle is for the farms, to help resettle people out of the slums and into a new life. Matt's sister, Emily works there. Read her excellent blog: God in the Slums

It is a long way, around 5000 miles. But the problem is that the democratic movements and protests in the Middle East are making cycling through Syria and even Lebanon/Jordan difficult. And it will be during Ramadan! And if they go from Turkey to Egypt by boat then there is still the Sudan to negotiate. Wars and rumours of wars......

My old lonely planet copy of 'Middle East on a Shoestring' (1997) puts it quite clearly:

'while there are a few places and occasions in the Middle East where a bicycle would be useful, there are many more where it would be a distinct liability. Many long distance routes in the Middle East are arduous, even for motorists and for a cyclist they would be both difficult and dangerous. The distances the climate, the terrain and the politics all make cycling a most improbable method of long distance transport'

They have been loaned a very sturdy Tandem to make it even more 'improbable'. So that got me thinking about 'improbability' and so I found a few inspiring quotes:

"Aim for the impossible and you will achieve the improbable". — Camillo Särs

"Probable impossibilities are to be preferred to improbable possibilities" -- Aristotle

At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable – and eventually, inevitable.’ -- Christopher Reeve ("Superman")

I for one am right behind them in their improbability and am supporting them in any way I can. But that's inevitable...

You can follow their exploits on Facebook and Twitter, read their CYCLE2KENYA blog and donate online at Just Giving. They are seeking to raise over £11,000......

Out with the Angels on Easter Saturday

2011-04-25T23:30:00.000+01:00

'Angel of Light' is another picture I had seen that I decided to paint. It was inspired by the idea of the Street Angels.....

We were on duty on Friday night/Saturday morning (10pm to 4 am). This is the dark time between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, which is traditionally viewed as the time when Jesus descended to the place of the dead. The Harrowing of Hell. This is based on the concept of the gospel being proclaimed 'to the spirits in prison' (1 Peter 3:19-20) 'even to the dead' (1 Peter 4:6).

I remember a few years back visiting Ypres on the Easter Saturday, to see the battle fields of the 1st World War and the vast cemeteries, full of the fallen. And the Menin Gate for those who have no remains, but are still memories. Hearing the 'Last Post' being played by Belgian buglers is very evocative. It seemed strangely appropriate to be exploring the remembrance of such carnage on such a day.

And in a different way it seemed right to be on the street of Woking on such a night.
A very different scene, not of carnage, but of revelry and merry making for most. Violence and drunkenness for some. The police are out in force, because of incidents that inevitably happen when people have been drinking heavily. Arrests are often made, which is one of the reasons the police are so supportive of the Street Angels - they help to bring down the crime rate.

It was not a particularly dramatic night. We spent a lot of time talking to East European bouncers, and Pakistani taxi drivers. Plus staff at the late night fast food joints. And giving our lollipops to youngsters. Some took liberties. One 18 year old man had about a dozen and kept on nicking them from others. He was very flirtatious with my companion angel, who took it all in her stride. Another female angel, was told "you're f***ing beautiful, for an older woman"! That is, more or less, what you might call a compliment! So they angels are having an impact on the streets of Woking, one way or another.

Maybe the evening was marked for me by a long conversation with a older man, Paul, in an old combat jacket, somewhat worse for wear. He seemed more than happy to talk. He joked and talked about his alcohol problem, a took occassional swigs from his cider bottle. But he went on his way a little more cheerful, after nearly an hour's chat.

Some of our number picked up lots of bottles and also reported a council waste bin that had been set alight. The fire-brigade soon put that one out. One of my growing concerns is where people go to the toilet other than watering the council plants. (I can feel a campaign coming on.)

The Street Angels seek to be a presence on the streets offering support and conversation to those who want it. Clearing up bottles and broken glass. Trying to ensure the streets are safe, so people can have a good time. And I do believe talking to people helps to defuse potentially dangerous situations, so they do not get out of hand. I wonder if things would be worse if we were not there, but that would be difficult to prove.

I suppose Easter Saturday is also about putting out fires, coming alongside people, shining in the darkness ...... Not so sure where the lollipops fit in.

my soul is quiet within me

2011-04-19T17:00:00.003+01:00

This is a painting I did (based on one I saw on google images) inspired by the Lectio Divina experience I mentioned previously. It is based on Psalm 131 'as a child lies quiet in its mother's arms so my soul is quiet within me' There is something about 'divine reading' that has the effect of stilling the soul. It is about resting. I wrote a blog before about Lectio Divina as the ladder of monks - and the sense of ascending into God's presence.

The following are some of the materials we used in our sacred:space evening

"Lectio divina is an authentic source of Christian spirituality recommended by our Rule. We therefore practice it every day, so that we may develop a deep and genuine love for it, and so that we may grow in the surpassing knowledge of Christ. In this way we shall put into practice the Apostle Paul’s commandment, which is mentioned in our Rule: “Let the sword of the spirit, the Word of God, live abundantly in your mouth and in your hearts; and whatever you must do, do it in the name of the Lord.” Carmelite Constitutions (No. 82)

"Lectio Divina", a Latin term, means "divine reading" and describes a way of reading the Scriptures whereby we gradually let go of our own agenda and open ourselves to what God wants to say to us. In the 12th century, a Carthusian monk called Guigo, described the stages which he saw as essential to the practice of Lectio Divina. There are various ways of practicing Lectio Divina either individually or in groups but Guigo's description remains fundamental.

He said that the first stage is lectio (reading) where we read the Word of God, slowly and reflectively so that it sinks into us. Any passage of Scripture can be used for this way of prayer but the passage should not be too long.

The second stage is meditatio (reflection) where we think about the text we have chosen and ruminate upon it so that we take from it what God wants to give us.

The third stage is oratio (response) where we leave our thinking aside and simply let our hearts speak to God. This response is inspired by our reflection on the Word of God.

The final stage of Lectio Divina is contemplatio (rest) where we let go not only of our own ideas, plans and meditations but also of our holy words and thoughts. We simply rest in the Word of God. We listen at the deepest level of our being to God who speaks within us with a still small voice. As we listen, we are gradually transformed from within.

"To get the full flavor of an herb, it must be pressed between the fingers, so it is the same with the Scriptures; the more familiar they become, the more they reveal their hidden treasures and yield their indescribable riches." John Chrysostom, 347-407 AD

Lectio Divina: the ladder of Monks

2011-04-18T22:44:00.001+01:00

The painting is a version I did of Jacob's dream (based on a pic I saw on the net). It can be seen as an analogy of a spiritual journey and has been used as a metaphor to describe Lectio Divina.... based on the story in Gen 28:12 when Jacob dreamt of a 'stairway to heaven' Read more about Lectio Divina as a ladder with 4 rungs: The ladder of Monks by Guigo the Carthusian

I mentioned sacred:space and my encounter with Psalm 131 through Lectio Divina in a previous post Caroline complied the following instructions - Try them out with one of the suggested passages. The suggestions come from a website soul shepherding

Genesis 18: 1-15; Psalm 23; Psalm 27: 1-6; Psalm 42: 1-8; Psalm 46:1-10; Psalm 63: 1-8; Psalm 84: 1-10; Psalm 131; Isaiah 43: 1-4; Isaiah 53: 4-8; Ezekiel 34: 11-16; Song of Songs 2: 10-14; Matthew 5: 3-12; Luke 6: 37-42; John 1: 1-5; John 14: 9-20; John 15: 1-10; Romans 8: 31-39; 1 Corinthians 13: 4-13; Galatians 5: 22-26; Ephesians 3: 14-21; Revelation 7: 14-17; Revelation 21: 1-7

Firstly, prepare yourself. Get comfortable and allow yourself to become calm and silent. Perhaps focus on your breathing for a few minutes. Submit yourself and the exercise to God.

1) Read the passage through slowly, several times. Be attentive for any words or phrases which particularly connect with you; which seem to be for you today. If you wish, underline or write down the words which have caught your attention

2) Take the word or phrase into yourself. Memorize it and slowly repeat it to yourself, allowing it to interact with your inner world of concerns, memories and ideas. Notice any thoughts or feelings which arise during this process.

3) Speak to God. Whether you use words or ideas or images or all three is not important. Offer to Him whatever thoughts, feelings or memories the passage has stirred up in you. This may involve confessing a sin, confronting a struggle or a past hurt, or recognising a longing within yourself.

Allow God’s Spirit and His Word to dialogue with you about the matters you have raised, bringing His acceptance, forgiveness, comfort and healing. Allow Him to inform and transform your ideas and memories.

4) Simply rest in God’s presence, experiencing His love and grace, His joy and peace. You are tasting His goodness. You may have no need for words. You may wish to return to the words of the passage, or to note a particular invitation or affirmation which you sense God is giving you.

Do not worry about assessing the quality of your lectio divina as if you were “performing” or seeking some goal. Lectio divina has no goal other than that of being in the presence of God by praying the Scriptures

CROSS+WORDS

2011-04-16T10:39:00.007+01:00

These are the images I will be using for the 3 hour Good Friday Meditation as part of sacred:space. They are by Dutch artist Huub Bogaers. I like them a lot. They add meaning and context to the seven last words of Jesus.

A version of these images is available here: Crosswords Anyone using them is asked to let the artist know and make a donation to Mission. (contact details on the website)

1. THE WORD OF FORGIVENESS

“Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34)

2. THE WORD OF ASSURANCE

“And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Truly I say to you, Today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:42-43)

3. THE WORD OF COMFORT

“When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by whom he loved, he said to his mother, Woman, behold your son! Then he said to the disciple, Behold your mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home” (John 19:26-27)

4. THE WORD OF DESOLATION

“Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over a# the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama, sabachthani? That is to say, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:45-46).

5. THE WORD OF SUFFERING

“After this, Jesus knowing that a# things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, I thirst” (John 19:28).

6. THE WORD OF TRIUMPH

“When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished” (John 19:30)

7. THE WORD OF COMMITTAL

“And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father into your hands – I commend my spirit; and having said that, he gave up his spirit” (Luke 23:46)

Creating Social Capital

2011-04-15T19:00:00.003+01:00

This is my version of a painting of the miracle of the loaves and fishes, by Sieger Koder the German painter-priest. It is based on the famous sunday school passage and the little boy who provides for 5000 plus:

Matthew 14:16-18 But Jesus said to them, "They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!" ¹⁷And they said to Him, "We have here only five loaves and two fish." ¹⁸And He said, "Bring them here to Me."

Read the complete account in Matthew 14, Mark 6, Luke 9 and John 6.

This is a story of a miracle. Some would say a parable. But it illustrates a principle of provision - of taking the little we have and using it and somehow in the process there is multiplication. Maybe by example as others also shared what they had brought with them. More likely by the unexpected, the miraculous, by divine intervention.

This is really odd math: 5+2 = 5000 + 12 ! A lot of people fed and a lot of leftovers (one basket per disciple) Each one with more than they started with...

The story has inspired many in different ways - Just 2 examples: eDevotions for Growing Christians and a clever New Zealand website of resources for evangelism called simply 5loaves2fishes

To me it says something about the creation of social capital and the power of participation. How the resources of the crowd can be utilised once they are realeased. About how weare not alone and must always expect the unexpected. God will provide

For some reason it reminds me of the 5 Venn principles of CMS (maybe its just the number 5 thats the link) I've added my 'commentary' on the principles (in brackets and italics) from the story.

The five founding principles of John Venn, in founding the Society for Missions to Africa and the East (later to become CMS) in 1799 were:

Follow God’s leading; (doing just as Jesus instructed)
Begin on a small scale; (just 5 loaves and 2 fish is a small beginning!)
Put money in second place because money follows ministry; let prayer, study and mutual converse precede its collection; (they prayed and talked and collected - not money - just 5loaves&2fish)
Success depends on sending people of the highest calibre; (The disciples were high calibre - in God's eyes)
Depend wholly upon the Spirit of God. (which is what they did...then the miracle happened)

Robin Redbreast

2011-04-08T23:18:00.004+01:00

I came across the poem by Wordsworth and it reminded me of the friendly Robins we have in the bottom of our garden. Very familiar and interested in what I'm up to, especially when any digging or wood-chopping takes place. They are particularly interested whenever I play birdsong on my i-phone! It confuses them a bit and they respond. It almost feels like we are having a conversation.

The painting tries to capture the curiosity of a robin listening intently (in a sort of Van Goghesque style). The poem is about a Robin chasing a butterfly.... which I have not yet witnessed. I like the cultural bits about the bird's name in different countries. And the dilemma and tension around two aspects of nature that mankind enjoys, at obvious odds with each other rather than in idealistic harmony. a bit of 'nature raw in tooth and claw'

The Redbreast Chasing the Butterfly by William Wordsworth

Art thou the bird whom Man loves best,
The pious bird with the scarlet breast,
Our little English Robin;
The bird that comes about our doors
When Autumn-winds are sobbing?
Art thou the Peter of Norway Boors?
Their Thomas in Finland,
And Russia far inland?
The bird, that by some name or other
All men who know thee call their brother,
The darling of children and men?
Could Father Adam open his eyes
And see this sight beneath the skies,
He'd wish to close them again.
-If the Butterfly knew but his friend,
Hither his flight he would bend;
And find his way to me,
Under the branches of the tree:
In and out, he darts about;
Can this be the bird, to man so good,
That, after their bewildering,
Covered with leaves the little children,
So painfully in the wood?

What ailed thee, Robin, that thou could'st pursue
A beautiful creature,
That is gentle by nature?
Beneath the summer sky
From flower to flower let him fly;
'Tis all that he wishes to do.
The cheerer Thou of our in-door sadness,
He is the friend of our summer gladness:
What hinders, then, that ye should be
Playmates in the sunny weather,
And fly about in the air together!
His beautiful wings in crimson are drest,
A crimson as bright as thine own:
Would'st thou be happy in thy nest,
O pious Bird! whom man loves best,
Love him, or leave him alone!

Shaken, not stirred

2011-04-07T14:20:00.005+01:00

A personal reflection on the UN killings in Afghanistan

"Diatribe never gets anywhere"

(Painting: © Phil Simpson/CMS)

This article is from the CMS website
The painting is an oil pastel I did, based on the photo used, which was taken by Simon in Korea

I followed the events in Afghanistan with shock and horror. The brutal murders in Mazar-e-Sherif and then protests in Kandahar and Jelalabad – all in response to a fundamentalist pastor in Florida and the ‘trial and execution’ of the Qur'an.

The image of the burning Qur'an inflamed minds all around the Muslim world.

It struck me that the Bible could similarly be tried and found wanting, because it is how the text is interpreted and (mis)used that is the real issue.

Unfortunately, careful debate of our sacred texts is not a factor in these situations. What concerns me is the typical pattern of people in the mosque on a Friday being stirred up by the preaching to retaliate.

What may start as a peaceful protest so easily escalates and gets out of control (and the same dynamic happens in London when students take to the streets to protest against tuition fees) until you have a frenzied crowd seeking revenge. That appears to be what happened in Mazar.

What is needed but so sadly lacking in Afghanistan is interfaith dialogue – even more than the usual condemnation of such provocative acts as the Florida Qur'an burning. The trouble with such condemnation is that it provokes an equal and opposite response. And leads to escalation.

Diatribe it seems to me never gets anywhere.

CMS is involved with partner organisations in Afghanistan and has been for many years. There are team members working there in various humanitarian roles. I have visited many times over the past 15 years and seen their excellent work.

One of our people based in Mazar-e-Sherif wrote shortly after the crowd stormed the UN compound and killed staff there:

“We are ok. Shaken up but ok. Gunfire all afternoon off and on. We are staying inside and just waiting to see what will happen. Really devastating that so many UN workers were killed in such a terrible way, so brutally…. It changes how you view people. I am sick of all this senseless killing. The building was our side of town, some people one street away had bullets land in their garden. We will probably just keep a low profile for a few days while the facts of what happened comes out.”

That’s the problem with senseless killing – it makes you sick, tired and weary and can erode your commitment. 'Compassion fatigue' can apply to workers as well as donors.

Like the apostle Paul, we are at a loss to understand but not despairing (2 Cor 4:8–9). Shaken by events but not stirred up to participate in the cycle of revenge.

The challenge is to ‘hope against hope’ and to just keep going.

VISION CITY: Stars and sand

2011-04-06T10:10:00.029+01:00

We stayed at Vision City, the training centre of IMA for our faith2share consultation. It is still being built in a remote area on the outskirts of Hyderabad, but it was an opportunity to expand our vision, as they are building theirs, and see the stars and the sand. But it was cheap to stay at, one of the cheapest consultations I have ever attended. And great food....

Someone gave a talk on leadership using Abraham as a model, so these thoughts were stimulated by that. The painting Abraham is copied from and inspired by the German, Catholic priest-artist Sieger Koeder He has some fantastic pictures of biblical scenes that seem to come alive and are 'Glimpses of the Divine'. Other books are also available.

In the talk it was suggested that: "what dominates your mind rules your heart"

Abraham's mind was filled with "Stars and Sky : Sand and Sea" which represented his nomadic lifestyle and were metaphors of the infinite mercy of God. Impossible to count.

He has been promised (Genesis 12) that through him God would bless the Nations - 'in you all the families of the earth will be blessed'. And later as he looked in the heavens and saw the stars he was reminded 'so shall your descendants be' (Genesis 15:5)

He obeyed the (mission) call to 'Go forth' and was known as the 'Father of Nations'. 3 great religions - Judaism, Christianity and Islam - are grouped in the same family of 'Abrahamic faiths'

In the picture, Abraham seems to be in open submission to God as he looks up at the stars in the sky. It reminds me of Mary in the Annunciation, submitting to the voice of the angel - 'be it unto me according to your word'

Abraham kept going wherever God told him to go. He ended up being called 'a friend of God'. He is listed in the great men and women of faith in Hebrews 11. He believed and it was credited as righteousness'

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.
By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.
For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
Heb 11:8-10

By faith Abraham, even though he was past age — and Sarah herself was barren — was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise.

And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
Heb 11:11-12

I like that. He was 'as good as dead' He was past it. But Abraham is a reminder that faith does not come to an end - it keeps on going. Maybe it manifests itself differently at different stages of life. Abraham was the first AWAMer ! 'Age with a Mission' - not just modern day YWAM.

I like Abraham. I'll probably do more reflections and pictures on his life .....

He was the original 'wanderer for the love of God'

'mother & son day'

2011-04-04T11:21:00.010+01:00

Mothering Sunday (4th Sunday of Lent) is the UK version of Mother's Day (second Sunday in May). So it is a day to remember mothers and give small gifts as an act of appreciation. In our church, flowers are given to all the ladies not just the mums. That's 'cos we try to be inclusive. And what woman does not appreciate flowers (and chocolates)?

One of my sons always thought it was 'Mother & Son' day, which made it extra special for him.

At our recent sacred:space in our Lectio Divina I focused on Psalm 131: 'as a child lies quiet in its mother's arms so my soul is quiet within me' For me it was a reminder of my own mother (bless her) and also the 'motherhood' (not just the fatherhood) of God

Hence the picture (one I had done earlier) based on Van Gogh's 'The man is at sea' (After Demont-Breton) painted in Oct 1889 in Saint-Rémy. It is very evocative. I love the way the mother and child are asleep - sprawled out - in the glow of the fire, the source of comfort as well as warmth. In that respect it's similar to one I blogged on earlier: Old man of sorrow

Maybe it is that child-like trust that in the end delivers us from despair, letting go of concerns and worries, so we do not end up like Van Gogh's 'Old Man of Sorrow' (at Eternity's Gate).

My heart is not proud, O LORD,
my eyes are not haughty;
I do not concern myself with great matters
or things too wonderful for me.

But I have stilled and quieted my soul;
like a weaned child with its mother,
like a weaned child is my soul within me.

O Israel, put your hope in the LORD
both now and forevermore.

Chetan Bhagat: cricket, call centres and culture

2011-04-02T21:16:00.005+01:00

I recently returned from India. At Hyderabad Airport I managed to pick up the 4 copies of Chetan Bhagat's books for 95 Rs each (just over a £5 for all). And I read them all whilst on the trip. He is India's best known and most read English writer, having written 4 books - two have already been made into movies.

five point someone - what not to do at IIT - the student days of Hari, Ryan and Alok (the film is therefor called '3 idiots') as they navigate a life at the bottom of the rung at India's prestigious IIT university they discover a little more of what life is about. The Bollywood film is called '3 idiots'.

one night @ the call center follows the lives of a group of call centre operators who get an unexpected call from God which forces them to re-evaluate the meaning of their lives and what they want to achieve. The film is simply called 'Hello'

the 3 mistakes of my life follows Govind a young entrepreneur in Ahmadabad in 2000 as he sets up a cricket shop with 2 close friends. Everything is challenged as he comes to terms with three big mistakes he makes in the face of life's unexpected twists and turns.

2 States: the story of my marriage is what happens when Punjabi boy meets South Indian girl and they discover that a love marriage involves more than just 2 people. Its about 2 extended families indeed 2 cultures coming together.

I've had a couple of reasons this week to think of the books - India winning the cricket World Cup - which reminded me of Govind in 3 mistakes and the boost to his business when India won the cricket

I also had reason to talk to a call centre in New Delhi recently over a lastminute.com airline ticket re-booking. And the staff could not have been more helpful. Mind you, having read the book I was all the more polite and sympathetic. It really does make a difference how you talk to people. And One night has made me think more positively about call centre workers and even the possibility of God intervening in their lives .... So next time you're connected to Bangalore or New Delhi, say a little prayer....

why did the chicken cross the road?

2011-03-29T16:54:00.002+01:00

I did a painting of a chicken. I'm not sure why except I liked it. Our neighbor has chickens - so maybe I'm subconsciously 'keeping up with the Jones'. There is even a Radio 4 programme these days on raising chickens. For some it has become an obsession. People blog on Fowl lessons - lessons learned from the flock I also came across this book whilst surfing: Hen and the art of chicken maintenance I love the title.

But lets stick with the age old question - WHY DID THE CHICKEN CROSS THE ROAD? Here are my top dozen favorite answers (in descending order)

B.F. Skinner: Because the external influences which had pervaded its sensorium from birth had caused it to develop in such a fashion that it would tend to cross roads, even while believing these actions to be of its own free will.

Jacques Derrida: Any number of contending discourses may be discovered within the act of the chicken crossing the road, and each interpretation is equally valid as the authorial intent can never be discerned, because structuralism is DEAD, DAMMIT, DEAD!

Ludwig Wittgenstein: The possibility of "crossing" was encoded into the objects "chicken" and "road", and circumstances came into being which caused the actualization of this potential occurrence.

Albert Einstein: Whether the chicken crossed the road or the road crossed the chicken depends upon your frame of reference.

Mrs Thatcher: This chicken's not for turning.

Douglas Adams: Forty-two.

Darwin: It was the logical next step after coming down from the trees.

Plato: For the greater good.

Ralph Waldo Emerson: It didn't cross the road; it transcended it.

Blake: To see heaven in a wild fowl.......

Buddha: If you ask this question, you deny your own chicken-nature.

Donne: It crosseth for thee.

Sadhu Sundur Singh - Iconic Indian

2011-03-28T12:30:00.002+01:00

This time a picture inspired by Sadhu Sundar Singh (1889-1929). Except he looks a bit like Captain Haddock in Tin Tin ('Blistering Barnacles'....) I copied it from a B&W picture , Maybe I should have painted him in a Saffron robe....

I just have one book on him: 'The Gospel of Sadu Sindar Singh" by Frederich Heiler ISPK 1989 (First published in 1924 under the title 'Sadhu Sundar Singh Ein Apostel des Ostens und Westens' abridged translation by Olive Wyon) And it only cost me 50Rs in India. It is available as a FREE googledocs download

There are some other good online resources - an introduction to his life plus of course a Wiki version and the new world encyclopedia entry and if you speak German try this. He was obviously very popular in Germany, having visited in 1920s (he also visited Britain, Australia and the States on a preaching tour)

He was converted from a Sikh background in Dec 1904. He was disillusioned and suicidal at the time. He describes his conversion in his own words:

“Suddenly — towards half-past four — a great light in his little room. He thought the house was on fire, opened the door and looked out ; there was no fire there. He closed the door and went on praying. Then there dawned upon him a wonderful vision : in the centre of a luminous cloud he saw the face of a Man, radiant with love. At first he thought it was Buddha or Krishna, or some other divinity, and he was about to prostrate himself in worship. Just then, to his great astonishment, he heard these words in Hindu- stani : Tu mujhe kyun satata hat ? Dekh main ne tere liye apui jan salib -par di (" Why do you persecute Me ? Remember that I gave My life for you upon the Cross"). Utterly at a loss, he was speechless with astonishment. Then he noticed the scars of Jesus of Nazareth, whom until that moment he had regarded merely as a great man who had lived and died long ago in Palestine, the same Jesus whom he had so passionately hated a few days before. And this Jesus showed no traces of anger in His face, although Sundar had burnt His holy Book, but He was all gentleness and love. Then the thought came to him : "Jesus Christ is not dead ; He is alive, and this is He Himself " ; and he fell at His feet and worshipped Him. In an instant he felt that his whole being was completely changed ; Christ flooded his nature with Divine life ; peace and joy filled his soul, and ** brought heaven into his heart." When Sundar Singh rose from his knees Christ had disappeared, but the wonderful peace remained from that moment, and it has never left him since. He said afterwards : " Neither in Hindustani, my mother- tongue, nor in English, can I describe the bliss of that hour."

He believed that a message that was for all mankind, and had universal significance:

If the Divine spark in the soul cannot be destroyed, then we need despair of no sinner… Since God created men to have fellowship with Himself, they cannot for ever be separated from Him… After long wandering, and by devious paths, sinful man will at last return to Him in whose Image he was created; for this is his final destiny.

He dedicated his life to a Sadhu-style mission particularly within North India, and the Himalayan region of Tibet and Nepal. He went wider afield to South India, Ceylon, Burma, Malaya, Singapore, Japan and China .

He disappeared in the Himalayas in 1929 (possibly in Tibet) and his body was never found. He remains a fine example of indigenous Christian leadership, modelling a non-Western form of mission, the Sadhu wandering the dusty footpaths, which had a far reaching impact.

He once said (on a mission trip to the West):

'We Indians do not want a doctrine, mot even a religious doctrine, we have enough and more than enough of that kind of thing; we are tired of doctrines. We need the Living Christ. India wants people who will not only preach and teach, but workers whose whole life and temper is a revelation of Jesus Christ'

The Thresher's Labour

2011-03-26T14:56:00.003Z

My picture is based on Van Gogh's 'The Thresher' (after Millet) painted in Saint-Rémy in 1889. A copy of a copy which loses something in the 'translation', My picture looks more like the Grim Reaper than a farmyard thresher. But maybe that ambiguity contains a glimmer of truth...

It is a strongly biblical image, suggesting the last days and the final judgement - the seperation of Wheat and Tares - of good and evil. It becomes a metaphor for the inevitablity of judgement and punishment of wickedness.

The Thresher's Labour a poem by Stephen Duck (1730) interestingly he later became a Rector in Byfleet so maybe he is not just describing an everyday farmyard scene, but something bigger, grander and more ultimate....

lines 27-41 of the poem are quoted below (the only ones I could find online):

So dry the Corn was carried from the Field,

So easily 'twill Thresh, so well 'twill Yield;

Sure large Day's Work I well may hope for now;

Come, strip, and try, let's see what you can do.

Divested of our Cloaths, with Flail in Hand,

At a just Distance, Front to Front we stand;

At first the Threshall's gently swung, to prove,

Whether with just Exactness it will move:

That once secure, more quick we whirl them round,

From the strong Planks our Crab-Tree Staves rebound,

And echoing Barns return the rattling Sound.

Now in the Air our knotty Weapons fly;

And now with equal Force descend from high:

Down one, one up, so well they keep the Time,

The Cyclops Hammers could not truer chime...

Stephen Duck was apparently a vicar in Knaphill who came to a tragic end - drowned himslef in a canal. Jonathan Swift wrote a satirical verse -a quibbl - about him On Stephen Duck, the Thresher, and Favourite Poet. A Quibbl

Random thoughts

2011-03-25T09:05:00.005Z

A bit of random fun on Facebook got me thinking .....

The message below - when I did it - produced the result above

1. Go to Wikipedia and hit random. The first random Wikipedia article you get is the name of your band. 2 - Go to quotationspage.com and hit random. The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album. 3 - Go to Flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”. Third picture no matter what it is, will be your album cover. 4 - Use Photoshop or similar (picnik.com is a free online photo editor) to put it all together. 5 - Post it with this text in the "caption" and TAG the friends you want to join in

As someone suggested mine looks like a real album cover. The one I saw on another friends status looked even more convincing ....

A further facebook friend has pointed out 2 websites that generate random covers: album cover generator and fake album cover with both a twitter following and a facebook group.

That got me thinking - how much of what we attribute meaning to is actually random. Meaning making is retrospective. we see patterns and make connections and attribute meaning to what may be otherwise random events. And even if that is so then so what...

It reminded me of something else I read about random tourism. Go to a city / town and using a pack of cards, draw a card - Hearts go straight, Clubs left, Diamond right, Spades back. And walk the number of blocks on the card. Just follow the cards for the day and see what happens.... talk to people, visit places en route....

Maybe we need more 'random' in our lives.... not everything planned ..... more 'wandering for the love of God'......

Back to my random quote:

"Love much. Earth has enough of bitter in it."
Ella Wheeler Wilcox

What think ye of Christ?

2011-03-24T20:50:00.001Z

The painting: 'an imitation of Christ' was an attempt at a more iconic style - similar to Madonna and child - which was actually painted later. Oil pastels in an A6 sketch book.

Jesus in my picture looks a little cross-eyed to me. But at least he is not blue-eyed blonde-haired.

I do think everyone needs an opinion of Jesus. At some point we all need to look into those eyes as it were and work out what he was all about. What he represented. What he stood for.

Those eyes become a mirror of our own soul......

The poem by John Newton asks the same fundamental question: What think ye of Christ ? With his own conclusions at the end.......

What think you of Christ? is the test
To try both your state and your scheme;
You cannot be right in the rest,
Unless you think rightly of him.
As Jesus appears in your view,
As he is beloved or not;
So God is disposed to you,
And mercy or wrath are your lot.

Some take him a creature to be,
A man, or an angel at most;
Sure these have not feelings like me,
Nor know themselves wretched and lost:
So guilty, so helpless, am I,
I durst not confide in his blood,
Nor on his protection rely,
Unless I were sure he is God.

Some call him a Saviour, in word,
But mix their own works with his plan;
And hope he his help will afford,
When they have done all that they can:
If doings prove rather too light
(A little, they own, they may fail)
They purpose to make up full weight,
By casting his name in the scale.

Some style him the pearl of great price,
And say he's the fountain of joys;
Yet feed upon folly and vice,
And cleave to the world and its toys:
Like Judas, the Saviour they kiss,
And, while they salute him, betray;
Ah! what will profession like this
Avail in his terrible day?

If asked what of Jesus I think?
Though still my best thoughts are but poor;
I say, he's my meat and my drink,
My life, and my strength, and my store,
My Shepherd, my Husband, my Friend,
My Saviour from sin and from thrall;
My hope from beginning to end,
My Portion, my Lord, and my All.

John Newton

Hope is the thing with feathers

2011-03-23T23:58:00.002Z

Another painting of a Nuthatch (based on one I found on the internet) and a poem 'Hope is the thing with feathers' by Emily Dickinson. It is part of a longer poem called 'Life'

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

Emily Dickinson

"I am the Reaper"

2011-03-22T11:44:00.001Z

The painting is based on one by Van Gogh of a Reaper with Sickle (after Millet). I did a painting of one of Van Gogh's sowers earlier: 'sowing seed: planting hope' The sower and the reeper complement each other:

Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. John 4:36

The poem 'I am the Reaper' is by William Earnest Henley I think they go together rather well

I am the Reaper.

All things with heedful hook

Silent I gather.

Pale roses touched with the spring,

Tall corn in summer,

Fruits rich with autumn, and frail winter blossoms—

Reaping, still reaping—

All things with heedful hook

Timely I gather.

I am the Sower.

All the unbodied life

Runs through my seed-sheet.

Atom with atom wed,

Each quickening the other,

Fall through my hands, ever changing, still changeless.

Ceaselessly sowing,

Life, incorruptible life,

Flows from my seed-sheet.

Maker and breaker,

I am the ebb and the flood,

Here and Hereafter,

Sped through the tangle and coil

Of infinite nature,

Viewless and soundless I fashion all being.

Taker and giver,

I am the womb and the grave,

The Now and the Ever