"a flea can bite the bottom of the Pope in Rome"

You will probably have heard of the 9 year old schoolgirl who started a blog about school dinners called 'NeverSeconds: One primary school pupil's daily dose of school dinners'. . It was very simply comments and a photo about her daily intake at midday. and a very fair assessment 




Then Jamie Oliver commented and people started sending in photos of their school dinners and she started raising funds for a school feeding programme, Mary's Meals in Malawi  and so it grew.....

But then she was banned from taking photos of her school meals and the Twittersphere and Blogosphere took on the council. The council backed down and it was all reported in the National press.  At the time of writing her blog has had nearly 5 million hits and rising fast.  Its a real demonstration of the power of social media (and of course local and national press)


All I could think of was the words from the musical 'Les Miserables' sung by little Gavroche:  "a flea can bite the bottom of the Pope in Rome"






you can read all the words to the song here

GAVROCHE
They laugh at me, these fellas,
Just because I am small
They laugh at me because I'm not hundred feet tall!
I tell 'em there's a lot to learn down here on the ground
The world is big, but little people turn it around!

A worm can roll a stone
A bee can sting a bear
A fly can fly around Versailles
'Cos flies don't care!
A sparrow in a hut
Can make a happy home
A flea can bite the bottom
Of the Pope in Rome!

Goliath was a bruiser who was tall as the sky.
But David threw a right and gave him one in the eye.
I never read the Bible but I know that it's true
It only goes to show what little people can do!

ALL
A worm can roll a stone
A bee can sting a bear
A fly can fly around Versailles
'Cos flies don't care!
A sparrow in a hut
Can make a happy home
A flea can bite the bottom
Of the Pope in Rome!

GAVROCHE
So listen here professor,
With your head in the cloud.
It's often kind of useful
To get lost in the crowd.
So keep your universities
I don't give a damn
For better or for worse it is
The way that I am!

Be careful where you go
'Cos little people grow...

And little people know
When little people fight
We may look easy pickings but we got some bite!
So never kick a dog because he's just a pup
You better run for cover when the pup grows up!

And we'll fight like twenty armies
And we won't give up

ALL
A worm can roll a stone
A bee can sting a bear
A fly can fly around Versailles
'Cos flies don't care!
A sparrow in a hut
Can make a happy home
A flea can bite the bottom
Of the Pope in Rome!

well done little one.....  don't lose your bite.....
 

Faith on the move: myDiocese app for i-phone

I have just downloaded the new MyDiocese app for i-phone, with news from CofE and a number of Diocese - including my own Guildford. To try it out (its FREE) just go to i-tunes or apps on your i-phone

There are 4 main areas:

1 home page (with a daily reading) :

2 News (from CofE and particpating diocese - Oxford not yet one of them)

3 Faith (services, resources etc)

4 Community (find churches)

you can read more on the Guldford diocese media release

It's what you might call 'Faith on the move'

Bishop Michael Nazir Ali to move on

Bishop Michael Nazir Ali is moving on from his role as Bishop of Rochester to a more direct involvement in Christian-Muslim engagement and issues of persecution.  

 

An article in Fulcrum  has some more details of the Sept 09 move.  

I also like Bishop Nick Baines’ Blog comment: 

I remember hearing Michael for the first time at a clergy conference when I was a curate up north. He spoke without notes and without hesitation, repetition or deviation for an hour and then responded skilfully to questions from the floor. It was remarkable and his ability to remember details is formidable. Which is a good word to use of him. He is a formidable opponent, but a remarkable ally. Whatever one makes of his stance on particular issues or his absence from last year’s Lambeth Conference, what must never be questioned is his integrity or courage.’

My experience has been similar  He has been my 'boss' at CMS , when he served as General Secretary (1989-1994) and our paths have crossed on many occasions in Britain and Pakistan. Lambeth 98, the Queens Garden Party, Westminster, Interfaith meetings.   Most recent was at the Pakistan High Commission  in London when they threw a Christmas Party for Pakistani Christians in Britain. We sangs Pakistani Carols, had Bible readings (I even prayed for the Nation of Pakistan in Urdu)  and Bishop Michael spoke there elequently.  It was obvious the high esteem with which he is held by the Pakistani Community. 

2 articles taht are worth looking at with very differnet views on the situation: 
Melanie Philips in the Mail When a bishop has to leave the Church of England to stand up for Christians, what hope is left for Britain? By Melanie Phillips, writing in the Daily Mail
on 01st April 2009


George Pitcher writing in the Daily Telegraph Bishop Nazir-Ali retires; a rebellion fizzles out
Dr Nazir-Ali's departure signals the end of Anglicanism's damaging schism, says George Pitcher.  30 Mar 2009

And finally a cartoon from the Church TImes. 

I wonder what new path he will dig. 

  

"don't misunderestimate me"

I was inpsired by a recent twitter:   

alantlwilsonRT:  never misunderestimate George Bush. As he said, "The trouble with the French is they have no word for Entrepreneur"...

These Bushisms are all from Wikipedia  

General

"They misunderestimated me." — Bentonville, Ark., November 6, 2000

"There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again." — Nashville, Tenn., September 17, 2002

"Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream." — LaCrosse, Wis., October 18, 2000

"I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully."— Saginaw, Mich., September 29, 2000

"Too many good docs are getting out of the business. Too many OB-GYNs aren't able to practice their love with women all across this country." —Poplar Bluff, Missouri, September 6, 2004

Foreign affairs

"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." —Washington, D.C., August 5, 2004

"We were trying to say something differently, but nevertheless it conveyed a different message". -January 12, 2009 Press Conference (Time Magazine, January 26, 2009, p13).

Economics

"I know how hard it is for you to put food on your family." — Greater Nashua, N.H., January 27, 2000

"I understand small business growth. I was one." — New York Daily News, February 19, 2000

Education

"Rarely is the questioned asked: How is our children learning?" — Florence, S.C., January 11, 2000

"You teach a child to read, and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test." — Townsend, Tennessee, February 21, 2001

Statement by Bishop of Jerusalem on GAZA

Things are hotting up in GAZA. I visited a few years back and remember it vividly. I will try to write more about that another time. In the meantime.... 

Statement by the Right Rev’d Suheil S. Dawani, The Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem on Gaza Jerusalem - December 29, 2008

During recent weeks, the three Abrahamic Faiths have observed their Holy Seasons with a sense of peace and goodwill. Therefore, we are greatly grieved by the severity of the ongoing military operations in Gaza that are occurring in heavily populated areas and impacting the civilian population.

As a Diocese with well over a century of an unbroken commitment to the well being and peace of the community in Gaza City through our Al Ahli Arab Hospital, we are both stunned and saddened by the events unfolding in Gaza.

The heavy loss of Palestinian lives and the serious wounds and injuries to many hundreds of innocent bystanders require the immediate cessation of hostilities for the well being and safety of both the Palestinian and Israeli communities, and especially for Gaza and the nearby Israeli population centers. The gravity of the situation threatens to engulf this entire region and we ask the Palestinians and Israelis to return to active negotiations for the well being and safety of both communities.

Of immediate concern is the urgent medical services needed by the victims of this violence. The immensity of providing care for the injured and wounded is overwhelming a healthcare system struggling to provide essential healthcare services for 1.5 million Palestinians, most of who live in refugee camps.

As the casualties and human suffering continue to rise, we appeal to the Israeli and Palestinian communities to exercise responsible restraint. We urgently call on all parties to immediately cease hostilities, and provide for the humanitarian needs of those directly affected by the conflict. At the same time, we can assure the Gaza communities that the Al Ahli Hospital will continue, as it has for many decades.

Bishop Suheil adds (30/12/08):

"Our Al Ahli Hospital located in the heart of Gaza City is providing essential frontline medical and emergency humanitarian services to those coming or being brought directly to it. Additionally, it is receiving patients transferred by UNRWA from the Government Hospital Al Shiffa for emergency inpatient and surgical treatment of the wounded and injured. As a non-partisan well established Hospital, we are receiving patients from all directions. This coming Sunday all of our Churches will have special services for Peace and Reconciliation for those whose lives have been impacted by the Gaza conflict - especially the wounded, injured and the families of those innocents who have died"