URBANarmy

Today I had three things that I wanted to offer as a thought in WBC's daily prayers - none really connected for me in isolation - while I could have got away with it I knew that they weren't going to hit the mark. Twenty minutes to go - on the school run - the penny dropped, there was a connection between all three. Today I had three things that I wanted to offer as a thought in WBC's daily prayers - none really connected for me in isolation - while I could have got away with it I knew that they weren't going to hit the mark. Twenty minutes to go - on the school run - the penny dropped, there was a connection between all three. Ringma talks of 'learning the gentle art of letting go' or 'renunciation' as : 'a form of detachment that breaks the power of the immediate, the pressing and the dominating realities of our lives, which frees us for a re-engagement. This re-engagement is always new and different because our empty hands have been filled with Go...

Incarnate kicked off today at WBC; I managed to get to the first session with Stuart Murray Williams and thoroughly enjoyed his paper 'How is Jesus the focus of incarnational living?' In no particular order SMW outlined what he termed elements of incarnation. Living locally, rather than engaging from a safe distance Participating in the community, rather than remaining aloof from it Affirming and valuing all we can in the local culture Being self aware and sensitive to our own assumptions and prejudices Believing that God is already at work in the community and discovering how to join in. Concentrating on relationships rather than programmes Interpreting mission as ‘go to them’ rather than ‘come to us’ Operation from the grass roots rather than from positions of power Embodying the gospel through small groups that infiltrate society Doing things with rather than for the community Communicating the gospel in contextual language and images Communicating the gospel through deeds a...

I've never been that convinced that conditioning young impressionable minds to believe out of fear of the fire and brimstone of a medieval eschatology is the way to encourage our children to be part of God's plan of putting the world to rights... I went with a couple of good friends to see the infamous Golden Compass; my inbox still full of warnings from well intentioned people suggesting that it would be a route to atheism. The problem of course being that these people - no doubt never having been to see the film or read the books - fit the bill of Church that quite obviously so appalled Pullman when he wrote his clever allegory. A Church that dictates faith constructs through fear and entrenchment. The allegory was there to be seen - the abuse of education of children by the church. I've never been convinced that telling our kids 'that they really ought to be friends with Jesus because if they don't they'll go to hell' is the way to introduce them to the ...

...officers were sent into areas of brokenness not to work the area over with the expectation of establishing a structured all singing and dancing church, but to love and serve the area... Several years ago and in the arrogance of a fast disappearing youth I emailed the Territorial Leader of TSA and asked what was TSA's strategy for inner city and communities of deprivation. It went something along the lines that nothing has really intentionally replaced the 'Goodwill' centre system, where officers were sent into areas of brokenness not to work the area over with the expectation of establishing a structured all singing and dancing church, but to love and serve the area. The inner cities of the UK were littered with such centres all working close with established Salvation Army corps. Somehow the 'Goodwill' lost it's focus; centres were closed as TSA seemingly retreated from inner city Britain. I got a gracious answer and was asked to be part of an initial dis...

I've just been sent a press release regarding a BBC series to run during Holy Week 2008. The Passion is a dramatic re-telling of the last days of Jesus not a sign of Mel Gibson in sight! The cast includes Cold Feet star James Nesbitt as Pilate and EastEnders actor Paul Nicholls as Judas Iscariot. The part of Jesus is played by the relatively unknown Joseph Mawle. The series starts on Palm Sunday 16th March. More details here . No doubt rejesus will be worth a visit when it starts.

Brueggemann in Hope for the World asks us to imagine: A congregation with a limited-scope but deeply embraced mission, not needing to be God's sole agent in the neighbourhood. A congregation with a clear gospel, but open to allies, not needing to be a lone presence in the community. A congregation saturated with Easter-rooted hope, offering an alternative to communities of fear, anger, and greed , an alternative given in vulnerability and generosity. (2007:11) Brueggemann. (2007). Hope for the World. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press. Can you catch that dream?

It has been a little blog lite recently, mainly due to not much disposible time. It is Review and Evaluation time at college. Which means a fair bit of reading. In theory I should dread these quarterly reviews but I can't help be inspired by the journey of cadets and their openess. I'm fast realising that these reviews are a discipline of significance and not just an institutional exercise for the sake of it; an exercise worth maintaining periodically. I like the framework that the Questions of Examen offer in seeking to help us explore balance in our lives. Ignatian Questions of Examen... Acknowledge sad or painful feelings and hear how God is speaking to us through them. Overcome a pessimistic outlook by encouraging us notice the good in each day. Tell the truth about who we truly are and what we need, rather than who we think we should be. Become aware of seemingly insignificant moments that ultimately can give direction for our lives.

Continuing with my notes from Gerard Hughes' God of Surprises with regard to von Hügel's approach to faith development. The first part is here Adolescence /Critical If 'Infancy' is where we absorb information, the stage described next by von Hügel as 'Adolescence' is where we make sense of what we know in our context through questioning. This stage is also described as the 'critical' stage as a growing awareness; the search for meaning; search for direction is worked out and contributes to a stage of faith characterised by criticising and theorising. The security blanket of simple and literal answers meeting basic needs of faith no longer makes sense within a desire to discover and integrate faith within every day life. This can be an uncomfortable transition, as to question and to dig deeper into understanding God feels disloyal and guilt can prevent any wider exploration of God's narrative. However, to not foster such questioning has a danger of le...

The spirit of embrace creates communities of embrace - places where the power of the exclusion system has been broken and from where divine energies of embrace can flow, forging rich identities that include the other... I'm beginning to feel myself at Faith House, largely that now I don't feel a visitor, a guest or an observer anymore; largely because the regulars are slowly not seeing me as a visitor, guest or an observer anymore - I am there for the long haul. It was good - just before Christmas - to have Paul ask me my name ... "Gordon .... right I wont forget that now you seem to be here every week..." ; it was good this week to have Tyronne abusing me because I support Chelsea; it was good this week to laugh with Bob* as I took the names.. "So Bob what's you name...?" "umm Bob..!" "How'd you spell that?" "umm Bob...!" After a while he realises I'm mucking about and smiles with what are definitely not designer te...

I get home from my Monday evening trip to Faith House to discover that our laptop has given up; not only that, the entire HD seems to have been wiped in an effort to rectify the lost cause that has been our laptop. Kate - exasperated declares "well that is that then - it is well and truely finished..." 7 year old Eryn delighted says "oh goodie .... now we can have an Apple...!" I have always said we should listen to the the wisdom of our children...!

We have been preparing a session on Faith Development; Kate explicitly went with Fowler, I implicitly used von Hügel's The Mystical Element in Religion - thanks to Gerard Hughes' God of Surprises. Basically von Hügel in two volumes looks at three stages. Infancy - where we absorb information; Adolescence - where we make sense of what we know in our context through questioning and Adulthood - where we have a growing awareness of an inner consciousness relating to God who is incommunicable and mysterious. It is easy to fall into the trap of seeing these stages as successive stages to pass through; however each contains elements of each other. It is easy to fall into the trap of seeing this as a neat and simple explanation, or to dismiss it for exactly the same reason. What this, Fowler and others offer - with recognised faults - is a helpful support to help understand ourselves as we seek to 'know' the depth, width and height of God. Infancy/Institutional: Also known...

I saw the second half of extreme pilgrim last night on BBC 2 which was interesting. Catch it for a week on BBC iPlayer

Books I have read this year... A Kempis,T. Imitation of Christ Wright, N.T. (2006). Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense. SanFrancisco: HarperSanFrancisco Wright, N.T. (1996). Jesus and the Victory of God (Christian Origins and the Question of God, Volume 2). Rolheiser, R. (1998). Seeking Spirituality. London: Hodder & Stoughton Religious. (Twld). Russell, M. (2006). Thread Of Grace. Black Swan (Twld). Crowder, D., Kimball, D., & Morgenthaler, S. (2004). Emerging Worship: Creating Worship Gatherings for New Generations Goldsmith, M. (2001). Matthew and Mission: The Gospel Through Jewish Eyes Hornby, N. (2005). A Long Way Down. Jamison, C. (2006). Finding Sanctuary: Monastic Steps for Everyday Life. Tiplady, R. (2002). Postmission: World Mission by a Postmodern Generation. Plummer, R. (2006). Paul's Understanding of the Church's Mission: Did the Apostle Paul Expect the Early Christian Communities to Evangelize? Moore, T. (2002). Continental Drifter. Elton, B. (...