Benedict the bulldog

What do I think of the Pope's recent hateful comments that will no doubt give rise to new enthusiasm for homophobic attacks and discrimination? Well ... the thing i've learned is that the pope has authority, but he doesn't represent all Catholics, pretty much the same as Bush didn't represent all Americans, Mugabe doesn't represent all Zimbabweans and Osama doesn't represent all Muslims. What it shows, is that - sadly - the loudest voices aren't always from the best people, and often the people with the loudest voices, not the best character, end up in positions of leadership.  It would be a mistake to judge all those under them by their misguided behaviour.

Some informed and inclusive thoughts ...

I am encouraged today by a few pieces in a recent edition of the Church
Times ...
Firstly, by an article in the Comments section, by Dr Michael King.
http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/content.asp?id=60752
Secondly, of some interest are the letters in the same edition ...
http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/content.asp?id=60769
And thirdly, not from the Church Times, but a link I've often mentioned
before which is good for generating some informed discussion is
http://www.wouldjesusdiscriminate.org/ , which also has a very good video
introduction.

The Christmas Broadcast, 1957

Awesome dedication and commitment!

Trinity Sunday

Parish news insert I wrote for Trinity Sunday:

The news this week seems to have only gotten worse. It reinforces what I
mentioned last week that it is absolutely vital that we stand together as
human beings, leaning on each other and offering each other love and
support.
This is backed up by our second reading this Sunday, in which we're told
to agree with one another, to live in peace and the God of love and peace
will be with us.
A poem that I have received a lot of inspiration from this year, is one
written for the Holocaust Memorial Day.

HOPE FOR THE FUTURE
Pledge for National Holocaust Memorial Day 2008
Everyone has a right to be free,
Where there is no freedom for others,
There is no freedom for me.
Everyone has a right to be different,
Where there is no respect for difference,
There can be no respect for me.
There is HOPE for a safer future if I protect liberty,
If I RESPECT others,
Others will RESPECT me.
© Roger Cliffe-Thompson, Liverpool Poet
With warmest blessings,
Andy

Trinity 1 - why worry?

My column for the parish newsletter for Trinity 1:

Our gospel reading for this morning contains some great advice, which I
only wish I could follow.
Worrying is what I do - it's not a preferred pastime, but one which I have
become rather good at over the years.
However, I like to think that I've gotten a little better at recognising
those things that aren't worth worrying about, or that worrying about will
not actually make any easier.

For example, last week I worried a lot about what to preach on Trinity
Sunday, but when I discovered on Trinity Sunday that I was in the vestry
at St. Mary's and my sermon notes were in my study at home, I didn't
really worry at all. The one I could do something about, the other not.
Perhaps that's a good place to start - worry only about the things that
are worth worrying about. Perhaps we should do less worrying and more
planning.

I think there is great wisdom in recognising when worrying will not
actually help a situation at all, and in knowing how to let go of those
worries. Worrying about your speed in a traffic jam, worrying about
whether or not you'll have a job in 5 years, worrying about whether we'll
have sunshine over the weekend, worrying about whether or not someone
likes you - I could go on and on ? these are all examples of futile
worrying.

However, to stretch the metaphor a little, what we can do is try and avoid
heavy traffic routes, or keep performing well at work and looking for
opportunities to add more skills to our CV's, or have a plan B in case it
rains, or work to earn someone's trust and friendship - these are all
perhaps ways in which planning can be beneficial, while worrying can't.
That way there SHOULD be less to worry about, but I know that that's not
always the case, either. Being absolutely in control is not often
accompanied by low stress levels.

I guess this is a prime example of a delicate balance that we only really
begin to learn about with experience and the wisdom that age brings.

And there I was, worrying about getting old!

Pentecost Parish News Insert

Here's a column I wrote for this week's Parish leaflet:

The news this week has been rather sobering.  We have heard about tragic loss of life in Burma / Myanmar, the ongoing election nightmare in Zimbabwe, the surprise eruption of Chaiten Volcano in Chile … there are so many to choose from.

In our first reading today one phrase leapt out at me … "they were all together in one place" (Acts 2:1).  It reminded me that there is strength in numbers.  It also reminded me of the African phrase of "Ubuntu", which is roughly translated as "I am, because we are" … a sense that a community and a society is only as strong as its individuals, and that each person is responsible for the well-being of the community which – naturally – includes them.  So that every act that an individual performs for the benefit of the community benefits them too – albeit indirectly sometimes, and every act that an individual performs that harms the community harms them too.

We are reminded, too, in our second reading that "just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ" (1 Cor 12:12), which this morning I would like to use in the context of community again.

It strikes me that, with the scale and number of disasters we are seeing now, what we really need to be doing as humans, is supporting each other and standing together.  Not judging each other on nationality, gender identity, faith, creed, political affiliation, income bracket, accent, ideologies or any other such thing.

It is vital that we become a people that focus on our similarities, celebrate these, and support and act for the good of each other.  I believe it is when we begin to do that that we see true transformation of communities and individuals, and the Spirit of God can truly begin to work and to renew.

Happy Pentecost

Lent 2

The third in the series:

Lent 2

After last week's snippet, it occurs to me that perhaps next year I should give up meetings for Lent.

It seems that in the Christian and Secular spheres, we often have people setting up meetings for the sake of it.  We have meetings to discuss ideas, meetings to discuss meetings; we even have meetings to ensure that the meetings remain in our diaries.  Sometimes, we have that most blessed of all – the duplicate meeting.

Meetings appease our conscience – they make us look busy, give us a sense of accomplishment and can help us gather others around us to make decisions we don't want to accept sole responsibility for.  Meetings can be hugely beneficial, and often are, but sometimes I do wonder how many of them are needless duplication.

The trend exists in the Church (with a capital 'C'!), but it does have to be said that the trend exists outside the Church, too.  In other organisations and institutions, we sometimes see the infamous 'Update' meeting creeping into our diaries.

I wonder whether the purpose of many of our meetings is clear to us, or whether it is to enable us or others to feel busy.

We do like to be busy and to look busy – in our faith and in our careers.  It gives us something to measure, some way to validate how we spend our time.  I wonder how much time we clear in our lives to enable us to reflect and be silent.  That's not as easy to measure or to feel good about, but arguably much more beneficial.

Perhaps that's a second challenge this Lent, or for a future Lent … Can we allow ourselves some space to reflect on our faith, our families or our careers? Or is that me trying to give the time a purpose again?  Can we simply allow ourselves some time without anything to do?

Can we allow ourselves to not schedule a meeting, but merely spend time alone or with others, for their- or our sake?  Rather than investing in our timetables, can we allow ourselves to invest in ourselves and our relationships – whether they are work or personal?

Lent 1

The second in the Sunday newsletter inserts for February:

Lent 1

In 1993 I was doing a year of missionary youth work in the Northern and North Eastern areas of the old Transvaal province in South Africa – now the Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces.  There was a group of 6 of us from all over the country and we stayed in a house which doubled as the Diocesan Offices.  The Diocesan Treasurer had a 1-bedroomed flat in the back garden and occasionally shared mealtimes with us.

During Lent that year, we asked the Diocesan Treasurer what he was going to be giving up for Lent, and he responded that he was giving up Church!  We all thought he was joking – until he never arrived for the first Sunday in Lent … or the Second, or the third, or any services in Lent.  True to his word – he only came back to church on Easter Sunday.  We initially thought it rather strange, but at the end of Lent, we saw a changed man.  From Easter, that Diocesan Treasurer found that – rather than dragging himself out of bed and grudgingly sitting in Church – he loved going – Lent had both transformed him and transformed his experience and understanding of his faith.

I realised then that Lent was about more than just giving up something … it's an opportunity to spend time looking within ourselves, at what makes us tick, and identifying the areas where we can make positive changes.

I'm not suggesting that we should all give up church for Lent.  But for that Diocesan Treasurer in 1993, Lent was an opportunity to evaluate what his faith meant for him.

The challenge for us this Lent is not to think about what we can give up, but to find out how we can make Lent a time for positive change for each of us, and perhaps for us as a community.

February Newsletters

I've been asked to do a bunch of letters for the parish newsletter for February, and I thought I'd stick them here as well.  Should be fairly safe, as no one reads this. ;o)

Here's the first, written for the first Sunday in February:

3 February

It's the end of January and already the year seems off to a rather shaky start.  I hear from colleagues at the university, friends and family about personal and, sometimes, tragic losses experienced in the post-Christmas period.  Students are struggling with post-Christmas homesickness, dwindling student loans, assignment deadlines and exams.  Then there are the news headlines, about a potential recession, not to mention 'wars and rumours of wars'.

A recent article in the Guardian mentioned that Thursday last week (January 24) was apparently the most depressing day of the year. This was calculated by Cliff Arnall of Cardiff University, using an elaborate scientific formula.

So if you're feeling a little off-colour after Christmas, it's nice to know that at least it's perfectly natural, so we don't have to add guilt to all of the above.

But what can we do about it?  It's good to remind ourselves about what we do have … homes, families, friends, food, life.  Look for the signs of spring and new life … the earlier sunrises and later sunsets, the flowers in the lawn, the buds on the trees.  Find and encourage the positive in others, especially our nearest and dearest … say something positive, do something for them, pamper each other a little, book a meal out or cook a meal in, watch a film together, enjoy a lazy cup of coffee together in the afternoon sun or perhaps plan a day out together.

And, remember, too, in the words of our Psalm this Sunday "The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory" … our God is loving, welcoming, unchanging, victorious, accessible, forgiving and eternal.