kenya 6: 21 may

didn't sleep well, as up several times with bad diarrhoea. it was also very noisy last night, with a disco going on in the hotel til early hours, cocks crowing at 5am, donkey braying about the same time, then the muslim minaret calling the people to prayer at 5.30am, and finally some early morning christian worship. my stomach is not good, and i decided to stay back today as i need to be close to a loo. i was due to go out with paul and bishop charles to some remote parish, but the travelling would be bad and the toilets non-existent so its best i stay at the hotel. i'm also feeling weak, and need a day to rest.
as i write this, its almost 11am, and for the last hour and a half i've heard some kind of christian church service going on not far away. it sounds like its an outdoor meeting that's being amplified. lots of singing - very long songs; a woman preaching, another giving testimony, some sung worship, and more singing. its quite comforting really, though in my present state i'm glad i'm not part of it.
i've noticed how much slower the pace of life is here, and the effect its had on me. for example, in london i'm always in a rush - i walk quickly, etc. i often wonder, when seeing how slowly africans walk in london, how they can physically walk so slowly. but now i'm here, i can understand. and now i'm walking slowly like them too, and it feels perfectly natural to do so. in the heat, its madness to try to do too much too quickly.
when we were in the outback yesterday, the roads were quite bad and very dusty. it felt bad to be driving past people who were walking, and showering them with clouds of red dust, especially knowing they would not be able to have a shower at the end of the day.
we saw many people herding their cattle (brahman) and various breeds of goats along the roads. when we went over one river, we saw a couple of young boys having a great time rolling down the muddy riverbank into the water. these are a people who enjoy living, difficult as their circumstances are, who are quick to smile, who welcome the stranger, and show generous hospitality. so different to us.

Tags: kenya, hospitality

busted and addicted

yep, that's me.
some of you may know that a coupla weeks ago i was chasing a burglar through my mate's backyard (after the burglar had already burgled their house and had come back for a second go), when he scaled the 7' paling fence to get out onto the street. i too scaled it (in a single bound), but landed badly and severly broke my heel. so badly broken is it that its now got 8 screws and a piece of meccano-looking steel inside it holding it all together. which means of course, that i'm house-bound and recovering. and also of course, the bloody burglar got away!
i'm also slightly addicted. and no, its not to the pain-killers, but to 'the west wing'. a mate very kindly lent me series 1-5, and i've been working my way through series 1 since this weekend. its a fantastic show, which i never watched when it was on telly. i never normally watch series shows, as i can't get into the continuity of it all due to work style. but i've got lots of time for continuity now!
for those of you with a mind to, please pray for me - and my mates - and the flamin' burglar....

Tags: west wing

kenya 5: 20 may

well, today my guts have been somewhat evacuated of food! a mild case of diarrhoea first thing this morning meant that i haven't had much to eat today, save for some toast, bread, bananas, water, and a bottle of coke. apparently coke and bananas are an effective remedy for the runs. paul and sue also had it, but a bit worse than me and so they stayed at the hotel today as they didn't think it wise to travel. a good move as it turned out.
we set off this morning at 0730, as bishop charles wanted to show us around his diocese - it is enormous, and widely varied. our first stop was a little foster home for hiv+ children. you can read about them in a previous post. but to continue their story a little, the diocese has started a project of building a multi-purpose building that will serve the needs better. at the moment, they've only excavated the ground, as that's all they can afford to do. that's typical of their approach - they do what they have money for, and then stop until they raise more. very pragmatic!
after this, we headed off to the bishop's parish, where we saw his church and a brand new one they're building beside it. again, the new one is incomplete, and needs about 1.4m shillings (about £12k) to complete it. we had a very early lunch of meat, bread, and tea, before heading out into the wider countryside.
we went to the first anglican church in meru, started by canon john-peter back in 1963. he's a remarkable man, gifted in pioneering new churches and schools. he's started 17 schools in his time, and has served in many areas of the diocese that he knows so well. he and i got on well together. this first church that he started is in an area susceptible to drought, and the people are poor. there is a dispensary there, but its not well used as people can't afford the medicines, and there aren't many medicines stocked anyway.
from there we went to the lowlands, and the country changes from lush and green to become dry, red dust, rocky with vegetation more akin to the aussie outback. we visited several schools, all of which were empty as its saturday. then moved onto another township with a small, very poor church run by the rural dean, rev phillip. he has 4 parishes to serve, which he does on foot as he has no transportation. one of his big wishes is for a bicycle, so i'm going to suggest tonight that we all pitch in and get him one. they cost around 6k shillings, which would cost us about £10 each to contribute to.
it seems that the bishop's strategy is to show us how poor his diocese is, in the hope that we will provide financial aid. they are indeed poor and in dire need of better facilities, though they really have little hope of raising funds internally as their income is from predominantly poor people who are heavily dependent on weather and the success of crops and livestock.
in this country, there seems to be something of a connection between buildings and the gospel. rev phillip told us about how the poor state of their church - little more than a tin shack with red earth floor and benches for pews - is a distinct turn-off to new people who come. just down the road from his church is the government's district commisisoner's office. when new staff who are anglican arrive and come looking for the local anglican church find this tin shack, those new people only come once, and don't return. this has a direct effect on ministry as people like those in the d.c office have money which could be fed into the church. but if they don't come, they don't give. if they don't give, the parish can't pay its quota to the diocese. if it doesn't pay its quota, the diocese doesn't pay the stipend (wages) of the priest. and rev phillip has now been without a stpiend for a year! but still he is faithful and does his best with no money and no transport in a crappy little tin shed church that few people come to. bless him.
it seems that colonial anglicanism has left a legacy that demands its form in buildings, vestments, etc., be upheld and maintained at the cost of simply doing interpersonal ministry. if rev phillip was not tied to buildings then he would have finance available for a bicycle and a stipend. 'meaning' and 'form' have been fused and confused here as in the west. the propogation of anglicanism is as important to kenyans (and many english) as the propogation of the gospel. lord, have mercy on them and on us.
we had some strong conversation about gospel and culture over dinner in the evening.

Tags: kenya, meru, gospel, culture

world view clash

was catching up on listening to podcasts from radio4 today, and was astonished to hear one of the 0810 interviews by john humphreys as he spoke with a young muslim. this young muslim, abu izzadeen, was the man who heckled the home secretary, dr john reid, when dr reid visited my izzadeen's community a few weeks ago. mr izzadeen said that dr reid had no right coming to a muslim local community. hhhmmmmm, the home secretary has no right to go to a part of the country for which he has parliamentary responsibility....

as you listen, i'm sure you'll be aware that there is a definite clash of worldviews going on here. there's an interesting point made my mr izzadeen that is indicative of the clash of worldviews, where he talks about allah making and owning the universe, therefore, all muslims have an a priori duty to obey allah, follow his laws (ie, from mr izaadeen's perspective, sharia law), and work toward implementing those laws wherever muslims live. so, the law of the land in which they live is of little importance to mr izadeen and people of his views.

christians say something similar, in that god created the world and all in it. christians would also say that the law of god - loving god with all you've got, and loving your neighbour as yourself - holds pre-eminence over the laws of the land. this approach allows the church to have a prophetic voice in the community where it can critique the laws of the land with the laws of love. i think it fair to say the muslim can also bring a prophetic critique to the government's laws.

but as i listened, there was something disturbing about mr izzadeen's approach. what do you think about it?

anyway, its an astounding interview that you can get through itunes by subscribing to the bbc radio4 podcast. the date of the interview was 22.9.06.

you can also follow a thread about the same kind of thing on kester brewin's blog.

Tags: muslim, christian, radio4, john reid, abu izzadeen

kenya 4b: 19 may

after that episode, we went on to st andrew's theological college, out in the bush. it has a very different feel to our hotel! its very basic, constructed predominantly from breeze-block and tin. we had tea with the principal and the dean of studies, before joining the whole college at the thursday evening communin service.
it was a very lively service with much singing, several 'presentations' by students, more singing that included clapping, dancing, whistling. it was fabulous to be surrounded by such happy people. and then, after church, was dinner. on the way to dinner the singing and dancing continued until grace was said. we had a table set for us, while the students did not. this is culturally appropriate, though it feels wrong and awkward to be on the receiving end.
following dinner, we gave our gifts of vlerical shirts and text books to the principal for him to distribute as he saw fit. he was dumbstruck - please bless all who receive those gifts, lord.
while there, the stars were out and for the first time since leaving oz, i saw the southern cross in the sky. it was a grand sight, so bright and clear in the dark night sky.
today we drove to meru diocese, a few hours up the road. on the way, we crossed the equator - the first time i've done that, apart from from flying. we arrived at our hotel, the three steers hotel, only to discover that they knew nothing of our booking! that got sorted out after a while, and we went to visit bishop charles, the bishop of meru.
he's a large man, with a large heart for his diocese, but his diocese only has very limited means. he provides lunch for about 40 streetkids, and he introduced us to them at their lunchtime. they get about half a loaf of bread and a large mug of maize porridge - very filling. they were all ages, from about 7-20 years old, some still stoned on glue, all with very poor clothing and personal hygiene, most with big smiles. after being with him for a couple of hours, we came back to the hotel to unpack and rest befoer bishop charles came to us for dinner with a couple of his senior clergy to discuss the programme for the weekend.
tomorrow is a very early start for a tiki-tour of some of the diocese. on sunday we will be split up into 3 groups of 2 to go to various churches. paul and i will go with bishop charles to a rural parish - very poor, uneducated farmers, and not many of them. looking forward to that.
and now its time to sleep. paul's already asleep and snoring. the lights just went out for about the fourth time this evening, and nobody takes any notice, so it seems to be quite normal.
my guts were a bit wrong on the drive up this morning, and i suspect its a reaction to the malarone as i was feeling fine until after breakfast (when i take the pill). i don't really think it was the food.
i've noticed that i'm just letting the whole experience wash over me. i don't have an agenda, just trying to be open to what god may want to teach me. i spoke to justus this morning about yesterday's streetkids episode. he said i had done the right thing. if i gave money, they would most likely spend it on glue. they don't understand the nature of tourism, and so they think that if i gave them something today then another tourist will turn up to give them something tomorrow, and so on. it keeps them dependent and they never learn to think about doing something for themselves. he thinks it better to encourage them, as he did, to go to st stepehen's house where they will be fed and given an opportunity to be trained in something.
and my guts are so full of food....

Tags: kenya, meru

kenya 4a: 19 may

we have 45 mins now, following breakfast, to relax. yesterday we left nairobi after breakfast and drove an hour to the blue posts hotel, at thika. thika is famous for its flame trees, but now is not the season. its a lovely setting, with at least 3 impressive waterfalls of about 15 metres height. the water is reddy-brown, like the dirt - similar to australian outback.
there were some semi-wild ostriches running about - very large birds. i bought a small coin pouch for 350 shillings - about £3. apparently we're supposed to haggle, but i just don't have the heart for it. i know i would pay a similar price in the uk, and these people deserve a fair price, so i feel i must give it to them. on the other hand, as one of our guides said, they wouldn't part with it for anything less than a fair price, and haggling is part of the relationship-building. but i'm not making a relationship, i'm simply making a transaction. i'll probably never see them again.
we moved on to our new base at embu, and checked into the izaak walton hotel. its a very nice hotel, but with a distinct colonial feel. following lunch, we visited the embu diocese cathedral, the stained glass windows of which were donated by our own chelmsford diocese cathedral. it was a very hot day, but inside, the cathedral was cool and comfortable. there were some large native birds resting on the rafters inside that brought to mind some words from psalm 84, '...even the birds find a place to rest in your house, o lord'.
leaving the cathedral, we went into the town to pick up some books from the church bookshop. as we parked outside, we were positioned by a group of streetkids, aged in their mid-teens to early 20's. they approached us. someone in our van had a bag of sweets they were distributing inside our van, which then went outside to the streetkids. one then approached me, and said something i couldn't understand, and i told him so. he tried again, and in very broken english said, 'buy me some milk and bread'. i told him that i can't do that. i had my dog-collar on. i felt terrible. having seen the way they dealt with the sweets, i could only imagine what would happen if i gave money - the van would be swamped with people wanting money. still, i felt terrible. justus, our kenyan driver, said something to them, but i don't know what it was. later today i will speak with him about it.
but the words of john the baptist were echoing, '...whoever has 2 coats, let him give to him who has none.' and other scriptures of that kind were in my head. 'lord, have mercy on them and on me...'

Tags: kenya, thika, embu

Kenya 3: 17 May

as i write this, dusk is falling. because we're so close to the equator, the length of day between seasons only varies by about 10 mins. so, in essence, its dawn at around 0630 and dusk around 1830 - every day!
today was sunnier and warmer than yesterday, with our time split into 3 major chunks. the morning was spent visiting kibera, one of the largest slum settlements in africa with a population of of about 700,000 people living in about 5 square kilometres. its quite something to visit, and difficult to know how to describe it. we weren't supposed to take cameras in, as it was rude to take photos, so i don't have any photos of kibera. but if you've seen the movie, 'the constant gardener', then you'll see kibera as the scenes shot in the slums were shot there.
kibera seems to have grown up in a valley that has a railway line running through it. people live and work in appalling conditions with rubbish strewn about, open drains running down the middle of the tracks that serve as roads - tho the only vehicles that use the roads are wheelbarrows. the roads also look like they become open sewers, and must be diabolical when it rains. houses are made from corrugated iron, mud, and sticks, some concrete, and wood. very, very basic living conditions, though many have electricity (lines jury-rigged to mains supplies), tv, and stereo.
the smell is quite bad, and actually reminded me of the pig-stys on the farm - the smell hits you in the back of the throat. there are people everywhere - cooking, washing clothes, fixing bicycles, selling charcoal - and just about anything else. little children are running everywhere, tons of them, all coming up to us to shake hands and chanting together, 'how are you, how are you?', and when we asked them the same question they all replied, 'fine!' very cute.
our guides took us around to their friends' houses, who all invited us in and talked, and they all asked us to pray for them. our guide (we were in 3 groups) was a young man of 20 years named juma, who had been a christian for about 3 years. he had completed his 'o' levels in physics and maths and was hoping to go to uni and from there to become a pilot in the civil aviation industry. he was a really nice young man, and i prayed for him in his home of 2 rooms that god would bless him in his plans.
while there, we visited the centre for urban mission. this is the outfit where the cms guy we met last night - colin smith - works. he and some of his colleagues explained what they do and why. the big idea for them is that the gospel must be practical, and not just another good idea. they are passionately concerned about the whole person, and so get involved in projects that meet the practical needs that the people of kibera have. the main social concerns are: poverty, stress, sickness, hiv/aids. the anglican church is involved in all of these issues through various projects. there are 2 new anglican parishes in kibera: st jerome, and st phillip; and there are many other churches there too - the majority being independent pentecostal churches that just grow up out of the local community.
and while there is grinding poverty, there is also abundant hospitality. while we were at the centre, we were given traditional milky tea and mandazi (a large, triangular shaped doughnut). but before the food arrived, a young woman brought around a bowl of water and towel for us to wash our hands - very humbling to be served in this way.
the second chunk of the day was slightly surreal. after leaving kibera, we came back for a 3 course lunch with the archbishop of kenya, before going to his offices for discussions with him and some of his staff. he seemed a genuinely nice man, very interested in, and committed to the freedom and welfare of the whole person. this 'social gospel' is very important to the kenyan anglicans. he said something that struck me, 'peace is another name for development'. you can't have development without peace, and so he is concerned to be involved in brokering peace in places of conflict so that development can take place.
the third chunk of the day was a late afternoon visit to the national cathedral in nairobi. they have a gift of a photo from one of the american apollo space missions, with the caption, 'jesus walking on the earth is more important than man walking on the moon.' they also have an incredibly busy sunday schedule of 13 services per day, and a great many other things going on besides! but speaking to one or two 'on the side', it seems that the cathedral is really only for those who 'belong', and so the 'outsider' doesn't get much of a look in. it made me think of how we use some of our cathedrals in england, and how much more open they seem to outsiders and how they can be experimented with.
then in the evening, we went up to the 'fairview hotel' to have a drink and relax. its an incredibly plush place with a beautiful swimming pool. only rich people can stay there. after that, went back to the guest house to watch barcelona beat arsenal 2-1 in the uefa cup. my mate dave was at the game in paris, and we were texting each other throughout it.
what a day of contrasts: from poverty to luxury. uncomfortable to be in both. as rich people, we have options in life. the poor don't.

Tags: kenya, kibera

jet's new album

the aussie rockers from my hometown are about to release their new album, 'shine on', on oct 3.
but you can listen to the whole album right now at myspace.
looking forward to the tour in november!

Tags: jet

kenya 2 - 16 may

thought i'd start a new series on sharing the journal i kept while in kenya in may this year. i've already done one post about kenya, so that's why this one is labelled as'2'.
so, here it begins on the flight over.

good flight, though didn't get much sleep. watched 'walk the line' - great film. magnificent colours in the sunrise through the plane's window. never seen a sky like it. flight got in about 0630, and then we were all packed into 3 minibuses for the trip to the anglican church of kenya provincial guest house on bishop's road, nairobi.
got caught up in rush hour traffic - incredible amount of vehicles. a very slow, and smoggy journey. interesting to watch the locals: so very many walking to work; all very well dressed, clean clothes, taking care to wash the mud from their shoes with water from roadside ditches. at one intersection, i saw a sight that would've made a good photo: hundreds of people, all walking in different directions at great speed, while one young man sat on a bench at the crossroads watching as everyone walked by him and traffic roared all around. it was a picture of human stillness in the midst of orderly confusion.
got to the guest house finally, and were allocated rooms. i'm with paul trathen and we got the new block (pictured). we got into our beds and slept for about 2 hours. got up to have cold showers as there was no hot water, before going into nairobi city centre. got dropped off at the catholic cathedral, bought a stole in the bookshop, and wandered around the cathedral. its quite large and made of prefabricated concrete that gives a stark, harsh appearance. but there is an impressive, plain east window of stained glass.
got some money from an atm and went with lee batson and dave gilmour to a very nice coffee shop. then got taken to yar yar shopping mall, which is quite small in comparison to western standards. while there, a little boy aged about 7, with thick glasses in school uniform, approached me and very politely asked if i could help him with money. i bent down to him and gently told him that i couldn't. he didn't press me, but walked away. we've been told that its not good to give to begging children, as you will soon be surrounded by hoards of them. i felt sad for the poor wee guy. the gap between rich and poor here is immense. and the gap in standards of living between kenya and uk is stark. nairobi looks tired and tatty and is trying hard to catch up with the developed west.
tomorrow we will see that gap in even more stark terms when we visit the slums in nairobi with one of the cms guys who has been working incarnationally here for 3-4 years. he's coming for dinner with us tonight and will speak to us about what he's doing and what we will do and see tomorrow morning. should be good, and i'm looking forward to it.
interesting to note that as we moved away from the city centre the quality of the roads deteriorated while the level of high security gated compounds and houses increased. there's a great deal of traffic on the roads, and while its very busy, there doesn't seem to be any aggression from the drivers - unlike the uk.
there are also more roadside stalls and mini-shanty towns further from the city centre. as we drove home from yar yar, we went through a police check point, complete with officers armed with fully automatic weapons. they were guarding the israeli embassy.

Tags: kenya, nairobi

soul space

tomorrow night is soul space at st mary's walthamstow, from 8.30pm-9.30pm.

come and enjoy the peace....

Tags: contemplative, peace, prayer

questions, questions, questions.......

courtesy of me old mate, si johnston, i've subscribed to a podcast by conrad gempf on his new book, 'jesus asked'.
his publishers gave him permission to read the entire book so that it can be listened to online (though he also asks that you buy it - but that's another question!)
anyhoo, i'm really enjoying the first few installments, as he studies the ways in which jesus asks questions way more than he ever gave answers.
i find the power of questioning is in giving space and opportunity for the other person to really have a go at trying to understand themselves, and be given the opportunity to be heard.
worth having a listen to.

Tags: jesus, spirituality, parables

smouldering inspiration

this is what i always feared about starting a blog - that i lose inspiration, and then, interest.

aaaaaarrrgggggghhhhhhh!!!!!!!!

and its holiday season which makes it even more difficult.

but last wednesday night, at soul space, we couldn't open the front door of the church as there was something wrong with the lock. the only way in was through the back door via a slightly treacherous track around the graveyard in the dark and light drizzly rain. i was going to call it off, as it felt completely wrong to be locked in a church without having the front door open so that anyone else could come in. but then a young mum with her baby boy came, and she was so disappointed that she couldn't have her hour of peace and space in church - i just couldn't say no to her.

and our delightful, atheist friend, lawrence was there too. he sent me an email this morning, part of which i put here:

Congratulations on last night’s Soul Space. I saw a man who had already “walked that other mile” the Man in Black sings about, and who was also abhorred at the idea of a closed church - but who managed somehow (with whatever inner feelings you had) to respond to a cry of pain and need from a mother with child.

I hope you got something yourself from the experience. I personally loved what you described as the “weird experience of being locked up in a church”. I felt we were reliving the beginning of Acts 2 which to me paints a picture of the followers being all huddled together in a (locked) building - feeling afraid, inferior and inadequate. So for me, last night was history and symbolism and reality and poetry. And I loved you for mentioning us all by name, along with yourself, at the closing prayer.

lawrence, and good people like him, help to keep inspriation smouldering in me.

Tags: soul space

contemplative prayer tomorrow night

yep, tomorrow night at st mary's walthamstow, 7pm, (6.30pm for tea and cakes) i'll be leading an evening of contemplative prayer ably assisted by U2 and the man in black, the late, great mr. johnny cash.
come and be at peace....

Tags: contemplative, prayer, U2, johnny cash

a week's sailing to inverness.

just come back from a week sailing as crew on a mate's boat. the trip was from tollesbury in essex to inverness in scotland - up the east coast.

i couldn't start the trip with them, so joined them at lunchtime on monday last in scarborough. overall, it was an uneventful trip - that is, it went very smoothly.

my first night on board was a bit rough, especially as i was off-watch between 2000-0000. it was a job to stay in the bunk sometimes, and i could feel my innards rolling around as the boat fell off some swells and was tossed and rolled regularly. then, when i came back on watch at 0000 the sea calmed down - typical! but i wasn't sea-sick (thankfully, its not something i've suffered from, though there were defintiely times i had to stop reading or looking at the chart and get up on deck).

as it was a passage- making trip (time-limited to making the end of the trip a necessary thing by end of friday) as opposed to a pleasure cruise with no real timing issues, we had to have the engine on most of the time to keep an average speed of 5 knots. there just wasn't enough wind to sail for most of the time, although we did have enough for a little bit of the time that allowed the sails to go up and peace to descend on the boat.

on the way we sailed through fog, saw birdlife of gannets and puffins mostly, a big dolphin, and several pods of porpoise.

i love being offshore and out of sight of land. i can't recall how many times i found myself saying, "i LOVE this sailing lark!" its the kind of thing that brings me alive. even though the watch system was 4hrs on and 4hrs off, its a rhythm that i quickly get used to.

once we left scarborough, we only made land again twice: at edinburgh, and then inverness. we called into edinburgh because after that, there is very little protection and nowhere to go in case it gets very ugly at sea, and the forecast at that time was not looking too good. so the skipper and owner, andy challis, decided to take no risks, and we had a night in the marina - and a shower! the forecast ugliness didn't come through though, and next day we headed for inverness.

the trip ended in the caledonian canal on friday afternoon, and i stayed on board until very early monday morning when i got the train back to london.

the photos are: the bridges into edinburgh, the sunset coming into inverness, the boat in the marina, and peace at sea. i'll upload the rest onto flickr soon, so check the sidebar from time to time.

you can see some more photos of another trip the boat did here.

kenya, merton, and lives fully lived

“If we want to be spiritual, then, let us first of all live our lives. Let us not fear the responsibilities and the inevitable distractions of the work appointed for us by the will of God. Let us embrace reality and thus find ourselves immersed in the life-giving will and wisdom of God which surrounds us everywhere. “

From Thoughts in Solitude by Thomas Merton
(Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Publishers, New York, 1958) Page 46-7.

merton gives words to the spirituality of the christians we encountered in kenya, people unafraid to live their lives as fully alive human beings loved by god in order that they may love others in god's name.

some of them like those in this photo, give of themselves with no thought for their own welfare. they have nothing materially, the hiv positive kids they take care have nothing materially and very little relationally, but a more hospitable welcome to complete strangers - us visitors - you could not imagine. tea and mundazi (a triangular-shaped donut kinda thing) had a heartfelt prayer said over them in god's name before we had our 'second breakfast' for the day. the plaque on the wall says it all....

the children are taught school by these lovely folks in a tin, open-sided extension so that if the anti-retroviral drugs work, at least the kids will have some kind of chance at making life more than a survival begging or digging through other peoples' rubbish.

please pray for these folks, and the kids they love. and pray for yourself, that you may have their courage to live fully spiritual lives here on earth.

Tags: kenya, merton, spirituality

back from kenya

yep, am back safe and sound.

had a most fantastic time, and like any trip to somewhere very culturally different, its difficult to begin to describe the vast array of experiences. will try to do that over the next few weeks, as i think it will take some time to process my thoughts and feelings.

but to give a little taste, i've uploaded some photos onto flickr, so click on the side bar to have a look. they've loaded back to front, so the trip begins on page 2 and moves to page 1. i've used up my monthly allowance with these, so it will take some months before i'm able to load the rest.

hope you're all well, and thanks for keeping on with supporting this blog.

Tags: kenya

bono as editor of the independent

(from U2.com)
This is just a quick heads-up to check out The Independent newspaper this Tuesday.

For one day only the paper has a new editor - Bono!

The Independent, one of the UK's leading quality newspapers, has become a media partner of the Red Campaign, the organisation founded by Bono and
Bobby Shriver to get the weight of the corporate world behind the fight against HIV/AIDS in the poorest countries.

On Tuesday the paper goes RED when Bono takes the editorial chair. He has already been commissioning articles - word is that these feature the designers Stella McCartney and Giorgio Armani and a conversation between Bono and the comedian Eddie Izzard.

New photographs by the artist Sam Taylor-Wood will be published for the first time while the US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, will choose her Ten Best pieces of music.

According to the Independent website, 'Bono expects to do everything an editor does, from chairing the morning editorial conference to writing headlines and choosing pictures.'

On Tuesday half the paper's revenue will go to RED to help fight Africa's Aids crisis.

Pick up a copy on the day and support RED yourself.

More about RED - http://www.joinred.com/

Tags: bono. independent

slow blog

have had a week off on hols - my first real break with zoe since last summer. went to stay in a mate's place just out of woodbridge in suffolk. had a fab time, and suffolk's luvverly - no-one there! will put a few photos up when i get a chance.

have come back to incredibly full weeks, and more people dying that i need to be involved with at various levels.

so the blog is taking a low priority, and actually, will continue to take low priority until the end of this month, as i'll be heading over to africa soon.

thanks to those who continue to look in, and i hope you'll be ok with me being slow for this month....

2 shots of happy, 1 shot of sad...

on the 18th, our youngest, josiah turned 21. he's a great guy, and we're so happy and proud to be his parents. 21 is always a great milestone for anyone - god bless you mate.

and then, a day later in new zealand, zoe's gran died at the great old age of 98. she was a fabulous lady, tough little liverpudlian who went to new zealand as a teenager, and brought a family up in the goldfields of otago while living in a tent through the heat of summer and snow in winter. she was very independent, would always tell you straight, and had a wickedly funny sense of humour that came with a twinkle in her eyes and 'knowing' kind of smile. gran was instrumental in bringing up zoe too, and was a like a second mum to her. so many happy memories of gran, a life well lived. her name was ada findlay. please say a prayer for her, and for those she leaves behind.

2 shots of happy, 1 shot of sad...

Tags: family

open-handed prayer

i remember when i first became a christian, 25 years ago, a friend told me that coming to god is a bit like holding your hand out with the palm held upwards, so that god could take all of your life from your open hand, and then give it all back to you again along with everything else he wanted you to have. but if you only offer god a closed fist, he can take nothing away and cannot give you anything as you won't be able to hold it in a closed fist.

mark e. thibodeaux, s.j. says a similar thing in his wonderful little book, 'armchair mystic - easing into contemplative prayer'. "my task in prayer, then, is to learn to approach god with open hands, so that god can place his gifts there".

but open-handed prayer is a risk, as it requires faith and trust in a god you can't see. though, that's the magic of a life of faith, and 25 years later, i have learned that this invisible god is trustworthy as he takes my life and gives it back to me along with so much more than i could ever have imagined.

it makes sense to me of jesus' words in john 10:10 when he said, 'i have come that you may have life, and have it in all its fulness'.

johnny cash

itunes are promoting 'the world of johnny cash' here.
they say they're not just a doing a greatest hits thing, but have included playlists that reveal the musical roots of his sound, and of those who have been influenced by him.

but if you want to see something stunning, recorded not long before his death, check this out - be sure and put the headphones on! (thanks to bree for the reference).

Tags: johnny cash, music

risen!

this painting is by one of my old mates from christchurch, new zealand. check out his work here at kees bruin.

crucified

Cross of Jesus, cross of sorrow,
Where the blood of Christ was shed,
Perfect man on thee did suffer,
Perfect God on thee has bled!

(from: Cross of Jesus, Cross of Sorrow
Words: William John Sparrow-Simpson, 1887
Music: John Stainer, 1887
This hymn was created for inclusion in Stainer’s oratorio, “The Crucifixion.”)

ron bright, r.i.p.

today my boss and i took the funeral of the husband of one of our dear old ladies from church. they had been married 60 years, and zoe attended their 60th wedding anniversary party last year.

the local paper did a story on them here. below is something i wrote...

Funerals are one of the few events we attend where we give serious time and attention to death. In spite of all our knowledge, it still remains the greatest of mysteries, and most feared of human experiences. Strange that we should fear death, when it is the common experience for all of humanity, and has been for all of time. And the fact is, that fear in itself can rob us of the beauty of the present.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-14 forms part of the Wisdom literature of the Bible. It talks about there being a time for everything, and that everything is not apart from God. There is a rhythm and a depth to all of life that is found in the rhythm and depths of God. Trying to hide or ignore the realities of the rhythms of life is like trying to hide or ignore the fact of life itself. And so to be afraid of death is also to be afraid of life; which robs us of the beauty of the present. There is deep wisdom in this.

I suspect Ron (real name, Horace) intuitively understood this, as he took hold of life and engaged with it so that he enjoyed life. The writer of Ecclesiastes said, “I know that there is nothing better for anyone than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil – this is the gift of God”. Ron was a man who had found contentedness in life, and so he did not allow fear to rob him of the beauty of the present while he lived it.

The Christian hope of the resurrection for all who put their faith in Jesus enables us to live fully now, to die well, and to expect to be re-born into a new life that is found in the eternal rhythms and depths of God himself.

This dear man’s life showed us something of what that is about. May we honour his memory by how we live our own lives. Amen.

Tags: funeral, death, fear, wisdom, god, resurrection, contemplative

f for forgiveness

ben witherington has a good post here on the movie, 'v for vendetta'. and damaris trust has a study guide here that helps look at some of the themes, and open up questions for debate.

while i have said in my previous post that i love these kinds of movies (and i do), the big impression it left me with was around the question of whether 'the ends justify the means'.

in holy week, we remember that jesus' means to achieving peace between god and humanity were peaceful from his perspective and his actions. he did not call down upon his killers the wrath of god in the form of legions of angels to deliver him (matthew 24:53). instead, he suffered the violence and cruelty of others, that those very others may have the possibility of reconciliation through him with god. he prayed for the forigveness of his own killers in the famous prayer, 'father, forgive them, for they do not know what they're doing' (luke 23:34).

in the words of the late great dr martin luther king jr., 'the ends must be consistent with the means. so peace must come through peaceful means.'

the 'f word' as an ideal lived out is incredibly powerful, and its legacy is enduring as witnessed by the life, death, and resurrection of jesus the christ.

Tags: forgiveness, v for vendetta, holy week

church services this week

below is the list of what's happening around the parish of walthamstow this week.

Monday 10 April

8.45 am Morning Prayer, St Luke’s
9.30 pm Night Prayer, St Mary’s

Tuesday 11 April

8.45 am Morning Prayer, St Luke’s
9.30 pm Night Prayer, St Mary’s

Wednesday 12 April

8.45 am Morning Prayer, St Luke’s
9.30 am Holy Communion, St Stephen’s
7- 9 pm Prayer Labyrinth, St Stephen’s
9.30 pm Night Prayer, St Mary’s

Maundy Thursday 13 April

8.45 am Morning Prayer, St Luke’s
1-3 pm Prayer Labyrinth, St Stephen’s
8 pm Agape Supper, St Gabriel’s
9.30 pm Night Prayer, St Mary’s

Good Friday 14 April

10 am All Age Worship, St Luke’s
10.30am Reflection, St Gabriel’s
10.30am All Age Worship, St Mary’s
12-3pm Time with Jesus, St Mary’s
1-3 pm Prayer Labyrinth, St Stephen’s
7.30 pm Stainer's Crucifixion, St Mary’s

Easter Day
Sunday 16 April

8am Holy Communion, St Mary’s
10 am All Age Communion, St Gabriel’s
10 am Prayer in the High Street
10.30 am All Age Communion, St Mary’s
10.45 am All Age Communion, St Luke’s
11.15 am All Age Communion, St Stephen’s
7 pm Celebration Praise! St Mary’s

on being human

i've just discovered that i've been recommended on another blog! check out 'you duped me lord', by mark mossa s.j. i'm always amazed that other people reckon my blog is worth looking at...

fact is, i've been feeling uninspired blogwise, and therefore considering whether its worth continuing with it. but then a recommendation happens, and the world gets bigger again. i've often noticed that when life gets uninspiring, or more melancholic than usual, or even mildly depressing, the worst place to go for help is yourself. yourself is so small in the world, and when you're not feeling good about yourself or life, yourself is no place to look for resources. all you tend to find when you look inside yourself is something resembling an old downward-leading spiral staircase, heading off into somewhere dark that has the smell of an ancient dungeon full of hopelesness.

a better place to go is outside where other people are, and these days, that even includes cyber-space. other people make the world bigger. other people see the world in ways that i don't. other people know god in ways that i find helpful. other people is where i find resources to live. other people is where i find who i am. i become more fully human as i relate to other people.

i think that's where jesus is genius, coz he said, 'love god with all you've got, and love your neighbour as yourself'. and even if you don't love yourself, his words are not a cop-out for not being with others, coz he also said, 'do to others as you would have them do to you'. that's about being proactive with other people, rather than the reactive attitude that says, 'don't do anything to others that you wouldn't want done to yourself'.

when mark mossa, s.j. (society of jesus) recommended my blog (and therefore me), he proactively did what jesus said to do and without realising it has blessed me and made me feel a little more human and worthwhile in my humanity. thank you mark.

why don't you pay mark a visit, or ring up a friend, or even take some flowers around and bless them too. we could all do with being a little more human, don't you think?

Tags: human, jesuits, contemplative

sella-what?

no, cellardyke!

so now we have bird flu. dang! (as the tsk would say).

check out the man on the ground - or in the potting shed - for a first hand view of the day.

'twill be interesting to see how this one pans out....

Tags: environment, cellardyke

developments and greenbelt

today i got the latest greenbelt mailing. looks like it will be another great weekend in august for about 17,000 people at cheltenham racecourse on the august bank holiday weekend. check out their website here for details. i won't be attending this year, as i've decided to go sailing instead with fellowship afloat on the annual volunteers' cruise.

but anyhoo, inside the greenbelt mailing was an advert for a magazine i hadn't heard of before, but which looks like it would be worth subscribing to - and it's free! its called 'developments'. here's part of their blurb:

a 'lifestyle' choice for too many people in developing countries is about which child to send to school or how to make the food last. in the poorest countries 'life', not 'lifestyle', is at stake. and that's what 'developments' magazine is about.

why not subscribe and develop your global education...

Tags: greenbelt, developments, fellowship afloat

soul space

tomorrow night is soul space at st mary's walthamstow, from 8.30pm-9.30pm.

come and enjoy the peace....

Tags: contemplative, peace, prayer

i'm back!!

have been away for a few days doing a mixture of things: on retreat, introducing a young friend to fellowship afloat with a view to her checking out the volunteer post of 'assistant cook' (which she didn't take, and so its still vacant - check out the fact site here for details, and pass them on to anyone you think may be interested as they need someone quickly); put my boat, 'blue vinney'', in the water for an early start to the season (see the picture taken just before she went in); attended bishop's council away day; and then helped a mate to put his boat back together.

back in the saddle now.