Christmas

The reason for the season.

Happy Christmas all.

Advent 4

cast out our sin
and enter in
be born in us today

God, come. Be born in us we pray

Advent 3

And the angel left her and Mary quietly contemplated these things

Advent 2

the meaning behind meaning
the word before words

tumbling into flesh
falling into flesh
slipping into flesh

logos spermatikos
logos ovatikos

embryonic born-again Eve-Adam

fused sperm-egg of godself
angeling itself in the soft angles of Mary’s womb
decentring itself in the twisted gravity of creation
being fruitful and multiplying
spinning life into the genes of Jesus

poem taken from Alternative Worship p. 10
image from Taize

Advent 1

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to the Galilean village of Nazareth to a virgin engaged to be married to a man descended from David. His name was Joseph, and the virgin’s name, Mary. Upon entering, Gabriel greeted her:

Good morning!
You’re beautiful with God’s beauty,
Beautiful inside and out!
God be with you.

She was thoroughly shaken, wondering what was behind a greeting like that. But the angel assured her,

“Mary, you have nothing to fear. God has a surprise for you: You will become pregnant and give birth to a son and call his name Jesus.

He will be great,
be called ‘Son of the Highest.’
The Lord God will give him
the throne of his father David;
He will rule Jacob’s house forever—
no end, ever, to his kingdom.”

Mary said to the angel, “But how? I’ve never slept with a man.”

The angel answered,

The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
the power of the Highest hover over you;
Therefore, the child you bring to birth
will be called Holy, Son of God.

(image from Taize, Scripture from The Message)

The Conspiracy of Advent

AngelSpace is a project I set up for young people to discover the mysterious space of Rochester Cathedral and worship God in a fun and safe place. I had a great team of youth workers and volunteers help me run 10 events. It was a lot of fun and I can’t wait to do something like it again in the future. At the end of this month the team are running the twelfth event called the Advent Conspiracy. The website says:

The story of Christ’s birth is a story of promise, hope, and a revolutionary love.

So, what happened? What was once a time to celebrate the birth of a savior has somehow turned into a season of stress, traffic jams, and shopping lists.

And when it’s all over, many of us are left with presents to return, looming debt that will take months to pay off, and this empty feeling of missed purpose. Is this what we really want out of Christmas?

What if Christmas became a world-changing event again?

Welcome to Advent Conspiracy.

Might be something to get your church or youth group involved in?

Fuzz Kitto

We had Fuzz Kitto come and talk to us at Ridley today. It was a very good morning and I really enjoyed listening to what he had to say. I took some notes in the form of words and phrases he used that spoke to me:

sacred ecosystem of God | the Kingdom of God Luke | eat drink and hang out | gather | around experience | good food | good wine | good conversation truth | relational | stories of evangelism from around the world | a text without context is pretext | sit under the scriptures | wash over multi sensory narratives | incarnation | changing the culture | what is the nature of the Bible’s narrative? | mission shift what is a church? | style? | transformation | purpose | picture the people | church gathered | worship | church scattered | mission | missio dei | personal holiness | social outcomes | community imagination | emerging imagination | listen of God | where is God? | how we see the world | spirits with a body | Christ transforming culture | church culture | mission culture | paradigm shift | authentic relationships | integrity | not programs | exegesis | relevance | meaning of life | life searches | do you know you God? | techniques | worship | mission | how we approach God | relevant | motivational | theworkofthepeople.com | tobetold.info | gospel projection | dualism | yearnings | who am I? | whose am I? | why am I here? | living out sacred ecosystem | God | relationship | truth

Half term

So we’re half way through term and I am pleased to announce I have started two assignments out of four. I don’t know what your logic is in writing essays, but I tend to the easier ones first as a motivation that I have completed work and then move onto the more difficult ones.

Life at Ridley is continuing in its fast pace – Thursday communions come round very quickly and the deadlines get ever closer. The pressure on people is now visible upon the realisation that this is not a conference after all and we have work to do! I am enjoying most of the learning here. I have particularly enjoyed the Ezekiel exegesis classes and look forward to writing that essay – I shall share the title at a later date. This Friday we have Fuzz Kito coming to speak to us for our Life and Service module. That should be really good as I heard a lot about him whilst I was in youth work, but never got to see or hear him speak. So my expectations are up for this week in a small class of 14 people!

Two weeks ago we had an ethics lecture on Biblical Ethics. The lecturer was excellent and I think likes to push people in their thinking by saying very radical and liberal things. I am pretty sure she is just getting people to react and think for themselves when he started talking about the Virgin Mary. He explained to the class of about 60 people that the passages in the Bible relating to Mary were poetic – poetry that speaks a great deal to him. A great discussion ensued and made me realise this is why I wanted to come to theological college – to have great discussions on contraversial issues like this… It ended well and I benefited from it a great deal…I hope it translates into the essay!!

So, all manner of things are going on here at Ridders. I do feel more involved in things as the time goes by. I have already lead worship a couple of times with an amazing team and my ’staircase’ are leading an All Age on November 26th – Christ the King! Oh, of course – I get to lead a BCP morning prayer too…can’t wait for that!

So, anyway, I will try and keep the posts closer together from now on, but you know me. Thanks for reading!

A creed

Last Sunday I attended my attachment church (St. Edward’s King and Martyr) in Cambridge for a service which was entitled “Odyssey”. It was a BCP service with contemporary overtones, very impressive. It was rich but simple and the vicar seemed to lead the service with flow and elegance. It was an overwhelming service.

In the middle of the service my heart jumped as I watched the vicar light a candle and say some very familiar words that I used to use at the cafe church I used to lead in Kent. It truly confirmed my place and calling to the church as my attachment for the next two years. I am really looking forward to learning a great deal from the vicar and the church’s members.

The prayer is based around lighting three lights and gets people saying a creed (almost) which is far shorter than the ones we usually say:

I will light this light in the name of the Maker,
who lit the world and breathed the breath of life for us.

I will light this light in the name of the Son,
who saved the world and stretched out his hand to us.

I will light this light in the name of the Spirit,
who encompasses the world and blesses our soul’s with yearning.

We will light three lights
For the Trinity of Love
God above Us,
God Beside Us,
God Beneath Us;
The Beginning,
The End,
The Everlasting One.

Vicars to be…

We’re all vicars to be and it is really easy to forget that. Everyone I have met and spoken to has had a journey that has brought all of us to the same point in the road and we are all going travelling together for the next few years, even though (!) we will all be having our own journeys at the same (long sentence!). I have had a very mixed week in my first week of vicar school. Getting up for morning prayers has been okay, but the experience has not been great! So many words, so many prayers, so many readings (three!)…where is the silence, where is the rest, where is the listening? It’s all a bit too much if not boring and a bit mono-chrome! We shall see what week two brings!

I have been taken aback at how young everyone is! There are a lot of people here who are still in their twenties. In fact I think each decade is well represented here at Ridley. I think it brings a good dynamic to community life which is forever being developed and forever evolving. I think most people have some idea of what they are supposed to be doing now, even though lectures for non MA people don’t begin until next Thursday. We’re here, but don’t feel like we’ve truly begun yet! I am very sure that will change very soon!!

I still miss youth work and training volunteers. I had a lengthy conversation with someone this morning about church youth work and young people and I felt right at home again. I am hoping I will be able to find more opportunities to keep me sharp in the months and years ahead.

So, to another week of vicar training. I am trying to remember that is what I am here for and to take every opportunity that comes along. Keep praying for me…thanks.