way out west

Did you see me?

Apparently we/I keep getting featured in the Christian press... which unsurprisingly I don't often read... I was told I was in a magazine the other day and now apparently I'm in this weeks Church Times... so if you happen to see my smiling face in something let me no (no prizes unfortunately!)

Technorati Tags: Church: Media: safespace

The Making of Modern Britain

I've been watching Andrew Marr's interesting "The Making of Modern Britain".  Lots of fascinating stuff, one section deserves a mention because of the way it flies in the face of the medias love affair with the New-Atheists particularly their simplistic view "Science=good, Religion=bad".  Marr leads with a piece on Darwin's cousin Francis Galton.  Galton, the scientist wrote in 1869 the book "Hereditary Genius" in which he says,

a man's natural abilities are derived by inheritance, under exactly the same limitations as are the form and physical features of the whole organic world. Consequently, as it is easy, notwithstanding those limitations, to obtain by careful :selection a permanent breed of dogs or horses gifted with peculiar powers of running, or of doing anything else, so it would be quite practicable to produce a highly-gifted race of men by judicious marriages during several consecutive generations.

effectively launching the idea of Eugenics into the modern world, which within 100 years led directly to the experiments of Joseph Mengele and the death camps of Nazi Germany.  Marr suggests that Galton believed that poverty could be bred out of culture, that only the upper classes should be encouraged to breed.  The programme then sets Galton in contrast to Seebohm Rowntree, the Christian, who conducted a study of poverty in York in 1899 the findings of which where published in the book "Poverty" in 1901 and, when taken up by David Lloyd George, became the seeds of British social welfare reform. 

Technorati Tags: Christianity: Culture: Media: Television

Pirates and Privateers (in praise of half baked ideas!)

...our faith is always under threat from blockage, from those who would control access to forgiveness, to grace, to truth. We need good Christian pirates to plunder and raid these places, to demand that these goods are released for all.

From Kester Brewin's entertaining and challenging series of blog posts "A plea for Christian Piracy" to which Richard Sudworth writes a critique...  I do find the writing and thinking of Kester and Pete Rollins helpful and in many ways inspiring and I have great respect for Richard and am in no place to argue (I'm no way near intellectual or academic enough!) with his critique... so I'm not going to try!  I would say that both Pete and Kester are helpful for me not just for what they say but for the way they say it... they both dwell in a narrative world, they speak in stories and ideas which translate... I can grasp what they are saying and in doing so I can even critique them myself... someone once said that all the best ideas where at some point "half baked"... it seems to me that these blog "discussions" often assume that each speaks in complete and formulated theories and it becomes a case of "which camp are you in" (some of the comments to Richard's post for example)  I like half baked ideas, I guess that's why I find Pete and Kester helpful, not because they offer a complete package for me to adopt or not but because they tell stories which leave space for me to reflect, to work through.

Technorati Tags: Blogging: Christianity: Culture: Emerging Church: theology

Leadership/Gifting discussion on Fresh Expressions

As requested I posted the below Blog post as a discussion starter on the Fresh Expressions Facebook page (Here) and it seems to have sparked a bit of a conversation... I'd love to hear more peoples thinking... go join in :)

Technorati Tags: Blogging: Christianity: Church of England: Community: Culture: Emerging Church: Fresh Expressions: Leadership: Missional: Ordination: safespace: Web 2.0

Pilgrimwear

I found this Tshirt a couple of months back... A perfect Tshirt for those with a pilgrim spirit!

Greenbelt 09 - The Long Worship Liturgies

This year Safespace joined with Feig, Grace and Dream to create The Long Worship - a day long (10-6) worship experience focused on Time, past/present/future... as part of the day we prepared 4 small hours liturgies, each around 15/20mins long.  They had three elements - 1) the psalms and themes of the Benedictine Small Hours (Terse, Sext, None and Compline) - 2) an element of the Eucharist/Communion (Confession, Peace, Bread & Wine, Sending) - 3) space to read from the evolving liturgy created by the participants ("The Work of the People" or the Wall liturgy - created from 840 words on cards which could be stuck on the wall a la fridge magnet poetry).  You can download the four liturgies below...

Technorati Tags: Prayer: Telford: theology: Greenbelt: puppy: Mission: Rhythm: safespace: Greenbelt09: Fresh Expressions: Community: new-monasticism: Spirituality: alt.worship: Poetry: Anglican Church: Church of England: Worship: Bible: Christianity

Life in a cold climate

Is "Church" like living in a cold climate?  Odd question to ask during the summer I suppose but the more time I spend outside of "Church" the more it looks like a bunch of people trying to survive in sub-zero temperatures... we huddle together for protection, we surround ourselves with layer upon layer of insulation from the climate (culture) around us and pray for Summer... we pull our lifeblood back from the extremities into the centre spending more and more time at this meeting or that, this group or gathering or that... I know many good Christians whose whole life is lived in "Church", whose diary is jammed with "Church" events (the workplace being the only exception) and whose social life is spent entirely with "Church" people (families often the only exception) trouble is it seems to me that living like this means sooner or later the extremities will die and ultimately it is not the way to survive... some Christians can't stand the waiting around and the self preoccupation and head off into the cold regardless of the outcome... some seem able to take the risk and acclimatise, adapt, so that they can survive and even flourish... though perhaps in a new way!  I want to be hopeful, I really do, maybe I'm just the type who can't stand standing around in a huddle facing in with my back to the weather (like those penguins do on "March of the Penguins"!)  I'm not saying I have the answer, not even saying I know how to survive just that I'm not sure "survival" is enough or worth it in it's own right... I guess I'm more of a "blaze (or freeze) of glory" type!  My Rural Dean said at the interview for my post that the role should be "meeting light and relationship heavy"  I guess that's part of the reason I'm here in Telford and why at this moment I'm more than happy being outside "Church".... with my face, not my back to the storm!

Technorati Tags: Christianity: Church: Community: Emerging Church: Fresh Expressions: Missional: safespace

A.N. Wilson rejects Atheism and finds faith!

From the New Statesman

Do people like Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins simply not get life?

I think on the whole that's right, that clever as the professional atheists are, they are missing out on some very basic experiences of life.

What's the worst thing about being faithless?

The worst thing about being faithless? When I thought I was an atheist I would listen to the music of Bach and realize that his perception of life was deeper, wiser, more rounded than my own. Ditto when I read the lives of great men and women who were religious.

Reading Northrop Frye and Blake made me realize that their world-view (above all their ability to see the world in mythological terms) is so much more INTERESTING than some of the alternative ways of looking at life.

Can you love god and agree with Darwin?

I think you can love God and agree with the author of The Voyage of the Beagle, the Earth Worm, and most of the Origin of Species.

The Descent of Man, with its talk of savages, its belief that black people are more primitive than white people, and much nonsense besides, is an offence to the intelligence - and is obviously incompatible with Christianity.

I think the jury is out about whether the theory of Natural selection, as defined by neo-Darwinians is true, and whether serious scientific doubts, as expressed in a new book Why Us by James Lefanu, deserve to be taken seriously. For example, does the discovery of the complex structure of DNA and the growth in knowledge in genetics require a rethink of Darwinian "gradualism". But these are scientific rather than religious questions.

ht Jason Clark http://deepchurch.org.uk/

Technorati Tags: Christianity: News: Spirituality

How the Celts saved Britain

A BBC Four programme looking at the early Irish Missionaries and the impact they had on the rest of Britain - interesting stuff - dates and times and iPlayer details here

Provocative two-part documentary in which Dan Snow blows the lid on the traditional Anglo-centric view of history and reveals how the Irish saved Britain from cultural oblivion during the Dark Ages.  He follows in the footsteps of Ireland's earliest missionaries as they venture through treacherous barbarian territory to bring literacy and technology to the future nations of Scotland and England.

Technorati Tags: Celtic: Christianity: Media: Mission: Missional: Television

Flip Flops needed!

If anyone feels like donating ladies Flip Flops for us to give out on Saturday nights - to help reduce the number of foot/ankle injuries... we would be most grateful... they are currently £1 a pair at Tescos but any kind will do!  Let me know and I'll tell you where to send them. :)

Technorati Tags: Mission: Missional: News: safespace: Sanktuary