Poetry and prayer

Today I started a new blog, mainly to ensure that the work I have been doing on my father's translation of Evagrius of Pontus's book How to pray can be kept together rather than each chapter being separated by random jottings in this blog. The book has 153 chapters, all succinct to the point of terseness. But  Evagrius chose to write 153 chapters as a reference to the 153 fish caught by the apostles in John 21. Evagrius wrote that he has 'published them in a basket of love', so I have subtitled the blog 'The basket of love.'

An overarching vision for the Church?

Some one recently asked me what my vision for the Church in the next 15-20 years was. It is interesting thinking about such things which are normally the purview of bishops, but perhaps should be in focus for us all, even if we might be dead and gone to glory before the vision is achieved! I waffled a bit, knowing what I wanted to say, but having too severe a headache to be coherent at that point. After rest and migraine tablets, my answer is:

Centred on Christ, in 15-20 years, the Church will be

Growing in depth of love for God and other people, in discipleship, and in numbers,

Giving financially, and in using our God-given gifts to serve the purpose of God (‘if everyone does a little, no-one has to do a lot!’)

Gathered, and going out in the power of the Spirit: gathered in worship and koinonia, and going out in love and service to communities: local, national and global.

Some people might feel that this leaves out a great deal, but for me, as a minister, as Paul Avis says in his recent book Ministry shaped by mission, all ministry is engaged with the missio dei, even leading worship, preaching the Word of God, and pastoral care. So my vision for the church has mission written right at its heart, and just like a stick of rock, every 'bite' needs to reveal the message!

In future blogs, I hope to look at some strategic steps to achieve such an ambitious goal, while recognising that these will differ from place to place and context to context.

Roman archeology and theology

Our younger daughter Claire is a primary school teacher. Julian and I, together with Claire and Simon, our son-in-law, had a week this month staying in Frascati to visit nearby Rome to help inform Claire's teaching about the Romans in history and RE . The highlight of the visit, for me, wasn't the Catacombs (though I thought it would be), or the Coliseum and other Roman ruins and remains (sites where many people died make me feel physically sick, so I didn't hang about for long there!), but the Vatican. We had a wonderful guide called Vincenzo, who shepherded his large group of touristi with grace and godliness, making our visit a gospel experience. Speaking to us through his throat mike and our headphones, he patiently and gently led us through the courtyard of the pines, the Vatican museum, the Sistine chapel, and into St Peter's. Here, almost at the end of our tour, he showed us a large sculptured tomb above a door, made of three different kinds of marble, in contrasting colours. Under the deep, carved folds, we could just make out the carving of a skeleton. He told us that this represented death, and that the doorway signified that death is not the end, but simply the doorway to the future, and life in eternity, life in all its fullness, if you had faith in Christ. I'm pretty sure that there were quite a number of people in our large party who were not Catholics, and who weren't Christians at all, and I realised that this could be a moment of conviction for some of them, so I was praying pretty hard. I hope the visit was even more special for them than it was for me.

Go Vincenzo!

Welcome to our new vicar

Yesterday, our new vicar, the Revd. Barry Jackson was installed, licensed etc etc. The rather formal language of the legal part of the service was tempered by the music group singing a tender song invoking the Holy Spirit - one I hadn't heard before, unusually.

The church was so full that people were standing at the back, and the singing was brilliant - hearty and joyful. Rafters were definitely raised - I could see tiny white bits of plaster drifting down - or was it dust from angel wings?!!!

The Bishop of Coventry was his usual eloquent self, and the whole event was followed by a marvellous celebratory reception in the village hall. Who says rural Christianity is in decline? Not here, it ain't!

Welcome Barry and all your family!

Earth Day

I 've just found out that it is Earth Day today! According to Wikipedia, 'Earth Day is a day designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the earth's environment', and it started in 1970. Google has lots of ideas for going green.

As I live with a daughter who is of this turn of mind and heart, I guess we already do much that they suggest, recycling, energy saving light bulbs, etc. There's always more my family and I can do, though, and our new garden is not yet productive, sadly, although Katie has a tomato plant growing in a pot on the kitchen window sill.

But as 'To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth' is the Anglican' Communion's 5th mark of mission, perhaps churches could think about ways we might celebrate this day in future, maybe with a fun and feast day, or by churchyard guerrilla gardening, or, as our diocesan Environment Adviser suggests, we could all get up close and personal with the (at least at present in the South of England) rather dried up grass and soil we normally step on and forget. Me? - I'm just going outside from our office to hug a tree! (Yes, really!)

Seeing Jesus in unexpected ways?

Just at the end of the curates conference, I passed a young woman that I didn't know sitting on a window seat in the conference centre. Perhaps she had arrived for the Roman Catholic Mass in the chapel of the Pastoral Centre? She was breast feeding her tiny baby. I smiled at her and passed on.

Then I remembered - when I was nursing my two babies, I had been terribly thirsty all the time. This woman didn't have a drink beside her. So I turned back and asked if she would like some water. "Oh, yes, please, " she answered, "I'm very thirsty". I fetched her a mug-full from the nearby water fountain.

Later, in the Eucharist, I remembered, 'Then the King will say, "I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink ... when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’' '(Matthew 25.35-40).

Curates annual conference

This weekend, in my capacity as one of the 1st year group tutors, I attended the annual curates conference for Oxford diocesan curates at the Pastoral Centre, London Colney. What was said by individuals remains confidential, but 2 or 3 things struck me.

1. There were over 90 curates from years 1, 2 and 3 present, and that's with not all being able to attend - one was stuck in Prague, unable to return because of the Icelandic volcanic ash having brought air traffic to a standstill. Talking to my ordained sister this morning, and hearing her shock at the number of curates attending the conference (she is from a different diocese), the large number of curates we train suggests that the Oxford Diocese, and not just the theological colleges and courses, has a very significant role in training clergy for the ongoing life and mission of the Church of England.

2. I was one of 2 members of staff on the planning group for the conference, the rest were elected among the curates. I was vastly impressed by all of the team, but especially by the curate members and the Chair, Alan Crawley. They all seemed to me to have enthusiasm, dedication and commitment well beyond the call of duty! They also had creative, administrative and innovatory skills that the church will hopefully value and find a place for.

3. The atmosphere of the conference was great, even though many of these people were tired from the ongoing pressures of their lives. Many of the curates are self-supporting, and their engagement with the programme was as full and committed as those who are paid a stipend. I am so pleased and grateful to God that I belong to a part of the Church where our new leaders as a whole are so able and godly.

4. The subject of the conference was Celebrating Diversity. At the end we had a creative Eucharist with different parts of the service being produced by different groups of curates working collaboratively. For me, this was all summed up in the gorgeous altar frontal, which had been created by one of the groups that morning, under the skilled guidance and leadership of Etienne van Blerk. Bishop Alan preached about it brilliantly in his sermon, encouraging us to value diversity in the church.

The picture shows the altar frontal the curates made, with the 153 fish from John 21 representing the full diversity of the church. Wonderful, isn't it!

Easter

A glorious Easter this year at our new church. The church building looked wonderful - decked out with spring flowers. The Church looked even better, even though most of them were still in their winter clothes, rather than Easter bonnets!

We had a power cut that morning, just as I was typing out the running order for the service - I was, unusually, presiding and preaching at the Eucharist. So my computer crashed, and with it, any chance of getting the order printed off for myself. Shouldn't be a problem, I thought - but - hey! Guess what? There was a problem - two, in fact. I managed to forget the Collect and had to slip it in later, and at the end, I went straight to the dismissal forgetting the last hymn and blessing. I managed to stop before I sent everyone out unblessed and we did the ending properly, but it occurred to me that a large print, clear order of service with everything included in it, rather than the church's Common Worship printed booklet is probably something I now need to get ready to take to church every week, just in case! Anyway, no-one seemed to notice the slip-ups, and good humour and warmth seemed to pervade the congregation.

After that, back home for lunch with 13 of the family - so it was like one big feed-in all day. It says something to me about the hospitality of the Lord's table - all are welcome, and if we have the opportunity to squeeze a few more in, we'd be delighted to do so!

Air flow

It's quite a time since I last blogged. That's probably because I have moved house again, and also had a minor nose operation, during which, amongst other things, the surgeon did something to my 'inferior turbinates'. I have no idea what they are but they sound hilarious! Ideas of alternative energy sources, wind turbines and the like spring to mind. Maybe that's it - it's something about breathing and breath? Or maybe I have that on my mind because last night I was working with one of our Christian Doctrine classes, helping them to get to grips with the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, who is the 'Breath' of God.

Funnily enough, we are half way through March, and the March winds haven't really blown much this year, at least in our new garden. I used to think that wherever I lived in England, I could put up a wind turbine in the garden and run my computer from the electricity it generated. I'm beginning to doubt that such a construction would work in the village where we now live. So, what about solar panels? Maybe not this year, unless we really do get a 'barbeque summer'!