Hi folks, I hope you are doing ok, this week we are meeting at the Enigma Tap at 7.30.
This weeks Blog is written for us by Emily.
It’s probably no secret that I’m a bit book-mad. So when I heard about this series on books/art/music etc, I knew that I wanted to (attempt) to write a blog.
My favourite book is called “The Wind Up Bird Chronicle” by Haruki Murakami. Murakami is a Japanese writer and tackles the weird and wonderful. A lot of his work is based on that of Franz Kafka.
The Wind Up Bird Chronicle follows Toru Okada, who is searching for his missing cat at his wife Kumiko’s request. During his search he meets May Kasahara, a curious teenage girl who has been watching him from his back yard. They form a friendship and after talking about it, she takes him to an old, abandoned house as she thinks this could be where Toru’s cat could be found. There, they find an abandoned well (which becomes significant later).
A little while on, Kumiko goes missing and her brother informs Toru that she has been seeing another man and wants to end her relationship with Toru. Toru speaks to clairvoyant Malta Kano and her sister Creta Kano and they help him to unravel Kumiko’s brother’s nefarious past.
These plot points are the basic ground work of the story but there is so much more to it than just the plot.
For large portions of the book, Toru sits at the bottom of the well at the old, abandoned house, reminiscing about the past he had shared with Kumiko and experiencing dream-like sequences which allows him to pass between his reality and another, uncovering secrets that may connect his dreams with reality.
When Toru is in the well, he searches for meaning, both in the real world and in this dream world that he has created. Toru’s lack of concept of self is really highlighted as he 1) realises how easily he was replaced at work after he left and 2) how easily he could be replaced within his relationship with Kumiko. He shows no true sign of motivation to do anything about either of these things, hence him sitting in a well and ruminating.
Toru is a man who, ultimately, is lost in his reality and has no idea how to find himself again.
As I was reading, I was reminded of Job from the bible, a man who lost everything: his children, wealth, livestock, crops, health and relationships with his wife and friends, which I imagine made him feel pretty lost in his reality.
Some of you may know that recently my school joined an academy and this has changed everything for us. At times, I’ve certainly felt lost and I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on the past, the present and entering a similar dream-like state to Toru, thinking about how I would like the future to look.
I wonder what the well in itself means to you. To me it symbolises being stuck and not knowing where to turn or who I am. How well do we truly know ourselves? Do we actually know ourselves?
It’s so easy to say “God is with you in the unknown” and compare yourself to Job, who praised God instead of cursing him. But in reality, it’s not always that easy.
Reading the bible can feel like its own “dream world” as it is so far removed from what we know in this century. As Christians, does this sometimes contribute to our feeling of being lost?
Some questions:
If you could enter any fantasy world (Marvel, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings ETC) What would it be? And how would it play out?
Where do you ‘go’ (like the well) to ruminate?
What is the ‘well to you?
What does it mean to be lost?
How do you relate to Job and his story?
In what way does your faith journey feel like a dream state?
This post is written by one of our many friends. At BeachcomberFX we love to hear what others have to say and are always on the lookout for people who want to share their thoughts or stories with us.
Hi folks, we are taking a little break from our theme this week to think about the seasons. We are now into shorter days and darker nights and I wonder how you are finding them? Many of you know that in general I begin to struggle at this time of year, mainly because I love the summer, I love light nights, and beer gardens, and the warmth of the sun, and as we move from that to winter I find I get a wee bit low.
Over the last couple of years or so I have begun to ‘have a word with myself’ and Karen has encouraged me to try and embrace it… so this last year that’s what I have tried to do.
It all began with the trees… It began a couple of years ago as I really started to notice the trees in a new way, particularly as the leaves fell, last year I took more photos of trees, and I began to stop and really look at the structure of them.
So this year I was excited when I began to see the natural art the trees create in their nakedness. It is a ‘wonder ‘ moment! I have also noticed the leaves more… the colours have been spectacular, i heard it was because of the amount of rain we had over the summer!! It also helped that we were away in Kielder in September as they started to change and fall, it was heavenly.
As part of my embracing this new way of thinking about this season it led me to ponder and create the Dusking event we held last night at King Edwards Bay with Ian from Sea Soul, (have a chat to David or I about it if you want to know more) Dusking was a chance to celebrate the end of the summer, giving thanks for it, and opening up to the possibilities of the winter months.
We created a liturgy and a tree like labyrinth in the sand with lanterns in the centre for people to light to remember a loved one… we gave opportunity for sharing and for people to write names of those they loved in the sand and we encouraged people to interact with the sea… so I danced in the sea… I wasn’t in very long, but it was invigorating, and freeing to move my body in the sea… I will definitely be doing it again!
This all came about by going to a talk at Greenbelt facilitated by someone I follow on various social media platforms. And she was interviewing Lucy Wright who is an artist, her practice ‘sits at the intersection of folklore and activism’. She is also a ‘Hedge Morris Dancer’. Hedge Morris is about holding a place for those who don’t have or can’t be with a group of Morris ‘siblings ‘ as she calls them.
She has also created a new tradition which she has called Dusking… hence why we called our event Dusking… The whole idea is to provide an opportunity at the end of the year for people to dance the sun down ‘marking the start of winter and the gifts of rest, replenishment and reflection’.
Lucy did it for the first time last year and was surprised by the numbers who took part in solo dances in all kinds of situations – children running and jumping in back gardens saying good night to the sun, folks in kitchens flailing tea towels around and wheelchair users in front rooms waving hankies… She says she wants it to be Inclusive and full of self expression.
As I listened to her it was inspiring to think of the seasons in new ways and then I started to make spiritual connections between practice, nature, art and faith.
After doing a bit more digging I’m learning about how much our spirituality should be more rooted in the seasons, picking this up relatively late in life is very frustrating, my early faith journey and spirituality taught me to be sceptical and even treat some of it as demonic… It breaks my heart that much of the way the ‘church’ hasn’t embraced the joy of creation in much more tangible ways… yes of course Christianity loves creation… The church talk s about it, praise s God for it… but to ‘get’ it we need to be in it, to experience it, to embrace the seasons and all that they offer.
And so as a bloke in his mid fifties I’m suddenly learning about the seasons and it’s beautiful.
As we were on the beach the other day and as I danced in the sea, I was pondering on the world in all its darkness as the natural darkness consumed the light. I thought about what it would be like to be in places where hope is a fragile commodity, where the threat of violence is an all consuming reality… it would be easy in the midst of such darkness to close the door and hide… but I danced! And so I choose to dance in-spite of the darkness… we must continue to dance… we must continue to sing… we must continue to make art… we must continue to find ways to bring people together.
This week we are meeting at the Tavern and Galley at 7.30, I hope you can join us.
Here are some links to Lucy Wright and her writing and her website…
Rob Wylie is the founder of BeachcomberFX and guides its leadership team. He has worked in the North East for over 20 years and has vast experience from various roles he has held. He has a passion for Fresh Expressions of Church and Pioneer Ministry as well as beer, beaches and Miniature Schnauzers.
Hi folks, I hope you are doing ok? This week we are meeting at the Enigma Tap, I hope you can join us.
This week I want us to think about public art, namely murals. Over the last few months North Shields has seen two new murals be created (see images), both by Prefab 77 (Pete Manning) they can be found round the corner from the Enigma Tap on the end of what used to be the Old Hundred on Albion Road, this is called ‘Siren’. The other adorns the wall of King Street Social Club, and is called ‘Angels Live In Our Town’. Both have been created in black and white and have added some vibrancy and talking points around the town. And there may be others being created in the months to come.
Now murals aren’t new of course and many cities around the world have created trails… If you go to Leeds you can do a Leeds United Mural trail, I know its niche! Glasgow has a trail. https://www.citycentremuraltrail.co.uk/ There are trails in London, Glastonbury, Bristol, Berlin, Derry, Copenhagen, to name a few.
As I have looked at the murals in North Shields over the last few weeks different things jump out at you depending on where you look and what is kind of going on in life. Right now the image that caught my attention was the skull in Angels Live in Our Town, not least because we are heading in to all souls/day of the dead celebrations. I think it’s also linked to last week’s blog when I reflected on death…
If you have time over the next few days why not go and take a look at them… They are impressive. I wonder what strikes you about these pieces of art?
The other thing that strikes me as I have reflected on these murals is the titles that have been given to them. ‘Siren’ comes out of Greek mythology and is a female human-like being who is supposed to be alluring and dangerous! As I read about Sirens it seems that they found their way into early Christian thought… Saint Jerome, who created a Latin version of the bible, used the word to translate jackals in Isaiah 13:22, and also owls in Jeremiah 50:39. Ambrose suggested that Sirens are allegory for worldly temptations!!
The other title I find really interesting is ‘Angels Live In Our Town’. I wonder what thoughts this conjures up for you? I love the idea that everyone we meet is an angel… as we meet people we are challenged to see the best in them… to imagine what people can be… I think in the midst of the world’s issues this is a powerful message for our time.
One of the other thoughts I have had is about Joy, the joy that comes with seeing something beautiful as we walk, and so i’m also reminded of the joy that we have given through the Christmas Angels project, they produced a moment of joy and wonder… I think that’s what public art does, it creates wonder and joy as we go about our lives. Interestingly if we considered each person as an angel… what a moment of wonder that could be for us, and so I think it also says something about the ‘divine spark’ within each one of us.
So some questions:
What has been the best public art you have encountered?
What do you think of this kind of mural public art?
What strikes you about the murals? What are you drawn to?
What do you think is going on by interpreting phrases like Jackal and Owl as sirens in the bible?
What comes to mind as you consider ‘Angels Live In Our Town’?
What moments of wonder or divine spark have you seen this week?
Rob Wylie is the founder of BeachcomberFX and guides its leadership team. He has worked in the North East for over 20 years and has vast experience from various roles he has held. He has a passion for Fresh Expressions of Church and Pioneer Ministry as well as beer, beaches and Miniature Schnauzers.
I have just finished reading the latest Thursday Murder Club book The last Devil To Die by Richard Osman. they are really easy to read and not particularly complicated, which is good for a reader like me! As you know I have tried to read more and over the last couple of years, i’m doing ok, although I won’t get to my target this year, but hey ho, that’s life.
Anyway back to the Thursday Murder Club, the idea behind these books is that a group of old folks who have entered a retirement village start the Thursday Murder Club to try investigate old or dead cases. Elizabeth is the main expert as she was a former spy and she gathers around her others who take an interest. It’s told through a recent new comer to the village a lady called Joyce, its part diary as well.
What I have loved about them is the interactions between the main group and the way it deals with difficult subjects in a really light and yet moving way. It tackles issues around ageing, death, dementia, as well as criminal activity!
As I finished the last book I was away for the weekend with some of our community singing group, Mariners and Marras, over the last couple of years two folks connected to these weekend have died, and so whilst reading the book it brought up issues around how communities deal with death. Now that could be churches, work contexts, other social aspects anything really… As we walk towards All Saints day, it brought up how different cultures deal with death, Mexico and day of the dead celebrations – Communities mainly families, remembering loved ones who have died.
As part of the weekend I was talking to someone about how to keep things like these singing weekends going when most of the attendees are over 50!The book tackles ageing really well and invites you in… the thing that I notice about life, and it isn’t to profound, is that I am only really present in the now… we can’t rewind or fast forward we are only ever in the present, and yet with each passing second and minute we are getting older… its hard to figure out what ageing might look like, we get a spot lights into it when we see friends and relatives getting old, and of course different people handle this differently, depending on their own situation.
The third book also goes into more detail about dementia and this sparked other thoughts about a movie Karen and I watched the other week ’Knox goes away’ – This is about a contract killer who has rapid evolving dementia.I can’t remember if it was the book or the movie but they talk about dementia as being like a recording of your life that deletes the most recent events…
So we have three areas, death, ageing and dementia. I think it is particularly pertinent to talk about these issues more, as we have an increasingly ageing community, with that comes the community memory of the people, places and experiences that have marked those in their later years. What stories would we want to pass on to future generations, there are so many questions!
So here are some questions:
What film, story, TV program does this remind you of?
What is your experience of communities dealing with death?
How do you feel about ageing?
What experience do you have of dementia?
What biblical stories come to mind when you consider these themes?
What can our own faith/spirituality teach us about this?
What collective BFX story would we wish to pass on?
Rob Wylie is the founder of BeachcomberFX and guides its leadership team. He has worked in the North East for over 20 years and has vast experience from various roles he has held. He has a passion for Fresh Expressions of Church and Pioneer Ministry as well as beer, beaches and Miniature Schnauzers.
bHi folks, i hope you are doing ok, this week we are meeting at the Tavern and Galley at 7.30, we look forward to seeing you there. This weeks our blog is written for us by John Cooper.
What matters more: what happened or what we think happened? What happened or what we remember happening? If you think that those four statements can be the same – think again.
Our memories are tricky things. Our brains don’t just record things like a film, they create a version of what happened, mixed between image sound, smell, and emotion. And it mixes in our relationships to people what happened before and since, and then with each re-telling the narrative is subtly altered. As we get older our brains begin to overwrite the memory with our slightly altered remembrances.Imagine a computer moving a slightly distorted version of the story from our hard drive into RAM. When it’s stored back the altered version is stored. Safe to say our memory is flawed. So much so that in an investigation, the police will be more suspicious if people’s accounts match, rather than if they don’t.
On October 25, 1946, Ludwig Wittgenstein and Karl Popper (two famous philosophers) had a heated, 10-minute confrontation in Cambridge, England. The argument was over an arcane topic and took place in a small room at a meeting of an obscure university club. At one point in the argument Wittgenstein brandished a poker. But did he do it to to demonstrate a point, or to threaten Popper. The exact details of what happened remained a subject of disagreement for decades. We can be sure that they were both there, that they had an argument, and that a poker was involved – beyond that is open to interpretation.
In 1973 my family visited my dad’s sister and brother-in-law at an army base in Germany. During the holiday we visited a theme park called Efteling in Holland. I was enraptured by large model toadstools that played music, and a giant whose neck grew. I have searched Efteling on the internet, there are pictures of the toadstools and the giant, and we have pictures and a book at my mum’s house. I know this happened, all the evidence is there – but do I remember it, or do I remember being told about it? And does it actually matter?
My favourite film is “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”. In it, Joel (Jim Carrey) and Clementine (Kate Winslet) start a relationship. Joel is neurotic and slightly insular; Clem is impulsive, passionate and spontaneous. In the first part of the film, we see their relationship flourish, sour and end. The Joel discovers that Clem has undergone a medical procedure to have all her memories of Joel erased. Joel is fuming and decides to undergo the procedure himself. We travel into Joel’s memories as they are stripped away. To begin with the painful memories are gladly given up, but as he starts to lose the memories of the good times – he begins to fight. There is a realisation that he’s made a big mistake. The ending is one of my favourite scenes of any film. It’s not grand or flashy – but it is perfect (IMO).
I want us to think about two things with this in mind. Firstly, the Bible is a collection of writings recording group and individuals’ remembrances of what it means to follow God. Most of them were written years after the events they record – In a lot of cases second or third (or more) hand. While some people tell us how important the oral tradition was, our memories and the social narratives of communities will change the stories – it’s inevitable. But my question is: Does that make them less true or more true? If they’ve changed, then maybe the fact they are still being retold is testament to the important message and function they play in the life of the community.
Secondly, if we accept that our own memories aren’t as accurate as we’d like to believe, we can examine some of our own narratives and ask: Are they functioning to help us frame the world positively; or are we hiding some uncomfortable truths?
Who we are; how we act; re-act and process shapes the way we look at the world and we are shaped by the stories we know, the narratives of our lives either as we have seen it, or have been told it. These narratives can have a profound effect on us; a power over us. Sometimes when we find out they are not true (or true in a different way) we have to reframe what we know of ourselves. This has certainly been my experience with Christianity over the past 10 years. It doesn’t only change what I know; but who I am. At times, like Joel in the film, I’m desperately trying to cling to something which is slipping away; but that held so much meaning and comfort to me. Fortunately, this sense of loss has often been replaced by a new meeting of a deeper truth. God leaves a note – “Meet me at Montauk” (you’ll have to watch the film to get that one).
Q’s
What’s your first memory?
Are you sure about that?
Is there a family story you know happened, but only because you’ve been told it?
How does that memory feel?
What do you feel about the Bible being a community’s memories and not a modern historical account?
Over the last few months we have been reflecting on books, films, music and other things that has inspired or challenged us.Well over the past few weeks all I have done is consume vast amounts of material on the book of Leviticus.I am afraid that is what you are going to get here.Bring on the sacrifice!
A very brief intro to this much maligned and often ignored book of the Old Testament.
It shouldn’t be called Leviticus (which measures of the Levites). It should be referred to using the Hebrew term vayikra which means ‘and he called’ the he here referring to Yahweh so it should be ‘and Yahweh called’.
It wasn’t written by Moses. But you knew that already.
The timescale the book covers is a one month period. So we have 27 chapters focused on one month of Moses life and the life of the Hebrew people.
I can understand why people don’t like this book. There are a lot of animals that die. There are a lot of rules about what you can and can’t do. There are a lot of things that are repeated over and over again.Anyone reading it can quite rightly say, this has no relevance to me and skip on to the book of Numbers (which kills off there reading the bible from cover to cover).There are also lots of bits of vayikra that get cherry picked to make particular theological stands and lots of bits that are ignored.
Yet this is the book where we are first told to love our neighbour as yourself. The next time you hear those words is from Jesus in the gospels. Maybe vayikra can teach us something after all. Let me summarise some of the things this book might be trying to say to us and show us about what it means to be a people who dwell with the divine presence.
Working out a new way of living
The people that this book is addressed to are a group of former slaves who have been rescued from living under an oppressive regime. I haven’t been a slave and I don’t know what it feels like to live in that way, from reading the experiences of others, especially those taken into slavery from Africa to the US during the transatlantic slave trade it is a dehumanising experience.For the people rescued from Egypt by God they had only known one way to exist.In Exodus we get some hints about the kind of community these people were being called to be. One that would bless other nations, would be a royal priesthood (like God’s body in the world) and a holy nation (a different kind of community to those in the world, especially those like Egypt).In order to become something new and different you need to set out how you will do the things that you need to do. Vayikra does a lot of that. There is a lot of information about what should be done and what shouldn’t. How it should be done and how it shouldn’t.Sometimes these look like weird arbitrary rules and distinctions but at the heart of them is we aren’t going to be like everyone else. We are going to be different so that we can show people there is a better way.
Finding a new rhythm
Lots of vayikra is about finding a new rhythm to life. If you are trying to do something new or leave a bad habit behind then you need to be intentional about how you go about this. It doesn’t just happen. If you want to become a great cook you have to cook things. If you want to run a marathon you have to set out a training plan and stick to it. If you want to quit smoking then you are going to have to work out what triggers your cravings and what you are going to do to help you resist them.You need to find a new rhythm, a new order to how you live your life.To make this kind of thing stick you will have to be pretty strict at the beginning otherwise things will never change. vayikra is about finding a new rhythm to live by.
An escape from guilt and anxiety
If you lived with a worldview that told you there were forces at work in the world that could help you or hinder you in your life you may find a way to appease them.You might offer some of your harvest up to these forces to keep them on your side.But if you did this and no rain come you would worry.Worry because you can’t feed your family and you might have angered the forces by not giving them a pleasing gift. This time you offer an animal hoping this will be accepted. The problem with this system is you are never sure where you stand. Worry and anxiety can begin to eat away at you as you try to work out how you secure favour. In many places at the time of vayikra writing and before that led to sacrificing a child, the greatest gift you had, to keep the forces on your side. If you have a set system with clear rules about what was needed and when it was needed then this guilt and anxiety is relieved.vayikra goes further and tells people that they can actually spend time in God’s presence that they can even sit down together and enjoy a meal with the creator of the world.
We aren’t that different
I think maybe the reason we ignore vayikra and pretend it isn’t for us is that maybe it nags at us a little. Maybe we sense in its pages a reminder that we aren’t actually that different from these people. Our world looks different and we have made progress in some ways but in others, maybe we have actually gone backwards.
Questions – don’t answer all of them – chose the ones that seem relevant
If you could introduce one rule that all people would have to follow what would it be?
Can you think of a time when you found yourselfliving in a way that was different from others around you? What was that experience like?
What’s something you’ve done that has required you to create a whole new rhythm or routine in your life? How hard was it to stick to?
vayikra talks about ‘being different’ to show a better way of living. What’s one thing you think BFX could do differently to show a better way of living?
vayikra talks about rituals and sacrifices that help to maintain a relationship with the God and with the created world. How do we find ways of developing practices that build up our relationship with creator God, nature, and the environment, today in light of climate change?
vayikra offers systems to help people deal with guilt and anxiety, often through ritual and community. In today’s world, where anxiety and mental health challenges are rising, what are some ways we can create faith practices that provide support and help alleviate these struggles?
vayikra is the first place where we hear the command to ‘love your neighbour as yourself.’ How do you think this teaching applies to issues like immigration, climate refugees, or homelessness in today’s world?
What does BFX have to do to look like a community that seeks to live differently in the world? What things could we change/start/stop to make this happen?
Photo by Vincent M.A. Janssen: https://www.pexels.com/photo/white-animal-skull-on-sand-3258243/
Has been a part of BeachcomberFX since his arrival in the North East in 2014. He is well travelled (at least in the UK) having lived in Manchester, Nottingham, Derbyshire, Southport, Doncaster, Berwick and Edinburgh. Supporter of Newcastle United, will watch any sport.
Hello all, I hope you are well and wrapping up warm as the autumn weather arrives. This Sunday (6th October) we will be meeting at the Tavern and Gallery at 7.30pm.
We continue with our book/art/song blogs and if anyone would like to write a blog then drop Rob or myself a message.
This week’s blog has been re-entitled Rejoice and Complain part 2. I have had this blog written for a few months in my head and when asked if I could write for this week I was like yeah, sure I know exactly which one we will look at. Then when reading Celeb’s brilliant blog about rejoicing and complaining last week and being part of the discussion, I felt that this could be part 2.
So here we go.
As I was have a music evening listening through my headphones while gaming, I was stopped in my tracks when listening to the song ‘I stand by you’ by the Pretenders. I’ve grown up with this song and I can’t remember where or when I heard one of the reason for this song to be written was a response from the lead singer Chrissie Hynes to supporting someone in addiction. However, when you research the meaning of the song this can’t be found but what is found is an interview with one of the
co-writers who’s dream was to write with Chrissie and that at the end of writing the song they though it was not up to the usual standards or type that the Pretenders where known for. Yet they give it a short and it is now one of, if not their best song.
There are a number of reviews that talk of this song being about support, faithfulness in a relationship, unconditional love, and you can see this all in the lyrics;
‘oh, why you look so sad, tears are in your eyes, come on and come to me now’
‘Nothing you confess, can make me love you less’
‘If your mad, get mad, don’t hold it all inside, come on and talk to me now’
And it was this last lyric that caught me off guard. As many of you know I have been in counselling the whole of this year. It has been hard, at times downright ugly but there has been a lot of progress too. As I have been working to stop numbing my emotions and reconnect with them, it was at this time that this line struck me.
This song spoke to me in this moment, where I felt God was saying ‘be honest about what your feeling, stop trying to protect me by not getting angry, talk to me, cry if you need too, stop hiding it, stop pushing it down as if it doesn’t exit, stop carrying it around inside of you.’
I have come to believe in a holistic God, a God who is wanting to be part of my every being, a God who is not a dictator and ready to struck me with lighting but a God who cares for my very being, a God who is supporting, faithful and loves me unconditional in all the rejoicing and the complaining, He wants to be in it all; and this song felt like that was exactly what God was saying/singing to me in that moment.
Life is hard, there is a lot to complain about but it is also full with moments of rejoicing, of happy moments and both are intertwined, woven into each other. If we were in constant rejoicing we, as humans, would become immune to it and start to complain anyway. And life can seem that it is an endless list of complaints and yet I need to take the time to consider and be thankful for the small, everyday things that make my heart smile, that first sip of coffee, a joke or silly meme from a friend or even my own actions of standing in the office trying to open the cupboard door by clicking my car fob HAHAHA! Which made me laugh at myself.
I think that over the year I have begun to accept that there is a much simpler life to be lead and this is found in the acceptance of all that life has to offer, the rejoicing, the complaining, the good, the bad and the ugly. How I responded to it is important, accepting that whatever it is there, processing it in a healthy way and then deciding if there is something that needs to be done about it, if not letting it go and if so working toward what that action will be.
Life will always be an intertwining of rejoicing and complaining, yet I’m starting to see that expressing my complaining to God who wants to listen can lead, maybe in time, to rejoicing.
1 What, if any, of the lyrics speak to you? And why?
2 What are your thoughts about God singing this song to you?
3 What is your view of God? Is He a dictator or a holistic God or something else?
4 What are your thoughts about the following? :
“I think that over the year I have begun to accept that there is a much simpler life to be lead and this is found in the acceptance of all that life has to offer, the rejoicing, the complaining, the good, the bad and the ugly.”
5 How intertwined do you think rejoicing and complaining are?
This week we have some thoughts from Caleb and we will be meeting at the Enigma Tap at 7:30pm. See you then.
For this series of blogs we are invited to write about a song/movie/book/painting/TV programme/interpretive dance/well-made dry stone wall which is meaningful to us. I have chosen the song ‘Rejoice’ by Julien Baker.
A warning – this song and this blog contains discussion of substance abuse and suicide.
Julien Baker is a young indie singer-songwriter from Tennessee, a lesbian, a socialist, and a member of the ironically named supergroup ‘boygenius’ with Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus. Baker also has some kind of Christian faith, although as discussed on her Wikipedia page, she has stopped identifying with clear labels, as she feels that helps her have a less black-and-white worldview than what she was raised with. Also, she felt it was damaging to be constantly put into boxes and asked to speak as (for example) a ‘sober queer Christian.’
In fact, we can even see some of her wrestling with her faith in different live versions of this song over the years, such asthis one in 2021. She has moved towards using the pronoun ‘she’ and now ‘they’ for God, rather than ‘he’ on the original recording, and she also plays around with singing ‘I think there’s a God’ or ‘I know there’s a God’ in different performances.
Baker recorded this song when she was just 18 and released it on her 2015 album Sprained Ankle. This and other songs on the album deal with Baker’s struggles with substance abuse, depression, self-worth, and faith.
It may seem strange that this song that’s so personal to Baker’s experiences also means so much to me when I’m twice her age, male, straight, and thankfully can’t relate to the addiction or the same extent of self-destructive feelings and actions that Julien sings about.
The main reason I love the song is the phrase at its heart: ‘rejoice and complain.’
Baker does both in this song. She expresses that her existence, her being created, is worthy of rejoicing (‘Lift my voice that I was made’). But she also ‘curses [God’s] name’ that she remains alive, and suggests that she experiences her continued existence as a burden—‘Why did you … make me stay?’ She both rejoices and complains to God that she lives.
Baker also affirms that God ‘hears either way.’ She can’t always rejoice. She doesn’t ‘know what to say.’ Sometimes she can only call out to her departed friends in envy that they’ve escaped this vale of tears. But God hears. God doesn’t turn away from Julien until she’s ready to put on a happy face and sing ‘Shine Jesus Shine’. This in itself is something to rejoice about… that God hears—that God is listening to her cries of anguish, her prayers of complaint, even her cursing God.
The idea that God hears the cries of the oppressed and all who are suffering is important to Hilary and me. We even named our son Ishmael, which means ‘God has heard.’ God doesn’t expect us to only express our positive feelings. God hears (see: Exodus 2:23-25) and God liberates (see: the rest of Exodus). And when God doesn’t liberate—because let’s be real, there’s a whole lot of liberation still needed—God hears us when we complain.
I think this is shown best by the Psalms. In stark contrast to the worship at most churches, the Psalms express the full expression of human emotions, from reverent happiness to genocidal rage.
A common term used for the ‘negative’ psalms is ‘lament’. And this is a good word for a lot of psalms. But as biblical scholars point out, ‘lament’ doesn’t cover the full extent of negative feelings and experiences portrayed in the psalms. There’s psalms of darkness, disorientation, confession, vengeance, protest… and most importantly for this blog, psalms of complaint.
In complaint psalms like Psalms 35, 74, and 86, the psalmists have the chutzpah or the audacity to lay responsibility at God’s hands for what they suffer. They challenge God to fulfil God’s promises, to live up to God’s character, to do something. This is an act of boldness, despair, and anger towards God, but it’s also a profound act of faith and trust that God is in control, and that it’s safe to bring our complaints to God, and God’s listening.
The fact that these complaints have been preserved in the Bible for 3000ish years shows that our tradition affirms that we should express our negative experiences and bring them to God as complaints. And that these complaints to God are valuable for others to hear or read.
Julien Baker’s song—like the Psalms—affirms that both rejoicing and complaining are legitimate ways to feel. We should express both—to ourselves, to each other, and to God. And we should act in accordance with both rejoicing and complaining: We should celebrate, enjoy life in God’s creation and all the good things it offers, and live in gratitude for what is good. We should also complain: acknowledge our suffering and that of others, name the injustice that it’s easier to ignore, and respond in righteous anger as well as working to fix it.
Personally, complaining often comes more naturally to me than rejoicing. (I said this to Hilary and she burst out laughing at what an understatement it was.) While some people rejoice a lot and need to complain too, I complain a lot and need to rejoice too. I have a lot to be grateful for, and I need to express that more. I owe gratitude to God and so many people for what they have done for me. Expressing gratitude is very good for our mental health, so it’s good for me and those around me when I manage to rejoice. The phrase ‘rejoice and complain’ both affirms my complaining and reminds me to rejoice.
I often forget that Baker’s song is actually not called ‘Rejoice and Complain’: it is just called ‘Rejoice’. And in the final lines, she focuses on the rejoicing. The song is very honest about extreme suffering and taking that suffering to God in complaint. But ultimately where she gets to at the end of the song is a state of rejoicing. Baker actually sums up the song’s meaning as ‘being grateful for horrible, horrible things.’
Again this is similar to a lot of the lament/complaint Psalms: most (not all) end with lines expressing faith and trust in God despite all of the complaining that has come before. Psalms 13, 109, and 130 are good examples.
Like these psalms, Baker’s song goes to the depths. But it also challenges us to rejoice even from those depths. Even when all we can rejoice about is that we ‘think there’s a God,’ and they ‘know our name and all our hideous mistakes,’ how much we ‘throw away’ all the good they give us, and they hear all our complaints and our cursing, and they’re still ‘listening at night.’
In fact, I would go further and say God is not just listening. God is there with us, in Christ quoting a complaint psalm in his cry of agony on the cross. Like the Christ of the Abyss statue, at the bottom of the sea, with arms raised up to heaven—God is there in the depths, complaining and rejoicing with us.
Have you ever complained about something? (food at a restaurant, something you have bought, a show you have seen etc)
What aspects of Julien Baker’s song “Rejoice” resonate most deeply with you?
Why is the combination of rejoicing and complaining, as expressed in Baker’s song, so powerful?
How does this idea challenge conventional ways of approaching faith, especially in worship or prayer?
Why do you think both rejoicing and complaining are preserved in sacred texts like the Psalms?
How might including expressions of anger, despair, or complaint enrich modern faith practices?
This post is written by one of our many friends. At BeachcomberFX we love to hear what others have to say and are always on the lookout for people who want to share their thoughts or stories with us.
Hi folks, I hope you are well? This week we are meeting at the Crescent Club upstairs in the front lounge at 7.30. We hope we see you there.
This weeks blog is written by Martin Hood… Also a reminder that if you would like to write a blog for us around a song, movie, book, art, etc. Then please do let Sue or I know. Thanks.
If our current theme/handle is the arts, then we might explore from:
‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’ through:
‘ we are meaning-making, and story-telling animals’ to:
‘what is your truth, post-modern person..?’
But to back-step a bit…
For a few years, I have occasionally dabbled with acrylic-painting, which is both creative and relaxing (and forces me to sitstill for a while!), but encourages a different way of looking at the world, playing with colour, seeing details, or the general impression; so what is produced is not photographic (partly lack of skill!), but an impression or interpretation. [An image below is such an interpretation from Avoriaz, some years ago, towards the Mount Blanc massif, while skiing.]
Secondly, philosophically (and a bit academically), I have become interested in: ‘what makes people tick’: how we perceive, assume, think; what are the factors which influence that?
So, thirdly, the question becomes: How do we honestly dialogue with, and comprehend, others with rather different ‘world-views’ ( ideologies, faiths) and associated ‘pre-understandings’ about life..?
Therefore, I offer this playful exercise, which has no right answer!
In the souk, if you ask the price of the local rug and are told ” 1000 shekels” (or whatever) when you we thinking 200 might be nearer the mark, then the advise is generally to walk away. The rationale is that if ‘1000’ is the baseline, it influences all further discussion.
Use that as a metaphor for our thinking of the world: our baseline understanding affects all subsequent judgements. A bright light in the sky might be a supernova or the herald of a great king; a rainbow might be scatter of different wavelengths of light through raindrops, or the pointer to a pot of gold; ‘football’s coming home’ (maybe) or sport has been corrupted by big business sponsorship…
In our post-modern, individualistic, multi-cultural world, people have differing presuppositions, assumptions, priorities, and ways of construing the world; so in discussions we can’t assume safely that what we believe, and think, is the same as the person next us, even in the banter in BFX.
So, it might be interesting/ illuminating, to offer these four pictures, below to look at/ ponder, and without constraining/ pre-supposing any schema, then share:
1. which is/are we drawn to/ find interesting;
2. what do we think about the picture(s): what lines of association do
they produce;
3. what is our response/ feelings towards all that;
4. what does all that say about us, and how we differ;
5. what might our shared responses illustrate/say about our world-view/ our faith..?’
Rob Wylie is the founder of BeachcomberFX and guides its leadership team. He has worked in the North East for over 20 years and has vast experience from various roles he has held. He has a passion for Fresh Expressions of Church and Pioneer Ministry as well as beer, beaches and Miniature Schnauzers.
Hi folks, I trust you doing ok and that you have had a good week.
This week we are going to make the most of the lighter nights while they are still with us… We intend to go for a walk from St Mary’s Island car park along the top to Seaton Sluice and back to the car park, when we will drive to the Tavern and Galley for a drink. Meeting at 7.00pm I hope you can make it.
Rob Wylie is the founder of BeachcomberFX and guides its leadership team. He has worked in the North East for over 20 years and has vast experience from various roles he has held. He has a passion for Fresh Expressions of Church and Pioneer Ministry as well as beer, beaches and Miniature Schnauzers.
