BeachcomberFX

Category: Sunday@thePub

  • The Bible’s True Purpose

    The Bible’s True Purpose

    We are often most disappointed or disillusioned with something when it fails to live up to the hype.  So that latest tv show you have been told is a must see turns out to be slow and boring so you lose trust in the persons opinion.  The band that are the next big thing play repetitive generic music and you feel the disappointment.  The new political leader with charisma and charm who will change the world and save us all turns out to be the same as all the others so you decided never to vote again.

    Or that book that you were told would solve all your life’s problems.
    That you just needed to read and it would give you all the answers you ever needed.
    That if you used the handy index at the back would give you a sure fire solution for fixing any issue.
    And you read it, wrestled with it, searched the index and found it never really did what you were told it should do. So you put it down, lost trust in it and those that said it was the answer and walked away or maybe just left it on the bookshelf as an ancient relic with no use today. Because you were promised so much and it just didn’t do what you were told.

    To quote Pete Enns “The problems we encounter when reading the Bible are really problems we create for ourselves when we harbour the misguided expectation that the Bible is designed primarily to provide clear answers.”  The church (particularly in the west) has spent a lot of time telling us that the Bible works a particular way but when put to the test in the reality of everyday life this turns out not to be the case. 

    So it isn’t a user guide or instruction manual. What is it then?

    Words we might of heard or used ourselves to describe it included Holy, inerrant, infallible, inspired, perfect, clear, and sacred. 

    If I asked you to describe it now I am sure some would use other words like confusing, outdated, questionable, weird and at times horrifying.

    Pete uses three. Ancient, ambiguous and diverse.

    Ancient – it is really, really old! It deals with things that happened over thousands of years ago.  If we forget that this is an ancient text we allow it to become familiar and we lose sight of the significant differences (and sometimes similarities) between then and now.  The questions alone that these ancient people were asking and the world that influenced them is very different from the one we live in today.

    Ambiguous – We have already established that the Bible isn’t a helpful cheat sheet with all the answers to all life’s questions laid out in an easy to follow system.  It very rarely tells us out right how to deal with a situation (there may be the odd occasion).  What it does do is offer us a collection of books containing everything from poems to stories to long lists of people and we are invited to work things out as people of faith.

    Diverse – The bible is written by a whole load of people, in fact even individual books are often the work of a number of people.  These people all have different voices, lived at different times and had very different lives.  This diversity means that sometimes writers disagree with each other… sometimes (I’m looking at you Proverbs) a verse can put forward to completely opposing views.  

    These things aren’t problems to be solved but instead invitations for us to approach the Bible in a way that opens us up to the conversations that are taking place between God and his creation. Conversations that at times can be contradictory and confusing and at other moments inspiring and revolutionary.  How we approach them is the important bit.  

    So, if we expect the Bible to be a user manual then we will always be disappointed. If we approach it as an ancient, ambiguous and diverse book that brings us the stories of God’s relationship with people throughout the centuries and seek to use wisdom to help us seek what is happening and hear what God is saying. Then maybe we might discover that the Bible has something to say to us.

    Questions

    What book, film, tv show, band, artist, politician have you expected so much of and been left disappointed?

    What words or phrases have been used to describe the Bible to you in the past?

    What words or phrases would you use to describe it now?

    What do you make of the words ancient, ambiguous and diverse?

    How does seeing the Bible as more of a mystery to be solved rather than a user manual, help you? or not?

    What do you hope for by the time we get to the end of this theme? (probably in June with guest posts and other bits in-between as well)

    We will be meeting at the Crescent club in Cullercoats at 7:30pm this week. Everyone is welcome to join us.

    Photo by Expect Best from Pexels

  • Soothing the Suffering

    Soothing the Suffering

    Soothing the suffering is nothing new, especially during the last two years as we’ve navigated our way through the pandemic.  Suffering will mean something different too each of us depending on the external and internal situations we find our self in. A phrased used a lot on social media during the first lockdown was ‘We’re all in the same storm but not the same boat.’ For some suffering is the stress of balancing work and family, for others is the living daily with psychical, emotional, mental and/or spiritual illness. For others it the responsibilities of caring for others through the pandemic and making decisions about when things should reopen, for others it’s about the loss of a job and having to ask for help with providing the basics necessities for they child and for others is the suffering of grief as love ones have passed away. 

    Suffering comes in all forms and is different for each of us, as is how we deal with suffering. How we sooth the pain of suffering in the moment.  For some its that glass off wine at the end of the day, spending time with family and friends, it’s that run with their favourite music playing to the beat of each step, or its that bar of chocolate in the cupboard and for others its yoga or sitting in meditation.  For all of us it could be a combination of so many things.  Self-soothing can be helpful but like everything it can become more of a negative and less helpful when seen as the only way to cope with life. 

    During December I read a book call ‘After the Rain: Gentle reminders  for Healing, Courage, and Self-love’ by Alexandra Elle, and which this blog takes its title from Lesson 3: Soothing the Suffering. It is beautiful written but at the same time doesn’t hold back. It challenges the read to stop running from whatever it may be for that person, face it allowing themself to acknowledge the emotions and thoughts, to accept they presences and then to begin to work out what needs to be done to bring healing and move forward. Again this process depends on the individual and it may be that we do this work in private, it maybe taking a step of vulnerability and asking for help from family, friends and/or professionals i.e. Counsellor. 

    Alexandra writes:

    “Hold your hurt, rest in your pain more often. Stop running from fear. Don’t be afraid to touch and face what scares you the most. Asking for help doesn’t make you weak. Collapse into vulnerability: that is where you will find resilience. Take care of the soft and tender spots of your grief and process and bandage them up slowly. Rushing to rebuild won’t make you heal any faster…

    Emotional hardship does not have an end point… triggers will present themselves and that may mean I don’t know what to do. But comfort is found in knowing that I have the ability to learn new ways to self-sooth.”

    As we come out of the pandemic and life begins to gather pace again, I was opened to a depth of warning for personal healing and growth, family and friends, my community and the world  “Rushing to rebuild won’t make you heal any faster.” I find it interesting that the next Lesson in the book is on Time. 

    When I stopped to think about this Philippians 4: 6-7 held out its arms to embrace me once again and give me comfort, courage and encouragement:

    “Do not be anxious or worried about anything, but in everything (every circumstance and situation) by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, continue to make your (specific) request known to God. And the peace of God (that peace which reassures the heart, that peace) which transcends all understanding (that peace which) stands guard over your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (is yours) APM.

    How many times has my own self-soothing replace going to God. This is what I wrote in my journal.

    “I need to pray, worship and give thanks to God, asking specifically about the situation, the pain and asking how to address it so I’m not in limbo. I am not to be double minded (James 1:5-8) and tossed around in my mind by ‘what ifs’ or even will God answer me?  But I can pray about the double-mindedness, ask for forgiveness and ask God to help steady my mind, emotions, to lean into Him in my vulnerability, to believe that God, my Heavenly Father is willing to stand with me in all experiences. Each step taking is a step, a day towards healing, towards being able to stand ‘After the Rain’. Having trusted God to guide me through to the other side and that He has given me His power and  strength to walk through the process, not rushing but taking in all of the journey.”

    Questions:

    What got you through the pandemic? 

    How do you self-sooth? 

    What does the quote by Alexandra say to  you?

    What are your thoughts regarding “Rushing to rebuild won’t make you heal any faster.”?

    How can we remember to invite God into all of our situations? 

  • Coming Soon

    Coming Soon

    As we slowly move through January and cast of those silly resolutions we promised we would stick to only two weeks ago and prepare ourselves for what 2022 has to bring we thought it would be good to do a little preview of the theme we are going to be tackling over the coming months (with some guest posts in-between to break things up).
     
    So drum roll please……
     
    From the beginning of February we are going to be looking at some of the themes in a book by Peter Enns. Peter is an Old Testament scholar (don’t let that put you off) and you can read a little more about him here (https://peteenns.com/about/). In some Christian circles he would be classed as a heretic and in others who may not want to use the H word, he is considered controversial (maybe his bad boy status has got you interested again).
     
    The book is called How the bible really works : In Which I Explain How An Ancient, Ambiguous, and Diverse Book Leads Us to Wisdom Rather Than Answers—and Why That’s Great News and can be bought for about £2.99 from all good electronic book suppliers if you want an e-copy. If you need to feel the paper between your fingers then you can pick up a paperback copy for around £8. You don’t need to buy the book to follow along but the option is there. Each week we will be looking at a theme from a chapter and giving you a run down of the ideas, our take on it and offering some questions to help us tackle this age old issue of the Bible and what we are suppose to do with it.
     
    So here I am going to list some of those odd bits, the bits we just choose to ignore because it makes our head hurt and we aren’t sure what the solution is. I am sure we could all add more to this list.
     
    Balaam’s Donkey
    Multiple creation stories
    The end of Mark
    The end of Job
    The bit where bears protect the honour of a prophet with a receding hairline by killing children
    Paul seems to think a rock followed the Israelites around in the wilderness
    Jesus tells the disciples to buy more swords
    Proverbs isn’t sure how you should deal with a fool
    God doesn’t appear or speak in the book of Esther
    God seems to be ok with the idea that there are other gods – just that they shouldn’t be worshipped or followed
    God tries to kill Moses after sending him to free the Israelites
    Jesus gets angry with a fig tree
    Jesus causes a lot of pigs to drown
     
    Questions
     
    Which book of the bible have you never read or if you have read them all always avoid?
    Which is the strangest bit of the bible? (Not just from the list above)
    If Hollywood was going to turn part of the bible into a film/series which part would you want them to look at?
    How would you describe your relationship with the bible?
    We are meeting Sunday night at 7:30pm for those who wish to join us at Cullercoats Crescent Club. Please remember to do all you can to help keep everyone safe – Masks, space, hands, test and trace – you all know the drill now.
  • Pondering… Who knows!

    Pondering… Who knows!

    Hi folks, Hmmmm, ok, i’ll start with it… Happy New Year! How you all doing? 

    This week we are meeting face to face at the Cullercoats Crescent Club at 7.30. We were supposed to be starting a new theme this week but we are going to push it back and start it in February, basically Covid stopped play!

    If you are intending to come along please be aware that we are still encouraging face masks be warn when walking around the club, and we would also encourage some degree of social distancing while we chat together. 

    This week Pauline has written a ‘blog’ for us, although you can tell her brain was just as scrambled as mine! Hope to see you on Sunday if you are able.

    I’m not very good at writing blogs, I offered to do this one at short notice and then wished I hadn’t! What I thought I might do just didn’t work out so I began to panic and got somewhat stressed. 

    Eventually I wondered if it might be good just to meet and chat about our week, the one just gone! Is there something that you did or saw, learned, heard, experienced, read or someone you met that affected you in some way? It may have been big or small, long lasting or transitory… if  there is something and you want to talk about it that’s great if not that’s ok too.  

    Then I thought maybe folk might like the opportunity to say something about Sunday@thePub, what you enjoy about it, what you don’t, why you come, are there things that are helpful to you in your faith/spiritual journey whatever that looks like, do you have any suggestions about things we might discuss or do together in the future?

    If anyone feels able and would find it helpful to chat about how the pandemic has affected them or is affecting how they feel now go for it!

    Not quite finally…. Would you like to contribute a little sound bite? Any one or all of the following will do:

    • A Wise saying!
    • A slice of Encouragement!
    • An arrow of Hope!
    • A bit of a Laugh!
    • A shaft of Light!
    • A grain of Truth!
    • A Word from  a / the Holy Book

    Finally…… if you are still with us! A blessing, you can choose your own.

     

    A Pub Blessing

    I would like to have the men ( and women!) of heaven 

    In my house:

    with vats of good cheer

    laid out for them.

    I would like to have all the saints

    Whose fame is so great.

    I would like people 

    From every corner of heaven.

    I would like them to be cheerful

    in their drinking.

    I would like to have Jesus too

    here amongst them.

    I would like a great lake of beer

    for the King of Kings,

    I would like to be watching heaven’s family

    drinking it through all eternity. (St. Brigid)

     

    The Blessing of Light.

    May the blessing of light be upon you,

    light without and light within…

    And in all your comings and goings,

    may you ever have a kindly greeting

    from any you meet along the road. (From old Gaelic)

     

    Prayer of Zerubbabel

    Bless to me my germ of faith.

    Bless to me my shortness of vision.

    Bless to me my vulnerability of heart.

    Bless to me my trembling of courage.

    Cover me with grace,

    for blessing is of gift and not of might. (Tess Ward)

     

    Paradox Blessing

    May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers,

    half truths, superficial relationships,

    so that you will live deep within your heart.

    May God bless you with anger at injustice,

    oppression and exploitation of people,

    so that you will work for justice, equity and peace.

    May God bless you with tears to shed

    for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation and war,

    so that you will reach out your hand to comfort them and change their pain to joy.

    And may God bless you with the foolishness to think

    that you can make a difference in the world,

    so that you will do the things which others tell you cannot be done. ( Who Knows ?)

  • An online image

    An online image

    Hi folks, I hope you are doing ok in the midst of all that is going on, it is very difficult to know what we should be doing, so we are giving you two options for Sunday night. The first is to meet on zoom at 7.30… The link will be set up and sent out on Sunday, so watch out for that. 

    The other way is to meet in person at the Club as normal, although we will meet at 7.20 for our advent reflection and then on to the pub. If you wish to come to the Club on Sunday could we ask you to do a lateral flow test, please also try to socially distance and of course wear a mask when moving about the building. This is just to help keep everyone as safe as possible. Thanks for your help.

    This week as we have a guest reflection From Fiona Fidgin (Fidge for short) Fidge works for the Methodist Church and has just started a new role working in all things digital for the church. 

    In the past 18 months, I’ve been looking at myself pretty much daily. No – I haven’t been spending time in front of a mirror (a process I would normally avoid to be honest!) but I have spent a lot of time seeing my own image on Zoom. Most of us hadn’t heard of Zoom pre-pandemic but if you’re anything like me, Zoom has become part of my daily life. Zoom is an online video meeting platform and used for meetings, family gatherings, worship, conversations, drinks, quizzes – pretty much anything that involves people getting together! 

    I’m starting a new job, helping to resource the church digitally, and I was recently asked to choose an image that spoke to me about digital. Surprisingly (I didn’t have long to think about it!) I chose this image: Jesus washing the feet of his disciple Peter, a painting by the German artist, Sieger Koder.  I say surprisingly, as you might have assumed that I’d choose an image of a global network. However, this picture spoke to me about image – you can’t see the actual face of Jesus, but you can see his image as a reflection in the water. This spoke to me deeply about how the digital portrays an image – what do people see of us online? Do people see the ‘real’ us online or do we portray an image of ourselves?

    It took me quite a while to realise that what I see of myself on a zoom screen is not the same image that others see of me. Rob and I were at a retreat a month ago and I had been out early filming myself in the gardens making a Tik Tok video trying to encourage people to notice their surroundings. “I look awful!” I laughed as Rob asked me what I was doing. I didn’t try and make my image into something else – more makeup, less wrinkles. It was just me. “I quite like the authentic look,” I joked as we talked. 

    There is a lot of evidence to suggest that the rise in mental health issues, especially amongst young women, has a lot to do with trying to keep up a certain online image. I know of one woman who won’t post pictures of herself online unless she has filtered them. A young neighbour posted ‘happy’ pictures of herself for the world to see on Instagram while I knew that in her offline life, she was not so happy – separating from her partner and having to leave her home. When we post online – what do people to see of us? Authentic us? What image do we want people to see?

    Questions:

    What has been your funniest moment while on an online call?

    How aware are you of an online image? 

    Do you filter your own pictures? 

    What image do you portray on social media?

    What ‘images of Christ’ do you notice online?

  • Drinking Tea

    Drinking Tea

    Hi folks, I hope you are well, we are meeting at 7.20 for our advent reflection at the underpass at Cullercoats, it will be a bit more interactive this week, and then we will be going on to the club for our regular gathering. This weeks reflection has been written by Sue and our theme this week is ‘Drinking Tea’.

    When I first met my husband we both made tea very differently and it took some getting used to. He lets the tea bag sit in the hot water for 5mins, no more and no less, timer on; remove tea bag, add milk. He is in construction so he literally likes ‘builder’s tea’ – strong. Me on the other hand; hot water in, a good old stir, out with the tea bag and add the milk – wet and warm as they say. And yet the tea is both pleasant and enjoyable either way. 

    What is it about tea then that is so soothing and calming? That first sip in the morning that makes my heart sigh or having woke during the night having an anxiety attack, the process of making a cup of tea and drinking it starts to calm  me both physical and mentally. Tea is my drink of choice when I am intentionally seeking calm, space, reflection and time out. 

    For me there is a connection between the sense of pleasure and enjoyment I get from drinking tea that is also found in lots of moments in life whether next to a lake, river, by the sea or the warmth of the sun or smelling freshly baked bread. Each of these lead me to exhale and my thoughts turn towards thankfulness and gratitude, even in the midst of the daily routine, these are the  moments that can help us connect with God. 

    In Liturgy of the ordinary, the author says that seeking these things is good, but warns us that over indulgence can lead to a dulling down of our senses and therefore a growing need to consume more and more. The opposite can happen too, that we are so focused on our daily tasks, that we miss these moments of grace. She says there needs to be balance. She gives the example of becoming a mother for the first time and feeling ‘like her life and body were the property of a tiny, adorable little dictator’ – she became completely exhausted. 

    During Lent she wanted to give something up but felt she had given everything up in the months prior. She sought advice from her mentor who advised her that she had given up so much already and instead she was encouraged to ‘take up the practice of pleasure: to intentionally embrace enjoyment as a discipline’; to seek oppertunities to arrange childcare, and sort out the daily tasks of life and work better.  As she carved out this space she found a deep sense of healing that came from simply enjoying something for the sake of enjoying it not necessarily seeking anything else.

    Life can sometime be a stealer of joy, we have all experienced that. John 10:10 speaks of the thief coming to steal and destroy but Jesus came to give life and in abundance. I know for me the big thing that steals my joy and pleasure is anxiety and fear, secondly being too busy and allowing other things to distract me. The author cites ‘The Screwtape Letters’ where the senior demon reprimands his underling for allowing his patient to experience the smallest of pleasures. The underling sees within the experiences that humans can be soft, innocent, full of humility and they can forget ones self. 

    I do find in the moments that I am mindfully present there is a forgetfulness of what is happening around me and I find a sense of peace and joy, an uplifting of my spirit and even more so when I don’t rush away from the moment. It makes me wonder how intentional we are about making the effort at carving out time to just be, to create a place of sanctuary for ourselves wherever we are.

    I believe we also need to think about the inner sanctuary within ourselves, where connection with God happens through His spirit within us. I  know for myself that lockdown enabled me to do this naturally as restrictions advanced,  I was made to see that there is pleasure and joy even in the most difficult of times, connections where made, rest given, and my home became a sanctuary. 

    During my time at Durham University, the Cathedral become my sanctuary. It was a place of safety and comfort. In the midst of my studies and other work the Cathedral gave space to breathe, to exhale, to hide and gather myself together, regain strength before returning to the tasks at hand. The Cathedral has a history of being a sanctuary for many, it is claimed that criminals had to grab the big circular handle of the sanctuary knocker before they were caught to claim sanctuary within the Cathedral walls. 

    Holidays can be a sanctuary for many of us, but what about the everyday moments? Where do we find our sanctuary? Where are the moments of pleasure and joy? 

    I want to finish with a quote from C. S. Lewis ‘Letters to Malcolm’ about the subject of pleasure: 

    “His advice: begin where you are at. He once thought he had to start by summoning up what we believe about the goodness and greatness of God, by thinking about creation and redemption and all the blessings of this life. Instead begin with the pleasures at hand – for him a walk by a babbling brook, for the author the wonder of hot water and dried leaves”

    For me, this time of year brings me lots of pleasure and joy particularly as we move towards Christmas!! 

    Let each experience of pleasure and joy regardless of how big or small, raise a quiet thank you to God. 

    Questions:

    1. How do you drink your tea? And what is your favourite thing to eat with a cup of tea? Click on the link for the choice! 

    https://i.pinimg.com/736x/e6/7e/95/e67e95b83114b43d48b9cb145e662141.jpg

    1. Are you a dunker? What it the best biscuit to dunk into a cup of tea?
    2. How might we ensure that there is a good balance of pleasure seeking within the daily routine? 
    3. Where are your sanctuary moments found? Do you invite God into this time/area/experience? 
    4. What could be stealing your experience of enjoyment and pleasure? And how could you change this? 
    5. How do you express thankfulness for the moments of pleasure you experience? 
  • Calling a friend: Congregation and Community.

    Calling a friend: Congregation and Community.

    Hi folks, I hope you are well, if you are coming along on Sunday night, please note that we are beginning by meeting in the underpass at Cullercoats for our Advent reflection, meeting at 7.20 and then heading up to the club afterwards. 

    This weeks blog is written by Naomi: 

    In the film, About a Boy, Hugh Grant plays the character Will Freeman, a single bachelor with no attachments or responsibilities to look after anyone except himself. At the beginning of the film, the character talks about “all men being islands” implying that we have no need of others – we should be self-sufficient as it is ultimately less complicated than having to depend on others or have them depend on us. As the film progresses we see him become entangled, somewhat reluctantly in the lives of some other quite eccentric characters and by the end he comes to realise that whilst life may be “easier” lived independently, it is in community that we find our meaning. 

    In the chapter “Calling a Friend: Congregation and Community”, Tish Harrison Warren talks about the need for community in general and also within the specific context of “the church”. Whilst there was a lot of strands to the chapter I am going to try to focus on these 2 main issues that stood out to me.

    When we first went into lockdown in March 2020 there was an initial feeling of isolation as were literally cut off from seeing anyone, at least in the flesh. Whilst this was set to continue for several months, almost instantly people seemed to spring into action to support one another. Neighbourhood WhatsApp groups were created for people to remain in touch and offer practical help to those in need. Groups began to meet online so that people could stay connected. Churches quickly embraced new technology to stream live services to everyone at home. People blessed their streets with doorstop deliveries and random acts of kindness. In a time when we were required to keep apart physically we made all the more effort to support one another in whatever ways we could. As we have drifted back into “normality”, I wonder what lessons we have learned about the importance of community, of checking in with others, of going out of our way to support those around us… or, now we are free to interact have we retreated to being islands again? Personally, I find I’m really struggling with this at the moment as the demands of work and family life mean I feel like I have very little capacity for reaching out to others at the moment. After a busy week at work and negotiating my children’s increasingly hectic social lives I find it very tempting to withdraw from the world – like Will in About a Boy, it is sometimes easier to be an island, to just look after yourself and not get involved in the anyone else’s mess! And yet, I know this isn’t right – we are made to live in community with others and to “do life” with those around us.

    Which leads me onto the second focus of the chapter, “The Church”. I’m hesitant to write about this as it’s a huge subject and one that is quite sensitive to a lot of people. In the chapter the author talks about the importance of remaining part of a church community. More and more people refer to their faith and walk with Jesus as being something personal to them, and therefore feel it is not necessary for them to be part of a church. As the author says:
    “If we believe that church is merely a voluntary society of people with shared values, then it is entirely optional. If the church helps you with your personal relationship with God, great; if not, I know a great brunch place that’s open on Sunday.”

    Just as we acknowledge the need to be part of a wider community through our jobs, social lives, health needs etc, so we are designed to be part of a faith community – the church is referred to as the body of Christ for the reason that the parts of the body depend on each other to function as a whole. The challenge here of course is that churches are full of people we often don’t like or wouldn’t choose to spend time with – people who are needy or awkward or who hold political views we vehemently disagree with! And yet as the book points out, Jesus spent his time amongst the “losers, misfits and broken” – the people the rest of the world has rejected. I am challenged by this as I sometimes see church a social “club” that I attend, and therefore when the people I find myself surrounded by aren’t “my people” it is tempting to opt out, to find something that suits me better. 

    Whilst there is no doubt we are living in a time where many are questioning what church is, and what it should be, there can be no doubt of the need to continue to walk together in community with those around us. 

    Questions:

    • Hugh Grant – Love him or hate him?
    • What was your lockdown guilty pleasure? 
    • What did you find hardest about the restrictions of lockdown in relation to managing relationships with others? (e.g. job/family etc)
    • What things (if any) do you miss about how you interacted with others during lockdown?
    • How can we continue to promote the positive things we engaged in with our communities during lockdown whilst adjusting back to a more “normal” way of life?
    • How often do you call or meet someone to just catch up? Is it something you do out of duty or is it something you look forward to? 
    • What is “church” to you?
    • Do you think it’s important to be part of a church community and what do you find most challenging about being part of a church community?
  • Sitting in traffic!

    Sitting in traffic!

    Hi folks, i hope you are well, this week we meet again at the Crescent Club at 7.30, it would be great to see you if you are able. This weeks reflection from Liturgy of the Ordinary looks at ‘Sitting in Traffic’ and is written by Pauline. 

    I reckon I don’t need to say anything about  the title of this chapter as most of us if not all will have experienced  being stuck in traffic, the helplessness, the impatience, the irritation and frustration. The suggestion is that most of us consciously or unconsciously feel that we are the ones who should be the controllers of our time! 

    We know that a lot of life is about waiting, for crops to grow, babies to be born etc but  most of us have to try and manage our time and for many time is something they feel they never have enough of.

    The author says “ For the good of my own soul I need to feel what it’s like to wait, to let the moments march past. And here I am, plunged into an ancient spiritual practice in the middle of the freeway…… forced against my will to practice waiting.”

    The following are a few points to think about,

    We are told that Christians are people who wait. We live in the already and not yet,  we believe Christ has come , and he will come again. We dwell in the meantime. We wait.

    In the church calendar we learn the rhythm of life through the narrative, we retell the story of Jesus each year and we seek to live the story each week and much of it is about waiting and how we wait. We look forward in hope to our rest day and to the time in the future when God will finish the story, his recreation.

    Time is a stream we are swept into, a gift from God, a means of worship. The Christian faith reminds us of the reality, time is not a commodity that I control, manage or consume. 

    The practice of liturgical time teaches me day by day that time is not mine. It does not revolve round me. Time revolves round God…… what God has done, what God is doing, and what God will do.

    Questions:

    • What in your experience has been the worst traffic jam you have sat in? 
    • What is waiting like for you…… what do you feel as you wait?
    • Do you agree that Christians are people who wait?  The author states, “ Christians are marked not only by patience, but also by longing. We are oriented to our future hope, yet we do not try to escape from our present reality.”  how does orientation to the future impact how you think about work, life  and relationships in an ordinary day?
    • The author tells a story about her friend Jan who says that there are gifts in waiting. What if any gifts have you received in the process of waiting?  How have you grown?
    • Have you ever practiced the liturgical year?  If so do you think it played any part in shaping you, your view of time or your days?
    • What relationship do you see between waiting, hope and celebration? How have  you seen these related in your own life?

    Suggested practices:

    • Notice your reaction to times when you are forced to wait this week.  Reflect on what your response reveals about your view of time.
    • Next time you are waiting ( whether in line, waiting for an appointment, in traffic etc.,) try to limit distractions. Put away your smartphone and any work while waiting. Just simply wait. Notice your thoughts, emotions and surroundings.

    Peace, Pauline

  • Speak your own love

    Speak your own love

    Hi folks, i hope you are well, this week we will meet at 7.30 at the Crescent Club in Cullercoats, it would be great to see you if you are able. Once again a little reminder to wear a face mask when walking about the club please. This week we move away from our regular slots to a guest blog by the wonderful Alex Ross. When i asked Alex to describe himself to me he said this: “a criminal consultant / musician / spiritual leader and thinker / improviser”.

    Speak your own love

     

    There are two big problems for me with modern worship songs: the music and the words.

    That’s a decent joke to start with, because you realise instinctively that songs are just music and words, there isn’t anything else. Or is there?
    Of course there is more, or else a painting would just be canvas and paint, or a sculpture would just be whatever the sculpture is made out of. You don’t have to be a visionary artist to know that creativity and creating art is a mixture of the making, the material and the meaning.

    Making is what the artist does. Material is the fabric of what is used to create. Meaning is the thing the artist is pointing us towards, but it is also the thing that we get to own for ourselves. I’ll come back to this in a moment.

    So here is the crux of why I struggle so often with Christian worship songs, and I suspect it’s not just me: the problem is in presenting the “meaning” of the song as fact, without allowing any room for me to inhabit the meaning for myself. THIS means THIS and NOTHING ELSE. Sometimes I think we have forgotten that communion with God is to inhabit mystery, not certainty. Indeed many Anglicans and Roman Catholics still call the Eucharist “the mystery of Christ.” I love what Franciscan Priest and author Father Richard Rohr says
    “Many mystics speak of the God-experience as simultaneously falling into an abyss and being grounded. This sounds like a contradiction, but in fact, when you allow yourself to fall into the abyss—into hiddenness, limitlessness, unknowability, a void without boundaries—you discover it’s somehow a rich, supportive, embracing spaciousness where you don’t have to ask (or answer) the questions of whether you’re right or wrong. You’re being held and so you do not need to try to ‘hold’ yourself together. Mystery is not something you can’t know. Mystery is endless knowability.” Richard Rohr, Holding the Tension: The Power of Paradox (CAC: 2007)

    I have spent a lot of my creative and spiritual time in the last few years trying to understand more about what sound is and how sound relates to what we think of as God; why we are moved by communal participation in sound and singing, how are bodies and minds react to vibrations (which is all that sound is), and what nature is telling me about God, through its own divine sound. In the image attached by Ukrainian artist Anna Marinenko you can see the beautiful symmetry between nature and recorded soundwaves. This symbolises my journey.

    The more I allow myself to be immersed in sound, rather than expressing a direct meaning through song lyrics, the more I am transported out of my ego, released from expectations of conformity, and held in the mystery of Christ. Realising that we are all just sound – vibrations of molecules at our most basic level – was the most joyous experience of “heaven on earth” that I can express. As I began to sit with this thought, meditating on it over and over, I was able to shed, bit by bit, the subconscious evangelical dualism that is so deeply ingrained. Life is not a series of yes/no decisions, and not much, if anything can be compartmentalised into right/wrong, up/down, true/false.

    I realise over time, I am not a heretic for believing that I am just made of sound vibrations and carbon from old collapsed stars. We are carbon-based beings, the main thing holding us together. And that carbon comes from stars, just as the light you see is from stars that may no longer exist. Slowly, I begin to allow the mystery to inhabit me, that I am alive in this moment and also outside of this moment; perhaps I might even begin to declare that “it is no longer I who lives, but Christ who lives in me.”

    So, you might be sick of worship songs, you might think you can’t sing, you might not be able to play an instrument, and you think you are not creative. But the very act of your existence is a song. You are musical vibration and starlight just by existing. You are the very joyful stuff of the cosmos, both alive in this moment as you, and at the same time alive forever in a cosmos held together in love.

    To close, I said I would come back to this vision of creativity and sound: Making is what the artist does. Material is the fabric of what is used to create. Meaning is the thing the artist is pointing us towards, but it is also the thing that we get to own for ourselves. I think this description holds up when you apply it to a created universe: God is the maker, sound and space is the material, and we are the participants in the meaning. We both inhabit a collective meaning, and define our own.

    Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed.

    With much love,

    Alex

    I have devised a meditation for youto do, https://soundcloud.com/alex-ross/speak-your-own-love and some questions to ask yourself as you participate. I have created this piece of music using only one note of my voice, processed in different ways. It lasts for about 4 minutes. During this time close your eyes, breathe slowly and rhythmically. If you would like to, you should hum, quietly so as not to put others off, but hum from deep down in your diaphragm, a love song in response to the very joy of being alive right now. It doesn’t have to be “in tune,” just respond and participate.

    During the meditation on your own, or afterwards in your group, ponder these questions:

    What artists/creators who aren’t operating in the obviously Christian world help you connect spiritually, and why? What happens to my worldview when I begin to view every single thing as fully created and fully alive because it has its own unique vibration?

    What is most challenging to you about this written piece? The challenge to your ego as an individual? The challenge to your theology? The challenge to your sense of certainty? Or something else?
    How can I begin to create my own sound?
    When do I give myself permission to create my own meaning, and when do I accept the meaning asserted by others?
    What space do I give to “not knowing” and how does this make me feel?
    Having read the piece and/or listened to the meditation, ask yourself again what it might mean to be “in Christ.”

    Five books have helped me enormously in recent times, and I commend them to you:

    Richard Rohr – The Universal Christ

    Eckhart Tolle – The Power of Now
    Carlo Rovelli – Seven Brief Lessons On Physics
    Sadhguru – Inner Engineering: A Yogi’s Guide To Joy

    Stephen Hawking – A Brief History Of Time

    Peace, Rob and Alex.

  • Checking email

    Checking email

    Hi folks, I trust you are all doing ok, this week we are meeting at The Club at 7.30. If you are coming along please be aware of each other and how close you are to people, also please remember to wear a mask as you walk about the building. I look forward to seeing those of you who are able to come.

    This week in Liturgy of the Ordinary we turn our attention to ‘Checking Email’! I wonder how you feel about emails? For me I try to keep on top of them, but it’s not easy! It’s great when I do have a bit of time and space as I try to get them right down to a manageable level. I have got into the habit of moving things into folders and deleting things that are no longer needed.

     

    This focus on email though, is just a way to talk about ‘working’, please interpret that how it’s currently relevant to you – retired, out of work, caregiving etc.

     

    So where then are we going with this, well the author talks about vocation and she talks about how the reformation changed the way folks viewed work, “The Reformers taught that a farmer may worship God by being a good farmer and that a parent changing diapers could be as near to Jesus as the pope”.

     

    She also talks about the way we view work – we may say that some jobs have more ‘worth’ than others and she suggests that some may view particular jobs as more ‘holy’ than others.

     

    She goes on to talk about the small routines of our daily work and vocation, as we go to meetings, check our email, make our dinner, or mow the lawn, all of it in her view is part of the kingdom of God and part of spirituality. She suggests that we can’t be ‘holy in abstract’ and that it has to be ‘crafted and developed’ within us, almost like forming a spiritual practice. So this practice is formed as we bring hope to the world by being our natural selves as we carry the hope and love of God within us as we go about our work in every context.

     

    She quotes ‘Garber’ who says, “In the daily rhythms for everyone everywhere, we live our lives in the marketplaces of this world: in homes and neighbourhoods, in schools and on farms, in hospitals and businesses, and our vocations are bound up with the ordinary work that ordinary people do. We are not great shots across the bow of history; rather, by simple grace, we are hints of hope”. 9 Garber, Visions of Vocation, 189.

    I love the thought of being a ‘hint of hope’!

     

    So, some questions

    How do you feel about your emails?

    What tasks of your ‘work’ do you most enjoy? Least enjoy?

    In what ways do you relate to having a hierarchy of work?

    What are your thoughts on vocation?

    How is/could your work be spiritual?

    What do you think she means by the phrase ‘Holy in abstract’?

    How does the Church view work?

    How can we be ‘hints of hope’ at work? 

     

    Peace Rob