New Kid on the Blog

I spoke Tuesday at the Christ Church Cathedral, Victoria 12-Step Recovery Service, and as I am unlikely to share this elsewhere thought I would come back to this blog and leave it here... Based on Psalm 96 and Matthew 18:12-14 Judgement I got to indulge my overacting ability last week when I was asked to come in and play John the Baptist in a school assembly here in the Cathedral for the school next door. After shocking a few of the tots by shouting ‘Repent – the kingdom of God is at hand’ as I walked in wearing a hairy poncho of some kind, I was asked questions by the children which I was asked by the teacher to answer as if I was in character. One of those questions was a very astute one – is God angry at us? It comes from John’s quote to the pharisees in the book of Matthew ‘you hypocrites, who told you could flee from the wrath to come.’. And it’s not a bad question. It certainly seems that in some streams of what is broadly called the Christian tradition that God seem...

Yesterday was the middle of Pride Week here in Victoria and St John's marked it, in partnership with Christ Church Cathedral and our wider Diocese of Islands and Inlets (aka the Diocese of British Columbia), with our regular Eucharist in the morning, and with a special Eucharist in the evening at which our Bishop Logan McMenamie presided and preached. It is a sermon worth sharing - so here's the link to the recording of it: https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/stjohnthedivine/episodes/2017-07-06T13_09_14-07_00 Some of what Bishop Logan said related to my own thoughts earlier in the morning - which wasn't recorded, but I have the script, so I thought I would share it here too! Cast Out I want to begin by sharing something that you might not know, but it’s important information that I think bears sharing in this hallowed setting. It’s just this – there’s a new Spider-Man movie released this week ! I know, exciting, eh? It’s the third ‘reboot’ – of the fra...

So, what is the nature of scripture? Hmmm, good question - and one I have been struggling with for most of my adult life, as I have journeyed through many differing traditions and ended up very much within the liberal, broad part of the church! I wonder if sometimes our approach to the Bible is somewhat like a misheard song lyric, every now and then we stop and say 'oh, so that's what it says'.  So here's some Peter Kay with some amusing misheard song lyrics (there's a few rude bits, so don't watch if easily offended)  I riffed off of this for today's sermon at St John the Divine, Victoria - as you'll tell if you listen to the podomatic link below, some of it I stole (acknowledged) wholesale, and then moved on to considering exactly what we are doing when we encounter 'bad' bible bits!

Some reflections inspired by something our Bishop, Logan, shared this Morning at our Chrism Eucharist.  He shared a lot more than this, including a moving account of his experience at the demolition ceremonies around St Michael's Residential School (read the record of +Logan's apology at the ceremony here ) and the place of ritual in healing and calling to a new way of being. Anyway, here's my Maundy Thursday thinkings - or at least a taster, full sermon on New Kid Deep Stuff  Defined by the Eucharist - a Maundy Thursday Sermon Last year I began the sermon for Maundy Thursday (yes, I check these things, just to make sure don’t repeat myself too much) with the words “At the blessing of the oils service this morning in the Cathedral, Bishop Logan reminded us….” And though I don’t like to repeat myself, I want to start my thoughts this evening with these words “At the blessing of the oils service this morning in our Cathedral, Bishop Logan reminded us… “ that this...

I struggled with this one...

Here it is - some threads drawn together in my deliberations from 18 years hence.  I am, as previously said, amazed by how much of what I wrote back then is embedded deep within my style and convictions as I proceed in this wonderful, weird and wacky world of  Ministry.  As the years go by I realise more and more the privilege and responsibility of this calling - and how much fun it can be, as well as the deeply moving experiences of being alongside people in all aspects of life and death.  I could say more, and will do.  But here's the last chapter... and for those of you who like such things there will be a Bibliography added soon... The nature of power in Pastoral Ministry Chapter 5 Observations and Conclusions The purpose of this study has been to make it clear that to attempt to deny or ignore the power inherent in Pastoral encounters is deluded and opens the way to serious, though often unconscious, abuses of the power that exists whethe...

This next chapter is a telling one, within it is a short reflection on when the wielding of power in Pastoral ministry goes wrong, using in part the experience of the Nine O'Clock Service in the UK which having begun as a seemingly positive and life-affirming attempt to meet people 'where they were' turning into a community of manipulation and abusive behaviour.  The nature of power in Pastoral Ministry Chapter 4 The use of power, and its abuses In the previous chapter we saw how power has been an integral part of the ministry of the Church since it’s inception, by the example of the power and authority within the ministry of Jesus and by the authority conferred onto the Apostles and subsequent leaders of the Church.   Power, and the authority which often makes that power possible, undergirds the relationship between client and minister in any pastoral encounter. [more]

I've just managed to get my MA Thesis transferred from an old disc onto more contemporary readable Media.  It's taken 18 years, but on reading it back I realise just how much what I read at that time, and the thesis I ended up with, influences my approach to ministry today.  So I thought I would share it.  I'll do a chapter at a time over the next few days over on the New Kid Deep Stuff Blog with tasters here ... Here's the introduction: The nature of power in pastoral relationships Introduction Power exists as both a personal and structural ingredient of pastoral ministry.   It is present in any relationship of trust where one person seeks advice, aid or guidance from another. [more]

Here's Sunday's sermon It kind of links with last week's on grace, plus my post on 'sin', plus my last post on suffering, plus pretty much everything going on in my head at present... Blurb from website: The parable commonly known as the 'unjust steward' is one of the more tricky and difficult of Jesus' stories. Or is it? We wonder what it says about God, but perhaps it isn't trying to say anything. Perhaps it is just an interesting story to ponder. An exploration of the power, purpose and point of parables.

After all this away time I have a storm of ideas now going on in my head about what I could write now... lots of things have been going on for a while and as I'v wondered whether or not to give up blogging altogether something has kept me from deleting New Kid and perhaps I've just needed to marshall my resources and begin anew.  I am on limited access for the next week or so, as well as using a laptop which is not good at holding it's charge, so this is more of a 'shot across the bows' than the full steam ahead of blogging I am hoping to get back to soon! So, how are you all?  Keeping well, I trust.  Sorry it's been awhile, but the joys of microblogging (www.twitter.com/revdal) and Social Networking - ie Facebook have kept my interest and online engagement going over the past months.  But I do think that there is a place for some longer engagments with the wide world beyond the real life interactions which fill so much of my time. I still write my weekly th...

Busy, worthwhile, rewarding, hard work - all very appropriate descriptions of the past week. Again and again I am struck by the privilege of being here, and also recognising just how much there is to do. Admittedly, some of it is stuff I have chosen to do, but there is no end of things I could choose to do on top of what I am already doing, there is so much going on in these villages! One of the things I have chosen to do is to lead these Lent talks, some of which have taken quite a lot of time to prepare and put together, including this week! Text is available at New Kid Deep Stuff as always, and here is a taster, just in case you fancy a little bit of Theology to keep you thinking.... Lent 2009: The Apostle’s Creed Session 4 I believe in Jesus part 2 I want to begin tonight’s thoughts by restating a couple of things which I perhaps didn’t make completely clear last week. I have spent some time thinking about the nature of these evenings and some of the discussions that have come ...

As promised, the text of last night's talk... There are a couple of spots where the grammar might not be all that it should, so if there is anything hard to understand it's likely to be my writing rather than your reading that is at fault, apologies, I hope it makes sense overall.... Lent 2009: The Apostle’s Creed Session 2 I believe in God I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I hope those of you who were here have recovered from last week’s excursion as we grappled with some major philosophical concepts and theological idea in our short time together. I realise that a lot of last week’s session involved me talking to you and leaving you with lots of ideas and questions which there wasn’t a huge amount of space to discuss, so I will encourage you to interact a little more this week – make the most of it though, it may not happen again…. I was intrigued whilst doing some research for this evening’s talk to read a reformed theologian’s reflections o...

Here's a sermon from a couple of weeks back....time to catch up again! Genesis 6.9-22; 7.24; 8.14-19 Psalm 46 Romans 1.16,17; 3.22b-28[29-31] Matthew 7.21-29 Preparing for the floods Flooding is an uncomfortable subject at the moment, and our hearts go out, I’m sure to those who have experienced the terrible flooding and devastation in Burma and who have not been helped by the reluctance of the military rulers to allow any help. Likewise the threat of flooding for those victims of the Chinese earthquake who may find themselves in the path of a deluge from either the unsafe dams in the Sechuan province or the rising lake waters due to heavy rains is a cause of concern for all of us and our prayers and donations towards aid funds are very necessary at this time. And its this kind of reminder that can make our Bible readings for this Sunday all the more powerful and distressing as we consider them today. Not that I want to make a simplistic leap from the v...

Another post for NaBloPoMo A deeply passionate and sometimes disturbing book De Berniers has a way of weaving the comic with the tragic which seems to hit the spot every time. Amidst the gentle life of a greek village he weaves stories of love, hate, pain, despair, joy, hope and some of the most stomach churning atrocities committed in war. This is a powerful novel, and not an easy read, I found some of the descriptions of tortures and mutilations committed in the Greek-Turkish war extremely disturbing, yet I am really pleased to have read this novel. It makes you think about what makes us human, and indeed what makes us inhuman. Read it, it is worth the effort.

As I get older, I seem to be more affected by things - more emotional, more ready to cry, more aware of the things which are less than perfect in this world. Sometimes I wonder whether it's just being tired more often that leads me to this - I can feel myself getting emotional at the end of movies, not just the heartstring tugging stuff! Not that I burst into tears at X-men or anything. I think the more I see of life, the more profoundly affected i am by it. I see the horror of violence and war, the evil that people can perpetrate, the loss which comes from death and the power of the ties of love that bind us. I like to think that I am becoming more aware and empathic than I was as an empty headed teenager, and certainly part of the process of growing older and maturing is having a certain dissatisfaction with the way things are, and longing to change things for the better. It's not a case of 'it was so much better when I was younger' because in lots of ways it was...

It took a while to get the sermon together today. 2am, now I must go to bed, so i leave you with my thoughts for the week Lent 1 (2007) Year C RCL Principal Deuteronomy 26.1-11 Psalm 91.1-11 Romans 10.8-13 Luke 4.1-13 Christianity is 'Pants' Christianity is 'pants' – at least that’s how someone (who shall remain nameless) started their testimony yesterday as part of our Team Prayer Day! It’s quite an opener – nearly as good as the one on the morning of Jo and I’s wedding day, when we had a service of Communion before our Wedding service and the preacher began with the words ‘One in three marriages ends in divorce…’ and then topped that with the words ‘some statistics suggest that it is nearer two in three’. Of course in both cases what followed was much more encouraging and engaging and these great opening line’s served only to grab our attention so that we actually listened to what came next. Hopefully this introduction has served a similar purpose. I bet you’ve ne...

and to dust you shall return. Turn from sin and be faithful to the Gospel. An unusually serious thought for Ash Wednesday, taken from the Common Worship provision for the day. Enough said for today, i think

In amongst the business of trying to take Holy Communion to parishioners unable to get to church for Christmas, of picking up the turkey from our local free range farm, of carol singing and trying to get that Christmas shopping done which is still eluding me, i had a short service this afternoon for the burial of ashes of a young woman who took her own life. We (the clergy and laity of the area) have been, and are, trying to support the family as best as possible. After talking at length we were definite that we wanted to perform this final goodbye before Christmas itself, but it is a hard thing to do, made even harder by the time of year. In the midst of life we are in death...

Having read: and really enjoyed it, thought it was nicely written, down to earth style with wit, humour and warmth, accessible, a few things i wouldn't agree with regarding the way he thinks about details of Christian belief, but overall definitely a good to very good book. I thought i would try: Now i can't decide whether i like this or not, it has the same style, but seems to be trying to be clever in a more self-conscious way and (i think) fails - particularly when it comes to Biblical Critique, the idea that the pentateuch and Job was all written by Moses seems to me to be a rather clueless approach to Biblical authorship (though i may well upset some folk by saying this). Anyway, with regards to the book, i still like much of the style, and there are sublime moments in the chapters, particularly the one headed simply 'Jesus', there are still bits to be enjoyed and savoured and there are moments where Miller's turn of phrase is perfect, and he says something w...

My 'Rural Theology Association' conference on Saturday was excellent, because it was all concerned with Mission... I know that 'Mission' is the in-word in British Christian circles at the moment, but there was a great reminder from the Bishop of Exeter who (quoting someone i can't remember, so anyone who can attribute this please let me know) said 'It's not that the Church of God has a mission, but that the God of Mission has a Church' Apologies if i got that wrong, but the gist of it is clear...