So much to say
And no time to say it!
Life has been a whirlwind of late, and i am very aware that blogging has dropped in my priority list, so apologies for those of you who do find anything of interest on this blog and have almost given up on me.
i should be honest that pastoral situations in the Team have meant that my novel writing has gone out of the window pretty much, though i plan to bash out a few thousand words at the earliest opportunity...
This past weekend was particularly busy due to Remembrance Sunday, not sure what the equivalents are of that worldwide - veteran's day in the US? We remember all those who have died in the conflicts of the 20th Century and up to the present day - civilians and service personnel - and we pray in the hope of peace. It can descend into a kind of unquestioning patriotic nostalgia fest if we don't take care over it and though i am very much a patriot and grateful for the freedoms we enjoy thanks to the sacrifices of many over the past years, I don't think we just look back, or pat ourselves on the back for being jolly brave - but we honour the memories of the dead and consider the horror of war, as well as the loyalty, bravery and self-sacrifice that can be a part of wartime struggle. In other words, i like to spend time thinking about what i say in these services, they are important and should be thought about carefully.
Alongside this I am keeping up with my reading and thinking hard about the Church and what we are doing both here in these parishes and in the wider world. My current reading is Brian McLaren's Generous Orthodoxy, which i know makes many of my Christian brothers and sister's uncomfortable and/or angry - but i have found it thought provoking and helpful so far. I like the way he talks about the different approaches to the person of Jesus that comes out of different traditions, and it helped me realise how easy we limit our view of Jesus if we just take one position regarding who he was and is and what he did and does for us... Sounds rather cryptic when i put it like that, its not meant to be, you probably need to read the book (its one of the links in the sidebar) to really get to grips with this.
I plan to spend some time preparing for preaching this Sunday later today, so probably will add some more to this blog later...
I am still aware that I've not said any more about this quote, which i did say i would do...
Life has been a whirlwind of late, and i am very aware that blogging has dropped in my priority list, so apologies for those of you who do find anything of interest on this blog and have almost given up on me.
i should be honest that pastoral situations in the Team have meant that my novel writing has gone out of the window pretty much, though i plan to bash out a few thousand words at the earliest opportunity...
This past weekend was particularly busy due to Remembrance Sunday, not sure what the equivalents are of that worldwide - veteran's day in the US? We remember all those who have died in the conflicts of the 20th Century and up to the present day - civilians and service personnel - and we pray in the hope of peace. It can descend into a kind of unquestioning patriotic nostalgia fest if we don't take care over it and though i am very much a patriot and grateful for the freedoms we enjoy thanks to the sacrifices of many over the past years, I don't think we just look back, or pat ourselves on the back for being jolly brave - but we honour the memories of the dead and consider the horror of war, as well as the loyalty, bravery and self-sacrifice that can be a part of wartime struggle. In other words, i like to spend time thinking about what i say in these services, they are important and should be thought about carefully.
Alongside this I am keeping up with my reading and thinking hard about the Church and what we are doing both here in these parishes and in the wider world. My current reading is Brian McLaren's Generous Orthodoxy, which i know makes many of my Christian brothers and sister's uncomfortable and/or angry - but i have found it thought provoking and helpful so far. I like the way he talks about the different approaches to the person of Jesus that comes out of different traditions, and it helped me realise how easy we limit our view of Jesus if we just take one position regarding who he was and is and what he did and does for us... Sounds rather cryptic when i put it like that, its not meant to be, you probably need to read the book (its one of the links in the sidebar) to really get to grips with this.
I plan to spend some time preparing for preaching this Sunday later today, so probably will add some more to this blog later...
I am still aware that I've not said any more about this quote, which i did say i would do...
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