New Kid on the Blog

Happy New Year - and here's a gorgeous version of the often missung, indeed massacred, New Year Fave - Auld Lang Syne... Here's to allowing ourselves to be freed from the past, and looking forward to the future whilst cherishing the moment!  Grace and Peace to you all!

You may already have read this in the Midweek Herald , or on the Herald's website but here's my own (ahem) dulcet tones sharing this week's Thought for the Week for the New Year.  Have a good one! listen to ‘Happy New Year Thought’ on Audioboo

Yes it has been a while, but I thought that as I have managed to breathe a little life into this blog, (the Mothership of my blogging world) I should really add something to New Kid Deep Stuff.  There's lots of stuff I said I would put online, some thoughts on silence, my notes on Social Media Spirituality etc and maybe I will get them here, or maybe put them straight onto this blog, but for now here is my Sermon, preached this very morning and written just hours ago (a sermon about which I got quite excited, as I grabbed my Greek Lexicon and looked up various words) - some thoughts about today's set reading for Colossians... Year C Christmas 1 2012 1 Samuel 2.18-20,26 Psalm 148* Colossians 3.12-17 Luke 2.41-52 Striking Images One of the things I love about the Bible is the rich and varied images that leap out of the pages whenever and wherever I read it.... (Continued)

I've been meaning to record this for a week or two - my thought for the week for the week before Christmas, but there were so many other things that I ended up doing instead.  Anyway, as I say in the recording, I just want a sense of completeness (at least with regards to these Thoughts for the week!). Hope you are all having a great Christmas (we are on Day Five - keep partying for another week)! listen to ‘Nearly Ready Thought!’ on Audioboo

That end of a year feeling is prone to nostalgia, or reflection, or just noodling around without quite so much to do as usual.... Which is where I am, after the rush of Christmas I have volunteered this year for 'graveyard shift' of the week after Christmas, which is giving me time to do some catch up, even a bit of tidying, and some thinking and praying. This morning someone said I was wise.  This is not a boast, but it is something I never expected to hear about myself !  It begs the question "When did I stop being wacky?" I was always, at school, the odd one who didn't drink (really, it wasn't my thing until after I was 18) but was still willing to do daft things.  I was always loud, to a degree that embarrasses me now to think about it, I wasn't afraid to make a fool of myself, I would try singing (though I wasn't great at it), acting (though I wasn't great at it), entertaining (though I wasn't great etc etc). Those of a psychoanalyti...

In our local magazine called 'The Parishes Paper', which goes to residents of the five parishes I serve, I decided that simply publishing the official notice of my departure was probably not helpful, and that people would wonder why on earth I wanted to move from this beautiful place, with good people, an ancient history and usually temperate weather (this last year notwithstanding).  So I prepared a short article which described the process.  It's not really a 'why' but more of a 'how' this happened.  The why's will come out more as I continue to write, I hope.... God’s Call…. And the Bishop’s At the beginning of November I received a phone call from James Cowan,  the Bishop of British Columbia inviting me to become Rector of St John The Divine Church, Victoria, Vancouver Island, British Columbia.  This was the end of a process begun in June when I took a funeral in Kilmington for a man who I  hadn't  met, but whose son – a Bristolia...

Hello lovely blog folk - thanks for reading lately following the demi-resurrection of this blog.... Here's a nice Christmas type picture - the nativity set that we use for Posada services, you can find out more about the patterns here .... And here's an Audioboo listen to ‘Christmas Thought’ on Audioboo Happy Christmas to you all :-)

All this nonsensical talk of the world ending tomorrow does give the opportunity to share a rather excellent song by the talented and very brilliant Bruce Cockburn... Of course, the song does raise the question, what would you do if this was our last night on earth?  Being the homely type, spending it with my family would be the only thing that would matter.  I'd also look forward to seeing God face to face, and becoming truly who we are meant to be. The song has more to it though, with some sharing of hope and hopelessness in this world.  Lots to think about here.

Thought for the week from last week. listen to ‘Thought on Unity’ on Audioboo

A short blogging hiatus, but not hopefully a statement of further blog lack... As is so often the case when I reconsider starting up some kind of semi-regular blogging I ask myself exactly why I stick with it... or not, as the case may be. Obviously the blogging has a draw which I don't seem to be able to ignore, even if I seem to be able to leave it for months at a time.  So for as long as I seem to have inspiration, or the ability to type at least, it looks as if New Kid remains!  Unlike other writers who seem to be gently ebbing from the blogosphere (eg the interesting Shawn Smucker who writes a thoughtful post as to why he is stopping blogging here ) I have decided to stay... I do feel I need to say a bit about what this blog is and isn't, though.  And rather than justify, mainly to myself, my reasons for writing, I thought I would start with a bit of what you may or may not find if you explore previous posts. Firstly it's worth saying that I've never real...

Wait for it! Yep it's another thought for the week, this one from the week after Advent Sunday.... listen to ‘Wait For It! Thought.’ on Audioboo

It's much more fun recording these Audioboos than adding to the type on my blog so here's one from three weeks ago following the (for me) disappointing vote at General Synod.  Just a short reflection, nothing too deep... listen to ‘Bishops Who Are Women ’ on Audioboo There are some more Thoughts I want to record, so you may get a little flurry of activity on that front over the next day or two.  I am having to do A LOT of Admin at the moment, so the odd blog related distraction is serving to keep me sane!

Time to 'fess up - I really like (in a sort of oddly twisted way) - 'Dumb Ways To Die' - a safety video from Metro Trains in Melbourne that if you come to it without any introduction seems a bit odd and grisly, but then gets its message across in the last few lines of the song.  The message being that messing about on railways is a really dumb way to die. You can watch it here on YouTube: Dumb Ways To Die But in a flash of inspiration there is an alternative, a sort of 'positive parody'. It celebrates all the wonder, joy, enthusiasm and excitement of finding out about this wonderful wild world we live in.  I think it is pretty much pitch-perfect.  To me this also represents something I love about the journey of faith - it is an adventure, it is exciting, is sometimes joyful, sometimes confusing, sometimes bemusing.  But it should also go hand in hand with a sense of wonder and awe. I also think the idea of taking something good (the original makes an importan...

As usual, having already posted today, I'll do a second post.... For some of you who know me well this is not news, for others the announcement of my move to another job, and another country, another province of the Anglican Church might come as a bit of a surprise, but anyway, here's the official bit: November 27, 2012 To be read at all Services at St. John the Divine on Sunday, December 2nd, 2012 To the Wardens and Members of St. John the Divine, Victoria Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, It gives me pleasure to announce that The Reverend Alistair McCollum has accepted my appointment of him as Incumbent of the Parish of St. John the Divine, Victoria. This appointment is effective August 1, 2013. Mr. McCollum hails from Devon in the United Kingdom where he is presently the Vicar of The Five Alive Mission Community, which reaches out and serves five rural villages in East Devon in the Diocese of Exeter. He is married to Josephine (Jo) and together they...

Actually, not too busy - that would be somewhat dishonest - but finding it hard to make time to write in the way I used to.  I do still write a thought for the week which I really should get back into that habit of posting, and I do write a sermon each week - but the times of sitting down at my PC for a good block and reflecting have been few and far between. A Wordle of New Kid in its heyday :-) I have, as many will know, been 'grabbed' but the immediacy of micro-bloggging, or as we used to call it "conversation", on Twitter (and to a lesser extent Facebook, but there is a different dynamic there).  So I am more than happy to have interaction, discussion, disagreement, as @revdal.... With such sporadic blogging here over the past couple of years I also value the feedback that comes from Twitter which rarely happens here. I have also had more times of sitting quietly and opening myself up to silence, and in the silence the presence of God.  This is not alway...

I really like this Charlie Peacock reworking of his own song 'In The Light' - worth reading his notes that appear onscreen about halfway through. Musically and lyrically top notch this stuff, IMHO.

Apologies that neither my notes on 'the Spirituality of Social Media' nor my 'thoughts on prayer and silence' haven't made there way here yet due to the busyness of ministry here in the Five Alive Mission Community and because both sets of notes need to be transferred from being handwritten to being on screen... It's unusual for me not to have notes prepared on netbook or PC but it just happened to be that on those two occasions I didn't have access to either.  In fact I quite enjoyed the "Fountain Pen on Moleskine" vibe and felt like a proper writer for a bit, maybe worth musing on that for a bit another time?   Will be back soon!  I hope!

I have signed up for the Reviewers Program on ChristianAudio.com - quite enjoying the books I've downloaded for review, so here is my first review.... Dallas Willard - Hearing God Five Stars (out of Five) Encouraging, Clear, Thoughtful and Helpful From the opening challenge to the end summary Willard's words draw the listener in and seek to cause us to respond. Willard has a way of putting his finger on the kind of questions many 'normal Christians' ask - highlighting our own sense of inadequacy and need for guidance and discernment. 'Hearing God' encourages us to have a Biblical, intelligent approach to our relationship with God and to learning to have a more relaxed and open attitude to our conversations with him. It inspires us to think in terms of 'walking with God' and listening as well as talking - of being Christian rather than just 'doing Christian things'. It's a view of transformation, of exciting possibilities, but offers...

Last one for today! listen to ‘Silence - Thought For The Week’ on Audioboo

I seem to be going through a little excitable flurry of activity with this blog rediscovery business... Anyway via the rather excellent Bored Again Christian podcast website I found little gem of a Derek Webb Video, the visuals may be pretty basic, but the lyric is excellent and it's a pretty cracking song too.... And just to prepare you, sometime soon I will try and Audioboo my Thought for the Week.  Is there no end to today's blogfest????

Actually, this post could also be called 'Falling in love again' (sung in a sultry Marlene Dietrich voice, preferably) because my last week of retreat has been the cause of some enlightenment, some struggle and some joy as I have learnt to stop and pray in a way that I haven't addressed before - or at least not in the way I did last week! My immediate thought was that I must put a gratuitous picture of Marlene Dietricht here, just to add to the visual impact of the post.... even though The Blue Angel from which the song was originally taken is the story of a less then salubrious woman who specialises in seduction.... more details on  Lady Garfunkel's Song of The Day: Falling In Love Again .. Actually prayer being seductive isn't such a bad analogy - really entering into prayer is something that can consume and inspire, it enchants and it can become almost obsessive.  But this is part of a journey I have been on and I am getting ahead of myself.  So let's rew...

Feeling drawn to blogging again - my time has been so full that the process which pulled me here in the first place had little time to function... crumbs, being away has certainly not made me clearer. Let's try again - I've been so busy I've not had time to think, let alone write... That's better. So having managed to lose most of my regulars, if not all, what do I do now?  A BIG relaunch - get the word out that New Kid (well it was a relatively clever name when I started) is back?  Or do I just gently slide back into blogging and hope things pick back up.  That's certainly more my style Since I last wrote things have certain moved on for me personally and with regards to the communites I am still trying to serve as best I can!   There's some folk I have lost touch with and need to rekindle those relationships; I've been incredibly busy, too busy, and need to get some space and order back into my life; I've spent a fair amount of time findin...

It's been a very long time since I posted two things in one day!  Or even in one week, or month!!!!  But here's one of those Thought For The Week  segments I thought I would be able to post here regularly... maybe I could get into the habit... though previous attempts have shown this to be unlikely... Anyway, I do hope you're well, folks.  It's been a while, keep in touch and STAY PASSIONATE listen to ‘Thought about passion!’ on Audioboo

Sporadic blogging... but do want to share this... Like the concept behind this, and I like Paul Baloche's worship music very much....

The Ten Commandments... parts Five & Six   Yes, it has been a while, and I have lots of stuff I could be posting - but as I had a specific request to put the text of a talk I did this evening on line here it is.... I should say that the version I did this evening had a fair amount of improvisation around this text, particularly towards the end when my prepared notes became a bit sporadic...  Ten of the Best – the 10 Commandments for today   Respect….  The philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein said ‘That about which you cannot speak, is that about which you must remain silent’… Time to sit down then, maybe….   Nahhhhh, when has not knowing something ever been a barrier to a good sermon…. so here we are Commandments 5 & 6 (at least in the Jewish and Protestant translations of Scripture) are -  12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. 13 “You shall not murder...