Rectory Wanderings

Looking back... Looking forward...

2010-05-17T15:15:00.001-07:00

The Wordle of Sunday's reading from Acts 2:1-21 and a link here to my Rectory Musings blog and some sabbatical reflections...

The Eucharistic Adventure Continues...

2010-05-10T01:38:00.001-07:00

Recovery from jet lag took a long time. I was exhausted for a few days. I was surprised but considering we were up and awake at about 4.30 am on the day we left and then traveling pretty much constantly until we landed at Heathrow bright and early on the Monday morning. This included an 8 hour wait in Sydney airport and also taking a flight from Singapore at Midnight their time. Shattering. Weird to be back, but with many experiences and much to reflect on.

Other than a few days of recovery one of the things that I did was spend time in London with Richard Watson, Rector of East Barnet... an opportunity to chat with someone whom I have known (not well tho) for a number of years. We had a chance to chat over our theology of the Eucharist and mission. One thing he shared with me that I had not grasped, and forgive me for recording it here so ungraciously, but for Roman Catholic Eucharistic theology, the Mass takes place if you will, on Good Friday at the foot of the cross. SO there is a very real link between the Sacrifice of the Mass and the sacrifice of Christ, of himself to God, on the cross. In Anglican Eucharistic theology, the Eucharist takes place if you will, on Maundy Thursday as it is by in large a recalling of the Last Supper and fulfilling of the hopes of Easter. I am sure many of you might well disagree. Interesting though, and something I had not seen or appreciated before.

Thanks Rich for that and continued support, encouragement, laughs and beer!

Auckland and beyond - the final chapter

2010-04-16T13:33:00.000-07:00

So the final stages of the journey need to be blogged. It seems strange doing this as I am now back in the UK reflecting back on it all, but perhaps time and distance are good like that...

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Woke up early on Sunday morning - 5am - perhaps phantom sermon angst. Let the preacher understand! Probably more to do with a warm night and too much wine. Ah well...

Following breakfast and packing we left Pauanui and headed back to Auckland for Easter Day worship at St paul's on Symmonds street.

Arriving at the church, mad me think of ST Aldates in Oxford, as the building had been set up, turned through 90 degrees. The church was previously a bit on an Anglo-Catholic shrine (the stations of the cross and the stoop are still present) but was the venue of a new church plant from HTB in the UK. The very small congregation at Mass has been enhanced by 4 services on a Sunday with somewhere in the region of up to 200 at each, lots of young families, children etc.

The worship was led by a proficient young band. Mostly Matt Redman stuff, which mercifully I knew. The worship had more in common with a free church than with Anglicanism as I know at least.

There was some HillSong worship to begin and a welcome. The rest of the service followed no liturgical format that was recognisably Anglican, but included a welcome, an apology for using a formal liturgical Easter response because it might seem odd or old fashioned (!!!), more worship, a reading read by children with some lovely images accompanying it, a fairly light sermon about resurrection life not being something airy fairy and spiritual and for later, but for now and for living now. We then shared bread and 'juice' together.

This was the really weak point in the worship for me. This clearly as close to sharing Eucharist as we were going to get to on that morning. There was a call to break up into groups of about 20, for someone in our group to go and get the elements, we were then asked to share something that we were thankful for in our group, the words of institution were used and then we were to share the bread and 'wine.' No one in our group really know what they were supposed to be doing really, so one guy shared, and no one else did and we administered to each other. It could have been so much more powerful if the links had been made for us in the address as to why we were doing this, about living resurrection life now by the power of Christ's risen life in us... But it wasn't. We shared, we sang, we went.

There was also an Easter egg hunt earlier in the service for the kids which was nice.

All in all, no robes, trying to be relevant, trying to be relaxed, but ultimately haphazard and disorganised, too 'right on'and too open ended.

That said, the worship was very powerful indeed and I was deeply deeply moved by the power of the Holy Spirit.

My other reflection is that it could have been any other Sunday other than Easter Day. Now I can see a whole theological argument that says that that is ok and that every Sunday is a mini Easter etc etc etc but...

Either way, I came away deeply moved and yet deeply disappointed. I guess a bit like if Mary Magdelene, having met Jesus as the gardener (the reading that Sunday), rushes back to get Simon Peter et al, and for them all to get to the tomb, to find... the body wrapped in the burial garments and lying in state.

It was great to see a full church. It was great to see so many young families. It was great to experience God in good worship. It was a shame that the address didn't work. It was a shame that the Eucharist was so underplayed. It was a shame that the litugical responses were apologised for. It was a tragedy that we were not welcomed by people in the church or really spoken to. All in all, a bit too 'Jesus and me' for my liking...

Auckland and living the story

2010-04-02T14:10:00.000-07:00

So we made it! Having clocked up about 3600 kms or so, we arrived in Auckland. We drove through what is now a very busy city, found the place to drop off the campervan, were driven to the place to collect our (very scabby) hire car and drove to Epsom to meet up with family (parents, 2 aunts and an uncle plus us lot.) What ensued included lots of chat, some wine, a play at the playground, unloading the car and settling in. A great area, a great house, a great welcome, a great meal, a great time.

Suddenly he was gone... (cue a Rush song in my head) my Dad returns to the UK and left that morning. Sad to see him go as I have not really seen him at all over the course of this trip, and as we are now both really relaxed,it would have been good to spend some stress free time with him, but it was not to be...

The day he left, we all upped sticks and drove the 2hrs to Pauanui in the Corramandel. We left before most of the traffic. We were heading for the holiday home owned by family, for a few days of sun, sand, and great times. So far so good.

Yesterday was Good Friday and often for me, one of the busiest and emotionally charged days of the Christian year. We drove from the house to the centre of town. On the way in we passed some members of the local church preparing for a Walk of Witness. They stood in silence, a handful of them, praying before they set out with a large cross to a church for worship. I felt ashamed, cut off and voyeristic as we drove to go and play crazy golf.

In may ways though this is how Lent has been for me this year. I have been a bystander, and I have missed not being an active participant in remembering the Passion. And yet I also understand something. We are called to enter deeply into the mystery of the Passion of Christ, and yet, if we do not (as I have not this year) fully participate – hearing each twist and turn of this part of the Gospel – it is is strangely difficult to enter into the spirit of this Holy season; it is hard to make sense of the Cross without a grasp of the Via De La Rosa and harder still to experience the shock and wonder of the new world order bursting from the empty tomb.

It all becomes a confounded mystery, one that is immensely hard to engage with. In a culture where we are constantly presented with choices, Christian faith being one of them, the Church needs to think hard about how we present what's on offer through faith to a world which chooses to opt in and out of the story we tell year in, year out, and how we help them to make sense of it, and we must pray that the Gospel is not just about how we make sense of a story, but how through encountering the Risen Christ for ourselves, we can become part of the story of God in the world, His story, and to allow that story to be written in us and by us.

Rotorua and the language of transformation

2010-03-30T03:34:00.001-07:00

The Maoris must be in some way lingustically related to Gaelic speakers or those with a Scandanavian tongue... yet another language, I guess also like my own that does not always pronounce the letters as they are written on the page.

We left Rotorua and travelled to Whakatane. It's one of many places in NZ that begin with the letters 'Wh' but not 'Wh' as in 'where' or 'why', but 'Wh' as in 'fun' and 'fantastic.' So we have gone to see friends in Fockatarnie. I digress.

We left our site before the 10am eviction and were pleased to go. Not a good place or experience. We decided we wanted to go and find 'the old English-looking building you see in the tourist brochures' somewhere in Rotorua. It transpires that it is the museum and it could not get more English looking and therefore the seedy side of Colonial if it tried.

Cream walls. Wooden exposed timbers. Tiled sloping rooves. Two bowling greens, a rose garden and a tip of the hat to our near neighbours in France with a gravel 'square' to play Petanque. All that rubs shoulders with Rotorua's own version of Kiwi culture – hot springs. Back in the 19whatevers a very English 'taking of the waters' style Bathhouse was built here too, but all this gentility is overwhelmed with the raucous Satanic stench of sulphur. It's sort of revolution. Two fingers to you Empire building squibs says Rotorua – I will out smell your delicate roses and cloud your bowls with gag-inducing steam. I loved it! It must be the Protestant part of my Anglicanism coming to the fore.

So to stoke the pyre we decided to spend some time at the Polynesian springs. $32 it cost for us to get into the family pool and spas – a bargin in anyone's book. This gave us spa pools at 40 degrees and 37 degrees and a fresh water pool at 33 degrees. The spa pools felt great on the skin – slightly ascorbic – and wonderfully hot. We all had a wonderful time and didn't want to leave.

We eventually left Rotorua's wonderful whiff (thanks for that tweet Mund!) at about 2pm, much later than we thought. We drove the 30 to Fockatarnie. Now my memory is that part of this road used to be unsealed, but no more! But, it still has to be one of the worst roads we have driven in NZ – rubbish surface. (Dear I must have had a dull day... commenting on the road surface...)

We arrived, and just pulled on Martin and Sarah's driveway. They are son and DiL to other friends of ours. We got in, kids played, walk to playground, great chat about church, church planting and God's vision, mission and ministry, the structure, future and life of both of our churches. Back for lasage and play and kids to bed, followed by more chats. Martin and Sarah have been more than generous and I have been inspired by their seeking after God's will for them and the church they are called to serve – thanks guys you have been a blessing!

Next day, up, breakfast, Al and our kids and Martin walked their kids Ben and Isaac to school. the kids had breakfast and the adults did more God talk. I feel like I have been led to two people who are as passionate for God and His church as I feel I am. They have been great hosts and I feel the tentative beginnings of friendship.

We left about 10.45 in search of Moko (?) the dolphin who has made his home in the rive estuary at Fokatarnie. Well we found him, chasing the dredger boat – didn't his mother warn him not to do that? - not far from the shore. Great to see a dolphin pretty close – could clearly see his dorsal fin and his blowhole exhaling. He was clearly playing and enjoying the attention from people on the dredger and small dingies nearby. An amazing experience.

We drove from Fockatarnie then on to Waihi via Te Puke for a quick lunch. Waihi was put on the map because of the gold and silver found and then mined there espcially Martha's Mine which is a huge open cast mine effectively within Waihi itself. It's a nice wee town and has an interesting museum about the mining industry which has recently restarted. The mine is vast and makes the enormous mining trucks that take 15 minutes to reach the bottom and consume 100 litres of diesel an hour (!!!) look like Tonka toys. A great short stop. The hilight for me in the museum was the video about the moving of the Cornish pump house 296 metres away from falling into the mine.

The pump house has become for Waihi, a symbol of their mining past and present. When application was submitted to reopen the mine a sub-clause was added that said that the mining needed to move the pump house. Watching the video about what they did, an amazing feat of engineering – stabilising and then moving an already standing structure, was jaw-dropping. Google it and see if there is a video about it. It is worth a few minutes of your time to watch. And there the pump house now stands at the top of town, upright, turned and moved to safety.

We drove into Waihi Beach with grey clouds rolling in and found our site, just over the road from the most amazing beach. The site is a place where Kiwis have holidayed since the 1950s, but instead of having a Butlins feel about it, it feels experienced, lived in, like your favourite pair of shoes. Relaxed and yet knows what it is about. I ca hear the waves on the beach as I write, with a chorus of crickets.

Today has, aside from the dolphin encounter, been about seeing the past transformed in the present for the future, if you get what I mean. The Pump house, part of Waihi's past has, through it's move, been transformed in the present into and for the future. This is also the central message of Holy Week. God in Jesus says again – I love you. I want to be with you. Will you be with me? And through the cross, God takes into himself our past and present, and through the abject horror of Christ's death, transforms our present into and for His future.

Ding! Ding! Next stop Auckland!

Napier and the essence of Salvation

2010-03-30T03:31:00.001-07:00

We stayed in Napier last night having gone there when the cloud was so bad on the volacanoes. We had some very special views of Ruapehu on the way across the desert.

That in itself was amazing – the desert road. It was very windy indeed. The landscape reminded me a lot of Exmoor or the North Yorks moors. The sort of place where life should not exist but somehow clings on. The the thing that was startling was the strength of the wind which carved gullies into the ground revealing the layers of volcanic ash and sand over centuries – like miniature canyons. Amazing.

We made our way down out of the hills into the Esk Valley which brought back all sorts of memories for A and me. We drove out of Napier one Sunday after church when we were here on honeymoon to taste wine. We had a lovely lunch at Church Road and finally ended up at Esk Valley vineyard on our way back in to Napier. We loved the wine then, so as we made our way down the valley we spotted the vineyard and the cellar door and decided to go and taste for old times sake – and came away with a bottle of 2008 Chardonnay and 2009 Chenin Blanc to add to our stash of Cloudy Bay and St Clair wines!

The site in Napier was great and empty and big inc it's own restaurant (v slow service which was surprising bearing in mind that there were only 15 covers!)

We spent the morning and early afternoon of today - 25th March – soaking up the sun, the history and the architecture. A word about the latter 2.

Old Napier was hit by a earthquake in the 20s or 30s (sorry for my ignorance) which pretty much destroyed the town. It was rebuilt in the fashion of the day in Art Deco style. Resultantly, the past, but the very present, has been preserved as if in amber, in the very trendy style of the day.

We spent our day enjoying palm tree lined streets and, whilst ignoring most of the shop fronts, we looked up to the buildings above. The sun shone, the sea laced wind blew. We had a great lunch in a local caf. Of all the places we have visited in NZ, Al and I both agreed we could live there.

Off the stinky smells and otherworldly sights of Rotarua for 3 days via Hukka Falls and Lady Knox Geyser – mud pools, hungi, champagne pools here we come.

Hoping also to go to church for Palm Sunday. I have found it so hard not being at a church. Not attending worship had been part of my stripping away and seeing with fresh eyes. But not having been has been feeling like I have been dumped. I am missing being with the One I love and who loves me and taking my place within the Body of Christ, the Bride, wherever she may be. I find myself emotional and teary thinking about her and how I miss her. I am aware that we are being borne in prayer, but not sharing in the Eucharist since the first Sunday in Lent has been my desert road and unimaginably hard. It miss it like a lover. I miss her – the church – like a lover. How I long to be embraced by God and her on Sunday.

We made it to Rotarua fine via Hukka Falls (stunning), the Lady Knox geyser (very special and worth seeing bearing in mind how close to it we were. We also saw the first mud pools of our visit, and they, according to Peter, STINK!

We then went on to Wai O Tapu thermal wonderland. An excellent if not smelly visit and a great introduction to the technicolour geothermal world of yellows (sulphur), reds (iron or arsenic), and many other shades. We had an amazing time in both places and I was amazed at the power of the natural world but also aware that somewhere beneath my feet was some very hot rock! The park was lovely and the native bush was very special indeed. The sun shone, it was hot although that could be as much to do with the geothermal stuff around us.

Finally made our way into Rotarua, having prepared the boys for 'the smell' and there was nothing! Not a whiff! Weird eh? We got here by the skin of our teeth as the fuel light had been on for a while. Our site is small but central and we were able, having enjoyed a swim, to walk 15 mins into the cetre to find an evening meal.

On the way, found the local church, St Luke's and may well worship there on Sunday – just 10 minutes walk up the road which is great.

The kids have been stars today too – long may that continue!

Whilst in Rotorua we spent the day at Te Puia which is effectively a Maori cultural institution. There are carving and weaving schools at there to continue to teach and pass on these two vital elements of Maori cultural identity.

We were part of a guided tour round the compound, for a better word. This began at the gate of he meeting house. We witnessed the 'challenge' where a fern leaf is placed on the ground some distance away by a Maori warrior. The 'chief' of our tribe then stood at a distance whilst the warrior did some ritual 'posturing' – the only way I ca describe it, I guess trying to show us how brave a strong his tribe were. When that was over, our chief went over and picked up the leaf and we were welcomed in song into the meeting house.

Inside the house, having removed our shoes, we were treated to songs, poi twirling, and a haka. All very moving and surprisingly loud! Found myself deeply moved by the simple melodies and beautiful harmonies of the singing and how similar (and it must be because the peoples must be related in some way) to other Polynesian music I have heard before.

The Haka, or war dance, is performed by the All Blacks before a rugby match, but was done before battle traditionally. Lots of bulging eyes, stamping of feet, slapping of chests and protruding of tongues (which signified to their enemies that they would soon pass beyond the tongue into the warrior's belly – all figuratively speaking of course!) It's pretty scary stuff actually, and son 3 was transfixed with pleasure and fear and gripped my hand extra tight. Afterwards he said of it, 'that nearly hurt my feelings!' Mine too Peter, mine too..

Lunch, which came to us late so free drinks and ice cream yay, was a Hangi. Cooked underground on a fire in some way, but consisted of sweet potato, squash, baked potato, cabbage, herbed breadcrumbs and chicken and it was delish.

The rest of the time a Te Puia was taken up with a guided tour seeing the weaving and carving schools, and the amazing geothermal stuff – more mud, more geysers, more pools, more stink. We left via the shop about 4pm! A fantastic and really worthwhile day out.

Sunday – we went to church! I have already commented how hard I have found it not going, and maybe that has been my desert experience and I would like to reflect on it more, but we went to St Luke's.

A modern, 1970s building, organ, music group, contemporary stained glass, chairs, and the most fabulous wooden altar table built from massive bits of wood – looked almost like railway sleepers. Congregation of mixed ages, stages, bodily ability, the bulletin telling us they were a child friendly church and it all felt very familiar.

We were welcomed warmly at the door by the vicar who remembered our names when it came to the eucharist...

The hymns were familiar to us (Ride on, ride on in majesty for example) and the NZ liturgy is familiar but different enough to draw us in. Some bits of CW have obviously nicked and then adapted the NZ liturgy.

We had all 3 readings and a psalm. The address was basically an overview of what the events of Holy Week mean. A couple of nice illustrations which I will have to try and recall. There was a simple childrens talk which ivolved re-enacting of the Gospel using flax fronds – a nice inculturation – processing round the church.

Our palm crosses were not palm, but flax. Again a right and appropriate Kiwi-isation of the Gospel. A nice touch.

But sweet sacrament divine! The grace and mercy of God has never tasted so imbued with the light and life of heaven in bread and wine. We received in the round – family around the family table for the family meal. Beautiful.

I was overcome by the presence of God and felt enveloped by His love. I cannot explain the whole experience but I was in tears or on the verge of tears for the majority of the service. I felt profoundly and divinely loved.

Later on we experienced the opposite – what we could only describe as spiritual attack. We had lunch in a local cafe and wandered over the road to have an ice cream. We were sitting outside on a bench enjoying the sun when out of nowhere came a young Maori lad in skate gear, who looked directly at us, eyeballing us, and then from a large pocket produced a bottle of red wine which he brandished and then smashed on the edge of a nearby bin.

Alex, Ben and Peter had some superficial cuts from the glass and all of us were a bit shaken up by the whole experience. What a waste of wine! But at a spiritual level, I take the experience almost as a warning of some sort. A reminder that as we revel in the love of God, especially this Holy Week, the darkness of sin lurks around and within us all and from what we all need redemption from.

Wellington to Ohakune (or Onahakalulu as we called it!)

2010-03-24T01:08:00.000-07:00

I have mentioned about the visit to see +Richard in my last post but I wanted to also spoend some time reflecting on the rest of our day the following day.

Boy was it windy! I know that Wellington is famed for it's wind but not like this! YIKES! We got blown from our campsite in Lower Hutt to the bus stop to take a bus into the cetre of the city. We were heading for the Te Papa Museum.

The museum is sub-titled 'Our Place' and it is in more way than one. It is 'our place' in that it is the museum of New Zealand, but it is far from being a museum just about New Zealand. It is 'our place' because it is aimed at everyone and anyone can engage with the exhibits as there are many things to touch, operate, look at for both young and old. It is 'our place' as it places the history of the Maori peoples at the heart of the exhibits, but also places their history in the wider context of the history of the peoples of the Pacific Islands and beyond, and places their history with the history of the arriving population largely from Europe within the wider history of New Zeland's place within the history of the world.

It is an unusual museum also in the sense that instead of the exhibition halls being filled with dinosaurs or art, the exhibition halls seem to be themed for example – seismology, with dinosaurs, with the history of technology – the invention of the theodolite. The other thing that seemed to be good was the regular placing of children-centered 'discovery zones.' One enabled kids the draw Maori patterns, to have a go at drumming, to dress up, to do some computer work all staffed too.

We learned much about Maori history but their place within the history of the Pacific Islanders who geneticists think they can trace back to the peoples of South East Asia, but no one ca say with certainty where or when. We saw meeting houses, art, clothing, ocean going boats, jewelry etc. This was all juxtaposed and interspersed with art, and design etc from contemporary NZ.

We learned much about NZ wildlife, both past and present and also saw the world's largest squid and the video of how it was caught, landed, examined and donated to the museum.

We learned about earthquakes and plate tectonics and the volcanic erruption of Mt. Ruapehu in 1995/96. We stood in an earthquake simulator, and how to earthquake proof your house – no mention of house to keep one's camper van safe as the site we are on as I write this, is in sight of the sleeping monster.

We spent far more of the day there than I anticipated, and yet even so, I was ready to go but sad to leave. We barely scratched the surface of what one could see and do in the museum but I can hereby declare it is, as my Dad would say – for me, one of the finest museums around and a must do on anyone's NZ list. I took over 40 photos there alone. Will post them to FB when I can.

The other thing we did was the cable car, more like a very sedate fenicular railway. a lovely run up the hill to the v windswept botanical gardens and Carter Observatory. We got a great view down over the city, appreciated a pretty old sun dial calender and clock, looked at the outside (closed for rewfurb) of the observatory, a very small mooch around the gardens and then a journey down. We would have walked down through the botanics if it had not been so windy.

The search for food, abortive I have to say, took us via the outside of the Beehive – New Zealand's intregueing parliament building. Well worth seeing and another time I would like to do the tour round the inside.

Finally, after some time we caught the bus back to the site and the kids had beans on toast and went bed.

The next day we left early and drove to Ohakune which is just on the edge of the Tongeriro National Park. The drive was dull once we left Wellington. The roads were long and straight, a bit of a novelty compared to previous journies, but you know how straight and dull the driving must be when you start commenting on the livestock in the fields or on the occasional bend when it arrived!

The town of Okahune was a bit deserted but out of season and on a day when the volcanic peaks were covered in cloud, even the woman in the tourist info admitted that those who had arrived to walk had by in large gone on to Napier in the hope to come back when the weather improved.

Ohakune is 'famed' as the carrot capital of NZ – seems like a dodgy claim to me but I have a photo of the boys standing beneath the giant carrot on the edge of the town.

BBQ tonight. Uno played. Bed. Off to Napier tomorrow. Over 3000kms notched up so far!

Nelson-Wellington and the Missional God

2010-03-21T02:14:00.000-07:00

What follows doesn't pick up and tie yp loose ends. I don't follow up the 'you are what you eat' reference, but I will.

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More miles have been clocked up since I wrote last.

We made it from Franz Josef to Westport uneventfully and then from Westport to Motueka. Having got there we had 3 days of down time – a chance to have time at Abel Tasman national park, for Peter to celebrate his 4th birthday in style by spotting pukekos in a narby reserve, a birthday lunch (cake, sandwiches, crisps, popcorn, raspbery buns et al) a day on the sand at Kaiteriteri concluded with 'fush n' chups' and then a swim back at the camp site. Aside from a very mysterious illness that blighted me all morning – like a mini maigraine – where I was sick twice and felt like death – but the headache was all wrong... we had a great day.

Abel Tasman was A-mazing. 2.5 hour boat trip spotting boatside dolphins, blue penguins and seals and then a 7.5 km trek through the bush from Bark Bay to Torrent Bay with a play on the sand for the kids and a hip deep wade back to the boat for all of us.

We then drove from one wine making region (plus soft fruit, kiwi fruit and the home of Jazz apples (a Braeburn/Royal Gala cross) to another as we drove 40 kms or so to Richmond nr Nelson.

Last night we polished off a bottle of gold medal Spinyback Sauv Blanc and tonight we quaff some 2008 Villa Maria Chardonnay. Delish!

Perhaps it's dutch courage as we hit the road again for the drive to Picton and on to windy Wellington and tea with the retired Bishop of Auckland - +Richard Randerson.

+Richard hit the press in 2007 when he said that the exitece of God could not be scientifically proved. Yet this 'Agnostic Bishop' (as he was dubbed) has also done some interesting studies into growing churches and their characteristics in Oz and NZ, not unlike the work Bob Jackson has done in the CofE.

Anyway, we have all been invited to have tea at their house on Sunday night. I was hoping to pick his brain about the Eucharist and mission-shaped communities. So perhaps I need to summarise what I have experienced and discovered so far.

Where does my research begin on a personal level? There is a connexion between what God does in the Eucharist and the Resurrection experiences post Easter. A personal meeting with the Risen Jesus transforms the faith of Mary Magdelene, Peter, John and Thomas into something life-shaping, directive, purpose driven and missional.

The same is true in the Eucharist. The words in the institution narrative, recalling the Last Supper and recited by the Priest or Bishop, aren't a means of invoking the Christ already present, but instead point out, identify, witness to the presence of the Risen Lamb of God, the God of Mission.

The Eucharist is an encounter between the Missional God and the community of the faithful – the Body of Christ, His Bride, and a co-missioning between the God of Mission and the mission community – the Church.

There has also been much work by many more learned folk than me about where the Church of England does or houses or holds its theological statements. Historically it is in the 39 Articles, the scriptures and the Catholic Creeds, but I also believe that the CofE does Liturgical Theology.

What I mean by this is that the CofE enshrines much of it's theology in it's liturgy. We are what we say we are, and in many ways, we are what we eat in the Sacramental meal of the Eucharist – more of that in a minute.

Anglican liturgy not states what we believe about the nature of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, but also draws us afresh into a living relationship with the Missional God, but as we recite the Liturgy, we fully become what God calls us to be as the Church – His Body on earth.

In other words, when at the Eucharist we say

'Almighty God, we thank you for feeding us with the Body and Blood of Your Son Jesus Christ. Through Him we offer you our souls and bodies as a Living Sacrifice. Send us out in the power of your Spirit, to live and work to your praise and glory. Amen.'

we aren't just reminding ourselves of some great theological truth, we actually mean it. In the Eucharist we have received Christ in some way through being together, hearing the scriptures read, through prayer and through breaking bread and sharing wine together. But that also some sort of transaction takes place.

On the cross, in some way, Christ offers himself to God on behalf of sinful humanity to rebuild and restore that relationship. In the Eucharist, the word itself means 'thanksgiving', the church offers herself back to God in thanksgiving to God for our restored status as the forgiven, adopted children of God.

In the same way that the disciples were sent out at the Great Commission (Matt 28) and were empowered by the Holy Spirit (Acts2) and became Apostles, so the Church is sent and empowered by the Missional God in the Eucharist.

All of that is a precursor to say that I passionately believe that Eucharisticly centred churches should therefore be missional churches (or should be) by the very nature of what God is doing in the heart and life of the community. Over my time away I am worshiping with these sorts of communities to get a sense of what God is doing amongst them, to see if there are any common themes, and to be inspired by what the God who continues to say historically, internationally, nationally and locally 'I love you, I want to be with you. Will you be with me?'

The tragedy is, I have been in NZ for long enough now and yet I have been unable to attend worship! I am hoping that time with +Richard will give an overview of what God is doing in His Church here.

What about God's purposes in the CofE? What did I see and hear at East Barnet or at the Abbey?

At East Barnet the Eucharist has led to Alt Worship, artistic endevours, Messy Mass, real engagement with the Church school, a new toddlers corner, a building and reordering project, a heartening and inspiring use of the gifts and skills of the laity in the Mass.

St Albans Abbey was obviously a bigger affair. the Eucharist has led to engagement on a civic level with the rest of the city. The Abbey also engages with the whole Diocese as Mother Church. The liturgy is more formal and uses a number of litugical orders of ministry – on that occasion the Dean and Canon Liturgist robed as Deacons which was powerful and effoective. There is clearly a huge work with children and young people and that was evidenced on that particular 'usual Sunday.' I need to reflect further on my experience of worship at the Abbey and I am hoping to meet with the Sub Dean – Stephen Lake – to chat this through further.

Well, Richard and Jackie were as warm and welcoming as we could have hoped for and we instantly felt we were amongst friends with f&c. More to the point, our boys behaved superbly!

We had some wide ranging chat about mission and the church, and I come away encouraged that it is ok and Godly to think and be led by the Holy Spirit out of the ecclesastical box, so to speak. He shared some insights from research he has done into mission shaped churches in NZ and OZ and also gave me some ideas of places I might visit and be inspired by (most noteably Anglican churches in Howick, St Paul's on Simon street and in Remuera.)

All in all an inspiring, hospitable, interesting, fun, Godly evening and I am indebted to Mark Brown for suggesting that I met up with him.

In return, we painted a picture of church life in CofE and esp. in St Albans diocese and I recommended Bob Jackson's work to him to read.

As a footnote – on the way we had a happy run from Richmond to Wellington, stopping at Cloudy Bay and St Clare vineyards for some fantastic tasting and purchasing. The ferry crossing was amazingly smooth and getting to Lower Hutt and Hataitai for our our evening's hospitality and camp site respectively were all good – even if the roads were as busy as I had driven anywhere since leaving the UK.

Tomorrow – slow start and sightseeing. Looking forward to it all...

Glacial Giants

2010-03-15T02:39:00.000-07:00

Well, we made up part of the West Coast today traveling from Wanaka to Franz Josef via two glaciers in quick succession.

I have been to both of these icy memorials to a bygone era – persistently here despite it all (a bit like Rush) before but it was good to go as a family... Anyway...

My memory of of the journey was that the road was twisty to say the least. Getting back onto route 6 today and ti was a very different road. Sure there were some comedy Kiwi corers (to be taken in one case at 15 km/hr) but the road was different, wider, straighter, more yellow brick, happier...

Seriously, it was a long but pretty easy run. Getting ready to become reacquainted with these geological dinosaurs, made me ponder what my impact was on these frozen landscapes? One thing that shocked me was how far the Fox glacier had retreated since 1992. How far will my 6 flights and a couple of thousand (already over a thousand) Kms of driving force these great giants back further to the brink of oblivion? Sobering stuff...

Nevertheless, standing at the base of Fox is awesome. As the world rushes by this thing creaks in need of lit ofres WD40, and gushes forth a rushing tide of freezing blue/green poisonous meltwater.

Standing there today, God's question to Elijah on the mountain top was whispered to me – what are you doing here Simon? Good question. I guess I came to see something amazing Lord, but also something from from a former age. But I guess I also came to see something before it disappears for good.

In a way, what is the difference between what we did and slowing down to rubber-neck at a traffic accident? Both are awesome and terrifying. Both might focus us on issues of death and dying of something passing away.

Like an RTA, I have a part to play. The way I drive determines whether I or others end up caught in a crash. Similarly the way I live determines whether these gigantic structures spitting history as terminal moraine survive into the future that they punctuate by their very existence.

As wallpaper to all of this, rather cheerily, I am reading 'The Road' by Cormac McCarthy, and New Zealand's very quiet yet life-lined roads are in stark contrast to McCarthy's 'Road' and yet they are variations on a theme as the environmental desolation he writes of is being exorcised, however indirectly by my flying, my driving, my living, my voting...

I had not intended this to be so bleak...

Tonight, as a family, we shared a sort of Eucharist as we ate a BBQ together. I say a sort of Eucharist as there was much laughter, much thankfulness for our day and all that we have seen and experienced. This simple sharing reminded me of my place within this and a wider family network and as I ate I realised that Jesus was with us and the words of a prayer that was sent to me before I began with journey with my family sprang to mind (thanks Phil it has been an inspiration) and the promise of Jesus never to leave us or forsake us no matter where we are, who we are or what we do...

Blogging by sunset

2010-03-14T00:35:00.000-08:00

Well, I am, here at our site at Wanaka...

We have been motoring since the last entry. We made it to Te Anau a couple days ago. It has changed loads since my last visit in 1992. Back then it was a bit of a one horse town or township as it is technically known, nestling in the banks of NZ's biggest lake (if you measure it by surface area – but who in all honesty measures lakes by surface area!) We went to do a boat trip on Milford Sound (MS)...

I first went to MS in I guess 1991 or 1992 as part of a 3.5 month stay in NZ as part of a year backpacking. Back then I was seen as brave or foolhardy doing this aged 19, but these days, this trip I have felt positively old in certain places. More of that later.

When I was at MS last time we had rain. Perhaps I should say RAIN! There was so much of it that some of the road was covered by a landslide and there were waterfalls running off the mountains that had not been seen for 100 years.

So no pressure then God. Sort the weather please because this time I want picture-postcard please - blue skies, millpond water, warmth, few sandflies. Like I say, no pressure.

We set out from Te Anau in fantastic time, but grey skies and a little rain. This became grey skies with a fair bit of rain as we made our way into the mountains. Oh no God, what are you playing at! Like I said... blue skies please... And then my spirit would lift at the first patch of blue. Look I said to Alex, it will be like that in the mountains, but I my heart I was doubting. It must be me – maybe I am the talisman?

We arrived in Milford having done some hairy 25km/h corners (let the drivers figure out what that might look like – ie you can only take them at that speed...) to grey skies, and the odd patch of blue. It did clear enough for me to take the photo I posted to my FB page.

So insect repelant sprayed, wet weather/dry weather/ cold weather prepared, we boarded the boat. At least it looked like it could not rain like it did last time...

And I cannot begin to describe to you how amazing the day was. The sun shone. Mitre peak was clearly seen cloud free. My trip was complete... from last time.

I felt dwarfed by the scenery, and yet very aware of it's terrifying ruggedness. And I was not left with some trite 'wonder' at a Creator God either. If anything, I was reminded how small I was in the grand scheme of things, and how whilst none of the stuff that surrounded me that day was an accident, there was also no way that it could have just been simply designed (not even by Slartibartfast (sp!)) There needed to be some element of randomness to it all all, and the majesty of God, his self-giving willingness to let nature take her course, was resplendently displayed. All I say to somehow capture how I felt is that it was so beautiful I was left with a sense that I wanted to be one with it all, and whilst I felt enriched and blessed to have been there at that time, I also felt sad to leave. That day was a thin place – a place where the line between heaven and earth, mortality and the everlasting becomes thin and one is very aware of the other..

If that weren't enough, we also went on later that day to see the Gloworm Cave locally. I had done this visit back in that trip in the 90s, but boy had it changed... Walking underground to the backdrop of the smell of cold damp limestone and the roar of an underground river heightens one's senses in much the same way as MS. The high point was the boat trip, cloaked in the velvet of darkness and silence – hand in hand with sons 1 and 3 at various points – we were spirited away, as if on the River Styx itself, to see alien constellations in glowing green. The silence and darkness added to the sense of disorientation and wonder. It would have seemed perfectly natural to have encountered Peter Pan himself on this faux voyage into Neverland.

I loved it! So did son 3 who exclaimed “It was as fantastic as a banana!” Well who can argue with that.

The next day – on to Queenstown. This is where I began to feel old. Without going into too much detail for brevity's sake, it has changed for the worse since the early 90s and is nothing more than a tourist town. A simulacra of itself. It still has the streets and buildings and views, but it's heart is fickle. It has become much more of an extreme sport Mecca and it's shops, bars and restaurants are all 'style over substance' and the worshipers are all 18-25...

No fret not this is not lurching toward becoming a post about age. It's just felt old there. Yes me. Old... We did have an amazing meal there tho. But for me, Queenstowns's days are numbered, and New Zealand when I come back, I shall not be looking to visit again.

Other reflections... Today (14th March) is a Sunday and we could not find out about church services. It was hard to find them on a map. It was even harder to physically find them. Harder still to find one with a service at a time that worked well for us (10.45 am... what is that all about?) SO we have not gone to church today and I feel sad and dislocated from both the Body of Christ wherever she may be and from God which are odd experiences for a priest. It has made me aware how easy it must be to 'fall out of the habit' of attending, and how we as Christian communities must offer many opportunities to worship, but also must work hard at retaining and supporting those who come – I have just read that back and it sounds terrible, clutching at straws mentality – but I mean it.

Other things – good beer Mac's “Great White” and Monteith's “Summer Ale” have become firm favourites in this camper van, and having picked up two bottles of Esk Vally wine (we visited and tasted at their vineyard on honeymoon) we are looking forward to being reacquainted.

Oz n' NZ so far...

2010-03-11T00:57:00.000-08:00

Many miles have passed since I wrote last. Sorry for the silence but wifi access has been a continued issue. Anyway...

We had a wonderful, if not brief time in Australia. We arrived in Sydney, hired a car and drove north to the Blue Mountains where we had arranged to meet friends at the Three Sisters.

The weather as we drove deteriated, so much so that as we arrived at the 3 huge outcrops of rock in spectacular valley, we could see basically nothing! Our friends arrived and we picniced nearby. By this time the rain was pouring down! Typical!After a quick bunyip hunt with the children (don't ask!), most of the party made it's way to the word's steepest fenicular railway.

The line is 1 in 1:28 and was used to trasport coal from the nearby mine to the surface. We got the front seats. The ride was a bit like an amusement park ride for the elderly as it went down the angle so slowly, but in a number of ways that made it worse!

At the bottom, a bit like drowned rats, we walked along the boardwalk and learned a little about coal mining in the area. By this point the rain was of biblical proportions so we cut our walk short and took the cable car back up. Wet but great fun

We drove then on to Oberon for a night with friends – drive, local history, info, beer, food, chat, beer, wine, chat, wine, sleep... Happy :-)

The following, aside from time at the local park involved the Australian institution – the barbecue. Delish. Then later than planned, we set off south to Cobbitty.

We then had 2 days with fantastic friends – kids playing, homemade pizza, sleeping (remember that I ask myself after noting it's absence on the plane flights), another BBQ, Ferndale Wildlife Park – koalas, kangeroos, kookaburras, saltwater crocs, wombats et al - A superb time.

Flew from Sydney to Christchurch, picked up our camper van.We had a lovely day in Christchurch – cable car rides, historic tram rides and the beautiful Botanic Gardens...

The next day we said goodbye to my parents who have been traveling with us, and headed off on our own – adventuring as a Twitter friend of mine might say. Driving, after our fantastic Ozzie hire car was challenging. It is 7.5m long after all!We were heading for the Moeraki Boulders. I have tried a failed to post some photos on facebook. They are remarkable boulders on the beach. That in itself sounds pretty unremarkable until you realise they are almost perfectly spherical – like God's lost marbles (now there is a moot theological and Marillion related point!) The kids had fun digging in the sand, and we had time to sit and take it all in to the backdrop of blues skies and crashing waves. Spectaular...

Onwards... We drove to Dunedin to stay overnight. We had no intention of doing or seeing anything here. Dunedin is pretty unremarkable (sorry Kiwis) and as it based on Edindurgh (even down to the street names – I know somewhere that does it better!)

Leaving Dunedin we have now headed to Te Anau. We made good time despite the rain (boo hiss!). The cloud lifted and the sun returned! Te Anau has changed so much since my last visit in 1992. What hasn't changed thankfully is the spectacular beauty of the lake with the hills ad mountains behind. I found myself saying to Matthew – this is why it worth traveling this far. It is unsurpassed.

After a play at the playground, a walk by the lake and a meal in a local restaurant... we are looking forward very much to our 2 trips tomorrow – Milford Sound and the Glow Worm caves.

Reflections so far – feels odd being a priest but not doing priestly stuff. Loving the time to recoup and recover. Feel privileged to be having so much time with my family. There some reflections brewing about welcome and hospitality after what we encountered in Hong Kong....

Otherwise we are all well and well blessed in this blessed part of God's good, green Earth...

Hong Kong

2010-03-03T06:36:00.000-08:00

Well folks, we finally have wireless connectivity and so the blog finally gets updated on my netbook...

Well that didn't last long. I am now at the airport waiting to board for Oz. Hong Kong has been busy and humid, but we have had a great time.

Our first day was rather abortive due to jetlag. We arrived and got from the airport, having been met by the Concierge from the hotel. We were taken across HK to our accomodation. I was really hazy as to where we were and how HK works geographically due to a real lack of sleep and the time change.

We settled in, unpacked and were taken by car to the Eaton Hotel to meet my uncle and have lunch. John looked really well. I was really struck by the size of the buildings, the humidity, the driving (!) and the general business. We had a wonderful Chinese meal (about 9 courses) with drinks and chats. A wonderful start.

After lunch all of us were wiped and needed some time out. Alex felt unwell during the meal and went off to have some time out. Coly, our driver (I know...!) took me back to our acomodation to go and get the kids swimming stuff. By this point I was getting more and more disorientated. The swim at the Eaton hotel really helped and revived.

In the evening we chilled...

The next day we had organised at trip to Ocean Park, an animal orientated theme park. A huge site, fairly empty. Hilights were defi ately the giant pandas and the dolphin show, the latter of which I found very emotional at - a combination of tiredness and amazement at what I was seeing.

More later...

St. Albans Abbey Parish Eucharist with Holy Baptism

2010-02-28T12:24:00.000-08:00

This morning, with my parents and my family in tow, to our Cathedral for the Parish Eucharist. I have been wanting to visit the church as part of my study. As a family, we attended this service in 2003 on the Sundays before I started in my current post, and somewhere that I have an affection for.

Things that struck me as we worshiped this morning:
1.The congregation was large. Even though there was 2 baptisms, there were a lot of people, and LOADS of young families with young children... something you do not necessarily associate with Cathedrals. Another cathedral know to me was experienced by people I know relatively recently and they were aware that there were only a handful of children.
2. The sermon was (sorry Darren) preached by one of the Minor Canons - Rev'd. Darren Collins. It was a bit hackneyed but reminded us all on the need, when focusing on Resurrection life - to be aware of the presence of suffering. One thing that Darren said stuck with me at I tweeted it at the time, '...Too many people pass from the poinsettias of Christmas to the lilies of Easter without encountering the thorns of Good Friday...'
3. Whilst the sermon was a bit on the formal side for a baptism, it fitted into the liturgy as a whole; a liturgy that focused on the need to recall the place of both death and resurrection within the journey of Christian discipleship.
4. Whilst the liturgy, on the whole left me cold on the whole, the completeness of it in relation to my point above was overwhelming. It was comeplete in a way that I was aware that liturgy should be, but so often is not. Nothing stood out. Everything focused on the inability to celebrate, to receive the joys of resurrection life without having first encountered suffering and especially the suffering of the cross.
5. The liturgy was formal, even more so than we experienced in 2003, and yet, following a very formal, and frankly fairly Catholic Eucharistic prayer, suddenly as we headed towards the Great Amen, there was the gentle murmurings of a noise. The noise began to swell like some sort of sonic tsunami. I eventually realised that it was the joy-filled, Resurrection sharing hum of lots and lots of children returning to share in the Communion of the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Before the Lord's Prayer, the children and their parents and carers returned to the Nave. The arriving joy of their return mirrored the overwhelming joy of the promise of Resurrection life assured us in Christ and embodied in the Eucharist. It was wonderful and overwhelming...
6. There were 2 baptisms in the service. There were liturgical things that I noted - the Paschal Candle was lit before the service began, it had flowers on it (in Lent?), there were no intercessions in the Liturgy of Baptism, there was only one reading and the Gospel. The thing that made this baptism special was that following the baptism of one child, the Dean, lifted the child before the congregation and proclaimed, 'Look! A new Christian!'. Those simple words were so profound, Sacramental in nature, as they reminded me (and perhaps the rest of the church) what had just happened in candle, oil and water. Someone was being formed into Christlikeness. It was simple, profoundly, jaw-droppingly simple and yet also slotted into the bigger themes of the worship and of the Christian faith as a whole.

I came away, if I am honest, unmoved and yet unchanged by the liturgy. And yet, also through it I got a glimpse of God's bigger picture for each of us - suffering and joy, death and resurrection - of which Baptism is the primary Sacrament. I came away, if I am honest, overwhelmed by the way that the church can express God's love and welcome to all including young children, and through them, something of Resurrection joy can be experienced by all for free in an unbridled, life-affirming, Eucharistic (thankful) way.

Sabbatical experiment...

2010-02-27T14:28:00.000-08:00

I am writing this from my phone to see if this a viable alternative to using my netbook whilst I am away...

Well the time is almost here: packing done; housework done; just last few bits need sorting but that's for tomorrow.

At this stage it still does not seem possible that any of this is happening to us. And yet we travel on Monday... very soon now.

Tomorrow we will go and worship at St Albans Abbey, somwhere that became our spiritual home before I started in my current post. And yet as we share Eucharist at our Mother Church, similar questions to those running round my head and heart as worshipped at East Barnet are there - how does what we say, sing and re-enact on Sunday in this place and at this time, influence my Monday-Saturday wherever I am?

I have been profoundly encouraged by Steve Croft's book as it has encouraged me in all the God is doing at HTLG, but has also opened up some real challenges that I hope to explore whilst I am off.

I am very grateful to many for suggestions and encouragments over this time - to Paul Walker for the reading suggestions, to other members of the Twurch (members of the church on Twitter) for their kind words, and to countless others who have wished us well and assured us of their prayers...

More tom here, but I must sleep now. Goodnight!

Reading and thinking so far...

2010-02-23T14:50:00.000-08:00

What follows is not intended as a coherent blog post but a collection of thoughts recorded here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have been re-reading Steve Croft's "Transforming Communities" and I have to say that this time round it proving to be a very timely and inspiring read. I was privileged to hear Steve himself deliver some of this material as part of his 'Leadership' course whilst I was at Cranmer.

Some of the figures in the Old Testament are mentioned and some of their story told to provide biblical and scriptural background to the central thrust of the book.

Samuel's story is briefly told. At the end of his life, Israel seek his wisodm in appointing a king. To do this he does three things:
1. He enters into dialogue with God
2. He realises that he needs to maintain the status quo but he also needs to reimagine with the people what monarchy might look like and develop this new model of leadership.
3. He has to implament this new model of leadership and appoint the king.

This strikes me as an excellent, biblically grounded way for the church to discern God's big picture and bring about much needed change in an instution, in a time of cultural change.

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Churches are no longer subsets of the wider community in which they are placed. People live and work and network in different places. Churches are therefore primary communities, where people meet and get to know one another for the first time

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Josiah's story is briefly told. Israel has been living and worshiping it's own way. Then during renovations in the Temple, a scroll is found. They are words from the OT Law and they have a profound affect on Josiah when he realises that teh Law they refer to still applies to Israel in his day. He changes tack, recommits himself and his people to God. THis leads to renewed and simplified social and legal life and renewed worship.

All of this comes about by holding 2 things in tension:
1. The words of the scroll (the Law) - the words and ways of God
2. A recognition of present circumstances and experience.

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How do we renew our vision? Vison has it's roots in the word revelation - how do we continue to seek what God wants?

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Hope for the Future:
1. CHurch plant/new congregation/service - non-Sunday. Messy CHurch?
2. Diaconal ministry of the laity
3. A Gospel procession
4. More people involved in home groups
5. Small group worship and study
6. More listening to God
7. How does what we say, sing, do, and act in space, reflect what we are and what we believe?

To be continued...

St. Mary the Virgin, East Barnet

2010-02-21T12:06:00.000-08:00

So when did my Sabbatical actually start, you might ask. Good question. I think it began on Thursday night, and stopped briefly on Saturday morning (as I got the new Paschal Candle over to church and got registers and banns books up to date) and then started again officially on Saturday afternoon. Today was my first Sunday off.

As I have blogged elsewhere, it has been a strange process of letting go leading up to today. I rejigged my work phones so I am not disturbed by it ringing. I needed to as it went off quite regularly on Saturday and I found myself getting quite wound up by it. Didn't they know I was off duty?!

Since then I have tried to relax into the time and space. It's not been as easy as you might think. I don't want to see this as a holiday and just take each day as it comes, but rather, I want to plan what each day looks like (as far as I am able) and use it wisely. This time is a gift and I don't want to fritter it away, but spend it's currency wisely.

Over my time I will be visiting growing churches whose worship centres around the Eucharist, and who allows that worship, that Sacramental encounter with Christ, to find outward expression in the life of the community and her members. I want to see whether a real encounter with the Living God in Eucharist can be reflected in age profile, depth of faith, average Sunday attendance, numbers of people involved in ministry, and in their involvement as salt and light in the wider neighbourhood and parish.

So today, with my family, I visited St Mary the Virgin in East Barnet, where my friend and colleague, Rev'd Richard Watson, is Rector.

Things that struck me as we worshipped together:

1. The Building is very well lit, so it easy to feel involved and welcome.
2. The sound is extremely good and so it easy to hear and participate
3. The sermon, preached by Amanda Duncan, the Parish Ordinand was excellent and can be downloaded from their website here
4. The Liturgy had pace, but was unafraid of silence and drama (in a good way.)
5. The Chancel has been partly re-ordered, and the way the liturgy happens there, allows for the full use of the space.
6. Everyone in the 'Altar party' (choir, organist, Lay Reader, Deacon etc) wore cassock alb. I really appreciated the continuity.
7. There was creative use of colour (liturgically coloured 'hangings' at the East end, the simple altar frontal), and a creative use of space (new photographic representations of the Stations of the Cross placed in expected and unexpected places, films are being shown in the South Ailse each Sunday evening in Lent, and a new experimental Quiet Place for children under the gallery.)
8. There was a fairly good age-range present and there certainly seems to be a good number of people involved in ministry.
9. There is plenty of mid-week activity, and I get the sense that it's not just there because it's Lent...

Worship lasted just short of an hour and a half. All in all, it was a fairly traditional Sung Eucharist with incense (plenty of it too - bliss!) and yet I became acutely aware that that in the midst of this building, these people are encountering the Risen Christ in bread and wine, and that means something and changes everything in them and for them, and drives them, encourages them, leads them to be the body of Christ both inside and outside the South door of the church.

I came away inspired, fed, challenged, welcomed, and uplifted, but with many questions that I need to ask Richard when I see him next. I am also left with questions that I need to ask myself and our community:

1. Do we allow God to speak in silence and space as well as in Word and Sacrament?
2. Are we overly concerned with the length of worship rather than relishing a chance to be with each other and with God?
3. Could we better use the liturgical space?
4. Could we introduce more liturgical colour?
5. Could we improve the lighting?
6. Could we encourage the Diaconal ministry of the people? Could someone regularly exercise that ministry in the liturgy?
7. How does what we offer to God that that in the midst of our building, help people to encounter the Risen Christ in bread and wine, and allow that to mean something and change everything in us and for us, and drive us, encourage us, lead us to be the body of Christ both inside and outside the South door of the church.

And so it begins...

2010-01-02T14:15:00.000-08:00

Welcome! This will be the place to follow what I am up to during my Sabbatical during Lent, Holy Week and Easter 2010. More wil be poster here in time.