Eternal Echoes

Everlasting God (Strength will rise...)

Leading worship- what do you do when things go wrong?

So preaching/ worship leading friends, do you ever lead a service where everything seems to unravel and go wrong? I led two services this morning, the first was fine, and we entered into a good time of worship together, the message seemed to flow, I had planned it to be interactive and relaxed and it was...

The second service was little short of a disaster, I forgot the intercessions and muddled things up, the message was lost somewhere in the confusion. I forgot a couple of vital elements and although people said they enjoyed it/ were challenged by it, I truly wonder whether they were being polite...

It had been a long week, I'd had a big funeral, and a project to present, so I have to admit that I was not best prepared ( I do need sleep), but excuses aside, I am left wondering why one service worked and the other one didn't...

I hope I am not the only one who has experiences like this sometimes, ( not that I am wishing them on you), so for those like me who do mess up; How do you pick yourself up and move forward?

Guess which service my supervisor decided to attend?

Living in the liminaltiy of exile; opportunities and promises

My last two posts were poems written following the death of a much loved and faithful church member. They reflect my feelings surrounding her death, and the way that I see the church responding and reacting to it. I did not really know this dear lady personally but have witnessed the pain and loss that others have expressed and shown. As I wrote it occurred to me that it was not merely the loss of this dear soul that was being mourned, but also the loss of the way that things were, and the dawning realisation that they will not be that way again.

Mourning is a liminal space,where we live between the realities of how things were and how things are, unsure which way to step for a while, afraid that if we move all will be lost. Taking a step over the threshold towards the future can be daunting and not a little frightening. For those who find themselves unexpectedly living in a strange land the sense of disorientation can be doubly hard.

I believe that today, maybe particularly in rural Britain, many churches find themselves in this liminal space, and that they are being woken to the reality of their situation by circumstances such as the death of a much loved member, or the closure of a building, or any number of other circumstances that highlight the vulnerability they feel.

This is not a new reality for the people of God, Biblical accounts of faith surviving times of exile remind us that God does not leave us, they also remind us that sometimes he calls and places us way beyond our comfort zones...

I work amongst a group of rural churches in North Yorkshire, I believe that we are beginning to open our eyes upon a new cultural landscape and are finding that we are truly in a place of exile. But there are opportunities here, opportunities to seek God in a new way, to own our vulnerability and to move on from there...

In a recent reflection and presentationfor my own churches entitled "Where do we go from here?" I used these two images;

For me they capture a sense of helplessness and confusion that are often experienced by folk looking for the way ahead in an uncertain landscape. But we are not lost for God is with us, and as we begin to lift our eyes from the confusion he will lead us forward, and will unravel the paths beneath our feet...

We need to journey to a new place, and although I know it has been used before I think this image of Grommit laying new track because he has come to the end of the line speaks vividly and powerfully into our situation today.

We need to learn to listen to the God who drives us into the wilderness so that we need to rediscover his strength, to yearn to be filled by the Holy Spirit afresh, to be strengthened and equipped for the journey ahead, for we might just find that he desires to lead us away from exile, and put within our hearts echoes and longings for home!

Lord, I believe; seeking a song from the edge of exile (2).

Today we sang our hymns of faith,

cocooned for a while

in a warm blanket

of yesterdays tales…

 

..and for a while

we were comforted

by our memories,

and reminded of

past assurances…

 

..what will tomorrow bring,

when the cold light of day

beckons us forward,

away from the past

to the present

reality, and tomorrows

possibilities…

 

Will you be there

when the daylight

wraps its fingers around out hearts,

and our questions

re-surface?

 

Will you be there

when we look into

the mirror

and realise that the past, is

truly past?

 

Will you lead us forward?

Do you have a plan?

Can you make

the deserts bloom

again?

 

Lord I believe,

help thou mine

unbelief…

 

It is dark outside; seeking a song from the edge of exile…

 

It is dark outside,

as we sit in

a small front room,

curtains drawn

against the winter cold…

 

…their friend,

teacher, and leader

is gone,

 

… I feel their grief,

although

I cannot plumb the

depths

of it, until I realise

there is more than one

loss here…

 

they begin to speak

of days gone by,

of Sunday Schools,

and trips,

of Eisteddfod's,

and Harvests

filled with people

and produce….

 

they remember singing

hymns into the night,

and how caroling was the highlight

of their Christmas times,

 

they remember when the Chapel

was the centre of village life,

respected,

and loved….

 

And now this death highlights their pain,

for they are in a strange land,

and their songs seem dimmed somehow…

 

…unspoken questions

fill the silent spaces,

and hang in the air

like cigarette smoke,

outlawed, and unwelcome…

 

And I wonder

how we can travel together

to a place,

where tears may flow

unchecked for a while,

and their questions are heard…

 

…where together we

open the curtains

upon this strange,

familiar, land..

 

to learn a anew the song

whose strain

will never ebb,

or die,

the song known by

stars and mountains,

older than time itself,

yet new,

renewed

transformed….

 

Leave us alone Jesus…

What do we want from you Jesus?

 

We want you to be ours,

we want to keep you

to ourselves,

to be healed

and blessed

and supported by you.

 

We want to live a life

free from discomfort,

and pain,

free from challenge…

 

We want to be comfortable,

settled,

and, well..

we'd like to have everything explained,

tied up neatly,

and presented in a way

that we understand,

and enjoy.

 

But you come,

tipping us out of our cosy

reveries,

and demanding

that we leave everything behind

to follow you.

 

You tell us that our

treasured possessions

are not important,

and our personal wholeness

should not be our

first concern.

 

You call us beyond ourselves,

and our limited vision,

and offer us a glimpse of the

vastness of God breathed

possibilities…

 

What do we want from you Jesus?

 

Now don't be

offended,

but,

perhaps you could

leave us

alone…

 

I have been pondering the Gospel reading for next Sunday, considering the way that Jesus peers and neighbours reacted to him; it seems that he deliberately provoked them, saying a prophet has no honour in his own town, and pointing to the way that both Elijah and Elisha were sent beyond Israel to Naaman who was leprous and the widow at Sarpeta in Sidon.

Was Jesus being deliberately contentious? I think he was, his friends and neighbours had been delighted with his teaching but he was pointing out that it was not just to them that he was called. Did he overdo it? Maybe so, for it certainly provoked a strong reaction…. but maybe we have forgotten the impact that the gospel should have on its hearers; it is shocking and disturbing and challenging, and ifwe say that it isn't then maybe we aren't really reading it!

 

 

life...

It has been a long week... another long week ahead.....

Light and shadow…

Do you own your

shadow side?

Do you allow it to soar,

to seek the light?

Or would you rather it

were a secret…

 

Do you want to keep it hidden?

Are you at home

with your shadows?

 

Can you accept

your darkness,

or do you only allow light

to meet light?

 

He says

that even the darkness

is light

in his presence…

 

Can you risk this truth…?

 

 

Dave Perry has an interesting photo on his blog of the seagull sculpture in the centre of Leeds, I like the way that he has captured both light and shadow in his picture, and have written this reflection in response to his words and picture…

 

and I offer you a picture of my own…

 

The light and shadows combine to highlight the beauty and potential of the shore…

 

Challenged and changed ( Pondering Luke 4: 14-21)

We say we understand

your preference for the poor,

the broken,

the bruised,

the battered…

We say that we share it,

but in truth

these vulnerable ones

make us uncomfortable,

we prefer to keep them

 distant; holding them at

an arms length even in our prayers….

 

But you challenge us to leave

our comfort zone behind,

to touch the broken,

to lift the fallen,

to bind the broken hearted

with bonds of love,

and to set the captives free…

 

Will you call and anoint us,

equip us,

and charge us;

will you pour out you Spirit upon us?

 

Without you we are nothing….

But with you all things

are possible…

 

…and even we

hard hearted,

and broken though we are

might be changed.

 

 

Trains, planes and automobiles; Friday 5

By the time you're reading this, I'll be en route to a Great Big City to see my son in a play. I'll go by car and bus and train and no doubt cab and maybe even subway. Thus, our Friday Five.

1) What was the mode of transit for your last trip?

Car, I travelled yesterday to collect a new (second hand) car. It is a cheap runabout really with a small engine making it fuel efficient, perfect for the small rural journeys I need to make. We have a big car for longer trips.

2) Have you ever traveled by train?

Yes, quite a lot, all of Christopher's hospital appointments were easier to reach by train than car, we would catch a train into the centre of London and then take the tube to South Kensington. On a more fun note when Tim and I first met neither of us drove, and so we would go for days out by train. My children all use trains to get home from University, student railcards and a good railway system make it easier for them.

3) Do you live in a place with public transit, and if so, do you use it?

Yes we are served by two railway stations and a regular bus route, and yes I do use it when I can. I have also started to do more walking and even cycle when I can; U believe in staying as carbon neutral as possible!

4) What's the most unusual vehicle in which you've ever traveled?

An old fire engine; my step-father bought it at auction when we lived on a pig farm for pressure washing the sheds, during the 70's we lived in an area that was being terrorised by an arsonist who was setting light to farm buildings. Our neighbours raised the alarm one day and we reached their property before the fire brigade. We dashed across a field and over a wooden bridge which collapsed behind us. It is a journey I won't forget quickly. The barn was saved!

5) What's the next trip you're planning to take?

The next long trip I am planning to take will either be toSheffield to hear my daughter play, or to Lancaster to watch my son in a play! I guess it's a mum thing!