Eternal Echoes

worthy...?

I was asked to offer a picture for a conference yesterday, a picture that represented darkness, darkness within me, darkness within the church, darkness within life...

I did not have a picture that said what I wanted/needed to say, but today I painted one...

I expected it to be darker...

But it offerd me a luminous darkness, the darkness referred to by St John of the Cross, darkness where God is present... 

I expected it to be harsher, but found Gods grace in the depths of it....

I found Gods grace in the depths of myself...

Grace is here, grace is deep, grace flows freely....

grace...

Christ's love compels us...

 

 

 

do we not bleed?

I am writing yet another blog post about the treatment of vulnerable people, every week I meet people who have been affected by cut backs and Government Sanctions, people who are struggling to eat, a man who asks us for candles because he cannot afford electricity and we cannot afford to help everyone with everything. This week a young couple asked if they could have an extra food bag, they were struggling to make ends meet with the effects of Sanctions and because her Disability Living Allowance had been stopped, they had applied to the Local Council for help but were turned down because they had money coming in on Friday, it was Monday! It was Monday and she needs to eat when she takes her medication, so we give out candles, we give out extra food bags, we give out clothes and whatever we can to help people.

We are often acused, by our critics, of being a soft touch, accused of believing lies and being taken in, and perhaps we are now and then, but I would rather be taken for a ride on the odd occasion than turn away people in genuine need, people just like me who bleed if they are cut...

People like J&C who have been living in a tent for the past few months, unable to find housing, unable due to a mix up to claim benefits, and falling through every crack imaginable. Every morning they pack up their "home" and carry it around the streets for fear of it being stolen. Every evening they set up camp again where they can, they are in their 50's, they are not unwilling to work, they have worked, life has dealt them a cruel blow. I call them my friends, and yes they bleed...

People like S who has been mis-diagnosed and even refused treatment at a health centre, told to come when it is less busy. People like M, discharged by an overwhelmed Mental Health Service, unable to cope and now homeless, hungry and confused. People, so many people apparently tossed aside, classed as unimportant, unwanted, undesirable! And yes, they bleed...

This last week I saw the system reach a new low in the same way for a second time, T came to Comfort Zone, he could hardly walk, we heard his story, made him a cup of tea and tried to help him. His leg was badly swollen and was becoming more swollen as the evening progressed, we made the decision to call for an ambulance, details were taken, and when it came to his address he reported as homeless. At that point the conversation with the Emergency Services changed, they wanted more and more details, a date of birth, a proof of ID, the reason we were helping T. We waited for an hour and a half, no ambulance came. Two volunteers took T to hospital, he could not walk, on arrival they ( 2 women) asked for help to get T into the A&E department, none came. The next morning T came to thank us for our help. He had been discharged at 1am, with a set of crutches and some anti inflamatories, he had nowhere to go... and YES HE BLEEDS...

I am absolutely exasparated that people can be treated so appallingly in one of the richest countries in the world. I am appallled that people are written off, consigned to the rubbish tip, disregarded and de-humanised. How can we not look into the eyes of out fellow human beings and see just that a human being. A human being created in Gods image just as we are, a human being with needs and fears, with joys and sorrows, a human being who bleedslike we do, like I do...

I am challenged yet again to consider my own lifestyle, to ask what more I can do, to recognise what common humanity means, and to speak out and keep speaking out. We cannot, we must not write anyone off. Richard Rhor reminds us in his book "Dancing Standing Still" that;

"Jesus does ask of us strong moral decisions, but they mostly have to do with changing ourselves, not trying to change other people."

and

"Who wouldn't like it if all in the world showed a sense of basic social order and concern? And yet Jesus says in effect, "But that's not what I am here to talk about, I am not here so that polite society can continue to be polite."

Jesus does not ask us to be polite, he challenges us to have eyes to see, to see others, and to see ourselves, to see our common value, our common humanity, our common potential, our common worth...

And yes if you prick us we bleed, but we also heal...

 Paintings mine

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Dear Mr Cameron, it is about more than statistics....

All this...

Pondering working with people... (teams )

I work with several large groups of volunteers, they are great, but it can be stressful...

I was pondering that Jesus worked with teams,  and most specifically the 12 disciples, and what a group they were; hot headed,  impulsive, needy, arguementative, power seeking, vulnerable, deceitful...

At times they didn't understand him, at times it seems they missed the point deliberately....

But he worked with them, and bit by bit they were transformed...

So my prayer this morning is simple...

Here I am Lord, argumentative,  stubborn, hot headed,  impulsive, vulnerable, power seeking, dark of mind and slow of heart.  Here I am, and here is the team you have called me to lead, help us to find you in one another, please use us to your glory...

 

Picture mine... potential: Deep within

 

the seed...

Here I am,

Broken open,

Buried,

Small fragile heart

Revealed, pulsing

With power...

+

Here I am,

Broken open, 

Buried

Small fragile life

Ended in its new 

Beginning...

+

Here I am,

Broken open, 

Buried,

Small fragile packed

With potential

Longing for release...

+

Here I am,

Broken open

Buried,

Small fragile container

Falls away, as I am drawn beyond

Connected , free...

+

Here ...

All this...

I have just posted some photos to Facebook, they are photos of our preparations for this evening when we meet together at North Shore Methodist Church in Blackpool. We will be celebrating Pentecost. We will meet to eat, share stories, talk, pray and worship together. Here are those pictures:

We love symbols, candles, water and oil will all be present this evening. The Icon and the rosaries are also important to us, to add to these we have prayer blankets and paper and pens will also be available for those wishing to write prayers or blessings and leave them in the basket. Interestingly we write more prayers for others and blessings are often prayed for friends and family. I say interestingly because when we meet as a community tonight I will be reminded once again how amazingly priviledged I am, many who I will meet with are struggling to make ends meet, many have been victims of government sanctions, some are desperate, and some are homeless. I will hear stories of the 20p Hilton ( read public toilets) and from a couple who are living in a tent, packing it up every morning and walking the streets of Blackpool with it until the pitch it again in the evening. Everything they own is contained in a suitcase.

This evening we will celebrate with cake, we will share bread and wine and prayers will be said, we know God's presence with us, last week we were overwhelmed by the love and power of God at work among us. We were made aware of a love that knows no barriers of gender, race or status, we are all loved, all valued, all important.

How can it be then that these are a good idea?

How can it be possible that a community might value others so little that they treat the other as vermin, a mere nuiscance to be disuaded from shelter?

How can it be possible in the 21st Century in a so called civilised country for us to have a definite "under-class", a forgotten, hidden ( we wish), marginalised group of people? How can this be? It makes me angry, and week by week as I meet with my friends I am driven to my knees in weeping for the plight of so many, and there are many, and for many it is a small thing that has pushed them over the edge into spiralling poverty. 

You can find the story behind the studs here, please read it and let it challenge you, the question it brings to us, "who is my neighbour?" is one that we sorely need to hear, and not I suspect only in this context. Yesterday at Church we welcomed a lovely family and their friends, a father and son were baptised, after the baptism and during a hymn I offered a blessing for any that might choose to receive on, we ran out of hymn as the queue of people coming forward grew, not just the baptism family but the regular congregation too, some of whom will gather with us this evening, all of whom were responding to the love of God.

There are times when I wonder how on earth I became caught up in the wonder of all that God is doing among us at North Shore, people are hungry for God, there are some who have church backgrounds and those who don't, people who have been hurt, confused and even ignored by church and some for whom it is all a new adventure. It is not helpful to categorise folk because " it risks turning people into ecclesiastical 'widgets' or commodities. Categorising or defining people in a way that allows them to be quantified is helpful for particular pieces of analysis but risks depersonalising human beings made in the image of God. It also feels very institutional"1 , and this move of God is not about the institution, not about the survival or otherwise of a particular church in a particular setting but about how people are being wooed by a God who loves them, in this we are simply his co-workers or channels, and I often find that my task is to stand around looking amazed and wonder what on earth will hapen next.

God is with us, this I do know, and as we gather to tell his story, the wonder of creation, incarnation , and spirit power become real in us, as we take and break bread we are nourished by him, as we pour and drink wine we are cleansed, as we bless one another with symbol of water and oil we are healed, and as we light candles our prayers ascend to heaven. We find ourselves enveloped by grace, none is excluded, no humanbeing made in the image of God should be marginalised, there is Good News for the poor, sight for the blind, healing and hope for the outcast, and freedom for the prisoners.

As I baptised baby Oscar and his Dad yesterday I used the wonderful words "All this for you", Jesus shows us clearly with outstretched bleeding hands "all this for all"

1. http://www.freshexpressions.org.uk/views/unchurched : Andrew Roberts 

Pentecost Sermon...

We are here to celebrate today, to celebrate with Oscar’s family the gift of life! In a little while I will pray for him and offer a blessing for him. In the words that are spoken will be the wonderful words “All this for you!”

What is all this? It is the wonder of the story of God’s love for us shown by Jesus as he came from heaven to earth to show us the fullness of that love in his life, and in his death, and through the mighty power that overcame death and raised him to life. Such love, unexplainable, seemingly impossible and certainly uncontainable…

How do you explain the unexplainable?

How do you imagine the impossible?

How do you receive the uncontainable?

And how do you wait and pray for an unexplainable, impossible, uncontainable promise? That promise was the promise of the Holy Spirit, the fullness of God who would come to make a home among all who would receive him….

The invisible, powerful, love filled presence of God. A gift given, a gift to be received, a gift of real, true, full life…

Wait and pray…

That was the task Jesus had set his disciples, his followers, and it was the coming of that unexplainable, impossible, uncontainable gift that we are celebrating today. Today we celebrate the birth of the church, a church born not of human effort or will, but born of God, born in power, born of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit of God

I am not sure what they were expecting, and they didn’t know the day or the time that the gift would arrive… But the coming of the Holy Spirit was Jesus gift to them, and the Spirit came with gifts of her own, gifts of love, joy and peace, gifts of patience, kindness and goodness, gifts of forgiveness, and the possibility of living in a new way living, living in the strength of God.

The day the Spirit came Jesus followers were all together, waiting and praying…

It was the Feast of Weeks a prominent feast celebrating the giving of the law to Moses on Mt Sanai, faithful people had gathered in Jerusalem from many surrounding nations. Like Jesus followers they were probably gathered in the temple courts.

It was then that the Spirit of God swept in, Jesus followers were overcome, imagine for a moment the sound of the roaring wind, imagine the way they must have they gazed in wonder at one another as they saw flames settled over one another’s heads, yet not one of them was burned, imagine how they were filled with wonder as they were filled with awe, as the air around them changed, and not only was the air changed, they were changed too…

They were filled with love, they were filled with an inner certainty, and an assurance as the unexplainable, the impossible, the uncontainable God swept around and over and within them, and they began to shout his Praises out loud….

I wonder if they knew what was coming from their mouths, whether they knew that the crowd who were drawn to them from many different lands was hearing their shouts of wonder, joy and praise in many different languages, or whether they we simply so overcome that nothing else mattered but the overflowing love that had just filled them, a love that they soon became compelled to share…

It was in the midst of all of this, in the midst of their new found inner peace, and in the midst of the outer chaos of wind, flame, shouting and joy that Peter stood and declared the Promise of God; the promise of the gift of the Spirit, the Spirit of truth, the Comforter, the healer, the life-giving source of faith, hope and love.

The Spirit came and the Spirit comes even today, inviting us to receive faith to believe God’s story of our own special created-ness, each one of us fearfully and wonderfully made in God’s image.

The Spirit came, and the Spirit comes even today, inviting us to hope in the fullness of the love that Jesus showed in leaving heavens realms, in living and showing God’s love, receiving the outcasts, healing the broken, teaching and offering those who would walk with him a new way of living and being.

The Spirit came, and the Spirit comes, even today, inviting us to love, to receive the love that teaches us that God loves us first, love that would not be held back even from the cross, love that made alive in Jesus gave itself to a whip, a crown of thorns and nails…

The Spirit comes even today, inviting us to life, to dream dreams beyond the boundaries we so often set for ourselves, inviting us to a fuller life where we become God’s life bringing agents in the world, to work in partnership with God who is the ultimate lover and sustainer of our souls…

God’s work shows that all are loved, no barriers to race or gender, no blockages of intellect, no demands of wealth or status, and he calls us into life to fight for justice, to show mercy, and to share the fullness of this love that will not be held back.

Will it be easy, quite simply no…

In a world remembering the horrors of war, honouring the D. Day veterans and pausing to remember the sobering anniversary of WWI, peace is a gift we need so badly. The Holy Spirit calls us into paths of peace…

In our questions the Spirit offers wisdom…

The invitation of God is for us to become co-workers with him, heirs of his grace, members of the body of Christ…

The life of faith is worth it, for those who dare to reach out in faith, hope and love the promise of God’s Spirit is very real and closer than your next breath…

And God speaks into his world even now…

God speaks to us, even now, will you come and walk with me…?

All this for you…

 

Pentecost awakening...

what wakes me now with a roar

like the distant sound of 

a waterfall throwing itself

onto the rocks below,

tracing rainbows in the air?

+

what power is this

bursting through the atmosphere

with a pulse like 

excitement, electric

with light, like a heavenly dance floor

in the sky?

+

what presence is this,

as tongues of flame dance

around us, and none is burned,

but all are filled with joy that spills

in torrents from our mouths,

a river unstoppable?

+

what love is this,

refusing to cease, drawing and calling,

freeing, inspiring, demanding exacting,

what love is this

that holds us with an iron grip

as soft as new fallen snow?

+

what life , what love,

what presence, what power

is this?

what wakes me now

in a yearning to be free?

 

even for me....

I am not sure how to truly name this post; it is the result of reflection and meditation and the bulk of it comes in the form of a prayer. It comes from a reawakening of a sort, an acknowledgement of the uniqueness of Christ, which while it is something I have not denied the focus on the lover of MY soul had become somewhat muted in an attempt to distance myself from an ineffective it is all about me thinking that limits the love of God to a chosen few. 

It is an acknowledgement that I cannot live a life of love and faith on my own, a desire to be reoriented,  re-centered upon Christ as the source of my salvation, and from a desire to restate the uniqueness of the Christian faith; I find myself praying Peter's words; "to whom shall we go, you have the words of eternal life..."

I can't really explain it, it is a heart thing, so I offer my prayer;

You did not shrink 

from the cross,

and though you struggled with death

you overcame,

but went there for love,

even love for me...

this is hard to grasp,

more comfortable to overlook,

to rush to resurrection,

or even to dwell with

the cold sleep of the 

Saturday tomb

than to face the agony of the cross,

Love in self giving

sacrificial action,

bleeding dying,

even for me...

you are not my personal Saviour alone,

Yet you are mine,

I am yours,

and you are mine,

there can be no other,

it is you who invites me into life,

you whose outstretch arms

embrace me,

you who have given all

for all,

even for me...

Help me then to receive your love,

your life, your fullness,

Plant your love

in the depths of my heart,

let it grow and flow,

let it burn and surge

compelling me to life,

to love,

to the unforced rythms of grace,

set on you,

in you,

my one focused centre,

my love,

my life

touched....

 

and God came close,

in the midst of the chaos,

in the unexpected,

in the broken bread

through the  poured out wine 

God came close,

we felt,

we knew,

overwhelmed,

touched and trembling,

tears fell,

terrors  released,

words unspoken now spoken,

God came close, 

we could not contain

the touch,

the grace,

the poured out power,

God came close

in the story,

through the story,

within and without 

the story,

God came close,

+

and we will never be the same...

The crucified Jesus

 

So how do you explain the unexplainable, how do you describe the moment you place bread into the hands of someone who simply sinks to their knees or bursts into tears, how do you describe God? How do you contain grace, or explain grace? How do you account for a sane lucid conversation with one previously hard to understand? How do you speak of healing that says today I am enough, today this bread this wine is mine and I WILL recieve it?

All this was ours...

All this for you....

This was our grace and we are thankful...

(Pondering communion with our drop-in/homeless project The Comfort Zone Community last night)

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