Well, with one term of Ordination training under my belt and the second one started, I feel less like a new ordinand than I did. Actually, so far I haven't felt much like an ordinand at all (whatever they actually feel like?). I think this may have something to do with the method of training I've taken. Being on a local course and therefore part time means you immerse yourself less in the process. However, you do get to stay within the 'real' world and for the moment anyway, remain involved with your own church which has been great.

The lectures for both modules, 'Biblical Studies'(my degree subject) and 'Theological Thinking' have been very good so far, although I have found the whole Theological Reflection thing difficult to get to grips with. It's not that I'm not used to thinking theologically, I just find it difficult having to do so to a set formula. Some of the stuff we did more recently (see my art reflection as one example )were easier to grasp and more grounded in the Bible which I feel to be essential. For me, thinking theologically cannot be separated from the Bible and nor should it be.

Well, I'm away next weekend at the Diocese's conference centre for another study weekend, which so far have been the best part of the course for me. It's also where I feel most like an Ordinand, because I can fully focus on that and nothing else.
Scary to think that in under two and a half years we'll be ordained...gulp!

God's given me a great group of friends too, who are not afraid to have fun and be as flippant as I am! You know who you are!!! I'll buy you a drink on Friday...

Now that my son's birthday is over and I've caught up from being ill with flu at Christmas, I've finally got time to comment on our FABULOUS trip to Lapland for 4 days in December.

We went with a company called 'Emagine' and they were brilliant from beginning to end. We stayed in the Hotel Jeris which is set in the forest on the shores of a lake within the arctic circle. At this time of year the lake was totally frozen and looked like a giant ice rink. There were toboggan runs right outside the hotel and we stayed in our own log cabin with its own fire and sauna!

The activities were very well run. We had a snowmobile safari which lasted all afternoon during which each family met Father Christmas. We sat in a wooden house on benches covered with reigndeer hides to wait, around a huge fire whilst a lovely lady cooked us pancakes and we drank hot chocolate...excellent. An elf led us to Santas house and we had about 10 minutes talking to him. Tom was entranced and hugged him as we left...bless. We visited a husky farm and drove the huskies ourselves. We strapped on snow shoes and went for an adventure into the forest. As well as all of this we tried ice fishing, ice hockey, kick sledding and cross country skiing as well as riding in a reigndeer sleigh. Phew!

If you haven't been and have children under 10...I would urge you to go! Even if they're older, they would still love it. it was probably one of the best holidays we've had...highly recommended.

Art Reflection

Maurice Denis. Holy Women Near the Tomb/Saintes Femmes au tombeau. 1894



This picture depicts the events of Luke 20 v11-18 on the morning of the resurrection when the women found the tomb empty. In the painting, the figure who spoke to the women about Jesus, is painted in the background. He is also painted in warm colours as if bathed in light. The women are painted in somber blues and greys. I love the contrasts of light quality in this picture, which for me symbolize the difference in mood that the women must have experienced when they were told that Jesus was risen. It is as if the artist has captured a moment in time when extreme sadness turns to hope. The group of women are split into two groups. On the left the two women who are bare headed appear to be waving to the golden figure. Their uncovered heads suggest that they are open to his message and are immediately affected by it. The other women on the right do not yet seem to have noticed him and remain shrouded, perhaps in gloom.
For me the whole painting is an example of how we can respond to the good news of Jesus resurrection and symbolizes the joy and light which his presence in the life of the individual can bring; if we only believe.

“This is the great truth which fills our faith with meaning. Jesus, who died on the cross, has risen. He has triumphed over death; he has overcome sorrow, anguish and the power of darkness ... In him we find everything. Outside of him our life is empty.”
(J. Escriva, Christ is passing by).
In Conversation With God Vol 2: Lent and Eastertide

Why do so many people find church irrelevant and boring,(and the pub soo much more interesting)? This is a question which has been asked in Christian circles a lot lately and with good reason. It appears that congregations are depleting as the older generation die and the younger generations (who used to replace the church going population), no longer see Christianity as relevant to them. In our visual, excitement and pleasure driven culture, church is hardly the kind of experience modern people would enjoy....or is it?

One of the things which I think most people mourn the loss of is true community. They like the trappings of modern life provided by wealth and material possessions, but dislike the insularity of a day to day existence which focusses on working long hours and caring for the immediate family. Gone are the days when the community knew one another and helped one another. This is why 'feel-good' drama on TV is so popular aand also why 'not so feel-good drama' such as soaps are so important to so many. They provide the gossip (albeit rather dramatic and over exaggerated) and community feel which used to be a part of real life.

It is my opinion that churches can and should be providing this sense of community which is so lacking. It is a community which is clustered around the person of Jesus. He is to be worshipped by us and we should want to deepen our faith whilst we study the Bible, but we are also a church 'family' and should behave like one. All too often we focus on the worship and teaching which is such a central part of our faith but neglect the social contact which is so important to human beings and is a necessary part of their humanity. How many functional and loving families do you know who don't have fun together? But so often we see having fun as Christ's family as an irrelevance, not getiing on with living for Christ etc..Little wonder people don't find Christianity attractive.

Meeting together, sharing a coffee or a pizza, dropping into the pub, having an evening out at the snooker club, organising a girls night in or a bottle of wine around a good film may seem 'secular' but they provide much needed chill out time. They can also open doors to deeper conversations. Community is about caring and spending time with one another. If we don't, then we'll never get to a point when we can work effectively as a team when it really matters. Mission and evangelism is something that works best when meaningful relationships have been created.

Let's try being s REAL Christ lead community. One who cares for one another, one who reaches out to others and one who enjoys being together whether what we are doing is meaningful theologically or just being happy with one another. Be hospitable, love others for themselves and not what they can bring to the church and don't be surprised when they begin to ask what it is that is different about the church because they want to be part of it..

Rant over!

I started my training at the beginning of September and have so far been on one weekend away and one evening session. Everyone seems pretty friendly and the group has a good sense of humour...always a good sign in my opinion!

We have also started rehearsing the latest church play, a pantomime version of Moses no less!! As usual I get to write and direct it, so I've cast myself as narrator so that I don't have to add line learning to the many other jobs it will create! Rehearsals have so far been great fun and as ever, bring people together in a unique way...can't beat a bit of dramatic bonding!!!

Tom's Baptism pictures as promised....a wonderful occasion!
Down he goes!

And up!!

Family meal afterwards:

My son dressed as a Tudor at his recent Walker Art Gallery trip...yes he is the one dressed as Queen Elizabeth...

We are all off on our Parish Weekend away soon. The speaker is none other than Adrian Plass of whom I am a MASSIVE fan!!! I hope the rest of the church get his jokes and therefore the point of what he is saying as he is actually very astute indeed.

I have always gained a huge amount from his writing because it really exposes the stuff in the church which is unecessary (that which is of our own making and not of Gods). Sadly, there are alot of aspects of the wider church which fall into this category. Why? I have observed that many are only there because congregations feels safe and secure with them in place and not because they actually help anyone to grow spiritually. In fact, I think some of the traditions and practices which we hang on to so dearly can get in the way of spiritual growth.

I am not just talking about 'Traditional Anglicanism' or traditional practices in an old fashioned sense, but am equally concerned about the reliance I have seen by more modern forms of church on a particular way of worship, version of the Bible or type of musical expression to be allowed or encouraged.

I for one believe that it is not 'how' we worship God which counts, (each of us are individuals and will express ourselves differently,) but why. Each of us must be focussing on God amd our relationship with him when we worship. In simple terms it is what goes on on the inside that really matters.

Hopefully the spiritual experience of our chuch this weekend will be edifying to God, meaningful to each individual and tangible evidence of true communion with one another.

Is there anybody there???

It appears from my cluster map at the bottom of the page that a small but select (?)group of people out there in cyberspace are reading this blog! This surprised me and spooks me just a little.
Who are they?
Are they human? (Sorry I've been watching too much Dr. Who!)
Do I already know them?
Will they ever leave a comment????

This last question is the most interesting. So far I have had one viewer who has taken the plunge...anyone else???
Please.......

Tom's baptism was a lovely family occasion. I'm not talking in terms of biological family, but in terms of his spiritual family. There was a lovely sense of love, togetherness and belonging in the service this morning, which is just how it should be. Fantastic!
Pictures to follow....

Tom is being baptised tomorrow and has opted for the full immersion rather than sprinkling. I have no problems either way (which is a good job considering my calling). We did decide when he was a baby to wait until he was old enough to make the decision himself. I don't have any problem with infant baptism and can see the arguments for it, we just wanted it to be something Tom would remember and relate to as a symbol of what God has done in his life and what he means to him.

He's really looking forward to it and has chosen the music which includes 'My God is a great big God' (to the point) and 'These are the days of Elijah' (a little more obscure).

Afterwards it's off to the pub with family and friends....

Health and Safety!!!!! Grrrrrr.

I went to the Walker Art Gallery with Tom's school last week. I know that public places have to be VERY careful these days because of the risk of a member of the public suing them at any given opportunity, but think I've seen it all now! A sign was displayed in all rooms which said:

"Do not sit on the floor - splinter risk."

Well you can see what they're getting at... It would be so easy to ignore such a major risk to my health and wellbeing. I could settle myself down to admire a Monet or Titian and then without warning be attacked by a splinter and mortally wounded...disfigured for life by an innocuous looking piece of wood embedding itself in my behind!!!! I am so glad that I read the notice. It could have been really serious if I hadn't????!!!!

Grrrrrrr...hate health and safety....mumble....grrr...mumble, mumble.

One of the things that I could happily consign to Room 101 is 'Health and Safety Regulations'. Whilst I can entirely see that some of these are necessary, more and more we seem to be plagued by all that is uneccessary. It adds to my frustration when this sort of thing comes up at PCC, because it reminds me that I will have to consider them even more as a Priest!

In the news today was the latest item to be under fire. Apparently pencil sharpeners were being banned from school premises because children are unscrewing them and taking out the blades to make weapons!!!! It seems to me that the problem is not with the pencil sharpeners but with the kids who see this as reasonable behaviour or the parents who exert little or no control over their offspring.

It is time we stopped tackling the symptoms and started looking at the disease. The trouble is the disease is something we mustn't talk about...it's a politically incorrect term....hold on to your hats...shhhh...lest someone is offended....'sin is the word'

The church must stop being afraid to talk of 'sin' and needs to start telling the world what is wrong and why Jesus is the answer. Young kids who carry weapons are seriously mixed up...they are, to put it in old fashioned Christian language, 'Lost in Sin' and I as a christian know that only Christ can help.

We christians, as Jesus representatives, need us to preach the gospel and also to help tackle the social problems that so many experience. The church must be involved in social action AND spiritual action. One without the other is meaningless. Poverty needs action but so does sin. We all need to face up to our responsibilities...something society is VERY reluctant to do a the moment.

My blogging has been distinctly lacking recently...apologies but life seems to be pretty busy at the moment. I'm due to start on the local course in September. The whole thing is quite daunting from where I am at the moment as I won't know anyone before I start and it'll be harder to get to know other students because we're not residential. Still, God's got it all in hand, so I'll have to take advice from the curate at our church and 'rest in Him', though it's not always that easy....

This seemed like an appropriate description of the last 14 months, (since I started on the path towards ordination).

More tea Vicar???

It's a little daunting to think that I will be studying Theology again soon. I first studied it when I was at Uni 20 years ago. I came away with a passable Biblical Studies degree, but haven't really gone out of my way to do much 'deep' stuff since. I have on occasions had the need to research some subjects in depth, in particular 'The Ordination of Women', and have been amazed at the amount written on the subject. The stuff I've read has ranged from the 'extremely well argued and researched' to the 'total hogwash' spewed forth by those who really don't have a clue what they are talking about. The perpetrators of such drivel usually begin from their own standpoint and seek to prove it without any regard to the opposing arguments. I have encountered good and bad on both sides of the divide, so please don't think I am taking a pot shot at the anti women priests brigade..I'm not.

The other subject I've had some interesting discussions about over the years is Calvinism and in particular Limited Atonement and Predestination. The Atonement has always been a subject I've found fascinating as there are so many different interpretations and explanations of it. Hopefully I'll get the opportunity to investigate it further.. if it is ordained that I should...hmm.

I heard this week that I have been accepted for training for Ordained ministry!!!

Dibley here I come.....Applications are now open for 'Alice'...friends and realtives are very welcome to apply!