Darfur News

In the news tonight, the UN is finally sending a peacekeping force to Darfur, four years on from the start of the genocide there. Their mandate is to protect civilians and aid workers. In Rwanda, the UN were present in much smaller numbers, with a mandate to protect civilians and aid workers. Foreign civilians and aid workers gained protection.

Hopefully in the last 15 years lessons have been learned, and the UN & the African Union working together can bring some stability and protection for civilians and aid workers regardless of where they come from. Pray for the 200,000 who have died; for the 2 million who have fled in fear. Pray for healing and for peace.

white goods and games…

Not sure how other clergy manage to spend their days off, but for me it usually entails catching up on those household jobs which are left undone during the week.  Or shopping.  On rotten days, when the housework’s done, I play games: board games, card games, computer games, it doesnt matter.   Alan is the same, and on a rotten bank holiday (the few days off in the year Alan and I actually get together), we play games together. Often we can be found spending free time playing games online with friends, chatting over teamspeak and spending time with people we dont see very often. Ocasionally, Alan will be dragged kicking and screaming to the shops for some important or large purchase.

Alan’s off work, so yesterday we headed off to Glasgow’s cathedral of commerce (AKA Braehead) to purchase a large white box to sit in the kitchen, replacing  the one that died last week.  Once we’d chosen the item in question, he took a wander around the store, as I sorted delivery dates and recycling of the dead machine with the sales assistant.  He bought a Wii.

To be fair, we had talked about the possibility of its purchase.  We had listened to pals raving about the madness. It wasn’t completely an impulse buy.  When it launched last year, we watched on in amazement as it was demonstrated on Five’s Gadget Show.

And it really is FUN! We got home, unpacked it and spent the next several hours jumping around the lounge like manic teenagers, waving the little white controller at the screen and laughing hysterically at each other.  Never let it be said that the gaming generation sits on its rear end all day and never does anything energetic. If you’re ever thinking of buying a games console for yourself or a family member, you need a Wii.

stopping now - my arms are sore…

BBQ

Annual Rectory barbecue yesterday. The sun shone, the yougsters (all 3 of them) chased a football around, and the rest of us drank wine, and fun was had by all I am assured. At least, everyone seems to be having a good time, although Alan (the tall one in the middle) is looking a little pensive watching me create charcoal from meat products. And yes, my other half really is that much taller than me. But I’m not very tall - everyone is that much taller than me!

the value of life

John Simpson, World Affairs Editor for the BBC, wrote yesterday of his changing views regarding suffering, especially that of the victim of war or terrorism. He doesn’t say anything particularly new, so yesterday must have been a relatively slow news day at the Beeb. What amazes me most is that its taken a man of his education, confidence and presence of mind the life experience of 62 years and reporting through 2 gulf wars to realise that all human life is valuable, regardless of status, colour wealth, faith or any other barrier we care to mention.

He ends his piece:

The fact is, my time reporting on violence and bombings in places like Baghdad and Kabul has shown me one essential thing: that the lives of the poor, the stupid, the old, the ugly, are no less precious to them and to the people around them, than the life of my little son Rafe is precious to me.

Maybe if he didnt label people as old, stupid, ugly or poor, jamming them into stereotypes from which there is no escape, he may have learned to value them much sooner.

Darfur

Very little is heard about Darfur on the news in the UK, much like the situation in Rwanda 15 years ago - the occasional headline, but nothing more, and usually not good news. It was good to see, immediatly as I joined wordpress, a link here. Written from an American perspective, with US reactions and political insights into this “forgotten crisis”, but worth a look none the less

Gene Robinson, sexuality, evangelicalism and the church

Many thanks to Kimberly for the links to these articles in The Scotsman and The Times, as Gene Robinson talks about his sexuality, his faith and the future of the Anglican Church

We can rebuild it…

Tomorrow we have the annual barbecue in the rectory garden, for both congregations and their friends/family at 1pm (if you know where I am you can come too - bring a donation of food and a drink to share.)

The gazebo (AKA big stripey tent) was dutifully delivered by Ken before he went on his hols, and erected by Alan & myself on Wednesday before heading over to Northern Ireland. I flew off Thursday, came back Friday to find that big stripey tent had collapsed in the wind. A kind neighbour had done their best to rebuild it while we were away, but it fell down again. 8am this morning saw me crawling on my hands and knees hammer in hand, re-pegging, tightening guy lines and mumbling unspeakables as the wind tried to turn the blasted thing into a kite.All the while, Alan, (poor bloke, dragged out of his sick bed to help) is holding on to one of the legs for dear life, to prevent it blowing away. Or was it to stop him falling over?

Such things were never taught at TISEC!

renewing vows, making new friends, and a fantastic use of technology in church

Just back from Antrim, where I was visiting friends as they renewed their wedding vows and had their marriage blessed by the Roman Catholic Church. Having come to faith at the age of 19 in a very ecumenical church (it was a united Anglican and Baptist church), I have never really understood the divisiveness of church tradition, and the willingness of people to hate others simply because of the church they are affiliated with. Yes I know (as much as an English exile can) the historical context, the pains, battles and oppression of both sides of the Catholic/Protestant divide. I understand the arguments of both sides in the current fights and tensions within my own Anglican tradition, and my sympathies, much like the church, are divided. Jesus prayed that the church “may be one, as I and the Father are one”, he taught us to pray that we may forgive those who hurt us, called us to love our enemies. So we vilify them, dehumanise them and claim their faith is less than ours, so that we may feel more Godly, more superior, more holy. Or rather than engage with those we don’t understand or have disagreements with, we pity them, look down on them, or simply ignore them. That is what I dont understand.

Yes, I’m oversimplifying - the pain on all sides of the debates in the multitudinous divisions within the worldwide church is deep-seated, deep-rooted. It takes courage and commitment for all to deal with in a realistic fashion, that we may grow and move forward in life and in faith.

Anyway, I digress. The renewal of vows for Bob & Tory was a fantastic event, and my first trip to NI. Father Tony Devlin, the RC parish priest conducting the service, kindly and generously invited me to take part. To be honest, I was expecting to do a reading at the most so didn’t take robes, only a collar and a clean shirt. I got to the church, which was beautiful, airy and light despite its exterior (very dark) and its nickname within Antrim as the Black Chapel (or Grey chapel since the black tower was pulled down). Fr Devlin split the service between us: the readings, the prayers, the nuptial blessing were mine to adapt and lead, giving me my homework at the rehearsal. He lent me a priest’s cassock-alb and a beautiful golden stole, and welcomed me as a fellow priest in his church without worrying about my tradition or gender, even allowing me to import a little piece of our own Wedding Rite into the service. In a Northern Ireland recovering from the turmoils of a lifetime, he showed himself to be a Godly and courageous man, as do many of the Clergy in NI. My prayers are with him and his congregation as they continue to grow together.

St Comgall’s itself has a couple of fantastic technological ministries which deserve mention. They, like many other churches in the UK, have members from all over the world - Eastern European workers, foreign students and others who have moved into the area. A webcam is installed in the church, and Mass is broadcast to all who have access. For those special events and occasional offices, family unable to attend can log onto the church website and still be a part of the service, in their own home, wherever in the world that may be. For others a radio is provided (pretuned, with batteries) so that congregants suffering illness or the frailites of age can still be a part of the Mass. The full service is broadcast each Sunday over a 4 mile radius. The radios are free for all who need them, for however long they need them. Visit St Comgall’s for more info or the webcasts and Mass times. Its a fantastic ministry to members both worldwide and local, and one which I wish my 2 small congregations could afford…

Another one bites the dust!

ok, I’ve finally given into the nagging of various people, and decided to start this blog. We’ll see how it goes - how often I remember to update it, how well I figure out wordpress etc.