abbotsford.org.uk

A Day of CAOS

Don't forget the big morning with a little CAOS on Saturday (2nd). It begins at 10.30 with community artists telling their story and then workshops and then questions and then a free lunch. It's going to be great. If you are interested or anyone else you know and would like to find out more about Communitgy Art than come along to Abbotsford Church that morning and be amazed at how it changes people's lives and community and stuff. Fantastic.

Greenbelt 06-2 (A project)

One of the big themes that came out of Greenbelt this year was about human trafficking. Maybe I heard it clearer this year becasue I had already been given a website about it by Christine only a week or so ago. It is something most of us know about but really know nothing. So, among all the other things, I'd love to get better informed and then get involved in some way. I'm wondering about making it this years GAP project with major input into the life of the congregation. Every time they lead prayers they talk about Human Traffik (that's the right spelling by the way) and the do other bits in the service to tell us more.

Then there is the big yellow notice board that coule be given over to that, shareed with the goats for Christmas project (and a whole lot of other things this year) and maybe, just be sheer weight of information and conscience, a Peace and Justice Group would spring up led by someone other than me. The Eco-Group is fabulous because it started by someone else and so it is more liekly to keep going and have an identity of its own and fits in with peoples gifts better - thanks Christine and Michael.

Anyway, maybe we just have to wait around for a P&J group. But how long.

But before then go to this web site to find out about Human Traffiking and maybe, just maybe, it will be the start of another tangent to Abbotsford.

And here are a few more:
Christian Aid
Guardian International
Oxfam
BBC News

Greenbelt 06-1

Another great Greenbelt. Lots and lots of thoughts all spinning in the same direction (for once). There was some good stuff from communion to IKON to arts to coffee to peace and justice to campaigns to possibilities to music to resources to people to rain to next year.

I've not processed it all yet but what is buzzing round my head is "If you think you're too small to make a difference... you haven't gone to bed with a mosquito in your room."

Again and again, every time you go to Greenbelt, you see a fabulous crossing point of people tied up in, or simply interested in, or wrestling with faith. Many, many of them have left the church to preserve their faith because church is no longer a meaningful way to find God or community, not the kind of community heaven calls for. So at the same time I always feel restless and paranoid (okay that latter is just my default position about everything). There is so much creativity, life, colour, truth, passion, mixture and social justice it just brings life, but life in a congregation is often very different because life in a congregation is everyday and not once a year where you pack everything in.

So we are left to pull at the strands we are able to pull at, be challenged by those we can't, a live with the difference all that may make.

Maybe our theme this year ought to be "If you think you're too small to make a difference... you haven't gone to bed with a mosquito in your room."

How would you start unpacking that...

Of course, the best way would be to sign up for next year. I'm taking names over the next few months. Greenbelt 07 will be the last full weekend of August next year whcih is the 24-27th with Ched Myers abnd NT Wright sratring off the line-up and it's called "Heaven in ordinary". Let's take a big group this time and let's make it the celebration after a year of living with a mozzy in our sanctuary.

Woops

Okay, enough of Barbie. Typical church - we blog about all the unimportant things while about us the universe is immploding around us. Or at least around Pluto because it looks like Pluto may become a planet again.

It was hijacked appaerntly (the vote and not the planet) so no one is rewriting textbooks just yet. So it's in, it's out, it's in again. Who knows what this is doing to Plutos mental state.

Bit like the church again, it goes for a new idea and then backs away from it or passes something when there's no one there to vote. So no change.

Ahhh, the universe is in balance again.

Pluto no more

We've lost a planet. It's official. Pluto has finally been demoted and we're l;eft with only 8 planets in our Solar System. I for one am going to spend a few days reflecting on this new stae of being.

Pluto is now a dwarf planet along with Ceres (a rather large asteroid just past Mars), Charon, one of Pluitos three moons with is more or less the same size as Pluto and 2003 UB313 with is actually larger than Pluto but waaaay past Pluot in the Kuiper Belt.

If this doesn't interest you, then panic not, but the universe will never be the same again. I don't suppose Pluto ever was going to be a favourite holiday destination with a day of 6.8 earth days though that would certainly make my life more manageble. And with a temperature of -233C you were never going to get a sun tan. Yet it's gravity is only 6% of Earths. Good for the dieter among us.

But suddenly the ground (or the vacuum of space) has shifted and we now see things that have always been there, which we haven't in the past, because we understood things differently.

So good-bye Pluto, hello dwarf planets and a universe, deep in mystery and intregue, promise and adventure. Hey, that's all a bit like being a seeker. Welcome onboard spaceship Faith boldly gong where we've probably been before but seeing it all differently again.

Beam me up...

Living the Questions

I'm trying to organise another Living the Questions series for folk who have busy lives. I'm thinking of doing one every fortnight for those who work and are out every night so they can have some space in their lives for other things.

Living the Questions lets questions live enough to use them as guideposts to the faith. It allows us to have space and permission to thing less formally and more honestly about God, the Bible and a whole lot of other stuff tangled up together.

Maybe others who have started the series could spill the beans a little on the course, good or bad, to offer a wee flavour...

Parents are dangerous

You must see this. It's a danger what parents do with a "good idea". What have we done that parents think this is all you need to do to keep your children safe?

Discussion

Sorry I haven't blogged for a few days. My daughter started school yesterday. What that has to do with blogging I don't know but I'm using it for an excuse. Though it does lead me to a bit of a dicsussion about how we invest in our children.

There has been quite a bit of research (don't know where, but interesting in finding out) abolut early year stuff we do with young chidlren. We were always told to read to our daughter. Remeber those adverts on the radio about reading the newspaper to them, or the back of cornflake packets etc? We've talked about this before but this is one thing that makes a huge, huge difference to later years and career choices. It's not about ability, it's about engagement with the world, and responding to it.

The thing I learned today from a local head teacher was that a good start, that is a comfortable start in school, a good place to be, a happy place to learn also makes a massive difference to chidlren's career outcome. So they have a way of working with parents to help the chidlren settle well, and give them a possitive place to begin.

Then, in addition to that, there has been a lot of research about how nursery rhymns make a large difference to chidldren's ability to respond to things, reading ability, rythmn, how to speak and a whole lot of other things. however this headteacher commented that some parents in their school said they knew no nursery rhymns, their chidlren didn't either and they certainly weren't going to start now!

It seems a lot of your grannies wisdom was right after all. These teachers in many cases begin by teaching nursery rhymns in the frist years because chidlren don't know them. My daughters teacher gives our instructions using rhymn.

It call comes down to the fact that it isn't always intellect. Far more is about given the tools to engage and respond to the world, and they aren't always what we expect, but the ancient wisdom of those who told stories, sang number songs, found rhymn and wanted us to grow up in a good and positive environment.

Not about what you know, but how you get to know them. It's still an ill divided world.

Thoughts?

A hint

A wee hint of two of what may happen tomorrow:

May there be a shimmer in our creeds
that says there is always more to discover
may our faith be the long risk to love
may there be a space left in our doctrines
for some future revelation to fill
and may acts of kindness reveal your purpose
before piety ever can
may we seek wisdom in all things

Or again:

We will look in every place
for the journeying of God
for in this way
of the cross
here is the wisdom of God

(bring forward cross)

We will look in every place
for the shadows of God
for in those dark places
bringing light
here is the wisdom of God

(bring forward candle)

We will look in every place
for the whisper of God
for in every word
breaking silence
here is the wisdom of God

(bring forward bible)

Our Community

I wonder if we really know our community? I wonder if we know the hot spots in terms of where people meet, where the issues are, what happens in particular places etc. If we wish to be a congregation who responds to the community needs, we need to know what these needs are and where we go to find them.

There is a workshop in the church next Tuesday (22nd) at 7.30 run by the Transformation Team of Faith in Community Scotland. I've been involved in designing a few workshops with them and one is about finding out about what's going on in the community. This is one we'd now like to try out and see what happens and if it helps. There may be a follow-up one a couple of weeks later.

So anyone willoing to be guinea pigs for this workshop and help the Transformation Team help others through this and other workshops? Please do some along at 7.30 so there are more than two of us!