abbotsford.org.uk

Bible for Duffers

Just a wee reminder Bible for Duffers is tomorrow (Thursday) at the Manse 7.30. This is hte big honest Bible Study where no question is left unasked and no answer is ever given. 7.30-9pm.

Hallowe'en

So what do you think of this festival? Is it sinister or do people have to get into the real world about demons and darkness? Harmless or horrendous?

And given that there are enough stories of demon possession in the Gospels to make it believable, is there another explanation for it all that just recognises it as a way of interpreting and coping with the world in all it's confusion?

Did I ever tell you about the time I tried to exorcise a demon from someone?

Martyn Joseph

Just been to a concert by this guy. He's always good. Saw him first at Greenbelt and a few times thereafter. Maybe we should do some culture stuff too in the new shaping of the church in going out to various singers who have a heavy social justice/liberal slant to their sngs. He's one of the best but there are few other great ones around and lets compile a wee list and organise some dates. Anyone up for that?

Chocolate Teapots for 4th November

Tree-climbing is a theological response to Jesus. Clearly heaven has no health & safety legislation. So do you just have to take the risk to catch Jesus, or does he catch you when you do take the risk? Hmmmm! And does it always end with a picnic?

Well that last one is fairly likely. Jesus was a bit of a glutton and drunkard according to local gossip. Blimey, even Jesus had that problem. The church was there before Jesus invented it. And it was complaining about a sinner, someone who didn't fit yet just in the awkward person heaven was screaming to burst open. Funny how that happens time and tim again.

Zacchaeus, who has sadly remained a cartoon character for most of us, actually contains an awful lot of heaven for adults. It's just one more image of heaven: full of justice for the little people (not just in height), priority for the ones who don't reach the grade of 'saint' or 'amgel', always on the case of those who think they do, and continually kicking sand in the faces of those who had it all worked out.

This heaven thing isn't working in the chruch very well yet Jesus tore through the place picking up every outcast you can possibly think of. The Gospels are full of them: lepers, women, children, sinners, tax-collectors, foreigners, menstruating women, romans, zealots and a few others. It's just such a priority in the Bible and look how we've institutionalised the whole thing. The wildness of heaven and the chaotic manifesto of grace, and the itinerant love of Jesus who had no where to lay his head has been moulded into straight lines of pews, well-behaved children, quiet adults and Common Metre psalms (which we changed the words of so theu would fit).

There's just something about the danger of tree climbing that speaks so freshly about heaven and the church and I'm wondering if anyone would like to help work out what it is.

By the way the passage is: Luke 19:1-10.

Hymnms, thoughts, music, images etc (we also have a baptism too).

Up-dates

Well, that was the Sunday that was and all-age communion went fine. Yet again it was one of the more moving communion services we offer. And for me it just brings communion alive in a much deeper way when chidlren open up the mystery again to you and the daring of drinking wine as if they are doing somgthing they should be, or something dangerous, because that's just what it is. And that's what formal communions seem to lack for me personally, that example of doing something daring.

Anyway, just to mak clear what's happening this week:

Juniour Craft Daft starts at 6pm tomorrow and finishes at 7pm

Bible for Duffers is on Thursday at the Manse at 7.30 till about 9pm. It's on again next THursday too and then fortnightly afterthat

Living the Questions begins the week Duffers isn't on, but on a Tuesday. Does that complicate things enough?

Saving Jesus which is the sequel to L the Q is being run by Holy City at Strathclyde University Chaplaincy on Tuesday 6pm to which everyone is welcome. We'll probably buy a copy of Saving Jesus later when we can afford it. Up to that point I'd suggest going to the Holy City variety.

Hopefully that should keep your weeks busy along with all the other stuff. It's all got a little more fire again. We're on the road again.

Notices for 28th October 2007

There are quite a few of these...

Coffee Afternoon: Clydeview hold their annual coffee afternoon tomorrow. Details are on a poster in the Link Corridor.

Junior Craft Daft: A new craft group begins for primary children to help create and design our worship and living space in the church. It meets from 6-7pm this Monday.

Craft Daft: Lots of painting to do and lots of mess to create. 7.30.

Lunch with the Almighty: 12.15 on Wednesday with tea and coffee.

Door Duty Next Week: S Hamilton, S Caldwell, J Jack, M McKerracher, C Lang, J Cowan, G McKerracher, L Davidson

Next Week: We visit one of the best known Bible stories in Zachaeus. But unfortunately there will be no trees for climbing due to Health & Safety. Do you think heaven has Health & Safety rules too?

Jars of Grace: The final day for collection is next week though if you have jar with you today please just leave them in your seat.

Harvest Photographs; We will be removing the harvest photographs for next week but would like to offer them for sale. They will be placed in a few ringbinders and anyone can order as many as they like at 50p per photo. They will be printed onto photographic paper to improve their quality.

Advent Calendars: This year’s fair trade Advent Calendar can be ordered in the Link Corridor at £3 each. Please add your name to the list and how many you’d like. Today is the last day to order.

Scottish Event: Clydebank High are holding a Scottish night as part of a special all-school themed week. Tickets for the event on Thursday 29th will be £8. More information is on the noticeboard. Speak to Roddy if you’d be interested in going.

Enquirers Class: A new class for enquirers who would like to investigate what it means to be a member of the church and possibly join the church will start in the next few weeks. If you are interested, speak to Roddy.

Coffee Afternoon: Come and share a coffee in the church hall in aid of Erskine Hospital. 2-4pm on Wednesday 21st November.

Bible for Duffers: Bible study with a difference: honesty about how the bible came together begins again every fortnight in the Manse beginning on Thursday this week at 7.30. A wee look ahead and the passages coming and an adventure into what it all means.

Wizard of Oz: Sorry but it's all full up ! for those lucky ones who got their names on the list early, the good news is that payment is due by Sunday 25th November; the Theatre is almost next door to the Usher Hall in Edinburgh's West End - approximately 5 minutes walk from the west end of Princes Street; the Theatre has lifts to all levels;

Magazine: the final date for all those articles for the next edition is next Sunday 4th November. Any news / information you would like to share with us, just pop into the Magazine Box on the table outside the Quiet Room or give to Tom Macdonald or Sandra MacVean;. This is the time to pass on those tips for cooking / carving the Christmas Turkey !

Cliff-hanger for Sunday

With apologies to Trainspotting:

Choose a planet.
Choose a table.
Choose a meal with friends and a time to share it.

Choose an environment.
Choose a way of living.
Choose a word to speak until you can live it fully, for others.

Choose a world.
Choose a God.
Choose a means of understanding what’s going on and believe in it.

Choose a colour.
Choose green. Choose blue. Choose rainbows.
Choose a shade that reflects hope in the giving to others.

Choose a loaf.
Choose a wine.
Choose a sacrament. Don’t speak about it. Just do it.

Choose a community.
Choose a faith.
Choose a place to be completely, fully, totally in love.

Choose life.
Choose God.
Choose Jesus.
Choose today.
Choose here.
Choose now.
Choose to choose.

Alternative presents

I hate mentioning Christmas so soon but the alternative catalogues are all out and given the length of time it took last year to get the cards and stuff sorted then it's maybe time to start thinking about goats instead of iPods. So here's some for you. There are others so send them this way when you find them. I've ordered a few for the congregation which sould arrive for next week.

Christian Aid

World Vision

Oxfam

Save the Children

Build Africa

Living Generously

Second Half

Here's the rest of the leaflet we might be able to use for door-to-door and information and stuff like that. Do offer your thoughts on yesterdays as well as this one.

Worship
We believe in worship in Abbotsford.
New and old ways are mixed together and
it’s not always what you expect. We mix
the ancient traditions with some new ones
so it’s creative, colourful, affirming, involves
others and has a focus on children yet loving
to each adult too, meeting God in everyone.

Creative
We believe in creativity, the way God does it,
not just in different art forms like image and
storytelling but creative with our lives too,
living by fairtrade (many of us), in tune with
the environment (a growing number of us),
asking the questions we always wanted to ask
and preferring the adventures questions lead
to rather than the answers that finalise it all).

Bible
We believe in the Bible, that it is full of
mystery, a difficult history that can’t always
be taken at face value, but is the story of
God’s people of faith that has changed the
world, often for the better, but we know in all
honesty, not always.

Social
We believe in the fullness of life. We’re not
here for just the bad bits. We like celebrating
things – anything, finding most excuses are
good enough for one of God’s parties.

Children
We believe in children, that God gives them
a priority in our faith community. Their insight,
play and daring answers bring us life.
We need them as much as they need adults.

Ecological
We believe in the environment, winning an
eco-congregation award 2007. We reduce,
reuse and recycle, recognising our world is
broader than just the space we live in, and
deeper than the people we live with. And God
is the first and still the best environmentalist.

Community
We believe in a just community between
ourselves and those who are our neighbours of
all faiths and none. We love blethering with
folk, helping folk, supporting the things that
build a better and stronger and more just
community, together. Justice is God’s way.

How to speak of ourselves

I've been writing a new publicity leaflet for the congregation to put round doors and give to folk who visit and come for Baptisms etc. I spent a good deal of the morning doing it and I have been trying to be honest yet upbeat about who the people of God are. We're not saints, but actually, yes we are saints though our halos are a bit off-centred. However is this the kind of church that attracts? Should we be speaking more about this. Remember the sermon a few weeks ago when I was talking about the radio programme that had me stop short that was talking about the epidemic of rape in Democratic Republic of Congo? It just silences you and I'm wondering if that's the sort of thing we ought to speak about as God's agenda for the church but we're fairly hopeless, clueless and powerless about doing anything about it. Answers on a blog near you please.

Anyway, part of the leaflet is pasted below and I'm going to offer it here and at the session tomorrow for feedback. It's quite important that if we use publicity, then people recognise themselves in what we say, even if it is aspirational. I'll paste the firt part here and then the second part tomorrow. Really interested in feedback and comments.

We are a church who lives questions and is willing to ask them even if we don’t like the answer.

We are a church who is learning about community and willing to build it and face the joys and pitfalls that brings.

We are a church who wants to seek out love and live in peace even if we don’t always manage to do it.

We are a church who loves the beauty of the world and is shocked by the violence of it, but believes we have a part to play in its renewal.

We are a church who has no saints except those whose halos are a bit off-centre and a little tarnished.

We are a church who believes in God and Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit and live in relationship with them and they challenge us quite a bit but we don’t imagine we’ve worked it all out. It makes the whole journey more exciting.

We are a church who laughs often, though mainly at ourselves.

We are a church who looks to the future and intends to stick with things for the long term. That means making hard choices, that means change, that means commitment, but we believe God calls us into that and is already waiting for us in the chaos of tomorrow’s faith.

We are a church who meets in a building but at heart lives in a tent because knows we have to journey even if we do not know where we’ll end up.

We are a church who has a place kept for you and would like to invite you into it, when you can, if you are able, whenever you want.

We are a church with a great concrete tower in the centre of Clydebank beside the Playdrome and we are here to care for, love and welcome you anytime.