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Thanksgiving Service

Jusy a wee reminder that Ruth's thanksgiving service for passing exams and still breathing is on Thursday in Faifley Church at 7pm. It's going to be great and you are all invited along. It's got some stuff in it that may be interesting to us all so do pop in if you are free on Thursday and bring your friends.

But of course, she's back on Sunday with us and the Sunday following that. And we're off on a romp with Joseph. Andrew Lloyd webber really doesn't have a patch on what we will be doing.

And in the echo of Sunday, Jospeh, while it may be based on some character in the past, we just don't know. It is, however a perfect short story, and the only story we have that is from one source alone from start to finish without editing. It was told word of mouth for about 1000 years before it was written down during the Exile along with all the Exodus stories and the Hebrews tried to make sens eof their bondage in a foreign land. These stories from their 'mythical' past made sense more in Babykon than anywhere else. They gave them hope and meaning and trust in  a God who won't let them go. Rock on Joseph (and Ruth).

Contemporary Reading for Sunday

Needing a little help with this one: reading through and editing it so it makes sense, and rewriting it if necessary. Happy for this to be a living work so please do add ideas, suggestions, thoughts etc.

And if you'd like to be part of reading it...

A: I believe…

B: I believe…

A: I believe in the unerring word of God

B: I believe in the living word of God

A: I believe it was written by the hand of God himself

B: I believe it was inspired by the community of faith

A: I believe God is good to all and God’s tender mercies are over all God’s works.  Psalm 145

B: I will dash them one against another, saith the LORD: I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy them all. Jeremiah 13

A: I believe the animals went in two by two. Genesis 7

B: Clean or unclean? Take with you seven pairs of clean animals. Genesis 7 also.

A: I believe Mary rode to Bethlehem on a donkey. Matthew 1

B: It doesn’t mention a donkey… nor an innkeeper for that matter. Matthew 2 and Luke 2

A: I believe Jesus cleansed the temple straight after he rode into town on a donkey according to Matthew 21

B: He cleansed the temple right at the beginning of his ministry, according to John 2

A: I believe God created human beings on the 6th day after everything else, the pinnacle of all that was made and that was the end of creation. Genesis 1

B: God made MAN from dust and then made the rest of creation in an unsuccessful attempt to keep him happy. It didn’t work until God created WOMAN. And that was the end. Genesis 2

A: I believe you can’t trust everything you read

B: I believe you can’t trust those who write theology for their own means

A: I believe the Bible is full of contradictions

B: I believe the Bible proves the word became flesh, not print

A: I believe in the Bible is a conundrum

B: I believe the Bible is a relationship with a whole lot of imperfect people

A: I believe the Bible is not an end in itself

B: I believe the Bible is just the start

A: I believe

B: I believe

I think we all need this

Haven't worked out how to embed stuff yet but if you go here there here's something that we should all be doing.

Thanksgiving

Our most recent student is coming up to her Thanksgiving service. It is on the 3rd of July in Faifley Parish Church. it would be great if a good number of us were able to go to that. Sorry, but I'm preaching at it, but ignoring that, it shouyld be a good night. It starts at 7pm I think on Thursday next week. I'll announce it on Sunday but here's a wee heads up for those who are interested and for you to pass on to others. See you there.

Sunday's Text

Just when you thought it would be easy...

We have a choice of three at the moment: Adam and Eve, Good Samaritan or an empty week where we could look at how we read the bible, the questions we bring, the post-critical naivite ie looking over the texts not as historical truths but metaphors and symbols that you need faith to engage with.

All would be good. The first two would be very visual and I have an interesting spin on the Good Samaritan text. Adam and ve would also open up the post critical stuff, ie believing stories beyond believing they were historical truths.

Hmmm...

And also we have Noah too (forgot that one had been suggested) and again there is a good eco spin on that along with Noah lying naked and drunk in his vineyard and about to be disowned by his sons. Why don't the chidlren get to hear baout that bit?

Any that tips the balance? You've got till Wednesday teatime. Vote here.

Chocolate Teapots for Sunday 29th June

You know how last weeks passage wasn't the easiest and I said that next week we'd be back on more familiar ground? Well, I lied. It wasn't intentional, guv, and I really don't know how I managed to think we were doing mustard seeds and stuff like that. We ought to be doing the end of the passage we read last week about peace and swords, remember that bit about offering a cup of water etc? No? Well that was meant to be this weeks passage. we did two weeks in one go.

So that kind of gives us a free week. So, what passage would you like to do?

Seriously, it's an open choice and I'll seriously consider any you suggest as long as you suggest it by Tuesday night, 9pm. What I'll do from whatever passage is suggested, I'll pop them in a hat and draw one out. I promise it will be as fair as that. I'll have an independent ajudicator at 'Saving Jesus' tomorrow evening. So please do suggest a passage you like, or haven't heard before or for a long time. One suggestion so far is Adam and Eve. One of the Sunday School asked me about that a week or so ago so that's first in the hat.

You've got till tomorrow evening (Tuesday at 9pm) to make suggestions either directly to me here or paste them below. You may be able to drum up support, a ground swell of opinion on a particular story, passage, theme, issue etc.

It really is over to you or there is no service on Sunday... (and before you think that's a good idea, people really would be saying I get paid for nothing)

Climate Change Bill

The climate change bill is before parliament at the moment anf there are good things in it but there are two areas missing concerning emissions from aviation and shipping and increasing cuts from 60% to 80% so it is in line with current science.

World Development Movement (a fabulous organistaion with massive integrity) is intivint us to write to our MPs this weekend (before Sunday) to help make changes to the climate bill.

So if you would like to do so go here to write/email John McFall our local MP in Clydebank or whoever your MP is.

CAOS Photos and Blog

Don't forget to visit the 'we are curious' CAOS blog for photos from the weekend. I meant to blog about this earlier. If you go and visit, please do leave a comment. It all helps to get feedback, ideas and thoughts about the future. Go don't miss out...

Chocolate Teapots for June 22nd 2008

Matthew 10:24-39

Okay, so what do you do with this passage? Major nighmare to interprete. It's all about not peace but a sword; If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household; For I have come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother etc.

I suppose if you are out proclaiming the Good News, you ought to be aware of those things around you that will try and do you down. A wee bit of persicution isn't that bad for the church. No persicution and the church slips into some religious complacancy.

And this bit about dividing chidlren from their parents? Well, I suppose 'flogging and verbal abuse are far easier to bear that alienation from one's nearest kin' as my commentary suggests.

There is also the question about Jesus talking about the cross for his disciples. There is no evidence Jesus imagined his followers would be crucified so it may be a post-resurrection saying. Maybe it is authentic to Jesus, but he didn't mean it literally. You will be 'crucified' by your families, neighbourhoods, communities etc if you follow me.

So not much there then! And how to make sense of it in a contemporary world, and where is the good news for children!? So any ideas at all would be gratefully received. Or a hymn or two. Or a way of reading the passage. It's going to be a long thinking session on this one.

Down your street

It worked perfectly. more than 700 people (and those were only those we counted) discovered drumming, street dancing, model making, story telling, sequence dancing, piping, mapping filming all in the shopping centre. I'll post photos when I get them. But it was a crowd puller.

I'l pasted here the comments I made at church this morning about the event as there were a few who missed them who were preparing lunch and sunday school teachers out at the park. Lots of things happened more than just having an event and we haven't fully reflected on it so more things will be learned and discovered. It was also great fun and the time flew by.

A million thanks to the folk who helped out. They were brilliant. Lots of volunteers who gave us a lot of their time. Maybe they are the ones who should blog here about it... Go on!

Yesterday we were sent down your street into the town centre with CAOS… our community arts project… It was a big day… I don’t know how many from the congregation were able to pop along… I know one or two were there… but there were over 700 others from the local area involved in model making… pipers… street dance… poetry… sequence dancing… dream photographs… map making… story writing… and designing a new Clydebank… It really was fabulous…

There were 8 shop used… from the Coop at the bottom to the shop next to the hairdresser at the very top of the escalator… the whole length of the town… Some worked better than others… and you always learn lessons… But we had children and adults and grannies and a whole cross section of the community involved…

If you can take a wee wander through the centre today… look for the green circles on the windows… At the top of the centre you’ll see a model of the new Clydebank made by 50 or so children… if only Clydebank could look like some of the buildings they created… in fact we’re going to offer them as plans to Clydebank Re:Built when they begin building at the waterfront… Lively… colourful and a great place to live…

At the other end… the old More store at Three Queens Square… has its windows covered in stories and poems written for us by folk in Clydebank especially for the day… Go hear what they say about community… history and future… They’re fabulous… and you say quite a number of folk reading them yesterday…

We had people crowding round the doors of the shop when pipers were playing… sequence dancers were dancing and streets dancers were gyrating across the shop floor… drummers were making lots of noise and poems were read… It was surreal… There wasn’t enough room in that large shop for everyone… so that mall had a great crowd in it wanting to see…

And we took photographs of folk… sharing their dreams for their future… displayed and celebrated… and all of them were about stronger community… building better ties together… living in peace with each other beyond the prejudices and hurt we often put up with…

And why… This was funded by part of a lottery grant so we could celebrate community and engage people… It worked… And right at the heart of this unique day… was what…? The church… this community… sent out… It was delivered by volunteers from among us and other places… and they were all fantastic… giving an enormous amount of time…

But we sent ourselves out… we did something in a place we’ve never done anything before… in a way we’ve never done it before… We began the long process of building new relationships… shifting the church… playing with creativity… It wasn’t so much a fun thing to do… which it was… it was a calling… it was being sent out… taking very little… and finding ourselves with a language that people understood using community art… finding a place of friendship that people enjoyed… and inviting folk together in new ways… and folk said yes…

We went down our street… and we found God… in community… standing on a different street… a different shore… and we got our feet wet a little… but there we found a conversation and a story… about a church… and a journey… along another shore…