cricket: reflections on a slow game, steeped in tradition

Yesterday.....England won the Ashes back. I have to confess that I watched quite a lot of the cricket, not all of it by any means, but by yesterday it had become utterly compelling viewing. I can still remember going round to my friend Adam's house on the first day of the first test back in July. I'm not sure I really believed we could do it back then. BUT WE HAVE!!!! It did seem a bit of a farce at the end, what with the bad light/when can we end the game??? fiasco. But that'll be forgotten in due course.

It's probably also worth paying tribute to Richie Benaud, providing us with his wonderful commentary for the last time in the UK.

Towards the end of the day Mark Nicholas, Channel 4's presenter on the cricket said some interesting stuff about tradition....I can't really remember exactly what he said, but I remember thinking that there certainly are times when it is important to remember and honour the traditions which have developed over the years. One such tradition is the 'gentlemanly' way in which cricket is to be played - the great Shane Warne being a fine example of this. Seeing the commerardery between the opposing sides, the concern for the injured etc. makes you realise that it is possible for sportsmen to be compassionate, reasonable human beings. Let's see if the overpaid footballers realise this...

Nicholas also made it quite clear (and I agree with him on this point as well) that the farce over the rules about how the game can be brought to an end, show how rules and at times traditions, can get in the way. The question cricket faces (and indeed the church) is how do we honour the traditions of our ancestors, while working in a way which is suitable for the fast-paced society in which we now find ourselves.

Now I'm not expecting cricket to engage with this issue, but one issue I believe the church must engage with, is whether or not we consider the current nature of society (the fast-paced, efficiency-driven world) to be a healthy thing, and do we actually need to spend some time critiquing culture, maybe looking to transform culture, rather than just work out ways for us to 'do' church within it.

This whole thing about efficieny is something John Drane talks about in his book The McDonaldization of the Church. To what extent does the church bow to the surrounding culture, taking on the quest for more efficient programmes, structures etc.

I was talking with my parents the other day, about church structures and endless committees etc. One thing I have become aware of over the last few years, is the importance of the process. Now I know that a lot of committees can be quite dull, but sometimes I think we can forget that committees provide space for people to think, to talk, to feel as though their voice is being heard. I wonder whether this process, of sitting and talking to each other, of showing care through listening to one another, of builing up relationships with one another, can be lost in the streamlining and drive for efficiency.

apparently....

Apparently the Chesterfield players were wearing white wrist bands during our game against Bournmouth yesterday. Couldn't spot them myself, but good on 'em anyway.

dreams can come true

This afternoon Chesterfield played Bournemouth, in Coca-Cola League 1, and WE WON. And we didn't just win by the odd goal, we won 3-0. Fantastic.

dreaming of victory

I'm just about to go and watch Chesterfield. We've yet to register a result other than defeat at home soe far this season. I'm hoping, dreaming, wondering if it is at all possible that we might manage to salvage at least a point when we 'entertain' Bournemouth this afternoon.

an easy essay, by peter maurin

Jordan Cooper posted a link to this. I thought it was fantastic, so decided to post it here as well...

The world would be better off
if people tried
to become better,
And people would
become better
if they stopped trying
to be better off.

For when everyone tries
to become better off
nobody is better off.

But when everyone tries
to become better
everyone is better off.

Everybody would be rich
if nobody tried
to become richer.

And nobody would be poor
if everybody tried
to be the poorest

And everybody would be
what he ought to be
if everybody tried to be
what he wants
the other fellow to be.

(Peter Maurin, along with Dorothy Day, founded the Catholic Worker movement in 1933.)

missing the point of mission?

I had coffee with a fellow youth worker (Rich) this morning - we ended up chatting for most of the morning. The conversation covered many different topics, one of which was short term mission trips or missions trips as some people (not us) call them. I thought it might be worth sharing (with Rich's permission) some of our reflections, or at least what I can remember from this morning, about short term mission(s) trips....

Rich has spent quite a bit of time running and hosting short term mission trips, mainly in the USA and I'm currently studying for an MA in Mission Studies. I say all this not to make anybody look bigger/better/cooler, rather so whoever reads this knows that the subject of mission is something we both have an interest in. We spent a fair while discussing the pros and cons of short term mission trips. Both of us have been on short term mission trips in the past, and Rich in particular has, in recent years had considerable involvement with short term mission trips. This morning we had a really healthy discussion about short term mission trips and both of us shared some of our thoughts and questions…

1. We both have questions about the value of short term mission trips for those the ‘missionaries’ are intending to serve. I know that sometimes the cost of getting these young missionaries out to far-flung destinations can be such that if it were given as cash to the local community, it would make a vast difference to the life of that community. I recognise that often there is no substitute for human interaction, and I certainly don't want to encourage giving financially as the only kind of giving. I also know that sometimes the fundraising projects to pay for plane tickets etc also raise additional money to go direct to the organisations working day-to-day in these local communities. That's all great. But the question still remains, is us, flying half way around the world, to paint houses (or whatever) the best way for us to engage in mission?

2. Many people talk about mission in terms of what those participating in the mission trip will get out of it, eg, new experiences, a deepened relationship with God etc. Now don't get me wrong, I think new experiences are good, as is a deepened relationship with God. But if these are the sole purposes of the mission trip then something is a little bit wrong (in my opinion).
Now obviously nobody ever states that these are the sole purposes of short term mission trips, but sometimes I have to wonder. Let me explain…
I recently spent some time with a group of American high school students who were over in this country (the UK) on a short term mission trip. These missionaries had been doing various things around the community as well as in local schools. Now the activities they had been engaging in were all well and good, and I know that having a bunch of people who speak funny coming into your school can draw a crowd BUT what value is there in the long term. Both Rich and I agreed that the most beneficial short term mission trips we had had dealings with, were those when groups of people had returned to the same place on more than one occasion. When I spoke to the leaders of this group of American students they seemed to have no intention of returning.
Reflecting on the aims of this trip, it seemed to me that the only real aim was that these American young people would gain new experiences, possibly develop better relationships with other members of their group, and having shared some new and exciting experience together, have learned to have to put their trust in God, and thus their relationships with Him may have deepened. IF this, or anything vaguely similar happened, then that great. Really, I think it is. BUT THAT’S NOT MISSION. Or at least that not all there is to mission. Is it?

I guess that one of the things I’m trying to say is that mission, for me, has to be something more than just a week or two every summer, I get the feeling it is something that I am called to do with the whole of my life – I want to be a part of a Christian community, which is a part of God’s mission to the world, expressed through His creation, the sending of His Son, and hopefully His church. Mission, for me, has to be about the way we as a community live our lives (possibly as some kind of act of worship – though that’s for another time!!), demonstrating who we as a community are, what we as a community stand for, 24/7.

Incidently the Church of England's Mission-Shaped Church is now available to download as a pdf.

from jam to death

I was meeting yesterday with a couple of volunteer youth leaders. One of the things we were meeting to discuss was some of the youth group programme for the next term, but, as many meetings seem to do, we ended up discussing many different topic (at the end of the meeting we commented how we had discussed subjects ranging from jam to death - not v cheery I know, and not meant to sound insensitive).

One of the things we spend quite a bit of time talking about was the use of the internet in church/youth work stuff. Our church doesn't have a website at the moment. I know it really ought to, and conversations are happening about how this issue can be resolved, but at the moment it doesnt. Having spent some time looking at other churches websites I have become aware of the different uses of church websites. The internet provides churches with another way to present themselves to the world at large. Most churches use their website to portray factual, unchanging information about the church, its activites, the staff, the mission statement etc. This is great, and when it is done well, can be very effective.

Other church websites, and in my (limited) experience it seems to be the youth work/ministry websites, have discussion threads and chat facilities. We got quite excited by the possibilities of this within the youth work context, as well as the wider church context. I'm guessing a number of people have tried out different things, so if anybody has any comments/reflections/suggestions on this area I'd love to hear...It would be great if people have examples of good or at least innovative uses of the internet in terms of church/youth work websites.

so many thoughts, so little time

First things first, can I apologise for not having posted since last week. There's been so much going on, so many thoughts (and a few worries) going around in my head.

I thought I ought to get some of these thoughts on to my blog. But before I do that, I'll share whats been going on....

On Monday evening, our new vicar was installed and collated (think thats right, feel free to correct me if I've got my terminology wrong). I'll be honest with you, I've been getting increasingly nervous abut Peter's arrival. I'd met him a couple of times before and he seemed like a lovely, down-to-earth, normal guy (which is good, and unlike some vicars I've met in the past). But the thing that was causing these worries, really, was change, uncertainty, the not-knowing.

On Tuesday evening I went to St. Chad's, Woodseats to see Andrew Foulkes be licensed by Bishop Cyril of Doncaster, to be youth minister at the church. It was a really relaxed service, that had a friendly, informal yet sincere feel to it.

Yesterday (Wednesday) I had my first proper meeting with the new vicar, and unsurprisingly it went well. Once again I had spent far more time than was ever necessary worrying about something over which I had no control.

spirituality of regeneration

While at Greenbelt I went to hear a guy called Alastair McIntosh. I'd first read about this guy in the writings of George Monbiot. Alastair's talk was entitled "Four Quartets and the Spirituality of Regeneration. Now not being a literary type I didn't realise what the Four Quartets were (I now know they're written by T.S.Eliot), but I did/do have an interest in community regeneration.

The session was really good, Alastair interspersed readings of Eliot's poetry with his own thoughts, some of which I imagine are included in his much praised book, Soil and Soul. The notes I took are a bit random, they don't necessarily flow, but within them I think are some interesting, maybe even helpful thoughts, perhaps just beginnings of thoughts....

Jung - we can't resolve our neuroses, we just outgrow them.

When involved in any kind of social activism, we must be in touch with the Godhead, or we will become burnt out.

Solidarity - causes us to question our spirituality, to reconnect, remembering our history, revision of the current situation, reclaim that which is needed to bring about regeneration.

This is not something that is imaginary, rather it is imaginal - we are on the threshold, a visional realm.

As we talk about community regeneration we are not talking about pantheism (God is nature), rather we are talking about Panentheism (God being present in nature Psalm 104, John 1).

Three stages of life as a whole, as well as the life of an activist.
1. Departure - the start of the journey
2. Initiation - stormy waters, alone, in darkness. Completed when the 'ego' falls into place. Facing our shadow side (Jung). Engaging with the powers (Walter Wink).
3. Return to the community, enriched, bringing wisdom.

In both life, and activism, it is not a question of whether our work fails or not, rather, we must remain faithful to our destiny, our vocation, our calling from God.

Faith is to do with an attitude to life, not just creeds and dogmas. All things leading to a deeper revelation from God.

The sickness that has led to the disintegration of society is fundamentally spiritual.

We must lose everything so that all that remains is our spiritual self.

Church - a trellis upon which the vine of life can grow towards the light, NOT a cage.
We must liberate it.

Geographical communities as against communities of interest (and possibly virtual communities - though this might have been my thought as against his words) - meeting places, embodied, a sense of belonging.

Parish/place/community - where there is a sense of belonging, which leads to a sense of identity, which leads to a sense of vision, which leads to a sense of responsibility, which leads to a sense of belonging, and so on.....

To be real humans once more, we must re member, re vision, re claim

There are those who fear that in community, the individuals will be washed away. But in reality, the opposite is the case. It is only in a community, one with another, that we discover who we really our. Jesus taught us to pray "Our Father..." not "My Father..."

greenbelt2005

why blog?

Why blog? I’m trying to think of different motivations people might have for blogging. But ultimately it all seems to come down to the same thing. People want to speak. People want to tell other people about what they’ve been doing and thinking about. (This kind of carries on from some thoughts posted by Miz)

I think free speech is good. For this reason blogging is good. I recognise that not everybody has the same amount of access to blogging and the internet. I don’t think this means I should stop blogging however. But what it does mean is that
1.) we might want to think about enabling more people to have access to the internet – if this is realistically possible. If not, why not?
2.) when we blog we must remember that we are just one voice amongst millions. Humility? Taking the lesser place at the table (see point 9 in Andrew Jones’ Spirituality of Blogging).

But the problem is, sometimes a lot of us (myself included) just blog crap. A lot of what we say is drivel that very few people actually care about. But does this matter?

There is always going to be a problem with sifting through loads and loads of information. I don’t know how search engines work, but I question whether they are always going to be ‘fair’, what if we miss out on a useful piece of info just because it does not have a high Google rating? On this point there are obvious (at least to me) links again to point 4 of Andrew Jones' Spirituality of Blogging – something about building up a good reputation. Again, is this ‘fair’? (Don’t worry, I am asking myself the question why I am concerned with things being fair or not.)

But on the issue of reams of drivel, I do think (at least for the moment) that it is important to blog holistically. If we are going to blog about our lives in any way, we must try and show a whole picture of our lives – not trying to hide bits away (point 3 of Spirituality of Blogging). Mustn’t we?

I have another question, which I’ll throw into the mix just because I can. Why do we think we have ‘the right’ to so much instantly accessible information???? People have survived for years without all this information, about what people all over the world think about all sorts of things. Is it actually going to make life any better for anyone? Is it going to give us more to worry about (how are my blog stats doing today?)

These are just some thoughts. Make of them what you will, if you read them at all…Comment if you so wish…I’d love to know what other people think, do other people ask themselves these questions? Where is blogging going?

Perhaps I'm taking this all to seriously and just need to stop thinking....