A Mayoral Prayer

Lord God, we thank you for this wonderful and diverse city of Birmingham in which we live and serve. We give thanks for the goodness, grace and compassion that Councillor Anita Ward has brought to the office of Lord Mayor. We pray that our new Lord Mayor will continue to uphold the fine traditions of the office: dignity, inclusivity and justice. We ask this in the name of Christ our Lord.

Rather peculiarly, I found myself offering a prayer (the one above in fact) at the Mayor Making in Birmingham Council House yesterday afternoon.

Inclusity, Justice, Compassion and Grace are things that I will be praying for my city over the next year. I will be praying such things for our new Lord Mayor too, but the nature of a city does not depend on one person, but on all us together.

These features are all hallmarks of the kingdom. Thus in the Council Chamber, in our homes, in our pubs, curry houses and schools; in our hospitals, care homes, bookies and shops, may we all be minded to say, ‘thy kingdom, thy will be done on earth as much as it is in heaven’ (translation mine).

Praxis and the Bible

I am spending two days with Practical Theologians in Brum early next week. What follows is my brief biographicalish reasons for wanting to look at the Bible and Practical Theology. I hope this will endenger some discussion on Monday and Tuesday, but thought the ball might wish to move before that. Let’s talk.

I am driven by one overarching question at the moment, which can be applied in a variety of different contexts. The question is ‘how is the Bible to make sense or be meaningful pastorally with, for and by those who have little knowledge of its contents’.

 

Such a question is as relevant to those who might regard themselves as regular worshippers in a church context as well as those that do not express their religious convictions formally. In the settings in which I have served as a priest, the areas have been outer estate parishes (largely white British in ethnic origin and meeting many of indexes of multiple deprivation) and the congregations invariably have been ‘gentle catholic’ in their liturgy and practice. Those familiar with the liturgy of such churches will not be surprised by the amount of Scripture that is read aloud (Old Testament, Psalm, Epistle and Gospel) on Sunday mornings and on other Holy Days; and indeed is peppered liberally throughout the liturgical structure of the service; and yet knowledge and understanding of biblical books are quite weak. Bible reading outside of church services apart from practising to read within them is rare. I am aware congregations which are by self-definition ‘evangelical’ might find such a situation strange; it is though my observation that even within contexts where scripture is regarded ‘automatically’ as authoritative, knowledge and understanding of the sacred texts is not as strong as it was even 20 years ago.

 

Making sense of the Bible pastorally within the local congregations:

 

Given where I have served as a priest, much of my focus is trying to discern how the Bible might make sense in areas of significant deprivation. I am attracted by allowing people to tell their own ‘sacred’ stories. This in part is inspired by theologies of liberation and the work of groups like UNLOCK (www.unlock-urban.org.uk) and the Bible Society. I am also influenced by biblical scholarship produced in recent years by both N T Wright (Tom Wright) and Walter Brueggemann which have set great store in there being one overarching meta-narrative to salvation history; broken down into specific episodes, for example Exodus and Incarnation. Whilst theologically and pastorally it might make sense to connect our individual stories to the larger drama, how is this to be done when members of local churches increasingly do not know ‘the story’? This will be true of traditional models of Church, as well as of Fresh Expressions. Of the latter, many come to the Messy Church, which is led within my local church, without prior knowledge of the Christian story. Thus interpreting life issues in the light of the biblical text would be largely impossible, impractical and alien.

 

I have had some success in relating specific parts of the Bible (e.g. the Psalms and the Revelation) to the individual stories of people and churches, but am trying to engage with how this might be done with the sacred text as a composite whole (see ‘the Priest as Theologian’ JATE 1.2 (December 2004))

 

Making sense of the Bible pastorally with those outside of the Church:

 

Much of my time with those outside of church is spent either with the bereaved (preparing for, officiating at funerals and follow-up), preparing people for the baby being done and within the life of schools (primary and secondary). I have reflected a little on my experiences in ‘Working Class Dreams, Working Class God’ The Expository Times June 2010 vol. 121 no. 9 437-446. In most of these contexts, knowledge and understanding of the Bible and indeed of the Christian faith is limited. In all, there is always a desire to engage if time is taken to try to explain the relevance of faith.

 

Grace Davie noted, ‘The discrepancy between believing and belonging… is at its sharpest in urban working class areas. Here belief persists, but the expected reluctance to practice religion is compounded by a further factor, a mistrust of institutional life of whatever kind, the churches included.’ It is my observation, assertion, experience that this situation has moved on. People in urban areas want to be part of something larger, of an interdependent story’ if only to bring life to some lifeless situations, yet they do not look to the Church for such stories.

 

This does not mean that it is not possible for this to happen. In Bartley Green, the church runs a Youth Project, which is local council funded, which provides a safe place for young people, mentoring and help with training. It also is in the process of setting up a Food Bank. Both church members and those in the community believe such projects to be good things and do not question the church being involved these initiatives; but neither group make the connection between mentoring young people or feeding those in need with the Christian faith, as expressed in sacred stories found in the Bible.

 

In a previous context St Nicholas Church in Flimby hosted an art exhibition in October 2008 entitled Hungry and Thirsty displaying the work of Gloucester based artist, Paul Hobbs (www.arthobbs.com). Flimby is a former mining village, which sits between the Solway towns of Maryport and Workington. Whilst St Nicholas boasts a usual Sunday congregation of 18, Hungry and Thirsty attracted 422 people through the doors of the building over the course of 8 days. Adults and children alike were captivated by art work that touched on social issues such as old age, identity and fatherhood. Very few of the people who visited the exhibition would have been unaware of the attempt that was being made to relate faith, art and social issues. A piece of work captured the imagination of local people. It was entitled ‘Where’s your Daddy gone?’ For children, this raised comments such as, ‘I never knew my Dad’, ‘Dad does not live with us any more’, ‘I have a new Dad’. Adults lamented about their own experiences of parenting. Those observing the art work were surprised that the artist was inspired by the biblical stories, and again neither churchgoer nor non-churchgoer thought the Bible had stories that would speak to their situation. The Bible and the pastoral situation then are kept at arm’s length by both those in the church as well as those within the wider community.

 

I do not have any ready answers to use as templates that will help us remedy this situation, but I do remain convinced that it is through engaging with the scriptures that people of Christian faith begin to be able to convincingly tell their own stories; and that without being able to articulate the stories/rumours of God to those around them, then the purpose of the church, other than doing good works, remains hidden.

 

My research and praxis has not reached an articulate stage, but somewhat haphazardly seeks to bring my love of the stories of the scriptures together with the lives of the people with whom I worship, serve and live.

Vocation Sunday Sermon

A different take perhaps

The central feature of the Christian faith is our belief that God has revealed what he is like uniquely and, some including myself would say, exclusively in Jesus Christ. In short, Jesus for Christians – and for the world, for as Peter is proud to say to the ruling council in Jerusalem in the Acts of the Apostles, ‘Salvation’ which means wholeness, life and abundant living is ‘found though him (Christ) alone – becomes the pattern for living. Such a pattern is not just to be admired, but followed, embraced and identified with. Put simply Jesus calls us to follow him and be like him. In order to follow the call, we must first hear the voice; which is an appropriate starting point for Vocation Sunday. The term ‘vocation’ has often been taken to refer to someone having a calling usually religious, artistic or in the caring professions.

Thus Lis is called to the priesthood

Thus Colin is called to use his musical talents to enable us to worship

Thus Jennifer is called to be a GP

There is nothing wrong with those three statements; and for what it is worth, I think each one may well be true. However, the term ‘vocation’ comes from the Latin word vocare which has a much fuller meaning than ‘a call’; it means ‘to listen to the voice’. For me at least this is important: vocation begins by cultivating the ability to listen.

Vocation is not though restricted to roles within the Church or within society, community or indeed family – although it could include all of these strands.

What is our vocation?

The problem quickly becomes that we become fenced by thinking it always is do with Church

-       read

-       pray

-       lead the Sunday school

-       join the PCC

To leave it at that means that we restrict God, and there is a hierarchy which does ourselves and God a disservice

-       Teaching in Sunday School becomes less important than preaching

-       Serving at the altar is deemed to be less than cleaning

-       arranging the flowers less than singing in the choir

All of this is just plainly wrong! We think such things are true because we have lost the ability to listen.

Our vocation begins with our calling to be human.

Personally speaking, I find it easier to fulfil my calling to be a priest than to be human.

Why would I suggest that being human is basic vocation?

Our Scriptures would tell us that we are made in the image of God. We ourselves are aware that sometimes we do not a good job of being human. We allow ourselves to be less than we can be. This might be through thinking than we are better than we are; although my experience of most Christians is that it is often the other way round. Human beings are called to be the image of God. There is perhaps no greater calling.

Vocation for Christians however does not stop there. It continues with our baptism. This is why within our context; godparents are asked specific questions, which are re-affirmed at our confirmation. We are asked by the Bishop. Before anything else then our baptism gives us the following vocation

Will you continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers?                                                                                         

Will you persevere in resisting evil, and whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord?                                                                                                          

Will you proclaim by word and example the good news of God in Christ?                

Will you seek and serve Christ in all people loving your neighbour as yourself?     

Will you acknowledge Christ’s authority over all human society, by prayer for the world and its leaders, by defending the weak, and by seeking peace and justice?

It is a vocation to worship, discipleship, mission, service and proclamation. Or as our strap line on our news letter puts it:

 

Worshipping, learning, sharing and serving together

But for all of this we are given a pattern: Jesus Christ.

The Apostle John writes, “This is how we know what love is. Christ gave his life for us. We too, then, ought to give our lives for others’.

Or as Jesus puts: I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

 

At the heart of the Christian calling then is a self-sacrificial love. Like the good theologian he is, John immediately gives us a practical example. Our love should not be just words and talk; it must be true love, which shows itself in action.

Our calling is to love one another.

That is the easy part.

Love in action requires us to get involved – to get stuck in or to get a little messy.

Our calling is to love one another in the context of community – in the context of relationships.

I find it very easy to love someone that I am never with. They never irritate me. They never catch me off guard.

This community – in this (holy) place has a particular calling – to love the people of this Parish.

Our Church is a community that has been called together. The name church (ekklesia) means a community that it is called together. We share the same baptismal vows. We have made the same commitments when we have re-affirmed our faith. Our duty and our joy is to proclaim Christ to other; calling them to follow him. We do this by demonstrating our love; which is earthy and practical more than it is a wonderfully fashioned concept.

This is not an easy task. This is why we must rediscover our vocation. Our vocation which begins in listening! It begins in listening to a God who has shown us how to live and calls us to be like his Son.

It may be that you are called to read in Church

It may be that you are called to be part of the welcome team

It may be that you are called to lead Junior Church

It may be that you are called to join the cleaning team

Or alternatively

It may you are called to spend time with a neighbour

It may you are called to play Bingo on a Tuesday afternoon

Most importantly you are called to reflect God’s image; and as you do so, your friends, neighbours and family members may look at you as members of the Jerusalem council looked at the apostles and thought they had been with Jesus.

All this is possible because God raised Jesus, who had died, to life – and he lives so we can have life and sets us free to be human: to live, love, laugh, walk and talk. In all this, we bear the image who of the one who is alive for evermore.

Let us pray

 

An Evangelical Apology

I wrote this to an individual after an encounter. It is rough and ready; and offered in a spirit of grace.

To a sister on my journey (reflections used with permission)

I am basically an evo (an evangelical). I am though deeply ashamed at some of my evangelical brothers and sisters for the way they have pilloried the gay community, and gay christians in particular. There I have said it.

I treasure deeply the scriptures. I happen to believe that they are divinely inspired. I believe that when interepreted correctly they are authoritative for Christian belief and praxis. I also think it cannot be avoided the the scriptures say some things, often pointed, about sexual ethics. This is not surprising given that sexual relationships and sexuality are at the heart of what it means to be human.

I have, like many millions of others, studied what the scriptures say about same sex relationships. I am not completely sure what each text says and how to apply it. I am sure that the scriptures are completely clear that venom, abuse and nastiness towards another human being are totally out of line.

Therefore when I hear and see those who cherish the scriptures behaving in such an appalling manner; it does seem to me to suggest that the God they worship is not the one revealed constantly in both testaments as a God who welcomes all without question.

I have recently had opportunity to meet with a Gay priest in a similar setting to mine. She is as committed to the scriptures as I am; to forming community, confronting those who oppress; loves the creeds, traditions as much as I do. Is into fresh expressions, inherited church; and as far as I can see, God blesses her ministry.

You cannot base your whole theology on a single case study. But there is no doubt that this would be replicated by other examples. All I am left with is this.

Her lifestyle might well be one that I am not comfortable with. But who am I to judge; for when I measure my own life by the demands of the scriptures, I am found wanting to. But God in grace blesses me.

So to my new friend, I am sorry that some of my colleagues cause you desperate pain at times. I trust that I will never ever again be caught up with such a cacophony of brutal rage. And that whilst I still have questions, confront those who do damage to the body of Christ and the reputation of his holy church.

(ends)

the wild places and borderlands

I have just returned from Scotland. Just inside really. We have a cottage in a village near Annan. Annan is the place which the Scottish poet, Robert Burns called the ‘wild place’. I am not sure but it is borderland. This is geographically true, the terrain and colour of the Dumfries and Carlisle area are similar. The Solway is, for me, beautiful. It is borderland. In many ways it is place where land, water and sky meet. It is a place where for me heaven and earth might touch.

It is a place for me of re-membering. This borderland area does not have the happiest of memories for me; although I have re-discovered precious friendships over the last few days.

Perhaps it is only in the wild places that we can piece things together; in the borderlands where jagged things can be made smooth.

Simply bumbling along

I had a wonderful Lent, Holy Week and Easter. We did lots of good stuff together, which can be found elsewhere on this blog. One day I promise to ‘tidy the blog up’ a little. This Easter week has been a little surreal, given that I have had a plethora of funerals, conversations and watched a rather wonderful police raid take place at the local shops. I use the words rather wonderful is a slightly ironic fashion.

It strikes me yet again that what I do is bumble. I know I have said this before on a number of occasions.

I stood for about an hour talking to others yesterday about the police raid. Each of us was watching; but we talked about what they were doing. We chatted about the police dogs; the weather and life. In middle of all that, I took a booking for a bab to be done; which roughly translated is Brummie for ‘can my child receive one of the sacraments of the Church of England?’ (baptism or christening). Time was just spent observing and being.

I wonder why I do not do more of this; especially when I know it is appreciated, effective and I actually feel quite good in myself about it.

Is it because it is too costly? It takes time of course; time that could perhaps be better spent beginning my tax return (I do think about it even this early), dealing with the forthcoming APCM, filling in a form for a faculty – again I am specialising a little in irony. I wonder whether it is too costly because it requires us to be human – and it is such a long time since priests were just encouraged to be human.

Perhaps it is costly because it is also encourages us to be alive in the presence of others.

To bumble is then an amazing thing; an act of generosity, because it allows us to touch and be touched. Now that is a scary sacred thought for this season of Easter.

Fully Alive

Some small reflections that will be offered in Bartley Green on the Second Sunday of Easter

Fully alive. 2nd of Easter