Last night some Baps and Meths met to plan the Churches Together Chrismas Day service - church flavour three sent apologies at the last minute but were "willing to do something if you ask us".  That made me a little sad as it feeds the view that we are not really together.  That said we had a fun time planning and now have songs/carols from..... three books!  This means song sheets/projection which is great as no one can say their book was/wasn't used!!!

Among the songs we are using is the Iona one which, in BPW starts with 'Shepherds watch and wise men wonder' (actually BPW as swapped over verses one and two and omitted verse three!)  We will use the BPW version as it is more accessible and feels more like a Christmas song.  (In case you don't know it, the tune is Scarlet Ribbons and the words can readily be found on the internet)

Here is an alternative verse three...

 

Baptists work and Methodists labour

In the name of Christ, our King,

In a little place called "Dibley"

To host great Christmas gatherings.

In the school, the pub, the chapel

Food and laughter, word and prayer:

God surprises us with heaven

As we sing "Good News" again.

This cartoon was published in the Independent in December 2004 and really spoke to me.  Each year since then  at some point during Advent I have fished it out and reflected on it again.  Hopefully the nice people at the Independent will not sue me for posting this scanned image.

December 2004 was my first Christmas in Dibley.  I gave photocpoies of the cartoon to my congregation members to ponder in the morning service of (I think) 19th December (either that or 12th) and it was quite well received.  Someone just on the very periphery of church (now and then) who has severe mental health issues told me she found the image helpful; friends visiting over the Christmas period who never darken the door of the church seeing it on my office noticeboard said 'wow, that's powerful.'  It is.

Four years on it is no less relevant as a source for reflection.  In this country, people affected by spring/summer floods are still in temporary accommodation, farmers have once more lost their livestock and face an uncertain future, violent crmie seems to increase (or become more widely reported) and drunken behaviour and ASBOs are seen as badges of honour.  Across the world poverty, disease, corruption, human trafficking etc blight the lives of countless millions...

What do you dream of this Christmas?

Yet with the woes of sin and strife

The world has suffered long

Beneath the angel strain have rolled

Two thousand years of wrong

And man, at war with man, hears not

The love-song which they bring:

So hush your noise, you men of strife,

And hear the angels sing.

In amongst the oh, so holy, and the 'candles and baubles' as we called them as children, was one from my treasurer and his wife which said...

"Just as the RICH TEA BISCUIT lives in HARMONY with the LUXURY CHOCOLATE FINGER, so we should all live in HARMONY together in the great Assorted Biscuit Tin that we call LIFE." (c) Edward Monkton 2006

I liked that!

I also liked the moment when during our service today I asked people to share any moments they thought were signs of the Kingdom or how Gospel had been shared this year when one person spoke of John Sentamu's symbolic chopping up of his dog collar live on the Andrew Mar show as a sign of solidarity with his birth nation and how someone else shared how they'd put a poem form our church magazine on a noticeboard ot work that other colleagues had found helpful. 

We had an almost full house this afternoon, and at the end of the service I got them to join hands and pray for each other as the year ends (it was our last 'normal' service of the year) which was actually quite moving as some of them have had a very tough 2007.

I hope they left encouraged, and that will continue to grow in faith and grace in 2008 and see more and more how we too can be signs of the Kingdom.

Check out this link... and be afraid, be very afraid!

Or answer these four questions, which only 12% of repsondents got correct...

1. Where was Jesus born (town)?
2. Who told Mary she would have a son?
3. What was the name of Jesus' cousin?
4. Where did Mary and Jospeh go to escape the wrath of Herod?

This from Theos, who ran the poll: "No one seriously thinks that being a Christian or a member of the established church is the same thing as being British today."  Nothing I didn't already know, but how often do we still here that this is a 'Christian country.'

So, in order to educate people I guess we need to be singing...

1. O Little Town of Bethlehem
2. The Angel Gabriel from heaven came
3. On Jordan's bank the Baptist's cry (or maybe not, they might just think we're in flood of tears)
4. The Coventry carol

(Though it was a penguin when I heard the joke)

If I put this "delightful" Victorian image in the centre of a composite of Bappy worthies will that do?! 

Picture from 'The Christ We Share' pack.