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A Skinny Fairtrade Latte in the Food Court of Life - Page 1037

  • Implication and Imagination

    This stuff about my research - so be warned.

    I am undertaking as exercise to read some Baptist histories published at various points in C20 to try to establish (a) the trajectory and (b) the implied reader.  This is quite important for my (eventual) thesis because critical reading of history is something I've never really done before, and I suspect many other people don't either.  The two - trajectory and implied reader - are not mutually exclusive and I am, this far, enjoying myself reading A C Underwood's History of the English Baptists published in 1947 (I know, I need to get out more).

    What I am finding though, is that I ask questions of the text, and find partial answers as I recall events in wider history and/or my own experience that I also build up imaginary people for both writer and reader.

    My imagined reader is an earnest young man in his early twenties (the age my father would have been when the book was published).  This young man left school at 14 and either he or a close relative saw active service in World War II.  Maybe, he or a relative was a conscientious objector.  Maybe he lost a brother or a friend in the war.  Maybe his little sister was evacuated to the country.  As rationing continues and he tries to make sense of all that has happened, he finds himself training for Baptist ministry and presented with this book of history to read.  He comes from a solid Baptist background, a chapel that still expounds a broadly Calvinist message, and where the little red Sankey book used evey Sunday contains such delights as 'there is a fountain filled with blood' [check it out!].  Like men of his era, he is suspicious of the Roman Catholics who meet for Latin masses and, in the wake of Auschwitz, wonders what attitude he should take towards Judaism.  Patriotism is strong, the King is a good, devout Christian leader, there are hopes for a new world order - and he is given this newly published book to read.  What does he make of it?

    My imagined writer is a very august college principal, perhaps a tad austere [someone can tell me he was lovely in real life!], whose stduents were somewhat in awe of him.  He is, in my mind's eye [I haven't checked his dates or found any photos] a man in his mid-fifties, tall and straight, formally attired and very scholarly.  He is writing history for a new generation of young men whose lives have been battered by war.  Maybe his own son or nephew was lost.  Maybe he recalled his own experiences last time around.  Being principal of a slightly radical college, obliged to maintain the study of General Baptist origins, he faces a challenging task.  He is sympathetic to the idea of Ananbaptist origins - but his revered source writer, Whitley, is not; he fudges the issue.  He notes both military service and pacifism in Baptist history - which path should he take?  He is an avowed non-conformist and carefully avoids references to the treatment of Catholics under Cromwell.  He, too, is a man of his age.  The embryonic ecumenical movement is viewed with suspicion, the rebuilding of a nation ravaged by war is essential - and he is tasked with writing this text book - how does he approach it?

    My picture of these two men emerges from my research, but the imagined reader inevitably reflects my experience of real men of that generation.  How much is he just my dad translated across a denominational boundary?  Likewise, how much is the collgee principal actually based onreal college lecturers I have known?  Though I'd have to confess, he's more like my old engineering prof than any I met doing theology!  To some extent they are based in the implied reader and author, but they cannot be fully authenticated by quotations - thus they are more than that.

    When Underwood published his book the now obsolete (or not) green Baptist Hymnbook was still 15 years into the future; likewise Vatican II was a long way off and birth of the URC would be almost three decades away.  Underwood would have sat in his study at a nice oak (I suspect) desk with a fountain pen and sheets of foolscap paper, a fire may have burned in the hearth of his study and the housekeeper would have knocked to advise him that tea was served - in a nice china cup of course.  Now I sit at my computer with a pot mug of tea and try to deduce what he was trying to do.  At one level that seems incredibly arrogant, at another impossible.  But I guess I can be pretty certain that both he and I would have one thing in common - we both believe that understanding something of our past is useful in shaping our ministry and mission now. 

    I can't quite envisage anyone in 60 year's time reading this and trying to work out who I was writing this for, nor yet imagining what I am doing right now.  What is intriguing is to try to guss which news stories or issues from 2007 will inform anyone who does try a similar exercise on early 21st century writing though.

    Now... back to chapter 6 of Underwood and more close reading. 

  • Laudate Omnes Gentes, Laudate Dominum

    It's been a hymnody nightmare week, as earlier posts express.  I begin to realise that I know far more hymns and songs than most people I come into contact with, and that the good people of Dibley probably sing a much wider rnage of material than most local churches.  Apart from the refusal to sing BPW 200 at D+2, I've also had conversations with the pianist at a church about 10 miles away to change half the material I'd chosen for them to sing, and most of the tunes on the rest.  This did have a different feel, as his logic was that the congregation would be under 20 and are not strong singers rather than 'I'm not singing/playing that.'  Laudate Omnes Gentes (BPW 19) was a new song too far, it seems, which is a shame as it's easy to learn and being from Taize has a great 'evening' feel to it.

    All this has got me wondering just how large (or small) is the active repetoire of most churches these days.  When SOF runs to almost 1700 items, arguably it should be enormous - in fact on the whole it seems to be tiny.  When this is coupled with the 'newer is automatically better' attitude to music, people even forget what they sang regularly only a year or two back.

    In a typical week, with one service, my lot will sing around seven items - at least three of which will be hymns and two or three will probably be single verse songs; quite often (at least once a month) we sing something that's new to some people, if not all of us.  When we have joint services elsewhere it may be as few as four items.  Over a year I suspect we repeat about 10 items, which gives us an annual repetoire of around 300 different hymns and songs.  What is scary is that that is probably ten times that of some of our near neighbours.  I just wonder which is more typical - and why?

    Laudate Omne Gentes, Laudate Dominum - Praise all people, praise the Lord!  That's really what we are doing whenever we sing - and whatever we sing - just wish it didn't become the gladiatorial arena it so often seems to be.

    Now I really do need to let this go and move on before I get bitter and twisted.

  • In Defence of BPW 200 - An Attempt to Move On!

    Churches, I have concluded over many years, are very odd entities.  Hymns and hymnody are a perennial nightmare, and lead to organists behaving badly (we all know the old joke) and suggestions by several ministerial colleagues that recourse to violence might actually be justified.  This last week, and the whole heap of nonsense that has arisen over my request that we sing BPW 200 is just one more typical example of churches behaving badly and missing the whole point of why we exist.  That’s not because I don’t take hymnody seriously, on the contrary, I take it VERY seriously.  It is just sad that energy that could go into anything from prayer to feeding starving people is expended on telling preachers they can’t sing this or that song.  For some reason this has got to me enough that I feel the need to defend this old, somewhat twee, theologically imperfect (what isn’t) hymn, not because I want to sing it – I don’t even like it all that much – but because it is far from useless.

    All I have managed to find about the writer, Maria Penstone, was that she was born in Kensington in 1859 and died in St Pancras on  27th December 1910 – a relatively short life very clearly having a Victorian flavour.  Her hymn – usually appearing as a children’s hymn in older hymnals - inevitably reflects the age in which she lived, where life was far more precarious than today.  What Kensington or St Pancras may have been like in those days, I have no idea but it is probably fair to suggest that poverty, disease and death were never far from her experience - even if she had the good fortune to be born into a moneyed family. 

    So, on to the hymn itself…

    God has given us a book full of stories

    Which was made for his people of old

    It begins with the tale of a garden

    And ends with a city of gold

     

    What I like about this approach to the Bible is that it refers to the whole thing, and has, what I think is a healthy attitude to it – it is a collection of stories (accounts) from the beginning (creation, Genesis) to the end (recreation, Revelation).  It is a book put together for God’s people that speaks of real people and real relationship between creator and creation.  Yes, it’s over simplified; yes it could be read as the Bible arrived neatly packaged in the KJV or whatever, but the idea of ‘stories’ rather than answers or rules is an important one.

    But the best is the story of Jesus

    Of the babe with the ox in the stall

    Of the song that was sung by the angels

    The most beautiful story of all 

     

    This, for me, is probably the worst verse!  What ox?  There isn’t one in the Bible.  But there are oxen and cute little lambs and fluffy bunnies (OK, not fluffy bunnies) in all our favourite Christmas carols.  Yes, it is mushy, but - and this is the key – it says to me the best story is that of the incarnation, and that wonderful song ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests’ (Luke2: 14, NIVi).  It may be expressed with glittery, tinsel, infant-school nativity language, but it is pointing to something utterly central to our faith.

    There are stories for parents and children

    For the old who are ready to rest,

    But for all who can read them or listen

    The story of Jesus is best

     

    What I really like here is the clear statement that the Bible is for everyone – young and old, active or retired.  It is a cradle to grave book (ready to rest I assume is a euphemism for nearing death).  Whoever you are, whatever stage of life you’re at, this book is for you – and whether or not you can read (this woman is way ahead of her time on inclusion!) the story of Jesus is the best bit.  One of the objections I received to use of the hymn was the line ‘the old who are ready to rest’ which I was told dismissed and devalued older people as unable to contribute.  When I asked an older people’s specialist, her view was the opposite – how great to be affirmed when you can no longer ‘produce’ or ‘contribute,’ how good to be given permission to lay down responsibilities.  There is, I think, a danger of reading into much to the words of an old hymn; why not just accept that it says the Bible is for everyone – young, old, literate or not.  That’s a good message in my opinion.

    For it tells how he came from the Father

    His far away children to call,

    To bring the lost sheep to their shepherd –

    The most beautiful story of all.

     

    This hymn does not explicitly mention the cross – but it is a children’s hymn.  In the 19th Century lots of children died quite young, and the image of Jesus coming to call people back to the safety of relationship with God, using a rural image, seems entirely appropriate to me.  In any case, it says all that needs to be said in a positive way.  Children understand concepts of lost and found, they don’t need to be told half a dozen theories of atonement or a whole heap of pious church-talk.  What is the story of Jesus about?  A restored relationship with God.  Can’t argue with that! 

    This utterly verbose post will not be used to replace my sermon, nor will it be passed to the person who ousted the hymn.  What it will hopefully do for me, is to allow me to put down my annoyance and move on.  It will also serve as a reminder that the next time I find myself uncomfortable with someone’s choice of hymns that I need to think very carefully about why.

     

  • Hymns & Songs about the Bible

    Help!  Anyone got any good suggestions?  Without going into detail, I've just got myself into trouble with a pianist over choosing one that refered to it as containing 'stories' when 'everyone' knows it is the 'truth.'  In my view, the two are not mutually exclusive, and I note that BPW 200 and MP 629 are examples of mainstream evangelical hymnals using hymns with this word in relation to the Bible.  They wouldn't normally be my choice as they're so old and pietistic (or some such) but I have a whole sermon to deliver predicated on the phrase 'God has given us a book full of stories' (which I could cheerfully problematise on what we mean by 'has given' but won't) so singing it was an obvious choice.

    In the end we will probably be singing MP 64, which just about fits the theme, and I will have to interweave bits of BPW 200 into what I say...  Dibley are so much more tolerant than their near neighbours...!  (Perhaps I should have said 'God told me to chose this hymn' rather than, as I did 'it fits the theme'!).  Ah me.

  • Year to View

    I have just finished typing up the programme for our 'Thing in a Pub' for the next year and it's looking good.  Lots of good speakers and diverse topics  Let's hope folk are inspired to join us to....

    enjoy - engage - encounter

    4

    faith - friendship - fun

     

    November 2007

     

    Faith & Science

     

    Christians in Science

     

    December 2007

     

    Sing Christmas

     

    Radio Leicester broadcast

     

    January 2008

     

    Social - Quiz of the Year

     

     

     
    February 2008

     

    Faith & Volunteering

     

    Head of CVS

     

    March 2008

     

    Saving lives...

    Air Ambulance

     

    April

     

    Meaningless genealogies?!  Researching family history

     

    Local Revd Dr type person

    May 2008

     

    Social evening

     

     

    June 2008

     

    Complimentary Therapies - A Christian Perspective

     

    Local health visitor-cum-acupuncturist - cum-minister's wife!

    July 2007

     

    Faith & Policing

     

    Chief Constable

    August 2008

     

    Faith & Politics

     

    Local MP

     

    September 2008

     

    Social Evening

     

     

     
    October 2008

     

    Faith & Fair Trade

     

    Area rep for Tearcraft