Last night I attended the licensing service for one of my former colleagues who has just moved to another parish, which in reality means he now serves the other side of the same parish boundary.  It was the first time I'd attended such a service and, whilst I was pleased and privileged to be there, it only brought out the non-conformist in me all the more!

Apart from the fancy dress, processions and pompous language (which even the Bishop made jokes about) there were aspects of the whole procedure I found challenging.  I had often wondered quite why early Baptists had such a problem with the swearing of oaths because it isn't really part of my experience (apart from when I did jury service) - last night as I listened to these 'clerks in holy orders' swearing all manner of oaths, I began to understand.

I found the presence of so many local dignitaries and the welcome by the MP (who clearly was not in Bournemouth, something the Bishop commented upon) a little bizarre.  Not because I have problems with civic representation but because the whole thing suddenly became a state ceremony somehow.  I don't know if this is typical.

After the service I had a chat to our remaining priest (who retires early next year, so the whole rigmarole will happen again...).  I commented on the oath of allegiance to the crown - and was corrected, no, not to the corwn, but to the Queen (and her heirs and successors) as head of the Church of England.  He then said, he'd have problems swearing allegiance to her most likely successor who wants to be 'defender of faiths,' something he saw as contra to being head of a Christian church, but which to me seems entirely in keeping with early Baptist thought.  Interesting.

Even the buffet seemed somehow Anglican!  Tiny smoked salmon or cucumber sandwiches with the crusts cut off, cherry tomatoes cut in half and plates of bought cakes (I mean, whatever happened to good old chapel ham sandwiches, slabs of fruit cake or Victoria sandwiches?).   Even the small talk was dominated by people trying to catch the eye of the Bishop (who clearly had the misfortune to be christened Bishop, since that's what they all call him... can you imagine calling Jonathan Edwards 'General Secretary'....?!).

I was glad to be there, and the service was not without its lighter moments - not least watching the Bishop try not to collapse into giggles as the choir masacred an anthem.  Indeed, it was so bad that one of the sopranos began laughing when she failed by miles to hit the top note.  That said, I was reminded of the story told of a priest who despaired of their congregation's singing, it was so bad.  One night, said priest dreamed of being in heaven, where God was giving a guided tour.  As they walked around, the strains of an amazing choir were heard, and the priest commented upon it.  God took the priest to a door and opened it so that they could see and hear the choir properly... Imagine the surprsie on the priest's face on seeing that the choir was none other than their own congregation...

Which all goes to show that God isn't too fussed about pointy hats, slabs of cake or creaky voices; it's what's behind it all that matters.  But I'm still clear why I am not an Anglican!!

Last night I heard about a Sunday School teacher who was teaching on the 'how many times must I forgive' theme to a group of youngish children at a local Anglican church.  Part of their pattern of worship is that the children bring in to the service what they have made/coloured to show the congregation.

As the priest patiently waited at the front, a long piece of string was carriedinto the church, eventually stretching the entire length of the aisle.  On it the children had strung 490 hand-painted pieces of pasta.

This for me is a very graphic and powerful illustration of 70x7, and if it isn't in a book somehwere, it should be.

Firstly, the love that went in to counting out 490 pieces of macaroni/penne and painting them different colours sothat the exercise would be more pleasurable for the children.

Then the patience and collaboration of the children to string so many 'beads of forgiveness' together.

Lastly, the sight of this 'rosary of reconciliation' stretching for - I guess - around 50 feet would be an amazing way of visualising what Jesus meant.  

As a symbol of what forgiveness involves - creativity, love, patience, generosity and enormity (not the right word but I can't think of a better one) - this is the one of the best I've come across.

I have had an amusing few minutes choosing CDs to put in the box to take to Swanwick for the quiet room (Do you play music in a quiet room?  Discuss.).  Will my Eternal Forest CD be too 'New Age' for some folk?  Will Psalms for the Soul or Peaceful Spirits - 25 Gregorian Chants be deemed too liturgical?  Is Karl Jenkins' Armed Man or Garth Hewitt/Paul Field's Dalit Drum too radical?  Or The Best Worship Songs in the World Ever Since We Did The Last Version Volume 63.75 (I exagerate only everso slightly) too noisy? What does help other ministers to chill out, to unwind, to reflect, to meditate, to pray?

In the end I have a stack of two dozen as eclectic, catholic and ecumencial as I am - including some 'secular' stuff and some from the world church.

My own favourites include Karl Jenkins' Armed Man, (did you know the first public perfomance was the day before 9/11?) some Taize, Barber's Adagio for Strings and an early recording by Libera.  The Gregorian chant is wonderful, but 25 tracks is too much all at once, and a few Rutter compilations are always good value, as are some organ pieces.  I also have a few instrumental versions of contemporary worship songs which manage to lose some of the aggressive triumphalism that sung versions can become.  I guess it depends what mood I'm in what I choose to listen to.

I know I'm not going to please everyone with what I offer, and frankly I'm not going to try, I just hope that somewhere in amongst it all is something someone finds helpful and restful.

The old adage - if you want something done, ask a busy person.  Well at the moment, that person seems to be me!  And despite my recollection of half decent clip art of this cliche, the thing on the left is the best I could find today.  Ah well.

Today I have been wearing my "Ministers' Conference Treasurer" hat which, for some mysterious reason, means I make the name badges and juggle the bedroom allocations around to accommodate all the last minute changes - and in a manner that will not trouble those who maintain ministerial disicpline!!

In the allied role of "Ministers' Conference Committee Member" I have been gathering together things for the 'quiet room' which I am co-organising.  My dining table is now hidden by the various objects I will be transporting to Swanwick and back again.

In my role as 'local minister with a vaguely creative streak' I am doing final preprations for the all age interactive worship I am leading at the Association Day in two weeks time.  It has caused amusement to people who've called into Dibley manse to see all the props stacked up in my living room. 

Last week I was at a national committee meeting where I am Association rep, in a couple of weeks I have another where I am a ministerial rep. In between I have to do some interviewing wearing my school governor hat.  Somewhere in amongst all this I am meant to sort out my work proposal for my research for 2007-8 and organise all the Christmas services for Dibley Churches Together.

Most of the time these hats can be worn one at a time then put away for a month or three.  At the moment several have landed all at once.  It is both a pleasure and a privilege to be invited to take on these various roles - they give me lots of interest, keep me out of mischief and bring tremendous rewards.  At the same time, there is always the danger that I'll drop the lot...

So, if you happen to meet me in the next week or two and I seem particularly hassled and scratchy, it could be because I am concentrating totally on keeping all these hats in the air at once...

As posted earlier, I am going to be at a conference later this week where one of the talks is entitled 'rightly handling the word of truth.'  In fact, as part of the planning team, I am involved in setting up a quiet room for those who want/need a bit of space from the speakers or from each other or whatever.  In an attempt to keep some sort of link, I have been hunting down Bible texts that fit the themes ready to put onto cards as prompts for thought, if people want them.

"Rightly handle the word of truth" is a translation of 2 Timothy 2:15 - which of course everyone (except me) already knew.  I looked it up in several translations and then in my trusty Greek-English interlinear, being reminded once again how good it would have been had I ever got to grips with Greek, ah well.

The word used is (in transliteration) 'orthotomounta' which means 'cutting straight' (or, precisely, straight cutting) of the 'word-of-truth' (I have hyphenated as I think that's kind of what the Greek implies - the double use of a 'the' word being important).  The commentators admit it is tricky to translate the intent of the sentence.  I guess there is an easy leap to 'orthodoxy' and a resultant, potentially narrow view of how the 'word-of-truth' so often equated with the Bible (though some translations see it more as 'message' than literal 'word') should be approached.

I feel I need to turn this idea over a bit in my mind - what might 'straight cutting' as a metaphor mean?  No frills preaching?  Only one permitted interpretation?  Exposition? 

Apprarently in everyday Greek, the word was used in relation to road making - preparing the means for people to travel.  That seems to allow for more variety - the straight cut road would be used by people travelling for all sorts of purposes, to and from different places and situations.  The road itself is the same whatever the journey upon it.

A straight line is the shortest distance between two points - so might 'straight cutting' be about making clear connections, avoiding diversions in thought?

* * *

One of the things I like about preparing for services and events is the thought journeys I get to go on myself.  The stuff above doesn't make a whole lot of sense and it hardly cuts straight through anything.  I guess what I am hoping with the quiet room - and my contribution to it - is that other people will have the space to do some wandering and wondering - including what it means to handle appropriately and carefully the timeless message of truth contained within scripture.