When I was training to be a minister, I spent a year working with a Roman Catholic church.  It was a very bitter-sweet experience but one I chose and have no regrets about whatsoever.  This week, as I began to think more about the idea of being an 'Inclusive Community' for our Five Core Values revisit, the title of this little book I read during that time came back to me.

Being present at Mass three times a Sunday for 40 weeks but not allowed to receive communion is a powerful symbol of exclusion, and one that significantly impacted on my thinking about this aspect of our corporate worship life.  This little book is an exploration of precisely the issue of interdenominational communion and asks some really tough questions.  Whilst I never quite got to embrace their conclusion - that maybe we should suspend the celebration of communion until we are united - I came pretty close!

The book is now out of print - indeed, the copy I read was a not-quite-legal-but-don't-tell-anybody-photocopy - but now thanks to Amazon I've managed to get my very own copy and it seems there are a few more out there.  It's worth a read, if you haven't yet read it -buy now before they're all gone!!!

This morning I finished working my way through Fleming Rutledge's book of sermons.  I remain 'not sure' about reading sermons over hearing them, but it has been a valuable exercise.

She is certainly a skilled writer, and presumably orator, who manages to pack an awful lot into her sermons, skilfully weaving in things that are in the media, the Bible and some deep theology.  Do wonder, though, if most of the people who tried to teach me preaching would say that she has too many ideas going on in each one!

I did need a bit of help from Google to translate some of the very specific North American references, and I did grow tired of openings along the lines of 'not many people come to church on this occasion, so you must be really special to be here' which could engender a kind of smuggness (though I am sure that is not what she is trying to do) but overall I was struck by the skill with which she could hold together seemingly disparate ideas and let them speak to each other and to her reader/hearer.

A profound faith and deep theological knowledge ring out loud and clear; a commitment to a 'redemptive suffering' view of the cross is rooted in a thoroughgoing theology of the trinity that precludes the parody of 'God abandoned Jesus'... wish I could express it as eloquently as she does.

For me, the most moving sermon was 'The Cross at Ground Zero' and the most original 'The Undoing of Death', which was the most honest and upfront exploration of death I have seen/heard.

It has been a good experience to read these sermons which are stylistically so very different from my own and I am sure that in some way God has spoken to me through them.

Tonight we had the first planning meeting for our new intiative to do something 'Emerging Church' -ish in a pub. 

It was a pretty amazing meeting as people actually agreed to do things!  My only official role, and even that is allegedy temporary, is publicity.  Wow!

Compass will be launched as a monthly event on the first Thursday in May at 8 p.m., hopefully in the lounge of the pub opposite the school where we meet.  If not the lounge, then the 'upper room' where we met at Christmas.

The name is significant - a compass is a device to assist navigation, not a map, nor a set of directions, but something that may assist a traveller to find their way, given suitable landmarks.  Compass is also used to describe the 'spread' or 'extent' and encompass to surround or embrace.  These seem good images of what Compass is about - and what it isn't about.  It's not Alpha/Emmuas/Y, it is 'church but not as we know it,' and it's exciting.

We will have three strands (complete with groan inducing puns)...

En-joy -  fellowship & food

En-gage - topics to engage with relating faith to life

En-counter - a kind of multi-sensory worship

The current plan is to have three months of 'Enjoy & Engage' before a month of 'Enjoy & Encounter' (can you drink beer while you're praying?  You can certainly pray while drinking beer!).

My little team of four have a big task ahead of them but I am encouraged that they are willing to give it a go.  Further, they are all commited to the long haul.

We have already planned our next two committee meetings at the pub rather the manse, so progress is being made!!

I am due to preach on Sunday night at one of my local Penty churches (the one in the old pub, for readers who know this area) as part of a series they are doing enigmatically titled 'The Word.'  With no guidance at all, and being asked about it just before Christmas, I said I'd do something on 'the Word became flesh,' John 1:14.

Since then my subcionscious has been on a world tour, it seems, picking all manner of odd ideas and setting them alongside each other.  My erstwhile Biblical studies tutor has been approached to check out what turned out to be some Barth and I then made some connections to something attributed to Francis of Asissi!  Mind you, as I wanted to end up with something broadly incarnational and/or practical that was fairly useful.

I love reading Barth (in English , I know no German) but it is like really good dark chocolate - a couple of squares is plenty to be going on with.  As a result I have never read the master on his model expressed below

WORD

Revelatory action of God in Christ

Word

Scripture

word

 Proclamation (= preaching)

I find it helpful in reflecting on my role as a preacher, but then there is the saying attributed to St Francis 'preach the gospel always, if necessary use words.'

I don't know what Barth's view of 'preaching' is (and as churches today explore what we think it is, or how we do it, maybe my question is relevant) but St Francis (or whoever) suggest that life as whole can/should be a form of preaching, hence proclamation.  Brother Lawrence said he could worship God while making omelettes, could his employment of his culinary expertise also proclaim something of the WORD?

Well, this is the line I am pursuing with my Penties anyway...

If I put on my mathematical head for a few seconds, I guess what I am saying is that preaching is a subset of proclamation.

Any thoughts before I show myself up as totally ignorant of Barth (which I am), a burnable heretic (or more so than usual) or anything else even more undesirable?

Last night's Girls' Brigade was one of those that makes me smile, that reminds me why I am mad enough to give up my 'free' (ha, ha, joke) time to work with other people's children for years on end.

It could have been a disaster - we have four leaders but last night circumstances conspired that I was the only one able to be there.  Fortunately the Captain (names may soon change to be less 'military') had contacted someone to come along in her stead, but I had to run the whole evening at an hour's notice; good job I'm experienced and bossy!  Amazingly one of our district 'officers' chose to drop in unnanounced, so we ended up with three leaders... strange ways!

We are making a banner for the church, but as our girls are aged between 5 and 10, a lot of careful guidance is needed to get something fit for purpose.  Last night I showed them the fabric we've bought and they finalised the designs for their butterflies (which will need a whole day for me to cut out and match up the sequins, beads etc) so that next week they can make them.  They haven't quite grasped the distinction between Easter (resurrection) and butterflies but they worked hard and we had a lot of fun.  'Wow, miss, this material is lovely' - praise indeed!

Our devotions at the moment are 'children in the Old Testament' and after we recapped last week's story of Samuel, I was telling the story of Naaman's servant girl.  I mentioned that we don't know her name, no one thought to write it down.  'That's not fair,' piped up C aged 7, 'the boy's names get in.'   Feminist theologian in the making?  So they picked a name for her - Rosie being the suggestion they offered.  Not very Hebrew, but who's checking?

As we got to prayer time, I asked them what they'd like to pray for the leaders who were absent - K who had been in a minor car shunt, and C whose partner is seriously ill.  I was impressed by their suggestions - that K would get over being frightened and that C would be strong to cope with her situation.  We were also asked to pray for a relative in prison and a big sister who'd just had a miscarriage - these girls have big issues in their young lives.  For once there was no fidgetting during prayers as we earnestly brought their concerns to God.

I was once told that childrens/youth leaders needed to have an infinite capacity for disappointment, and I think that's true, but we also get some special moments when out of the mouths of children come pearls of widsom and insight to gladden the heart.