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A Skinny Fairtrade Latte in the Food Court of Life - Page 13

  • Remembrance Preparations...

    Red, white, purple? All, any, none? That annual internal debating... and external attempts to engage graciously with others who are 'right' whilst I am 'wrong'... and, as always, wondering how I can approach this in a way that meets needs, challenges stereotypes and actually matters in some small way.

    Looking back of twenty plus years of Remembrance services, in different contexts, I am quite impressed with the range of what has been explored - from 'just war theories' to 'the environmental impact of war', from 'homes for heroes' to 'war poetry', from 'sacrifice' to 'pacifism'.

    This year I get to 'cheat' to revisit and adapt a service I led two years ago inspired by a visit to Coventry.  And to use just one of the many great hymns written for Remembrance Sunday that problematise, in a helpful way, the whole purpose of what we are doing.  As war goes in Gaza and the Middle East, Russia and Ukraine, as globally politics becomes ever more terrifying, as people attempt to flee in tiny boats or are buried alive, it is important to ask the hard questions...

     

    If the war goes on, and the children die of hunger,

    And the old men weep, for the young men are no more,

    And the women learn how to dance without a partner,

    Who will keep the score?

     

    If the war goes on, and the truth is taken hostage,

    And new horrors lead to the need to euphemise,

    When the calls for peace are declared unpatriotic,

    Who’ll expose the lies?

     

    If the war goes on, and the daily bread is terror,

    And the voiceless poor take the road as refugees,

    When a nation’s pride destines many to be homeless,

    Who will heed their pleas?


    If the war goes on, and the rich increase their fortunes,

    And the arms sales soar as new weapons are displayed,

    And a fertile field turns to no-man’s-land tomorrow,

    Who’ll approve such trade?

     

    If the war goes on, will we close the doors to heaven?

    If the war goes on, will we breach the gates of hell?

    If the war goes on, will we ever be forgiven?

    If the war goes on…?

     

    John Bell and Graham Maule © Iona Community

      

  • Food, firepit, fun, fellowship...

    Yesterday sixteen of us gathered in the manse garden for an evening of food and fellowship, gathered around my new fire pit (I bought it a while ago when it was on offer, but this was its first 'outing').

    It was a lot of work to get everything organised and set up (including ensuring that the living room was clean, tidy and welcoming, should anyone prefer to be indoors, or if it rained - neither happened).

    Stepping back and watching, it was lovely to hear the sound of conversations and laughter, to be immersed in wood smoke, to feel the ambience of fun.  Some folk quietly took on washing up mugs and cutlery, others oversaw the toasting of marshmallows, and all ate our fill of homemade soup and jacket potatoes (many with the triple topping of beans, cheese and coleslaw!).

    As they slipped away in to the dark to go home, someone said, 'when's the next manse gathering...' so I guess it was a good night! 

  • Stirring Memories

    This morning we had a visiting preacher - a retired minister who preceded me by three at the Railway Town Baptist Church.  As it happens, he trained after me in Manchester. He had chosen some hymns that he thought we wouldn't know - and actually it turned out we all did, including this one, which stirred sweet memories of The Gathering Place.  I almost drifted off into the descant at the end of the last verse, but, for which everyone should be very grateful, I didn't!

    A thoughtful sermon on the 'sign of Jonah' linked to a theme of One World Week (a charity now closed down) and the sign of Jonah being the God who cares for all creation and longs for its flourishing.

     

  • Bring Many Versions...

    Today I've been working on a session with our students looking at the language of hymns and the way words can become problematic over time or in certain contexts.  One of the hymns I had chosen, quite innocuously, because I love it's imagery of God at different ages all at once, is Brian Wren's 'Bring Many Names', a song I learned in its final version not long after I moved to Glasgow.  Hunting for a recording today, the one I found turned out to be closer to the version in Wren's book 'What Language shall I Borrow'  which I assume has the original version of verse about 'young, growing God' - quite different from the 'definitive version' which, in itself has moved beyond the unintentionally 'ableist' language of the middle version.

    Curious to see a move away from a God who can learn to a God who observes (though probably more palatable for for most contexts).  And interesting to see the change from metaphorical blindness (long before it would have been described as ableist) to a calling out of falsehood (possibly giving more 'intent' to human greed than the 'unintended consequence' of not being able to recognise it?).

    Anyway, it entertained me for longer than it should have done... and I still love the hymn. 

  • Church Lunch

    Today we had a focus on the Baptist Home Mission Fund, with a yummy stew lunch (above the veggie version) and a special collection.  We were not huge in numbers, maybe twenty of us, but we were definitely well fed.