God's Not Dead - a Curate's Egg of a film

Two days on and I'm still very much engaged with some internal dialogue over the film 'God's not dead! for (sadly) like the Curate's egg - not all of it is good!

Now I know this view might draw some fire from those who loved it unreservedly but I cannot excuse nor applaud some of the elements within it even though it was one of the better examples of this this genre of film (which perhaps also indicates how awful much of it is). Here's some of the current struggles:

There were some valid sections but the sharp apologetic was in stark contrast to some of the poor dialogue and the film might have been greatly improved by a pair of electronic scissors! Why they had to include the Islamic convert sub plot I have no idea - as an apologetic it was already sorted - this was tacky and unwarranted (and yes I know it goes on - but if the issue is to be raised, do it in coherent and contextually secure manner for Pete's sake).

The end was simply amazing (and not, I'm afraid, in a good way) but at least it cut the bluebirds singing and the Rebecca of Sunnybrook farm conclusion that I feared was becoming inevitable. Mind you complex medical diagnosis at a glance and a street death conversion of epic length and amazingly extensive dialogue (did it really take an hour or was that merely my perception?) all conspired to cloud over, and out, the positives and leave me with an unwieldy and unpalatable scene that provided if the the final, then it was the penultimate, nail in the coffin.

But I loved the apologetics, the analogy of sin as a cell was outstanding and the call to not only 'give an answer to all who ask' but to stand up for our faith regardless of the opposition  - but especially when it comes from within.

Waiting for the DVD now so I can cut out the dross and celebrate the good (it's called gleaning - something it seems that many Christians seem to have lost) - Happy Friday

Bl**dy Bankers - deserve all they get

So went a conversation this morning as the news that almost 20,000 Barclays staff were to lose their jobs over the coming months - around half coming from the UK - hit the news.

I take a look at the news ticker and what do I see:

• Barclays cuts 14,000 jobs this year 
• Morrisons sales fall 8.2% 

So it's definitely not a rosy morning (actually it's raining as I type this) is it?

But of the 'bankers' - the reality is that when people want to lash out at the fat cats in the banking world, those people who drove the world's economies onto the rocks (with loads of help from the rest of the world who never stop to ask where profits, dividends and cheap prices on what should be more costly goods have their roots and realities) are cheering the wrong things. Those who lose their jobs will be the ordinary folk who live up your street and sit next to you on the train and shop at Aldi and Lidl rather than Fortnums and Horrids, drive flashy cars and live exorbitant lifestyles (thanks in some way - to us).

Not the most rational thought around!

Worse still those who claim to be Christian and are cheering are taking pleasure from the distress of others. The Bible tells us that love is what Christians are supposed to be about. That said, we do a great job of masking it behind our outrages and righteous indignation and our petty hatreds.

In 1 Corinthians 13 (RVV) the Apostle Paul tells us that:

Love never gives up, regardless.

Love is concerned with caring more for others than it does for ourselves.

Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have but takes joy in what it does!

Love doesn’t strut, posture, boast, brag or pose.

Love doesn’t force itself on others but respects private space and the dignity of of others.

Love isn’t concerned with a 'me first' culture or mindset but prefers and serves others.

Love doesn’t fly off the handle, or get the punch in first, even when we think it is justified.

Love doesn’t keep score of the sins of others but is concerned with our own sins first.

Love takes no pleasure when others are reduced to tears, pulled down or humiliated.

Love takes pleasure in truth, in all its aspects, regardless of how that might make us look or feel.

Love puts up with stuff because, all things considered, look at the model Jesus left us!

Love trusts God and always looks for the best in others.

Love is forward looking, it doesn't keep a record of what has been, only of what can be and it keeps on looking even when experience might lead others to stop.

So - pray and seek to help those who might just be losing their jobs (regardless of where they work).

Pax

Church - Working to be ONE!

Today I will find myself being Church with a variety of people I don't usually get to fellowship with and this is a source of great joy for me.

The day begins with me crossing town to take a early Communion service, sharing God's word and breaking bread with them. This is followed by our congregation (St Francis') going up the hill to have a joint service with the Methodists (St Andrew's) - something we began last year having made the journey both ways and having run a joint Alpha and continue with a shared House group too.

This evening will see many of the Christians from the Tamworth area crowd into the town centre church, St Editha's, where we will celebrate the many things done to serve the town's residents (and there are a fair number of them) and add to their number Tamworth Street Angels. We have the diocesan bishop and senior clergy from the Baptists, Methodists and RC Church. How cool is that?

Having done some of my training in a couple of Methodist colleges and working with them in the East end of London during the seventies, I have long appreciated them (enjoying the fact that they are of course 'splitters') and this joy has deepened with the coming of the current minister, Tim, to our town a while back. The addition of two new RC clergy, Michael and Noel, has brought opportunities to share I new ways - the previous incumbents were a blessing too - (and loving the fact that we become the 'splitters'!). The arrival of the Baptist minister, Graham, has deepened the joy and the cherry on the cake has to be the Living Rock Church and John and Caleb.

Ecumenism is often regarded as something that doesn't that sounds great when reading the label on the tin that contains it but is, when opened, is something rather bland that lacks the ability to sustain. This is not the case though, for where there is a willingness to dialogue and a desire to serve the people in the place where you live, ecumenicism is a deep and enabling joy.

This week we will see us meet in different church building at 7pm every day to pray together as one Church as we engage in the 'Week of Prayer for Christian Unity' - can it get any better?

To all the members and leaders of the churches that is Tamworth Covenanting Churches:

Thank You!

Getting them into Church - it's not enough!!

Had a great discussion with someone who was trying to convince me that 'getting people into the church building (especially with regard to Christmas) was enough!'

I tried, rather unsuccessfully, to convince them that whilst it was indeed good to get the people in, it counted for little other than a round of applause from those who wanted to count the number of people through the doors and perhaps those who assume that these convert into some form of income!

It doesn't matter how many people we drag through the doors if we fail to preach Christ - Baby, Bloke, Broken and how He was raised again FOR US!

If Immanuel (God with us) become merely 'carol time' and if Advent is set aside for Argostide then what on earth are we playing at?

But try as I might (and believe me, I did try) I couldn't get past the fact that what made a successful Christmas for this church (if I'm not mistaken) was that Christmas - it's all about numbers!

Oh yeah - and that Hallmark tableau moment when the kids, dressed for the part, have their photo's taken the grandparents sniff at the sight.

Jesus Saves: Ribeiro's Second Third Coming!

Back in the seventies I met a racing car driver who looked tipped, along with his team mate Gunnar Nilssson, to be a star of the future. Sadly that never happened and after some absence from the sport the 'Jesus Saves' emblem is back on the track again:

The team has won the 2013 British Classic Formula Ford Championship.

How cool is that?

Hope - Pray - Read - Do

Challenged myself with the image above.

Been thinking about those who sit in church and 'hope' things will happen;

And about those who 'pray' things will happen;

Or sit and 'read' about what happened in the Bible;

And those who 'make' things happen.

and wonder which combination of these made up my character.

And then prayed that it would be 'all' of them.

How do you do with it?

Together: Getting Personal

Opening my emails this morning I found emails from three groups looking to attract the same people from the same town on three different nights and I don't know why but it caused me to sigh rather than cheer.

I know I'm 'always going on about getting out there and doing stuff' (so a member of the congregation told me recently) but what I want is for us to get out there and do it together. One of the biggest curses of Church that I encounter is the 'personal and local' aspects and the wrong messages and wasted energy that results from it. So for what it is worth, here are a few of my thoughts on the issue:

i. Personal Salvation - I believe that Jesus, the Christ, died for 'each of us'; that is personally, knowing each of by name, rather than for 'everyone' which would have been a blanket (one act covers all) transaction.

ii. Personal Relationship with God - It was by the one atoning act of Christ on the cross that God was reconciled to the whole of creation and the way to restoration of relationship with God was made possible for us. This means that we can have a personal 1:1 relationship because (by a new and living way - Heb 10) we have access to God.

iii. Personal Faith - As a Christian my faith is neither personal or private but is corporate. We minister before the throne as a holy nation and a royal priesthood (1 Peter) - not on our own and this is how the Church is called to live out its faith - together. I find so many people who live in their exclusive little worlds - and these exist as a singularity, in closed groups, congregations and beyond - and this is wrong!

We are called to do together what we can do together as the norm and to do that which we cannot do on our own as the exception ('O dear, we will have to do this as St Sprockets rather than as a Parish/Deanery/Churches Together Group/Whatever you fancy adding' Delete as necessary).

Kingdom thinking calls us to work together and pool our resources for the good of the Kingdom - that said, a few year's back one of the local clergy complained that ALPHA Courses took place within a group of churches and yet, 'They never got any of the new people from it!' The answer was simple, 'You never bring people to it, how do you expect to get any!' And this was countered with the response that they didn't think it was their job to be 'out there looking for new people when that's what ALPHA supposed to do!'

Working together means what it says on the tin - it means we share the load (unless of course we are supporting a weaker church or fellowship in which case we share the blessing) and we try to do one thing between all the churches and Christian groups in the knowledge that the witness we present speaks of unity and commitment not just to Christ, but to the Church that bears His name too!

Why have three groups in a town when one could be larger, more dynamic and shared?

Pax

Selection: Not 'No' but 'Not Yet'

Amazed at the amount of conversations I've had regarding the can of worms that is offering oneself for ministry and the selection process.

Stunned by those who have heard, 'No, now go away,' even though often this response was indeed tacit (and yet was supported by the actions and attitudes of those who should most assuredly know better).

Sure, that when the response has been 'No' or 'Not Yet' the response of sending churches ( and especially the incumbent), DDOs and others should be (in my best Michael Caine voice and sensitive to gender considerations):

'Hang on lads, I've got a great idea . . .'

Some of my greatest joys in my ministry life have come from having worked with people who have returned from a BAP or DAP (hereafter referred to as 'selection') with a 'Not yet' or 'Not this calling'.The reason for this is greater that the sum of the parts but contains these elements:

Wrong language: Where submission, sense of calling, collegiality, collaboration and humility are to be sought, selectors have heard the opposite or mixed messages.

I always seek to get those I work with to explain what ordination will enable them to be, do, or do differently. One person who had come after a 'Not Yet' took great pains to explain that the honest answer was 'Nothing!' A response that demanded the questions, 'So why have you applied?' and 'How did you end up at selection conference!'

The response showed someone who was already in what was, dog collar and label aside, a ministry role. The key wax to unlock the passion for that calling and provide the words that invited exploration and revealed the calling (already recognised but needing to be ratified ).

Wrong Ideas: Quite a few people think that they should be ordained because , 'I don't have enough time to do what I do in church and do my job outside!'

This could well be calling to ministry but I could also be the result of being someone who can't say no or possesses poor time management skills (or both). I tend to regard 'doing' as something that shows commitment to the body and evidence of discipleship, but there are some who see it as the establishing of a track record and supporting evidence, The ' why' is more important than the 'what' for me - it's often a clincher in discerning vocation!

Just wrong: the dog collar who sends someone because they are doing and this needs recognition and reward in ordination or a Lay Ministry role. Ordination and ministry roles are not rewards, they are who we are released to be!

Wrong; Not investing time and effort in those who come forward before and regardless of outcome if selection conference is met, afterwards too. As discernment process moves on, opportunities and avenues of ministry should be walked along with an eye for the right fruit for those who accompany you. It's not what the role is, but that it fulfils and mutually defines the person seeking and the role itself.

NOT YET indicates something that is both ongoing and being actively engaged with. If you are the proud possessor of o e of these then you are still very much engaged in the discerning of joy vocation and so should others be!

So get out there and be a blinking nuisance!

Chivvy your clergy ( remember the widow and the magistrate?).

Chase your vocations people and challenge them to help you find the right shaped hole for you (and worry if they eventually meet you late at night in the woods with a shovel).

Talk to the pointyhatted ones and explain where and what and why (absolutely serious step - not to be taken lightly and realising they are busy, but ultimately have the cure if your soul as their charge (and remember what happened to Thomas å Becket!!).

Carpe diem (which auto text corrects to 'carpet firm') - grab the opportunities, listen to the witness of God (internally and from others) and don't lose sight of that which you feel called to. Talk about it (but don't become a bore!), prayer about if(and don't forget to listen), read about it (the more you understand the clearer your conversation can be) and be tenacious (stubborn).

Seek out those who will listen, advise (critically) and live you on your journey - for we are family and brother-in-arms and must Luce as such.

Pax

St George: cappuccino?

Last week, being asked about George, I mentioned that whilst he took up the job of England's Patron Saint in 1348, he's not English (or even British) but came from  Cappadocia (which is in Turkey these days)! 'You're having me on!' came the response, 'Cappuccino?' So here's what I told them (and they still didn't really believe me until they'd read some of the same in the notes in the commemorative menu!

A high ranking Roman soldier on a par with being a Major General and heading to the Senate for sure, George became a Christian (often a good career stopper now and it was then ;-)  ) and so found himself at odds with Diocletian, a bit of a nasty anti-Christian sort; but being a proven fighter, George took on Diocletian (and with him the Empire too) and this was the dragon he fought until on this day in 303 AD (at the age of thirty-three - bit like someone else I know) he was put to death. Not a cross like the other thirty-three year old but beheading brought George's end.

On the way though, and because of the way he lived subsequent to coming to faith and in the way that he died, Diocletian's missus also came to faith and so Diocletian had her killed too (no sense of humour some folk).

George's battle with Rome was depicted as him fighting a dragon and the tales grew out of this allegorical imagery (cf. Revelation where empires and power are depicted in similar vein) and came to our shores thanks to these stories which so inspired the Crusading forces. So much so that they took up his sign and fought in his and England's name (and let's not forget Harry either) and so we have a Saint!

Not a local lad but an inspiration:

A man's man - no namby pamby soft touch - having served and acquitted himself well.

A determined and resolute man - took on Diocletian and won even though he lost his head!

An example to us all (for this is what Saints are - examples as to attitude, belief, lifestyle and sometimes, death too!!

As that well known scribbler of soaps and other TV shows, Bill Shakespeare puts it in his soap: King Henry V:

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;
Or close the wall up with our English dead. 
In peace there's nothing so becomes a man as modest stillness and humility: 
But when the blast of war blows in our ears, then imitate the action of the tiger; 
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood, Disguise fair nature with hard-favour'd rage; 
Then lend the eye a terrible aspect; 
Let pry through the portage of the head Like the brass cannon; 
let the brow o'erwhelm it as fearfully as doth a galled rock 
O'erhang and jutty his confounded base, swill'd with the wild and wasteful ocean.
Now set the teeth and stretch the nostril wide, 
Hold hard the breath and bend up every spirit to his full height. 

On, on, you noblest English. 
Whose blood is fet from fathers of war-proof! 
Fathers that, like so many Alexanders, 
Have in these parts from morn till even fought 
And sheathed their swords for lack of argument: 
Dishonour not your mothers; now attest 
That those whom you call'd fathers did beget you. 
Be copy now to men of grosser blood, 
And teach them how to war. 

And you, good yeoman, 
Whose limbs were made in England, show us here 
The mettle of your pasture; let us swear 
That you are worth your breeding; which I doubt not; 
For there is none of you so mean and base, 
That hath not noble lustre in your eyes. 
I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips, 
Straining upon the start. 

The game's afoot: 
Follow your spirit, and upon this charge 

Cry 'God for Harry, England, and Saint George!'

I've tried - but I can't believe

Demanding

Disputing

Denying

Proclaiming

Claiming

It's tough as they just keep on trying

Going on and on and on and . . . 

Quoting him

His words

His beliefs

his example

which, they claim, cannot be denied

Offering proof of his existence

Claiming that he's real

Not the invention of a needy people

Pointing to the logic

Appealing to reason

Making fantastic claims

For a wondrous future should we follow him

But - hard as I try

As much as I'd like to

As much as they want me to

I can't

I really can't 

I just can't believe in

In

Dawkins

©Vic VDB 2013

Tamworth - Good Friday Witness 2013

For those of you in or around the Tamworth (Staffs - not AUS) area, 

here's details of the Good friday act of witness in our town:

Hope to see some of you there!

Jesus says . . . It's about more than just 'Love'

Yesterday we looked at the story of the teacher of religious law's encounter with Jesus and, as might be expected, there was much in this account to instruct us in the way we should live.

The teacher asks the simple question, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

The words Jesus uses to answer will be familiar with those who encounter it at the beginning of the Eucharist in the 'summary of the law':

"Our Lord Jesus Christ said: The first commandment is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is the only Lord. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbour as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."

And you know it is so very easy to assume that we can merely tell those around us that 'All we need to do is love God and our neighbour' but, as is often the case, there is much more below the surface - more than meets the eye! So let me try to explain where I am coming from and what I am thinking:

The first thing Jesus is speaking of is called the 'Shema', a word that encompasses many words for it refers to Deut 6: 4 - 9, and loving the Lord (our God) will all our heart, soul, mind and strength requires more than mere love - it requires action too. Just like god's love which was more than words but includes the action that is the cross, it requires commitment, application and selflesness!

The word itself 'Shema' means 'hear', the first word of the passage. 'Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one.' These words are said by many Jewish believers every day as part of their religious observance. This passage is the reason that some don 'Tefillin' (the little boxes containing four elements of the Torah), placing them on left arm and forehead and put little boxes (mezuzahs, which actually means 'doorpost') like them on their doorposts. But it requires more than just that; for Jesus tells his questioner something so very deep; deeper than just 'love'. He tells the man that he needs to keep the Shema (Deut 6: 4 -9) and to love his neighbour (Lev 19:18) and to do this he also needs to:

i. Love the Lord your God with all your heartand with all your soul and with all your strength.
ii. keep the commandments that follow on your hearts:

1. Impress them on your children,
2. Talk about them when you sit at home,
3. Talk about the when you walk along the road,
4. Talk about them when you lie down, and
5. When you get up.
6. Tie them as symbols on your hands, and 
7. Bind them on your foreheads.
8. Write them on the doorframes of your houses, and
9. On your gates.

And then he is also required to:

iii. Not seek revenge,
iv. Not bear a grudge, and
v. Love your neighbour as yourself.

As we can see, there is more than 'love God and your neighbour' (which is what I hear preached all too often, but there are fourteen discrete elements implicit in the words Jesus uses in answer to the teacher of religious law.

I meet so many people who love the Lord their God with all that they choose to love Him with (i.e. the time that I choose to give at the time I choose to give it.) but their intentions may be good and yet hearts and minds are often a fair bit distant from them.

We struggle to keep any commandments (and probably don't even know of those contained in the shema - so they have no chance!).

Perhaps if we impressed them on our children and spoke about God when we walked, went to bed, got up and all the time we'd be seeing more children remain with a faith than we do. Instead we encourage them to play rugger on a Sunday and go to events that are out of sync' with what we believe (after all, we don't want to appear to be killjoys now do we?) and live lives that demonstrate something different to that which we believe. What chance do our children have?

I'll let you off the boxes of Scripture on body and home (do you know where your Bible is right now?) but when did you last read your Bible or pray and when did the kids (or anyone else) see you doing it?

And then we get to 'loving our neighbour'. How do we do with bearing grudges or not seeking revenge. Take a look at the media and Jimmy Savile and the so many other people where 'making them pay' - even when they're dead - is all part of our social character!

We love ourselves, often to the point of spoiling ourselves rotten - and yet how do we deal with the needs of others in our own families, let alone those around us who are friends or perhaps neighbours.

I would love to think that the next time you read the 'summary of the law' or think about 'loving your neighbour' that you have read this and it has made a difference.

I really would ;-)

pax

The Acts Church and us

The Acts church presents us with a model of unity, corporate identity and growth and so when people write telling me that they can pay their parish share and have no need to evangelise because numbers are constant, they miss out on one of the realities of an aCts church model. There has to be growth!

Let's dissect the Acts model and see whether it can teach us something worthwhile:

Teaching - they believers met and shared the apostle's teaching. A great starter for ten in that this model demonstrates that we need to be meeting together to learn. Assuming something of the rabbinic teaching methods we could have 'hagadah'; the learning and unfolding of the Scriptures and 'halakah', which is the living and making the daily reality of the Scriptures.

So here we have it, that we engage with the Word of God so that we might understand what we are required to do (the how, why and what) and living out the realities of the Scriptures in our daily life. Orthodoxy and orthopraxy - 'knowing' and 'living' the Scriptures'.

Unity - for the believers were gathered in one place. A pretty easy thing when the believers form a minority in, what was then, a major city. Works well for us today as we find ourselves called to minister and witness to God's love as shown to us through His engagement with His created world and the salvific acts of jesus, the Christ. But the unity is also the unity of belief, for in our pre-Nicene existence error was limited and when present, dealt with swiftly and (as I see it) pretty aggressively! Unity of belief is a real challenge, even to the nature of Jesus and the atonement and all the other basics these days - but there needs to be a core set of beliefs. This is of course a contentious area where some condem others to hell and damnations whilst others simple mock and ridicule the dinosaurs with their 'antiquated' thinking. But there needs to be unity and where this can't be found then it is better to divide and come together where agreement can be found that live in conflict.

Fellowship and Love - Out of the unity came a love for one another that saw the believers living in their own homes and yet, whilst maintaining their own homes and paying their way, supporting others as they had need. The words, "See how these Christians LOVE one another," springs to mind here! LOVE not LOATHE! A love which regarded the other believers as family (an active rendering of the word koinonia) and acted within that context.

Witness - those around them saw how the believers believed and how out of that belief, lived. people responded because they could see the reality of the Christian's faith and the way the word became made real in a lifestyle that was consisten with it.

Someone I met today told me how they'd like to go to church but found, if they did, that what was contained in the building of the same name was a bunch of people who appeared to resent them intruding into their only personal fiefdom of mowing, making the tea and whatever else was on view. It was church for the select and newcomers were definitely no welcome!m If this is who and what Church has become then the final element, Growing, can be forgotten completely. After all, can't see the church the person I met today finding favour with those outside if my sample of one is accurate in their telling of the story!

Growing - It is from the 'finding favour' that the numbers were added. People tend to go to the places where what they see is what they like. Of course the problem with the Acts church is that it was no like the community or the society in which it was found and this 'counter cultural' element is part of the difference that attracts. So, if we keep striving to make the Church look exactly like the world why should be be surprised when the world stops choosing to enge with Church and increase the numbers of believers - they already have what's on offer! It's called the world! Time to proclaim Jesus and stand for the Bible truths (and if you don't believe it's true then you're a goal down in terms of believing - after all if you can't believe the documents and you can't believe the Christ )and in the Christ) then you have a major hill to climb.

Prayer - Something that we don't do enough of (well I don't I'm sure) and when I do come across it happening it's all about 'telling God what you need!' rather than asking God what you need or how you need to live. Mind you, many I meet wouldn't listen to God if they heard Him because it would infringe their personal liberties, choices and rights to live the way He might wish :-( But people appreciate and respect commitment in others and one of the visible signs of this is in the visibly praying to the invisible God.

Breaking Bread - is another element. We do this because Jesus did it at the end of the last supper and the last cup of blessing and the breaking of bread speaks of unity, love, fellowship and this oneness with each other depicts a oneness with Him! We remember the Passover and the Passover meal in the upper room and the wedding banquet of the Lamb in the now - all points in time coalescing in that one act! Breaking bread is an act of unity - never a weapon of war!

So here you are - a quick splurge from the top of my head. Quick and dirty but not without merit (i hope) and something for those who tell me that they live in an 'Acts Church' to ponder on.

I certainly will be.

Pax

There's no pleasing Christians - is there?

Good Friday saw a good crowd turn out for the act of witness in Tamworth's St Editha's Square.

We had a good number met at the local castle grounds and, after prayer, they entered the town centre in a silent procession of witness to the day that it was and the sacrifice of Jesus, the Christ.

After an opening prayer and a couple of songs and a Bible reading we were treated to an excellent bit of street theatre as the trial before Pilate, the scourging and the crucifixion were acted out and then, after a challenging summing up we sang 'When I survey' and were dismissed - job done.

There was a prayer café who stayed for a couple of hours after the main event and they chatted, prayed and continued the witnessing and reaching out to good effect.

being my last time at organising the event I was happy that we'd done something of value that would have brought the Good Friday story into the experience (and hopefully understanding) of many who otherwise would not have been touched by the Gospel accounts that weekend (and probably never). All those who had committed to play a part had discharged their duties well.

Then the comments come in which talk of unhappiness about the 'wrong' tune for when I survey and how they couldn't see at the back and 'couldn't the player be miked' and 'why didn't they do it (the drama) at the top of the bank' and wasn't it 'too graphic' and "I never got a hot cross bun' and 'we didn't like . . . .'

Of course the street theatre company played to the crowd, on the ground, in front of them and even though they tried to engage the crowd (thanks go to the one person mad enough to cry for Barabbas to be freed and for Jesus to be crucified) it seems that they wanted (as one person put it) 'more theatre!!

Odd how we Christians can see the Good Friday witness as being for us rather than for the people in a town which boasts oh so few Christians. How we can dictate as to what we expect from the morning's witness and how, even though trying to get people to be involved is like pulling teeth, everyone knows how the morning should have been done - so many choose to be consumers rather than contributors (I understand we are not alone in this though - after all, we go to church to be blessed don't?).

Thanks to the sound men, musicians, prayer café, actors and all who played their part - and for those who complained, I'm passing your names over to the person organising next year to ensure that, as you know what is needed, everything will be perfect next year :-)

He is risen. Hallelujah

Holy Week Posters

When I was a child I remember seeing the majority of the houses around me having 'This is Holy Week' posters in their windows and realise that this was due to one of the local churchwardens sticking one through each and every letterbox!

First I have to, albeit belatedly, applaud the commitment of the warden for this was no mean task,

Secondly I have to wonder why the people put them in their windows, because we did and our family were anything but Christian in observance or attendance?

I've been looking around and find that as day two of Holy Week begins, I haven't seen a single poster.

For those of you who, as usual, are wondering what I'm on about, here's a version:

Now, was the placing of these peer pressure or something else?

Pax