Friday, February 18, 2011

an icon of the everyday: Mary holding the digital (to)day

I arrived at work to find this delightfully random moment …

I am in the midst of writing a course for distance. It’s all pretty chaotic, both in my head, on my desk and around my office floor. Before I left last night, I cleared my desk and placed a piece of paper on the noticeboard – a printed page of icons. Each icon signals the need for a student to read, to www, to reflect, to discuss, to do, to write, to media, to send.

Anyhow, overnight the “icon” paper had fallen. It had come to rest on my Mary icon (which I painted a number of years ago, and sits on my desk as a silent plea for me and my work).

So as I arrived today the paper icon, my workload, had randomly come to rest in Mary’s arms. Digital icon held by my ancient painted icon. A nicely random moment, an icon for my everyday, a random reminder to my cluttered head as it progresses throughout the day.

For more I’ve written on icons of Mary, prayer, mission and the church, go here

Posted by steve at 08:54 AM

Saturday, December 25, 2010

My first Christmas pastor-free

means
enjoying breakfast
slow,
with family

being upright post-prandial
stuffed, but not
from Christmas service

but whether pastor
or -free

the Christmas task
of unraveling hope in tinsel-town
of finding heavenly peace amid family wrappings
of defining love and joy
as glue stronger than glitter

Life’s view thru babies eyes
Christ, that’s hard

Posted by steve at 06:13 AM

Thursday, December 23, 2010

commercialism at Christmas? postures worth pondering (part 2)

Further to my commercialism at Christmas? An ancient story worth pondering, I came across this quote:

“Christmas celebrations …[are the] embodiement of consumer culture,” according to Russell Belk, 78.

So Christians need to be thinking carefully about how to respond to Christmas. As we plan, is our Jesus been co-opted, consumed even, by the marketplace? In the midst of canned carols, what’s our posture?

Anti: We choose to stand with the Gringe and moan. We wring out hands at the consumerism, the secularisation, the hype, the excess.  Despite such rhetoric, we will all continue to shop over the next days. Such is the enmeshment of the consumptive system we part of.

Alternative: “The very fact that consumerism continues to draw upon and inhabit religious ideas and events for its own ends also means that religion continues to quietly peddle its countercultural message … the sentimentalizing of the nativity story at the height of consumerist indulgence creates alternative spaces for different meanings.” (Martyn Percy, Engaging with Contemporary Culture, Ashgate, UK, 58)

In other words, we see a sort of symbiotic relationship, in which the very consumerism of the culture in fact opens up a space which makes elements of the Christian story more appealing, more present. In practical terms

  • the earlier the carols, the greater the importance of Advent themes, candles, resources
  • the more the stress, the more the chance for churches to provide quiet, reflective spaces
  • the more the pressure to spend, the more the chance to offer simplicity in card-making workshops or home-made gifts
  • the more the hype, the more the chance to offer community meals on Christmas Day
  • the more the family emphasis, the greater the chance to offer Blue Christmas services or carol sing to the elderly and lonely.

Such a posture still leaves us open to the charge that we are tilting at the surface, and not dealing with the systemic injustices of global consumerism.

Affirmation: Much exists in Christmas that Christianity might want to affirm. Charitable contributions peak at Christmas, while far flung families connect and reconnect (Russell W. Belk, “The Human Consequences of Consumer culture,” in Elusive Consumption, 67-86). All of these are reflections of God’s goodness in and through humanity and surely reasons for Christians to affirm parts of Christmas.

In a Western world, awash with consumption, what other “Christian Christmas” postures are you seeing?

Posted by steve at 12:10 PM

Monday, December 20, 2010

commercialism at Christmas? An ancient story worth pondering

A world-denying Jew heard the call to asceticism. He thought it a part of the commandments that he must do without good food, good wine, and the company of good women and friends in general. He took no place at their festive tables; he heard no good music and did without great art. All of this he did with an eye on the promise of paradise for the renouncer.

He died. He did indeed find himself in paradise.

But three days later, they threw him out because he understood nothing of what was going on.

Posted by steve at 03:19 PM

Sunday, December 05, 2010

ordination sermon: creationary re John the Baptist

A creationary: a space to be creative with the lectionary. For more resources go here.

I had the privilege of being asked to preach at the Uniting Church ordination of five folk today. For those interested, here is the sermon. A story, some theology and integration with U2’s Stand up comedy. (Since it is also based on the lectionary text for the day (Matthew 3:1-12), John the Baptist, I’ve added it to the creationary). (more…)

Posted by steve at 05:33 PM

Saturday, December 04, 2010

journey through advent: am I travelling well?

The art piece intrigued me. Positioned inside Spicer Uniting Church were three lifesized cutouts. Each was holding three bicycles. Faceless, they could be any human, about to embark on any adventure.

The art piece was a gift for Advent. Three humans, embarking on an adventure. Which got me thinking about the Magi.

The Magi appear in Matthew 2. The best translation is magician, sorcer, astrologer. There is considerable historical evidence of intense interest in stars and how the relate to world events at the time of Jesus. So we’re dealing there with a world in which people watched the stars in order to get a sort of heads up on significant matters.

I’d always seen the Magi as “them.” Strange, exotic. But looking at the art piece, I began to wonder, what if the Magi were “us”; were “me”? A human embarking on an adventure.

Magi are using their star seeking skills, committed to watching their world, and to seek God’s leading, whatever that might cost.  So the Magi’s journey through Advent, asks us some questions about how well I’m travelling.

  • First, it’s so much easier to guide a moving boat. So this Advent, am I moving? Or am I actually simply seated?
  • Second, this Advent how much attention am I, like the Magi, paying to the world around me. This Advent, how attentive am I to this moment, this place, this conversation?
  • Third, for a Jew, following the stars was a form of idol worship. So by including the Magi, Matthew is telling us that all sorts of people can seek Jesus. (Not always from folks we’d prefer.) This Advent, how open am I to unexpected people among whom God might be at work?

This post is part of an Advent synchroblog, titled journey through Advent.

Posted by steve at 04:57 PM

Wednesday, December 01, 2010

Fresh expressions as church at Advent birth

I’ve been working hard over the last few weeks on an article for the Anvil journal, titled Evaluating Birth narratives: A Missiological Conversation with Fresh Expressions. It’s the write up of what I presented in September in Durham in which I interview UK alternative worship leaders and communities about how they began, and then reflect on implications for being church/ecclesiology.

In trying to make sense of what I was writing on Friday, I made the following graphic, based on the Orans Icon.

And here is a section of the paper, which I post because we are now in Advent.

The most likely place to find a birthing ecclesiology should be with regard to Incarnation. Indeed, for Williams, in Ponder These Things: Praying With Icons of the Virgin “[i]magining Mary in words and pictures has always been one of the most powerful ways of imagining the Church, and so of imagining ourselves freshly.” This is based on a theological meditation on Orthodox icons, specifically The Hodegetria, The Eleous and The Orans.

With regard to the Orans Icon, Mary stands facing us, hands extended in prayer. For Williams, “Here is Christ praying in Mary. Mary becomes, as the Church becomes, a ‘sign’ in virtue of the action of Christ within her … There is plenty here for us to think about in relation to the Church’s life.” Given that “the art of making icons is often termed “writing” rather than “painting”, such an Icon offers what could be termed a birthing ecclesiology, in which the body of Christ is linked with the Body of Christ, most specifically in the pre-natal life of Christ. (here)

Williams’ ecclesiology is formed in the invitation to consider Mary; hands open to God, with eyes open to the world. “If Mary is indeed the image of the true Church … [it is a church] … Hands open to God, eyes open to the world; and within, the hidden energy that soaks the Church with divine action, divine love.” Further, “[t]he church is the humanity Christ has made possible; its real history is the history of particular persons realizing by the Spirit’s gift the new potential for human nature once it has been touched by divine agency, divine freedom, in Christ.” This provides a way to evaluate Fresh Expressions.

With a (birthing) Mary as an image, so can (the birthing) of Fresh Expressions be evaluated by considering how it imitates the posture of Mary, hands open to God, eyes open to the world, a gift of new potential.

Posted by steve at 07:58 AM

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Christmas crafting with Mary: another entry in the dictionary for everyday spirituality

I continue to find enormous enrichment from Rowan Williams Advent reflections, Ponder These Things: Praying With Icons of the Virgin. I’m into a second daily devotional read. And I think it will inform the service of ordination sermon I’m down to preach on December 5. Here’s what I read today:

Mary, one legend says, was brought up in the Temple precincts; and, like the other young ladies living in this rather strange boarding school, she was occupied for a lot of her time in weaving the veil of the sanctuary. When they drew lots, she was assigned the weaving of the purple and the scarlet thread, and was sent home to Nazareth to spin. She takes up the scarlet wool; pauses to go to the well for water and is greeted by the Gabriel as she goes. But she sees no one and returns, anxious and flustered, to the spinning wheel. This time, she takes up the purple – and Gabriel stands before her and announces her future. (60)

While this is creative re-imagination, it does encourage a creative, crafted approach to Christmas and Christian spirituality. It is an invitation to craft, to hand-make Christmas cards, to paint an icon, to bake some Christmas muffins. And in these very acts of domesticity, to expect that encounter with God and an invitation to bear new life, that spirituality can be woven into the fabric of our ordinary lives, that discernment of God’s threads in our life need not be instant, but can be slowly unravelled.

(I’m also adding this to the A-Z dictionary of everyday spirituality. In this case C is for crafts. For more on domestic spirituality, especially in regard to gender, see here.)

Posted by steve at 09:54 AM

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

the emerging church and the wilderness of God (old post but good post)

Back in 2004, I wrote a post titled – the emerging church and the wilderness of God. I was doing some sermon prep today and it seemed oddly appropriate, both for the sermon, for the emerging church in 2010 and for my current state of being. So I’m reposting it, for posterity’s sake ….

Christianity emerges from a wilderness spirituality;
John the Baptist, camel haired and with locust wings in mouth, emerges from the desert;
Jesus in preparation for ministry, walks into the wilderness;
Israel finds God in the desert, where in the wilderness Moses is called and a nation is shaped.
The rough places and tough spaces become the place of encounter with God.

So what is the place of a wilderness spirituality in the emerging church? A book like The Shape of Things to Come takes growth – in the early church, in China – as the benchmark. A history of vitality becomes the shaping spirituality. When the emerging church emerges from the evangelical church in the US, a history of vitality is the shaping spirituality.

So what of a wilderness spirituality? Where is the encountering of God in the rough and tough? How does the emerging church embrace the wilderness, rather than the myths and shadows of vitality.

Is it time for the emerging church to find new partners in its spirituality? Is it time to stop dreaming of early church glory and embrace God in the rough?

I wonder if this is where the experience of the de-churched becomes redemptive gift. Those who have entered the wilderness and have learnt to find God in the raw might have spiritual gifts to offer.

Wilderness God
Hidden in the deep valley
Obscured by rocky outcrop

This Advent
May we be found in Your wilderness.

(for the comments, which added some rich layers go here)

Posted by steve at 10:35 AM

Friday, October 01, 2010

pioneer leaders as attending to birth narratives (thanks Rowan Williams)

A few days later, I wrote a post reflecting on the need for pioneer training not as technique and structure, but as a way of deepening spiritual and emotional intelligence. I read the following quote this morning:

“And the sense Christ makes is not in his masterly reorganization of the world, his provision of explanations and programmes, but in his comprehensive loving, forgiving attention to the world that has somehow brought him to birth.” (Rowan Williams in the brilliant Ponder These Things: Praying With Icons of the Virgin).

This fits with my presentation at the Evaluating Fresh Expressions Research Consultation, including the image that I used during the presentation, of fresh expressions emerging from the Orans icon.

Christ is wanting to be made real in the world. As Mary says yes, so to we are invited to say yes, to be part of bringing to birth fresh expressions of the body of Christ.

This is not steady as she Sunday goes leadership. This is why I major on listening and discerning in my leadership courses. In the 21st century, new forms of church are being brought to birth and we are invited to pay attention to what is being brought to birth, to recognise the contours of Christ. This is leadership that seeks to be both spiritually and emotionally intelligent.

Posted by steve at 11:16 AM

Saturday, December 26, 2009

neat (liturgical) way to celebrate Christmas

From Wales, a church taking nativity outdoors, with various stations scattered around their community.

Because the Holy Trinity Church in Greenfield is closed for building works, we had a choice this year to do nothing, or to take the opportunity to do something different to mark Christmas in the community.

We wanted to give the community the opportunity to be part of the story, rather than just listening to it or sitting through a service done for them by others. Everyone had a part to play in our Living Nativity and it included the whole community because we walked the streets of the village telling the story. As well as traditional readings and carols we heard from the not-so-wise ‘wise man’ shopping for the baby Jesus, we heard the tale of the farmer, irate that the shepherd would leave his sheep and go into town, we heard from the ‘village gossips’ about Mary and Joseph running away together because of the ‘illegitimate’ child. The story, as well as Jesus, was brought down to earth this Christmas in Greenfield.

…. I believe the event showed that Christmas is not just about presents, tinsel and turkey, or even about going to church once a year, but about something which is shared out amongst the community.

Good stuff. Christmas started outdoors. Then there was the Francis of Assisi inspired first ever outdoor nativity sets. It’s such a shame to Christmas re-captured by church buildings.

Posted by steve at 02:46 PM

Friday, December 25, 2009

the christmas eve christingle caught on fire

So I thought, being a Baptist, I’d have a crack at the Christingle idea. As Baptists can do, with our liturgical freedom to sample, make do, grab and borrow. And it being the 7pm Christmas Eve service, and built around a nativity tablaeu, the story told through carol and reading, meaning it only needed a short summary.

  • I liked the orange – God so loved the world.
  • I liked the orange being rotten – a knife to get rid of the gung.
  • I liked the candle – the light of the world.
  • I liked the toothpicks pointing in four directions – God for all nations.
  • I liked the fruits on the end – that the light of the world changes us.
  • But I didn’t like the red bow – the blood of Christ. It’s Christmas Eve, not Easter. It’s God with us. So the bow got switched for a nappy. (And a piece of nappy also attached to the service sheet, to be used as a tactile, participatory prayer).

So I made the Christingle and the kids were really attentive and it was great. I gave the benediction and out came the Christmas cake. Lots of people hanging around, neat sense of community, lots of positive feedback. All these Baptists have never seen anything like this before!

I’m feeling quite pleased. Until I smelt a smell. (more…)

Posted by steve at 06:46 PM

Thursday, December 24, 2009

opawa blessings practically

There has been one more layer to our Advent blessing series. I work really hard on “layering” our mission and worship life, providing multiple ways for people to engage, see more angles. So there has been the

And each week there has been practical Advent Opawa blessings. Like

1. We have a missionary returning to Puerto Rico to work with the deaf community on 1st January. So one week we invited people to buy gifts for the kids she works with. We made up bookmarks that had some suggestions and some details. And during the notices, we asked if anyone wanted to give a gift to a 14 year old boy, or a 10 year old girl, etc.

2. We are holding a local community Christmas dinner, for folk in our community who would rather not eat alone. It’s more a participative, relational event than a charity dinner, in that everyone who comes is expected to sign up to do something – cook, or serve, or clean. So during the notices, we asked if anyone would like to give some new potatoes, or frozen peas, or cream, or crackers. And so those in the church who can’t come get to participate.

3. Each year on Advent 1, we make a combined church Christmas cake. At Advent 4, we cut up bits of the cake and put names and addresses of our old folk who are unable to join us for Christmas. During the notices we ask if there are people from the church who might be willing to take the cake and to pop in on Christmas Eve to say hi and remind them of Opawa’s love for them. It’s a neat, practical way of connecting the generations.

So those are Opawa blessings, that have made practical for us as a community the 4 Advent blessing cards, allowing us to participate as able and each uniquely, in our mission, home and away, inside and outside our church community.

Posted by steve at 10:02 AM

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

kiva loans for Christmas

I’m playing with Kiva loans and Christmas and mission. (More info here).

1. At our Christmas services we often create interaction by asking who’s come the furthest, who’s up the earliest etc, who’s had the most Christmas’s. We often give out a little prize. So why not give out a Kiva gift voucher? It would splendidly capture the spirit of Christmas and would connect local with global mission.

Updated: Church manager said yes. We’ve had financial gifts flowing in all week, for us to give as appropriate. Yee ha.

2. Why not give Kiva as a Christmas gift. Imagine the kids on Christmas afternoon, huddled over the computer, deciding who they’re going to loan to, and letting them align themselves with global mission. Much more Christian use of time than trashing some toy.

3. Use Kiva to kickstart micro-finance in your community. Give out 20 lots of $25 (total $500), to people in your church. A random surprise one Sunday. Some churches ask for money, we give money! After 6 months invite them to a Kiva evening, to share what they gave to and what has happened. Use that energy to ask questions:

  • Could we do micro-loans in our community?
  • What questions would we need to ask first?

Send people off to do research, and bring a recommendation to your church community. Give out locally, 20 lots of “microfinance.” After 6 months, meet for yet another, but this time local, Kiva evening, to share stories and see what the next step is.

What is Kiva? Glad you asked? Use this video (and below) on Christmas morning, with your kids and at your Kiva evenings.

Posted by steve at 10:03 PM