Christmas listening, watching and reading

As well as family, food and drink, Christmas - for me without responsibilities to lead worship and preach - has provided some space for listening, watching and reading.

I've thoroughly enjoyed listening to the 'four' CD's I received. The first, the newly released box-set of the Beethoven Symphonies with Riccardo Chailly and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra - don't ask how many other sets I've got! Steve Reich's Music for 18 Musicians - beautiful, minimalist, repetitive music, which caused some 'interesting' responses from some family members. Bach Oboe Concertos and Sinfonias, played by Heinz Holliger, who recently turned seventy and still plays with virtuosity and extraordinary musicianship. And Paul Mealor, A Tender Light, which has some hauntingly beautiful songs, performed superbly by Tenebrae.

As for watching, this included 'The Holly and the Ivy', a black and white movie starring Ralph Richardson torn between his roles as a clergyman and a father - thanks Chris and Frances for the present. And The Lemon Tree, a film which tells the story of a Palestinian widow defending her lemon tree field when a new Israeli Minister of Defence moves next to her - it's real, challenging and moving. We thought that The Artist might be on general release but we'll have to wait until 6 January.

Other notable watching also including listening to the BBC2 broadcast of the Royal Opera House's stunning production of Tosca, with an entertaining introductory documentary with Antonio Pappano. Darcey Bussell Dances Hollywood, was stunning in a different way! And then Claudio Abbado's Mahler 9 with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra on DVD, another Christmas present.  This performance concludes with three minutes of silence before the audience gives a standing ovation.

As for reading, Mary Oliver's New and Selected Poems, Vol. 2, is everything I expected it to be. If you haven't come across her poetry, a small extract from Everything:
'I want to make poems that say right out, plainly,
     what I mean, that don't go looking for the
laces of elaboration, puffed sleeves. I want to
      keep close and use often words like
heavy, heart, joy, soon, and to cherish
      the question mark and her bold sister

the dash...'

The poem concludes,
                                      'I want to make poems
that look into the earth and the heavens
      and see the unseeable. I want them to honour
both the heart of faith, and the light of the world;
      the gladness that says, without any words, everything.'


And finally I've begun Eugene Peterson's The Pastor, which does to me what all of his books do, that is, remind me of my primary calling and help me to recalibrate.

Lest this all sound a bit serious, there has been much family, food and drink. Let January commence properly tomorrow.

Advent and Creativity

What is it about Advent that seems to let loose a deluge of creativity? Is it because it's the beginning of the new church year; or because ordinary time has seemed so long prior to the Kingdom Season which doesn't really do it for many people; or because it's the first of three seasons which have a natural and progressive movement about them? Or is it because there is something about Advent which is essentially generative?

Repeatedly people say that Advent is their favourite season, and I'm one of them! This week I assembled our home Advent Candle wreath and crafted some words and prayers for each Sunday; I set up the daily Advent Candle; I sorted out the Advent playlist on iTunes; and thought about some reading for the season. And I began to recall some of the great works of art, and poems, that are informed by Advent themes.

I came across this brilliant video clip on Godspace which entertains and informs - Advent in 2 Minutes.

And also these beautiful words from John Van De Laar.

‘Advent reminds us that there is a new world coming – always coming. It also teaches us that this new world does not remove the realities of the old world, at least not yet. Rather, the new world exists in the midst of the old one. The signs of suffering and trauma that we see every day are not an indication that God’s reign has failed, or that God is not coming, or even that we still need to wait for some future fulfilment when all will be set right. Rather, the suffering we experience in this world is an opportunity for us to encounter God and to help others to do the same. The struggles of this life are a call to embody now the grace and restoration of God, so that we become the manifestation of God’s motivation and the channel of God’s presence and activity for those around us.

'Our challenge, as we begin the Advent journey again this year, is to hold fast to faith and to live, as best we can, in the midst of the struggling world, the hope-filled life of Christ. Despair is not an option for us. Rather, as we celebrate God’s coming, hope becomes the fountain from which our joy, our love and our life of Christlikeness can flow.’ 

AnamCara

At the Baptist Order Convocation, someone quoted from a booklet, AnamCara: Collegial Clergy Communities by Mahan Siler. A number of us were captivated and so we ordered some copies from the States.

It really is a booklet and not a book, but this slim volume is dense with beautiful writing and deep wisdom.

'How do you stoke the fire of soul within your institutional role? How do you keep alive your curiosity about this mysterious generosity that wants to surge through you and your ministry? How do you lead with passion and vision within a congregation that may desire more management than leadership, more comfort than challenge, more efficiency than effectiveness?

'My response from fifty years in our vocation, is this: You cannot by yourself. Without soul friends, vital pastoral leadership is not possible. A single log will not remain aflame.'

And another extract, 'How do we get to that place where the Music of the gospel becomes again and again more important than we are? With friends, I submit. I imagine pastors circling up with other colleagues to "jam", to lose and find themselves again in the Music. I picture AnamCara as one of those gathering places where vocational friends, practice, improvise, harmonise, note the discordant sounds, learn from one another, laugh with one another over mistakes - in other words, to love the Music together.'

Reflections on Time and Music

I've read two posts this last week which have reflected in different ways on time using music as a pattern. One is from Glen in relation to spirituality; the other from Stephen Hough on pleasure: its delights and dangers. Because music takes place in time as well as taking time, and because by its very nature it's elusive and can't be freeze-framed, seized, captured, it provides a rich means of connecting with dimensions of life that are similarly elusive and hard to grasp.

Welcome to Rev Jeannie's Poetry Blog

I met Jeannie when I was a student assistant in a church in South London. And all these years later it's a delight to meet again as colleagues and friends. I was so pleased when Jeannie told me at the Baptist Order Convocation that she'd begun a blog. She's a deeply insightful human being who knows how to use words, as you'll see in the poem she read at the Eucharist in the Chapel and posted on Friday.  So do visit her at Rev Jeannie's Poetry Blog.

CBA Ministers' Conference

One conference over and another one to go! The Ministers' Conference went really well. Jonathan Edwards and Kathryn Morgan were great. And Nick Spencer from Theos, who I hadn't heard before, was very impressive. Keith Judson and Tim helped us relax at the end of the day with some entertaining, thoughtful, sometimes humorous, sometimes bitter-sweet, songs.

There are many things that I could comment on which were nourishing. But a couple of things in particular that have stayed with me: Dan Foster's sax playing; and the privilege of praying and anointing with oil those who chose to come forward after Communion. It felt to me as though we were standing on holy ground.

I'm now at the Baptist Order Convocation, which is a huge contrast and already I'm feeling refreshed by the space, the pace, and the comparative silence.

CBA Ministers' Conference

This week's a bit crazy! Before the Baptist Order Convocation, running from Wednesday to Friday, is the CBA Ministers' Conference from Monday to Wednesday!! This year the theme is 'Faith in the Market Place' and the speakers are Jonathan Edwards, General Secretary of the Baptist Union, Nick Spencer from the public theology think-tank, Theos, and Kathryn Morgan, Baptist Union Mission Advisor. We've got Keith Judson performing, with son Tim, at an after-hours session on Tuesday evening, and I'm preaching at the final communion. I'm looking forward to it and it promises to be another really good conference.

On Wednesday, straight after lunch, I'll leave King's Park, Northampton and catch my breath as I drive down the M1 to London Colney to begin the next event!  Come Friday I fully expect to have had a varied, rich and exhausting week!

First Baptist Order Convocation

From Wednesday to Friday of next week, 12-14 October, we will be holding the first Baptist Order Convocation.  

Well over two years ago, four of us, close friends for many years, found ourselves talking about the possibility of a Baptist Order. We invited another friend who had some more developed thinking to join the conversation. This took place in Oxford in October 2009 and we agreed to take things further. We each invited a friend on a similar journey to a 24 hour conversation, and also we asked someone to facilitate the gathering. On 11-12 March 2010  eleven of us met in Warminster and through a process of discernment produced The Dream, which has been something of a foundational document since. How this came about - from thoughts going in every direction to something quite coherent - had a touch of the awesome about it! 

We met again on several other occasions but hosted a further conversation in January of this year to which we invited those who we thought might be interested. And over 50 people travelled to Milton Keynes. As expected, many questions were raised in addition to those we were asking ourselves. We're still working through these and there is no hurry, but there was a real sense of affirmation and a desire to take things further.

At the heart of what we're doing is a commitment to prayer and attentiveness through a daily rhythm of prayer, spiritual accompaniment and retreat. And there's a commitment to gather, regularly in a cell, and annually as an Order. Acknowledging a debt of gratitude to communities like the Northumbria Community and the Franciscan Third Order, we're continuing to explore ways in which we acknowledge our belonging to the universal Church and yet express that which is distinctively Baptist. This is no small task but one that feels hugely worthwhile.

It seems as though we're on an adventure with that mixture of both excitement and apprehension. I have to say that I'm really looking forward to what could be a significant milestone on the journey.

Mobile phones going off in concerts

I really enjoyed this photo I saw on a bassoon-playing friend's Facebook!

EBF Council - Day Four

The final day combined business and pleasure with an afternoon tour taking in the Mount of Beatitudes and Capernaum, concluding with another great meal including St Peter fish and chips!

The morning included a report from Paul Montacute from the Baptist World Alliance, who reminded me that globally Baptists number some 110 million! This was Paul's last Council as he soon retires and I was reminded of my first contact with him back in 1988 when we were both involved in the Baptist World Alliance Youth Conference in Glasgow. I was conducting the orchestra alongside Graham Kendrick's band.

The two resolutions agreed by the Council were on topical issues. The first concerned the ongoing conflict in Israel and Palestine and included a call for unity among the EBF and an invitation to the world family of Baptists to pray and work for freedom and justice in the Middle East and Arab world. The second resolution expressed sorrow and solidarity with the people of Norway and the Baptist Union of Norway following the recent attacks in Oslo and on the Island of Utoya.  The resolve is that as member Unions of the EBF we stand up for the rights of those marginalised in their countries.

We said farewell to Valeriu Ghiletchi, the outgoing President, and inducted and greeted Hans Guderian as the new President.  Hans spoke movingly of his three visits to Israel, the first as a self-conscious German visiting Israel. He set out three challenges that face the EBF: secularisation - which leads to a tiredness and a lack of expectation; nationalism - which provokes anxieties concerning the stranger; and injustice, which is the cry not only of the people in North Africa but also the people in Madrid and Tel Aviv.

We were formally invited to the Council next year which meets in Elstal, Germany, not far from Berlin.

On Sunday morning I preach at the Nazareth Baptist Church, the oldest Baptist Church in Israel, and then head for home. It's been a good Council, made special by the location. This sort of event is a reminder to me that I'm part of something bigger. I'm constantly struck by the diversity among us, and at the same time an obvious and expressed unity. Once more I'm challenged by the very limited resources that some of the Unions have in comparison to ours. Again I've enjoyed making new friends and getting to know existing friends better.

EBF Council - Day Three

After Friday morning worship, at which Munir Kakish, the Pastor of Ramallah Baptist Church, spoke with great energy, the majority of the morning was given over to a presentation by Musulaha, an organisation working for biblical reconciliation in the Holy Land. The two speakers were Evan Thomas from the Messianic Jewish community and Salim Munayer from the Evangelical Palestinian community.

On this day of all days, with the Palestinian Leader Mahmoud Abbas's request for recognised statehood at the United Nations General Assembly, it was timely to hear from two individuals who might well have represented opposing positions speaking as one.

Evan recognised in his opening that the Israel/Palestine situation was an insoluble, intractable conflict-out-of-control. Movingly he related three stories of how he came to be involved in the reconciliation process. The first was the experience of being a soldier at a security point in Gaza. On one occasion he found himself doing what was expressly forbidden: looking into the face of the person whose body was being searched, only to be met with the gaze of a Palestinian Christian brother.

Their presentation contained no easy answers but many valuable insights. They commented on the power of collective memory, noting that the day each year when Israelis celebrate their independence and the formation of a state, the Arab Palestinian community commemorate the day of Great Tragedy. They reflected on the dehumanisation inherent in body searches, and the pull towards the demonisation of the other, adding that when God's brought into the equation things can become considerably worse!

There was the recognition of the reality that the situation is as though the Palestinians and the Israelis are living in one very small house and intermingling is unavoidable. It's always tense, even in the forums within the church.

They drew upon the great reconciliation passages in the scriptures, from Ephesians 2 and 2 Corinthians 5. And they went on to review conflicting theologies. It would have been especially helpful to hear about their process of making peace but even within a generous portion of the morning there wasn't time.

This was a particularly stimulating part of the Council and one that I found especially interesting. Clearly there are no straightforward solutions though there are seeds of hope. Part of the way forward, as exemplified by Musulaha, is that of living together and staying with the pain while recognising the enormous cost that this unity entails.

During the day there were other good things that were brought as information and encouragement, and a chunk of time in the afternoon was given over to seminars. In the evening the whole Council visited the Nazareth Baptist School, where we enjoyed a delicious Middle Eastern BBQ followed with a presentation by the Association of Baptist Churches in Israel. This was interesting but, for me, familiar!

EBF Council - Day Two

Thursday morning included a number of reports - it is a Council meeting after all! Tony Peck, the General Secretary, reflected widely on the kind of society we want, where God's kingdom is, and the task of engaging our society. He noted that several Middle East leaders weren't with us because of the huge changes in their countries. He made a plea for religious freedom, alluding to Thomas Helwys' Short Declaration of 1612.

We heard a report from the International Baptist Theological Seminary in Prague (IBTS) which went on to update the Council on the financial situation and options.

It was particularly good to hear from three delegates who shared stories from their churches. The first was from Terje Aadne, the General Secretary of the Norwegian Baptist Union, reflecting on the attacks in Norway. He spoke movingly about the deep shock that has affected the nation and the way that the nation has been united in this tragedy with a resolve to stay together and protect democratic values. The church, both State and Baptist, is making a significant contribution, having opened wide its doors in the days following.

Christer Daelander spoke of his relationship with the Baptists in Uzbekistan and shared something of the struggles of the church in a context where they face significant opposition and persecution. We heard from another delegate about an exciting church planting initiative in Latvia.

Late afternoon we had a break and visited the Nazareth Village which is an authentic reconstruction of a village from the time of the first century -an interesting experience culminating with excellent food! It was especially good to meet up with friends from the Association of Baptist Churches (ABC) with whom the Central Baptist Association (CBA) has a relationship through the Baptist Twinning in Israel (BTI) - with apologies for acronym overkill!

One of the most enjoyable and rewarding aspects of the Council takes place in the conversations during meals, breaks, and over a drink, when stories are told, new perspectives gained, connections made, and friendships formed.

EBF Council - Day One

Yesterday was a travel day, exacerbated slightly by not being able to use air space over Greece. But it was in fine company and even EasyJet wasn't too uncomfortable.

A nice touch - at Luton Airport, Ian Handscombe, one of the chaplains, met us in the departure lounge and then came to see us off as we went through to the plane. Michael Banfield, the Senior Chaplain does a tremendous job and is greatly appreciated among the 8,000 staff who work at the airport.

We've now begun the first of the sessions, commencing with worship which was sung in Arabic and English. It was special to hear the reading from Luke 1, 'In the sixth month the Angel Gabriel was sent by God to a village in Galilee called Nazareth.' Karin Wiborn from Sweden emphasised 'Here in Nazareth' and stressed how the annunciation needs to take place in our lives.

This Council takes place at a very significant time for Israel and Palestine and there will be opportunities to pray for peace for Israel and Palestine.

European Baptist Federation in Israel

Life is rarely monotonous! Two Sundays ago I was preaching in a small rural church with just a few people - we had a good morning! Last Sunday I was at the Milton Keynes City Church, Christ the Cornerstone, for their Covenant Service with a large attendance. This coming Sunday I'm preaching at one of the Baptist churches in Nazareth, Israel.

I will be attending the European Baptist Federation Council which starts today and concludes on Saturday. I hope to post, given time and internet access. I'm really looking forward to being there and particularly to hearing the perspective of those from the Middle East.

If you're asking 'How does Israel and the Middle East feature in a European Federation?' I'm tempted to say, 'If it's good enough for the Eurovision Song Contest ...' The fact is that many of these unions and conventions are there because of strong relationships with European Baptists and they're most welcome.