Ecumenism and an apology
Firstly and before I go on to write about what I want to write about today I want to apologise for being so tardy in publicising the comments everyone made on Foo Fighters and the comment from LettyandDollyin our continued argument about what it means to be Christian (check it out as there are some really good points coming up and we all need to be clear where we stand). I have no good excuses I have just been rather busy!
And now to my main thoughts today. Today I have mostly been thinking about….
Ecumenism – Or why what the Pope said matters
I have lived a slightly unorthodox religious life. I am aware of that. I have worshipped in more churches in my short life than most people even visit. Because my father was in the forces we moved on average every 3 years. Some churches we went to were lively with large congregations, some churches were tiny, my family was the congregation. Some churches used guitars, some had statues of the Virgin and some even used incense. I have been confirmed as a Methodist and an Anglican ( in the same ceremony) I have married a Catholic and I visit a Catholic nun for spiritual direction and take retreats at a Catholic monastery.
With a background like this it is easy for me to see the common ground that we all have as Christians. Everywhere I have been accepted and loved by the Christians I have met – whether we hold the same beliefs about prayer, intercession and communion or not. Almost all liturgies are the same, down to the very words. (In fact our words and structure of worship as Christians are even incredibly close to the structure of a Jewish service I have been too – which shouldn’t surprise any of us.)
The point I am making is that our differences – our liturgies, our approaches, the physical things we hold so closely to that we think make us different from other denominations are really not that different. This is why what the Pope has done recently – allowing a kind of Anglican enclave to be grafted onto the Catholic Church while retaining many of the more distinctive Anglican prayers, liturgy etc to remain – is of great interest to me. It opens the doors to more Anglicans joining the Catholic Church in a kind of half way house move that means they can retain their Anglicanism but take communion with Catholics. And this issue of communion has always been the cause of most emotional worry and concern to me – specifically the refusal of the Catholic Church to allow Anglicans to take communion. The very point where we as Christians are supposed to be united, the unifying meal that springs out of the Jewish statement of identity in the Passover feast, the common action that distinguishes Christians from any other faith group- is restricted We can worship together, we can’t eat together. I feel a bit like the Samaritan woman whenever I go to a Catholic service (which I do quite a bit with my husband).
Why is this important? Well, maybe it will help to start to break down barriers between us. Maybe the stuck in the mud attitude of Forward in Faith to women priests and homosexuals will become the Trojan Horse by which we as Catholics and Protestants begin to discover our common language, instead of focusing on what divides us.
God does what he wants despite us, that is one thing I do know and anything that can draw us closer together should be celebrated. I watch with interest and with hope because when we finally leave this earth I can’t believe the first thing God is going to ask any of us is
“And what denomination are you?”
1 comment November 1, 2009
I have just spent a happy 15 minutes playing the latest game from the C4 education team and sixtostart. It’s called smokescreen and it’s a cunning way to engage C4’s education audience in real issues around online identity and digital safety etc.
Have a go to get into the mind of your nearest 14 year old – and get your nearest 14 year old to have a go so that they understand that implications and pitfalls of identity online.
Gaming well, learning well.
Add comment September 9, 2009
Summer of music 2
Hooray! Only 2 days to Greenbelt and I am rather over-excited (though that could just be the Diet Coke). Appropriately enough for any of you who have been following my discussions with LettyandDolly on the post links-for-2009-08-05 one of the first events is a talk entitled “Is Britain Christian and does it have to be?” so obviously I will be attending that!
Then looking forward to Ann Morisy’s talk on “time to re-envision our faith” – though I must declare an interest as she goes to my church – and to Pete Rollins who is always fascinating and is talking about “The birth of Christianity and the death of meaning.” and Jon Bounds on all things interwebs.
But this is about music! So who am I looking forward to hearing?
Duke Special
Athlete
Dans le Sac and Scroobius Pip
Royksopp (!!)
and Cornershop
And that is why I like festivals. I don’t have to move half an inch to hit a great band all weekend. Bliss.
Add comment August 26, 2009
links for 2009-08-05
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I went to PGL for my summer holiday camp experience but I really valued the first time I went to Greenbelt and was able to socialised with 30,000 other Christians. The chance to play and be yourself in a society where our faith is increasingly a minority one can only be valuable for young people who know what they believe.
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Downloadable paper on using web 2.0 in churches.
12 comments August 6, 2009
links for 2009-07-23
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It just made me laugh! And yoga can be very spiritual.
Add comment July 24, 2009
links for 2009-07-07
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Games as satire – playful on more than one count, and who knows it might educate the young'uns about the evils of "securing yourself a comfortable retirement"
Add comment July 8, 2009
Summer of music 1
Well, my summer of music has well and truly kicked off. Some of it explicity Christian, some of it just a message from God to my heart, and some of it not Christian just an expression of the joy and alive-ness that music creates.
1. Pet Shop Boys concert
One of the songs that speaks most to my heart is Se A Vida E by the Pet Shop Boys. They are one of those bands that I enjoyed as a teenager and then left behind. I listened to other people’s albums but never had one of my own and they dropped off my radar.
After a particularly bad time in my life I finally left Oxford, a job that was wrong for me and moved to London. This coincided with the release of that song by the Pet Shop Boys and the moment I heard it I felt God talking straight to my heart about the joy of being alive and of his leading me into a new, better phase of my life. Every time I hear it I am moved and reminded of his love for me.
I don’t know what they would think about it, I don’t much care. I do know what many Christians would think about it and again, I don’t much care. I’m just thankful that they wrote it and it was a highlight for me of their recent amazing concert at the O2 in London. My feelings about them are a lot like my feelings about the music of Foo Fighters which I have written about in other posts – God can use any means at his disposal to speak to us, if we are ready to listen and he gives the gifts of his talents where he chooses not where we think he should so non-Christians can deliver the most important Christian messages and Christians can drive people away from God not towards him.
2. Chandos Chamber Choir concert
I sing in this choir, the Chandos Chamber Choir , and last Saturday night we performed our summer concert. The concert was all sacred music – Faure’s Requiem and Vierne’s Messe Sollenelle. Completely contrasting and both pieces are powerful and beautiful.
It was one of the best concerts we have ever given – and one of the most poorly attended. But that didn’t matter. It reminded me how much I love singing. Yes, there is a buzz associated with a large audience, but that’s not why I do it. Singing, like writing, creates “flow” in my life. It is an expression of the most fundamental parts of me (exhibitionist and musician) and as such very much part of my faith. When I sing or make music I am being my most fundamental self and that is what God creates us to be. It’s irrelevant whether someone can hear you or see you (or read you!) what matters is the eternal connection that comes from being fully yourself and fully alive.
That’s what music does for me. It brings me closer to God and there will be more this summer!
Add comment July 3, 2009
links for 2009-06-23
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A surprising and beautiful collection of modern art, and great commentary alongside it. An internet treasure.
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Beautiful and playful interactive from the Royal Opera House. It's not true that truth and beauty are interchangeable but this site comes close to it!
Add comment June 24, 2009
links for 2009-06-15
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And following my theme of lists…..
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Fascinating extract from book called Well Played 1.0 – contributions from 22 authors. This one addresses 2 games – Portal and Passage. Passage is a "memento mori" a way of playing a "life" through, no moral judgements, just some interesting options for your "life". Portal is about moving through puzzle space via doors/portals. It's just one article in the book that looks at playing well, and being "well-played", like well read. But as yet I haven't found a judgement of playing well as in ethics/spirituality within the games.
Add comment June 16, 2009
links for 2009-06-11
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I might do my own one of these. Check it out and enjoy!
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Another interesting resource I picked up from Christian Mystic. This time an article from Road to Emmaus an Orthodox Journal. This article is about CS Lewis and Deification.
Add comment June 12, 2009
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