Wooden toothbrush?

Keeping our teeth, and planet clean are both vital. BBC's Blue Planet II showed vividly just how much the oceans are being polluted by mega-tons of plastic, from microbeads to rope, to bottles galore. How can you and I make a difference?

www.ecowatch.com

We need to make the switch go, to be persistent. What switch? The one that changes our behaviour, both individually and internationally. On her recent visit to China, Prime Minister May gave President Xi Jinping a copy of Blue Plant II. It contained a note that both countries should do their bit to phase out plastic. Iceland supermarkets have promised to do that in 5 years, and our government in 25 which is far too slow.

Each of us has purchasing power, which can make a real difference when it adds up. Fair Trade is a good example of that, and we encourage it through regular stalls at our Churches. What and how we purchase makes a difference, so what about cleaning teeth?

I enjoyed some banter in a local hostelry when I raised the issue. I've just bought my first wooden toothbrush, and I like its feel. When worn out I won't be adding it to landfill, where plastic toothbrushes die. Mine will join kindling wood to help me keep warm.

We did discuss whether a tooth brush could be made of pork scratchings! Once you have cleaned your teeth, you would eat the brush. Sounds great, but of course you need to clean your teeth again.

Jesus said we need to keep on working at what makes a difference. Keep on seeking solutions. Keep praying for inspiration and power for one another. I've been impressed by the Alpha course we've been running. The last session was on making a difference, and it reminded us of William Wilberforce who was determined to get Parliament to pass a law abolishing slavery. It took him about seven attempts, and he only succeeded a few days before he died.

Let's make a difference to clean up our planet.

Change! What change?

Increasing change is the norm
The date of old photographs can often be determined by fashions being worn: man-wigs, flared trousers, beehive hairdos, turn-ups. But now there're several fashion changes each year, so dating today's pictures won't be easy.

www.heritagecostumes.com

Recently our capacity to communicate has increased amazingly, with new platforms coming on stream, and some morphing out of all recognition. So the norm is rapid comms evolution. The first mobiles were enormous, with batteries fading quickly. Now what could be done on a laptop a decade ago can all go through a smartphone, which can do many more things besides.

The rate of change in previous generations was slower. For example, telephones used pulses to dial up numbers through automatic electromechanical exchanges introduced in the 1900s. These operated until 1970s, when tone took over. That's the same technology for decades, which would be impossible today. There are amazing Artificial Intelligence systems just around the corner.

Some things can't change
The truth is just that, true, so it doesn't vary. At a time when fake news abounds, I don't think we need worry. The truth will outlast fads. It doesn't mean that we should sit back. I'm increasingly impatient with those who waste God given energy and time, because we'll never get it back.

Things that don't change aren't necessarily boring; they're reliable. My heart sinks when software decides to update, because I'm not quite sure if everything will still work. The truth never needs updating, but we do need to remind ourselves what it is!

Ecclesiastes is great
I remember first reading this little book from the Old Testament. At the time I was fed up, and sitting on a South Wales beach. When I read Ecclesiastes I felt better because the guy who wrote it seemed quite depressed, and I didn't feel as bad! Out of his questioning of what's really worthwhile in life, he comes up with some real gems: 

'For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

a time to be born, and a time to die ...

a time to weep, and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together; ...

a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

a time to love, and a time to hate;

a time for war, and a time for peace'. 

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For years I puzzled about the stones, throwing them away one time but gathering them another. Make your mind up! And then it dawned on me. What is the right policy at one moment in time, might have to be reversed later. Imagine if we said pulse phones are forever, well we'd still be in the telecoms dark ages.

God's timing is key, and one of the skills we need is reading his signals. Reinhold Niebuhr put it this way:

O God, grant us serenity to accept what cannot be changed, the courage to change what can be changed, and the wisdom to know the difference.

Good News or fake news?

Same old challenges?
Every Christmas a mega-bucket-load of new data flies around as we connect up new devices, and keep in touch. It's amazing how the internet copes! Apparently keeping the bitcoin currency going is using more electricity than is used by some entire countries. So you might be surprised if I hold the view that we don't really face new challenges.

@AndrewAlmack

Rubbish in leads to rubbish out, and Good News in will always produce Good News output. As Jesus put it, 'a good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit [Matthew chapter 7, verse 18]. How we pass the information around might be new, but messaging isn't. What we have to do is check things out, so we don't get conned by fake news.

Someone told me he received a letter informing him that his confidential information had been shared, and inviting him to send all his personal details so they could be kept secure!! You couldn't make it up could you. Thousand have received the same scam.

Check clothing
'Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves', said Jesus [verse 15 in this intriguing chapter].  The fable of Little Red Riding-hood tells the same. Having just eaten up your Granny, you'll be quite safe with me. I know I've got big sharp teeth, but ...

Then there are those who want their cake, and want to eat it. The Brexit negotiations constantly flag up that there are still some who think we can exit the European Union, and keep all the benefits. There's so much fake news or promises. Could get you down, couldn't it.

And now for the real story
There's far more Good News about: new beginnings through forgiveness; the gifts of love, laughter, beauty, adventure, and so many other delights in the little details of life. I remember enjoying the privilege of talking about a funeral with a frail man who knew that life's energy was ebbing. 'I don't want someone burbling on about things I've done. No, just say a huge thank you for the gift of life. I like that!

So as we head into another Spring, at whatever speed, may we enjoy the abundance of Good News that shout out with shear joy: Thank you for life, and the Life of this world. Gail Ricciuti's prayer expresses it far better than I can.

For all things bright and beautiful,
 for all things dark and mysterious and lovely,
 for all things green and growing and strong,
 for all things weak and struggling to push life up through rocky earth
 for all human faces, hearts, minds, and hands which surround us,
 and for all nonhuman minds and hearts, paws and claws, fins and wings,
 for this Life, and the Life of this world,
 for all that you have laid before us, O God,
 we lay our thankful hearts before you.
In Christ's name. Amen

Knowing what it feels like

A doctor friend of mine told me that one of his most important experiences was being a patient, in fact he recommends it as part of a medics training. Suddenly you're looking at ceilings, while everybody else looks down on/at you. Personal items are confined to a small cupboard, and you're largely isolated among strangers.

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Then there's coping with acute pain, the fuzziness when recovering from a general anaesthetic, and a sense of helplessness. It could be all routine observations for a doctor, nurse, or any one of many whose skills are essential in our health care services. But it's not routine if you're a patient. Being there for people means understanding what it's like for them.

That's exactly why Christmas is so important. God didn't remain, as if watching from a distance, but got involved in the life of our planet by being born just like all of us. In the short journey from the comfort of Mary's womb, Jesus had to adjust to cold, light, air, milk, smell, with very different senses of touch and sound ~ as we did.

What this means is that we can relate to God, because he related to us. If we know anguish, so did Jesus. We might feel trapped inside our body because of a stroke or frailty. He was trapped by nails driven through him and into the rough wood of a Roman gallows. In virtually every experience we can connect to something Jesus Christ knew.

Jesus loved life, and enjoyed the company of a huge range of characters. His first miracle turned large quantities of water into wine, a sign of how important wedding parties are. He told many a story to illustrate the truth, and often used humour. Camels feature, and something about them clearly amused him. He would certainly join these two in having a good laugh.

nomadoftheuniverse.wordpress.com

So this Christmas, whatever our circumstances, I pray we all make a fresh connection with the Creator of the Universe. Thank God he got involved in our story.

Have a fantastic celebration.

Robots now, and in the future

Usually the first thing that is turned off is the voice. I don't know how you get on, but I find checkout robots impatient. Why do they have to rush me, when surely I should be determining the pace? Robots 1, humans 0.

daily mail

On the other hand, car handling is superb as mini robots temper my steering, braking, or acceleration. And if I'm on completely new territory, a satnav is fantastic! Robots 1, humans 1.

I loved the question a swordfish (top class name) lad asked me when we were in the middle of a discussion about robots. Will they make us lazy? The choice is here. Sometimes we talk as if robots are a thing of the future, but already they challenge us. The TV remote makes us lazy. Washing machines are a fantastic time saver. Every new invention presents us with choice. When I get an electric buggy will I always sit in it, or only for the journeys I can't manage? Do I use a car for short distances when I could easily walk or cycle? Am I lazy?

Then there's the ghastly debate about automatic weapons that allow mad men (few women) to spray an innocent crowd with bullets. The simple robot that changes empties to live has much to answer for! It boils down to whether we control them, or they us.

In my prayers I find myself imaging an ordinary Japanese family, and wondering how they feel when North Korean missiles fly overhead. The rhetoric and sabre rattling are intensifying, so some disaster seems more likely. Who's in charge of these war robots?

bbc

Deterrence works at a domestic level, so we have locks on our doors as a proportionate response to the perceived threats. It would be crazy to have machine guns, or booby traps that could blow up half our neighbours. A balance makes sense. Better still that there's so much trust that we don't need locks.

We are constantly being challenged at domestic, community, and international levels to make wise choices. And of course that gift is part of what makes us human, it's the gift given by God in the garden of Eden. So instead of laziness, let's choose peace. This prayer has been used in our Churches for 550 years:

O God, from whom all holy desires, all good counsels, and all just works do proceed: Give unto thy servants that peace which the world cannot give; that both, our hearts may be set to obey thy commandments, and also that by thee we being defended from the fear of our enemies may pass our time in rest and quietness; through the merits of Jesus Christ our Saviour.

Amen to that.

Teddy was not much use on the turbine floor

Most of us have sources of comfort: late Dad's tatty old jumper, shoes that are nearly worn out, a chair that fits without fighting cushions, and so on. As a child teddy often reigns supreme, perhaps an eye missing, and rather moth-eaten but loved.

bournemouthecho.co.uk

Imagine though taking teddy to your work place. I certainly craved comfort when leaving school to work at Poole Power Station. I loved it, but felt like a little boy in an adult world ~ experience takes time, and I had only been there five minutes. Cuddling teddy would have been childish, acutely embarrassing, and belittling. I needed to stand on my own two feet, and wink at teddy when I got back to the privacy of home.

Having a teddy bear faith can express the importance of comfort, but if that's all then we're stuck in childhood. Our faith needs to constantly evolve. It may be that there's some experience we've never known; how will faith cope with this new challenge? If we have a take it or leave it attitude to beliefs, we might be forced to give things up.

If on the other hands we enjoy the idea of modelling faith, then questions and challenges are welcome because they stimulate growth. Christianity does not shy away from trauma. At its heart is a symbol where love and suffering intertwine. Love always costs us, and the scars we bare are a privilege. The cross is a simple logo based on a Roman gallows, and it is also a symbol of amazing love.

cross in Church Rooms' foyer

That's why wearing a cross at work, in the pub, anywhere is entirely appropriate. It's not to be forced on others, as if beating them over the head. No, it should gently speak of God's love which is far stronger than death.

Some fun symbols appeal to the child in us, and express deep truths. For example, confetti showered over a newly married couple is part of the celebration, and it can be a picture of prayer that the marriage is also showered with God's blessing.

Many things are beyond words, and need music, art, symbols to help convey their power. Jesus blessed a marriage, asked us to use water to baptise followers, and to remember his costly gift of love by holy communion using bread and wine.

May God give us his comfort and his peace, his light and his joy, in this world and the next.

Being here for people

Your Dorset for who?
It's great to be kept in touch with what Dorset County Council is doing for us, both through the free newspaper delivered to every household, and the excellent dorsetforyou.gov.uk website. However the last paper's centre page spread was misleading because it made no reference to Church weddings.

I take many weddings, and already have several bookings in for 2019. No two celebrations are the same, because every couple is unique and we craft what is appropriate. Alongside several appointments talking over things, we use the excellent yourchurchwedding.org website. It gives couples space to think about all the detail. We also use fliers which focus on individual areas.

Marriage in a local Church means so much for the reason that it is at the heart of the community. That's not all because ministers and others involved running weddings are part of that community. Over the years I've kept in touch with many couples, and been there for them as they mark occasions or seek advice. We're not just there for a ceremony, but for life's adventures too.

Working alongside others

Churches are delighted to be part of the community team: doctors' surgery, funeral directors, neighbourhood volunteers, event organisers, decorators and caterers. It might be that a woodland burial is required, and ministers are pleased to make arrangements through local funeral directors. I have shared occasions with secular celebrants, and join in Weymouth Crematorium's annual thanksgiving for loved ones who have died.

It's important to remember that the Church is here for the long term. Grieving takes more than many think. Yes, on the surface we can bounce back, but it takes years to find a second wind. Losing a child is particularly challenging, and we may grieve as much for what could have been, as for the past.

Again, I've had many a conversation helping someone work through grief. Love always costs us. I have also travelled with those whose faith has been shattered by tragedy, and I've been humbled by those who have grown by moving through difficulty.

So do remember when you make decisions about who you ask to lead important ceremonies in your life, that the Church is part of your community and will be there for you, and not just for an event.

Happy celebrations.