TW'sV on a tale of two ships

Both the Cutty Sark and the SS Great Britain are examples of fine ships restored after abandonment or fire. The first is partially hidden by a support structure while the second is seen as if floating on water.

SS Great Britain (www.ssgreatbritain.org)

The true Christmas story of a refugee couple in occupied territory, facing pointless bureaucracy can so easily be masked behind tinsel and commercialism. Don't get me wrong because I love the party that is Christmas. However, it needs a heart to make sense. It needs to be about how our Creator and Sustainer shows his love towards us.

The Open Air Carol Service in Sutton Poyntz will be followed by baptisms in the Springhead pond. Here's an opportunity to remember loved ones, to give thanks for all that is wholesome, to pray for each other and particularly those for whom Christmas is a reminder of loneliness or pain. We can also give thanks for family and community life.

The carols and readings remind us of that first Christmas, and make it real in our hearts and minds. All are welcome to any of our Christmas services across our Churches. There's a great choice of venue and style, so make yourself at home.

Kings College reflected in a car roof

It's no surprise that the service heard by more people across the world than any other comes from Kings College, Cambridge. Every year it is familiar, and every year introduces us to something new. This keeps the celebration alive. It's no fossil, but a magnificent vessel which invites us on board.

A very Happy Christmas, and fulfilled New Year to you and yours.

TW'sV on revolution and recycling

• Greater London's Crossrail is the largest infrastructure project in Europe. Why is it revolutionary? Full sized trains rather than smaller tube-trains will travel at speed from outlying areas, for example Reading, under the heart of the city through large diameter tunnels. New stations are springing up which key into existing transport links, and match their environment.

Crossrail Place, Canary Wharf

The spoil from tunnelling has been moved by barge to create wetlands for the RSPB at Wallasea Island in the Thames estuary. Crossrail is a fantastic example of an imaginative project producing revolutionary ideas which include recycling material. 

• So what has it to do with my day job, as a minister in the Church of England? Towards the end of my schooling I thought and prayed about what to do. The result was a sense of calling to work in the electricity power generation industry. I served ten years across a mix of coal, oil, and nuclear fired power stations. 

Aberthaw Power Station

Then I received a call to serve in the Church of England. From my point of view it all fits together. Everything in the universe was created and is sustained by God, so I don't consider any one part of his world to be any more holy than another.

• When Jesus was asked about faith, he gave the example of moving a mountain. Today he might talk about tunnelling under a huge city. Our lives are a profound challenge; will we work under God's lead through his Spirit to find imaginative ways of building things? Or will we merely exploit nature for reasons of shear greed alone? Will we evaluate life in terms of beauty and sustainability, or just for profit?

Already Londoners are looking forward to Crossrail opening, and improving connections east to west through the centre. There is already talk of Crossrail 2 connecting north and south. 

I believe it's part of a revolution in which we should all play our part: beauty, respect for our world, and the imagination to make a difference.

TW'sV on making things up

Political oddities
We often hear the phrase 'It's unbelievable' when some amazing sporting achievement has been reached. Congratulations to Mo Farah for winning so many golds, in so many events, so often.

Picture from http://www.mofarah.com/#images

However, I've been puzzled by unbelievable moves on the left and right of politics. Many commentators think Labour had a poor showing at the last general election because it had moved towards the left; now it is likely to move even more in that direction. The Conservative government is about value for money, yet it recently sold off tax-payers' shares in RBS without even putting them up for sale in the market place. It's unbelievable; you couldn't make it up!

Poetic oddities
Of course circumstances change, and what might be inappropriate at one time might be right at another. Ecclesiastes is a fascinating book roughly in the the middle of the Old Testament section of the Bible. It is written by someone who struggles at times with depression, but has amazing insights as well. Here's an extract from one of Eccles' poems, which Bob Dylan put to music using a 'Turn, turn, turn' refrain:

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 plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
 a time to kill, and a time to heal;
 a time to break down, and a time to build up;
 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 ...

That last idea has puzzled me for years, and I now understand it as a challenge about strategy. At one time throwing out old stones might be a good idea, but at another time gathering them is important.

Radical certainties
A few months ago I wrote about migration because many had asked me to express a view. I argued that we should see the complexity of the challenge, but always see people under any circumstance as just that: people. I have been delighted to observe a better attitude emerging in the media, triggered it seems by a picture of a drowned child washed up on a beach.

There isn't a one size fits all solution. The population in these islands has increased significantly in recent decades, while it is falling in Germany. But there is a one size fits all certainty. We should love our neighbours as we love ourselves. How we live has an impact on others. The story of the Good Samaritan makes it clear that we have responsibilities and can't just walk on by.

That story inspired the fantastic world wide organisation ready to listen (in any form) 24/7. Our local branch has been operating opposite the railway station since the 70s.

Jesus set the bar even higher, when he said that we should love others as he loved us.

TW'sV on cake while you wait

I've heard a false view of heaven from a number of different sources, so here's an attempt to set the record straight.

It's not just 'pie in the sky when you die', but 'cake on the plate while you wait!'  Or in other words those who speak of Christianity being a sop to miserable disadvantaged people are missing something.  Part of heaven should break through now.

It is true that God's love does not differentiate between gender, race, colour, skill, intelligence, class, or any other description we might choose.  And that means that the poor, or impaired, or vulnerable can find huge comfort in knowing heaven will liberate them.  And often the rich, or powerful, or articulate confess to living miserable empty lives.

We await the delights of heaven, but seek its flavour now.  We live in the light of eternity, but live life to the full now.  Jesus made it clear that his sacrificial life (which displayed amazing energy, compassion, wisdom, strategy, and charisma) also had times for merriment.  In fact his first miracle turned significant quantities of water into wine at a celebration of marriage.

picture from www.thecommunitychurchhoniton.org.uk/

The strict religious of his day told him off because it was clear he wanted fun as a companion to faith.

And while we're at it, let's nail another false idea about following Jesus.  You must have heard the quip s/he's so heavenly minded, s/he's no earthly use.  It's rubbish.

Yes, there are some scatty people who have their head in the clouds, but there are many others whose eternal perspective has driven them to make a huge difference in our world.  Here are four examples from our country's makeup:
 ● abolition of slavery
 ● setting up of law courts
 ● Oxbridge college foundations
 ● building of hospitals and training of staff

Let's get real about what an amazing amount heaven has to offer now, and echo part of that famous Lord's prayer: Thy kingdom come, on earth as in heaven!

TW'sV on making all things new

'Data is the new pollution' says Andrew Keen who is internet friendly, but has written a book called The Internet is not the Answer.  We use over 10% of our electricity maintaining the Web.  Much of what we keep is junk.

Image from MAAG Projekt

'Sitting is the new cancer' according to Tim Cook CEO of Apple.  More welloff people may become ill through lack of exercise rather than infection.  Perhaps that is why his company has designed so many health gadgets and apps to run on their equipment!

'I am making all things new' is the shout that springs out of the pages of Revelation, a fantastic book bursting with images describing heaven.  It is the last book in the Bible.  Heaven is a completely new experience.

As we evolve we face [and create] new challenges.  The same is true as we grow out of childhood into being young adults.  Most of the time we relish the new, but the ultimate adventure is realising the newness of heaven.  How do we get a handle on that?

Image from businesscomputingworld.co.uk 

I've often been asked what heaven is like, and for that matter what's hell?  One answer is to pick up on the language we use.  A fantastic day might be heavenly, and I think it has been a taste of heaven.  We describe ghastly experiences as going through hell, and again I think they are a hint of what it's like.

There's a bit of a thread linking these thoughts together, because we are increasingly invited to store our data in the cloud.  The picture above comes from a company offering steps to cloud storage.  What is certain is that digital media can't capture the essence of heaven, that's stored in our hearts!

When we work with nature we create beauty and she glows.  Pollution greys the skies and water flows, and introduces hellish environments that choke our breath.  So it's a fantastic encouragement that since 2013 the world had invested more in clean energy than in coal, natural gas, and oil combined.  That's something new, a little aroma of heaven!

TW'sV on migration

Having briskly walked up a hill, my thermos of tea was welcomed.  As I lent back to take a sip, a curious beautiful lady approached and I couldn't resist taking her picture.  Apart from her mandatory numerical identity, she was named Drumbeat Rachel.

That's a sure sign she is being treated with the respect she deserves, not locked away in a factory 'farm'.

An optician was out sailing on his small yacht with his mates, when he heard screams and found himself surrounded by drowning people whose boat had just sunk.  He managed to rescue almost fifty, but had to leave hundreds behind to perish.  

His story reminds us that the people being trafficked across the Mediterranean are just that, people not things.  The encounter has left a scar on the optician's life, and he now campaigns for European action.  This leads me to my first view on a complex matter.

Any talk of migrants being less than human is obscene.  We should respect all life, from that of a calf to that of our fellow human beings.

Apparently our islands have taken a lower proportion of migrants than most other European nations.  During the election migration was a major issue [and responsibility for climate change largely ignored!?].  Many feel their jobs are threatened by migrants.  This is a people story too, because the ability to find work of dignity and reward is immensely empowering.  In this beautiful part of Dorset the gap between average incomes and average housing costs is one of the largest in the country.

Having a completely open door would be foolish because our islands are becoming increasingly crowded.

As I understand it much of Bristol's historical wealth derived from the slave trade, so we are not squeaky clean when we point fingers at others.  Chains were used to anchor ships; they were also used to anchor slaves to those ships.

Picture from Fast Company

As brave Christians stood with William Wilberforce and others to abolish slavery, so we should stand against human traffickers, or any form of slavery.  The picture above comes from a site encouraging companies to make sure they don't inadvertently employ slaves.

But how?  Well it took Wilberforce many attempts before legislation was passed by Parliament, so it might take us time to find the right solution.  His stance was urgent and powerful; we need to follow in the same path.

Politically, and in our daily conversation we must:

• talk about the people involved
• balance resources for all on the planet we share 
• root out traffickers and any who treat others as lesser people.

Finally and positively, we should be thankful for and relish the freedom and peace we enjoy.

TW'sV on energy

I sent my postal votes in as soon I could, so the last fortnight of the election campaigning was a bit lost on me: a pledge 'tombstone'; a pledge to legislate against altering taxes (surely a key responsibility of government); riding a merry-go-round horse; pints, kisses, and smiles; and to cap it all, whether a princess was blue or red!

image from Wikipedia

Frantic energy use, which made little difference but did exhaust key participants before they entered into coalition conversation.  I know Nigel dipped out early in the campaign for an afternoon or two, but a mature statesman would have taken a well publicised break before election night.  S/he could argue rightly that energy was required for careful consideration and decisions after the election.

Over the years kindly folk have wondered what is my greatest challenge, and I think it is finding and using energy.  Some see power from an electrical socket as an energy quite different from the power of love, yet both enable us to do things which otherwise would be impossible.  It might be coping with sleepless nights, endless questions, and all the myriad challenges of nurturing children.  Or it could be getting through a mountain of washing.

The privilege of being alongside people experiencing amazing joy, the heart-ache of acute grief, the discovery of liberation in worship, and so many other deeply spiritual encounters, all these take energy from me.  It's a huge honour, but keeping energised is vital for all of us.

How do we do that?  I find it varies enormously.  For example, I had to attend a residential for rural deans.  We did some important work on environmental issues; I travelled there and back by cycle and train ~ no problem.  However the frustrations of being part of an institution largely absorbed by itself (whether that's entirely fair or not!) got to me.  When back home I needed to burn off some of that hassle by borrowing one of our son's fancy road bikes and cycling up the Relief Road, along the Ridgeway, and down Plaisters Lane.

At other times sitting by the beach lost in thoughtful prayers, listening to rousing music, or reading familiar passages from the Bible recharge the batteries.  It often needs both rhyme and reason.

So, now that electioneering is over, what energises you?  The Ridgeway Churches, and our Sister Churches across the area offer a huge resource.  It may be that playing a part in worship is just what you need.  You will always be welcomed at a healthy range of different places and times.  You can also enjoy very different styles.

The Ridgeway website has local details, or you can turn to page 20 in a copy of the Register magazine.