Radicalisation is good for us?

Looks like Covid 19 is going to take at least a year, and we've been finding out what roots we have to take us through this challenge. In many ways we've become more radical, in the sense of rooted ~ and that's good! Many have told me how watching nature through the seasons has helped keep them sane.

Of course there's another understanding of radical, and that's someone who loosens ties the that bind and goes off in a completely different direction. Perhaps we need a bit of both as we find ourselves in 2021. Let me explain.

Psalm 1 speaks about trees with good roots being stable regardless of the weather challenges they face, and we need reliable truths to hang onto. At the same time flexibility to think in new ways is vital. Covid has given technology a fast forward, and we certainly won't return to square one.

Shopping will be different, so will meetings, and sharing worship outside church buildings. These give us huge opportunities, but there are risks. Worship could just be marketed like some product, and vicars might become online stars!? We need to keep our feet on the ground, and make sure worship doesn't become just another branch of our excellent entertainment industry.

There's lots of mileage in the idea of a Church [people not buildings] being like living stones. They don't rattle up and down like pebbles on a beach, but show a home for companionship, prayer, praise, healing, wisdom, laughter, peace, creativity, and glimpses into eternity. 

As we begin a new year we should be proud of how much we have evolved and adapted, but we always need the Good Lord's guidance. There are many challenges ahead! This prayer may help us.

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can,
and wisdom to know the difference."

Every Christmas should be different

Same old, same old ... kills off any celebration. We need to constantly evolve as circumstances change. Christmas should radicalise us! Not in some daft self-righteous sense, but because it reminds us of our roots. Jesus Christ was born under a bureaucratic lockdown when everyone had to register in the place where they were born. 

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Brexit is a tea party [no offence to any Americans welcomed among us] compared to the political chaos of his day. Roman imperialism vied with puppet kings and religious authorities for control of peoples lives. His 'NHS' was overstretched, and so his birth took place in a stable.

This will be my last Christmas with you, and I have celebrated many under wildly different circumstances: tragic funerals either side, festive weddings, baptisms at the Springhead with Salvation Army leading carols, personal traffic of one sort or another. And every time the story of the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe giving our little planet his message of love has been mind-blowing and heart-warming.

www.nasa.gov

We may well have to be physically distanced from each other, but it's vital we remain socially close. God didn't maintain superior physical distance, but became intimate in the Christ child. May we accept such wonder into our hearts and minds.

A very happy, peaceful, and fun Christmas for all of us.

Bubbles easily pop

I've been done for speeding, and as a result am a safer driver. For example, I deliberately change down a gear for speed restrictions. It annoys me when others complain about speed cameras because they improve safety for all of us. The same applies about Covid etiquette; it's there for everybody. Bubbles are important but so easily pop.

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Right now complacency is a real risk, especially since our local count is relatively low. Be assured though that at least a couple of schools have had to reduce numbers because of positive Covid tests. One of our relatives has it, and his family network is isolating. We'll only beat this thing if we're persistent, careful, and use belts as well as braces.

May I encourage you to invest in a smart mobile that can operated NHS track & trace; the app works easily, and is uncluttered. I also recommend https://covid.joinzoe.com/ which assists in forecasting positive cases. The two are completely separate but can play a part in us looking after each other.

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The devil is described as a roaring lion seeking whom he might devour. It's a frightening image which brings to mind evil that cannot be seen. There's for more good in our world, but we should never be complacent about aiming for the best in life, for ourselves and for others.

Ringing true

I've been listening to some BBC pods on the manufacturing of doubt, a technique to muddy the waters of truth. Two good examples spring to mind: smoking kills but was not publicly banned in England until 2007 [2005 in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales]; fossil fuels cause global warming but some still don't accept this even now. Active doubt sources have delayed acceptance of truth.

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The new game is rowing back on agreements. Our government has publicly admitted defaulting on Brexit, and condoning 'eye test' behaviour while expecting everyone else to follow Covid 19 etiquette. Jesus had harsh words against any form of hypocrisy or self-righteousness. So what should you and I do?

How about celebrating truth in the way we tell it? There's no such thing as a cantankerous Christian; Jesus' first miracle was turning water into wine at a wedding reception. He delighted in celebrating true love. Of course we might be sad or heartbroken by the weight we carry, but God's love seeks our eternal fulfilment. We can delight in the truth that sets us free.

The greatest sermons don't need words!? If we ring true that can be far more powerful than grand clever pronouncements. It's not about slick performance, no it's being real that counts.

www.building.co.uk

We should encourage truth at every level. We should tell it how it is! It belongs to us all, like tax. If someone fiddles their tax return to pay less than they should, they're defrauding you and me. If someone breaks the speed limit [hands up, I have] they are making our roads less safe. Take away truth and our world ceases up.

Delighting in the truth is an excellent pastime.

Silver lining?

Just imagine what it would feel like if a massive explosion in the old Weymouth ferry terminal devastated a large part of the quay and sea front. That's what happened in Beirut. Can anything good come from such an appalling tragedy?

Photo credit: @fdia_art

The answer is yes. On a small scale, a Lebanese artist Fatima Dia has auctioned this picture to raise funds for those in need. It focuses on the explosion and loss of many lives, yet it speaks of hope through colour and possibility.

There are other signs too. For years those in power have shown contempt for their electorate, and been blatant in corruption. A trickle of resignations led to the government relinquishing power. This creates new opportunities for justice and peace in a beautiful cosmopolitan part of the world.

The blast may be a turning point, rather like a trail of dominoes knocking each other over. Do pray and give for healing of the individuals and wider communities involved, that there will be real silver from such a ghastly cloud.

www.darrenscherbain.com

 

It's the 75th anniversary of two other horrific blasts: Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Not fertiliser but atomic bombs. Some have argued that it brought World War II to an earlier close, and thus saved lives. Others have said that the opening Russian front was what actually made the difference, and peace would have been signed without those bombs.

Either way, who would have believed that America and Japan would become such close allies. Apparently post Brexit Britain is seeking to muscle into that relationship too.

Where does Christianity fit into all this? It's fundamentally about new beginnings through forgiveness, and new life when all seems to have failed. That's Easter.

It's also about hope, even in the ghastly times. The Old Testament book of Lamentations pulls no punches about the utter despair of being under siege. Yet it also holds out hope, even in such desperate times. So let me quote chapter 3, verses 19 to 23:

The thought of my suffering and homelessness

is bitter beyond words. 

I will never forget this awful time, as I grieve over my loss.

Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this:

The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease.

Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.

After the clap it's up to us

Annemarie Plas, a Dutch expatriate living in London, copied the clap for our carers from a similar event that she had seen in the Netherlands. It caught on, and we were particularly encouraged locally when the ocean going liners anchored in Weymouth Bay joined in with their hooters.

The weekly Thursday clap has now been wound up to be replaced by an annual clap on the anniversary of the founding of the NHS [72 years old on 5 July this year]. However I think it's now up to us to generate and enjoy community conversations, and to bear one another's burdens.

Jesus was always chatting with those around him, and he invited us to share challenges with him. In fact he invites us to learn from him so we don't get weighed down by worries but find that our spirits are liberated; the we can carry loads with ease.

So, when you feel like it and the weather is fine, why not tell you neighbours that you'd like them to join you for a cuppa on the street?

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I did that recently and we had a great time. Nobody else joined in, but that didn't matter because others might have shut down some of our banter. Things don't always have to be on a huge or national scale! Over these coming months it's very much up to us how we behave.

I'm certain that we will have to learn to crawl before we walk, and running may well be some time away. Meanwhile, God's surprising blessings in this pandemic adventure.

How are we doing?

At last Weymouth Crematorium has gone back to the usual 45 minute service times. For the last couple of months it's been just 30 minutes so, bearing in mind that the Chapel is disinfected between each service, we've had 15 minutes to give thanks for someone's life. The staff there have been brilliant, and at no small risk to themselves.

In mid April the King's College, London Covid 19 app flagged up that Weymouth and Portland was a hot-spot equivalent to East London boroughs, and certainly the crematorium had only a few spare spaces for weeks. Put those two bits of information together, and it tells me we must be careful not to relax too quickly. All this took place before the influx of day-trippers crowding out Durdle Door.

Most people use statistics like a drunk man uses a lamppost; more for support than illumination! and there is argument over the usefulness of  international comparison [which appeared in early government briefings but have not featured recently]. One chart in early June showed that the UK had more deaths than the rest of Europe put together. It is clear that complacency is dangerous, and that is why church buildings are being brought back into use cautiously and gradually.

It's one small important step towards our new norm because church buildings are 'thin' places where heaven overlaps with earth. They are 'houses of prayer' and remind us that investing in our spirits is vital. May God bless us all as we move forward.