Enforced absence!

Well I’ve been away from blogging for another 2 weeks, for 2 reasons, firstly because I’ve not been feeling very Christian for the last fortnight, because 2, some thieving git broke into my house and stole a number of things, including my computer. This means I lost the use of my diary, all my old service details, and sick visit records, which I’ve had to rebuild from scratch.

I wish the person well with my computer and the other things they stole, and hope that when they are caught and I pray they are, the Magistrates pay close attention to what the poor, defenceless clergyman in the witness box says.

“Vengence is mine sayeth the Lord”, but sometimes you really want to help out

And the meek shall inherit the earth.

Did anyone else watch the inaugaration of President Obama yesterday? As a Brit I have to say what a spectacle and what an amazing day.  When I was born segregation was still normal in the southern US, the Army were being sent in to protect black children going to previously all white schools, and the KKK and night riders were still a force to be reckoned with.

Today we have an African American President in the White House, a man whose family know the problems of Africa first hand, a man who understands what it is like NOT to be part of the white elite.  I pray that this will bring unity and uunderstanding for all of us, across the world,  and a new step in acceptance and tolerance of racial differences.  However, a note of caution.  I was told the story, hopefully fictional, of an American journalist interviewing people in Mississipi about the election, and at one house the wife opened the door.  When asked how she would be voting she called in to her husband “who we voting for” to which he replied “the n*****”.  Perhaps we have a long way to go still.

I pray that this will lead to a new era for us all, but I also ask God to give Barack Obama a long, safe and successful presidency, to allow his view of the world to prevail.

My dream job! Part 2

Well, if it  was up to me, I’d like to open a community church project in a form that I’m sure some will find offensive, but which has worked for me before.  I want to open a pub.  A drinkers pub, not a family pub, where people come in, get a pint or several, and set the world to rights.  In amongst this would be the normal rush of bar staff, glass collectors, but also a couple of Outreach Workers and myself as Minister/Landlord. The plan would be that on Sunday mornings a church service would be held, and the pub itself would open after lunch.  The rest of the week it would work as normal.  It would workk on a spiritual level by allowing those who would not be seen in a church except for their funeral to come into contact with outreach in their own environment, where they can talk to us about problems in their life, or ask for spiritual help and support, without the “stigma” of being seen going to Church, because for some that is how it is seen.

We wouldn’t preach about the errors of their ways, or try to “convert” them, but instead show them an example of Christian love, using profits from the pub to support other local churches and community projects.

As the old saying goes, you catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

Well thats over for another year

The blatant commercialism that has become Christmas that is.. Somewhere in between hankies, socks, too much turkey and a touch of alcohol I managed to find time to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas.  It always amazes me when I go to midnight mass that people who you only see in a church for the Trinity (hatched, matched and dispatched) manage to drag their backsides out on a freezing cold night, into an even colder church (well be honest, we never turn the heating on, do we) to sing carols and take  communion, only to then clear off for another 12 months.

Mayb e we should issue “frequent worshipper” cards, so that those who do actually worship in the church can actually get a seat. But still, it proves that people do still have a need for religion in theirr lives, or else they would not bother coming to midnight mass, what we need to do is find a way to get them coming regularly, without the financial pressure of buying presents every day.

All together now “Oh I wish it could be Christmas every day…”

Missing in action

My apologies for being AWOL for the last 5 months (is it really that long?).  In this time my wife and I have had our third child, we’ve moved house, my wife has set up her own business, and I’ve been trying to prepare for my return to the pulpit, even if it is only as a guest preacher occassionaly.  Dealing mostly in preaching at funerals I have the luxury of choosing the texts that I preach on, however now I am having to return to preaching from the lectionary readings for a week, and its a bit of a culture shock, I can tell you.

However it also means that if anyone is desperate enough to need a guest preacher in the Midlands, feel free to drop me a line, and if I am free I would love to help out, it is strangely pleasant to be back in the pulpit on a Sunday after a very long absence.

ASBO Jesus

Sometimes, we take ourselves too seriously.  We are all guilty of it, but recently I found this site which satirizes excellently some of the views we as Christians hold. In cases like this, we need to laugh at ourselves, and be able to recognise the silliness that we are trying to defend.

So please, have a look, with an open mind, and see how many of the cartoons sort of apply to you, I know I found a few which made me think

As has been pointed out by my reader (thanks Annette) I didn’t include the link.  I have given myself a stern talking to, and now here it is

http://asbojesus.wordpress.com/

It’s good to be back

After almost a month of computer hell, My switch from Tiscali to O2 has gone through, and finally I have broadband again.  More to come later, right now fot to dash to a service

Brodband problems

Well, off to a good start.  Mybroadband has been down for 5 days, and will be at least another 9 before its working again, so I’m using a dial up connection for essentials.

 More posts when broadband is fixed.

A definition of Church holidays

Ok, having listened to the radio, driven past McDonalds, and talked to a few people today, I though it was an idea to offer a religious and a secular definition of certain Christian holidays

Christmas Day – A day to praise God for the gift of his son, Jesus Christ to the world

X-mas Day – Sponsored by major retailers, a day to try to bankrupt yourself and outdo all your relatives on who can buy the biggest, most expensive, tackiest presents.

Shrove Tuesday – The day before Ash Wednesday, a day when we traditionally would feast before 40 days of fasting for Lent

Pancake Day - A day to squeeze loads of lemons, pour sugar all over pancakes, and make idiots of ourselves trying to toss them in the air, and scrape them off the Kitchen ceiling

Ash Wednesday – The start of Lent

Huh, When?

Good Friday – The day Christ was crucified for our sins

Hot cross bun day – Starts in january, and normally stops in December

Easter Sunday – The day when Jesus’s disciples saw him after he had risen from the dead.

Easter – a day to stuff yourself stupid on chocolate eggs, rabbits and anything else you can think of.  Sales start as soon as the Christmas sales end, and finish just in time for the summer holidays sales.

I would like suggestions for other holidays, especially if you can think of secular equivalents.

More Tea Vicar?

More Tea Vicar?