Likes and dislikes

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> If “no man is an island” (John Donne) why are we so insular? I often hear people report back from their holidays on friends they made while away. “We had so much in common” and “we all had similar backgrounds/jobs”. I wonder if we like the people who are most like us.

I’ve enjoyed the work of many people who have highlighted the many different styles of personality and behaviours we have. This is how we have been made. Some of us are built for a quick sprint, others for the long haul. We are individuals who need to like those who aren’t quite like us. Practical people lose patience with visionaries. Visionaries may regard the practical people as a bit boring – but both need each other. Those who can crack the whip can move people forward but may be seen as insensitive by those who are conscious of the feelings of others. To get anything done we all need to work together and talk together.

This is not a new insight. God from the beginning of time said “it is not good for man to be alone”. The stories of Cain and Abel, and the Tower of Babylon are both examples of how difficult it is to come to terms with our differences. Centuries later St Paul was shocked by the divisions in the Corinthian Church. Members had taken sides liking those who were like them. Paul calls them to order encouraging them to think that they were members of one body and that they needed to get co-ordinated. Every part of the body has a different function – fingers, bowels and eyes. Each member is gifted differently and we need to learn to like what we’re not like – otherwise we can’t live together or work together for a better world.

Paul’s is a good lesson (as is Belbin, Myers-Briggs and all those working on similar lines) for the Lambeth Conference (coming soon), and any group of people. Paul insists that it is all possible if we have a mind on the bigger picture and allow God to do the knitting.

written for Grapevine June 2008

Hope

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When an organisation loses its shared vision and principles, its sense of community, its meaning and values, it is already in the process of decay and dissolution ….. Without a deeply held, commonly shared purpose that gives meaning to their lvies; without deeply held, commonly shared, ethical values and beliefs about conduct in purtsuit of purpose that all may trust and rely upon, communities steadily disintegrate, and organisations progressively become instruments of tyranny.
Dee Hock

Christian Aid

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Lord Jesus, you were anointed to bring good news to those who felt no good news, to proclaim freedom to those imprisoned by injustice, and recover health and wholeness to all the world.You took up the cause of the oppressed.You proclaimed the year of the Lord’s favour.At the heart of your ministry was action.Remind us of the unlikely group of people you gathered around you to perform your work of love, and empower us to bring your good news so your kingdom will come and your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Amen
From Walthamstow Parish Magazine

>Christian Aid Week

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Christian Aid Week begins on May 11th.

Here’s their advert.

http://www.blogger.com/img/videoplayer.swf?videoUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fvp.video.google.com%2Fvideodownload%3Fversion%3D0%26secureurl%3DqAAAAIiSxp13MRsP2RXZVN7myjLLzF1-S8lLp154SmPo-zltREzg6lHyEFQ58CNpblrsedoZmDcf4lOTrhVb8zqrokoczrIl2w_OZpZUYIMqFdwZOiMBsxmcr1aXZHfST_U4IZM3RvTbxMXIoWB0GhOpQMbVM_s9xA3pXBJFTxNOEXy7vgvp5Q3laX1-CpyIVMECe7nhF13wQvgedb9h6Tx1kAojL4ncv8IdGeitdmxPNUY0%26sigh%3DMDFtKxShwjfbEg1tu-JC9ucIDQs%26begin%3D0%26len%3D86400000%26docid%3D0&nogvlm=1&thumbnailUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo.google.com%2FThumbnailServer2%3Fapp%3Dblogger%26contentid%3D6b0dcb6a82c44e40%26offsetms%3D5000%26itag%3Dw320%26sigh%3D3yG3Hn2XPOfq8CODXFkKTW148Z0&messagesUrl=video.google.com%2FFlashUiStrings.xlb%3Fframe%3Dflashstrings%26hl%3Den

Pentecost

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>Getting ready for Sunday one job is to prepare a weekly newsletter. We call it Network and we try to have a picture/photo as a focus for the Sunday. This one isn’t one we are using on Sunday, but it’s one that refreshed me. It’s called Pentecost by Chris Shreve. Pentecost is a great Jewish festival which has become the festival of the Holy Spirit for the Christian Church. John Pridmore writes in the Church Times, and referring to Pentecost and the Holy Spirit points out that fire, water and wind are all metaphors for the Holy Spirit, and that they are all things that flow.

Chris Shreve has captured this flow with the flame and the wind blowing the curtain – with the suggestion of dancing. Chris also captures the new creation of the Gospel with what reminds me of the stone rolled away from the tomb and the light, breath and energy of God bursting into the world. It’s a very dry picture though – unless that is a water pitcher, or a container of oil – another sign of the Holy Spirit and the gifts the Holy Spirit brings to the world.

>Development

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>One hat I wear is supoporting “ministry review” – very different from “appraisal” which appraises past perfromance. Ministry review is so future orientated that they’ve decided to put a capital D between the words Ministry and Review to emphasise that it is a developmental tool. I came across this quote when reading the excitingly tilted “Ministry Development Review: Interim Guidance” from the United Church of America (as opposed I suppose to the other churches of America which aren’t united). Here’s the quote:

Evaluation is natural to the human experience.

Evaluation is one of God’s ways of bringing the history of the past into dialogue with the hope for the future.

Without confession of sin there is no reconciliation;

without the counting of blessings there is no thanksgiving;

without the acknowledgement of accomplishments there is no celebration;

without awareness of potential there is no hope; without hope there is no desire for growth;

without desire for growth the past will dwarf the future.

>Neighbours

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>What do you do if you want to change something? You ask permission.
What do you do if you live next door to somebody who wants to change their house, or if a builder proposes developing land opposite? You complain and you object. ‘Twas ever thus in Nimbyland.
And the way through? Thank goodness for our planning authorities so that when we want to make changes we have to ask for permission, and those who are our neighbours should realise that, make their objections and then leave it to those who are a lawful lot better than us at these things and accept the judgement – “permission granted” or otherwise.
I feel sorry for friends Jane and Bob asking for permission to change/demolish/rebuild. Suddenly they find themselves on page 2 of the local paper with friend Mark flying the preservation flag – no doubt supported by friends and neighbours around – Janet, Bob, Jo, Alice, Tom, Dick, Harry and Jemima. What a difficult situation – all have their legitimate concerns – to be weighed in the scales of justice. And through it all they continue to meet in the waiting room of the Friends’ Meeting House for Kingdom come and Peace on Earth. Meeting together, waiting together makes it so much better than avoiding one another and makes the church a Friends Meeting House – if not now, then – working/praying out how to come to terms with our differences.
That’s what we’ve been doing with our project for St Peter’s. We have been asking for permission and we will see how many people have objected, and how the Chancellor weighs the difference of opinion. Then we will be told whether we have a faculty – aka permission – or if we’ve lost. Whatever way it goes we have to then get on with our neighbours – loving them – which we have to sometimes do before we can ever like them.

>Leonard Cohen’s anthem

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http://www.youtube.com/get_player

There’s a crack in everything – that’s how the light gets in. That’s a line from Leonard Cohen’s anthem – play the video while reading the rest of this. He advises “forget your perfect offering”.

That sounds pretty sound advice to me because there is no perfect offering. I have just returned from a a training event led by Bishop Stephen Platten who is Chairman of the Liturgical Commission. One of the exercises we chose to do together was to devise a liturgy to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the NHS. We decided that there had to be opportunity to confess how the NHS had not lived up to its ideals and that we needed to avoid triumphalism. It’s only when we admit there are problems that we can improve – institutionally and personally. Forget our perfect offering. There is a crack in everything – that’s how the light gets in.

I wonder if God designed us as “seconds” – cracks included. Without the cracks what use would be the light of the world?