I'm just back from the second meeting of this grandly titled group. Participants were once again from a wide variety of backgrounds and with a wide variety of aims - so it's not yet obvious whether or not it will gel. However it did make me consider what my own interest is - something about the influences on my own and others' faith(s) & spirituatlity(ies) & the influence of my own and others' faith(s) and spirituality(ies).
I'm also left wondering if we should be talking about metropolis in singular or plural - would it be truer to say Birmingham? - after all that is what we were all talking about & to generalise to all metropolises (leaving aside the question of whether or not Birmingham ranks as one) neither helpful nor accurate - as we could say about many generalisations - though that's not to say that there would be no parallels in other places - but the extent and particularity of these would be very different in New York and Delhi.
Jacky
Tuesday, 27 January 2009
Sunday, 25 January 2009
Is work a four letter word?
I have been reflecting on what work is. (My helpful family suggest that it is a four letter word, but I'm not so sure.)
Yesterday I had a day off. In the morning I went orienteering - ie running through muddy woods - and enjoyed what many of you wouldn't want to do, however much it paid. Then in the afternoon I finished our tax returns - definitely not my favourite way of spending time - I'd much rather be working - if that means doing what I get paid for- which is why we're so close to the deadline. I can always find something else more important or at least more urgent to do than tax.
And where does the importance/value of what we are doing come in - or for that matter the amount of effort it entails - which of course may be very different for different people. And then what about money and all those folk who were preaching this morning and not being paid for it. Or how about those church members who don't see how coming to a coffee morning can be working?
And how about those things that some of us love, some hate and others are indifferent to eg cooking (haggis tonight as it's Burns' night) . Or the fact that we do many things to different standards - is a cordon bleu meal of more value than one which simply fills you up? And does that influence whether or not we can entitle it work?
Is blogging work?
Jacky
Yesterday I had a day off. In the morning I went orienteering - ie running through muddy woods - and enjoyed what many of you wouldn't want to do, however much it paid. Then in the afternoon I finished our tax returns - definitely not my favourite way of spending time - I'd much rather be working - if that means doing what I get paid for- which is why we're so close to the deadline. I can always find something else more important or at least more urgent to do than tax.
And where does the importance/value of what we are doing come in - or for that matter the amount of effort it entails - which of course may be very different for different people. And then what about money and all those folk who were preaching this morning and not being paid for it. Or how about those church members who don't see how coming to a coffee morning can be working?
And how about those things that some of us love, some hate and others are indifferent to eg cooking (haggis tonight as it's Burns' night) . Or the fact that we do many things to different standards - is a cordon bleu meal of more value than one which simply fills you up? And does that influence whether or not we can entitle it work?
Is blogging work?
Jacky
Friday, 23 January 2009
A woman preaches the first sermon President Obama listens to
Don't know whether you have seen that a woman, Rev Dr Sharon Watkins, preached at the first service Obama attended as president. Watkins is general minister of the Disciples in the USA. You can read the text of the sermon here and listen to it here. She's the first woman to preach at an official inaugural event.Thinking about women preaching reminded me of Susan Durber's book Preaching like a Woman. I enjoyed it a great deal and wondered whether some of you had read it as well.
What's it like for us to preach like a woman? A huge privilege and yet also sometimes a burden perhaps.
So who would you like to preach a sermon for? Anyone in particular you'd like to listen to you and what might your text be?
If there is anyone out there reading the blog maybe we can begin a discussion in the comments about how we go about preparing for preaching and worship. Go on dare to leave a comment and tell a friend about the blog as well!
Monday, 19 January 2009
Christ at Martha's and Mary's in Bethany
Gwen Smithies prepared and gave each of us small "treasure boxes" at the women in ministries meeting. They contained various things to help us with our scrapbooking enterprises and also for each of us a postcard of a painting inspired by a biblical narrative.We met in twos to discuss our pictures to tell the story told in them. Mine was the adoration of the shepherds. Telling the story of the pictures was an exercise in observation and imagination, in looking and seeing. I realise now with hindsight that groping for the story in the pictures was also an exercise in living with ambiguity; the pictures often told a different story from the ones we remembered and offered a different perspective. I really appreciated how the seminar encouraged us to think about ambiguity rather than easy answers, encouraging us to narrate the Bible's stories as a method for living with ambiguity.
The other person in my pair had this wonderful painting of Jesus at Martha and Mary's house in Bethany by Vermeer. This painting which I don't rememeber having seen before had quite an impact on me. The way that all of the light and energy of the moment of the conversation seems to be between Jesus and Martha. Fascinating too that the table dressed in altar-like white has bread that Martha has brought - she does rather seem to be presiding over it.
It is decades since Dorothee Sölle remarked how important it is for women to hold Martha and Mary together as biblical role models for ourselves, yet I wondered how we also internalise damaging narratives - putting ourselves down if we stop "doing" and try "being" - putting ourselves down if we try to do too much. Looking at the light and energy in this interpretation by Vermeer helped me reflect on and progress in Sölle's direction a bit.
Meanwhile others in our group did some brilliant scrapbooking around the narrative this picture tells. Now that reminds me I must send my fellow posters details about how to post stuff here so we can get to see some of the pictures taken in Windermere.
Advent reflections from Manchester on Vision4Life
Sarah Brewerton shared the Advent resource that she and others in the churches in Chorlton coordinated by getting people to write a reflection for each day. It was then distributed in the local community during Advent. You can download the whole booklet here from the Vision4Life website. A really great idea resource and also a brilliant idea for local community work.
Sunday, 18 January 2009
Gathering memories as living stones
Towards the end of our last morning at the women in ministries meeting we gathered in the garden room of the Windermere Centre to bring together some of our rememberings. We picked up stones and laid them down again, confessed and sang and rose as a forgiven people; we exchanged thoughts and insights and memories, sharing words and silence; we connected and communed with God and one another.
In remembrance of Christ we shared bread and wine, as God's living stones we lit candles and prayed. And we sang and were blessed and later made our way homewards, taking remembered stories back with us into our communities where day by day we seek to weave a narrative that is bread and not stone.
In remembrance of Christ we shared bread and wine, as God's living stones we lit candles and prayed. And we sang and were blessed and later made our way homewards, taking remembered stories back with us into our communities where day by day we seek to weave a narrative that is bread and not stone.
Saturday, 17 January 2009
Some publications by Janet Lees to help us remember the Bible
I Thought I would begin to post the rest of the reading list that Janet gave us while we were meeting beginning with things Janet has published herself on pedagogy and using the the remembered Bible in community work. As I'm about to take a plane back to Geneva the links here are not all they could be but ast least you,ve got the details here of some of Janet's publications. The rest of the book list will go up over the next few days. Enjoy reading! love Jane.
Lees, J (2007a). Word of Mouth: using the remembered Bible for building community. Glasgow: Wild Goose Publications.
Lees, J (2007). Remembering the bible as a critical pedagogy of the oppressed. In GO West (ed) Reading Other-wise: Socially Engaged Biblical Scholars Reading with their Local Communities. Atlanta: Society for Biblical Literature.
Lees, J (2007). Enabling the body. In H Avalos; SJ Melcher and J Schipper (eds). This Abled Body: Rethinking the Bible and Disability Studies. Atlanta: Society for the Study of Biblical Literature.
Lees, J and Horwath, J (2008). ‘Religious Parents… Just Want the Best for
Their Kids’: Young People’s Perspectives on the Influence of Religious Beliefs on Parenting. Children and Society (in press)
Their Kids’: Young People’s Perspectives on the Influence of Religious Beliefs on Parenting. Children and Society (in press)
Friday, 16 January 2009
Lisa Isherwood's Cosmic Walk
Some of the readings Kate Gray used for her morning's meditation were from the Cosmic Walk by Lisa Isherwood who is Professor of Feminist Liberation Theologies at the University of Winchester and is editor of The Feminist Theology journal; she is also Vice President of the European Society of Women in Theological Research. She is the author of more than 15 books including most recently, The Fat Jesus.
Learning by heart is not the same as remembering
On our last morning in Windermere we tried to draw the different strands of individual, communal and biblical narrative together. We looked at the beautiful and powerful scrapbooking pages various members of our group had made and the way that this seemingly simple form could help us do some of the teasing out and weaving together again of the strands of our narratives and the Bible's narratives.
One of the things we reflected on is that the remembered biblical narrative is not the same as a narrative learnt by rote or by heart - although of course the remembered text may be fed by those narraitves.
Of course it is possible to use remembered biblical narratives to compare later with the written text - or one of the written texts but it's also important to do this in such a way that it doesn't make anyone feel that their remembered narrative is in any way wrong. One of the most radical aspects to the pedagogy that Janet was sharing with us is her insistence that the remembered text is also authoritative.
I shall try and ponder this in a further post in coming days. In the meantime I have been thinking about how sometimes we learn quite destructive narratives by heart and never allow life giving narratives to really take hold of us. I've been wondering about this in terms of the biblical narrative as well - through the official church lectionaries and so on many people will only ever come into contact with those parts of the Bible that the church chooses to give value to for Sunday worship (reducing the Hebrew Scriptures to bits if Genesis, Isaiah, the Psalms and book of Jonah for instance!). In some ways the church and its tradition has conditioned our remembering by making those choices.
Written and posted by Jane.
One of the things we reflected on is that the remembered biblical narrative is not the same as a narrative learnt by rote or by heart - although of course the remembered text may be fed by those narraitves.
Of course it is possible to use remembered biblical narratives to compare later with the written text - or one of the written texts but it's also important to do this in such a way that it doesn't make anyone feel that their remembered narrative is in any way wrong. One of the most radical aspects to the pedagogy that Janet was sharing with us is her insistence that the remembered text is also authoritative.
I shall try and ponder this in a further post in coming days. In the meantime I have been thinking about how sometimes we learn quite destructive narratives by heart and never allow life giving narratives to really take hold of us. I've been wondering about this in terms of the biblical narrative as well - through the official church lectionaries and so on many people will only ever come into contact with those parts of the Bible that the church chooses to give value to for Sunday worship (reducing the Hebrew Scriptures to bits if Genesis, Isaiah, the Psalms and book of Jonah for instance!). In some ways the church and its tradition has conditioned our remembering by making those choices.
Written and posted by Jane.
Thursday, 15 January 2009
God of an awful lot of adjectives
In case anyone's wondering, here is the list of adjectives (in semi-alphabetical order) Wendy White and Pat Oliver placed before the word 'God' for our prayerful consideration at Windermere:
ABRASIVE CREATING FEELING ABSORBING CREATIVE FIT ACCESSIBLE CUDDLY FLOWING ACCOMPANYING CYCLING FORGIVING ACHING DANCING FORMIDABLE AGELESS DAZZLING FUN-LOVING ALARMING DEAREST GARRULOUS ALMIGHTY DEBUNKING GENEROUS ANIMATING DELICIOUS GENTLE ARTISAN DEVOTED GOLFING ARTISTIC DIFFICULT GOSSAMER AWESOME DISABLED GOURMET BEAUTIFUL DISRUPTIVE GRACEFUL BLAZING DISTRACTING GRITTY BRACING DISTURBING GRUMPY BRIGHT DODGY GUIDING BROKEN DOWN TO EARTH HEALING BUSKING DRAMATIC HEARING CAPABLE DREAMING HIDDEN CARESSING DREAMY HOLY CARING DYNAMIC HOMELESS CELEBRATING ELATED HOSPITABLE CHALLENGING ELOQUENT HUNGRY CHANGELESS EMBRACING IDIOSYNCRATIC CHEERING ENERGISING IMMEASURABLE CHERISHING ENERGETIC IMMEDIATE COLOURFUL ENABLING IMPATIENT COMFORTING ENCHANTING IMPERFECT/PERFECT COMMUNAL ENGAGING IMPIOUS COMPANIONABLE ENRAPTURED IMPISH COMPLEX ENTERTAINING IMPUDENT CONSTANT EUPHORIC INCLUSIVE COOL EXPECTANT INFATUATED CRAFTING EXPERIMENTING INFORMING CRAZY FACETED INSPIRING SENSUAL SHOCKING INTERFERING SHINING SHOPPING INTOXICATING QUESTIONING PLAYFUL INTRUDING RAGING POLITICAL INVITING RECYCLING PONDEROUS INVOLVED REFLECTIVE PRACTICAL IRREPRESSABLE REJECTED PREGNANT JEALOUS RESPECTFUL PROACTIVE JOY-GIVING RESTLESS PROGRESSIVE JOYFUL ROGUISH PROMPTING JUST ROMANTIC PROTECTING KINDLING SACRAMENTAL PROVOCATIVE LAUGHING SCARY PUKKA LIBERATING SEDUCTIVE PUZZLING LISTENING SILENT QUIRKY LONGING SORTED TOPSY-TURVY LOVING SPIRITED TOUCHING MELODIOUS STROPPY TOUCHY-FEELY MISUNDERSTOOD STUBBORN TRAVELLING MODEST SUNNY TOUGH MORPHING SUPPORTIVE UNATTRACTIVE MOTHERING SURPRISING UNCOMPROMISING MURMURING SYPATHETIC UNFAIR MUSICAL TACTILE UNFASHIONABLE MYSTERIOUS TEASING UNIQUE NETWORKING TECHNICAL UNRESTING NOURISHING TEMPTING UNTOUCHABLE NURTURING TIMELESS WEEPING OBSTINATE THOUGHTFUL WELCOMING OUTRAGEOUS WILD OVERWHELMING WISE PAINED WORKING PAINTING VERNACULAR PARTICIPATING PASSIONATE PERSONAL PESTERING VERSATILE VULNERABLE
Any other suggestions while we're at it?
ABRASIVE CREATING FEELING ABSORBING CREATIVE FIT ACCESSIBLE CUDDLY FLOWING ACCOMPANYING CYCLING FORGIVING ACHING DANCING FORMIDABLE AGELESS DAZZLING FUN-LOVING ALARMING DEAREST GARRULOUS ALMIGHTY DEBUNKING GENEROUS ANIMATING DELICIOUS GENTLE ARTISAN DEVOTED GOLFING ARTISTIC DIFFICULT GOSSAMER AWESOME DISABLED GOURMET BEAUTIFUL DISRUPTIVE GRACEFUL BLAZING DISTRACTING GRITTY BRACING DISTURBING GRUMPY BRIGHT DODGY GUIDING BROKEN DOWN TO EARTH HEALING BUSKING DRAMATIC HEARING CAPABLE DREAMING HIDDEN CARESSING DREAMY HOLY CARING DYNAMIC HOMELESS CELEBRATING ELATED HOSPITABLE CHALLENGING ELOQUENT HUNGRY CHANGELESS EMBRACING IDIOSYNCRATIC CHEERING ENERGISING IMMEASURABLE CHERISHING ENERGETIC IMMEDIATE COLOURFUL ENABLING IMPATIENT COMFORTING ENCHANTING IMPERFECT/PERFECT COMMUNAL ENGAGING IMPIOUS COMPANIONABLE ENRAPTURED IMPISH COMPLEX ENTERTAINING IMPUDENT CONSTANT EUPHORIC INCLUSIVE COOL EXPECTANT INFATUATED CRAFTING EXPERIMENTING INFORMING CRAZY FACETED INSPIRING SENSUAL SHOCKING INTERFERING SHINING SHOPPING INTOXICATING QUESTIONING PLAYFUL INTRUDING RAGING POLITICAL INVITING RECYCLING PONDEROUS INVOLVED REFLECTIVE PRACTICAL IRREPRESSABLE REJECTED PREGNANT JEALOUS RESPECTFUL PROACTIVE JOY-GIVING RESTLESS PROGRESSIVE JOYFUL ROGUISH PROMPTING JUST ROMANTIC PROTECTING KINDLING SACRAMENTAL PROVOCATIVE LAUGHING SCARY PUKKA LIBERATING SEDUCTIVE PUZZLING LISTENING SILENT QUIRKY LONGING SORTED TOPSY-TURVY LOVING SPIRITED TOUCHING MELODIOUS STROPPY TOUCHY-FEELY MISUNDERSTOOD STUBBORN TRAVELLING MODEST SUNNY TOUGH MORPHING SUPPORTIVE UNATTRACTIVE MOTHERING SURPRISING UNCOMPROMISING MURMURING SYPATHETIC UNFAIR MUSICAL TACTILE UNFASHIONABLE MYSTERIOUS TEASING UNIQUE NETWORKING TECHNICAL UNRESTING NOURISHING TEMPTING UNTOUCHABLE NURTURING TIMELESS WEEPING OBSTINATE THOUGHTFUL WELCOMING OUTRAGEOUS WILD OVERWHELMING WISE PAINED WORKING PAINTING VERNACULAR PARTICIPATING PASSIONATE PERSONAL PESTERING VERSATILE VULNERABLE
Any other suggestions while we're at it?
Women on the web
This morning we have explored how we can develop the blog for the future. The main question being 'how is it for you/us?' Thoughts so far:
- a great tool for communication
- an affirmation to other women in ministries and the church as a whole
- a place to remember and share the Women in Ministries story
- a gathering place for resources, which can then be collated
- a story telling place
- a place of solidarity
- a place of witness to the gospel
- a network - staying in touch
- a gateway
As part of our planning we have appointed 2 gatekeepers (Jane and Sarah) and 6 posters (Marion, Jacky, Ann, Liz, Kate and Janet). It's been acknowledged, although not sorted, that some may need technical support.
Finally, we recognise tht different people will be involved at different levels, some will be bloggers, some will be posters, some will be commenters, some will be readers and some will simply not be involved.
Enjoy!
Liz
Soil sifter
As we were talking about Jesus the riddler in our remembering of the Bible Kay Alberg reminded us that the the word riddle is not just about wordplay and verbal interaction but that it also mean to sift soil. So we have a new kenning that perhaps also speaks about Jesus the soil sifter, lakeside drifter - Jesus the riddler.
Anyway this morning as I woke up I was thinking that soil sifter went rather well with the kenning I received on the first evening - tomb quitter but soil sifter also made me think of the person searching for buried treasure in a field. We are God's soil sifters as we search for and workk for the kingdom.
Anyway this morning as I woke up I was thinking that soil sifter went rather well with the kenning I received on the first evening - tomb quitter but soil sifter also made me think of the person searching for buried treasure in a field. We are God's soil sifters as we search for and workk for the kingdom.
Elias Chakour
I wrote about my own experience of Elias Chacour who lives in Palestine here. At our morning prayer on Wednesday we continued sharing of stories and Liz Burne told her story of meeting with him and the lasting impression he has made on her deeper understanding of the Israel Palestine conflict.
Thinking about Chacour as we progressed into our day of remembering stories I realised that he is in many ways one of Christ's riddlers.
Anyway for now here is an extract from a post I wrote after meeting Chacour at the extraordinaary meeting the WCC organised in Bern last September.
[Chacour] is a passionate believer in non-violence but this doesn't mean he believes in being passive or letting injustice go unchallenged.
As a speaker of eleven languages he also pointed to how taking a new look at the translation of the Beatitudes could help us reconsider the basis of our Christian commitment.
Translators rendered the Aramaic, Hebrew term "ashreï" that Jesus would have used and gave it the meaning of the Greek "makarioï" which in French or English is often rendered as happy or blessed. But "ashreï" has rather the meaning get up or get going, debout or en marche in French. Archbishop Chacour quoted André Chouraqui's translation into French of the Beatitudes which takes this challenge up and also seems to fit well within the framework of the overall message and movement of the gospel of Christ.
Chacour insisted that "peace needs the proactive, don't sit down, stand up, get your hands dirty" he said. "If you are hungry you will fish all day trying to find something to feed yourself and your family ... if we truly hunger and thirst for justice then we will do likewise."
So try reading the beatitudes differently replacing the words "blessed" or "happy" with "stand up" or "set out." One step on the way to becoming proactive for peace.
Thinking about Chacour as we progressed into our day of remembering stories I realised that he is in many ways one of Christ's riddlers.
Anyway for now here is an extract from a post I wrote after meeting Chacour at the extraordinaary meeting the WCC organised in Bern last September.
[Chacour] is a passionate believer in non-violence but this doesn't mean he believes in being passive or letting injustice go unchallenged.
As a speaker of eleven languages he also pointed to how taking a new look at the translation of the Beatitudes could help us reconsider the basis of our Christian commitment.
Translators rendered the Aramaic, Hebrew term "ashreï" that Jesus would have used and gave it the meaning of the Greek "makarioï" which in French or English is often rendered as happy or blessed. But "ashreï" has rather the meaning get up or get going, debout or en marche in French. Archbishop Chacour quoted André Chouraqui's translation into French of the Beatitudes which takes this challenge up and also seems to fit well within the framework of the overall message and movement of the gospel of Christ.
Chacour insisted that "peace needs the proactive, don't sit down, stand up, get your hands dirty" he said. "If you are hungry you will fish all day trying to find something to feed yourself and your family ... if we truly hunger and thirst for justice then we will do likewise."
So try reading the beatitudes differently replacing the words "blessed" or "happy" with "stand up" or "set out." One step on the way to becoming proactive for peace.
Wednesday, 14 January 2009
Women at the Well
Below are some of the greetings we have received via Hazel Addy from the Women at the Well - the women ministers who meet across five countries from the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa.
From: Rev Zodwa Kakaza
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Saviour servants of the Lord in the URC. It was a blessing to us to receive Hazel Addy as your representative at our retreat in Mozambique. We always remember you in our prayers in your ministry. May the Lord continue to bless and guide you. I wish you all a Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year with your families and congregations. Romans 5:1-5
From: Rev Tebogo Maema
Dear God the women reading this message are beautiful, committed and strong. Help them to live their lives knowing that your are their safe guard. Bless them to shine in dark places. I love you all wishing you a Happy Christmas and prosperous 2009.
From: Marang Moaung (Student Minister)
It is my prayer that this meeting of women ministers will not end in vain, that these women's ministry's will be dedicated to God's glory. I pray that they stand in unity in order to voice out on behalf of the voiceless. God knew why he created them being women because he uses the nothings of this world to open doors of opportunities.
From: Roxane Jordaan
We honour your commitment to global dialogue. In the end we all breathe the same air and work within the community of God. May our spirits always be in tune across our geographical divide. A sister in prayer is a sister in the heart.
From: Patience Pheko
It is my prayer that the Women at the Well has now met in three countries, that this be continued. I pray that they be confident and put their trust in God. They grow spiritually and their families be blessed by the Almighty. May he open doors for us in his Kingdom and give us strength, courage and commitment in his services. God the Creator moves in a mysterious way and he performs wonders. The partnership with the URC be continued and Lord bind us together.
From: Rev Dojiwe Masuku (Zimbabwe)
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. I wish you many more blessings from our heavenly Father.
From: Rev Malebago Muriel Mothibi (Botswana)
We thank God for the partnership that exists between us, we also thank you for the commitment you have shown thus far. May God continue to bless you and bless this partnership.
From: Rev Sikjanrezile Makwelo
Dear sisters,
greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our profound gratitude to you as we continue journeying together in the faith. As Women at the Well we continue sharing experiences and ready to face any challenges. It is with enthusiasm and a determined effort that we continue. May God's abundant blessings cherish you forever. Thank you.
From: Rev Muso Ngema
Greetings in the mighty name of Jesus Christ our Saviour. May the love and grace of God fill and embrace you as you continue in this service for his Kingdom. May your faith grow stronger in this journey and may you fight a good fight of faith in the service for the expansion of God's Kingdom.
From: Thandi Mnagoma
Greetings sisters in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ our Saviour. AS we sit in this conference we are reminded of the love of God and the purpose for God's call in our life. May the love of God be with you as you continue the struggle of life in the service of the Church. We continue to pray that more and more people may come to the knowledge of Christ.
Peace and love be with you.
From: Rev Mrs Florence J E Botha (Johannesburg South Africa)
Thankyou for your hospitality. I will have an indelible impression on the rest of my life. God bless Mozambique! The conference empowered me and invigourated my spirit.
All my love.
From: Mrs K Magosi (Botswana Graduate)
In the name of Jesus Christ I greet you all. I thank you for the support and hospitality you gave us. I pray God the Almighty to strengthen the group "The Women at the Well" so that it continues with the mission.
All my love.
From: Corin Natly Magielies
Dear sisters in Christ. Thank you for your prayer and support. Will keep you in my prayers. God bless you.
From: Revd Carol A Cloete-Piedt
To our sisters in Christ of the URC. How wonderful to know that our partnership also symbolises our mutual connectedness to Christ. May it intensify and impact on the life of every woman who bends her knees to drink from the well!
From: Noreen Maluleka
Greetings to the sisters in Christ. It is with gratitude that while I am attending the conference of the Women in the Well I get this opportunity to remember you all. I wish that God bless you all in the church that you be blessed with joyous festive season and Happy New Year, together with your families.
With love.
From: Rev Zodwa Kakaza
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Saviour servants of the Lord in the URC. It was a blessing to us to receive Hazel Addy as your representative at our retreat in Mozambique. We always remember you in our prayers in your ministry. May the Lord continue to bless and guide you. I wish you all a Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year with your families and congregations. Romans 5:1-5
From: Rev Tebogo Maema
Dear God the women reading this message are beautiful, committed and strong. Help them to live their lives knowing that your are their safe guard. Bless them to shine in dark places. I love you all wishing you a Happy Christmas and prosperous 2009.
From: Marang Moaung (Student Minister)
It is my prayer that this meeting of women ministers will not end in vain, that these women's ministry's will be dedicated to God's glory. I pray that they stand in unity in order to voice out on behalf of the voiceless. God knew why he created them being women because he uses the nothings of this world to open doors of opportunities.
From: Roxane Jordaan
We honour your commitment to global dialogue. In the end we all breathe the same air and work within the community of God. May our spirits always be in tune across our geographical divide. A sister in prayer is a sister in the heart.
From: Patience Pheko
It is my prayer that the Women at the Well has now met in three countries, that this be continued. I pray that they be confident and put their trust in God. They grow spiritually and their families be blessed by the Almighty. May he open doors for us in his Kingdom and give us strength, courage and commitment in his services. God the Creator moves in a mysterious way and he performs wonders. The partnership with the URC be continued and Lord bind us together.
From: Rev Dojiwe Masuku (Zimbabwe)
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. I wish you many more blessings from our heavenly Father.
From: Rev Malebago Muriel Mothibi (Botswana)
We thank God for the partnership that exists between us, we also thank you for the commitment you have shown thus far. May God continue to bless you and bless this partnership.
From: Rev Sikjanrezile Makwelo
Dear sisters,
greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our profound gratitude to you as we continue journeying together in the faith. As Women at the Well we continue sharing experiences and ready to face any challenges. It is with enthusiasm and a determined effort that we continue. May God's abundant blessings cherish you forever. Thank you.
From: Rev Muso Ngema
Greetings in the mighty name of Jesus Christ our Saviour. May the love and grace of God fill and embrace you as you continue in this service for his Kingdom. May your faith grow stronger in this journey and may you fight a good fight of faith in the service for the expansion of God's Kingdom.
From: Thandi Mnagoma
Greetings sisters in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ our Saviour. AS we sit in this conference we are reminded of the love of God and the purpose for God's call in our life. May the love of God be with you as you continue the struggle of life in the service of the Church. We continue to pray that more and more people may come to the knowledge of Christ.
Peace and love be with you.
From: Rev Mrs Florence J E Botha (Johannesburg South Africa)
Thankyou for your hospitality. I will have an indelible impression on the rest of my life. God bless Mozambique! The conference empowered me and invigourated my spirit.
All my love.
From: Mrs K Magosi (Botswana Graduate)
In the name of Jesus Christ I greet you all. I thank you for the support and hospitality you gave us. I pray God the Almighty to strengthen the group "The Women at the Well" so that it continues with the mission.
All my love.
From: Corin Natly Magielies
Dear sisters in Christ. Thank you for your prayer and support. Will keep you in my prayers. God bless you.
From: Revd Carol A Cloete-Piedt
To our sisters in Christ of the URC. How wonderful to know that our partnership also symbolises our mutual connectedness to Christ. May it intensify and impact on the life of every woman who bends her knees to drink from the well!
From: Noreen Maluleka
Greetings to the sisters in Christ. It is with gratitude that while I am attending the conference of the Women in the Well I get this opportunity to remember you all. I wish that God bless you all in the church that you be blessed with joyous festive season and Happy New Year, together with your families.
With love.
Sculpture to make us think
Here is a link to the Good Grief work by URC sculptor Jean Parker who's based in Coventry. The work is powerful and tells the story of her own experience of living with cancer.
So how do we tell the story in a life giving way?
At the end of another rich day of sharing, praying, doing and discussing I'm left pondering this question - how do we tell our own stories and other stories in a way that leads us into life rather than into the quicksand or stagnation?
Wryly I once again remark to myself - What makes God laugh? People making plans!
But today we heard about the super human level of empathy and love that are expected of professional religious workers - and the terrible expectations that we also place on our own shoulders. As we tell and piece together and scrapbook our own stories and connect and link them to biblical stories how do those expectations fit in and make meaning?
One of the truly liberating things I heard as we reflected on that was how there are at least three potential endings to our stories. Allowing ourselves to choose a different ending, to consciously change the way we tell the story beginning middle and end - perhaps because the beginning middle and end are each of us.
Wryly I once again remark to myself - What makes God laugh? People making plans!
But today we heard about the super human level of empathy and love that are expected of professional religious workers - and the terrible expectations that we also place on our own shoulders. As we tell and piece together and scrapbook our own stories and connect and link them to biblical stories how do those expectations fit in and make meaning?
One of the truly liberating things I heard as we reflected on that was how there are at least three potential endings to our stories. Allowing ourselves to choose a different ending, to consciously change the way we tell the story beginning middle and end - perhaps because the beginning middle and end are each of us.
Extracts from Hazel Addy's presentation: My trip to southern Africa
I did a lot of travelling:
- Fly to Cape Town overnight 10 hours
- Bus to Eastern Cape 9 hours
- Bus to J’Berg and Maputo overnight and then all next day!
- Fly out of Maputo to LHR via J'berg overnight.
Carol, the Coloured minister with whom I was staying, travels great distances by car to visit neighbouring churches. I spoke at this women’s meeting and led a discussion about the church and AIDS, together with a woman named Clementine who runs all the HIV projects in the area. She had often tried to get churches involved, she said, but as soon as she approached the ministers, that was where things came to a halt. It was noted that the ministers were usually male. These women knew all about the realities of AIDS in their community, wanted to get involved but felt uncomfortable about taking the first steps. Carol talked to me about a woman in her church who, it had been whispered to her after the death, had died with HIV. Carol had been shocked to hear this and wondered why the woman had not felt able to confide in her. Moments like that reminded me so much of when I was HIV adviser for the URC and I found myself saying the same thing, maybe it involves the congregation examining its own prejudices.
What do you think is happening here? The parents of the children being confirmed come for a rehearsal on the Sat evening. Notice, no fathers. And the mothers are looking rather puzzled as to what this is all about.
Jesus the Riddler helping us make connections between the different narratives
On Wednesday morning we continued to remember the Bible stories we had done our scrapbooking about and in groups of two told each other the remembered story of the picture that our artistic works focused on. More of that a bit later on in another post I think.As part of encopuraging us to begin to make the connections between the biblical, individual and communal narratives we are all part of and which are part of us, Janet Lees encouraged us to read Tom Thatcher's Jesus The Riddler which has some interesting ideas apparently about the parables as extended riddles in the oral culture that marked Jesus preaching and story-telling styles.
She also mentioned Mary Ann Beavis' book The Lost Coin which I've used with my feminist theology group (I'd particularly recommend the chapter on the wise and foolish virgins). The point being that paraboling, riddling perhaps too - and who knows maybe even scrapbooking and remembering - are to some extent ways of resolving the pain, ambiguity and darkness in life and understanding. The other point being that it is important to use more than one person's method in the understanding of the world of the Bible. Janet admitted to us that much as she had felt able to take up William Herzog's idea straight away she had found Thatcher's riddling idea rather more difficult to get to grips with in the first instance. Anyway we mention all of this for others to be able to add their ideas and comments - and in the hope that you will leave us some links too.
We'll do a post later about chaos and ambiguity following on form our powerful morning prayer reflection by Kate Gray but in the meantime here's some of the blurb about Jesus the Riddler:
As most readers of the New Testament know, the words of Jesus are often spoken in riddles?in parables and other sayings that were and continue to be difficult to understand. Tom Thatcher explains in his latest book that Jesus may have been intentionally ambiguous, using riddles to establish his authority as a teacher and to encourage his followers to think more deeply about the nature of truth. Jesus? riddles, like riddles across many cultures, potentially refer to many different things, and they challenge those who hear them to decode the meaning the riddler intends. Figuring out the riddles in which Jesus spoke requires a depth of faith and close attention to the words of the gospel. With text boxes and helps to the reader, this book guides readers through discerning these puzzling and important words.
Whose word is it - by Jacky Embrey
Whose word is it
that bible we hold within?
Is it fashioned to affirm or to undermine?
to challenge or to oppress?
to entice or to put down?
Is it God's word, our word or their word?
How does it grow and take shape
that bible we hold within?
Is it formed by written word or living Word
by assumption or understanding
by discipleship or decision.
Is it harsh rhetoric, wishful thinking or worthless?
How do we use it
that bible we hold within?
Is it wielded as a weapon or a balm
as a guide or a strait jacket
as an inspiration or a chasm
Is it God's word, our word or their word?
that bible we hold within?
Is it fashioned to affirm or to undermine?
to challenge or to oppress?
to entice or to put down?
Is it God's word, our word or their word?
How does it grow and take shape
that bible we hold within?
Is it formed by written word or living Word
by assumption or understanding
by discipleship or decision.
Is it harsh rhetoric, wishful thinking or worthless?
How do we use it
that bible we hold within?
Is it wielded as a weapon or a balm
as a guide or a strait jacket
as an inspiration or a chasm
Is it God's word, our word or their word?
Comments and scrapping
So thanks to Sam and Lythan our very first commenters on the women in ministries blog. Quite exciting for us to already be generating comments so please the rest of you receiving the link please say hello via the comments, you should find it fairly easy to make a comment.
In her comment Lythan drew our attention to Salt which is a blog of a faith and craft scrapbooking blog. Visit their blog for some great ideas for linking faith, creative crafts and Bible study. This is what they say about themselves:
We are a diverse group of card makers, scrappers and altered art fans from across the world who have been brought together through our love of Jesus Christ and our desire to express our faith in creative ways.Once every two weeks we will produce work based on a challenge which we hope will inspire you to produce work of your own - and we would love to see it.So that we can all know Jesus more clearly; love him more dearly; and follow him more nearly, each and every day.
In her comment Lythan drew our attention to Salt which is a blog of a faith and craft scrapbooking blog. Visit their blog for some great ideas for linking faith, creative crafts and Bible study. This is what they say about themselves:
We are a diverse group of card makers, scrappers and altered art fans from across the world who have been brought together through our love of Jesus Christ and our desire to express our faith in creative ways.Once every two weeks we will produce work based on a challenge which we hope will inspire you to produce work of your own - and we would love to see it.So that we can all know Jesus more clearly; love him more dearly; and follow him more nearly, each and every day.
Tuesday, 13 January 2009
Caravaggio and Salley Vickers for the remembered Bible
One of the books we listened to extracts from this morning was Salley Vickers' The Other side of You which has some fascinating scenes where one of the characters is confronted at differnt points in the book with the two very different paintings of the Road to Emmaus that the artist Caravaggio painted at the beginning and end of his life respectively. So now maybe you can guess which is which - I think all of us will be wanting to buy Salley Vickers' book now. (And just a note to all you editors Salley is spelt with an e in this case - from willow in Irish - click on the links to her website to find out more.)
scrapbooking, remembering, blogging ...
This evening we've been in the church, no longer like last night learning about scrapbooking, how we might do it and about how it can help as part of community work, but actually doing some ourselves. I think it would be fair to say that it was challenging, fun and gently creative - a way of trying to focus things down to a few words and images at the end of the day: What is it I want to say with this one page I'm making?
As we were finishing our glueing, sewing, cutting sticking and printing we gathered at the other end of Carver memorial and lit once more the red candle for Gaza as we gathered for prayer. Scattered on the floor were pieces of paper with words which Wendy White had prepared. Each was an adjective and we gathered up a few and meditated on them as adjectives for God - mine were changeless, homeless and shopping. The last one of those made me smile. Next to me Janet was busy stuffing one of her words into her shoe and then taking it out and sitting on top of it - hidden. Someone else was reflecting on recycling as an adjective for God.
We promise those of you who can't be here some photos soon, but you know what it's like, no matter how much remembering you do you never bring the right cables with you to connect the computer to the camera!
As we were finishing our glueing, sewing, cutting sticking and printing we gathered at the other end of Carver memorial and lit once more the red candle for Gaza as we gathered for prayer. Scattered on the floor were pieces of paper with words which Wendy White had prepared. Each was an adjective and we gathered up a few and meditated on them as adjectives for God - mine were changeless, homeless and shopping. The last one of those made me smile. Next to me Janet was busy stuffing one of her words into her shoe and then taking it out and sitting on top of it - hidden. Someone else was reflecting on recycling as an adjective for God.
We promise those of you who can't be here some photos soon, but you know what it's like, no matter how much remembering you do you never bring the right cables with you to connect the computer to the camera!
Remembering ... by Sarah Hall
I've been remembering how my life has changed over the past three months since my mother's stroke: my self-understanding, the dynamics of my family and even the balance of my church life. I hope this time in Windermere will help me reflect on some of these changes, and how the Bible's stories and God's story may interact with mine at this uncertain juncture.
Remembering ...
I've been remembering...
Rain wet pavements
sodden leaves
This place I've not seen for such a long time
The same sky, clouds, dark grey, massive, threatening
The past is a different country
And yet
and yet
spring bulbs, their tips just showing
tentative? confident?
New life: fragile
but certain as morning.
Hope.
Rain wet pavements
sodden leaves
This place I've not seen for such a long time
The same sky, clouds, dark grey, massive, threatening
The past is a different country
And yet
and yet
spring bulbs, their tips just showing
tentative? confident?
New life: fragile
but certain as morning.
Hope.
Remembering ... by Ruth Clarke
Remembering the Bible has made me think of my introduction to the Bible. I heard Bibles stories told in Sunday School when I was very small. Later I learned passages by rote for Scripture exams. I did very well! Later still I asked why are these stories more important then Cinderella or Peter Pan. Nobody has yet really given me a satisfactory answer. I have to feel the answer in my bones. At least I have a lot of Bible that I can remember.
Remembering ... by Marion Thomas
Talking about remembering has prompted me to remember the journey that has brought me to this point in time. Sometime the stages on that journey feel very far away from where I am now. I remember with much affection the Sunday School teachers (who shall remain nameless!) whose talks were not particularly inspiring, but who loved me. I remember the people in the group I belonged to as a young adult - we were incredibly close, and shared some truly deep and meaningful experiences. I remember the friends who took me to their hearts in a church I had only just joined when I was immobilised by an accident, and who supported me in practical ways that I would never have expected. The list could go on. I am deeply grateful to them all and for them all. And now I have met a new group of people, and I really look forward to all that I share with them...
Remembering ... by Liz Byrne
Remembering
returning to the past
entering the story
mine, yours, ours, God's.
Remembering
what was it that happened
telling stories
did it, didn't it, perhaps, whatever...
Remembering
weaving our experiences
making a greater story
filled with life and love.
returning to the past
entering the story
mine, yours, ours, God's.
Remembering
what was it that happened
telling stories
did it, didn't it, perhaps, whatever...
Remembering
weaving our experiences
making a greater story
filled with life and love.
Remembering ... by Susan Flynn
I've been remembering how my father used to tell my brother and I stories as children, when we went to bed, such as the Lost Sheep. He would stroke our hair as if we were the lost sheep being carried home.
I have also recalled how one church, with whom I worked, chose a parable - the Lost Sheep- on which to base their life and mission. It would be interesting to know if St Mark's Wythenshawe are conscious of it today.
Remembering the Bible and story telling are so important in ministry, especially in contexts of social urban deprivation, where traditional approaches to the Bible and preaching are not easy mediums for communication.
Remembering stories are important for Remembrance Sunday and times of lost.
I have also recalled how one church, with whom I worked, chose a parable - the Lost Sheep- on which to base their life and mission. It would be interesting to know if St Mark's Wythenshawe are conscious of it today.
Remembering the Bible and story telling are so important in ministry, especially in contexts of social urban deprivation, where traditional approaches to the Bible and preaching are not easy mediums for communication.
Remembering stories are important for Remembrance Sunday and times of lost.
And we've been praying ...
Evening and morning, morning and evening we've been praying together in a gentle and uncomplicated way. Often our prayers are the names of a country or region, sometimes a name of a family or situation from our work, at other times silence ...
Gaza, El Salvador, Sout Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Myanmar ...
And we light candles and dare to speak of hope in the despair...
Here's a meditation on Gaza from ASBO Jesus.
You can make a statement by going to christian aid here.
Gaza, El Salvador, Sout Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Myanmar ...
And we light candles and dare to speak of hope in the despair...
Here's a meditation on Gaza from ASBO Jesus.
You can make a statement by going to christian aid here.
The beginnings of a remembered reading list for Vision4life
One of the great things about all meeting up as a group is that we get to talk about books we're reading, have read or might like one day to read. Over supper on our first evening Sheila Maxey talked about a Book of Silence by Sara Maitland that she's reading. As is the way when talking about books and remembering this led some of to remember other books by Sara Maitland and I think that the one many of us remember reading first is Walking on the Water: women talk about spirituality from 1983 which she edited together with Jo Garcia. (I have to say that none of us could actually remember the title but thank goodness for google which helps us piece our failing memories together!)
Meanwhile Janet Lees prepared a booklist to help us make connections between the Vision4Life year of the Bible and techniques for remembering the Bible and we'll post the whole of that to the blog as the dazs progress but at our Tuesday morning session she showed us some of the wonderful work of Sheffield artist Dinah Roe Kendal and her book Allegories of Heaven: An Artist Explores the Greatest Story Ever Told Piquant, PO Box 83, Carlisle, CA3 9GR (www.piquant.net) ISBN 1 903689 12 0. The pictures are wonderful and helped us share and meditate on some classics by the old masters that we'd been given in our scrapbooking treasure boxes the previous evening.
Janet also encouraged us to read two books by William Herzog Parables as subversive speech. Jesus as pedagogue of the oppressed and Prophet and teacher an introduction to the historical Jesus. She encouraged us to think about his perspectives on the strucutres of society in 1st century Palestine and the differences between that time and British 21st century culture. Weaving and enabling the remembering of the Bible we have to be aware of the connections and the diconnections between that time and society and our own.
Anyway, now we've done the beginning we can promise more of the middle and the end of the reading list as we progress. In the meantime I'm hoping that once I've posted this some of my colleagues here may make some suggestions in the comments section about other books they are reading.
Meanwhile Janet Lees prepared a booklist to help us make connections between the Vision4Life year of the Bible and techniques for remembering the Bible and we'll post the whole of that to the blog as the dazs progress but at our Tuesday morning session she showed us some of the wonderful work of Sheffield artist Dinah Roe Kendal and her book Allegories of Heaven: An Artist Explores the Greatest Story Ever Told Piquant, PO Box 83, Carlisle, CA3 9GR (www.piquant.net) ISBN 1 903689 12 0. The pictures are wonderful and helped us share and meditate on some classics by the old masters that we'd been given in our scrapbooking treasure boxes the previous evening.
Janet also encouraged us to read two books by William Herzog Parables as subversive speech. Jesus as pedagogue of the oppressed and Prophet and teacher an introduction to the historical Jesus. She encouraged us to think about his perspectives on the strucutres of society in 1st century Palestine and the differences between that time and British 21st century culture. Weaving and enabling the remembering of the Bible we have to be aware of the connections and the diconnections between that time and society and our own.
Anyway, now we've done the beginning we can promise more of the middle and the end of the reading list as we progress. In the meantime I'm hoping that once I've posted this some of my colleagues here may make some suggestions in the comments section about other books they are reading.
Taking the name
At the end of our session on kennings and after we had finished filling in our wonderful Bible fish on the first evening, Janet in her inimitable style read this poem she wrote a few months ago
Taking the name ...
We are all like him:
born once
in a place we don't choose.
subjects of another empire.
Lost as children
by innate curiosity
or poor parenting.
Baptised as adults
by air, fire or water.
We wander,
collecting some,
discarding others,
teaching a few,
healing fewer.
We attend, more or less
to our bodies;
eating, drinking remembering.
At the end
we die once
and forall,
hoping to rise
in love and memory
for fifty days
or more,
In vain we take the name:
Jesus Christ!
copyright (c) Janet A. Lees 2008
Taking the name ...
We are all like him:
born once
in a place we don't choose.
subjects of another empire.
Lost as children
by innate curiosity
or poor parenting.
Baptised as adults
by air, fire or water.
We wander,
collecting some,
discarding others,
teaching a few,
healing fewer.
We attend, more or less
to our bodies;
eating, drinking remembering.
At the end
we die once
and forall,
hoping to rise
in love and memory
for fifty days
or more,
In vain we take the name:
Jesus Christ!
copyright (c) Janet A. Lees 2008
Kennings for remembering the Bible
The first session of the Women in Ministry meeting I'm attending in Windermere was led by Janet Lees and encouraged us to use "kennings" to remember the Bible. She handed out some gospel kennings to us and encouraged us to talk about the gospel story they maybe helped us remember.
It was fun and the kennings she'd prepared beforehand were very powerful - the two I got given were "tear shedder" and "tomb quitter".
The conversation about how comfortable we feel about remembering was also helpful and interesting - do we need to be able to remember the Bible perfectly or is it ok when telling the remembered story to tell it in the same way that you might tell any other story - "Oh you know what's his name was there too..."
We talked about how each of have a rememebered Bible within us and then filled in some wonderful Bible fish with our remembered Bibles. More and some picutres soon.
It was fun and the kennings she'd prepared beforehand were very powerful - the two I got given were "tear shedder" and "tomb quitter".
The conversation about how comfortable we feel about remembering was also helpful and interesting - do we need to be able to remember the Bible perfectly or is it ok when telling the remembered story to tell it in the same way that you might tell any other story - "Oh you know what's his name was there too..."
We talked about how each of have a rememebered Bible within us and then filled in some wonderful Bible fish with our remembered Bibles. More and some picutres soon.
Sunday, 11 January 2009
Beginning to blog with the United Reformed Church's women in ministry group
This is a blog where people attending the women in ministry session at the United Reformed Church's Windermere Centre can introduce themselves and try out blogging. Please bear in mind that they have me, Jane Stranz as their teacher and I am hardly a techie, so we'll see how we get on!
The rest of you are more than welcome to leave us ideas and links in the comments section. We'd really like to hear from other women bloggers involved in Christian ministry.
Anyway this is just an introductory post to set something up for us before we all arrive in sunny-snowy Windermere tomorrow.
The rest of you are more than welcome to leave us ideas and links in the comments section. We'd really like to hear from other women bloggers involved in Christian ministry.
Anyway this is just an introductory post to set something up for us before we all arrive in sunny-snowy Windermere tomorrow.
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