walls come tumbling down

Lots taking place today in celebration of the fall of the Berlin Wall twenty years ago. A book that springs to mind when I think about this momentous event is Ian McEwan's Black Dogs; the black dogs of the title are a metaphor of the potential for violence, corruption and perversion in modern Europe as the book ranges from events during the second world war to the collapse of the Berlin Wall.

Here's something else that the collapse of the Berlin Wall brings to mind even though it was recorded several years before; Paul Weller and The Style Council's Walls Come Tumbling Down.



And if you are looking for a liturgical rite to celebrate the bringing down of the wall you can do no better than this from the Beaker Folk of Husborne Crawley.

5 deeply de-Christian doctrines

Interesting meme doing the rounds at the moment and here's my response:

List 5 doctrines that are taught within the Christian church that you believe to be deeply de-Christian.

1. God calls us to be perfect. God calls us to be holy, which is not the same thing and faithfulness is an expression of our desire to be the people God longs for us to be.
2. Jesus is a good bloke and a good moral example to follow. Jesus is but he is much more than that.
3. Evangelism and social justice are two sides of the same coin. This suggests you can choose heads or tails; both are non-negotiables of the Christian faith.
4. The immutability and impassibility of God. The more I read the Bible the more I am convinced that this doctrine owes more to Greek philosophy than the God revealed in the scriptures and ultimately in Jesus. If God is immutable and impassable what was the cross all about?
5. That there is a hierarchy of sin and sex is near the top. If there is a hierarchy then I’m pretty sure it’s not the one we suggest by our teaching and practice. That is not to say that sex does not matter, but while we are obsessed with it millions of children are dying for want of clean water.

I tag Paul Trathen, Jonathan Evens, Sam Norton, Tim Goodbody and Peter Banks.

nativity

O.K. I know we've only just got bonfire night out of the way but sometimes you have to plan ahead. I've already seen the trailer for the film Nativity and now Steve Goddard has drawn my attention via Twitter to a set of resources being produced by Damaris Media to link in with the film. The resources include:

• A full service outline of an all-age service, using footage from Nativity!
• Full notes for a primary school assembly using footage from Nativity!
• A specially created short video for use in or before church services, telling your congregation about the film
• A specially created short video for focusing your congregation in advance of your Advent Sunday service
• A specially created short video for use in a children’s slot in a Sunday service
• Open access Tools For Talks resources with downloadable clips from the film and suggestions for use in your meetings

Here's the trailer for the film which will be released at the end of November.

commission4mission exhibition

Dropped into Chelmsford Cathedral this morning to see the commission4mission exhibition. Commission4mission aims to encourage the commissioning and placing of contemporary Christian Art in churches, as a mission opportunity and as a means of fundraising for charities. The exhibition runs from 2nd – 7th November ‘09 in the cathedral and ends on Saturday 7th with a Study Day entitled ‘Perspectives on commissioning Christian Art’.

There is a wide variety of art on display including: pottery, painting in watercolour, oils and acrylics, embroidery, wall hangings, prints, sculpture, panel reliefs, mosaics, drawings, glass work and jewellery. The cathedral also contains many examples of contemporary art and one of the most striking features is a 20 foot painting situated in the North Transept and unveiled in January 2004 to celebrate the 1,350th anniversary of St. Cedd's arrival at Bradwell. It is of a "Tree of Life" painted by Mark Cazalet. It is a Gospel Oak which evokes different levels of response from the viewer with many symbols that give their own messages. The environmental and ecological themes are obvious. but it is also a celebration, which exults in the sheer splendour of this great tree, and is a call to worship the God who creates.

Jonathan Evens, one of the key people behind commission4mission, posted a guest blog which explains more about the vision here.

UP 3D

A beautiful, heart warming story that really does deliver at every level. Rarely does a film have our whole family wiping away the tears, but Up managed it in the first ten minutes. The story follows the developing friendship between an old man called Carl, and Russell a young adventure scout, set against the background of surreal and yet captivating action. Among the themes explored are: bereavement, old age, family breakdown, childlessness, disillusionment, unfulfilled dreams and environmental exploitation. It is so refreshing to watch a film devoid of cynicism and free from contrived sentimentality.

Occasionally animators manage to capture in a few short scenes the joys and sorrows of life with a sensitivity missing from most other films. One family favourite is the story of the cowgirl Jesse in Toy Story 2 set to the song When Somebody Loved Me; it is heartbreaking. The opening montage in Up, unfolding the relationship between Carl and Ellie Fredricksen is perfectly judged, full of humour and heartache and almost a complete film on its own, though it lasts about five minutes.

The main story is an adventure in which Carl ties thousands of balloons to his house to float away from impending eviction and life in an old people’s home. Russell accidentally ends up coming along for the ride and the two find themselves landing near Paradise Falls, somewhere in South America, the place Carl and Ellie had always dreamed of visiting. There they meet Muntz the long lost adventurer that Carl had looked up to as a child, only to discover he is not quite the hero he appeared in the old cinema newsreels. There’s plenty of straight forward action and laughter to balance the more subtle emotional moments in the film.

It’s refreshing to see a film in which the central characters are so ordinary; a curmudgeonly old man and a rather overweight and seemingly unexceptional child who nevertheless proves to be courageous, loyal and compassionate - so different from the classic Disney heroes and princesses.

The only concern I’ve read raised about Up centres on the use of 3D. I certainly think you could watch the film in 2D and the film wouldn’t be diminished in any way, but it was great fun for us as a family putting on the 3D glasses and it made the cinema trip feel like more of an event. Having said that the trailer for A Christmas Carol really showed off the 3D technology to great effect and meant that the 3D impact of the feature film was somewhat flattened.

Up is a superb example of the high quality animated films being produced today. It’s a great family film with plenty to hold everyone’s attention and we floated out of the cinema uplifted by the whole experience.

Down’s

We spent a very enjoyable evening with friends at the 18th birthday party for a lovely young lady at the weekend, she is the sister of my God-daughter. I remember her birth and the privilege of being one of the first to see her and her adoring parents in the hospital. I also remember the following weeks as the baby was diagnosed with Down’s Syndrome and the determination of her parents over the years to ensure only the best for her in care and education. The birthday party gave the young woman the party she has dreamed of having and the joy on her face as she and her friends partied and danced was a delight to see.

Over the years in ministry I have had the privilege of getting to know several children, men and women with Down’s Syndrome. In one parish I prepared a young man called Alan for confirmation and I still remember vividly the reverence on his face as he knelt before the bishop. Alan used to come to church with a scarf draped as a stole around his neck, a piece of paper in his collar like a priest and he would always bring some bread for the communion. I suspected that Alan never thought we were a proper church; he preferred a more catholic service to our church plant services as we met in a school hall on the urban overspill housing estate. Alan had worshipped at another church in the town for a time, but some of the congregation found his attire and actions irreverent and he was discouraged from attending. Their loss was our gain because Alan and the others from the supervised accommodation on the estate were an integral part of our church life and ministry and I couldn’t imagine the church family without them. Alan died a few years ago.

Today the British Medical Journal has published a report suggesting a steep rise in the number of Down’s Syndrome diagnoses. Various factors have been identified to explain this increase, including a growth in the number of women deciding to start a family later in life and the wider availability of diagnostic tests. About 92% of those receiving a diagnosis as a result of screening choose to terminate the pregnancy. Yet, this is only part of the story.

On Saturday The Times ran a story stating that between 2000 and 2006 the number of children born with Down’s Syndrome had increased by some 15%. The explanation given is that more parents are willing to consider bringing up a Down’s child. Various factors have been suggested for this decision including; those with religious/moral objections to abortion, awareness of an increased quality of life and life expectancy for those with Down’s Syndrome, changes in social attitudes and integration into mainstream education.

Another reason given for the willingness of some to bring up a child with Down’s Syndrome is that they know people with Down’s or other disabilities. This seems to me to be key to our attitude to disability; when we know the person and not just about the condition then our perspective changes. This is in no way to diminish the challenges and sacrifices that many parents make in nurturing a disabled child; I am only too aware of all that my friends have given over the last eighteen years in caring for their daughter. However, I also know how much she has enriched the lives of her parents, brothers, sister, the wider family and her friends; it was clear for anyone to see at her birthday party on Sunday evening.

drink Fairtrade

Excellent recommendations for some Fairtrade wines in The Observer by Tim Atkin. Here’s a way to enjoy a glass or three of wine and feel good about it. Tim writes:

The quickest way to make a difference as an ordinary wine drinker is to buy from a Fairtrade producer. This is not the gamble it once was. There are now 51 of these, in South Africa (29), Argentina (12) and Chile (10) and quality is much better than it was even two years ago. I was a judge at the 2009 Fairtrade Awards (the results will be announced on 19 November) and I was impressed by the best wines.

The Co-operative has by far the best range of Fairtrade wines, with 16 different labels, but all of the other supermarkets are now supporting the brand. My current favourites, three of which did well in the 2009 awards, are the juicy, raspberryish 2008 Sainsbury's Fairtrade Pinotage, Citrusdal, Olifant's River (£4.99, 14%); the peachy, honeyed 2009 Fairhills Fairtrade Chenin/Chardonnay, Western Cape (£5.48, 12.5%, Asda), both from South Africa; the grassy 2008 Los Unidos Fairtrade Carmenère/Cabernet Franc, Chile (£5.49, 13%, Waitrose); the vibrant, slightly sweet 2009 Co-operative Fairtrade Chilean Merlot Rosé (£4.99, 14%) and from Argentina, the floral, citrus-scented 2009 Fairtrade Tilimuqui Single Vineyard Torrontés, Famatina Valley, La Riojana (£6.29, 12.5%, Waitrose). These are wines you can drink with pleasure…

In contrast, this week has been designated International Nestlé-Free Week and thanks to David Keen over at St Aidan to Abbey Manor for drawing this to my attention. As a family we have sought to avoid Nestlé products because of their disastrous baby milk policy. Babymilkaction.org has a helpful list of Nestlé linked products; I did a quick check in the kitchen this morning and was pleased to discover that at the moment we appear to be Nestlé free. Using Fairtrade products and avoiding the products of ethically dubious companies may seem a rather small gesture in the global scheme of things, but it sets down a marker and helps us as a family to reflect upon our priorities.