funky doo

germ of an idea grows some shoots...Bradwell Pilgrimage 2010

 

 It's all go round here with final preparations for the Bradwell Pilgrimage on Saturday...a great ecumencial, family event which has been going for yonks and provides a variety of worship styles and workshops and activities and space for all the family around the Chapel of St Peter on Wall and the Othona Community. 

We've been lugging gazebos and floor cushions down from the garage loft and packing the car with 100 bottles of water to be frozen at Othona tomorrow...and we've welcome lovely Louis Darrant for a few minutes catch up and chatter about his part in events which is always a pleasure and a laugh! 

But why, you say, are we so excited and putting in all this effort?

Let me give you a potted history of how we've got here...

I've been going to Bradwell PIlgrimage since I started in post. My job title is Bradwell Area Youth Adviser - Bradwell gives my job it's title and yet is a small, weeny place on the Dengie Peninsula 10 miles from fairly remote Maldon!! But it is a significant place - not just in this annual pilgrimage event, but for Pilgrims and those who understand the history of Christianity on our shores. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Cedd

In 2006 we went with our wonderful friend Christine (before she became a Cahoon!) while we were still camping in our new house and waiting for our furniture to come out of storage. In 2007 we went with Matilda aged 7 months and my parents to hear Cardinal Cormac Murphy o'Connor and the formation of some ideas for youth input began to take shape.

In 2008 I took a year off because the SOLID Youth Festival, sponsored by the Diocese happened on the same weekend (SOLID has now moved to the 2nd weekend in July so I, and others, can do both!!)...and I missed being at Pilgrimage.

In 2009 we had our first 'go' at a Youth Zone - Bar n Bus, Legacy football cage and space for kids to let off steam went down well with 30-40 coming through during the afternoon.

 

 
 

So, in 2010 we're going a bit bigger with a wider variety of spiritual input and physical output, to use the SOLID tagline! We're based at Othona which is a great spot within the Community who are based nearby to the Chapel itself. We're excited to be welcoming Archbishop John Sentamu as the main speaker for the day and he will visit the Youth Zone during the afternoon too!

We've got a Pamper and Chill Out marquee which we hope will be cool inside in temperature as well as activity! A bouncy slide, volleyball, basketball and parachute games will satisfy the most energetic. We'll be offering a guided prayer walk/labyrinth looking at journeys and guided footsteps and Firestorm and Quire will be joining us to provide their own unique take on worship and prayer.

I'm excited - it's been a germinating idea and sense of possibility for a good few years now and I'm blessed to have a fantastic team with enthusiastic volunteers connected in from their networks - and we know of lots of groups coming to join us for the day.

So come if you can too...just turn up at St Thomas' Church in Bradwell on Sea at 11am on Saturday with a picnic and good sturdy shoes and some sun cream and follow the crowd - or you can check out www.bradwellpilgrimage.webs.com for more info!

I'll post some photos next week once the dust has settled and we've emerged from under the canvas and the bouncy slide!

 

 

how to plant a church

After my visit to Pilgrimage in early June, I have been thinking a lot about church/Jesus planting, particularly through a small group (in Order of Mission/LifeShapes language this is a Huddle).

One of the other delegates from the conference, who I referenced in some of my other posts has recently added to his blog with this post about How to Plant a Church. It brings together, in a really practical way some of my own wondering and thoughts about 'how do we do this?' 

All this thinking goes on in the midst of Andy's continuing exploration of ordained ministry in the Anglican Church - we had an important meeting as a family yesterday - as well as in the crazy humour of the new Rev sit com on BBC2 which premiered last night! A series of crazy contrasts...and yet the call to the church, in it's variety remains. 

 

preparation for Pilgrimage...

I'm about to embark on the last full week of work in the Area before a week of holiday and then a week away on Pilgrimage in Sheffield. I went to this event last year and took part in Stream 1 as a relative newbie to the world of LifeShapes and The Order of Mission which springs from it. Since then, we've recognised Andy's call to explore ordination and embarked on a new church and expression of churchmanship. We're also now part of a regular small group and wondering what God is calling us to and saying to us as all those changes take place and bed in. I'm very fortunate to be able to go on this conference as part of my professional development with work and to be able to apply it to my work context and my personal development in where God seems to be taking things with us as a family! I'm looking forward to the next 3 weeks immensely!

As part of some of my preparation for that week away, I've been doing some reading around the whole LifeShapes and Missional Community emphasis that originally came out of St Thomas' Sheffield and now is expressed through 3DM in the States and ECPN in Europe as well as the Order of Mission.

Mike Breen's blog has recently linked to a series of posts from another blog about their experience as a transitioning Missional Community and what that means and the process they have been through. It's fascinating and very exciting and although a million miles from where we're at in our church position right now, it's where we would see ourselves and believe God would see us being, once this next season works itself out.

So, the 3 posts are here (Post 1) here (post 2) and here (post 3)

If you have some spare time to travel with this team through their time on a Learning Community, applying the principles of LifeShapes and Missional Communities and not being bound by rules and religiosity, then I would recommend it!

I didn't really blog too much about Pilgrimage last year but I hope to be more in the zone this time round and will be taking the laptop with me!

Hope you've had a happy Sunday and be blessed as this new week unfolds!

Pentecost...

Have had some time to reflect on the 'Church's birthday' over this weekend.We spent yesterday with our Team for Falcon Afloat 2010 (a holiday for 10-13 year olds in July) and talked through our vision and purpose and many practicalities. It was a great day with brilliant people. 

Today we went to church - twice. The usual Sunday morning 10am service with a guest preacher and a special extra liturgy at the end of the Pentecost Eucharist. This was followed by the Churches Together in the Park service in the open air at the Prom...a meeting of our church lives as the CGC band (our 'old' church) led worship and Stephen (our 'new' Vicar) did the address. 

Somewhere in the midst of all that, I feel like I lost track of what we're celebrating...we talk about the Church's birthday and the beginning of the church going out into the world....but we seem to think that because 'it' (the tongues of fire, the coming of the Holy Spirit, the passion and enthusiasm of the believers) happened that day in Jerusalem, it has also happened every day since and we're still working within that Pentecost spirit and buzz and clarity. But it hasn't really continued has it? - how much are we regularly going OUT into the world rather than just relying on the world to be there for us to connect with when we feel like it? Events and outreach and evangelism projects are all very well, but we need it to be part of our bloodstream rather than just a switch we can turn on and off when we're in the mood.

The preacher this morning talked about the gift of standing by - accompanying people on the journey and drawing a 'large circle' in terms of the people we share life and involve ourselves with. It was a shame then that this morning, no-one greeted the visitors we brought with us to church and neither was there much mixing of the different church groups at the picnic following the open air service. 

It's a big challenge - when we're not even very good at talking to those in our small church circles - to begin to connect with those outside of the circle. A circle of our own making and today, in the prom, comprised more of onlookers than of partakers in the worship and celebration. 

This little film was helpful - h/t Rachel Marszalek

why do you do what you do?? and a question for you...

I'm busy preparing for a CME (Continuing Ministerial Education) day tomorrow with Year 3 Curates in our Diocese. I'm doing some stuff on relationships between clergy and young people and why that is important in their faith development. Also inputting on various other things around youth culture and the church's attitude to young people and how we tackle confirmation etc. etc.

Anyway, all this preparation and thinking and wondering and writing always gets me excited - I love doing this sort of thing and as I logged onto the computer again this morning, St Aidan to Abbey Manor blog post struck me as speaking into these exact feelings.

DMK lists some of the things which motivate him to do what he does, in response to a post on Nick Page's blog. He lists competitiveness, making a difference, fun and frustration as some of the reasons why he does what he does...it made me wonder what makes me get excited and passionate about some things and not others. I've come up with this list so far:

1. Perfectionism - this has it's down sides but generally I feel as though I want things done right and properly - especially in relation to young people. I don't like them being sold short and not being given the fullness of opportunity. It makes me want to make things work well in the church and in it's outreach.

2. People - are what get me excited. I am an extrovert and thrive on being around others, talking, interacting and relating. As I get older, I do find I need more alone time, but then I find interaction in the form of Facebook and blogs helps me to be on my own but not removed from people completely.

3. Gratefulness - not sure whether this is a real word or not, but it underpins all of what I am. I am grateful that God found me out and brought me home when he did - I could have been on a very different path. I am grateful for the opportunity to do what I do and to be excited about going to work each day (most days!) I am grateful for the blessings of my family, friends, path of life that God has given me and I never want to get complacent about that. I think that transfers into my passion for youth work - I want the church to e grateful for young people in their midst and to never get complacent about what they can offer or how much they need us to love them. 

That's my first 3 - sure I'll think of some more...what makes and motivates you to do what you do?? Leave your comments or link to you blog!

LCGC and Street Pastors in one episode!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00ry9v4/The_One_Show_05_04_2010/ click here for brilliant performances from LCGC throughout as well as a profile on Street Pastors in Derby (my husband is one in Chelmsford) from about 37 minutes.

Great profiling of Christians doing their stuff out there in the world...

 

Holy Saturday

 

I've enjoyed following Holy Week properly this week for the first time in years - having moved back into an Anglican Church from a free church it's been great to go with the ebb and flow of the journey of Christ from Palm Sunday to the Cross and into Resurrection Joy.

I've posted previously some prayers for Good Friday and so I'm posting something stolen again today, on Ben Edson's blog. Click on the link for the full post, but I quote from it briefly here:

Holy Saturday is a day to pause, a time to reflect on the journey of Christ through Holy Week. Christ is in the tomb, the numbness of yesterday is still deeply rooted and yet there are rumours; rumours of life.  It is a pause, pregnant with possibilities

A Good Friday prayer - Godspace

A Good Friday Prayer - from Christine Sine @ http://godspace.wordpress.com/

God who created us

Suffers because of us
god who died upon the Cross
suffers for us
God who dwells within us
Suffers with us
And in God’s suffering we find hope
God, our suffering God
Your story brings us salvation
Without you the horrors of human suffering
Would be unbearable
Your story of life, death and resurrection
gives life meaning
Because of your suffering
a new world has broken into ours
Your suffering frees us from prison
Your suffering fills the hungry with good things
your suffering frees us to live in love, joy and peace
In your eternal resurrection world.
Amen

a great Sunday

A great privilege to be at Emmanuel Billericay this morning, speaking at their All Age Worship and Thanksgiving service where three children were dedicated to God using what I consider to be very underused liturgy available in the Church of England.

I was preaching on Isaiah 55:1-19 and focused on God's invitation to the Jewish people in Babylon, and us today, to COME.

I've enjoyed preparing for this sermon a great deal - and particularly appreciated being able to link it in during my setting the scene talk with issues of Fairtrade as Fairtrade Fortnight comes to a close today.

We're settling down now to watch the last episode of The Bible - A History which previous readers of the blog will know is a favourite of ours - both the series itself and Dr Robert Beckford who will be presenting tonight. The subject is Revelation - but I am sure will include various considerations of views about the end times and what that might look like. If you haven't caught up with this series, I do recommend it and you could probably find on C4 on demand.

I'll also be watching with interest as commenters continue to dissect Bishop James Jones address to the Diocesan Synod at Liverpool around the issues of homosexuality and unity in the Anglican Communion. The Church Mouse Blog has some reaction as does Anglican Mainstream - and will link to other places too I'm sure.

That's all for now...

small missional communities

This is where it's at...

http://inthebellyofthebigfish.blogspot.com/ 

Check out the series of blog posts on here around small missional communities...good stuff and helping us think right now...