Sunday, June 08, 2008
Finished
Last day of ERMC. A final Group D worship session, breakfast, a 3rd session on global Christianity: Cathy did a fascinating presentation on Indian Christian spirituality. I'd really like to find out more, actually. So would she, after doing the research, apparently. A round-up Q&A session with staff, then photos, then the final Eucharist. The choir sang the Stanford in G Nunc Dimittis, and I did the baritone solo. Half-way through, I was shaking so hard I could hardly hold the copy still, and nearly threw up. But I kept it together. And it went well.Sad to see people go. But it's done. Nearly 3 years of my life, and the next step is ordination in 3 weeks. I was talking to someone about this last week, and it's a little like before I married Moo. Of course I'm apprehensive, and of course I don't know exactly what I'm letting myself in for, but it's the right thing, and I don't have any doubts about that.
Got home, took the girls out to the local playground, and a little later did a barbecue for a family supper. Ironing in the evening.
Saturday, June 07, 2008
Last weekend
(backposting) Well, I didn't stay up too late last night - in bed by 1230 or so. We had a couple of interesting sessions on global Christianity last night. We also had an Exposition of the Sacrament service, which I'd not been involved with. The choir sang Byrd's Ave Verum, which was great. We sang pretty well, I think, and got lots of appreciation. Today we had sessions on the sacraments: detailed ones on baptism and the eucharist, and a more broad one on the sacraments in everyday life, which didn't really gel for me. A final session with Ian, the course director, telling us, mainly to take time off and look after ourselves. Went out to the pub with Sally, Simon and Gary: three folks I'm going to miss. But on the other hand, we all Facebook a lot, so we'll definitely be in touch.Then back to the bar. I'd intended to get to bed around 2200 or 2230, but it ended up being more like 0130. Silly me.
Labels: ERMC
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Today, I shall mostly be ...
- ... sleeping in (but not as long as Jo and Moo)
- ... taking the girls swimming with Moo
- ... spending more money than I meant to in Waitrose
- ... clearing the dog poo off the lawn
- ... mowing the lawn (first time this year, if you exclude the two strims it's had)
- ... stepping in several instances of dog poo that I missed
- ... barbecuing with Si
- ... drinking beer with Si
- ... eating the barbecued food with Si, D, Morgs, Boo, Moo, Jo and Miri
- ... drinking wine with Si and Moo
- ... geeking with Si
- ... whilst drinking more wine with Si
- ... going for a walk with the girls, Moo and Buster
- ... having a bath with the girls (but not Moo and Buster)
- ... putting Jo to bed (very quick!)
- ... clearing around a bit
- ... loading the dishwasher
- ... doing some washing up
- ... and ... finishing my last essay for ERMC. YYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSS!
Labels: drink, ERMC, family, friends, geekery, swimming, walk
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
I give in
Yup, I've done it. The new barbecue arrived today, and it's a gas one. It's just going to be so much quicker to have barbecues, particularly for the girls, who aren't great at waiting for food. Tried it out for Moo and my supper, and it worked very well. Put it together all on my own, as well.Started on my final ERMC essay tonight. 6,000 words. I've got the first 1,000 or so done, which I was dreading. The next 3,000 or so shouldn't be too hard, and we'll see after that.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
And then home (again)
It seems that a goodly percentage of the posts I'm writing at the moment involve saying that I'm going home, but I don't have plans for any more trips in the next couple of weeks. This morning we had a couple of excellent sessions on Child Protection, which were very useful. Talked, among other things, about how paedophiles groom adults as well as children. Also about ways to make children safer from predators at the same time as making adults safe from false allegations.Got home a couple of minutes before the girls and Moo. We got the paddling pool out, they splashed, we all had a barbecue. Good stuff.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Ethics
(backposting) An excellent, excellent couple of sessions on Christian Ethics with the Rt Revd David Atkinson, the Bishop of Thetford. Arguably the best sessions on any topic over the past 2 and a half years at ERMC. During the afternoon the choir rehearsed the music for tomorrow, and then looked at the Stanford in G Nunc Dimittis. We'd really hope to do the Magnificat as well, but unluckily there's not going to be time to fit it in at the June weekend. I felt for Susannah, as she was going to do the solo for that, but also felt a little guilty, as I'll be doing the solo in the Nunc. However, it's shorter, easier, and fits better with the service we'll be doing it in.We had the ERMC Ball in the evening, which was fun. I even danced. Question: should we have "The Spirit in the Sky" for the Leavers' Service at the June weekend?
Friday, May 09, 2008
ERMC penultimate weekend
(backposting) Yes, our penultimate weekend with ERMC, and the last one at Ditchingham. Stayed up till 0200, which didn't feel that late, as I was still a little lagged.Labels: ERMC
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Last seminar
Today was my last ERMC seminar. It was on ethics, including deontology (we follow do what's right, no matter what) vs consequentialism (the end always justifies the means). Obviously it's rarely as cut and dried as that, but many entrenched ethical arguments often boil down to these two approaches. Also the question of whether we can be told to love, and what laws and commandments are for, came up. Weird that it's the last seminar.Went to Infosec 2008 during the day in Olympia, one of th emost difficult places in London to get to for an exhibition in my experience. Some leads, but not very much.
Sunday, March 09, 2008
ERMC day 3 - "And we shall be changed. We _shall_ be changed"
We had one session yesterday on ministry in schools by on of the people on the course, who's an expert in this field, and we had two more today. Managed to stay awake: they were very interesting, and I know that I'm going to be doing at least one in the next month or two, so paying attention was a good plan.A good service, in the charismatic tradition - the quote (which, in that form, is from Handel's Messiah) was my response to the weekend. Some good songs/choruses (I'm learning not to refer to them as "hymns"), and I was administering one of the chalices today. This was fantastic: it can be good administering the chalice anyway, but it was such a privilege today, when I know those receiving well, and know that they are staff or ordinands like me. It was just very special.
Labels: communion, ERMC, theology
ERMC day 2 - Resurrection and Ascension
A very enjoyable day, with three sessions on Resurrection (Christ's and ours) and Ascension (Christ's). Really got me thinking, and firming up exactly what I believe. Might get round to discussing this at some point, but I ended up being more orthodox than Gary had expected!Stayed up rather late (0300) discussing many things. Must remember these books for the essay I discussed yesterday:
- Celebrating Christian Marriage by Adrian Thatcher
- The Family in Theological Perspective ed. Stephen Barton
- also found this when searching Amazon: Life Together: Family, Sexuality and Community in the New Testament and Today by Stephen Barton
Labels: ERMC, family, theology
Friday, March 07, 2008
ERMC day 1
Got there in the afternoon, had a good session on preparation for essays a number of us need to write on Christian Belief and Ethics. I've got a pretty good idea of what I want to write about: it's a reaction to Edelman's No Future: Queer Theory and the Death Drive, which I've mentioned before, in terms of eschatology. Only just getting my head round it, but we'll get there.A hint for anyone planning to walk into a nun's bedroom in the middle of the night, assuming it's the bathroom because you've not bothered to check, and you're looking at a copy of Thomas à Kempis' "De imitatione Christi": make sure she doesn't wake up, and get out very quickly.
Picked up a free copy of Thomas à Kempis' "De imitatione Christi" today.
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Friday, February 01, 2008
Essay posted
I only have another 6000 words of essays to write for ERMC now: one of 4000 words, and one of 2000. They'll both be on ethical issues, though the first one will be looking at some issues of belief and doctrine as well. Three more weekends.The paperwork's beginning to come through, including Crockfords yesterday and the diocesan directory today. It really does feel like things are actually happening.
Labels: ERMC, ordination
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Essay on Psalm 137
So, I decided that I _could_ use David Gray's "Babylon" as a reading of Psalm 137, and I frankly don't care if I get marked down for it. I think I made a good case for it, so we'll see how it goes. I've sent a copy to Sally, contrary to my usual practice not to send anything out until I've seen a marked copy. This decision is mainly because I can't face bothering enough not to, and because I suspect that Sally will have some interesting things to say about it.Very excitingly, I got a letter from Crockford's today, asking for my details so that they can put me in their publication. This means that I really will be a _proper_ priest at some point. One of the things they asked for was an email address, so I've given them a new one, which I now feel happy about releasing: mike [dot] bursell {at} anglicanpriest *(dot)* org. You can take out the relevant bits and pieces to make that a real address, and see why I've not felt happy about using it until things looked pretty certain.
Miri can now say "cat" pretty distinctively - to the cat, or about it, when she wants to go and see him - and has a sound that she associates with dog (but doesn't sound much like it). She also has a hysterically funny face she does that has been labelled "hippo", where she puts her hands out, opens her mouth very widely, and vibrates her head from side to side. You have to see it. What's particularly amusing about it is that she looks very much like Jo when she does it.
Labels: ERMC, essay, Jo, miri, ordination
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Seminar yesterday
I forgot - I had a seminar yesterday. Richard, the staff member, was leading it: on the atonement. We had quite a discussion on the nature of sin. I take the view that sin and evil are pretty much synonymous, and without conscious humanity, there would be no evil. His theodicy is rather different to mine: he sees a broken creation, whereas I see a broken and fallen humanity. Christ dies on the cross, for me, to atone for humanity's sin, but for Richard, he atones not just for moral evil, but for the "evil" he sees in nature: the pain of a dying animal, and the death of an innocent neonate human baby.I don't see evil in this way. For me, the phrase "the lion will lie down with the lamb" is allegorical, not literal, but if you take a view of creation that it is broken, then the Atonement must, I suppose, include this. My concern with this view is that I believe that God's grace is strongly shown through the natural world, and that any intervention that breaks the rules of that world - of what we call scientific laws - would be a denial, by God, of his grace and love.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Steps
Miri learnt how to do steps today: upwards, that is. So that means we need to be yet more vigilant.Oh, and I've decided that David Gray's "Babylon" _can_ be a reading of Psalm 137 for an essay I'm writing. I ate enough Krispy Kremes, obviously.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Difficult decision
If I eat enough Krispy Kreme glazed donuts (sic) (sick), can I pretend that David Gray's "Babylon" is a reading of Psalm 137 for an essay I'm writing?Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Title post
I've not been able to talk about this until it's all be approved and agreed, but at 1940 this evening, I handed over my letter of acceptance to Rev. John Blore, who will be my training incumbent in the Halstead Team Ministry, which will be my title post when I'm ordained on June 29th, God willing.I'm immensely relieved - it's been a long slog - and very happy, as I really like the team, what they're doing, lots of the worship (I've attended a number of services across the team parishes over the past few months), and the members of the team have lots to teach me.
I have three essays left to write: around 9,000 words. And three more weekends. And that's all. Things are feeling close now.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Psalm 78
(backposting) Not sure why I mention it particularly, but it's my very favourite psalm, despite being the longest one set for a single morning or evening in the old BCP. We used to sing some great chants to it at both Christ Church and King's, and it's lots of fun. It's set for the evening of the 15th, so I had it for evening prayer tonight. I also did quite a lot of reading about sin - particularly the original type - for the "Christian Belief" module that I'm doing for ERMC at the moment. That and the nature of grace.Today I also met the churchwardens for the church at which I may spend my title post. A good meeting: we got on well, and I think it's important to have the sanity-check of a non-clergy view in these cases.
Girls to bed even quicker tonight, and Moo was back by 2130, so not too bad. Had a really nice long chat as we went to bed about her day away - she's doing a course - and what's going on with the girls. We don't often get the chance, as Miri's requiring attention, but she managed to stay in her own bed until 0400, which is almost a record at the moment.
Labels: church, ERMC, Moo, sin
Monday, January 14, 2008
Moo's away
Put the girls to bed pretty easily, though Miri's suddenly really, really mobile. Turn your back, and ... she's gone. I followed her to the step down from the bathroom, and it was very interesting to see her turning back from it.Lots of work done today, was hoping to do some ERMC work, too, but it was not to be. Need to do some tomorrow, as I have a tutorial on Wednesday.
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Renewal of covenant service
(backposting) There's a great Methodist service which they tend to run once a year to renew the covenant with God, and we also have it once a year on the course. I really like it: there are some good readings, and it makes you think, too. An interesting sermon from Richard, too. Before that, we had a short "what you need to know about Canon law and taking services in 45 minutes", also by Richard, which he did quite well, I thought.Back home: Moo not very well, poor thing.
Saturday, January 05, 2008
Rural ministry
(backposting) Today's topic at the ERMC weekend was "rural ministry", and very interesting it was, too. Gave me a bunch of things to try, and to think about. It was led by Jill from The Arthur Rank Centre, who had an astonishing amount of statistics, experience, stories and ideas. Some of the people on the course found it less relevant, but then again, I'm based in the country, and given how I feel about towns and cities, likely to remain that way, so it was good for me.Last night I stayed up till 0100, but didn't feel too bad. I got around 6 and a half hours' sleep, which really isn't too short of normal, but thought I'd go to bed a little earlier tonight. Say 11. We started learning some British Sign Language from Andrew, a guy on the course who's a chaplain to the deaf. Learnt the Lord's Prayer (which I can still mainly remember), and other useful words and phrases like "beer" and "Doctor Who". Ah, past 12. Well, still chatting, and doing some real theology and pastoral (ask the others who were there). Hmm 0100.
Went to bed at 0200. Lots of water - and I'd finished drinking a while before, but not the best plan.
Friday, January 04, 2008
ERMC
Off later today to an ERMC weekend at London Colney: not my favourite venue, but there you go. There will be some work on Rural Ministry which should be relevant to what I do, and will be doing, and a chance to catch up with friends, etc..Labels: ERMC
Thursday, January 03, 2008
Canons B1-B43
(backposting) I read all the Church of England's "B" canons today, in preparation for a weekend at London Colney with ERMC. They are all about what services should - and must - be celebrated within the Church of England, what's allowed, and what's not. My Dad's Liturgy, Order and the Law is pretty much the definitive guide, it seems, and I've inherited something of an interest. There is certainly relevance to what we can and can't do within the Anglican Cathedral in SecondLife, although part of the question we're looking at is exactly which of the canons are relevant, and which aren't: these are the Canons of the Church of England, remember, and SecondLife is international, as is the group that comprises the Anglicans on it. Insisting, for instance, that all services are conducted in English might be inappropriate: but what languages _should_ be allowed? The doctrine behind this insistence is that all attending should be able to understand (hence Welsh is allowed in Wales in certain circumstances). Most of the members of the Anglican group in SL have English as their first language, but not all: and would we want to restrict ourselves? So, these are the sorts of questions we need to tackle.Did all the ironing, watched Samuel L. Jackson's fantastic performance in The Negotiator, went to bed around midnight.
Labels: church, ERMC, films, secondlife
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Hard work time
I've been working away at a document for the folks at HQ for a while, getting the background - it requires quite a lot of new knowledge - and suddenly I hear that they want it rather quickly. So I spent quite a lot of time on it today getting lots of stuff sorted on it.Also had my last tutorial on the Hermeneutics module today, looking at a short book by Thomas Merton called Praying the Psalms. Too patriarchal for my tastes: both at the Papal level but also at the family level. A good supervision, though, and one of the things I've learnt from this module is that we can look past the stuff we don't like (though it's important to exercise hermeneutics of suspicion) to a "new naiveté", and realise that the Holy Spirit works through people in their own contexts and times.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Assignment
I've just finished an assignment on using a model of theological reflection within a placement context. I used the Pastoral Cycle - everyone does - within the context of my hospice placement. It doesn't quite fit, but was useful at the same time. Anyway, some useful insights, and the essay's now finished. One more to do by the 7th January, a verbatim, and a goodly amount of the preparation is already done for that.Tomorrow I'll sanity-check this one, and send it off. Thanks be to God!
Labels: ERMC, essay, placement
Friday, December 14, 2007
Title post
Yesterday, I had a letter from the DDO (the Diocesan Director of Ordinands) inviting me to explore whether I'd like to go forward with a title post in a parish. This is an immensely big deal. For reasons too legion to indulge in here, this letter has turned up rather late in the process, but it's a real relief. We had our yearly meeting of ordinands, those considering ordination, and their spouses this evening, and I spoke to the DDO about it. We agreed that I should follow up, and I told him that was very positive about the parish.I can't, at this stage, say where the parish is, though I've talked about it with those involved in my training, and with family. It's entirely possible that I, or the incumbent in the parish, might decide that it won't work, and for that reason, it's not fair to discuss it at this stage.
What, however, is a title post, and why's it important? Well, assuming that I am ordained deacon in June (oh, we got the date, too, it's the 29th June) - and this is not a foregone conclusion - then I will be attached as a curate to a parish. I'll stay there for 3-4 years, first as a deacon, and then (again, God willing) as a priest (usually deacons in the Church of England are ordained to the priesthood a year after they are deaconed). So, it's where I move into the next stage of training after ordination, and "learn my craft", as it were. It's possible, but frowned upon, to move away from a title post to a different one, but generally, you want to stay where you are. So, a lot of thought goes into selecting a title post from everyone's point of view, and I hope to be meeting the incumbent - who I've actually met a few times before - after Christmas. I've got an overview of the parish and related matters already, and this is where the careful reflection and prayer takes over.
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
A poor hotel in Grenoble
Well, I really wouldn't give it 3 stars, is all I can say. It's serviceable, and there's broadband over Wifi, but functional is about it. Flight OK, read some theology for the course.
Oh, and there's even snow!
Friday, November 23, 2007
Hospice - day 2
My second day at the hospice - and there's to be one more next week. Again, a fascinating and interesting day. I started it with a visit to a funeral directors. I'd never been to one before, and they were very helpful and accommodating. Spent some time with another member of the chaplaincy team, including taking communion and talking to some of the day centre patients.My mum had turned up by the time I got back, and went to get my dad later on: they're staying at a pub nearby, as we've got other people staying with us this weekend.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Hospice day 1
(backposting) I've taken two days off work for my placement at St Helena Hospice, today being the first. I spent the whole day at the main site (and the Colchester Day Centre), attending meetings, meeting staff and patients, and discussing it with my supervisor Alan. People were very generous with their time, and it's one of those places where the staff - from volunteers to directors - really believe in the place. I had a very interesting time, and enjoyed myself very much.Did a little more tidying in preparation for our visitors this weekend (Miri's baptism), and then did lots of ironing in front of Tuesday's episode of Spooks.
Oh - I hate providing IT support. Particularly for Windows. And even more when it's long distance, over the phone. That's one of the downsides of Polly and Lee moving out.
Labels: computing, ERMC, television
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Essay done!
Yes, you saw aright. It's finished, and I'm even quite pleased with some of it: we'll see how it goes down with the markers. Got some work done reacting to the HMRC news from yesterday and how it affects us, threw out some old computer cases and bits and pieces to Black Barn Computers, who may be able to do something with some of the newer pieces. Yesterday, they have me a quite serviceable CRT (monitor) to give to Jo's pre-school, which was very kind, so I thought I'd try to send some decent stuff their way along with the, um, rubbish.Speaking of rubbish, England are 2-0 down to Croatia. We're going out, and deserve to do so on current form.
Labels: computers, ERMC, football
A bad night - and some shocking news
(backposting) Very little sleep, and a fairly quiet day, including doing some more work on the largeish document I was working on last week. Rather pleased to get that off.In the evening, I had a seminar in Stowmarket, and it was before the seminar started that I heard the shocking news. Not about the 25 million people's details (that's over a third of the population) having been "mislaid" by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, though that's pretty shocking - our details will be on the list. Worse than that, by quite an order of magnitude: I discovered that I have a 3,000 word essay due in on Monday, for the "Gospel and Western Culture" module that we spent lots of time on at summer school. I had no idea, and have done absolutely no preparation.
We had quite an interesting seminar on hermeneutics in the modern (and postmodern era), and on the way home, I rang Sally, who kindly looked up the essay titles so that I could think about them as I drove home. When I got home, I started things off, and managed to get 700 words, and a fair plan done before heading off to bed at 1245.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Pre-school
Spent time at Jo's pre-school today, which was lovely. Work, doctor (sinusitis), supervision with Keith. In no particular order. Seminar tomorrow: I feel rather well prepared, which kind of makes a change.Sunday, November 11, 2007
Remembrance Sunday
A terrible night's sleep - Jo was coughing so badly that I was beginning to get worried. She ended up in the spare room with me, and actually slept quite well. We went to the Remembrance Sunday service at Great Yeldham, and I played the organ. The church was as full as I'd ever seen, and Jo, Miri and Moo came along, too. Although we don't have it as a hymn, I've finished the service for the past few years with "I vow to thee my country" on the organ, as it's a fantastic and stirring tune.I made it clear on my Facebook profile yesterday that I wasn't in a good way, and I've really appreciated the love and prayers that people have sent my way. I've had a bit of a knock sideways, and prayers, in particular, are much appreciated.
Oh - I'm off to Canada tomorrow.
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Seville via Ryanair
(backposting) The Westin Alfonso XIII is one of the nicest hotels in which it has ever been by good fortune to stay. Stunning architecture, accommodation, staff service, food, the lot. Took a while to get here, but that's fine, I guess. There aren't that many direct flights, and though I'm not always a fan of Ryanair, they did OK and we got in on time. The airport's pretty close to the city, and although I was feeling pretty rough (a nasty cold started to attack me yesterday and I was streaming and coughing and sneezing by the time I arrived), I managed a lovely meal before turning in.On the way over, I had one of those marvellous, though rare, experiences. I was about to go through the security scan, following a couple. The bloke had already gone through, the the woman was held up. A security guard saw us both getting ready, and said "are you together?" The woman stopped a moment, looked me up and down, and said, "I wish."
You can't even hope for that sort of experience, you really can't. Great for the ego...
Reading The Dying Soul, by Mark Cobb, on spiritual care in the hospice and palliative setting. Very interesting.
Sunday, November 04, 2007
ERMC and home
Woke up feeling even worse - not just a bad throat, but really ropey and shaky, too. Excellent session on work and ministry: very helpful indeed. Thought about going home early, but glad I stayed for Communion, I'm pleased to say.Saturday, November 03, 2007
ERMC (more)
(backpostin) Good Bible study bits on the Psalms and graphic novels. Feeling worse. Two very difficult meetings. Slept badly.Friday, November 02, 2007
ERMC
(backposting) Supervision over lunchtime, went well. Went to ERMC. Not in a good mood. Beginning not to feel very well.Labels: ERMC
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Assembly
Did an assembly at Long Melford primary school today, on caring. Started the kids singing anything they wanted, all at the same time ("I don't care what you sing"). That fell apart, as expected. Then got them all to sing "Twinkle, twinkle little star" all together, at whatever speed and volume they wanted. Ditto. Then asked them to listen to each other, and work together. That did it, although I was ready to conduct them and lead it if needs be. They did very well, and it was a clear and obvious message, and went down well. Ian, my supervisor, seemed happy.More following up of stuff for work, which seems to be going well.
Oh, and Moo's started knitting. We're both sitting in front of the TV watching Spooks.
Labels: ERMC, television, work
Sunday, September 23, 2007
End of the weekend, and back home again
We had a little more on Work and Faith, and some good discussions about industrial action - when and where is it Christian? - and also on "when to where the collar". It was interesting and useful, and I'll be thinking more about it for when I'm ordained next year. The big question is when or if to wear a dog collar at work. Not in external meetings, certainly: when I'm at those, I'm representing the company, and it would just be inappropriate. But when travelling? Sometimes. Socially with colleagues sometimes? Maybe.Football!
(backposting) Not only were my parents-in-law at Anfield today watching the Derby match (a nil-all draw, but they were in the hospitality suite and were treated like royalty so had a great time) but we had more football (ranging from 2-a-side to an mean average of 3.5-a-side) at Ditchingham which was lots of fun.The day was mainly spent doing work on verbatims. I'd presented one about SecondLife, and the other 5 in my group were very supportive and helpful. The other ones were fascinating, and it was an excellent day. It was really hard work listening, reflecting and feeding back, but very worthwhile indeed.
The music at the evening worship was excellent: Tavener, Moore and Holst.
Labels: ERMC, football, secondlife
Off to ERMC
(backposting) Busy day doing bits and pieces, and then off to Ditchingham for another weekend. This time it's the first of two on Work and Faith. As I mentioned before, we had some very good reading beforehand, and the weekend started well with a good session. I was a good boy, and went to bed at midnight.Labels: ERMC
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Work and Christianity
I read an excellent article today for our next ERMC weekend. It was about how people relate their work and their church. Some want to separate their lives between work and church, some would like to find a way to make them closer. Some see work as only a means to be able to work for the church. Others would welcome a chance to use their work skills in a church context, but find those skills pushed away. I need to think really hard about this: it's really opened some doors for me. Once I've thought harder about it, I'll post some more.Labels: christianity, ERMC, work
Monday, September 17, 2007
Tutorial
Had my first tutorial with Alan for ages today. Went well, and we got on well despite the break. He really makes me think and pulls out some great questions for me to think about.Jo had another session at pre-school today. Tried tracing her name, and did OK: she was so proud.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Back home
(backposting) At last. After a long hard week, some final discussions about worship over the week and a final Eucharist - to which we decided that Moo, Jo and Miri really couldn't make it - I drove home, had half an hour with the girls, and then took Jo to pick up Buster. It was so lovely to see everyone, and great to be home.Friday, August 24, 2007
Review
(backposting) Some work on preaching today: special occasions (funerals, weddings, baptisms) and times of year (harvest, Easter, Mothering Sunday, etc.). Useful and interesting.A very inspiring evening worship (starting with Joan Osbourne's "What if God was one of us?"), then supper, then the Review!
I ended up taking part - to varying degrees - in 5 items, and being satirised in 1. The latter was a sketch taking the piss out of me for my extravagant demands on the choir and the issue of the Methodist Worship Book issue. Apparently some people were worried that I might get offended, but I laughed throughout and was prevailed upon to take a bow at the end...
The five items I was involved with were:
- madrigals: we sang "Fair Phyllis" straight and slow, then introduced ourselves as a high culture item, then "The Silver Swan", then explained that madrigals were really popular culture, and sang "Fair Phyllis" again, fast with suggestive facial expressions... ("up and down he wandered, up and down, up and down). Lots of laughter.
- backing singer for Charles' critically acclaimed "I am the very model of a Curate Non-Stipendiary": genius
- 1st soprano (at soprano pitch, in full drag) in Rossini's Cat Duet, with Brenda as 2nd, and the marvellous and very patient Lizzie on piano
- straight man (the interviewer) for Gary's piece about twins (him and Andrew) separated at birth as part of a nature or nurture experiment, one sent to Suffolk, one to Luton
- a piece I'd written about recruiting a new Archbishop of Canterbury, with me on the phone as the recruitment consultant: "I've got some standard text here... 'The Church of England is an Equal Opportunities Employer...' You're _not_? Really? ... 'We welcome applications from ethnic minorities...' You've got one already...?" It's satire, folks. Went down well, despite my last minute concerns that it wasn't funny, and that I'd look like a complete prat.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
"A frustrated professional musician"
(backposting) A very interesting URC worship service in the morning, then more work on the music, including a discussion. It was wide-ranging, but we got quite hung up on the question of how to reconcile the desire for the highest quality music (and worship for God) with the wish to include people of varying abilities. I really struggle, these days, with singing in Christmas choirs, and decline the invitation, usually. I don't mind listening, but there are times when I want to create the very best I can. I struggle with the fact that it's difficult to explain that I feel pain when not worshipping to the best of what I can achieve, just as someone may feel pain when they feel excluded from music making. Brenda, a professional musician on the course who will give up a large part of that when she's ordained, discussed this in some depth with me, and it was she who said "you're a frustrated professional musician".I think she's right. Although I made a very conscious decision not to become a musician, and I think it was a good one, there come times in our lives when we realise how big those decisions were. I have very little opportunity for high-standard music-making at the moment, and I really miss it: particularly when I _do_ get the chance, which I have done on this course, in particular with the madrigal group. I really don't think I realised what good musicians we were at King's, and actually how good a musician I have the capability of being, thanks be to God. But it's a burden, too...
Had feedback on my service yesterday morning from Cathy, on the staff. Very helpful, and generally positive, which I'm pleased about.
A discusssion on the church in "cyberspace" (yuck), at which we talked at length about SecondLife and the Anglican Cathedral there. People raised some very good questions, quite a few of which I had no answers to.
Final rehearsals for tomorrow's Review...
Oh, and Andrew and I saw a Merlin today, which had killed and was protecting a dead blackbird. What a privilege!
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
"Bring your Methodist Worship Books"
(backposting) I had, over the past few days, announced rather too often (4 times?) over meals that people should remember to bring their Methodist Worship Books to Morning Prayer, and had started to be mocked for it. This, however, didn't bother me, and when it came down to it, there were lots in evidence, so it had worked. So there.I was leading the service, and had rehearsed "Ghimel" (just the title, not the main bit) with the same group of singers for the madrigals, which we performed in the ante-chapel just before starting the service. We did well, apart from my screwing up a lead. Oh, well. I'd decided to make the service about affirming vocation, as this was half-way through the week for some of us, but only a few hours in for the new first years, and everyone was a bit shell-shocked. We had the Commissioning of Aaron and the "Holy Nation, Royal Priesthood" piece from 1 Peter, and during the intercessions, I encouraged people to pray for themselves chiefly, as we have lots of prayers for other people, but not always enough for ourselves. I asked people to stay at the end for some organ music, and hit them with the last 3 minutes of "Dieu Parmi Nous" by Messiaen, which always blows me away. Not everyone liked it, but everyone who I spoke to seemed to have engaged with it.
After breakfast, we had an excellent session on Visual Arts through the ages by a visiting speaker, Neil. I ended up next to a student with a significant visual impairment, and as pictures came up on the screen, tried to describe what I was seeing. It was fascinating thinking about how all she could see (with the exception of a few pieces of work like a couple of Rothko paintings) was what I described to her, and it really made me think about what I was seeing in a new light. She said that she learnt lots about me, which was unsurprising!
In the afternoon, a session learning "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" with a bunch of singers of various abilities, ready to discuss the process tomorrow. Course photograph after supper, followed by a pub quiz. Our team won. Big surprise, but lots of wine as a prize. All gone within the hour...
Labels: art, ERMC, music, worship
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Music, new students
(backposting) The theme for much of today was how the Gospel and music have inter-related through Western culture over the ages. The day started with a BCP Mattins led by someone who'd never done one before, and had only participated in BCP services on ERMC weekends and summer schools: it's just not his tradition. He did a fantastic job, and I enjoyed the service very much. This rather set the tone of the day: lots of music and discussion about it which was great. We watched an excellent DVD about Bach (J.S.), with lots of excerpts, very well performed, and I really felt at home. The discussion we had later included a number of short pieces from the group, including Iain's wife, Beth, singing and playing a lovely song that she wrote herself, and which we listened through twice as we were so moved by it. It's on a CD of music performed by Westcott students, and I'd like to get a copy of it.The new students arrived today, and one of them, Celia, is ex-Cambridge, and knew a bunch of King's choral scholars who I also knew or knew of. Lots of shared history, including the Chetwynd Society (debating or drinking...?). Hmmm!
Monday, August 20, 2007
Quiet morning
(backposting) A quiet morning - in that we're not supposed to talk. Prayers and address in chapel, and then silent till an Iona Communion. I used the time to polish off all but the references of my essay on music. Apart from the usual day-to-day, fairly quiet until 1630, when we met in groups to do some more discussion of literature again, following up from yesterday. Interesting, and we got quite deeply stuck into some of the questions set.The evening session was a fascinating talk and then discussion on graphic novels, including manga, and how they're impacting telling of the Gospel - both OT and NT. I really enjoyed this, and would like to get my hands on a particular book Marked by Steve Ross. Not quite sure how I feel about it, but I'd like more time to reflect on it and my reaction.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Sunday, the day of rest
(backposting) Not if you're on an ERMC summer school, it's not! A Methodist communion - wow, all those little cups of non-wine! - at 0730 (ow!), then breakfast, then more discussion on films. After that, another Ian and Richard double-act, this time discussing post-Christendom. Have to admit that I had a bit of a dose through some of this, as the historical stuff wasn't new to me.Free time in the afternoon - again, laughable, because there was more choir rehearsal. Much, much better, the Tye, and ready for performing at this evening's worship.
In the afternoon, a session on literature, which focused rather oddly on A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, which I'm afraid I hadn't got round to reading (I wasn't alone). Lots of education on post-structuralist and deconstructionist theory, which should be a good underpinning for the rest of the week.
At one point, one of the students, who's firmly from a more evangelical tradition than me, said, "As a Christian theologian, we accept the authority of the Bible...", and I took it up with him later on. I absolutely can't make a blanket statement like that. I have to look at any such acceptance, _particularly_ of the Bible, critically, and when it comes down to it, I find that it's my faith that is the bedrock of my Christianity, shored up by the Bible, and not really the other way round. This isn't a new thing for me, and it's an issue that I grapple with, but it's one that I'm very happy that I _do_ grapple with. It's one of the concerns I used to have about how many scientists at university took to evangelical Christianity: when they're so used to probing and questioning in their own lines of work, how can they be so uncritical in just accepting the Bible (and a rather narrow set of interpretations thereof)? An _uncritical_ sola scriptura just doesn't hold it for me.
The Tye went well, despite a missed alto entry, which we salvaged quickly, and no-one was the wiser. I was very pleased, and lots of people said how much they'd enjoyed it: both choir and congregation.
Labels: bible, ERMC, music, worship
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Postmodernity
(backposting) A large part of the week's work is to be engaging with issues of postmodernity in its various flavours, so Ian and Richard started us off with general descriptions of the (alleged, in Richard's case) state of postmodernity. Richard is very eloquent, and refuses to believe that there's any such thing, despite taking many intellectual positions which are hard to imagine being possible in a non-postmodern world. It doesn't help that he tends to argue against what he sees as postmodernity: as a completely pluralist, non-critical academic movement, which believes in a clean break between the modern (then) and postmodern (now), despite this being almost the exact opposite of how most people with a postmodern bent would describe it. Heigh-ho. I refused to get too drawn in...In the afternoon, another Ian, this time for the Moot community, gave us a very interesting talk on Fresh Expressions of church, and how they relate to our current (overwhelmingly consumerist) society. He made the point that we should really be talking more, and preaching more, about the dangers of consumerism as a creed, which I have to say resonated with me strongly. In the afternoon, Cathy led us in a discussion of high and popular culture. Although it didn't grip me, we came up with some important points, and it's to be a theme of the rest of the week.
The evening held clips (one clip from the body of the film, then crucifixion and lead-up) from three films about Jesus - or not. They were:
- The Gospel according to St Matthew (English title), by Pasolini
- Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ
- Monty Python's Life of Brian
We started singing today: a piece of Christopher Tye, which went pretty well for a first off, though the tuning was shocking. That'll fix itself as people get more happy with the notes, I think. We had a good mix of singers, including some new faces to the group, which was excellent.
Also started singing some madrigals - hope to do them at the Review.
Labels: ERMC, films, music, postmodernity, singing
Friday, August 17, 2007
Arrival at Summer School
(backposting) ERMC Summer School started today at Ditchingham. I always leave in a bit of a fluster, but then arrive too early, and today was no exception. After some sherry (most of us are CofE, after all), we had supper and started off on the work for the week, which is "Gospel and Western Culture". Unluckily one of the staff, Helen, is away, and she was down to do lots of the teaching, but her workload has been shared around, including to a visiting academic called Natalie. I spent quite a lot of time in the bar with her after we'd finished the first worship (in our groups), particularly as Helen had suggested that I talk to her about Christianity on the Internet, and my experiences in SecondLife in particular.Good to see lots of mates. Plans are already hatching for various items for the revue at the end of the week.
Labels: ERMC
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Busy, busy
Stayed up till after midnight last night and then did some work on the essay this morning, and we're getting there. Unluckily I'm not going to manage to finish it today, which means that I'll probably have to do it at Summer School. Annoying, but at least I know where it's going.In London for a useful meeting during the afternoon, back in time for Jo's bath and bedtime. Tired.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Essay writing
I'm about 2000 words (excluding quotations, references, etc.) into a 6000 word essay I'm writing on the question "What insights can the Orthodox tradition give us on music as a response to God?" for Helen at ERMC. It's going OK, and I think I'm about at the right point for where I've got to in the examination. I've tackled one hard bit - rather poorly for now, but I hope to improve it - and the really difficult bit is coming next. I'm being helped by listening to Cloudburst and other choral works by Eric Whiteacre. Very uplifting, very stirring, very calming in about equal measure. A must to listen to on a regular basis for me.I'm going to have a quick read over my notes for the next section of the essay before heading down to be with Moo. I hope (and suspect) that having a night to think things over and mull quietly will bring things into more focus.
Timing not great in that I've got a new computer (in bits) arriving tomorrow, and you just _know_ which task will win out...
Labels: ERMC, essay, Moo, music
Friday, August 10, 2007
Funeral visit
I went on a funeral visit with Ian today: the first one that I've attended. The family had very kindly allowed me to come along, and it was very interesting. Difficult, at time, but Ian has a very light touch. This is one of those occasions when I absolutely can't discuss what we talked about, but he allowed the family to talk, led them through the service and was calm but empathetic at the same time. I was very impressed, and learned a lot.Discovered that it was a real pain not having a main machine, and after trying to use the server, I discovered that it was struggling. so, I've ordered a new one. Or pieces therefore to build one. Moo loves it when I do these sorts of things.