Forty blogs of Lent

7

Archbishop of York John Sentamu has written a column in the Sun On Sunday, the newspaper that replaces the now defunct News of the World.

This is how Ekklesia has reported it: (I’m taking advantage of their Creative Commons licence to do this.)

I remember having a conversation with Giles Fraser a couple of years ago about writing for the Daily Mail. He has always been of the opinion that you can legitimately take an opportunity to write – even if it’s for a publication whose values you strongly disagree with.

The Archbishop of York’s column in the new Sun on Sunday goes way beyond that debate. It isn’t just about writing for the new Murdoch paper to replace NOTW. He has gone one stage further and endorsed the new publication, and for that matter the Monday to Saturday Sun newspaper at the same time. Not just implicitly, but explicitly. This is how he introduces his column:

“When I think that we can now get the latest news, politics and sports stories seven days a week from our country’s favourite paper, all I can say is ‘WOW!’ “

Bishop John Davies has already publicly criticised John Sentamu’s decision this morning on BBC1’s Big Questions, saying that he should think again. The Archbishop meanwhile has been justifying what he has done, on Twitter, pointing out that he is giving the money he earns from the column to charity, and reiterating that he feels that it is important to give people the chance of a fresh start.

Fresh starts are important. By his own admission however, this is not so much a fresh start as an extension of the Monday-Saturday Sun. He knows the values of the paper. He knows the way it treats vulnerable groups. He knows the way it portrays women. He has chosen not just to write for it, but to celebrate it, and give it his public endorsement – some will say, his blessing.

Has the Archbishop endorsed the paper? In calling the  our country’s favourite paper he has not said that the sun is his favourite paper, just acknowledged that it has the largest circulation in the UK.

If you want to read what the Archbishop said, the column is on his website.

People are shocked that the Archbishop has written for the Sun on Sunday. Why? John Sentamu is already  an occasional columnist in the Sun. His last column, as far as I am aware, was a Christmas greeting in the 24 December edition.

Has the Archbishop gone over to the Murdoch camp? It seems unlikely. A spokesman for the Archbishop said in the Daily Telegraph of 28 February, “It is not the practice of the archbishop to write exclusively for any one newspaper.”

So the Archbishop will write an occasional column in the Sun on Sunday in much the same way that he has written an occasional column in the Sun. He will continue to write for other papers too.

If the Archbishop

The fuss about his column in the first Sun on Sunday is like this headline:

Shock: Sun Columnist writes for the Sun

So when you hear or see people making a fuss about the Archbishop’s column, move along, there’s nothing to see.

Forty blogs of Lent

6

Real Life church one morning:

In the sermon we heard about someone had been approached by a bishop with the question, “Where are you with God,” and how that sounded a tactless question. And yet that question stayed in the ladies mind, which eventually led to her coming to faith.

Later, during the peace, I was briefly reminded how years ago I asked a lady if she knew Jesus, to which she had responded that she knew about Jesus. Yet a tactless comment like that was used by God.

I’m not saying we should all be tactless. There are a lot of tactful people in churches, and when the Holy Spirit uses them, he uses them in tactful ways. There are also a lot of nice people in the churches, who the Spirit uses in nice ways. And there’s me. I wouldn’t say I was one of the nice guys, and I’m certainly not tactful. I don’t fit in to any of the Christian stereotypes. Yet there have been odd occasions where God has been active despite my lack of tact.

Actually I was amazed to hear this, it happened over 25 years ago. I’ve only just been told. Over the years between I’ve grown older and supposedly wiser. And I have taken on board the advice I’ve been given and tried to be more tactful. (Being less tactful would have been harder.) Yet in all these years I’ve yet to be thanked for saying something tactful which helped someone towards God. It’s only when I’m being myself that God uses me.

There’s a sermon in there somewhere.

—–

Originally posted on 11 June 2006 on St Pixels blogs.

Forty blogs of Lent

5

Fairtrade fortnight starts today. To emphasise this we did not have a sermon in church yesterday. Instead we had a talk on Fairtrade which included a tasting test (for some) of Fairtrade bananas, chocolate and orange juice. In a blind tasting the Fairtrade products won in each category. There was also a stall at the back of the church where Fairtade goods

The Bible shows a God who cares deeply for the poor, the alien, the widdowed and the orphaned. One way we can help some of the poorest people in the world is to buy Fairtrade and to encourage the places where we do our shopping to stock fairly. It isn’t going to solve the problems of poverty in the world, but it will help some, so it is a step in the right direction.

My own personal misgiving is that we are only plugging products which have been certified by the Fairtrade association. There are other marks. One of them, the Soil Association mark equals that of the Fairtrade foundation in many respects, and in some areas is the higher standard.

But whatever standard we choose, let us support the poor by buying fairly traded goods.

Forty blogs of Lent.

4

After summarising the Letter to the Colossians yesterday, I thought I’d have a go at the main topics of another book of the Bible. I chose the book of Revelation.

Here goes:

God wins.

Forty blogs of Lent

3

The Letter of Paul to the Colossians, in the Bible is about heresy. The Apostle Paul writes to the Church in Colossae because false teaching has got into their church.

What I find interesting is that Paul forgets to say what that false teaching was. Or rather he deliberately does not mention the false teachings, but rather points them towards Jesus Christ, saying that Christ alone is all we need. Not something instead of Christ, or Christ plus anything. Just Christ. That’s it.

How times have changed.

These days there many, many books internet articles and blogs where the thing that is not agreed with is analysed at length, and taken apart bit by bit.

Paul took a different approach.  The witers of the Christian creeds took Paul’s approach too.

The Apostles Creed does not take a long look at Gnosticism, though that was prevalent at the time it was written.

Neither does the Nicene Creed go on about Arianism.

Would it be better if instead of putting all our time and effort into saying why we don’t believe what someone says we put the effort into saying what we actually believe in?

Forty blogs of Lent

2

One of my favourite breweries is Copper Dragon in Skipton, Yorkshire.

The quality of their ales is magnificent, with one exception.

At least it is not magnificent to me, you see I do not like Scotts 1816, one of the ales that company produces.

Which is why I like Copper Dragon as a brewery. Because one thing you cannot level at any of their products is blandness. Each of their products has a distinctive  flavour, and whilst I may not like a particular one I’d rather have something distinctive than the blandness that some of the big breweries produce.

Which brings me to Ecumenism:

Christianity, like real ale, comes in a number of different styles and many more flavours. Some are plain, some extrovert and some come with scent and smoke. But the secret to unity is not conformity. Conformity, having everything the same tends towards blandness, as it does with ale. Instead let us celebrate our diversity.

Your kind of Christianity may not be what I like, nor mine yours. So what? If everyone were a fairly conservative  Evangelical with leanings towards Catholic spirituality (that’s me, by the way) then who would reach those who like choral music? I can’t do it, to me the words Choral Evensong mean “avoid”.

But congregations in Anglican cathedrals, where they have a good choral tradition, are growing, so there must be something there, it’s just not my cup of tea. It attracts some people, so let’s celebrate it, even if like me you don’t particularly like it (or Scotts 1816 for that matter).

Forty blogs of Lent

1

This Lent, which starts today, Ash Wednesday, I aim to blog forty times, once for each of the fast days. Some of these blogs will be in the form of testimony, about what my faith means to me, some will be theoretical and some more humorous. The common factor is that God features in the content somehow.

Some of the content will be new, some I have published elsewhere, and some will be by other people, who I shall do my best to credit.

So that’s one down, 39 to go.

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So the glue was dry.

The next stage was to make a snare.

The snare was a snare wire from a normal snare drum, cut in half and fitted on a cross beam so that it rests against the front piece of thin plywood.

Then everything was glued together, with the exception of the front which was  screwed on, and the whole thing was painted.

And that’s it.

Buying shoes

Diary of an accident victim
part 55

7 June 2011

Sorry to bore you all with tales of shopping. But what is a straightforward task for most can become complicated.

The complication is orthopaedic insoles. To help with the pain of an artritic foot I have strange foot distorting devices I wear in my shoes, which makes buying shoes a less than simple task.

Out are the discount shoe shops with rack upon rack of cheap shoes. Out are the shoe selling shelves of supermarkets. Out in fact is any kind of discount.

What I need is a shop where there is individual service, where the staff know how to deal with semi-cripples.

So what can be a difficult task for most people, all those shops, all that choice, becomes a simple one for me. I have the choice of one shop, I won’t advertise, but it is the one a lot of parents use for children’s shoes because they have all the measuring stuff and different width fittings.

So now I am the owner of a new pair of leather shoes.

(Trainers are easy, any which lace all the way down I can make my own fitting.)

…to be continued.

This was first posted on St Pixels blog on 1 June  ’11
To see the blogs about the accident and recovery together please use the “ouch” link under Categories 

It’s good to ask

Diary of an accident victim
part 54

1 Apr 2011

Almost two weeks ago I asked for healing for the arthritic ankle.

It was after taking communion at our church’s weekly service, where we have an opportunity to ask for healing, hidden away, whilst other people are still receiving the sacrament.

But I still feel pain.

In my prayers I’ve been asking why.

Why does God allow me to be in pain whilst others are healed?

And I’ve been apologetic, saying sorry to God for asking such selfish questions.

The answer I’m getting, if it is from God, I have trouble discerning that too, is that it is OK to ask.

So whilst that has settled my mind a little (but not too much, I’m still asking) the main problem still remains.

The ankle still hurts.

…to be continued.

This was first posted on St Pixels blog on 14 March ’11
To see the blogs about the accident and recovery together please use the “ouch” link under Categories