Design and photo (c) Kristen Bailey 2012
Cathy's favourite film is The Wizard of Oz, and she does seem a long way from her English home now she has a new one in Alberta, Canada - but there's still no-one like her.
The Bible verses I included are Psalm 139:13 and Luke 12:6-7 (I like the The Message translation).
* SONG OF THE DAY: Elvis Costello - Red Shoes *
Flicking through an old scrapbook, I spotted a page I'd torn from a copy of Scripture Union's bible fanzine, 'disclosure', featuring a wonderful devotional aid from renowned preacher Reverend Gerald Ambulance:
We asked Rev Gerald Ambulance to bring a prophetic word to really speak into your situation. This is the best he could come up with.Reverend Gerald Ambulance now ministers online at Ship Of Fools. :)Beloved siblings, I have sought the Lord for a word. I sought him by day and I sought him by night, and then in the morning there he was - everywhere. Just like he always is. So that was worth it.
I covered the subject with much prayer, fasting and transubstantiated communion wine. And lo, as I lay on the kitchen floor, the Lord came to me in a dream, and an infallibly spooky vision was manifest unto me.
And behold I saw a beach, with two pairs of footprints on it. And I said,
'Oh no, not that one again Lord! That is so 'Eighties'. The editor will throttle me.'
And he said, 'Just bear with me, OK?'
'All right,' I said. 'Let me guess. This is my life, yes?'
'That's right.'
'You and me walking along together, yes?'
'You got it.'
'Then how is it that at the places when times get hard there is only one set of footprints?'
And the Lord said, 'That, my child, is when we were hopping.'
I bought this a while ago and never got round to blogging about it. 'The Poverty and Justice Bible', published by the Bible Society, is an edition of the Bible where any verse related to poverty or justice is highlighted in orange. This really helps you to understand how often these subjects are tackled in both the Old and New Testaments - they are really important to God, which they should be really important to Christians!
I've found them really useful when writing to persecuted Christians or their families, looking for a Bible verse to encourage them. They probably don't understand English, but they can look up the verse reference in their own Bible - it may be the only part of my letter they understand, but it will help them to know that we are family!
For more details about the P&J Bible, check out the Poverty and Justice Bible website.
Images (c) The Bible Society
Image (c) Open Doors
Since I've had ME/CFS I've not been able to do as much at my home church - the stuff which requires physically being there - so I've wanted to find other ways to serve. Having a lot of sofa-based time on my hands, the internet's been a Godsend (see what I did there?) and I've been able to find out how I can support fellow Christians who are being persecuted for their faith in places far from my home simply by writing them a letter (and praying for them!).
The two main organisations I support are Christianity Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) and Open Doors. CSW publish 'Connect and Encourage', which is has the stories and addresses of Christians who have been persecuted (some in prison) or their families, and explains how to write to them. Their website has details of the countries they focus on. Open Doors concentrates on a few specific campaigns at a time.
Both also send out advocacy alerts by email, as and when they need you to write to people of influence who may be able to help a particular persecuted / imprisoned Christian. That could be someone in their country's government, their country's ambassdor in your own country, or your own MP/MEP/Senator/whoever represents you to your government.
Sometimes writing a letter of support to someone who has been beaten, raped, had their home burned down, been imprisoned or whose loved one has been executed because they're a Christian can seem a pathetic gesture from someone who has complete freedom to practice their faith. But don't I believe in a God who can do big things with small offerings?
CSW says, "it lets them know that someone cares about their suffering, and it can also show governments and local authorities that people around the world are taking interest in a particular case or prisoner" (which can also result in a prisoner being treated better, even if your letter doesn't reach them personally). It really is worth doing!Other organisations which support the persecuted church are Barnabus Fund, Release International, China Aid, International Christian Concern and Voce of the Martyrs.
Image (c) CSW
At yesterday's evening service, our pastor David was talking about how amazing clouds are and how awesome they can be - a showstopping reminder of the One who put them there (we believe).
Then today I was walking to Hove shops and as I turned into Blatchington Road I saw this massive tower of cloud, almost heart-shaped. It made me catch my breath and then spend the rest of the afternoon singing Blessed Be The Name Of The Lord* (but without the actions)!:
"The name of the Lord is
A strong tower
The righteous run into it
And they are saved!"
A lovely songbird from my church happened to mention on Facebook the other day that she wanted 'multicoloured wings'... so I've made her some - mainly in the hope that she will get me a free ticket when she makes her debut appearance on 'Later...' ;)
Listen to Anna Joy Deuk's Sweet Sounds on MySpace.
* SONG OF THE DAY: Alison Krauss and Gillian Welch - I'll Fly Away *
The chapel in the Royal Sussex County Hospital (c) Kristen Bailey 2009
I had an appointment at the Royal Sussex last week, in a part of the (sprawling) hospital I hadn't visited before, and the hospital chapel was close by, so i thought I'd take a look. It was wonderful to be alone in this silent room, knowing that all around me was noise and bustle.
The chapel was built in 1854 (it is inside the main hospital building, built in 1828) and it's still Victorian in style, with a Wedgewood blue ceiling and glossy wood panelling. It feels like an Anglican (Church of England) chapel at first, but care has been taken in providing for many different styles of prayer.
You could light a candle, as I've seen in Catholic and 'High' Anglican churches.Then there was a 'Prayer Cairn', where you're invited to take a stone from the tray, hold in your hand while saying a prayer then place it onto the cairn being built on the table.
I'm from the Baptist tradition, and used to just closing my eyes (or not, if I'm not praying with others) and getting on with my prayer. It was good to try this 'creative' way of praying - holding the stone helped me to concentrate on my prayer. It also felt good to place my 'prayer' in the cairn with the prayers of others.
I'll still be praying on the bus and in the shower and as I'm walking to the shops, but I'm going to look into other ideas like this 'prayer cairn', to see what I can use to help me pray more, and for specific people/situations. PS: I do requests!
The Methodist Church of Great Britain: Ideas for Prayer
Prayer Requests: Creative Prayer
Creative Prayer: Comtemplative Prayer Stations
Beliefnet: Ten Creative Ways to Energize Your Prayer Life
* SONG OF THE DAY: Aretha Franklin - I Say A Little Prayer *
Getting baptised (c) Kristen Bailey
I got my photo albums out for the irst time in ages this week, mainly to find primary school pics to share on Facebook, but was both choked and tickled to see these photos of me getting baptised in 1996.The happiest and most important day of my life - yet not the most dignified!
* SONG OF THE DAY: Smoke City - Underwater Love *
This is Sharifa Rajab Ali, who lives and works in Kabul, Afghanistan.
I've just lent her a few quid so she can buy materials for her beadwork business and use her creative skills to support her family. She needs more than I'm able to lend her at the moment, but once a few other people have chipped in with their loans, Sharifa will be able to stock up.
Kiva.org came to my attention via Miss Malaprop and Crafty World. It's a simple and effective - Kiva enable you to loan your money (as little as $25 - currently less than £13 in sterling) to the working poor:
"Kiva lets you connect with and loan money to unique small businesses in the developing world. By choosing a business on Kiva.org, you can "sponsor a business" and help the world's working poor make great strides towards economic independence. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates from the business you've sponsored. As loans are repaid, you get your loan money back.Kiva partners with existing microfinance institutions. In doing so, we gain access to outstanding entrepreneurs from impoverished communities world-wide. Our partners are experts in choosing qualified borrowers. That said, they are usually short on funds. Through Kiva.org, our partners upload their borrower profiles directly to the site so you can lend to them."
| It gave me particular pleasure to be able to help a creative person like Sharifa - you can search the site by category to find people working in your area of interest - so I've loaned some money to Lolofa, a Samoan lady, to help her build up her mat weaving business. |  |
Joe Carrick and Jessica Randall, via timescolumns.typepad.com/gledhill
Really interesting post on Ruth Gledhill's Times blog about vicar's daughter Jessica Randall, a trainee doctor, and church youth worker Joe Carrick, who decided to make their wedding as green as possible:
"From the outset we’ve tried to keep a global - and God’s - perspective throughout. It hasn’t been any more effort to do and we haven’t had to compromise on quality and luxury either."This included sourcing a conflict-free engagement ring, buying a wedding dress from Oxfam, signing up for an Oxfam Unwrapped Wedding List, growing the flowers for the displays and bouquet, and serving fair trade food and booze at the reception. Good for them!
The nuns and their guests at the convent of the Poor Clares, Arundel (c) BBC
I missed the first episode of BBC2's The Covent, but I've watched the second and third and found them both challenging and moving. The bit in last night's episode which really got me was the clip of Sister Aelred talking with her pupil Iona about the challenges of the celibate life, and then speaking directly to camera on her own (video clip here).
Sister Aelred became a nun at 18. Aged 31, she fell in love with someone who had come to work within the enclosure. She spoke about how hard it was to cope with and the understanding she came to later about why God had allowed her to go through this ordeal:
"The choice then began to mean something. You can't vow celibacy from the chin upwards..."
I'm totally with her on that. When I became a Christian, aged 18, I took on celibacy as part of my faith, but my resolve wasn't really tested until I fell for someone hook, line and sinker in my mid-twenties (I'm now 31).
It wasn't that I ever got into a situation with this guy where I almost went to bed with him, but the strength of my feelings for him - and his confusion at finding someone who welcomed his attentions but wouldn't sleep with him - made for a painful couple of years. You can't help who you fall for, and if they seem to reciprocate, it's incredibly tough keeping your distance.
I'm not saying that celibacy has no value if it's untested, but having mine put to the test has certainly reaffirmed my decision to remain celibate outside of marriage (and also not to even date non-Christians). I just love that quote - it sums up things up brilliantly. Sister Aelred, you are one astute lady!
Also:
Convent of the Poor Clares, Arundel
Poor Clares 'The Covent' mini-site
Glandscape Hardening: The Celibate FAQ - "A light-hearted survey of perspectives, links, books on sexual abstinence from a secular perspective."
Click on the pics for larger version
I was asked to sort out Easter Day flowers for the side windowsills at church (the big arrangements were already sorted). They had to be silk not fresh, there were eight small arrangements needed and it needed to be done as cheaply as possible.
First stop was the £1 shops - I tried three before I found a good selection of silk flowers. They were all those ones where a whole bunch comes on one stem for £1.
I wanted daffodils but the only daffs available were two daffs attached to a hideous bunch of orange and white flowers. There were some relatively untacky-looking bunches of small yellow and white flowers, so I grabbed four of those - planning to use half a bunch per arrangement - and four of the bunches with daffs in, so I'd have eight daffs, one for each arrangement.
Then I had to find receptacles for them. I'd hoped to find some small glass or china vases - even pretty china mugs - in one of the £1 shops but found nothing suitable. I prayed for a solution! Then it struck me - as water wasn't part of the equation, I could use card. So I bought packs of A4 card in lilac and pale yellow, and made tubes by cutting one sheet in half longways and taping each half into a tube shape.
I cut cubes of Oasis (a bread knife works a treat!) out to fit snugly inside each tube and then stuck one daffodil and half a bunch of white and yellow flowers (cut from their bunch into individual blooms with wire cutters) into it.
I finished them each off with a small glass cross (20p each from Brighton Bead Shop) hung on sewing thread round the tube, from a notch cut in the card at the back.
They they turned out OK and cost just over £11 for eight, so didn't break the bank. Thank the Lord for divine inspiration!
My first Spring Harvest - quite an experience. Am still exhausted! Being an evening person, I didn't make it to any of the morning 'Big Start' worship at the Big Top, or any of the morning teaching/debate. I tended to rise later, watch the Big Start on the chalet telly then spend the morning wandering round the exhibition stalls in the Skyline, or out in Minehead. I took in a few afternoon seminars, and loved the evening celebrations in the Big Top - especially on the Sunday - taking communion with thousands of people was a very moving experience.
Highlights:
* Going to see the effervescent Watoto Children's Choir from Uganda.
* 'Discovering' Mark Greene of the LICC (London Institute for Contemporary Christianity) - I already get the LICC's daily emails, which are usually really interesting - but I hadn't heard of him. I went to one of his seminars (on integrity and evangelism in the workplace), which was great, and really enjoyed the talk he gave at one of the evening celebrations. He's intelligent, funny and speaks in a language I can understand - and makes realistic suggestions for ministry and evangelism. Hurrah! (See Amazon: Thank God It's Monday by Mark Greene)
* The worship songs led by Graham Kendrick - including some new ones I grew to love.
* Going to see Adrian Plass ("Evangelist: Someone who has only had problems in the past.")
* Seeing Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury give a lecture and later on be interviewed by Ian Coffey in the Big Top. Apparently his family love watching The Simpsons and his kids enjoy My Dad's The Prime Minister (he fears they see parallels with their own lives).
* Spotting Daniel Bedingfield in the wings of the Big Top just before Steve Chalke announced him and telling my friend (who hearts Daniel), who got terribly excited and tried climbing over the seats. (She later received a text from her bemused husband, enquiring, "So, how was David Bedington?") Daniel was there to help launch the Stop The Traffik campaign against human trafficking, which has been planned to culminate on the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery. He also led us in singing Refiner's Fire (Purify My Heart).
* Comedian Joe Fisher ("He's funny nearly everyday...") and his Splendid Sweaters slot.
* Asking for a cup of tea and an Eccles cake at the lovely cafe in Minehead's pretty Blenheim Gardens and being charged £1.25.
(L-R) Daniel Bedingfield singing in the Spring Harvest Big Top, Blenheim Gardens cafe in Minehead
Julian Rhind-Tutt as Dr Mac in Green Wing (c) Channel 4
"...What he does is ask for scalpels in regional accents, and taunt Tamsin Greig into trying to kiss him, then running away..."
The lovely Julian Rhind-Tutt is interviewed by The Guardian. I so enjoyed the first episode of the new series - but I can't believe they've made Mac forget that he and Caroline had got it together!
My Green Wing series 1 DVD arrived today! (Currently cheapest online at Woolies.) I tried to be good and tape the re-runs, but the tape got chewed up during episode four, so the Blonde and I are going Dutch on the DVD.
Also:
Sunday Times: interview with Tamsin Greig, including a bit about her Christian faith.
Manchester Evening News: Tamsin wings in as Doc Caroline
Telegraph: Victoria Pile - Green Wing's midwife and surgeon
Sunday Herald: Michelle Gomez - Ready, Steady, Gomez
'Hosts' by Martin Reiser installed at Bath Abbey - click on the images for larger versions
Thanks to Jonny Baker for flagging up Hosts - an interactive video installation by Martin Reiser and collaborators which has been showing in Bath Abbey. Reiser drew his inspiration from the Jacob's Ladder motif on the West front of the Abbey:
"Vertical screens are placed at strategic opposite points of the space. A visitor triggers the presence of a variety of unfocused and evanescent video characters through the use of positional detection devices (Chirpers) and interpretative software. Individual characters appear at random and smile, beckon or otherwise indicate that the visitor[s] should follow them and pass onwards from screen to screen, keeping pace with the visitor[s]. These 'hosts' will be of a wide range of ages, gender, social types and races, but will always appear singly to the participant. A 3D audio landscape of footsteps, acapella tonal voices and breathing sounds will accompany the visitor between the screens and form a tangible changing audio landscape... If a visitor stands for more than a few seconds in front of a particular screen, the figure will turn in the direction of the viewer and return the visitor[s] stare. The video sprite will look the visitor up and down, or turn away in distraction and then speak a series of poetic aphorisms, also seen as animated text on the screen. The piece is a reflection on human life and death, presence and absence. The 'hosts' may be taken to represent a variety of presences: from the angels of Jacob's Ladder, to the spirit of people who have inhabited the same spaces, or seen as fragments of an individual psyche... On the last part of the installation will be pictured two vertical ladders, placed on opposite sides of the space, and disappearing beyond the screen edges. On one ladder the characters are continuously climbing upwards and vanishing. On the second ladder they are climbing downwards from the top of the frame and walking off screen."
Hosts ends today at Bath Abbey but I'll keep an eye out for it touring - I've love to go and experience it. Seeing these video screens hanging in a church building reminds me of seeing Bill Viola's moving and evocative video installation The Messenger, which I've posted about before:
"Bill Viola's work fascinates me. I'm not really into video art, but his work just seems to resonate with me. It has spiritual connotations - he uses a lot of water and I'm a Baptist! I'll never forget seeing his The Messenger at Fabrica in Brighton a few years ago. After its debut in Durham Cathedral, The Messenger had toured around the country for years (and so had I) but we'd never been in the same place at the same time. Then there it was, in a gallery two minutes away from my office. Fabrica is a converted chapel, and the video screen (which was about 20ft high) was hung behind the altar. The room was pitch black but for the light from the screen, and filled with the booming breathing of the man on the screen, descending into and rising from deep water. I used to go every day and watch for 10 or 15 minutes, watching him descend, getting smaller and more blurry, then slowly ascend, getting larger and sharper until he broke the surface of the water with a desperate, roaring gasp for air which ricocheted round the room."
I got to see The Messenger again when it was included in the Prescence: Contemporary Images of Christ exhibition at St Paul's Cathedral in 2004, which I reviewed for the 24 Hour Museum website. I hope I get to see it again one day - I don't think it could fail to move me no matter how many times I see it.
Stills from 'The Messenger' video installation by Bill Viola (1996) - click on the images for larger versions
Embroidery by Ray Materson
Found whilst looking for embroidery stuff in Google News... this article about embroidery artist and former convict Ray Materson, who creates amazingly intricate embroideries using thread from unravelled socks. His story is pretty amazing too - told in detail in this article from Raw Vision:
"'Prison's a really horrible place, let me tell you. I deserved to go to prison, and it really helped me. When you're at the bottom of the barrel there's really no one to turn to except God, and I did, after about my first year. I turned to God, and I said please, help me to deal with this.The Raw Vision article includes many examples of Materson's work, more of which can be seen in this gallery. Materson has written a book about his work and life, fittingly titled Sins and Needles: A Story of Spiritual Mending.And one day I was sitting on my bunk in my cell. It was right around Christmas of 1988 and they were showing all the commercials for the Bowl Games. Michigan was scheduled to play USC in the Rose Bowl. I didn't go to University of Michigan but I had been to games at Michigan Stadium lots of times...
I was remembering those times and I decided I'm going to make something for myself to identify with being in Pasadena. And this plastic bowl with a lid was sitting out on the footlocker in my cell. I looked at it and it reminded me of my grandmother's sewing hoop. I remembered how she could sit in that rocker for hours and hours and hours and make designs. I thought, I could try that.
'I took the lid off the bowl and cut it out as best I could with a pair of nail clippers. Then I took a handkerchief and drew the Michigan 'M' as best I could. And then I noticed there was a pair of yellow and blue striped tube socks hanging on the bar outside my cell. They belonged to the guy in the cell next to me, so I bought them for a pack of cigarettes and I taught myself how to take the colored thread out of the socks. 'I stitched the 'M' emblem, and I put it on a visor I made out of the plastic from inside an old cap, the elastic from a pair of underwear, and a pair of blue shoelaces."
This story reminded me of Fernando Marques Penteado, a Portuguese/Brazilian artist who has run embroidery classes with male inmates at Wandsworth Prison in London. I saw this work on display at the Crafts Council's Boys Who Sew show last year:
"Marques Penteado explained that 'Around the textile gatherings there were always talks and laughs with sparkles of tenderness.' This is reflected in the humanity and poignancy of the work exhibited here. 'I really did get a great feeling of release from doing it,' said John Carpenter, one of the participants in the project."
Crafts Council website
Heart-shaped wallpiece made from balloons, by Susie Macmurray
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16
"Some of the visitors will not venture past the door of the centre itself but will go into the garden to drink - and the staff can get to know them and see if any look as if they need help."
And this is the quote which really got me:
"Of nearly 3,000 pupils on school visits last year, half were Muslim, says Cathedral Education Officer Joanna Booth. "Some said they didn't know they were allowed in."Manchester Cathedral John Shuttleworth John Shuttleworth's blog
There's this lovely, lovely bloke. He's quietly handsome with a really warm personality and a gorgeous smile. He's sweet and funny and modest and down to earth and he's even a Christian. And he keeps playing me my favourite records without knowing they're my favourites, which really floors me.
Last week, totally unprompted, he played me Thinking of You by The Colourfield. This week it was Islands in the Stream followed by Juxtaposed With U. But he's got a girlfriend.
Oh, Dermot O'Leary... I think I love you.
I love this year's Christmas poster from CAN (the Churches Advertising Network). It made me grin whilst battling through the crowds at Victoria station.
'I had tried to become a Christian at school, but been put off by someone coming in to talk to the Christian Union and explaining that God had sent them a pastel green Volvo estate car.'
Smack The Pony's Sally Phillips on how she became a Christian (via rejesus, originally from Third Way). I bet she'd be fun to go for a drink with - at least if I don't manage that in this life, there'll be plenty of time in the next. Not to knock Sir Cliff of course, but it's nice to know there are well-known Christians who are a bit more on my wavelength...
Stills from 'The Messenger' video installation by Bill Viola (1996)
(Click on the images for larger versions)
Bill Viola's work fascinates me. I'm not really into video art, but his work just seems to resonate with me. It has spiritual connotations - he uses a lot of water and I'm a Baptist!
I'll never forget seeing The Messenger at Fabrica in Brighton a few years ago. After its debut in Durham Cathedral, The Messenger had toured around the country for years (and so had I) but we'd never been in the same place at the same time. Then there it was, in a gallery two minutes away from my office.
Fabrica is a converted chapel, and the video screen (which was about 20ft high) was hung behind the altar. The room was pitch black but for the light from the screen, and filled with the booming breathing of the man on the screen, descending into and rising from deep water.
I used to go every day and watch for 10 or 15 minutes, watching him descend, getting smaller and more blurry, then slowly ascend, getting larger and sharper until he broke the surface of the water with a desperate, roaring gasp for air which ricocheted round the room.
I was baptised when I was 21 - by total immersion - and watching The Messenger was very moving - as I thought about how it felt to have the water close over my face - as I 'died' to my old life - and the silence as the water went in my ears, then feeling my pastor's arm round my back, lifting me towards the surface - being 'born' to my new life - and the first gulp of air.
And the noise - water sloshing about, people singing - and trying to get water and sopping wet hair out of my eyes. And laughing out of joy, and from seeing my atheist schoolfriends in the front row crying, and from the look on my parents' faces - Dad scooping me up in a big hug as he helped me out of the pool, Mum wielding a towel - trying in vain to stop me dripping on the chapel carpet...
This makes me very happy: Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde!!! Although Legally Blonde 2 Barbie makes me slightly uneasy...
Isn't she pretty in pink?
Blair gives religious employers the right to sack gay workers
This makes me very sad, and regret that this is being done in the name of faith - my faith. Will they be sacking heterosexual staff who engage in pre-marital sex?
Pier fire flares up again
This too is very sad indeed. 'Firefighters have said a fire at Brighton's West Pier, which was probably started deliberately, has flared up again.'
"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears...
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."
1 Corinthians 13: 1-13
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