Thought for the Day

As delivered, pre-recorded at the moment not live, at BBC Radio Bristol this morning on James Hanson's Breakfast Show:

My Christian master is a teacher, happy in crowds. Yet, I've worked from home most of my life. From, not at.

But a decree went out that we must all work from home if possible. For a while it pleased some people greatly. Although others, who built stuff, cared for the sick or processed food to name but three, had to go to work.

'Honey, I'm back.'

'What's that cow doing here?'

'Well I'm working from home tomorrow. Those pies don't make themselves. I'll leave it on the dining room table for now.'

No. That conversation never happened.

Those who could stay (probably undistracted by others working in the same house or kiddies needing education) enjoyed the absence of commute and the dress-down. For a bit.

Then the realisation. Friendships are formed in a thousand photocopier or water-cooler moments. Chat over a sandwich. Drink after work. Working at home perhaps something was lost as well.

Yes, many of us would prefer to go to fewer meetings, but a real flesh and blood boss with vision is motivating.

Most faith communities value precisely that - community. Helping and teaching people. Hermits need nothing. Community needs shepherding.

Thought for the Day

As delivered to James Hanson at BBC Radio Bristol just now:

What, can you think, is the first thing in the Bible described as 'not good'?

In the Book of Genesis six days of creation are described. At the end of each of the first five there is a little mantra 'and God saw that it was good'. After day six this creation is described as very good. Then comes the answer to my question. The first thing described as 'not good' is loneliness. It is not good for people to be alone.

Forget for the moment those like me who love curling up in the corner with a good book (beat) because lots of other people make that possible. We are social creatures.

Last Remembrance Sunday the residents of our local streets chose to stand outside to mark the silence. They asked me to lead it, which was a privilege. Then we had a brief outdoor social gathering. I met Gordon aged 85 and Lewis, 7 days.

Gordon told me that on his birthday the neighbours had stood in his front garden and sung to him.

My little corner of Nailsea is lovely, but I invite us all to consider how we can fix the thing God is said to describe as 'not good'.

What little happening can you arrange to put something other than loneliness in the memory banks? Here in my corner of Trendlewood we're planning a switching on of our home Christmas lights event with carols and a nativity story.

I get to join in. We're curing loneliness and inventing Christmas liturgy. Which, amongst other reasons, is why I love being a vicar.

I now realise I used the same introductory question for a Thought back in June, although I did draw a different idea from it. I blame the editors. After 160 of these there may be a little repetition.

Thought for the Day

I was allowed to use my BBC Radio Bristol slot today for an unashamed plug for tomorrow's Community Festival. This is the script:

Some choose solitude and live as recluses or hermits. Most don't.

Unless we opt out, part of being human is relationships. We are social beings.

Where I live, in a modern part of Nailsea, the estate builders had a different idea. No public meetings space. No heart to the community. Houses built so neighbours don't bump into each other.

But in two years running of royal events that led to street parties folk were keen to meet. So a few people decided, back in 2013, to trial a community festival. A big party where the local talent - music, craft, classic car owners, food and drink - could get together and meet.

I am proud that members of Trendlewood Church, where I am vicar, played a huge part in this. It was repeated in 2015, this time for free due to sponsorship. The third one is tomorrow. Golden Valley School Fields. At noon. Still free.

All the stories in today's show are about people needing people - illness, therapy, benefits and protests. There will be a time in our lives when we all need help. It is good to have met people in advance of this. Someone often knows the person who can help you.

I recall a day when Jesus saw a huge crowd and had compassion on them and began to teach them. When they were hungry we are told he found a miraculous way to multiply food.

We'll have food. Lots of it tomorrow. Also advice in the form of talks on things such as debt, parenting and looking after the environment. As well as meeting some impressive people who have made a great effort at improving the world for those less fortunate.

Worth meeting them?

Talks Tent

I'm excited to have been given the opportunity to curate a talks tent at the Trendlewood Community Festival this year. There are people in our local community doing interesting stuff around the world. From 2.00 - 5.00 p.m. a selection of them have twenty minutes to present something of their passion.

Here's a flavour of the topics:

What can a local radio station do for the community? (Joe Lemer, BBC Radio Bristol)
Who can help you with your money? (Tim Moulding, CAP Money)
Who can help you with your parenting and your marriage (Ian Wills and Trevor Watts, CARE for the family)
What can a local church do for a community (me, Trendlewood Church)
From Trendlewood to Uganda to educate children (Mark and Megan Walters, Hope for Life, Katanga)
Nailsea's best kept s
ecret (Nancy Elliott, Nailsea Community Trust)
How green is your estate? (Pat Gilbert, Friends of Trendlewood Park)

Got one more surprise guest up our sleeves too. I hope. Do plan in to your visit the chance to listen to some of these excellent speakers.

Salt and Light

Have been asked to make the text available of my sermon for Trendlewood Church, 10/5/15. It's in note form but may help. The recording should appear on the web-site www.trendlewood.org.uk at some point.

Matthew 5:13-16

Living the Vision 4 - Good News for our Local Community

Fourth of six:

1. Body of Christ - all different, all play our part, all one body.

2. Values - hospitality, welcome, inclusiveness, exporting - to which you helpfully added sacrificial giving and commitment.

3. Being Christ-centred in all we do.

Jeff Whatley principle - Christian groups, if corrective not exerted upon them, tend to stray away from the Gospel.

4. A Christian church, if it is doing what it should do, will make a local community a better place than a community that does not have one.

Salt and Light

I have three points today Truths, Weapons, Distinctives.

I want to share four truths. Six weapons and three distinctives. So only thirteen points. Let's get going.

Four truths:

1. Christians must be radically different - lighting the dark: preserving the decaying.

2. Christians must permeate society - lamp on a shelf: salt rubbed into meat. So if we fancy a game of badminton, to use an example, we don't form a church badminton club and only play with Christians, but we join one.

3. Christians must influence and change society - dispel darkness: hinder decay.

4. Christians must retain their distinctiveness - salt salty: light brightness. (Vanilla salt). Some things flavour the salt, rather than being flavoured by it.

Six Weapons:

1. Prayer (no-one can stop us doing that, alone, small groups, prayer meeting, daily office, weekly services, prayer diary, people diary),

2. Evangelism (let the evangelists evangelise; clear their diaries)

3. Example (if our words and example don't match people will learn more from our example than our words)

4. Argument (listening and correcting misunderstandings)

5. Action (doing stuff in the community, some people working hard in polling stations this week)

6. Suffering (not per se; but making it clear that we cope differently. It is our expectation not a surprise. Seneca)

Three Distinctives:

Why might a Christian on Trendlewood estate be different, distinctive?

1. Greater righteousness than others, I hope. 248/365 serve God every day of the year with every bone in our body.

2. A wider love than others, I hope - enemies included.

3. A nobler ambition than others, I hope - God's name, kingdom and will (Lord's Prayer)

Conclusion

Will you make a difference?
Will you start to shine?
If battered and bruised, will you go again?

Quote Book Index 711-720

Indexing my quote books ten at a time and choosing the best of each ten. Hear Henri Nouwen on 'community':

714. The place where the person you least want to live with always lives.
(quoted by Christianity Today in The Briefing 189)

Trendlewood Community Festival - Vicar's Reflections

For those clergy who find their church building at the heart of a community around a village green this will come as no shock, but churches have a great tradition of getting people together. The church fete, the village fete, the Christmas fayre and the like all gather people.

So what do you do to develop community when you have no building?

This was the question two members of our church were playing around with as they sat at a swimming pool watching a children's lesson. And the idea of our festival was born.

It is a real privilege to be the minister of a church where ideas are generated and acted upon.

The idea was brought to the leadership (Trendlewood Committee) who embraced it but took the sensible decision to cancel something else we usually did (our church weekend) in order to concentrate on it.

It is great to work with a group of leaders who ask 'How can we make this work?' rather than saying it won't.

Then the work started. Co-led by an intern and a volunteer who dropped one day a week's paid work in order to serve, the different aspects of the festival were allocated to four or five people and eight months of planning, blogging, promoting and recruiting started. I have no idea how many people hours were involved but last weekend I reckon a key 15 people did about 600 hours.

Using the grounds of the school where we meet on a Sunday we ran a local festival for local people - not quite as Royston Vasey as it sounds. People from the estate shared their produce, their gifts, their collections and their time.

We may have lost a little money. We may have slightly over-catered. But between 400 and 600 people turned up for a day in the sun.

The police said it was one of the best-organised festivals they have ever attended and want to come back. The food hygiene inspectors were impressed with the care.

On Sunday the 55 people in church were the bitter-enders (Venture folk will know what this means) knackered, but glowing with the satisfaction of a job well done. Instead of coffee after church they took down yet another marquee. Respect. And thanks.

It is great to be the minister of a church where permission-giving ministry allows this sort of thing to happen. What's next?

Thought for the Day

After recovering from presenter Steve's suggestion that I might make a good partner for Vanessa Feltz on Celebrity Come Dancing (I not celebrity; I can't dance) I recovered my composure to deliver this shameless plug for Trendlewood Community Festival oops, I mean thought:

 

It is coming to the end of festival season. Why do we love festivals so?

 

Well, do you remember the days when neighbours could chat over the garden fence? Many people have never experienced that.

 

For 14 years of my life I lived in a Victorian terraced house where all the rear gardens had low walls. From April to October if you popped into the back, however briefly, you normally ended up talking to someone. We had a sense of community.

 

Now I live on a new-build estate in Nailsea and the houses are deliberately designed that this won't happen. No-one overlooks anyone else. I could sunbathe naked in the garden and be in more danger of discovery by Google Earth than the neighbours.

 

But at the recent royal wedding, then diamond jubilee, local street parties were a success. As long as someone got organising, folk were happy to pitch in and enjoy food, drink and a chat.

 

So this year residents of my part of Nailsea have decided to organise something bigger. The Trendlewood Community Festival this Saturday is a brave attempt by a few people to get everyone together in a part of town with few natural meeting places.

 

Although church members have put energy into it, it's not a church event. It's to acknowledge that, gospel message or not, getting people meeting and talking together makes the world better. Nothing attracts a crowd like a crowd.

 

Thing is, biblical crowds were gathered to a food-multiplying Messiah. Our crew need to sell tickets, burgers and drinks. Mind you, Jesus never had five a side football. Or a bouncy castle. See some of you there?