Howzzat!!

On Sunday evening, on my way home from our monthly Communion service I was surprised to see ten Whatsapp messages from my brothers in Southampton and Spain.  Once back at the Manse I realised they were sharing the nervous tension surrounding the final moments of the cricket World Cup from Lords.  As brothers we do this!  We may not have spoken for weeks, yet come a sporting cup final of any kind and there's an instinct amongst us that we must share the moment together!  Even though I'm the least 'sporty' of the three I love these moments - they are very special!

It's got me thinking this week about the 'community' side of life and how we are simply not made to experience our deepest lows or most exuberant highs alone.

This week thousands of students will have shared their Graduation ceremonies with invited family guests.  Their achievement is a very personal one yet it is to be shared collectively.

On Monday I had the privilege of officiating at the funeral of a wonderful lady well into her nineties.  It was inspiring to see so many people at the crematorium, so much so that the stewards ran out of both orders of service and seats.  It was clear that the guests that morning wanted to be together, to gather around her widower and share the moment with him. Human love and decency at its very best.

And this weekend our family will gather to celebrate an 80th birthday.  I cannot imagine that ever being a private affair!  Cakes have been baked, cards drawn and speeches prepared.  How could it be otherwise?  We all simply want to gather together and sing 'Happy Birthday!'

The notion of God is expressed in the bible as Trinity, a COMMUNITY of love, goodness and light.  We are made to share in that sense of togetherness - it's part of our humanity which reflects the nature of God.

To pinch a line from a one time advert on TV promoting chocolate toffees: Life is meant for sharing!

Have a good summer - the Blog returns in September.

God bless!

Every common bush afire with God...

Elizabeth Barrett Browning 1806-1861

In the book I'm currently reading for our church's discussion group in a few weeks time I came across these inspiring lines by Elizabeth Barrett Browning: Earth crammed with heaven and every common bush afire with God.

I suspect I'm not always so positive as she was and it's easy to imagine she wouldn't have been either if she had lived today amidst some of the most negative news headlines of recent years.

But, that may not be true!  That's because Browning wrote these words against a backdrop of personal struggle, challenge and disappointment.

She was brought up a Dissenter and perhaps she would have felt at least half at home in AFC because she once described herself as 'not a Baptist but a Congregationalist'. All her life she suffered from chronic spinal pain and lung problems, was disinherited by her father upon her marriage to the poet Robert Browning, was passed over for the post of Poet Laureate which, on the death of Wordsworth, went to Tennyson, and had four miscarriages before her son, Pen, was born.  Elizabeth Barrett Browning knew real pain yet continued to write poetry, work for the abolition of slavery and strove for better working condition for child labourers.

To see earth crammed with heaven in the light of Brexit and this week's breakdown in diplomatic trust between the UK and the USA takes some doing, but maybe we become more balanced and whole people when we try to make this connection.

The Jewish Scriptures show us the way in the stories of 'exile'. Even when wrenched from their homeland, our Jewish cousins were encouraged by their faith leaders to seek the good of the new country in which they found themselves, and to pray for its prosperity.

Finding goodness and encountering the divine even on the bleakest of days and in the most alien of contexts is part of a spiritual discipline that sees every common bush afire with God.

Ringing Bells

I heard on the radio this morning that they will be ringing lots of bells in Manchester tonight.

Apparently the idea originates from Yoko Ono to ring a bell for peace.  Hundreds of Mancunians will be doing just that in the Cathedral Gardens and the sound is anticipated to be so loud that ear plugs are being offered free of charge to those listening.

The ringing of bells is up there with the lighting of candles as deeply meaningful and symbolic acts much akin to prayer.  When words seem inadequate or simply can't be found, actions can express the depth of our longing, so why not ring a bell for peace?

When I served in Malvern I was amused to learn that in granting our church 'permission' to build on the lower slopes of the hills in the mid 1890's, Lady Emily Foley stipulated that even though the design had a tower, no bell should ever be hung in the belfry.  She didn't want the Baptist's call to prayer to be in competition with that being sounded by Great Malvern Priory across the road!!

Perhaps today, 4th July, it's worthy remembering the central place 'Liberty Bell' has in the folk lore of the United States.  Although there's no evidence it was ever rung on July 4th, 1776, it is documented that it rang out on the 8th, when the Declaration of Independence was actually proclaimed from the Assembly Hall in Philadelphia.  Years later the bell became a focal point for the Abolitionists and the freedom they sort.

So, ring out the bells in Manchester this evening, each one a heartfelt and worthy prayer for peace.