Prodigal Kiwi(s) Blog

Massive Attack - Everything is Going According to Plan

I’m so envious. I’m a big fan of UK band Massive Attack, so to be in the position Jonny Baker was recently in – in that particular context (as he describes it) would have been a significant experience in my musical / visual journey. Here’s Jonny’s post, unedited (and thus minus capital letters), and almost in it’s entirety. Strangely, as I prepared this post my iPod (on shuffle) started playing Massive Attack – their song Protection:

Here's the trailer for the film

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“last night i went to see massive attack with adam curtis at manchester international festival. i am really glad i came up. it was quite an extraordinary experience. i had alt worship envy - it was an industrial feel to the building with 11 of the largest screens imaginable from floor to ceiling - a totally immersive visual environment. massive attack were playing a soundtrack behind one of the screens. anyone thinking it was a usual massive attack gig would have been disappointed - there was one massive song and the rest were covers. but it was all about the film - everything is going according to plan. it roamed through cultural footage over the last 50 years weaving global narratives that unmask many of the paradigms or worldviews of that era. if it had a weakness it was almost too evangelistic! i wish i had had a notebook to jot down many of the themes but wanted to just soak it up. in the best sense of the word it was prophetic, evoking grief and shaking the numbness and ways we get used to business as usual. empires were crumbling as we watched, the gods of the age found wanting. i really hope it will come out as a film - we will definitely watch it on the pioneer training. it was a bit bleak and the offer of redemption at the end was simply saying that you can change things, that there are other possibilities (which was great to be reminded of!).

the theme that particularly got me thinking was what was described as 'managing reality' - how in the wider culture with fear of the future the logic turned to safety and trying to manage and control everything. it so reminded me of the church and even trends in the charity sector. i will probably come back to this when i think about it a bit further but the parallels are there.

i have said for many years that art and prophecy are close friends. this was another reminder…”

Sanctus 1: A Missional Journey

Steve Taylor in a recent post directed readers to an update on Sanctus 1 which was posted on the Fresh Expressions website. 

It’s worth a read. Certainly I found it quite energising. 

Here’s an excerpt: 

Nexus Art Café appointed a new manager, although their job title is that of art and venue coordinator.

"...[This] change has allowed us to refocus on where we are in terms of Christian spirituality: it has released us from any inhibitions in assessing the stage we have reached in our journey and what we are doing as part of that journey. It has given us a good nudge in the right direction.

Another outcome has been for Sanctus1 to think of Nexus as a 'legitimate' place to be linked with. The café is now more financially viable than it has been previously, so again, Sanctus1 feel happier merging with something of worth - rather than thinking they have taken on a liability.

This is all part of Sanctus1 making the gradual move towards being missional. We have seen some of the fruit of that when Sanctus1 recently contributed to an art exhibition at Nexus.

As well as our weekly service on Sundays and Wednesdays, Sanctus1 is also involved in:

Spirituality Film Nights


These are run every month by Nexus Art Café (supported by Sanctus1) on their big screen in response to a survey about spirituality.

Halfway


This is a joint venture between Nexus Art Cafe and Sanctus 1 and takes the form of a short weekly mediation, lasting about half an hour and designed to bring some spiritual relief and relaxation in the middle of the busy week.

Going Deeper


A small group offers deeper discussion about what is happening in our lives and try to find God in what is happening. It meets twice a month at Nexus…” 

You’ll find the Fresh Expressions link here.

The Role of the Minister

Simon Holt reflects on the role of the minister / pastor in a recent thought provoking post. His wondering is informed by two books; one I’ve read, one I haven’t: The Art of Curating Worship: Reshaping the Role of the Worship Leader by Mark Pierson, and The Relational Pastor by Andy Root.

Here’s an excerpt: 

“…The Christian faith provides a ‘big story’ in which to locate my own, a vision of life and a sense of meaning that transcends and enfolds everything. I love it. Still, it doesn’t stop me getting routinely shipwrecked in a puddle of vocational angst…” 

You can read the full post here. 

Stuart Murray In Conversation – June 2013

“…Anabaptism was a sixteenth-century radical Christian renewal movement in territories that now comprise parts of Switzerland, Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Alsace and the Netherlands.

Its distinguishing features included putting Jesus at the centre of our understanding of the Christian faith, emphasis on new birth and discipleship in the power of the Spirit, establishment of believers’ churches free from state control, commitment to economic sharing, and a vision of restoring New Testament Christianity.

It drew adherents primarily from poorer sections of the community, though early leaders included university graduates, monks and priests. Assessing its numerical strength is difficult, because it was driven underground by persecution; it certainly influenced many more people than those baptised as members…” (Source: The Anabaptist Network in the UK).

Nomad (UK) recently had a conversation with Stuart Murray, author of such influential books as: Church After Christendom, Post-Christendom: Church and Mission in a Strange New World, and most recently The Naked Anabaptist: The Bare Essentials of a Radical Faith (pub. 2010). 

You will find the conversation here.

Contemplation and Poetics

Canadian friend Len Hjalmarson has an interesting reflection on “Poetic Theology” and contemplation. It takes me back to listening to William Dyrness at an arts / theology on conference. 

Here’s an excerpt. Read the whole post here. 

“In Poetic Theology, William Dyrness argues that one legacy of the Reformation was the loss of contemplation. We began to privilege the ear over the eye, the head over the heart, and beauty was to be found [only] outside the sanctuary Calvin was intent on placing “the emphasis on the people and their discipleship in the world and not on the space of worship in the church” (218). Implicitly, the place of gathering was denigrated, and indirectly, place itself suffered.

There are a host of issues that rise from this. First, church buildings became sanitary and dull, no longer evoking the imaginative energy that impels the richness of worship. Second, we lost tough with the power of symbol. Sacraments themselves became almost meaningless. This, combined with the priority of preaching, made it increasingly difficult to justify both the outer and the inner gaze of the soul. It also became difficult to justify an appeal to the affections — yet this is the root of the will, and also the larger part of how we know our world (even if pre-cognitive)…”

Interesting Conversations: Two Episcopalians and a Catholic

I used to be a regular listener to The Forum conversations during Alan Jones’ tenure as the Dean of Grace Cathedral. He retired in 2009. 

Since then the new Dean (Jane Shaw) has put her own spin on The Forum and it’s been nice to listen again, in recent weeks, to some of the back-catalog of fascinating interviews. 

Three in particular stood out. The first two stood out because I’ve regularly read and been deeply challenged by the books they have written over the years. While the third was a person I’d not come across before: 

First up, Alan Jones himself, in conversation on the 22^nd April 2012. The conversation was recorded under the title, The Church in the World. 

Secondly, James Alison, talking on the 13^th November 2011. The conversation was recorded under the title, Broken Hearts and New Creation: Intimations of a Great Reversal. 

And thirdly, Stephanie Spellers, talking on the 30^th October 2011 under the title: Anglicanism Remixed: Embracing our Traditions and Embracing The Other. 

Gordon Cosby Dies

Sadly I missed this news until just recently. Gordon Cosby, the co-founder – with his wife Mary – of The Church of the Saviour in Washington D.C. died, aged 95, on March 20^th 2013. May he rest in peace. More here. 

It is from him (and the late Elizabeth O’Connor) that I got a focus that has been so important to me – a focus on the importance of the “Inward” and the “Outward” journey. The whole missional orientation of the church community was inspirational too. My introduction to The Church of the Saviour came in 2000 by way of a wonderful book written by Peter Renner. It was titled The Church of the Saviour: A Radical Experiment. 

“The one journey that ultimately matters is the journey into the place of stillness deep within one’s self. To reach that place is to be at home; to fail to reach it is to be forever restless. In contemplation we catch a vision of not only what is, but what can be. Contrary to what we have thought, contemplatives are the great doers.” 

“…Faith is trusting the flow and reveling in the view and being carried beyond all existing boundaries…” 

~ Gordon Cosby

Broken Open

I always appreciate the ‘poetic’ strand, the richness of language, image and metaphor invariably woven through Rowan William’s sermons – this one from 2009. It’s a wonderful example: 

“…This is what we are here for as a Church. Our life as church declares to the world that God's longing is for a humanity like this, broken open for intimacy. Broken open: because there is a cost in the creation of the humanity God longs for. At the very beginning of all things, and at the very beginning of the story of God's people, the word of God speaks into a dark emptiness and brings life and light. By sheer divine freedom, God brings light, makes a humanity where there was no humanity, a community where there was no community. And God makes us able to receive his mercy where once we could not even understand that we needed it. In a word, we have been called from nothingness; but this means that we still stand over that abyss of emptiness -- an inner void that only the Word of God can hold and fill and make to be something that is real and living. Sin is our constant temptation to slip back into nothingness, into unreality -- the void of our own individual desires and agendas, the void of a self that deludes itself into the belief that it is really there on its own, independent of God and others…” 

~ Rowan Williams, from here. 

Why are Women more Religious than Men?

A recently published study by Marta Trzebiatowska and Steve Bruce focuses on the question “Why are women more religious than men?”

Published on the 20th September 2012 it is profiled in the following way: 

“…Women are more religious than men. Despite being excluded from leadership positions, in almost every culture and religious tradition, women are more likely than men to pray, to worship, and to claim that their faith is important to them. Women also dominate the world of 'New Age' spirituality and are far more superstitious than men. 

This book reviews the now-sizeable body of social research to consider if the gender gap in religion is indeed universal. Marta Trzebiatowska and Steve Bruce extensively critique competing explanations of the differences found. They conclude that the gender gap is not the result of biology but is rather the consequence of important social differences over-lapping and reinforcing each other. Responsibility for managing birth, child-rearing and death, for example, and attitudes to the body, illness and health, each play a part. In the West, the gender gap is exaggerated because the social changes that undermined the plausibility of religion bore most heavily on men first. Where the lives of men and women become more similar, and where religious indifference grows, the gender gap gradually disappears. 

Written in an accessible style whilst drawing some robust conclusions, the book's main purpose is to serve as a state-of-the-art review for those interested in one of the largest differences between male and female behaviour. 

Contents 

1: The Great Divide
2: New Religions
3: Spirits and Bodies
4: New Age and Spirituality
5: Conservative Religion
6: Biology, Roles and Attitudes
7: Risk
8: Ways of Life
9: Secularization
10: The Sum of Small Differences…” 

You can find an excerpt (PDF) – chapter 1 – here. 

The Church of England is “in danger of becoming too clerical and congregationally-based.”

Interesting output from The UK-focused YouGov survey, which Professor Linda Woodhead commissioned to inform the 2013 series of Westminster Faith Debates. Her findings are presented in her article ‘”Nominals” are the Church’s Hidden Strength’ in the current issue (26 April 2013, p. 16) of the Church Times. Sadly, this is only available online to subscribers of the newspaper. 

British Religion in Numbers (BRIN) report: 

“…The analysis proper, which forms the first part of the article, distinguishes four types of Anglicans:

1. Godfearing Churchgoers (5% of Anglicans) – These are Anglicans who attend church, are very certain in their belief in God, and who say that God is the main source of authority in their lives. They are also likely to score highly on other indicators of religiosity (such as prayer and Bible-reading) and to hold conservative views on many issues of personal morality, particularly sexuality (setting them apart with Baptists and Muslims rather than fellow Anglicans).
2. Mainstream Churchgoers (12% of Anglicans) – These have more in common with Non-Churchgoing Believers than with the Godfearers. Apart from their churchgoing, they differ in being a little more religious than Non-Churchgoing Believers on a number of measures and a little more morally conservative.
3. Non-Churchgoing Believers (50% of Anglicans) – These share a good many of the attributes of Mainstream Churchgoers, notwithstanding that they do not attend church. They all believe in God (although some prefer the word Spirit), and significant numbers practise religious or spiritual activities regularly. ‘These “nominals” are more than Anglican in name only: they believe, practise, and identify with Anglicanism.’
4. Non-Churchgoing Doubters (33% of Anglicans) – These Anglicans are also more than merely nominal. Only 15% are outright atheists, most being agnostic or unsure about God, and more than one-fifth claim to practise some religious or spiritual activity in private. They are the most morally permissive of the four groups.

The second half of the article is an impassioned – some may say occasionally idealized – plea for the Church of England to take more seriously non-churchgoing Anglicans in general, and Non-Churchgoing Believers in particular, rather than representing Godfearing Churchgoers as the ‘most real Anglicans’. Woodhead contends that the Church is in danger of becoming too clerical and congregationally-based…” (Emphasis, mine).

Source – here. 

I wonder what data and perspective a similar study of the Anglican Church in New Zealand would produce…?