December 2010 Archives

Time to sign off and put the blog in the cupboard until the New Year when no doubt I'll retrieve it and be putting finger(s) to keyboard once more, thus adding to the weight of html coursing through the blogosphere. Five and a half years on and I still love blogging ..... especially the contact, learning and fun that arises from the dialogue. I do Twitter but have not made it into the league of the Twitterati, nor wanted to; Quite like Facebook, but blogging is still where my heart is. Not that I'm turning into a Ludite (I hope), as I'm quite chuffed to have set up 'Kindle' on my phone today and grabbed a copy of NT Wright "Surprised by Hope!" to electronically ingest. (Talking of technology, if you haven't caught up with Ronnie Corbet's take on technology, have a look)

I know what your thinking though?*
If you like blogging so much, explain the last two weeks!

Well, truth is that Jo has not been so well which has kept me busy, but probably more than that I've really been missing my dad and have found it difficult to sit down and write. Odd things like it being the first Christmas I can ever remember where I haven't gone to buy a packet of 'Licqourice Allsorts' for my dad have affected me deeply. Grief is an odd thing, it doesn't pounce any more though, it just kind of arises somewhere as a small speck of sadness and expands gently until you become aware of it's presence.

I am however thoroughly looking forward to Christmas with my immediate tribe, We have two Christmas trees up in our Lounge and I shall enjoy a dram or two of Malt with the mellow and cheerful light they create. The festivities will commence tomorrow with the annual showing of "Muppet Christmas Carol" and flow from there. I am going to especially enjoy the Midnight service which will feel really 'right' this year with snow laying round about, deep and crisp and even**

I wish you every blessing my fine friends for this most magical time of year.
Let wonder, love and hope reign supreme.

Shalom

"O holy Child of Bethlehem
Descend to us, we pray
Cast out our sin and enter in
Be born to us today
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell
O come to us, abide with us
Our Lord Emmanuel "

____________________________________________________________________

* not really, that would be too weird

** at least the bits that aren't black or worse, yellow

Facebook guide for Parents: connectsafely org guide to facebook for parents.pdf

I'm up at the office today and tomorrow. It's currently snowing again, but it did mean that it felt very Christmassy when we trudged down the road to St Lawrence Church for our Church House Carol Service.

I was the Jester for a party on Monday. Someone was asking for the Christmas song anagrams, so here they are: christmas anagram cards3.pdf

I'm not really a big fan of tattoos but this made me smile ....

My family were asking if there was anything I want for Christmas, couldn't think of anything. But my magical Christmas wish would be Bill Watterson doing a new Calvin and Hobbes book!

ht to todays' Sun Newspaper for the punning headline (I think 'Whitemare' might actually make it into general use) on this bitterly cold morning. Parts of the Diocese came close to minus 20 degrees last night which is really really extreme for the South, a relatively balmy minus 6 in Newbury by comparison.

I'm heading up to the office in a while but watching the forecasts carefully for the return trip, there is snow forecast for south of the Ridgeway today and such is the traffic volume on the A34 that any incident can transform the dual carriage way to little more than a car park. (As it did over the weekend with a 5hr delay Oxford to M40 on Sunday)

My sympathy to all who are stuck at home, airports or out on the roads.

Whitemare!

Captain's Log Supplemental:

Car wouldn't start, the battery was almost completely dead. Managed to jump start it and head up to Oxford. Once over the Ridgeway the temperature dropped majorly and the side roads looked increasingly grim. The A34 kept moving though with occasional patches of snow and ice intruding into one lane. When I came to turn off for Church House though it was truly scary and the entire slip road was snow and ice (with an outside temp of minus 10). I had a lorry behind me so was trying to work out how much I could safely slow up before committing the tyres to the slip road. Managed not to collect a lorry in the bumper and to not spin off on the exit, however the Church House Car Park was all snow and ice. I could not get any traction AND every time I tried the car stalled and it wouldn't restart ... necessitating a Jump start. Eventually gave up slithered back onto the A34 (even scarier moment) and headed south. Currently at ATS in Newbury waiting for a new battery to be fitted.

Whitemare!

This is genius, the nativity explored through social media snapshots.
ht to Youth Ministry Geek

"To escape the error of salvation by works we have fallen into the opposite error of salvation without obedience"

I'm trying to get my head around the ski trip and particularly the evening 'services!' I am tasked with doing a 'talk' each night (although I'm more of a sit on the table and converse sort of a preacher), but am currently stumped as to the 'what to explore'

My journal is stuffed full of ideas, themes, chunks of scripture and the like, all of which are currently engaging me. Even so I cannot pin down a theme or framework.
Ideally I want a coherent series where each 'talk' is so clearly themed that people can input into it that day (an attempt at 'open sourcing' the sermon) and makes for a useful, intelligent, reflective and real session that evening.

On the basis that lots of heads are better than one (particularly in this case) I'm opening it up to your communal creative genius ........

This reflection comes from Bishop Porter Taylor from the Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina.

"I finally got into the garage attic and began decorating the house. No Christmas tree yet, but some cards and candles and a wonderful crèche scene by the Sewanee artist, Barbara Hughes. While the shepherds and animals are all around the manger, the baby isn't there yet. He is travelling. In truth, I am not there yet, but I am asking for God's grace to help me start the journey. Advent is such a holy season because it reminds us that much of the time our vocation as Christians is to move our feet in faith.

That is our Advent journey. We travel towards Christ and we travel deeper into being Christ like. The birth is not merely a historical event but an ongoing transformation in all those who give their lives to Christ. This is our journey. It's time. Let's us go to Bethlehem"

I received this brilliant list of Christmas and Advent links from Dave at Guildford, who flagged up that Alice of Chelmsford had posted them. Then to complete the circle, I noticed some of the links were pointers to Youthblog *laughing!* So in a 'the circle is now complete' sort of a way, here they are.

But first a couple of pressies from me.

A Christmas in other languages quiz Christmas in othjer languages quiz.pdf

and a Christmas(esque) film quiz. christmas movie wall quiz.pdf Enjoy

and then the list .................

Christine Sine

Steve Taylor prayer station ideas

Christine Sine again with a meditation for first week of Advent, you can also find a link to her 2010 video which is always great

Christmas dramatised reading

More Advent ideas for prayer

Reflections for the 2nd week of Advent

Links here to a set of Advent images from Ben Bell

Alternative Advent resources - from last year so links may not all be active

Free resources from Barefoot - hope this is still valid

hilarious post on the most gruesome nativity sets!

Advent monologue scripts courtesy of Rob, OPM in Gillingham

UCCF video for Christmas shared by Phil Ritchie

Advent 3 reflection - My God is so small

Christine Sine again - Litany for the Homecoming of God

An amazing Biblical 'poem' from Rachel Marszalek

Silent Monks singing Hallelujah

The Christmas Narrative in Chocolate

3 session Resource guide on the Nativity

Jonny Baker links to advent prayers and liturgy

Links to a variety of readings for Christmas and Epiphany celebrations

I've just seen a proposal for a merger between LCET and Amaze and thought you might like to know. To me it sounds very good news and will boost LCETs considerable impact that it is already having locally and nationally with their selfharm and schools work support and resourcing, whilst strengthening AMAZE's ability to operate on behalf of youth workers.

I'm thinking the new name might be, the Amazing LCET (Luton and beyond)

My daughter is off on a World Challenge expedition arranged by the school and has to raise the funds as part of the project and learning. In January she has the chance to organise and host the Thursday church/community coffee morning which would be a fantastic chance to raise some of the cost.

Trouble is, it means a morning off school .... and the school have said No!

Captain's Log Supplemental: I should clarify that is not challenging the world (Stu!) but on a World Challenge Expedition to the Atlas Mountains in Morocco in May.
She has to raise £1020 costs, plus buy her equipment (eek) and so far is doing a Charity coffee morning on 6th Jan (any cakes, 'bric a brac' or Raffle prizes appreciated), a Quiz evening on Feb 12th and a sponsored abseil down the Avon Gorge in March.

I know flash mobs are turning into a bit of a Youtube staple but this made me smile, and is supremely well done.

I have now submitted a paper to Bishops Council reflecting the startegic musing that many of you have been helping with. The council have not yet seen the work so I'm only posting the outline of the situation so far, but will abridge you of the steps I am proposing soon. In case you are interested, here's the first half of the paper (the bulk of it is available by clicking "continue reading"!:

A proposed Youth Ministry Strategy
Diocese of Oxford

We have a Problem
We have an Opportunity

59% of UK Churches have no contact with 15-19 year olds
49% of UK Churches have no contact with 11- 14 year olds*
"Numbers of children and young people gathering with the church for worship continue to fall" **

This paper aims to outline the huge gap between our aspirations in terms of young people and faith, and the reality. It aims to lay out a strategic response which will frame the job of the Youth Adviser over the next five years and to request some additional funding to both reduce the disengagement from church, and to promote and enable a re-engagement

So, Youthwork the conference for 2011 is Nov 18th-20th.

Woolhope Cockshoot was not being used this weekend so it seemed like an ideal chance to truck on over to deepest darkest Herefordshire with the family. The plan was to do some cleaning and polishing of the centre, take some more photos for the web site and do a bit of a condition report ... as well as enjoying some family time at (probably) the finest residential youth centre in the cosmos.

There had been no snow stories from the area, and the weather forecast was good, ie a tad warmer and some rain. Thus we loaded up Charlie the van and headed out.

Just under two hours of clear and snow free roads saw us turning off for the final approach onto the labyrinthine lanes in which Woolhope Cockshoot nestles. These roads contrary to everyything else around were a thin layer of compressed snow and ice. *Eek!* Having come this far though we were not for turning, and so edged gingerly along the lanes. At this point it started snowing BIG time, I mean BIG time. One mile in and with two remaining we started on the uphill section and began encountering traction difficulties, then with one mile to go and the hill getting steeper and the snow getting even heavier, the van could no longer get enough grip. With nowhere to leave the van (even if there was, we could not have managed to propel H and all the kit there), and the conditions getting worse, we were forced to admit defeat. This meant reversing Charlie bus a mile down a single track country lane in the dark and in a snow storm before we could find a turning point.

We turned and headed out onto the roads and homewards down towards Gloucester where we, given the lower altitude, were encountering torrential rain. Disappointed but laughing we headed towards home and bed.

However as we climbed out of Gloucester up to Birdlip, the world changed. The torrential rain became a blizzard and the road was hidden from view by fallen snow. We couldn't believe it, the road that had been clear two hours previously was now buried with inches of the white stuff. The traffic coming down was at a standstill with a snow plough trying to clear the way. We meanwhile managed it up the hill to the Hot Air roundabout guessing at a road position to maintain. The road to Cheltenham was closed due to snow with a Police car blocking the way. We though were heading the other way and joined up with a small convoy driving in the middle of the two lanes of the dual carriageway at about 30mph, peering into the snow storm and whiteness of road, sky and scenery.

Thankfully we emerged back into rain at Cirencester and smiling at our surreal and other worldly experience on an adventure to nowhere and back, we cruised on home. We rolled in at Midnight, unloaded the van, drank hot chocolate and slept EXTREMELY well.

Just come across this funding stream from the YHA that will help young people who couldn't otherwise afford to go as part of school, youth group church (etc) trips. Well worth a look.
Breaks 4 Kids

I need an opinion loyal blog reader(s).

Last night I called into Staples to buy a printer cartridge. They were more expensive than I normally pay BUT a helpful sales assistant pointed out that if I bought two I'd get a 20% discount. Happy days!

I duly selected a blue cartridge and a yellow cartridge, both for the Canon PIXMA mp560, and took them to the till where the 20% discount was not forthcoming. On querying this I was told that the discount only applied if they were the same colour AND the same ink for the same machine.

What ensued was a series of philosophical discussion up through the layers of branch seniority as to whether their sign communicated this, or whether I was in fact buying two of the same ink (in keeping with their advert). The entire branch personel remained fixed in their opinion that the sign and the offer meant the same colour of the same ink for the same machine.

but I place myself into the hands of your collective wisdom. Does this sign suggest they could be of different colour or does it state that they need to be the same colour.

Thank you for participating in this X Factor ethical marketing survey!

The training of our dog, Lexi (a process I call Lexidography) is progressing ... and mainly in the right direction. On the whole she is very obedient and for the most part even not pulling on the lead (apparently this is quite a success with a Collie). However when off the lead, every so often she smells a pheasant/deer/fox/race-horse and a little neural switch in her brain goes into 'bolt' mode ... and she is *woosh* gone.

On the plus side we are getting to know new people in our community when they ring us to say that they have a Collie with our phone number round her neck. Oh and the 'Race horse' reference above was not an exaggeration. If you were at Newbury races last week and wondered why there was a Collie competing in one of the races alongside the race horses ..... I might be able to tell you!

Lexi dog: cute, extremely fast and the cause of a few (more) grey hairs for me.