ME19four: life, faith and role-playing games
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Inspirational what? Celebratory why?
(Category: life, faith)
(Engage procrastination mode)
In one of the many glossy freebies to land on the doormats in MLPK, and soon due for the recycler, were two items that caught my eye recently.
The first was the caption for the cover picture, selling a certain shopping area (which I'm pleased to report has it's own chaplaincy team) as "An inspirational new shopping experience." Apart from reminding me of the sales spin of a certain rather larger shopping mall in Sheffield, talking about the "leisure-retail experience", there has to be a question. How can a shopping be an inspirational experience? What are the values, goals and motivations we are expected to inhale, assimilate and allow to direct our (consuming) lifestyles? Other, that is, than "consumption is good" and the motivation to plunge oursleves further into debt in the pursuit of retail-therapy nirvana? Hardly, one would have thought, desirable practice for the followers of the one who had no-where to lay his head and warned his listeners to store up treasures in heaven.
The second, part of that inevitable cavalcade at this time of year, was a number of exortations all upon the theme of "celebrating" Halloween. But does anybody actually know what it is they are celebrating? As an individual of vaguely-Evangelical theological persuasion I have reservations about Halloween, true. But the question remains. Is the celebration merely one of the date, simply on the logic that it's a good excuse for a party?
And what are the implicit messages sent out at Halloween? That we're all far too sensible to believe such supernatural nonsense as vampires, ghost, ghouls and withcery? Somewhat ironic, maybe, given the increasing rise in non-Christian pseudo-traditional religions. The wikipedia entry makes an interesting observation I hadn't considered before: "Additionally, many Wiccans and other neo-Pagan adherents object to Halloween as a vulgarized, commercialized mockery of the original Samhain observances." So the occasion is as much a perversion of Samhain as All Saints.
Still, only two questions remain in my mind. How long before some bright spark seeks to make Halloween a recognised UK holiday, and maybe more importantly, what am I going to do at the end of October?
(procrastination mode off - continue sermon...) ¶ 1:22 pm 4 comments
(Engage procrastination mode)
In one of the many glossy freebies to land on the doormats in MLPK, and soon due for the recycler, were two items that caught my eye recently.
The first was the caption for the cover picture, selling a certain shopping area (which I'm pleased to report has it's own chaplaincy team) as "An inspirational new shopping experience." Apart from reminding me of the sales spin of a certain rather larger shopping mall in Sheffield, talking about the "leisure-retail experience", there has to be a question. How can a shopping be an inspirational experience? What are the values, goals and motivations we are expected to inhale, assimilate and allow to direct our (consuming) lifestyles? Other, that is, than "consumption is good" and the motivation to plunge oursleves further into debt in the pursuit of retail-therapy nirvana? Hardly, one would have thought, desirable practice for the followers of the one who had no-where to lay his head and warned his listeners to store up treasures in heaven.
The second, part of that inevitable cavalcade at this time of year, was a number of exortations all upon the theme of "celebrating" Halloween. But does anybody actually know what it is they are celebrating? As an individual of vaguely-Evangelical theological persuasion I have reservations about Halloween, true. But the question remains. Is the celebration merely one of the date, simply on the logic that it's a good excuse for a party?
And what are the implicit messages sent out at Halloween? That we're all far too sensible to believe such supernatural nonsense as vampires, ghost, ghouls and withcery? Somewhat ironic, maybe, given the increasing rise in non-Christian pseudo-traditional religions. The wikipedia entry makes an interesting observation I hadn't considered before: "Additionally, many Wiccans and other neo-Pagan adherents object to Halloween as a vulgarized, commercialized mockery of the original Samhain observances." So the occasion is as much a perversion of Samhain as All Saints.
Still, only two questions remain in my mind. How long before some bright spark seeks to make Halloween a recognised UK holiday, and maybe more importantly, what am I going to do at the end of October?
(procrastination mode off - continue sermon...) ¶ 1:22 pm 4 comments
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Excited? But yes!
(Category: faith)
Strange is it may seem, I don't often get very excited - especially not about church and things of faith. You might thank that's a bit worrying for a vicar, but that's me. I can enthuse about computers and role-playing games at the drop of a hat. I can enthuse about the work in MLPK when I'm somewhere else, like Greenbelt. But I'm not so good here at home. Worry? Yes. Despair? Yes, sometimes. Enthuse? Nah!
Which is why I just had to blog this. After a stunningly short period of (visible) preparation the 1st Kings Hill Girls' Brigade Company started barely three weeks ago. I'll have to check whether I've already blogged this (but this is blogger, not typepad, so I don't have convenient categories to search through!)
On Sunday we will have our first Tea Time Worship and Parade service, themed not surprisingly around Harvest. The service order is already very nearly complete. (By 10.05 Tuesday - this must be a record!)
What I'm so excited about (and remember when it comes to church I don't "do" excitement) is that based on written response, we will have 22 adults and 32 children coming, all related to Girl's Brigade! That's in addition to the regular, modest congregation! OK, we might not get them all, because real life is like that, but even so... I think we might have to hire the larger hall instead.
Now you know why I'm excited! I think I will have to a visit a few of those we've lost regular contact with, and see if we can get them along too. Pray for us, and the volunteers covering the catering.
Oh, and if you actually live in the ME19 4 postcode sector (Kings Hill) then why not come and join us? Tea Time Worship and Parade for Harvest, Kings Hill Community Hall at 4.30pm.
(Excuse me, I now have to bounce off the do some more work! I might even find myself spontaneously smiling!) ¶ 9:06 am 2 comments
Strange is it may seem, I don't often get very excited - especially not about church and things of faith. You might thank that's a bit worrying for a vicar, but that's me. I can enthuse about computers and role-playing games at the drop of a hat. I can enthuse about the work in MLPK when I'm somewhere else, like Greenbelt. But I'm not so good here at home. Worry? Yes. Despair? Yes, sometimes. Enthuse? Nah!
Which is why I just had to blog this. After a stunningly short period of (visible) preparation the 1st Kings Hill Girls' Brigade Company started barely three weeks ago. I'll have to check whether I've already blogged this (but this is blogger, not typepad, so I don't have convenient categories to search through!)
On Sunday we will have our first Tea Time Worship and Parade service, themed not surprisingly around Harvest. The service order is already very nearly complete. (By 10.05 Tuesday - this must be a record!)
What I'm so excited about (and remember when it comes to church I don't "do" excitement) is that based on written response, we will have 22 adults and 32 children coming, all related to Girl's Brigade! That's in addition to the regular, modest congregation! OK, we might not get them all, because real life is like that, but even so... I think we might have to hire the larger hall instead.
Now you know why I'm excited! I think I will have to a visit a few of those we've lost regular contact with, and see if we can get them along too. Pray for us, and the volunteers covering the catering.
Oh, and if you actually live in the ME19 4 postcode sector (Kings Hill) then why not come and join us? Tea Time Worship and Parade for Harvest, Kings Hill Community Hall at 4.30pm.
(Excuse me, I now have to bounce off the do some more work! I might even find myself spontaneously smiling!) ¶ 9:06 am 2 comments
