ME19four: life, faith and role-playing games
Saturday, March 03, 2007
An interesting prospect
[engage prevarication mode]
Went on a flying visit (well 100 mile round trip) to a potential next post with GLW and LMP yesterday. Very encouraging, and not quite what I expected. In fact some uncanny similarities to the situation in MLPK, but in a context I'm thoroughly familiar with. Challenge and comfort in equal mixture - which sounds actually about right.
Cryptic? Yes (deliberately). Applied? Guess!
And so to the Girls' Brigade enrolment service talk...
[end prevarication mode] ¶ 1:49 pm 1 comments
Went on a flying visit (well 100 mile round trip) to a potential next post with GLW and LMP yesterday. Very encouraging, and not quite what I expected. In fact some uncanny similarities to the situation in MLPK, but in a context I'm thoroughly familiar with. Challenge and comfort in equal mixture - which sounds actually about right.
Cryptic? Yes (deliberately). Applied? Guess!
And so to the Girls' Brigade enrolment service talk...
[end prevarication mode] ¶ 1:49 pm 1 comments
Thursday, March 01, 2007
My God is a good... dog?
In and around MLPK a friend of mine runs what could be called for lack of better words, fun and enjoyable musical education classes for toddlers and children, Musical Bumps. Both LM and LMP go, and have a good time. In fact GLW is even half-tempted to take a franchise herself.
Just occasionally though, we run into slightly incongruous situations. Sarah, who runs it, is a Christian and the organist at one of the local churches. However, MB is run as an educational endeavour, which means that most (all?) Christian children's music is, depending upon you point of view, "re-written" or "Bowdlerised." I can see the arguments on both sides, and ultimately MB is a business and a means of making a living.
Which is why this morning I had to laugh at GLW jigging around the kitchen singing 'My God is a good dog' and every other possible juxtaposition, inadertantly and unconsciously.
But (theology warning) I found the confusion strangely apt. After all how often do all of us like to treat God as "man's best friend?"
We want him to be loyal, steadfast and loving. We want him to warn us of danger, and like Lassie to come to our aid, or cause others to do so.
And, of course, how often do we want to keep him on a lead, to do what we tell him, "feed" him at times convenient to us and get annoyed when he emabarrasses us or shows us up in front of others?
"My God is a good dog, yes, he is"? ¶ 9:28 am 0 comments
Just occasionally though, we run into slightly incongruous situations. Sarah, who runs it, is a Christian and the organist at one of the local churches. However, MB is run as an educational endeavour, which means that most (all?) Christian children's music is, depending upon you point of view, "re-written" or "Bowdlerised." I can see the arguments on both sides, and ultimately MB is a business and a means of making a living.
Which is why this morning I had to laugh at GLW jigging around the kitchen singing 'My God is a good dog' and every other possible juxtaposition, inadertantly and unconsciously.
But (theology warning) I found the confusion strangely apt. After all how often do all of us like to treat God as "man's best friend?"
We want him to be loyal, steadfast and loving. We want him to warn us of danger, and like Lassie to come to our aid, or cause others to do so.
And, of course, how often do we want to keep him on a lead, to do what we tell him, "feed" him at times convenient to us and get annoyed when he emabarrasses us or shows us up in front of others?
"My God is a good dog, yes, he is"? ¶ 9:28 am 0 comments
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Rough... Thoughts... and a Poem
A short post to try and get back into the habit. Call it trivial chit-chat.
Rough...
Don't you just hate it when you're unwell enough to feel off (snotty nose, on-off cough, aching limb and a slow brain), but not really unwell enough to take time off? :(
Sums up today really, and the overcast skies don't help very much.
Thoughts...
Of course, having decided to share our intention of moving with the readers of this esteemed (or it is steaming?) blog, I now have to put the evolving disengagement strategy in action. To tell folks that it won't simply stop, just because I intend to no longer be here. It's actually quite possibly the best thing I could do for people, to put their service into their hands. After all, I feel quite strongly that much of our "work" should be done with an eye to making ourselves redundant.
Such a policy is not an easy one, of course, especially when we can invest so much of our self-identity and self-worth into what we do, rather then over who we can be. As much as I run shy of it, my primary priestly functions, after all, are the consecration of the Eucharist (and even then it's God who's working, not me) and the liminal "occasional offices." The joys of teaching, of leading study groups, of visiting, of being a listening ear, do not require the little piece of white plastic which slips so neatly into my shirt.
And no, I still haven't grappled with how that reduces me primarily to the role of 'management'. Perhaps part of that process of discernment is to find a way for me to be me, despite the ordination and the title of "priest?"
But since no-one else could, or should be, expected to write the report I need to do, I'd better return to it...
So lastly, a poem, in remembrance of George Herbert.
Rough...
Don't you just hate it when you're unwell enough to feel off (snotty nose, on-off cough, aching limb and a slow brain), but not really unwell enough to take time off? :(
Sums up today really, and the overcast skies don't help very much.
Thoughts...
Of course, having decided to share our intention of moving with the readers of this esteemed (or it is steaming?) blog, I now have to put the evolving disengagement strategy in action. To tell folks that it won't simply stop, just because I intend to no longer be here. It's actually quite possibly the best thing I could do for people, to put their service into their hands. After all, I feel quite strongly that much of our "work" should be done with an eye to making ourselves redundant.
Such a policy is not an easy one, of course, especially when we can invest so much of our self-identity and self-worth into what we do, rather then over who we can be. As much as I run shy of it, my primary priestly functions, after all, are the consecration of the Eucharist (and even then it's God who's working, not me) and the liminal "occasional offices." The joys of teaching, of leading study groups, of visiting, of being a listening ear, do not require the little piece of white plastic which slips so neatly into my shirt.
And no, I still haven't grappled with how that reduces me primarily to the role of 'management'. Perhaps part of that process of discernment is to find a way for me to be me, despite the ordination and the title of "priest?"
But since no-one else could, or should be, expected to write the report I need to do, I'd better return to it...
So lastly, a poem, in remembrance of George Herbert.
Anagram¶ 11:03 am 0 comments
How well her name an 'Army' doth present,
In whom the 'Lord of Hosts' did pitch his tent!
