Virtual Methodist

The third of our Advent Candle liturgies based on the lectionary readings from Isaiah, this week chapter  35 verses 1-10. VOICE 1:               The desert and dried up ground will be delirious with gladness; VOICE 2:               the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. VOICE 1:               Like the crocus in spring, it will burst into bloom; VOICE 2:                it will be filled with riotous colour and echo with songs of joy. VOICE 1:               They will reflect the Lord ‘s resplendent glory, VOICE 2:                the splendour of our God w...

The third of Advent Candle Liturgies we are using this year at Belfast South Methodist, based on  the  work of Rev. Mary Whitson, for the Canadian Presbyterian Church's World Service & Development Department. Those the   Lord   has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing;   everlasting   joy   will crown their heads. Gladness and   joy   will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away. Isaiah 51: 11 (NIV-UK) Joy is the celebration of the dawning of the light of the world. Joy is the celebration of the coming of the Christ Child. Joy is the celebration when the angels sang “Glory to God in the highest.” Let us celebrate and sing and shout for joy. Christ is coming again. (The candle is lit.) Source of light, shine in our lives and in your world with your life-giving joy. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. Shalom

I love the Carol of the Bells... one day I hope to sing it. I love the Muppets... they are guaranteed to brighten up the grimmest of days. Joy is not necessarily about jollity (and certainly not about enforced jollity) but it is good to have a laugh some times... So that said, here is a wee muppet gem... Cheers

Around this time of year Christians are often encouraged to sign up in one form or another to a campaign to "keep Christ in Christmas." Depending on how contrarian I am feeling I will either endorse such a campaign or seek to debunk it... A key factor is often whether the campaign has any sense of humour... One of my virtual friends who is consistently humorous (and I frequently laud her as such at this time of year in my VM Awards , which may or may not make an appearance this year depending on whether I can be bothered) is WhyNotSmile . Last week Mrs Smile took on an atheist campaign that, Grinch-like, seeks to take Christ out of Christmas... There isn't a lot of humour in her response, a lot of her characteristic wit, but not much to laugh out loud at... Instead there is a depth of feeling that is important to hear in the run up to this "season to be jolly..." Let me quote a huge chunk of her piece where she says why she needs Christ at Christmas even mor...

The third of the Hope and History Advent Candle Liturgies that we will be using in Belfast South Methodist this morning as an introduction to our "Gift Service", where members of the congregation bring gifts for the Belfast Central Mission Christmas Gift Appeal. These gifts go to help families facing less than "joyful" circumstances, and will hope fully brighten up some young people's lives this Christmas. But real joy is not to be found at the foot of a Christmas tree wrapped in gaudy paper, at the bottom of a bottle or on a table laden with food. Real joy, from a Christmas perspective is something that is independent of material circumstances, but one day we can know perfect joy when we are in tune with our creator and the rest of creation. That is as much of a sermon that I am offering here this morning. You will have to come to Belfast South Methodist if you want more... But if you scroll to the bottom you will find a wonderful rendition of "Joy to the...

I was speaking from Luke 5: 33-39 yesterday morning, and referred, among other things about the image of wine as a metaphor for the Kingdom (and the new wineskins required for the new wine). Certainly wine, and alcohol in general has a bad press here in Northern Ireland . Our drinking culture is NOT healthy and we all know of the damage it can do... This has led many Christians to make the choice of having an alcohol-free lifestyle, and that is entirely legitimate and indeed at times to be encouraged. Sadly, some take it further and try to sanitise scripture by saying that what was being referred to was unfermented grape juice... Not so much wine as Shloer... (indeed I've heard one speaker actually substituted the word Shloer for wine when reading from any passages that contain it). But that is nonsense... It is alcoholic wine being referred to, and to deny that makes us miss why wine is used to describe the Kingdom of God. Ask a biochemist and he’ll tell you that biochemic...

A brief reflection on a number of diverse experiences that lifted my spirits in the midst of a difficult day. Joy in music in the virtuosity of a guitarist and the emotive power of a choir in science in the intricacy of genetics and the vast scope of cosmology in sport in the precision of a golf putt and the raw strength of a rugby scrum in conversation in catching up with a dear friend and a casual encounter with a stranger  in words in a funny turn of phrase and a carefully crafted argument in the post in a generous and unexpected gift and a heart laid bare in gratefulness in sunshine and in shadow on the wing  or perching lightly but if it falls within your grasp don't hold it too tight... let it fly on to brighten another's day Shalom

It's been a busy day, in a crazy week, at the end of a bleak year, in a province that seems hell-bent on self destruction... So it isn't the best breeding ground for joy. But it began with me driving the kids to school in the pouring rain, and Chris Evans playing the superb version of "Accentuate the Positive" (or should that be "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive"?)   by Jools Holland and Rumer... This is the best recording of it I could find on YouTube... please forgive the inclusion of Andrew Marr at the beginning of it (he's rarely a harbinger of joy himself), as it is from his Sunday morning show... but it should be enough to inspire you to go out and buy a copy of the album it is from, the "Golden Age of Song."   Shalom

Well, the advent theme for this week is "joy" yet, from a human perspective there is little to prompt such joy, especially in the light of the Newtown, Connecticut massacre, the thuggery on the streets and council chambers of Northern Ireland draped in a Union flag, the ongoing economic woes and, from a personal perspective, more than a few "issues." So I thought I'd try to get the day off on the right footing. I was going to post a video of Quincy Jones' version of Handel's "Rejoice Greatly, O Daughter of Zion." But I couldn't find a decent version. However, I always find it interesting that for the lyrics of this part of what has become a Christmas staple, Handel chose words from the prophecy of Zechariah which are more often associated Palm Sunday and the subsequent passion than Advent and Christmas. Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, ...

A couple of years ago I reposted a pair of Ben Myer's posts, one on sadness (that spoke profoundly to where I was at the time, and where many will be today - indeed I nearly reposted his prayer for Newtown Connecticut ),  and another on "Joy." As I said at the time I firmly believe in what Gerald Coates (always interesting, frequently bonkers) said at one time: "If the joy of the Lord is our strength, it's little wonder that the church in Britain has been so weak and ineffective." Gerald Coates (1984) But recently for some reason this repost has been appearing in the weekly top read list on my side bar, and I thought, in the light of yesterday's Advent Candle theme of "Joy" it was probably worth dusting off Ben's "12 Theses" on the subject. 1. As icons are painted on gold, so the lives of saints are written on a background of light. 2. Evelyn Underhill knew a saintly man, Father Wainwright. ‘He was an indifferent ...

The next in the series of candle liturgies that we will be using tomorrow in Dundonald Methodist. It has an extra poignancy in the light of the events in Sandy Hook Elementary School, Newtown, Connecticut yesterday evening. A number of people have been tweeting and facebooking Psalm 30:5 'weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning". I would doubt there is much joy in Newtown this morning, or for many mornings to come. But I think that a number of those posting are perhaps influenced by the scene in the West Wing where President Bartlett speaks spontaneously on this verse following a bombing in a college, talking not about retribution but about redeeming a chaotic society, where there is underinvestment in schools and a prevailing culture of violence. Those are words that are appropriate not only in the wake of the atrocity in Newtown, but the violence on our own streets in recent days. Over the past two weeks we have lit the first two candles, one for...