Virtual Methodist

Today is a day when we celebrate love, although all too often what is described as love is little more than lust. But all genuine human love is an echo of the God who is love, and who has loved us with an everlasting love that is greater than any human love we could imagine. I originally wrote this  performance poem for 2 voices , male and female, for an event in May 2007 run by the Down District of the Methodist Church in Ireland, staged at the Waterfront in Belfast, celebrating the Life and Work of Charles Wesley, born 300 years previously. It is based on numerous passages of scripture, especially the Song of Songs and the First Letter of John. A night for singing songs… Old songs and new songs All based on an older song… THE song… The song of all songs The song of a lady for her lover The Lord for his beloved… A song which began before creation… A song of love which called light into being A song of love which breathed life into clay A song of love wh...

Last Sunday morning's Sunday Sequence on Radio Ulster was jam-packed with controversy, about who is and is not a victim, whether the formation of the UVF in 1913 and the implicit threat within it to the rule of law was an act of rebellion to be equated with the threat of terrorism, the provision for women prisoners in the NI Prison Service, euthanasia (as well as John Dunlop giving William Crawley a hard time while on talking about tomorrow's 25th Anniversary relaunch of ECONI's "For God and His Glory Alone")... But in the midst of the melee was a piece on Augustine of Hippo, and a comment about him doing "theology and philosophy in the first person." Now Augustine is not one of my favourite theologians for various reasons, including the fact that some of his theology seems framed and shaped by his own experience, rather than allowing the word of God shape him, especially regarding sex and sexuality. But at the end of the day ALL theology and faith ...

A meditation based on St Francis of Assisi's Canticle of Creation/the Sun : Beyond the grey sky sits brother sun but his heat drives brother wind and draws the waters into clouds. Those clouds, our sisters, that shield the sun bear the water,  sustaining sister water,  to the parched earth; mother earth. From earth we came;  to earth we return, but all through our lives we are watched over by you, our Father God; unseen, all seeing. Grey sky may loom over us but brother sun shines on, and your love for us is more constant than the sun, with no beginning and no ending. Praise you. Hallelujah

Last week I was chatting to someone about her young grand-daughter who has just started school, and she spoke with real pride about the child’s fearlessness… she had always enjoyed throwing herself headlong into the water at swimming… but more recently, on her first day at a gymnastics class she had scampered like a monkey up the climbing frame before launching herself into mid-air and landing flat on the big crash mat with a smile a mile wide… Her mother’s mind was overcome with terror, watching her baby risking life and limb, but when Granny asked her grand-daughter why she enjoyed doing it so much the young girl said “Because Daddy likes me doing it!” Apparently her Dad had always taken her swimming and being a strong swimmer himself, he had encouraged her to launch out into the deep, knowing that whatever happened he could keep her safe… His pride at her achievements was transparent, and so when she started gymnastics, her confidence in the water transferred to confidence on the ap...

I never cease to be amazed by the fact that even after years and years of studying the Bible that I can come back to a very familiar passage and find something that is blindingly obvious, yet I have missed it for years... Perhaps its just that I am stupid, but if I am I believe that I'm not alone... I had one of those moments earlier in the week looking at Matthew 25, but I have had another this morning with the latter part of Matthew 28 ... the so-called "Great Commission", beloved of any minister wanting to stir up his congregation to evangelism... It's not something brand new, as I've been turning these ideas around and round for years, but the pieces of the jigsaw just seemed to fit together this morning in an "Aha!" moment... It may be obvious to to you, but pity one of our heavenly Father's slower children... I was looking at it, partly as a more in depth look at Matthew in the light of my reflection earlier in the week, partly in preparation f...

Over the weekend we spent a substantial period of time on or around the water. I've already blogged on the beach volleyball at Muskegon. We then spent Sunday afternoon having a picnic at Sue and Dale Sullivan's house on a dammed river up at Newaygo, where both Owain and Ciaran had a go at driving/piloting (not sure what the correct term is) a speedboat belonging to David McKellar, another member of the congregation. For those alarmed at such an idea, fear not, Owain managed to end the day without any additional broken limbs or accidents of any kind, indeed was really very good at it... It was has father who nearly broke his knee and cracked a rib trying to get himself and Ciaran on to an inflatable. Never did manage it for any length of time, but everyone had a good laugh watching me try, so it wasn't entirely wasted. On late Monday afternoon another church family, Chris, Connie and Patrick Avison, took us to the beach at Grand Haven, and we had another lovely evening, play...