Priest to the feig community?

I have written this as an aid to understanding what my role (being a priest in the Church of England, and a ‘pioneer minister’), is in relation to the emerging Christian community that I am part of (feig).

I have used the words that were spoken at my ordination service as a basis for this because it was there that I made promises which the community I serve are the subject of.

At the start of the service the bishop says this:
“God calls his people to follow Christ... The church is the body of Christ, the people of God, and the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. In baptism the whole church is called to witness to God’s love and to work for the coming of his kingdom... To serve the church, God has given particular ministries.
Priests (me) are ordained to lead God’s people in offering praise and in proclaiming the gospel... They are to set the example of the good shepherd... They are to sustain the community of the faithful (feig) by ministering in word (preaching & teaching), and in sacrament (baptism & communion), so that we might all grow into the fullness of Christ, and be living sacrifices, acceptable to God.”

OK, so quite wordy and a bit of jargon, but worth getting our heads round.
This lays out what I am to be in relation to the members of this emerging community.

At the service, it was also stated that I had been examined and found to be ‘of godly life and sound learning’, and that it was believed that I am ‘called to serve God in this ministry’.
It was also declared that I had taken oaths of allegience to the Queen, and obedience to the bishop, and that I had made ‘the declaration of assent’ in which I declared my belief in the Christian faith that is revealed in the scriptures.

Then, the bishop said this (and it is this stuff that feig are to expect from me, and which I see as my role in relation to them):

“Priests are called to be servants and shepherds among the people to whom they are sent.
They are to proclaim the word of the lord.
They are to messengers of the Lord.
They are to teach, and admonish, to seek out the lost, and to guide God’s people through the world’s confusions, that they may be saved through Christ for ever.
Formed by the word of God, they are to call their hearers to repentance, and to declare in Christ’s name the absolution and forgiveness of their sins.
With all God’s people they are to tell the story of God’s love.
They are to baptize new disciples, and to nuture them in the faith.
They are to unfold the scriptures, to preach, and to declare the mighty acts of God.
They are to preside at the Lord’s table (communion), and lead his people in worship.
They are to bless the people in God’s name.
They are to resist evil, support the weak, defend the poor, and pray for all in need.
They are to minister to the sick and prepare the dying for their death.
Guided by the Spirit, they are to discern and foster the gifts of all God’s people, so that the whole church may be built up in unity and faith.”

So, not a small job description then - but this is what I should be aiming at being to the emerging community that is feig.

This next part, is what the bishop said before he ordained me. It is important because it talks about the impossibility of the task:

“...remember the greatness of the task that is now to be committed to your charge. Remember always with thanksgiving that the treasure now to be entrusted to you is Christ’s own flock, bought by the shedding of his blood on the cross. It is to him that you will render account for your stewardship of his people. You cannot bear the weight of this calling in your own strength, but only by the grace and power of God. Pray therefore that your heart may be daily enlarged and your understanding of the scriptures enlightened.”

I take this deeply seriously (as you’d expect) so please pray for me.

As well as being called and ordained to be a priest, I am also a ‘pioneer minister’, with a specific commission from the bishop to start and nurture a new community (feig).
For me, this simply means that I am to fulfill the priestly role outlined above in the context of the emerging community that has become known as feig.
What this looks like in our life together will be unique, and from time to time I and the community that I serve will have to work at understanding how it works.
Nuff said.
Thanks.

Miracle

A while back I blogged about seeing a 19 year old girl (Kim-Marie) being hit by a car.

When it happened I was about twenty feet away and, as the car was travelling at about forty miles an hour, I didn't think there was much hope of her surviving.

I've been in regular contact with her father and he called two days ago to say that the intensive care unit in which she's been staying are amazed to be letting her go.
She'll be in hospital for a while longer - having her skull put back together - but she is alive, and well and will hopefully make a complete recovery.

I am amazed.
And thankful to God for giving this girl her life back.
If you prayed too, then thanks.

not a journey afterall..?

The poet, and former RC priest, John O'Donohue was speaking at Greenbelt this year. He dismissed the idea of a spiritual journey, beloved by so many of us (including me), saying instead that since there was nowhere outside God, one couldn't journey towards him. "We're up to our necks in God."

Interesting.
I'm still journeying though, whatever John says...

Fire.

I was just reading about this man - Blaise Pascal, who died at 1am on Saturday 19 August 1662.
Shortly after his death his servant noticed a pouch sewn into his doublet. It contained a piece of faded paper wrapped in parchment.
No, it was not a treasure map - a la Count of Monte Cristo, but a few words scribbled in agitation after an intense experience that had overwhelmed him one night eight years previously:

"Fire. The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. Not of the philosophers and intellectuals."

Wow.
I like that.
For Pascal, God is not a concept, a subject of dispassionate rational enquiry. 'Like Moses, he has seen the burning bush'.
(I'm quoting that last part...)

David Ford

I was hoping to see Keith Ward talk about his book 'Is Religion Dangerous?' at Greenbelt, but the queue was longer than long and, inspite of waiting, the stewards reached my part of the line with the sad news that we weren't getting in.
bum.

oh well...
I did get to see David Ford, who was excellent.
He was speaking about wisdom (and his new book on the subject, which you can see pictured here, but which you clearly cannot 'search inside')
David is a great speaker and a big brain and he talked about the need for 'the right sort of Christianity', by which I guess he meant Christians who have wisdom.
I couldn't agree more.

Greenbelt 07. yet more.

Feig were invited to host worship at Greenbelt on Monday at 9am in the New Forms cafe.
It was something to work towards and a bit of a milestone for us as a community.
Our idea evolved out of group discussions and took the labyrinth as it's inspiration and starting point.
We were keen to have something non-directive but which included traditional elements of a time of corporate worship.
What emerged was a sacred space in which were placed eight plinths bearing a variety of objects from cakes to coathangers, playmobil people, tealights and images.
In the centre of the sacred space was an altar.
Participants were provided with some printed directions that encouraged them to consider both the object of their journey (God) and those with whom they travel.
They were encouraged to find an object to help them meditate on each aspect of the 'service' and to place these objects on the altar as they moved through their time in the space.
The eight elements of worship were:
Preparation
Penitence
Forgiveness
Thanksgiving
Listening
Intercession
Making peace with others
Communion with others and God

We were expecting it to be pretty much just us and one or two visitors who'd got lost on the way to the loos.
As it turned out, over sixty people showed up, including regular commenter to this blog, Kathryn Flemming, who'd set her alarm after going to bed at 3am.
I am humbled and amazed.

The feedback was very positive - and apart from a priest button-holing one of our members with notebook in hand to demand who feig were, what they did for day-jobs, how old their children were and what on earth 'feig' meant, everyone seemed to be entering into the spirit of what we'd prayerfully put together.

We are keen to run the installation again at the cathedral.
As and when this happens, I'll stick info up on the website.

Greenbelt 07

So, not much time right at this second to write much about Greenbelt.
Much to be said though!
What a blinder of a weekend.
Hard work (I'm knackered) but very good fun.
Feig-ers did a great job in the cafe. Well done all! - and also in the worship we organised / hosted / partook in.
We were thinking, what with a 9am slot, that it would just be us.
More than 60 people showed up - which freaked me out no end.
Good though.
Lots of pics to go up when I've got a mo. It was very moving and we will certainly host it in the cathedral at some point.
oh yes.

Jacob serving rare coffee (above)


his arms are wide indeed. (above)


the view from the pizza yert. (amazing to see organised hippes in action)

Greenbelt

Greenbelt is well and truly under way.
We all went over on Friday evening to get a feel for the place and for the feig-ers working in the New Forms cafe to have their safety briefing.
The weather was (and still is) spectacular. Sun, sun, sun - and with the tree-covered hills all around the location is perfect.
kathryn Williams was playing on Friday - I wanted to say hi, as Rach and I were at uni with her, but now she is famous and on a big stage and I had a mouthful of thai-green curry and didn't have a back-stage pass so it wasn't going to happen.
I just had to watch and say 'hi' quietly from the back.
I don't think she heard me.

So yesterday no Greenbelt as I was preaching at a friend's wedding.
Great occassion, and an honour to be asked to say a few words.
I took this as my starting point:
'God is love, and those who live in love live in God, and he lives in them.'

I just talked about how much God loves us.
I think that's all I'm ever going to preach about from now on. I don't think there's anything else to hear is there?
Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu says: 'I only really have one sermon, and that is to tell people how much God loves them."

So I talked about God's love and I didn't drone on, or offer advice or a lecture.
All good.

Congratulations Al and Ruth! It was a great day (and Al, your speech was excellent. I even had a few (small) tears. well done.)

Back to Greenbelt today - hoping to catch Keith Ward talking about his book: Is Religion Dangerous?
will blog about it later.
Also sorting out stuff for our worship tomorrow.
will blog about that too.

cathedral labyrinth

its going back a few days now, but I wanted to mention the labyrinth.
it's been down in the cathedral for a week or so, and on Thursday night there was a candle-lit Taize service with an opportunity to walk the labyrinth.
Feig members piled over to join in.
it was really busy! good though, and worth going, but personally I'd need something a bit more like solitude to get into the meditative aspect of the excercise.
I'll have to go back...
what was particularly good was piling back to our place for goulash full of steak.
amazing.

back but no time to write...

I've been back from holiday for almost a week now but had no time to blog.

oh well.

no time now either.
I'm off to Cheltenham to collect our weekend passes for Greenbelt festival.
Looking forward to a great weekend - interupted only by the honour of preaching at my first ever wedding.
Al and Ruth - congratulations! Can't wait to see you both on the big day.
Can't believe you went for the same weekend as Greenbelt, but there we are...

Oh, and what was last night about?
2-1 to Germany?
for goodness sake.

write. write. wrote...?

darn it, I'm having a long old day.
what time is it? oh, 10.12... what are most people doing at that time on a Friday again???
TV?
I'm still working on those pesky articles for the church times because the editor got back to me this morning and told me that what i'd submitted needed a few tweaks here and there...
I've fired off one.
still working on number two.
boy oh boy.
I know I sound negative.
I'm fine really. in fact, I'm laughing!

good to meet Daniel Robinson this morning - Daniel got in touch about feig and we met first thing to talk about what's what.
good also to visit dan and ruth in their new place.
all looking good - well done you two!
good also to get our vision for worship at Greenbelt articulated and out and mostly on its way to being sorted.

I'm going away for two weeks from tomorrow so no more blogging.

Blogging end.
now.

The Finding of Adam Tangle

I started writing this when we were living in Cambridge and finished it in my spare time over the last year or so.

It's a raw story of a 17-year-old guy who is lonely and desperate. All a bit too much for Survivor (who published God on the Beach) to market in Christian bookshops...

I set up Urchin Books and bought a bunch of ISBNs so that I could publish it myself. That's all sorted now and the book is finally available.

for more info, go to www.adamtangle.com (link in sidebar) where you can download the opening chapter and then, obviously, buy a copy!

cheers.
hope you enjoy it.
it's good.
obviously.

moving

yesterday Jacob and I helped Dan and Ruth and Ligia move house.

Jacob, who is from the Netherlands, thought that the van had a man's name on the side:
Ermin Van Hire...

anyway, it was a good, sunny, fun day.
moving is cool. (unless its you doing the moving)

in the evening, like the hardcore community that we are, we met for church.

food, and lots of laughing - particularly at Big-G's stag-weekend antics which must not be published on the web...
and then worship and prayer turned into a giant, late, late, extended Greenbelt planning session.

we have a grand idea.
it'll be cool.

please try and find us to participate if you are going to be at the festival this year.
will post properly about that later, right now off to watch Mock the Week.
great TV...

FEIG.org.uk

Yes...
the day has arrived.

our website is ready and waiting for you to cast your eyes upon it.

(although I've probably already pestered you with a link by e-mail)

www.feig.org.uk

visit it.
now.