Don’t you just love it when things work out – and the last few days have been like that for us. It started when a car that had been out of action for more than five weeks was finaly sorted just when we were starting to think it might be finished, or might be very expensive to repair. That was a particular bonus for us, as we needed to be in two different places today, separated by 120 miles or so, and for various reasons both needed cars to reach our respective destinations. It’s been an interesting emotional journey, working out how to share a car, especially when we have taken it for granted in accepting engagements that the two of us could be in different places at the same time. Only magnified, of course, by the fact that we live in the middle of nowhere, five miles from the nearest public transport. A test of patience on our part, and a mark of patience on the part of the workshop mechanics. It eventually came down to an electronic component that cost peanuts …
So, we got to our engagements today: one of us in Edinburgh, leading a workshop on clown ministry in a deprived neighbourhood, and the other in Aberdeenshire with the Diocese of Aberdeen. No prizes for guessing who was in which place! In different ways, both events were transformational, and not just for us. There’s always something specially rewarding about ministry in a deprived space, and seeing how the Gospel lifts up and empowers those who are so easily marginalized. And that’s just the church leaders – who are increasingly disempowered and discouraged by the realization that what they have been doing isn’t working any more. The Episcopal Church is a minor player in Scottish church life, but there was a remarkable degree of openness and expectancy among the folks from Aberdeen diocese, and some meaningful conversations and engagements. And – in both places – no angry people. That has to be good news. All too often, those who are struggling, for whatever reason, become embittered and angry – and show it whenever they get the chance, blaming whoever happens to be in the firing line. Not doing that surely has to be a spiritual gift in itself. It is certainly a sign of growing spiritual maturity. And that must be an evidence of hope and faith in the future. Which, when you think about it, is what Pentecost is all about. So on Pentecost eve, how encouraging to be able to blog like this at the end of a day well spent, in which we both found encouragement – and signs of God at work – in such diverse spaces.
June 1, 2009 at 10:35 am
I was at the Aberdeenshire event unaware of the preceeding dramas and I’m glad John made it. In order to post this comment I’ve had to create a blog of my own – scary stuf for technophobes who missed out on the Information Age! As usual this was a very thought provoking and stimulating talk and it didn’t appear to scare people who attended. I particularly liked John’s discussion of the 4 cultural ages: agricultural, industrial, technological and conceptual. We increasingly operate in the last one and yet many churches are stuck in the industrial age approach – ie order, predictability, doing (thinking?) what one is told. In other words the Macdonaldisation of church. John has described those who operate most happily in a ‘conceptual age’ as ’spiritual searchers’ – ie they are looking for meaning, frequently are quite comfortable with ’supernatural’ explanations, but like to explore and ask questions. They don’t tend to meet others like themselves in church. As an SS myself who is still hanging in there I do find it quite lonely at times, especially when terms like ‘heretic’ are used when ask what I think are reasonable questions – like would it affect faith if Jesus had been married and had children? For me, it’s not that important to my understanding of Jesus as divine and human at the same time, but I’m not sure why people find the idea so peculiar/repellent. That’s just one example. I would like to meet others who wouldn’t put any barriers on the questions we can ask of faith. In fact, we might end up with the same answers as the traditionalists but we would be enjoying the journey!
June 1, 2009 at 1:01 pm
Good news!
June 2, 2009 at 8:15 pm
Mary, missed seeing you on Saturday – don’t know how that happened
But you’re not the only one in NE Scotland who would like to get together with others of similar inquisitiveness. Would you be up for it?
June 3, 2009 at 10:58 am
I’d definitely be up for an Aberdeenshire group of SSs! I suspect there are a lot of us about – I spent time yesterday at Stirling with Prof Richard Roberts who is an elder at the Holy Rude church in Stirling and also a practitioner in Celtic Shamanism! Like me he would like to bring his church affiliation in closer alignment with his more experimental religious explorations, but has similar problems in getting people to accept that they are complementary to his faith rather than scary.
I’d be happy to meet with anyone else who likes asking questions ;o))