The dullest (beta) post in the world
While the Christmas fairies are packing away their Santa dust, I wonder if we could take part in a bit of gratuitous housekeeping?
I've switched to the new version of Blogger (formerly known as Blogger Beta), and it might be a good idea to move this whole blog onto the new version before they eventually get round to deleting the old version.
The only thing is, it would make sense for Laura, Myn & Rob, Ben and the rest of the Sanctus1 bloggers to move their own accounts to the new Blogger before we move the Sanctus blog across. If that's what you want to do.
This is the blogging equivalent of dusting the top of door frames or clearing out that back shelf in the shed. Entirely uninteresting, but something you have to do once in a while. I'm now going back to my usual exciting life of clubbing, inventing, and spinning round and round with my forehead on a broom handle.
Merry Christmas everybody.
I've been so disorganised this year I haven't sent any cards. Which, although pathetic, I might be able to get away with it if I pretend it was all due to protecting trees, or perhaps I should say I have such distaste for the consumerism around Christmas I decided not to take part in it this year by buying and sending cards (and perhaps pretending I sent a contribution to charity instead).
Whatever reason I choose I'm trying to make up for this by posting a Christmas message here for all the people I dearly love at Sanctus1.
3 years on, and Sanctus1 is still, quite honestly, the best church I've ever been to. Not only is the theology mega-mega, but also the people who populate it are splendid people who all deserve two mince pies this year. Thanks for being such ace friends, I feel ever so privileged to have met you all.
Also, a special “big up” must go to the person who started all this, no, not Ben, but Jesus! Who celebrates his 2007th birthday this year. Well done matey – you’ve done very well. Most people you’re age are starting to look a bit de-composed, but you haven’t aged at all! When are you next round these parts? Please do pop over to Manchester if you have the chance – I’m sure we’d give you a fantastic welcome. You’d love Sanctus1, make sure you drop in to say hi. I’ll even buy you a pint after Church – for old times sake.
May the force be with you (if you believe in that sort of thing)
…Lev x
Sanctus1 Service - Midnight
Our service to celebrate Christams!
Sunday 24th December
11:30 pm
Sacred Trinity, Salford
Sanctus1 at Christmas
Firstly we have Carols and Ale at the New Oxford Pub just up from Sacred Trinity. We'll meet at Sacred Trinity at 6:30 and walk up. If you can't make it for 6:30 then i suggest you meet us there. Here is a map.
On Christmas Eve at 11:30 we'll be having a midnight service with the congregation of Sacred Trinity. The service will fuse together the ancient and the modern as we celebrate the birth of Christ.
Babies
btw. this is not Ruth!!
"It's our task to make music with what remains."
technorati tag: thought for the day, BBC Radio4, jonathan sacks
'Daily Torygraph' in global conflict shocker!!!
Surprising? Scary? Worrying? Unbelievable? Obvious? Spun?
technorati tag: daily telegraph, british red cross, newspaper reporting
...based on Drummond's street-walking...
What would you put at the centre? Which city would be best to do it (Ed. - Manchester obviously!)? Should we actually do it?…
I’ve haven’t got the technical wizardry to produce a mock-up here and now but hopefully you get the idea…
technorati tag: labyrinth, bill drummond
(not) welcome
"They've got to let you in - it's a public building, paid for by your parents ... of course they'll let you in," responded the Star. "They're talking all the time about how they want to reach out to 'young people in the community'..."
Here's what happened...
An inevitable stich up? A genuine fear of the other? A set of reactions based on previously bad experiences? Welcoming, open? Food for thought.
technorati tag: salford star, the guardian, the lowry, hoodies
One year on
We remember the Buncefield explosion, esp because my brother's a vicar in Leverstock Green just right next to where the fire was. The BBC has a couple of good legacy and review pieces online today.
technorati tag: buncefield
Advent Labyrinth
Technorati Tags: Labyrinth, Sacred Trinity
Ning opens!
Technorati Tags: puppy, Manchester, Ning
Sanctus on tv
Sunday BBC1 10am
Crickets and the milk way
We were given boxes to open with an object to represent the charcter and then a meditiation/ video/ image/ poem/ reading to help us reflect. So far so good.
Joseph was first out the box - a simple wooden carved figure. Then a mini Bounty bar, which Ben said represented the hospitality of the innkeeper. No, really. But we all got to eat a chocolate so we tried to overlook this weird advent twist...
Then we pulled out a wooden Mary, and some shepherds, and the wise men. By the time we got to them, the three dudes from the east were following a chain of Milk Ways through the Galaxy (yep!) passing by Mars(es) across the floor...
Baby Jesus turned up early by nearly three weeks, and the angel was actually a star - but by that point we were all rolling about on the floor laughing so hard that none of us cared...
Surreal and memorable in equal measure.
technorati tag: advent, nativity, sanctus1
sanctus2nds
Advent – waiting and wanting…
Sunday 10th December, 4pm – 5pm
Sacred Trinity Church, Chapel Street, Salford
Open to people of all ages, Sanctus2nds is a sanctuary for creativity, reflection and socialising.
Sanctus2nds will feature a cafe space to refresh your body, a creative space to inspire your mind, and a prayer space to nurture your soul; building an environment to encounter Christ. It also has an under 5s play space.
technorati tag: sanctus2nds
Eric Prydz Vs Floyd 'Proper Education'
There something in the Bible about being stewards of the world. It's in that book near the beginning, in that bit about the naked people, the book named after a band. Yeah, that one.
Anyhoo, here is the new single from Eric Prydz, the chappie who did Call On Me with all the women in leotards. Now we really can hug a hoodie.
Online Advent Calender
:)
It's an advent(ure)
In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary.
The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favoured! The Lord is with you." Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favour with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
"Sorry, you lost me at the 'highly favoured' bit," Mary said.
The angel repeated, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favour with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
"No hold on," said Mary. "What happens first? I get pregnant. Then what?"
"You are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High--"
Mary replied, "You haven't got this in the Message version, have you? That's all a bit NIV to me, and that's so seventies, it's wack."
"Okay then," frowned Gabriel. "Ahem... Mary, you have nothing to fear. God has a surprise for you. You will become pregnant and give birth to a son and call his name Jesus. He will be great, be called 'Son of the Highest.' The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David; He will rule Jacob's house forever — no end, ever, to his kingdom."
"Nah, I prefered the first one."
"Oh shut up and wear something blue, we need you to pose for a luminous statuette."
(Luke, chapter1) (Thanks to Laura's post for the idea)
Online advent calendar - with Eva!!
The Church of England has published an online advent calendar and it features Eva from Sanctus1! I'm not sure what day she is featured on, so you'll have to go back every day to hear what Christmas means to her!!
See here.
Technorati Tags: Advent Calendar, Sanctus1
Fulfilling or Flannel?
So, for a "Modern Expression of the Church", is Handel's Messiah something that is spiritually uplifting and relevant, or just a florid piece of 18th Century flannel?
Me, I enjoy a good singsong, and this is one of the great choral pieces, and fun to do in full arrangements (the Greenbelt Scratch Choir did this on Mainstage in 1998). However I'm not sure I would necessarily suggest that we work up to a performance for the next shared service.
Vigil for World AIDs Days
Technorati Tags: Manchester, World AIDS Day, puppy
Reel Spirituality - Oldboy (Sun 3 Dec)
Ba-humbug! Who needs twee Christmas films when you can have award-winning Asian extreme?
OLDBOY (18)
Sunday 3 December
The third in our 'The Outsider' series - four films exploring alienation, isolation, exclusion and ‘the other’
Every first Sunday of the month at Nexus
Doors: 6.30pm Film starts: 7pm prompt
If you want to explore the film’s themes and issues:
Post-film discussion: 9.15pm onwards Evening ends: no later than 10pm
Feel free to bring your own food. Drinks and snacks available on the night.
+ Book stall of film and spiritual books +
The Outsider series concludes...
7th January - The Life Aquatic (15)
Heroes and Villains
4th February - The Proposition (18)
4th March - House of Flying Daggers (15)
1st April - Leon (18)
6th May - 15 Minutes (18)
technorati tag: reel spirituality, oldboy
Aw, bless the ikkle atheist liberal Guardian readers...
technorati tag: The Guardian, religion
Misleading headline of the week?
Yep - I had to read it twice too! So there wasn't even an immaculate conception now??
Find the true version of events on Guardian Unlimited...
technorati tag: Pope, the nativity story film
Buy Nothing Day: Saturday 25th November
Tomorrow (or today, if it's now Saturday) is Buy Nothing Day in the UK. So don't go shopping.
Unless you need to. In which case, think about what you're doing.
The Gluwein is nice, though.
Sanctus1 Service - Wait
Wait
As we move into the season of advent it is time for a pregnant pause...
Date: Sunday 26th November
Venue: Sacred Trinity, Salford.
Time: 8pm
Technorati Tags: Sanctus1
Shhhhhh....
technorati tag: bill drummond, no music day
Oozing noir: the pictures of Aurélien Police
No doubt using media not entirely unfamiliar to our own artist-in-residence Kolyn Amor, illustrator Aurélien Police mixes real material and computer wizardry to produce strange Victorian fantasies.
The picture above is called Putréfaction and you can see it bigger here.
Just looking at his biography, you would think his work is quite commercial - CD covers, books and illustrations for role playing games bulk up his portfolio. But his pictures ooze noir, and browsing a whole gallery is like getting lost in Tim Burton's mind with only a failing torch for guidance.
If that's not too scary a thought, start perusing here.
More Mark Driscoll... (updated)
I was in two minds as to whether to post this: putting it up only continues to add fuel to the fire, but not putting it implies that everything's ok, situation normal (maybe more SNAFU, would be more appropriate?).
TSK has the skinny with all the links if you're really interested/ have the rest of the day to waste. But I more wanted to highlight the considered open letter that Rose Madrid-Swetman has published. I have to say I'd rather see more of her approach than any protesting...
Oh, and Mark has now put up a post called thank you critics.
technorati tag: mark driscoll
And while we're plugging other websites...
The highly irreverent, offensive and strictly not-safe-for-work website b3ta has been asking its users a question we have never heard before:
What would Jesus do?
Brilliant! Original! They've asked their usual Photoshop addicts to "put Jesus in an interesting scenario, like a news story, some advertising or an historical event and try and second guess his actions."
See the results here. It may be worth pointing out some of what you will see is highly blasphemous with lots of strong swear words. Just how we like it at Sanctus1. Um...
God loves b3ta. Don't tell Christian Voice that, will you?
pick n mix
technorati tag: sanctus1
a wry smile...
When I clicked on a link for the technorati tag 'mark driscoll' on another blog post, I got this message:
"Something is wrong! We know about it, and are working furiously to fix it. Please check back later and probably everything will be back up and running."
Well, it made me smile...
technorati tag: mark driscoll
Kes/ Reel Spirituality
Kes by Ken(neth) Loach
Some points and questions that came to light as a result of the screening and discussion of Kes, as part of the Reel Spirituality series on “the outsider”.
Did the film stand up to scrutiny after nearly 40 years? Because of its age do we judge it more harshly, or do we give it sympathy points?
It’s a very character driven film, and still holds up well when compared with other similar “northern/ socio-realistic films, like Billy Elliot, Brassed Off and The Full Monty.
Some themes:
Childhood obsession – Billy’s utter focus on the bird to the exclusion of most other things, exemplified by his only show of school enthusiasm being his talk on the kestrel
Direct approach – Billy wants to know more about birds, so steals a book on birds when he can’t borrow one, and takes a bird to train
Link between Kes and Billy – Both locked in a cage, both at their best when free and outdoors
Indoors/outdoors – All the good things that happen to Billy are outside, while all the bad things happen inside
Hopes and dreams – Billy survives by satisfying his immediate needs, but are his hopes and dreams projected onto the bird, wishing the bird to do well rather than himself? The interest of his English teacher carries Billy’s enthusiasm into adulthood, almost as a validation
And the big question - what happens to Billy after the end of the film?...
technorati tags: kes, reel spirituality
...be an angel
Manchester Street Angels are ready to go...
- A partnership between Manchester City Centre Churches and the Police
- Providing a visible presence to Manchester’s nightlife
- Showing care and compassion
- Cutting down crime
- Providing a safe space
To fnd out more come along to a special gathering at Nexus on Thursday 16 November at 7pm.
no sex please, we're the church
Do you find the anonymity and fatigue of the road too tempting? Do you feel like your wife has let herself go and succumbed to laziness? Do you think that having a female assistant (God forbid, co-leader?) is a temptation too far? Do you ever think about sticking closer to Jesus to avoid sin?
Then get yourself over to Mark Driscoll’s blog for his handy hints on men and women working together in church, in the wake of the Ted Haggard allegations…
[The BBC has the back story about Ted Haggard here.]
No but seriously…
You couldn’t make this up, and Ben’s comment about laughing/ crying goes for me too… How 19th century and sexist does this all sound? I’m utterly convinced that unless and until men and women can model working together in church as partners, equal in God’s service and with gifts to offer together – whilst NOT having it off together all the time - no-one is going to take us seriously.
I work closely with male freelancers, designers, artists, chief execs and programmers every day. I’m the female third of an emerging church leadership team. I’m friends with men, see them in the street, get served by them in bars and shops. My husband even lets me out the house unaccompanied... So why is church seen as being so different, such a hot bed of inappropriate sexual desire and activity?
Anyhow, I think that Mark Driscoll’s given me, Ben and Cris a lot to think about in advance of our Sanctus1 team meeting this week… like – do we now need a third party chaperone? ;-)
technorati tag: mark driscoll, sexism, church
£9
What does that say about both institutions, about perceptions of value for money and/or worth, and about me and the reasoning I employed about which one to go in to?
technorati tag: st paul's cathedral, national portrait gallery, admission charges, david hockney
Dekohmai and Rublev...
The icon reflects a biblical story when Abraham and Sarah welcomed two strangers, they sat under a tree with them and shared a fire and a meal with them, gradually as they are talking with them it becomes clear that these people, these strangers are not in fact people – but angels - the angels bless Sarah by telling her that she will have a child even though she was 90 years old.
A powerful story of welcome that has arguable more to say today than at any time in human history. There is talk of closing borders and banning the veil, where suspicion seems to dominate our societies interaction with anybody not like us…The story and this icon both say that as we welcome the stranger in to our midst, whether our church or our country, we realise that the stranger is in fact an angel, and they bring immense blessing to us all.
The story moves on the angels leave the house of Abraham and Sarah and go and stay with Lot where they are assaulted and raped by the men of the town, quite simply because they are different…unfortunately I think that this is often the attitude to the stranger that rears it’s ugly head far to often in society today. Whether it’s in newspaper headlines about asylum seekers, or the opening up of the EU, metaphorically we are assaulting and raping these people, taking away their human dignity by force, just because they are not like us…
However, this is an icon of welcome and as well as drawing from the story of the two strangers in Genesis it is also an Icon of the Trinity. They are all clothed in blue, Blue is a symbol of the divinity of all three, and yet all three are different too – this icon is about unity in diversity and an all inclusive welcome.
The spirit is the figure on the right hand side, clothed in green and blue - Green is a colour that represents new life, the spirit brings new life to the world and us all, behind the spirit is the mountain place – the traditional imagery for the dwelling place of God.
Christ is in the centre clothed in blue, brown and with a gold stripe – the brown identifies Christ with the earth, his human nature and the Gold stripe highlights his divinity. Behind Christ is the tree, perhaps the tree of welcome that Sarah and Abraham sat under as they welcomed the strangers.
And finally the father sat in the shimmering ethereal robe, that highlight that this is the king of heaven, the master of the universe – behind him is the house, another dwelling place of God – Christ said ‘In my fathers house there are many mansions’ a mansion for each one of us. A permanent heavenly home with an open invite for all people.
The icon is in perfect balance, the three figures gaze loving at one anther as they sit around the table. On the table is a chalice of wine, they are about to share communion, but if we look there is an opening at the table, a space for one other person, a space for all of humanity to share the welcome of God.
A space for humanity to join the Holy Trinity,
a place for all of humanity,
the vulnerable,
the down trodden,
the excluded,
the vulnerable,
to join with God in the heavenly banquet.
Technorati Tags: Art, Dekhomia, Sanctus1, services, spirituality
Resignation
I am hereby officially tendering my resignation as an adult. I have decided I would like to accept the responsibilities of an 8 year-old again. I want to go to McDonald's and think that it's a four star restaurant. I want to sail sticks across a fresh mud puddle and make a street with rocks. I want to think M&Ms are better than money because you can eat them. I want to lie under a big oak tree and run a lemonade stand with my friends on a hot summer's day.
I want to return to a time when life was simple. When all you knew were colours, multiplication tables, and nursery rhymes, but that didn't bother you, because you didn't know what you didn't know and you didn't care. All you knew was to be happy because you were blissfully unaware of all the things that should make you worried or upset.
I want to think the world is fair. That everyone is honest and good. I want to believe that anything is possible. I want to be oblivious to the complexities of life and be overly excited by the little things again. I want to live simple again. I don't want my day to consist of computer crashes, mountains of paperwork, depressing news, how to survive more days in the month than there is money in the bank, doctor bills, gossip, illness, and loss of loved ones. I want to believe in the power of smiles, hugs, a kind word, truth, justice, peace, dreams, the imagination, mankind, and making angels in the snow.
So . . . here's my chequebook and my car-keys, my credit card bills and my payslips. I am officially resigning from adulthood. And if you want to discuss this further, you'll have to catch me first, cause. . .
"Tag! You're it. "
Eat, drink
I'd be hard pushed to find a mate or colleague that doesn't think there is something significant about eating together - in spiritual, personal, community terms. And that's why I love Soup Kitchen so much. You get good food cooked fresh and for a nice price. You sit on huge benched tables with other eaters. You always see someone you know in there (if you think Mcr is a village, the NQ is a hamlet).
Simple and meaningful.
technorati tag: soup kitchen, manchester
Reel Spirituality - Kes
Don’t go to a cold and rainy bonfire party - join us for a cosy film night…
KES
by Ken Loach (rated PG)
The second of four films exploring the theme of “The Outsider” – alienation, isolation, exclusion and “the other”.
Every 1st Sunday of the month at Nexus, Northern Quarter
Doors: 6.30pm Film starts: 7pm prompt
If you want to explore the film’s themes and issues:
Post-film discussion: 9.15pm onwards Evening ends: no later than 10pm
Feel free to bring your own food. Drinks and snacks available on the night.
+ Book stall of film and spiritual books +
See Sanctus1 for more details.
Other films in this series include:
3rd December - Old Boy (18)
7th January - The Life Aquatic (15)
IMDB listing and technorati tag: kes
Son of Man
technorati tag: son of man, london film festival
No Music Day/ The17
Bill Drummond - the trickster - has spoken. "Live music, too, has had the same effect on me [as recorded music - constricting]. The experience is one-dimensional. You buy a ticket, go to a place, watch it performed on a stage, you clap, or even scream, enjoy yourself, you get your money's worth, you go home. But you weren't part of the music; you were just consuming it in bite-size chunks as defined by those who have decreed how these things should be done. I know these traditions are as much determined by the economics of bringing musicians from all quarters of the world to your local club or concert hall but that doesn't stop me from wanting more, something else in a different shape."
Two of his responses to this situation are The17 and No Music Day. He'll also be at hcmf on the last week of November - but not on the 21st. Good to see he's as consistent as ever/ still a controlfreak/ pedant/ perfectionist...
technorati tag: bill drummond
Sanctus1 Service - Dekhomai
To tie in with Manchester Mind Body Spirit fair we're having a service called Dekhomai at Manchester Cathedral on Sunday.
It starts at 8pm and will provide opportunity to reflect on and explore the God of welcome
Technorati Tags: Dekhomia, Mind Body Spirit, Sanctus1
Goodbye to Another Place
Dekhomai - Manchester Mind Body Spirit Fair
For the past 4 years Sanctus1 has been at the Mind Body Spirit Fair at the Gmex in the city centre. This weekend is the MBS fair again and we're partnering with Jonny, Moot et al and using the same name and branding - Dekhomai. We'll be there Friday - Sunday and then we're having a service in Manchester Cathedral also called Dekhomai and will be exploring how God welcomes all people.
I'll post some further thoughts over the weekend either here, on or my blog, or on the dekhomai blog...
Tomorrow is one day in history
A mass blog for the national record. The History Matters campaign has designated 17 October a day for the public to make historic. We have chosen 'an ordinary' weekday of no particular significance to ask you to write a one day on-line diary.
Help us publicise it. Participate. Urge others to do so.
Prayer
Wk 1 - Introduction to prayer and Christian Meditation.
Wk 2 - Prayer and Creativity
Wk 3 - Prayer walking
Wk 4 - What happens when we pray and Ignation meditation
Wk 5 - Shared Service.
We hope that over the weeks we'll discover some of the breadth of prayer that exists within Christianity, hopefully this will enable us to discover new forms of prayer that enhance our spiritual life
Bishop for Urban Life
Dark. Darker. Darko.
The film was Donnie Darko: The Director’s Cut, as the first in our series on “The Outsider”.
We had some slight, ahem, technical problems, and started about 10 mins late, but overall it was a great night. Nice to see a few new faces and some familiar ones too! If you're still wondering what the heck it's all about - there's a Wikipedia entry here, covering trivia, interpretations and possiblities.
*** WARNING – the rest of this post contains potential SPOILERS ***
Issues, themes and questions that we raised as part of the discussion after the film included:
In what ways is Donnie an outsider?
Is he “mad” and everyone else “sane” - or vice versa?
Is it a film about time travel or mental health issues or tangent universes?
How do Donnie and his parents get along, connect, interact (or not)?
Do the new sections added to the film help “explain” it more?
How many other film references are there and what are they? (I think we counted at least six.)
What is the near-end sequence about – the shots of people at home, at night, in bed, crying, waking up (with Mad World played over the top)?
Is Donnie a superhero as he claims when talking with Gretchen?
Why is it set in 1988 - does Richard Kelly love the 80s, is it a device to make us think more about time, or does it serve to highlight the similarities/ differences between then and now?
Does Donnie have to die to redeem the “real” world?
Is everything in the world to do with fear or love as Jim Cunningham would have us believe?
What is the significance and symbolism of the eye/ seeing/ being seen, which appears in many ways/ forms throughout the film?
NEXT FILM:-
Here’s looking forward to the next one! It’s going to be Kes by Ken Loach on 5th November. More details in the coming weeks.
Vision Africa - Mount Kenya Challenge
"Have you ever wanted to really make a difference? In September 2007 we are organising a fantastic challenge to raise funds for Vision Africa and really make a difference for hundreds of children. You will have the opportunity to trek to the summit of Mount Kenya as a sponsored challenge, raising money to fund building two new Vision Africa projects. You will also visit several of our existing projects, including our children's home at Riandu.
The mountains of East Africa offer some of the finest walking in the world. Part of the magic is that they are in Africa, rising as most of them do out of the great plains, to altitudes that take the adventurous walker from the hot, dry tropical land through lush forests to alpine tundra and permanent snow. The valleys and ridges surrounding these peaks offer fantastic and fascinating walking, giving even more diversity than the ascent of Kilimanjaro. From the spectacular summit of Mount Kenya, the view is spectacular as the plains of Africa spread out before you, with Kilimanjaro standing majestically in the distance.
Our schedule departs London on 5th September 2007 and returns 12 days later.
Interested? Want to know more? Send us an e-mail to challenge07@vision-africa.org and ask us for an information pack. The challenge is organised for us by Trailblazers and you can also register your interest on their web site. We also have a pdf document that you can download for more details of the aims of the challenge.
Join us for the trip of a lifetime in September 2007. The cost of the trip will be set very soon and is expected to be between £1460 and £1600. You pay this cost yourself, then we ask you to raise as much as you can in sponsorship for our projects, preferably upwards of £2000. You'll need to be fit and healthy, but no specialist skills or training are required."
Reel Spirituality
1st Sunday of the month at Nexus
Doors: 6.30pm Film starts: 7pm prompt
If you want to explore the film’s themes and issues:
Post-film discussion: 9.15pm onwards Evening ends: no later than 10pm
THIS MONTH - 1st October
Donnie Darko: Director’s Cut (15)
The first in our 'The Outsider' series - four films exploring alienation, isolation, exclusion and ‘the other’
Feel free to bring your own food. Drinks and snacks available on the night.
+ Book stall of film and spiritual books +
Upcoming films include:
5th November - Kes (PG)
3rd December - Old Boy (18)
7th January - The Life Aquatic (15)
Mind Body Spirit Fair
The stand offers prayer for healing and we also use the Jesus deck to share the story of Christ with people.
Deliver us from e-bay
The current series of Dragon's Den is at an end, so you may be at a loss about where to invest your hard earned manna.
Where better to give up your shillings than buying this pink book containing Jesus' foretelling of the future, as revealed to e-bayer Xillion The Rock Opera. At the time of writing, the price for this valuable journal was £105.90.
"JESUS HAS SPOKEN AND MY JOURNAL IS THE DOCUMENTATION OF THIS WORLD EVENT," shouts Xillion.
Xillion has sat on this book for over 20 years, but he/she/it just couldn't hold in the secret any more. "I have decided to go with Ebay in an effort to spread the messages of Jesus."
Phew! About time too! Link.
Goodbye European Microwave Week
Goodbye to the unnoticed and unseen European Microwave Week. Come back soon...
Hello to the over-policed and over-exposed Labour Party Conference. Wish you weren't here...
High on Hope
Technorati Tags: Sanctus1
film night
1st Sunday of the month at Nexus, Northern Quarter, Manchester
Doors: 6.30pm Film starts: 7pm prompt
If you want to stay and explore the film’s themes and issues:
Post-film discussion: 9.15pm onwards Evening ends: no later than 10pm
(otherwise please feel free to leave in the break after the film ends)
You can bring your own food. Drinks and snacks available on the night.
There will be a selection of film and spiritual books on sale.
The Outsider
A series of four films exploring alienation, isolation, exclusion and ‘the other’
1st October - Donnie Darko: Director’s Cut (15)
5th November - Kes (PG)
3rd December - Old Boy (18)
7th January - The Life Aquatic (15)
Heroes and Villains
A series of four films exploring the good, the bad and the rest of us…
4th February - The Proposition (18)
4th March - House of Flying Daggers (15)
1st April - Leon (18)
6th May - 15 Minutes (18)
Want to scrap a law?
The Lib-Dem conference has started in Brighton, and their home affairs man, Nick Clegg, has launched a website called the great repeal act. It invites the public to suggest a law to scrap, and starts by suggesting 10 laws least needed. Quite a novel move really, normally politicians are sniffing around for laws to create, not abolish!
What was most refreshing was Nick's speech, where he gave the most confident and robust, yet heartfelt and sensitive defence of British Liberalism I've ever heard of any modern politician.
He ended with these words: "... but we now face an equally momentous challenge, to safeguard our society from new threats, but to do so by cherishing, not trampling on the very values and virtues that some seek to destroy. Not by creating false enemies, but by winning new friends. Not by taking away our historic freedom, but by enlarging all our freedom. Not by pandering to the powerful, but by defending the weak."
Moving stuff.
Welcome to mcr
Manchester’s home to about 100,000 students, and this week it’s Freshers’ (induction) Week for the University of Manchester amongst others. And, boy, can you tell?! There are hundreds of them, up and down Oxford Road, looking young, wearing their Monday best, going to the poster sales, trying to work out how to buy a buss pass, and generally creating lots of litter… Welcome – we’re glad to see you all!
Freshers’ Week - it’s meant to be the “best week of your life”. Frankly, it’s rarely that, and more often a week of loneliness, depression and angst. If I’m honest I was pretty scared for most of mine – trying too hard to impress, feeling lost in more ways than one, and working out where that £200 had gone…
A few of the internal questions I (and others I’ve talked to about this) remember asking: What should I wear? Who are they? Is she my friend? Where’s that building? How do I do that? Aren’t I meant to be somewhere right now? Where’s that piece of paper? Is this all it’s cracked up to be? Should I have another drink? Have I drunk too much? Why is everyone having a better time? Does he like me? Am I ever going to fit in?
And it’s not just on my mind because it’s taking me twice as long to walk down the road as normal… but also because our service next week is based around ‘hope’ – something I think I (and other students) clung to during the first week.
I hope it gets better. I hope it gets easier. I hope this isn’t it…
Bore of the Worlds
(Ooops gave away my opinion there!)
Who else blogs in Sanctus1?
Dan
Eyan
Laura
Sarah
Tony
Kolyn
Rob and Myn
Me
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"Fresh expressions" Songs of Praise
You can't control the message
Sigh. Yes I succumbed. And I've already been outed by a few peeps.
Besides I figured there have to be better places than here to wibble on about herons and the latest films that I've seen and that I can now buy pints of milk in glass bottles...
Never fear, I'll still be here. Just less often. And hopefully with less of my gubbins.
Hold up your badge
I ended up watching LA Confidential again last night on the newly, brilliantly free FilmFour. I hadn’t intended to but it’s one of those films that just sucks you in and then two and a half hours later…
The art direction and design are flawless (you *are* in 1950s Los Angeles), the narrative and characters satisfyingly complex and believable - overall one of Hollywood’s finer moments. (Here’s hoping for The Black Dahlia, opening this weekend. And everyone said a James Ellroy movie-of-the-book couldn’t be made…)
The fabulous thing about a film this layered is that each time you view it, something new angles its way out of the screen at you. And I don’t just mean the twisty nuances of the three-cops-investigating-a-multiple-homicide plot.
There’s “Hollywood Jack” Vincennes with his bribes and celebrity, Bud White with his enforcer brutality and angry, violent past, and Ed Exley with his adherence to the rulebook and his determination to get ahead. These are their “badges” – of rank and standing, of honour, of respect, of doing what needs to be done to get the job done.
And last night what I saw afresh was that each of these three cops chooses to tear down the very thing that is seen to make them great – by trying to make belated amends for a bad call, kicking the violent habit in favour of some thoughtful investigation, and finally breaking the rules for the greater good. The thing that makes them, that gives them their name, their fame, their reputations and reward – their “badge” - is the very thing that they choose to tear down, to take the wrecking ball to…
Bud White: The Night Owl case made you. Do you want to tear all that down?
Ed Exley: With a wrecking ball. You want to help me swing it?
Each of them is trying to find their own place in the topsy-turvy world of justice and morality.
Hey – welcome to the real world and the 21 century. Hold up your badge.
Time Out Manchester
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Tonight's Sanctus1
Followed by II in the bay horse - 8 - till bedtime
It will be fun...
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What's happening II-day?
This will be Sanctus1 and Squeaky Productions' eighth wondrous night of electronic music and curious visuals under the banner of II.
Booked to appear this time round are - wait for it - DJ Raven from Ara, The Thin Controller performing a 'tracks'-themed set, and your reliable resident DJ Fat Roland. We will also be joined by a real life train guard, who will be keeping order during the evening.
More information can be unearthed on my Fat Roland website, while you mustn't forget the very exciting launch of Northern Quarter 4eva beforehand at Nexus.
It's hard to keep 'track' of it all. Geddit!!?!?!?!!??!
Nexus Art Exhibition on the bbc...
Have we got it right on Aid?
I was talking with the people from Department for International Development (DfID) at Greenbelt, and listened to their concerns that the myth that "Aid doesn't work" is still prevalent and it is part of their job to dispel it. I was largely sympathetic, as I find the statistics showing how effective Aid can be irresistible.
However.
Last night I was listening to 'The Hecklers' a Radio 4 programme that explores a controversial topic by lining up a guest speaker against a panel of 'hecklers' who attempt to challenge the speaker. It was the final part of the series and they had Andrew Mwenda (above) a journalist from Uganda arguing that Aid, far from the solution to developing countries, is part of the problem.
His arguments, backed up by recent evidence, witness accounts and statistics make compelling listening – even the panel had to concede ground to some of Andrew’s points. You can listen to the whole programme here (you then need to navigate to the "Listen again" section) if you're interested in listening to this challenging and alternative view on Aid.
You can find Andrew's Wikipedia's entry here.
Nexus Art Exhibition
We've been busy preparing for our next art exhibition at Nexus. We've got some really exciting pieces that reflect the changing nature of Manchester's Northern Quarter.
The launch is on Wednesday 6 September, 6pm-8pm. If you can't make that then see the opening times below.
Northern Quarter 4eva
An exhibition looking at the colourful past and vibrant future of Manchester’s most quirky and exciting district, exploring the grime and the glamour, sleaze and saintly, old and new alongside the community and ambience which makes the northern quarter so unique and irresistible.
6 September to 4 November
Tues 4pm – 7pm
Wed 11am-4pm
Thurs 11am – 4pm
Sat Midnight – 3am
Back from GB
Greenbelt was superb this year - tiring but superb. My favourite moment was the Sanctus1 closing service that we had at our tents. We used three randomly chosen numbers from the grace service 'communion by numbers' and added a Eucharistic element as that wasn't a number we'd selected. It was good to just be with Sanctus1 people worshiping together as a community.
Rock On
They're involved with leading Rock On, a "casual alternative worship experience" working a lot with recovering addicts, and were using a trip to Edinburgh (Ann is the MD of a high school show that was playing at the Fringe) to also stop off with a couple of emerging churches if they could.
They maybe didn't have the best of introductions to our fair city (their car window was smashed, and their satnav got nicked...). But it was great to hook up with them and chat more later in the evening, as well as have them join us for the 8pm session (the last of the series on The Street - Billy's story since you ask...).
Cheltenham is Sunny!
Let's hope that tomorrow's threatened rainstorm passes us by. Otherwise, remember to bring your boots!
film night
So it should be of little surprise that we’re thinking about restarting our perennial Sanctus1 film night – a chance to watch a film together and spend time afterwards mulling over its themes, ideas, characters, challenges and questions.
Ikon do something similar but have the esteemed (and published) Gareth Higgins to consult.
We just have you, the readers of our humble blog. So suggestions please! We’re thinking of a film a month from October till Easter. I would really like to see I Heart Huckabees on the list, but the question is what would you want to watch or recommend?
Let's have a Bible study on Ephesians ch6 v10-18...
We can all sleep safely now. Armor Of God seemed to have bypassed Dragon's Den and dived headlong into a huge financial gamble.
It was divine inspiration that hit its creator as, one night, she was reading Ephesians 6 to her daughter. She says: "At that moment, God gave me the idea how wonderful if would be if all children could have the opportunity to put on a pair of pyjamas that symbolized the armour of God."
Blam! And that's how God works, my fellow Sanctimonians. One moment, you're searching for God's guidance, and the next moment, you have a cracking idea about children's pyjamas.
Still, I've learnt one thing. According to the flag design, the Ephesians were English. The Daily Mail would be proud.
Say no more
I’ve been a fan of Newsnight for a decade or more. As politics students it was essential viewing. Yes, at times, it’s overly opinionated, predictable, knowing, (un)intentionally funny – but I think it’s still one of Auntie’s best uses of the licence fee. And IMHO Newsnight Review will always beat Big Brother in the Friday night TV stakes…
Last night’s programme showed an interview piece with Archbishop John Sentamu about his week living in York Minster, praying and fasting for peace in the Middle East. He was erudite, politically-aware and quietly outraged.
Then, cutting to the studio, Martha Kearney proceeded to question her two guests on the matter – John Gladwin, the Bishop of Chelmsford and chair of Christian Aid, and Jonathan Miller, a Jewish atheist theatre and opera director.
She began by suggesting that the clergy should steer clear of making political statements, and that it was only because this was the Holy Land that the Archbishop was making a stand in the first place. What about the people dying in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Chechnya, she cried? She tried repeatedly to get a rise out of the Bishop with this sort of easy line. She also tried to goad Jonathan Miller into saying that religious people, esp. clergy, had no right to express political views. And thus for once, it was only Martha (and me at her) who was getting hot under the collar as she tried to pit the guests against each other and thankfully they declined to take the bait.
Selected for ordination...
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Spotted
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The Complex Christ - a late (ahem) review
At the weekend, I experienced a brilliant example of one of Kester’s most memorable points – the local maximum. Using the analogy of a mountain range, the local maximum is the highest peak you’ve climbed thus far. When we’re at a local maximum, it feels like the be-all-and-end-all – and as Christians and churches we quite often get stuck where we think we are the ‘highest’ we can be. The point is that to really progress onwards and upwards, we need to retreat to the valleys and strike out for another higher peak. (Read the book – honestly he’s so much better at explaining it, and of course it gets more than a cursory sentence or two.)
And I don’t think you get much better example of a local maximum in hill-walking than approaching Scafell Pike, the highest point in England.** Giving a pint of blood 48 hours before is not a recommended preparation strategy however, and at a couple of points, I thought I’d give up, let M do the rest solo, and be happy with the climb I had done – over Rossett Pike from the valley of Great Langdale. From the relative valley of Esk Hause after Rossett Pike, Great End looks pretty blooming big too – which is why it was an easy mistake to make in my bloodless euphoria to think that I was close to Scafell Pike. How far (wrong) I was.
The point is that it’s so closely surrounded by other high peaks, it’s practically invisible from anywhere in the locality. It was a simultaneously wonderful, humbling and truly awful moment to only be able to glimpse the real summit of Scafell Pike from as little as a few hundred metres away… right – up – there. A perfect example of ascending the local maximum of Rossett Pike at the end of the Langdale valley, heading down again into the valley of Esk Hause, and striking out again (not once, but twice) for Scafell Pike itself.
Thanks again for the book and your thoughts, Kester. And here’s to the rest of the journey - onwards and upwards…
[*TANGENT 1. In fact, I can count the number of ‘Christian’/ theological/ faith-related books that I have read on two hands, so it’s either that this one is so good I’ve stuck with it, or that I’ve read nothing better to compare it to ;-) …or that generally Douglas Coupland, David Mitchell, and John Irving have as much, if not more, to say to me about faith/ life/ stuff. Having said that, I’ve recently revelled in reading Donovan’s 'Christianity Rediscovered' and am hoping to attempt Farrar Capon’s 'Kingdom, Judgment, Grace' pretty soon too…]
[** TANGENT 2. One of the main ways that it beats Snowdon is that there’s no crappy cafĂ© at the top. I’ve not yet climbed Ben Nevis so can’t comment on it – but we're hoping to try it in a fortnight when we’re on hols in Glen Coe before heading Skye-wards.]
Hurray - a new Sainsbury's!
Hang on - aren't we all supposed to hate the supermarkets for taking over, homogenising the market, and putting local shops out of business?
And yet here are the residents of Gipsy Hill, London getting excited about Sainbury's opening a new local store, ten months after the closure of their Safeway during the Morrison's take-over.
Apparently local shops campaigned succesfully for the new store, believing it will increase footfall in the area, produce a trickle-down effect for other businesses and provide genuine choice in the locality, within walking distance and especially later at night and on weekends.
Good luck to them - here's hoping that this is a success story for the community, local businesses and, for once, for Sainsbury's too...
The Work of the People
A nice site with shorts/ visual loops relating to bits from the Bible and the liturgical year (which I'm sure everyone bar me has known about for years...).
Thanks to Doug for the tip-off and the link.
WARNING – this is a pub conversation translated into a post…
You get all the (un)usual ones: a wing of aircraft, a batch of bread, a vagary of impediments, a parliament of owls, a cog of robots, a blessing of unicorns…
But what about collective nouns for faith stuff?
A hallelujah of worship services? A roost of archdeacons? A meme of macs?
Other suggestions?
"Visual Liturgy services are based on templates, which are service frameworks that have intelligent links to the lectionary. These can be customized, so that you can easily create a service template for your own church that will be automatically up-to-date every time you use it.
There is a large hymn and song database of over 5,000 songs to choose from. Full text is available where copyright allows."
Your response to this will be somewhere from "This is news?" to "Ah: that's clever", possibly by way of "I'm outraged! Shouldn't all services be lead by the Holy Spirit?"
The answer to this last point may have come last week, when an overzealous team at Symantec released an update to its anti virus software that identified a key component of Visual Liturgy as being malware .This has apparently caused many users to delete the offending file, forcing them to produce their services the old fashioned way.
Or maybe they were being directed by the Holy Spirit...
James Cameron makes waves
James Cameron, who froze Leonardo DiCaprio to death and therefore demands your respect, has a theory on the Red Sea.
In a documentary due to be made by the director, he puts forward a claim that a volcano caused a tsunami and 'parted' the sea. It even triggered the ten plagues that were smited upon Egypt.
I'm not sure I really trust Cameron. He ended up ruining the Terminator franchise and he used to drive a truck, and we know how much trouble truck drivers can cause.
More on Cameron's documentary here.
Miffy is 50!
Well, Miffy has actually been 50 for a bit now, but the exhibition at Manchester Art Gallery is now in its last month, so now is a good time to go, if you've not been.
Lots of Miffy pictures, miffy products, and best of all, miffy outfits that you can dress up in. Admittedly, you have to be very small to be able to fit into the outfits, but it's always worth a try, I feel. You can also draw Miffy, or send Miffy a postcard: the best ones are put on display!
It's also a Celebration of the othe works of Dick Bruna, so be amazed at the other stuff he's done too.
Meme of the same?
What’s a meme? Well, Richard Dawkins coined the phrase to refer ‘to a replicator of cultural information that one mind transmits (verbally or by demonstration) to another mind’ (so says Wikipedia – a concise definition indeed, considering tomes have been written on the subject).
I first came across them when studying political theory – there’s some fascinating stuff out there about ‘spontaneous’ revolution, the spread of any given ideology, and political control/ manipulation.
Some memes have an intensely practical function, like honing and passing on centuries of knowledge in order to not reinvent the wheel (literally). Others are the things that make us creatures of the herd, seeking safety in numbers, to look and sound similar and behave within the norms of a group.
Other examples of basic memes might be jingles, catchphrases, fashion, urban myths – anything adopted from visual or verbal demonstrations picked up and passed on from human to human. They can be linguistic, physical, cultural, practical, ideological…
Two of the best recent examples of memes are the use of the word “babes” in the Big Brother house (even if you’ve seen 10 mins you’ll know what I mean), and the overnight appearance (and disappearance) of En-ger-land flags on cars.
Inspired by my fairly basic knowledge of the meme, Dave’s “EC impostor” cartoon, and TSK’s photo of the same phenomenon, I’m wondering what are the memes in the emerging church? Mac ownership/ use surely has to be one. But what are the others – past or present or emerging?
Wikipedia EC definition
Glad that I mentioned it now - but the warning about getting embroiled in the editorial stuff is duly noted....
WARNING - recycling rant...
Stockport - position 40 out of 393
14.60% recycling
16.25% composting
30.85% total
Bury - position 239 out of 393
10.63% recycling
8.06% composting
15.26% total
Manchester - position 317 out of 393
14.78% recycling
0.48% composting
15.26% total
Wigan - position 321 out of 393
11.79% recycling
3.25% composting
15.04% total
Bolton - position 355 out of 393
10.31% recycling
2.78% composting
13.09% total
Salford - position 357 out of 393
12.13% recycling
0.71% composting
12.84% total
Tameside - position 359 out of 393
11.41% recycling
1.11% composting
12.52% total
Rochdale - position 371 out of 393
8.61% recycling
3.04% composting
11.65% total
Oldham - position 381 out of 393
7.88% recycling
2.89% composting
10.77% total
Trafford - position 384 out of 393
10.39% recycling
0.08% composting
10.47% total
And frankly reading that column made me start to get angry. If Stockport can do it why can’t Manchester and the others? Grrrrr…
Hang on a sec.
There are some little insights in there if you reorder the rankings by recycling ONLY - in which case Manchester comes highest with 14.78%, a full seven percentage points above the lowest area Oldham. And if you arrange it by composting ONLY then Stockport is still the king at more than 14%, but Salford, Manchester and Trafford, the three most urban authorities, are all under less than 1%. Less leafy gardens to prune and less lawns to mow per chance?
Come to think of it, although some of our recycling ends up in the Whitworth Street bins in the city, if we ever shift any amount of stuff in a vehicle to the recycling centre, or by foot to the supermarket, then they’re both in Salford. Is it possible that we’re tampering with the ratings simply by being networked across a tightly packed urban area where there are sometimes three authorities within a few miles of each other?
I suppose what really makes me cross is that we have no bin system at home – we’re told that it’s too complicated for the city centre flats. So how exactly have Bath been managing it fine for many years, in a cobbled Georgian city?? Mind you having seen Paul’s rant maybe it’s all for the best that we fend for ourselves…
Changing tunes, or just more of the same?
1 - the majority of activities are still "come to us", venue-based opportunities to engage
2 - it is attractional to people like us, but we need to work on diversity and outreach through audience development
3 - we need to move out of silos with regard to the current cultural offer, and provide mixed-economy opportunities
4 - we can only provide models and principles, not blueprints
5 - we must insist on sharing learning, esp through storytelling
6 - we must out-think the orthodoxies
7 - sometimes it's difficult to tell the baby from the bathwater
You see, it got me thinking about the sort of conversations that happen so often on blogs and around the emerging church, so allow me to "translate":
1 - the majority of churches are still "come to us", venue-based opportunities to engage
2 - it is attractional to people like us, but we need to work on diversity and outreach through mission
3 - we need to move out of denominations with regard to the current spiritual offer
4 - we can only provide models and principles, not blueprints
5 - we must insist on sharing learning, esp through storytelling
6 - we must out-think the orthodoxies
7 - sometimes it's difficult to tell the baby from the bathwater
Spot the difference?
Trapped in the internet: more links nonsense
At Sanctus, we like to bash people with bibles until they repent. Er, okay, we don't, but I really think we ought to be more blunt. This Mac-themed tract ought to do the trick. Or how about setting up a Jesus Camp as seen in this video - do keep watching because it goes off on a spectacular tangent at 2 minutes 15 seconds.
There is nothing a gay likes better than a bit of religion. With news this week that the Paramount Comedy channel is to air their Scientology-baiting Trapped In The Closet episode, here's a six-minute reminder on YouTube why this cartoon series remains both goofy and intelligent all at the same time. Meanwhile, here's a spoof Christian video that may offend if you don't like jokes about sex.
Speaking of shows, prepare your telly for a couple of new programmes: Rageh Omaar returns to the BBC to do something serious about Jesus' miracles, while veteran rapper (and Adamski collaborator) Kurtis Blow will mix God and rhymes on Hip Hop America.
Finally, um, women's issues. Eve was a 'sheila' according to this new Australian Bible, while America's tallest Lady has got God.
Streuth.
Amusing, enjoyable, cute
This is the introductory quote from an article in this morning's Guardian about parents "sneaking" their kids into church schools. I suppose that deserves a post in itself, but it was more her explanation and interpretation of what she does get out of going into that building for an hour on a Sunday morning that struck me (apart from getting her kids into a better school). Is this really what we as the church are modeling and showing to people?
On the one hand, it seems pretty good overall - an hour of reflection, time as a family, nice surroundings, some good tunes, a fairly sensory experience by the sounds of it.
On the other hand, if that's what she's getting from going there week after week, isn't she missing something? Isn't the church missing something? Is she not seeing or being shown any community or building of relationships? Any sense of purpose beyond the here and now? Any love or belonging or acceptance?... And I wonder what that vicar or any congregation member thinks reading that article over their breakfast?