Miracle days

Olive . Miracle by srepkela

Late last year, we looked at God in science, culminating in us hosting Manchester Science Festival's first church service.

We considered a miracle as an event that is unexplainable through science and reason and usually attributed to God, giving us a particular insight into God or bring people closer to God.

There are different types of miracle such as healings, raising from the dead, pregnancy, defying natural events and even talking donkeys. Favourite miracles within the group included feeding the five thousand, healing Jairus' daughter, legion, raising of Lazarus and turning water into wine.

We then considered science as being a philosophy, a way of thinking, which involves observation, reason and interdependence. It links cause and effect which allows outcomes to be predictable. It's a process of observation, hypothesis, measurement and conclusion in which assumptions are made and then further questioned.

Science can be used to explain some miracles but it does not necessarily mean that is how it happened. Science can also help us understand how far away from natural law God operates. For instance the changing water into wine can could be a trick or hypnosis or pure creative writing but if we were to rely on purely a chemical explanation, it is impossible. Not just a little impossible but mega impossible: for instance, carbon in the wine cannot just be made out of water as water contains no carbon.

The more we look at the world through science, the more it reveals just how complex the world of nature is. It's just amazing to sit back and look at the diversity and beauty of universe through the lens which science provides.

Volcanic Sanctus

Sanctus went volcanic recently. Well on a small scale.

What with the Science Festival coming up and Sanctus 1's amazing first ever church service for the festival, we concentrated on a theme of God in science.

As the first service of the month is usually a food service, we made it a messy service with food and fun craft with good conversation. The fun craft involved making small volcano like structures out of modelling clay and then making them appear to erupt using caustic soda and vinegar.

The conversation around the table focused on our experience of science and how it has informed our understanding of our world and of God. It is interesting that both theology and science both use metaphor to describe events which we cannot see and are difficult to understand.

Watch this space for more developments of God in science.

Sanctus 1: a family affair

If you were to draw your family tree, what issues would it raise for you?

This is what we did at Sanctus. We explored the nature of family.

We are all part of a family, even if we don't know our family. It seems to be part of being human: something that holds us together in family. Something mystical.

There are advantages about being in a family, such as security, identity, shared values and heritage.

But there can be disadvantages also, like suppression of the individual, control and the exclusive nature of families. If you're on the outside of a family, you'll know what we mean.

Generally the Bible is very pro-family. Adam and Eve and the boys, Abraham and his many descendants, Jacob is blessed when he is part of the family but less so when he leaves. The parable of the prodigal son tells us something similar: being family is good, out of family is bad.

However Jesus challenges this model by saying:

Matthew ch10 v35: For I have come to turn "a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law".

Matthew ch10 v37: "Anyone who loves his father and mother more than me is not worthy of me: anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me."

We also questioned whether people have a right to have a family. There was a resounding no to Michael Nazir-Ali (ex-Bishop of Rochester)'s assertion that "in choosing not to have children are they, self indulgent" (paraphrased a little).

Finally we looked at the notion of God's family and church family and does Sanctus 1 operate as a family? Some felt it did, others less convinced. Perhaps it also includes some the negative aspects of family too, like being difficult to break into by those outside.

This coming week is the beginning of our science theme: Messed-Up Science.

Possible Worlds: Manchester Science Festival 2011

Sanctus 1 will host Manchester Science Festival's first ever church service.

Possible Worlds will be a celebration of God and science, in which scientific themes and achievements will be explored from the point of view of an inclusive Christian faith that is constantly reinterpreting itself in an ever-changing modern world.

Expect neat visuals, experiential ambience and a space for personal reflection and discussion.

At venues across Greater Manchester from 22nd to 30th October 2011, Manchester Science Festival will celebrate its 5th birthday with a packed programme of comedy, art and family fun. Highlights include Polar (epic footage of the Polar Regions with the Manchester Camerata playing live), BBC One show presenters testing science theories in the Campfield Market Hall, experimental space evening with comedienne Helen Keen, and a series of Oxford University Press authors at Blackwell's bookshop.

The Science Festival is committed to experimentation and reaching new audiences - we hope our unique church service for the festival does just that.

Join us for Possible Worlds at Nexus Art Cafe on Wednesday October 26th 2011. Doors open at 7.30pm with the one-hour event starting at 8pm. Admission is free, so get there early! See more on this and other events on the Manchester Science Festival website.

Pic: taken at Manchester Museum (Sanctus 1 logo embedded later)

Popcorn Jesus: Don't mess with Sister Meryl Streep

This week, we showed several clips of Jesus in the movies. One was a great scene from The Boat That Rocked (stolen shamelessly from Luke Walton's excellent talk at Greenbelt 2011) and there was also this amazing clip from Doubt where a priest accused of plying a child with wine is confronted by a steely Meryl Streep.

Two great bits: when he demands to know what she has seen, and she says that's irrelevant. And the clash of proof versus certainty where she declares, with terrifying power, "I have my certainty." It's one of the best explorations of faith in the visible you'll ever find at the flicks.

When a piece of wood is more than a piece of wood and a table is more than a table

Last week we looked at how a table can represent different aspects of our lives. It's a functional place, set aside for specific tasks but it also becomes a place of meeting experience, a place to meet God, a place to reflect on Jesus in our actual world.

The dinner table is a place where we satisfy our basic need to eat and drink. But is also a place we meet family and friends: a place of engagement. There are also huge social expectations associated with this table of how to behave. Who sets the rules? Why? How does this reflect social exclusion of who is in or out? Jesus ate with sinners, prostitutes, the unclean and tax collectors. Who would you invite to your table?

The work table is where we spend most of our time. Who do we meet here we don't meet elsewhere? What do we have in common? How is your work life integrated with the rest of your life to give it meaning? Jesus worked at the plane and the lathe, and called people from their place of work. Do you have a sense of call at work? Does Jesus call you to doing or be something different at work?

Table tennis is an example of table used for play, but it could be a sewing table, pool table or card table. This is the place where you choose to be; this is our time, our choice. How do you spend it? Do spend it in a way that is constructive or destructive? How does it fit with the rest of your life? Is prayer a chosen occupation? If you had just one more minute extra today, how would you spend it?

The fourth table was an operating table or a table at a morgue. A place where we meet the darker side of life, those in pain, dying or dead. A place where we would rather not be but a place were we will ultimately end up. A place where we sanitise our society by placing it apart in hospital or hospice. But Jesus' experience of the tomb was new life and new meaning. Who do meet at this table or who do you fear to meet?

Finally comes the communion table or altar. A table set aside for a particular meeting. Not that we don't meet God elsewhere... but this table is set apart especially for that meeting.

As we have seen, we meet many different people around a table, so is it any wonder that we meet God around a table? Jesus, who gathered his friends around a table to share bread and wine, body and blood. We shared these things at Sanctus 1.

Popcorn Jesus: this Sunday and Wednesday at Sanctus

Sunday (tomorrow) at 10.30am and Wednesday at 7.30pm at Nexus Art Cafe.

Small print: the Jesus pictured may not be making much of an appearance due to little ears being present!

Riot walk: graffiti-ing Afflecks

Sanctus was really riotous this week. Well as riotous for Sanctus 1 anyway.

With the city centre riots still being fresh in our minds here in the Northern Quarter, we offered ourselves to walk the riot-torn streets and pray and reflect on what we saw. It must be said that streets don't look riot-torn at all, so don't worry about coming into join us next week.

We reminded ourselves of the situation here a month ago by viewing some YouTube footage before putting on the armour of God and venturing out into the wider world of the city centre.

We walked to Piccadilly Gardens, the meeting point for many involved in the riots, and lit a joss stick as a sign of purification.

Then, we moved on to Miss Selfridge, reflecting as we went on how casually the arson seemed to ignite the store. Outside the Arndale Centre on Market Street, we speculated on the nature of what we all do in dark places were we cannot be seen (to reflect our recent dark & light services) and then Sunday people walked to the wall of post-it-notes, a place were people felt free to express themselves about the situation.

Was this sacred space? Set aside for a reason?

And finally outside Afflecks Palace we did 'clean graffiti' - we wrote our messages on the wall, with water that would not stay. Very daring! For most of us this felt very risky, especially with the police helicopter overhead and the community support officer walking by. I don't think any us of could really riot, but we can pray.

Next week a tabletop service...

Picture: Manchester Evening News

Why weren't Sanctus at Greenbelt?

Sanctus 1 took a year out from Greenbelt in 2011.

It was odd not seeing our name in the programme, but we're actually busier than we have been for a long time. We have lots of plans up our sleeves and we thought it would be important to put Greenbelt aside for one year.

However, a number of us were still on site. We gave out over 200 crocheted fish for our short story website called Tales From The Aquarium. We asked people to upload pictures of their free fish and stories to go along with the pictures.

The fish were made by a rebellious yarn-bomber in our midst. Keep checking in on Tales From The Aquarium as the stories come in. Sanctus 1, meanwhile, will no doubt be back in full effect for Greenbelt 2012.

Barbeque tonight

Tonight's Sanctus will be an informal barbeque.

Greenbelt attendees can waffle about how they enjoyed Greenbelt, while non-attendees of Greenbelt can stand there telling them to shut up waffling about Greenbelt. All while eating sausages.

7.30pm at Nexus, as per usual.

August Light Service

In August, Sanctus 1 ran a paired set of services - light & dark.

The light service was fittingly overrun by the dark events of the UK riots, so we had to cancel the Wednesday edition of the service. But here's what we covered in the Sunday edition...

The service opened with candle-lighting, with light-centric liturgy to accompany, followed by a word jumble - cut up the printed 27 words and rearrange to make 2 band names, 2 song lyrics and 2 novel titles, all containing the word 'light'.

The group split into two and went outside into the light (it was daytime, which helped) to find and photograph the borderlands of light and dark. This may have been physical (sunlight next to shadow), spiritual (dodgy shops in a serene space), or other inventive take on the notion.

There were some very interesting results, from cracks in walls to window reflections, lights illuminating a library, the glowing aura of bright light at the end of a dark alley too often used as a urinal, and so on. We uploaded & projected these for all to see and discussed what prompted the photos, what we looked for but didn't find, etc. The children really enjoyed this activity, prompting several good photos.

During this discussion time the children prepared our next activity, by colouring in some acetate circles in red, green and blue. These were overlaid on top of each other to illustrate the way RGB light overlaps to create new colours. On top of this were written 3 different bible verses referring to light.

Everyone left the service pondering nature of the overlaps - whether there was anything common between them and what aspects made them each different from the others.

It would be too obvious to say that light always equates to good, truth, vision or enlightenment. It would be too simple to say that light isn't always good for you (stay in the sun too long and you'll get sunburnt)...but where is the border between these two kingdoms? Isn't everything a form of shadow? You decide.

Messed up friends

Last Sunday instead of just doing food, we tried it all messed up.

Sanctus tried a form of messy church which involved painting faces on plates, cutting people from paper and eating toast. In the midst of all this we talked about friends and what makes them special. Can Jesus really be a friend?

On Wednesday we covered the same the same topic but ate chilli instead...

For some, friends stay loyal whilst others see them being more transient. Some say that Jesus is so close that they see him as a close friend whilst others feel the whole concept as being really strange. Whatever the outlook, relationships - the theme of our current series - are important.

Wednesday session cancelled

As I type, Manchester is being trashed by idiots.

There are reports of independent shops in the Northern Quarter being looted. Business are burning. And a lot of people are very scared.

It seems sensible to tell you now that this week's Wednesday session of Sanctus 1 is cancelled. We cannot guarantee the safety of anyone who enters Manchester at the moment and, indeed, police are advising people to stay away.

Stay prayerful and practical. And let's hope the destruction stops soon.

Dynamic

We always think that Sanctus 1 is dynamic. Well, it certainly felt like it recently.

When we were asked whether a few students from Switzerland could pop in to visit us, we naturally said yes.welcoming is definitely one of our values. However, a few people for us would be four or five... to our delight,we found the cafe full of Swiss theologians. They swelled our numbers by 300% which kind of fitted into our theme of relationship in a bizarre way!

They certainly added a multi-national dimension to our discussion.

We continued with our current theme of relationship and looked at at the dynamics of relationship and what keeps us connected (the string helped, pictured). We used the idea of transactional analysis to dissect the nature of interactions between people in terms of child, parent and adult, and considered how we might apply this to God.

Seeing God as sometime parent and adult implies we use these concepts to understand God in a particular way and can help and hinder. We finished up in prayer, which is always useful! We prayed about conflicts in our lives.

This Sunday and Wednesday, we are looking at the impact of adoption on relationships and how we're adopted into God's family.

Come dine with me

To dine on your own can have its pleasures, but to dine together is sharing in relationship.

We dinned on delicious lasagne last week at Sanctus1, as we opened a new series of services on the topic of connectedness.

The conversation was as filling as the food, with an opportunity to catch up with people we've not seen for a while (well, at least a week). Some new folk were with us, so as well as cementing old, we developed the new.

This intro session just allowed us to focus on the nature and importance of relationship and how complicated they are! We looked at who we are in relationship with and what are the drivers in that relationship. If relationships are so integral to being human, then it is no wonder we look at the nature of God through the concepts of relationship. When we hear words such as 'love the Lord you God...and your neighbour', these are concepts of relationship. The idea of a jealous God is one that supposes a relationship - but a big challenge for some was the idea that God's name is jealous!

We used a bullseye target as a way of expressing who we are close to in relationship and also relating different aspects of the Trinity to ourselves.

This week, we look some dynamics within relationship using transactional analysis and what insights do we get of God from this understanding.

Obsession service: from tin openers to devotion

If you've spent the last two days checking your social networks without eating or sleeping or even going to the loo then your would have probably benefited from our services on Obsession.

They were based on the current Nexus art exhibition which considers the obsessive nature of prison life, counting everything all the time (prisoners, scissors, pencils, tin openers) and the lack of control leads to controlling behaviour in other ways.

At the service we considered the nature of obsession and whether if was good or bad. Good in the sense that it can be a release of stress and can be used to focus creatively to achieve some tasks but negative when it starts to interfere with everyday life and relationship.

People can be obsessive about faith and religion too, which is sometimes called 'devotion'. The big decider for us was whether obsession brings us closer or more distant from God and is where is the focus. If it is self interested and neglects our responsibilities to family and friends then perhaps it is not God focused.

For more on relationships, this week we start a four week series on connectedness.

It's for charidee: your views

Recent Sanctus 1 service attendees voted on which charitable causes they would like to support.

Each person was given Monopoly money (pictured): one £500 note, four £100 notes and two £50 notes, giving a total of £1,000 to each to place on squares each representing a type of good cause.

The results were sometimes surprising (animal welfare) and sometimes not surprising (amateur sport), but all an invaluable peek into our hearts.

It will also help Sanctus 1 decide on how to give to charity from now on.

How would you divvy up your dosh? If you missed these services and would like to be included, email us.

24% - The prevention or relief of: poverty

14% - The advancement of: religion

14% - The advancement of: environmental protection or improvement

13% - The advancement of: human rights, conflict resolution or reconciliation or the promotion of religious or racial harmony or equality and diversity

10% - The advancement of: animal welfare

6% - The advancement of: the arts, culture, heritage or science

6% - The relief of: those in need, by reason of youth, age, ill-health, disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage

5% - The advancement of: education

5% - The advancement of: health or the saving of lives

2% - The promotion of: the efficiency of the armed forces of the Crown or of the police, fire and rescue services or ambulance services

1% - The advancement of: citizenship or community development

0% - The advancement of: amateur sport

It's for charidee, mate!

On June 12 & June 15, Sanctus 1 ran a service designed to get us thinking about our charitable giving, driven by the Sanctus 1 value of being Missional.

We looked at several bible passages (Luke 11:42, 1 Corinthians 13:3, Matthew 6:1 and 2 Corinthians 9:7), which reminded us that:

• while we may tithe, this is not the end of our giving - we should not ignore the need for justice,

• there's no point going overboard and giving away everything we own if we don't have love,

• we shouldn't turn our charitable exploits into theatre (like Smashy and Nicey), and

• there's no point giving reluctantly or coercing someone into giving - we should contribute cheerfully

Humans are motivated by self-interest (generally speaking) and this doesn't stop with our faith. We go to church to be spiritually fed, but do we give as well? Are we giving, but doing so predominantly as a way of working our way to heaven (to secure a reward when we get there)?

Sheep and goats

Matthew 25:31-46 sorts the sheep from the goats. That said, working with your hands and contributing your skills to charity (not just giving your money) can bring you closer to God, bring you greater spiritual maturity and give you fresh insights that you wouldn't otherwise be aware of. Self-improvement and development isn't bad, just make sure you have balance between what you do for yourself and what you do for others.

In Amos, God reminded the Israelites not to be so corrupt and neglectful of those in need - don't walk past the widow on your way to the temple and do nothing (they didn't have social services in the Old Testament). The Fruit Basket analogy in Amos 8 gave the prophet Amos a clear message to relay and is a lesson we should still be mindful of today.

James Fowler in his Stages of Faith suggested that for the ultimate in faith progression, closeness to God comes when realising a huge injustice in the world and having the passion and drive to actually do something about it, regardless of impact to self. People like Ghandi, Martin Luther King, etc.

Mancunian widow

So, the challenge to Sanctus 1 is - do we use our faith to support ourselves or to challenge what we do? Are we too self-focused or can we bear to shift some of that focus outwards? Who is the Mancunian equivalent of the Old Testament widow? Can we impact the world?

The service concluded with a discussion about what Sanctus 1 does and what it can do more of. How we should be more practical in our charitable support, although recognising that being geographically spread around Manchester makes a regular activity difficult. Instead we need a volunteer to become a Charity Facilitator and inspire us to single acts we can take part in e.g. painting school rooms, making up gift boxes for the homeless at Christmas, etc. These are local, practical activities we can all contribute to.

Sanctus 1 already supports a charity with international focus, but could do more. It would be good to hear more from those we support to see what impact we have. There was a recognition of the recent hit on UK arts (something close to our hearts, residing in an arts cafe) and so there was a proposal to set up an arts award that would not only support local/national Christian artists, but also help stimulate and provide an outlet for creative expression in our faith.

Finally, we voted using monopoly money for which types of charities we would like to support (more about that soon).

If you would like to recommend a charity that Sanctus 1 should support, please email us. Also, send us your views on the arts award idea. And email us to volunteer as a Charity Facilitator.

Sanctus 1 scratch service

This Wednesday, what you bring to the table will be the only thing on the table.

We are running a scratch service. What we want you to do is come along and be prepared to run a Sanctus 1 session with everyone else. We may come up with:

- something audio or visual, e.g. a piece of music or a film clip;
- something written, e.g. a bible verse, poetry or liturgy;
- something you want to share / food for thought
- a meditation;
- an activity that everyone can take part in;
- something lighthearted, like a game;
- a discussion point;
- all or none of the above!

It could be:

- an act of praise;
- asking God for something;
- a challenge;
- a confession;
- a prayer;
- an ice breaker;
- food for thought;

There are no time limits, although we do not want one single person to dominate the session. We'll get into groups, spend the first part of the session coming up with the service, then we'll spend the second half of the evening running our instant service!

The evening will be made up only of the ideas people bring along, although we will give you plenty of prompts and help on the evening.

Come to the Sanctus 1 scratch service this Wednesday, June 22nd, at 7.30pm at Nexus Art Cafe. This week, *you* are the service!

(A note on Sunday: it is the Manchester Day Parade this Sunday, so we will be joining Nexus at that. We're meeting at 12.30 outside the Castlefield Visitor's Centre.... Sunday regulars, you need to contact each other about what to do if you arrive earlier, as Nexus will be closed.)

From a post-rapture Heaven

GREETINGS FROM HEAVEN: They even have an internet connection, but I'm told God doesn't *do* Facebook so I have to be quick.

Things I've figured out already:

1) Jesus was actually 37 when he was crucified - someone got the dates wrong.

2) Peter gets really excited over cats. Apparently he never saw one when he was earth bound but has got quite attached to them now.

3) If you do some digging in Italy, Greece, Israel and Egypt, you may still be able to find some really early copies of the Gospel and this "Q" gospel everyone goes on about. I'm told they are buried in an assortment of undiscovered tombs, collapsed caves and in one case a sealed box buried outside Athens. Can't give grid references though, God doesn't *do* grid references.

4) Turns out homosexuality ISN'T a sin, and nobody here can quite get their heads round why so many people are bothered about it. St Paul insists he's been either mis-quoted or mis-interpreted. He's also livid about some of the shit said about him and women, but he concedes that he may have "Ken Clarked" and mis-spoke.

5) There wasn't really a garden of eden etc, but there was a celestial genesis that kind of generated aspects of our humanity - it's all a bit difficult to explain and everyone agrees that it's best not to get picky over the details of the first few chapters of genesis.

6) There are these weird celestial influences over reality that are part of the structure here, but are semi-autonomous from God. God's ok with that - it's supposed to work that way. Kinda like a devolution of power from the centre, but still operating under a constitutional framework that's been developing for ages. It's all contained in some massive document that I haven't had time to read, but I'm told not to worry about it. I'll try to get more info.

7) WOW - this HUGE angel just walked past!!! He / she / it was about 8 or 9 feet tall!

8) Ok, people are bugging me for the internet now so I gotta go.

TTFN! xx

(by Sanctus 1's only raptured member Lev... picture from the 'rapture' scene in Six Feet Under)

The unknown: Sub returns to Manchester

Know your place in Manchester? Sub begs to differ.

The meeting that celebrates sub-cultures is meeting again. This time, they are exploring Manchester city centre and discovering places you don't know, thought you did but didn't, and didn't even know you knew.

Sub will take you on a walk to explore the history, architecture, social fabric, traumas and rebirth of the city. You are invited to come and share your experiences and enrich others.

The meeting takes place on June 4th, starts at the Printworks and just happens to be run by a member of the Sanctus 1 leadership team. Go here for the exact location and time: do let Sub know you are coming - you can do that by leaving a comment on this post.

Some images from our Spirit Of Life stall and service

Spirit Of Life

Click on the image to see some of the things we got up to at Spirit Of Life (along with some of the other stalls too).

You can also launch straight into a slideshow of images.

Sanctus 1 at Spirit Of Life



Watch out for us at the Spirit Of Life festival at Manchester Cathedral on Monday. This is a Christian take on a mind-body-spirit fair that set the Daily Mail's alarm bells a-flutter (no, you won't get a link here) and introduced our old friend Andy Salmon the fire breathing vicar to the wider world.

We'll be running a service at 1.30pm during the festival, in which we will explore the concept of perfection and scarring. The whole day runs from 11am until 5pm and you can book a ticket here.

We'll also be bringing our first new flyer for years. Our new design will released into the wild at this Sunday's Sanctus 1 session, and is a play on our trusty logo - with bits of body parts culled from our harvesting at Greenbelt last year.

If you're not quite sure what that entails, come and see our stall at Spirit Of Life... you too can be harvested!

Sanctus 1 Easter Service

Small change: the Sanctus 1 Easter Service. This Sunday at Nexus Art Cafe, 10.30am

The Wednesday session next week will be a reflection and discussion on Easter in a local drinking establishment. We'll meet at Nexus as normal, at 7.30pm, then move on to a pub.

Lent season: forbidden pleasures... and pleasures in the forbidden

During Lent, Sanctus 1 is indulging in the pleasures normally forbidden at this time of year.

Because by indulging in them, we can only start to understand why we do, should or shouldn't be giving certain things up.

Here are just three of the themes we've covered so far:

- smoking. No cigarettes were lit, but we did sit in a room full of smoke to think about the huge amount of negativity or fear associated with images of smoke in the Bible;

- the city and modern life. Sanctus 1 lives and breathes Manchester, but cities were often dens of sin in Bible times.... or at least worth writing a very stern letter to. We explored the city looking for God and lack of God.

- the internet. From Martin Luther's 95 church-door tweets to finding your identity among your Facebook pictures, we commented, we were unmoderated, and we even logged off.

A sideways look at some Lent traditions, then. Of course, Lent isn't about rules or what should and shouldn't be lining your stomach. But if our season is giving you pause for thought about God's place in your busy life, then you've tapped in to the true meaning of Lent.

Anyone got a light?

Thanks for waiting

(Click for bigger.)

This blog and the whole Sanctus1 image thing is undergoing a few changes at the moment, hence the sporadic updates on this site.

We're still meeting at 10.30am on Sunday mornings and at 7.30pm on Wednesday evenings at Nexus Art Cafe. Do join us - or stalk us on our brand new Twitter page.

Free-for-all February

We're currently exploring the theme of growth. In February, however, we are ditching our regular themes. Instead, February is a chance for you to run a session. The subject? Anything you wish. It's a power-shifter... the balls in your court... it's over to you...

Will you be inspired by the "Free for all" albums from Ted Nugent or Art Blakey? How about the "Free for all" episode of The Prisoner or the US animated tv series "Free for all"? How about the "Free for all" films from 1949 & 1976 or the documentaries from 2006 & 2008? Or possibly an exposé on Deathmatch gaming (aka ... "Free for all")? Or may be even "Free for all" by Peter Wayner, looking at the impact of Linux and the free software movement? ... or not...

It's your choice - your chance to make a difference and share your heart or ask really big mind-blowing questions to see who has an answer; explore a new topic or revisit an old topic in a new way.

Come up with a service for any of the following dates, because there's nothing coming from Al, Eyan or Matt (other than a helping hand or a bit of encouragement)! Sanctus needs services to be run by you, the people, on:
Feb 6 & 9
Feb 13 & 16
Feb 20 & 23

Don't worry if you can't make both Sunday & Wednesday services or even if you can't make any of them. Someone can run a service on your behalf, you just need to come up with the content.

Be challenged and inspire us all!

But let us know soon.

This blog is undergoing a rehaul

I'm tweaking the wotsits and hammering in the hooji-mafloojies. Please be patient while I wreck while I adjust things round here!