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That was perfect!
Apr. 3rd, 2021 08:57 amI was asked to contribute to yesterday's Good Friday service on the subject, 'The Crown of Thorns'. Feeling uber-efficient, I wrote it in the style of my 70x700 flash fiction, thus creating a reflection AND story #57 in one fell swoop! The other half of the brief was to record myself delivering the reflection but a) I wasn't sure it fitted what the organiser wanted and b) it's a first person male narrative. Anyway, the organiser got her husband to read it and it was perfect. He's got a Scouse accent, which really was the cherry on the icing on the cake. I've been expecting it to pop up on YouTube on the St Bride's channel but nothing so far - it is on fb, though.
I've also created some adequate prayers for tomorrow's online service. The other person who was asked to do them ducked out because they felt Easter Day was too big an occasion to produce their first effort at public prayers. I'm hoping the less-than-stellar quality of mine will convince them they can do better! Two of the churches in the parish are meeting in-person for the first time in however long, but not the one I normally attend. The building is really not suitable for a number of reasons and the congregation don't just want a service - we want hugs and handshakes and coffee and SINGING! Until we can have all that, we'll stay online, thank you very much.
And I'm also doing the whole online service on 18 April on the theme of Resurrection. I'm going to use my real-life experience of bringing my congregation back from the brink of extinction. I'm fairly agnostic on the whole question of the 'reality' of the Resurrection, although reading Paul's comments in 1 Corinthians about 'impermanent' and 'permanent' bodies has helped me conceptualise it a bit more. But, for me, Christianity is about following the Way, bringing the Kingdom about in the here and now. Jesus said, 'The Kingdome IS like this...' not 'will be'. However, that doesn't stop me believing that resurrection is possible - as my congregation shows.
I should add to all of this that I am merely a conduit for divine inspiration. In the case of the reflection, I provided a much clearer channel than for the prayers! How well I deliver the talk remains to be seen...
I've also created some adequate prayers for tomorrow's online service. The other person who was asked to do them ducked out because they felt Easter Day was too big an occasion to produce their first effort at public prayers. I'm hoping the less-than-stellar quality of mine will convince them they can do better! Two of the churches in the parish are meeting in-person for the first time in however long, but not the one I normally attend. The building is really not suitable for a number of reasons and the congregation don't just want a service - we want hugs and handshakes and coffee and SINGING! Until we can have all that, we'll stay online, thank you very much.
And I'm also doing the whole online service on 18 April on the theme of Resurrection. I'm going to use my real-life experience of bringing my congregation back from the brink of extinction. I'm fairly agnostic on the whole question of the 'reality' of the Resurrection, although reading Paul's comments in 1 Corinthians about 'impermanent' and 'permanent' bodies has helped me conceptualise it a bit more. But, for me, Christianity is about following the Way, bringing the Kingdom about in the here and now. Jesus said, 'The Kingdome IS like this...' not 'will be'. However, that doesn't stop me believing that resurrection is possible - as my congregation shows.
I should add to all of this that I am merely a conduit for divine inspiration. In the case of the reflection, I provided a much clearer channel than for the prayers! How well I deliver the talk remains to be seen...
