REV ANDY’S NEWS
JUNE 2018
FIVE STEPS TO FAITH – THE LAUNCH
The launch of Five Steps to Faith was a lovely evening. Not as many as I was hoping for, but a smallish group of people who really took part. One decision I made which really paid off was to move the chairs from a series of rows to a circle. This meant that my introduction of the book was much more of a dialogue. In particular, when I illustrated the learning method of the book by asking people what God might have meant when he said “I AM” we had a really good discussion.
Andy at St Cuthberts
Then came the break. Having french bread, cheese and wine was a definite winner!
The prayer which followed as part of “Thy Kingdom Come” was simple and moving. My friend Stuart accompanied the singing of some Taize chants, we had a Bible meditation on John 14.15-17, 23 – five minutes’ silence, after which we shared the verse which had spoken to us. We then used the Lord’s Prayer as a sort of open litany, in which people could pray freely. And we finished on time!
(You can hear some of the Taize chants on their website @http://taize.fr/en_article10308.html).
ADDING AN ESSAY
WHAT GOOD NEWS?
Six days later I went to a clergy training day on evangelism. Good, but I felt they ignored a crucial question. It’s not much good simply using the phrases gospel/good news .It takes two to tango. We may know the answer, but what questions are people asking? From this germ of an idea has come the decision to write an essay “What Good News?” looking at what were the actual questions that people were ask- ing over the centuries as well as in our own time? For instance, we know the question people were asking in Jesus’ lifetime, because he was asked it on at least two separate occasions: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mark 10.17; Luke 10.25) But what were they asking in the Greek and Roman worlds? In the barbarian kingdoms? In the Middle Ages? At the Reformation? in the 18th,19th and 20th centuries? Today?
I intend to add it as an appendix to ‘Five Steps to Faith’. I will be happy to send the essay to anyone who has already bought the book. But I will have to write it first!
AVAILABLE TO SPEAK
On 14th – 16th September I will be leading a weekend of learning and prayer based on my book ‘Five Steps to Faith’. Each of the sessions will be highly interactive. I hope we all learn something new. We will explore what the Bible says about God, Jesus, the Cross, Resurrection and the Holy Spirit. There will be some surprises! I also hope that the weekend will give us the confidence to offer the same programme to people who know nothing about Christianity.
It will be in the lovely new St Michael’s Convent at Gerrards Cross. This is now the main house of the Anglican order “Community of the Sisters of the Church’. The house has 13 bedrooms, but it is possible to come on a day basis. See www.sistersofthechurch.org
I am also happy to visit and speak on the following topics:
Weekends:
Experiencing the Psalms: Prayer, Lament, Remembering History etc.
The Unknown Bible: Key passages that are never read in Judges, 2 Kings, Luke and Romans.
Single sessions – daytime or evening:
Answers and questions: a lifetime with the Bible.
Job for small groups: the whole message of Job in one session and discussion of its meaning.
Experiencing Israel: a traveller’s tale & introduction to pilgrimage.
I am happy to come anywhere in London and possibly further afield. Email me if you think this is a possibility at aoroland@gmailcom
MY WRITER JOURNEY: NON-WRITING STUFF
Getting a website Summer 2016
A key aspect of Bible in Brief are the questions which open up each of the daily readings. I wanted people to be able to respond not just with pen or pencil on a notes page in the book, but also be able to upload their comments on line. For that I needed a website. A good friend of mine, Nat Gillett, had already designed a website for the church, and he designed a brilliant website for bibleinbrief.org. (That is when the “The” got dropped from the book’s title). The site was built by the wonderful Emma Smith of Fusion3Media. It has loads of features, including nine half-hour animated films on Old Testament characters and downloadable resources to accompany the books.
I aim to write a blog a week for my website on various aspects of the Bible, e.g. Can we trust Mark? Yes. Can we trust Luke? A qualified yes. Can we trust Matthew? A qualified no. Can we trust John? God only knows! I am now doing a series on St Paul. My aim is to build up a simple Bible resource to accompany anyone reading the Bible who finds themselves asking awkward questions. People can upload their comments on the con- tact email page, and I will respond. And I will be adding to the website each week, so it is more than just a shop window. Do have a look at it, www.bibleinbrief.org
And why not subscribe? It’s free and simple. And it means that you will get all the monthly newsletters automatically.
AND FINALLY
Did you know Jesus referred to himself as a burglar? In Mark 3.27 (in last Sunday’s’ gospel) he says that no one can steal from a strong man (i.e. Satan) unless he first ties him up and then he can burgle the house. Well, he can burgle me any time and half- inch (pinch) my character defects.