WRITING
Audiobooks
The main triumph this month is getting the audio book of ‘Discovering Psalms as Prayer’ up and out through ‘Authors Republic’ – with the invaluable help of my narrator Peter Walters. It is now available on many platforms such as Scribd and Barnes and Noble and is advertised on the home page of Bible in Brief. Sadly neither it nor ‘Jesus the ‘Troublemaker’ has made it through Audible’s stringent requirements. I will have to see what I can do about that.
STOP PRESS: ‘Discovering Psalms as Prayer’ is now available on Audible!
Blogs
You will have received this month’s blog ‘Only One Way? Faith in a World of Faiths’. I hope you enjoyed it. It will need some more work before it makes it as a chapter in ‘The Church has a Past – Has it got a Future?’
I got fired up about the words Jesus said at the Last Supper and wrote ‘Why did Jesus die – according to Jesus?’ It has given me a new perspective on Holy Communion. I will probably publish it in March, but if you would like a pre-copy, just email me and I will send it to you. Comments appreciated!
One unfortunate happening is that I lost my notebook with a hundred surveys I did of young people’s attitudes to religion and various religious figures. I left it on the train from the New Forest, and I guess the cleaners thought it was rubbish. I aimed to use the information at the beginning of the section ‘Unpeeling Tradition’ in my Future Church book. But there is no reason why I can’t start again! So far I have got a dozen responses.
Gatherings
Last year I joined a clergy dining club called ‘Sion College’. I have been to two wonderful dinners this month in very swanky venues. The first was in the Oriental Club, full of imperial splendour. I sat next the speaker, Lucy Winkett, rector of St James Piccadilly and a favourite at Greenbelt . She talked about Advent, how it can be a call for us to live not by the second hand (a very stressful way) but by the hour hand (much more serene). She was interested in my book ‘Job for public performance’, so I got her a copy. I wonder if anything will come of that.
Two weeks later I went to the Oxford and Cambridge Club – equally swanky! The speaker was Mike Lloyd, Principal of Wycliffe College and my exact contemporary at Cranmer Hall where we trained for ordination. He asked if the Anglican Church has given up on theology. My thought is yes, unless it takes seriously the challenge of doubt and of other faiths. That’s why I write!
At the end of the month I went to the 100 years celebration of Bickersteth House, Kensington. This is a large Victorian mansion which for many years has been the home of a fluid Christian community offering accommodation and a community life to students staying in London. They have `a new warden Dwayne, a vibrant organised man. I started to visit the house before the pandemic, but this was my first visit since then. I hope I may be able to offer something useful, and also learn from them.
A Bible Experience
Reflecting on my writing so far, I believe I have something to offer churches and parishes in terms of a day or half-day or evening session to do something special for Lent or Eastertide. A day, e.g. on a Saturday, could go like this:
Morning: 1. Using Psalms as prayer – starting with Syrian Orthodox morning prayer
+ Who Wrote What When?
2. Dramatised reading of the book of Job – highly edited! + discussion of what it might mean
Afternoon: 3. Two shocking scandals of the Hebrew Scriptures, one of everyday idolatry, the other of a bloody coup d’état – eye-opening!
4. What really happened in Holy Week? How a historical approach and a writer’s imagination brings dramatic new light to the story.
If you are interested, please email me.
Weekend Away
On Remembrance weekend Linda and I went to a friend’s son’s 40th birthday in Totton, Southampton. We stayed the weekend in a house in Brockenhurst, the largest village in the New Forest and famous for the horses and donkeys wandering the streets of the village at will – but always obeying then rules of the road! On Sunday we went to the Remembrance service at the war memorial. The whole village seems to have been there, including a brass band and three shire horses. It was a wonderful service outside in the sunshine and had a fine sermon by the vicar. We might go back next year just to go to the service.
Culture
Linda and I have been enjoying TV this month. We got ensnared into ‘I’m a Celebrity – get me out of here!’, primarily, like 2 million others, we were intrigued about how Matt Hancock would fare. It was interesting seeing how all the people in the camp responded to each other – really quite a good programme. Then we have been following SAS Rogue Heroes. Brilliantly scripted and directed, especially as all the jaw-dropping moments were factual.
On 18th I went to the Earls Court International Film Festival, with over a dozen short films presented; from first-time, British and International film makers, St Cuthbert’s was packed. The most eminent guest was Wayne Sleep. All of the films were good and at least three were outstanding. There I heard about a celebration of Molière in Chelsea Theatre the following week – in French with surtitles and so I soaked my soul in French culture for an evening. Excellent! Molière was quite hard-hitting, someone said he was the French Shakespeare.
Following the WWII theme, Music at Hill put on a special recital for Armistice day, 11th. A trio of piano, clarinet and speech, ‘Wind and Words’ put together a wonderful programme of songs and poems illustrating the course of the Second World War, from Cole Porter to Spike Milligan. Very moving. Look at it on YouTube. You can contact them via valerie@windandwords.com.
Coming this month
a very Advent blog
‘The History of Hell’
Don’t miss it !
P.S. A friend of mine who knows a lot about semiotics – the science behind branding – had a look at my website and suggested improvements. I followed his advice. Take a look at the new improved home page of bibleinbrief.org.
