Great Doddington - Candy floss

It was great to welcome two new people this evening, Glenn and Sherrelea, both of them friends of Jody and Peter.

We talked about the various 'streams' of church that exist today, and how really there is only one body. We need to be careful not to become another division of the body, remaining fully open to experience rich fellowship with our brothers and sisters whatever their background and style of meeting.

Jody passed round a Telegraph article about a woman who had fostered a Muslim girl. She was 16 years old and independently became interested in Christianity, visited a church, and was eventually baptised. As a result the foster carer has been struck off the local authority's list and is now considering legal action.

Rachael shared a picture of a circular throne. We were all sitting in it and around it and no matter how many people there were, there was always room for more to sit with the Lord. He was sitting amongst us.

Jody commented on the 'white stuff'. The recent heavy snow has slowed us down so much and in some ways this is no bad thing. This week Jody has met many people in the village that she had never met before. People have time to talk because they are not able to dash to work, collect kids from school, or get the shopping done.

The tiny, fragile flakes of snow mount up and eventually bring us to a halt. The snow melts and cleans and refreshes. We have a choice; we can enjoy it or we can hate it but it's here and we just can't avoid it!

Sherrelea shared the thought that snow is just like the Lord's people. One snowflake on its own melts on your hand, but en masse snow is truly powerful. Jody added that this thing (snow/his Church) is not of us. It is beyond us, the power and the authority are his.

Glenn used to sell popcorn and candyfloss, an amazing range of flavours of both. Sometimes he and his family experienced times of difficulty caused by the uncertain income earned. He spoke about Abraham's testing described in Genesis 22:3. Just as Abraham needed to cut wood, travel to a particular place, and be willing to sacrifice something he cherished, so we too need to be prepared for service.

We need to move away from just conserving what we have (like money in the bank) and to become providers, a blessing for others who are in desperate need. Glen shared how he'd had to lay down a twelve year project (a shop) in order to do the Lord's bidding. But in the end the sacrifice may not be required (like Abraham's son Isaac). Now Glen has plenty of work and is praising the Lord for it.

We must never withold something just because we consider it precious.

We ended by watching part of a DVD of Paul Young (the author of 'The Shack') speaking on how tradition can sap the life out of our experience of church; and how Jesus depended on every word that came from the Father, living literally moment by moment (which is about as far from tradition as it's possible to get).

Eaton Ford (day) - Arctic conditions

We met at Paul's at 10:30, it was a really useful and encouraging time. Roger was snowed in and couldn't come while John was feeling quite unwell; so it was just the two of us.

We chatted, we prayed for a number of friends and their situations, and we listened to the song 'Halleluia' because it seemed relevant. We were given a picture of a lone figure walking across an empty arctic landscape (not a surprise in view of the snowy weather)! The land was flat and white with no trees, no buildings, no hills - nothing but flat snow and a constant stream of icy, wind-blown particles across the surface. The lone figure was dressed for the conditions, and trudged slowly but steadily onward. Sometimes we feel so alone, but we are not alone, we are never alone! We broke bread and shared soup together,

It was an encouraging time. Paul is really excited about the Youth Camp this summer, he has already started approaching some of his contacts to see who would be willing to support it.

ANNOUNCEMENT - A new mailing list

There's a new mailing list on the block, the Organic Church UK Forum (OCUF). If you live in the UK or are involved here in some way you might like to consider joining.

Visit the list's webpage for more details or to join up.

The introductory information reads...

The Organic Church UK Forum (OCUF) is a place for open discussion by anyone interested in or involved in 'organic' church life in the United Kingdom. The term 'organic' is intended to include house church, home church, simple church - whatever you prefer to call it. In essence, expect the discussions to centre around Christ. He is, after all, the Head of his church and moulds our relationships and lives. We are his people.

We therefore wish to reveal his nature to one another and to the world around us. We wish to act as he would act if he was here in bodily form. We want the world to notice that we are here, that we love Christ, one another, and our neighbours.

In this forum we aim to discuss shared life as a local expression of his love, wisdom, power, authority, gentleness and grace. The forum is also a place to announce meetings, especially regional or national meetings, to point out useful websites and other online resources, and to discuss relevant books and other materials.

Above all it is a place where we can encourage one another.

Henri Nouwen

I was introduced to Henri Nouwen by a dear friend some years ago. She showed me where to find little extracts on the internet and I read them avidly for several years. The collection cycles round annually so eventually they become quite familiar. Even so, I'm still signed up to the mailing list and read them from time to time.

This year she sent a small book in which Philip Roderick asks Henri Nouwen a series of questions. The answers do not disappoint!

You can try the daily extracts for yourself by visiting the website HenriNouwen.org and signing up on the Free eLetters page. The short book (one of many) is called 'Beloved', you can find it online at Amazon or order a copy through any good bookshop.

So why do I like Henri Nouwen's writings so much?

Thoughtful writing - The main reason is that he was such a contemplative believer. He wrote nothing without thinking about it carefully and, one suspects, long. His life was spent in serving others, and sharing in community with them. He lived in a l'Arche community for the mentally handicapped for some years, sharing his life with those who could not care fully for themselves. Everything he said, did, or wrote came from a heart of love, gentleness, and caring.

Most important of all was Henri's deep understanding of the heart of Christ. He knew there was a depth of love and caring in Jesus and in the Father, and that only when that is reflected in our own hearts and lives can we truly claim to be his children. You can get a glimpse of this by watching the video.



Wikipedia has a short article on Henri Nouwen. It provides a basic biographical introduction, some good quotations, and a bibliography.

I recommend Nouwen's writing to anyone who'd like to experience a careful, thoughtful, gentle, loving heart in action. What better way to finish than with a quotation?...

You cannot live in communion with God without living in solidarity with people; it is essentially the same.

Eaton Ford - Jesus with us

We were expecting to meet with Pete and discuss the proposed summer youth camp again. But his son, Alex, phoned just before the meeting to say he's unwell and would not be able to join us.

We prayed for Pete's health and comfort, and also for others who were not with us tonight - Paul, John, Roger, and Ruth for example.

We spent a while talking about the Holy Spirit, how he is a help and comfort to us in our individual lives, how he reveals Christ to us, how without him we would only be able to do the physical parts of our Christian lives (reading, praying, teaching, sharing). We thought that when we rely on him he enables us to partake in the spiritual nature of the Father and the Son. He is given so that we can not only see the Lord in all his spiritual aspects (though imperfectly) but also grasp something of his spiritual purposes and ways of working. And as we glimpse him more and more, so we begin to grow more like him.

He is not in the business of changing our behaviour, instead he wants to change our hearts and then we will naturally do the things we need to do.

We had a picture of a stone-built courtyard, the masonry looked like a cathedral or castle style of building. The courtyard was paved with flagstones and in the centre was a circular stone plinth.

Above the plinth was a sparkling figure, it was Jesus and he seemed to be half present and half absent, rather like the halfway stage in the Star Trek transporter. He is coming, he is not fully here yet but neither is he fully absent. We can see him but we still don't see him fully, but he is coming and we will see him.

Although we don't experience him completely, he is with us.

Great Doddington - The Rock

We chatted for a while, then Jody shared something about walking through the mud and how their children had got stuck and got their clothes muddy in trying to take a step forward.

Rachael described an image of a dark path, we were guided by little pots along the way, each one with a candle burning in it. We were also guided by windchimes hanging in the trees close to the path, even if it's too dark to see we can still hear the sound. Father said,

'Trust me, trust me, trust me, you will get through. I'm there with you. You're not going along this path alone and you are not in danger unless I lead you there. If I do, I'll take you out as well.'

Rachael also prophesied, 'I tell you this, there is no time in my experience. I know you as you are, as you were, as you will be in completeness.'

Rose referred to the verse about the word being a lamp to our feet (Psalm 119:105). And there was a picture of a paper decoration, the sort that is packed flat but stretches out a long way when you pull it out, eventually it's long enough to hang up right across the room. The Lord said, 'I am like that, I stretch out and I can go an awfully long way.'

Jody prophesied, 'Let go of the haystack, just get on with your life and don't worry about the one little thing that someone does that bugs you. I can see the haystack and the needle in that haystack. You don't need to dive in to try and find it. You think you have a metal detector that will help you find the needle - don't do it! You don't need to deal with it - I will. Just let go.'

He also told us, 'Look, I'm like a surgeon. I cut you open, remove the diseased parts, and then I stitch you up again to heal you.'

Chris realised that it's as though we are walking along a dark path carrying torches, the source of the light moves along with us because we are carrying it. So although everything around is is in darkness, the place where we put our feet is always clearly lit.

Finally, Jody described a rock in a woodland. It was covered with moss but however deeply it's covered it's still a rock and in centuries from now it will still be a rock. If a great forest fire comes, it will still be a rock. If it's covered over by deep layers of leaves and soil you'll still be able to dig down and the rock will still be there.'

'No matter what happens in your life, I'm still here. Take heart, don't worry, I am your Rock.