Mr. Moo's Random Moos

noreply@blogger.com (Ross Harte) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 17:09:00 +0000

It may not surprise you that, as a minister of an institution that is pleased to trace its roots back to the beginning, the recent 'hate religion, love Jesus' youtube phenomenon has made me a tad uncomfortable - I agree but I still love the Church with all her failures: one of the amazing things Jesus brings is HOPE, especially in the face of death.

This chap has written a really helpful post about it all (there's a link for the video in question - and a helpful response - embedded in the article if you haven't seen it yet). He writes,

it isn’t religion as such that is the enemy, but myopic, oppressive, fear-driven, legalistic and self-satisfied religion that the Hebrew Bible and New Testament voices alike take dead aim at.

I reckon we could all say 'Amen' to that!

The Curse of the Institution

noreply@blogger.com (Ross Harte) — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 23:19:00 +0000

We've been working through the Essential 100 Bible Reading Challenge over the past while, and I've been posting comments on those passages from time to time through my YouVersion notes. I think I'll have a look and see if any are worthy of wider bloggage, perhaps with a few tweaks...

This is the most recent, sparked by John 9:28 (the New Living version is below but you might want to read the whole passage to get the context):

Then they cursed him and said, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses!

Most people these days - certainly those in my generation - are anti-institution: it gets blamed for the evils and woes of the world, whether in politics, economics or indeed religion.

Yet often this disdain ignores both the huge amount of good done by those within it, and also the fact that, in less than a generation, the fresh and new will have become institutionalised itself.

However, there is no doubt that here in John 9 and many other places (not least the crucifixion of Christ), the Pharisees do what institutional leaders do best - protect the institution... at all costs.

I am a minister of the Methodist Church in Ireland - a movement of the Spirit that solidified but is nonetheless Spirit-filled. How can we avoid making the mistake of the Pharisees, and not curse the new things Jesus may be doing?

Facebook's Ticker and Privacy

noreply@blogger.com (Ross Harte) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 22:17:00 +0000

Following a number of worried posts about the new Ticker on facebook, I did a wee bit of research, I've distilled it down to this:

If you're concerned about the whole 'Ticker shows people the colour of my underwear' thing, bear this in mind - when you comment or like something on facebook, you do it so your friends can see either how witty you are or how important something is to you; it's 'social media' so you share with your friends. All 600 of them. And the people looking over their shoulders going, "Ooh, who's that?"

However, some folks have their status updates privacy set to 'friends of friends' or even 'public' - this is probably a mistake: do you really want the world and the world's friends to know the intimate details of how your head works?

So three things to do:
1) Ensure your own privacy settings for your updates are set to 'friends' or even a sub-group of your friends
2) Remember that tagging someone else in your post or photo means all of their friends can see your update too, not just our own.
3) Before commenting or clicking 'like' on (for instance) John's status, make sure you've checked his privacy setting for that post - if it's not 'John's friends', then send a private message instead.

Does that help? Have I understood the situation correctly?

ps No, facebook isn't about to start charging, they're making plenty of money out of the ads.
pps Asking me to stop looking at your comment and likes is kind of telling me to stop stalking you - The only person I know who actually stalks me on facebook is my mum :) If you have 'friends' you don't want to see what you're up to then unfriend them and use twitter for stuff you're happy for the world to see.

http://www.facebook.com/help/?faq=171783462899295

Radical, not respectable

noreply@blogger.com (Ross Harte) — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 15:01:00 +0000

The Twitterati were at work for a second year, using the #chw11 hashtag.
If you don't already follow me on Twitter you can see my username above :)

We're back from another great Castlewellan Holiday Week - well, by 'back' I mean 'still here' because we stayed in our own home for the second year running. Perhaps "camping with benefits" is the way to describe it, living on-site during the day but sleeping in our own beds at night. It's a perk that comes with our current station!

And by 'another' I do mean that many of the CHWs that I've attended since first encouraged to participate in the Youth and Children's Team in 1994 have been absolutely wonderful. Of course, some have had their tensions and stresses, but God so often works in so many people's hearts and lives that the occasional bumps and strains are worth it.

And by 'Holiday' I mean, 'Work' - our circuit agreed before our arrival that CHW would form part of my responsibilities, and to them I'm very grateful. While it is physically and spiritually demanding to practice with the band and then lead worship for ten sessions over a week, it is also energising and uplifting, hope-building and transforming. This year was no exception and while it's taking a few days to recover (not helped by developing a minor case of shingles and catching Son #2's cold), I was hugely blessed to see our prayerful preparation of song selection and arrangements facilitate the CHW family in connecting with God.

There were many words of encouragement and challenge offered throughout the week, both to us as a couple and to the wider church, many of which flowed in a stream of prophecy on the Thursday morning - "Trust in me, I am with you." But the words that have spurred me to write today were offered in the closing minutes of the event on Friday night: a call to the Methodist Church in Ireland to be radical, not respectable.

Those words have resonated with me because, having studied Martin Atkins' book Discipleship and the people called Methodists (click the link to download it) as a circuit last Winter, I am increasingly convinced that our role as a movement within the wider Church is to intentionally make disciples of Jesus Christ. And while Jesus did many things that gained him respect, he was entirely different to the people who demanded it. Paul writes to Timothy that leaders should be worthy of respect; but in Thessalonians he suggests that the respect should be coming from outsiders rather than the people who are already 'in'. [1 Tim 3:4,8,11; 1 Thess 4:12]

Jesus was a truly radical figure, He challenged so many social norms of 'respectable' people in order to bring good news to the least and the lost. Touching a leper, speaking with loose women, healing on the Sabbath, feasting with sinners. This is what gained him respect from the outsider - and the ire of the establishment. Is it possible that 80% of what we do as church is derived from our culture instead of the Bible? Have we - have I - become the respectable establishment, respected because we dress nicely, speak quietly, smile a lot and go along with the flow of society?

Let us instead be God's radical people, willing to be made uncomfortable for the sake of the Gospel, ready to do the unimagineable should our Lord demand it. Above all, let's stop this nonsense of making decisions based on what people will think, and start praying more together and reading our Bibles intently so we'll know what God thinks.

An '80s pop song was referred to last Friday, introduced prophetically to those of us gathered who call the Methodist Church home. Here are some of the words: [full lyrics and copyright here]

Take or leave us, only please believe us - [we have a gospel to proclaim]
We ain't never gonna be respectable.
...
It's our occupation, we're a dancing nation, [there have been references recently re MCI to Ezekiel's dry bones being pulled together, receiving breath and dancing]
We keep the pressure on every night. [a praying people, night and day]
...
Taking chances, bold advances, [risk-takers for the Kingdom]
Don't care if you think we're out of line. [if God wants us to do something, tested by scripture and wise believers, we're going to do it]
Conservation is interrogation, [tradition is the foundation for today's action, not our everything]
Get out of here, we just don't have the time. [today is the day...]
...
Like us, hate us, but you'll never change us, [we are all about Jesus]
We ain't never gonna be respectable.
...
We like to put ourselves on the line. [because that's where contact with the 'outside' happens]
...
Recreation (re-creation?) is our destination... [our ultimate desire is for more people to be come new creations in Christ]

This is a big challenge to me in the first instance, but also to our people. How do you respond?

Travelling with young kids - things to bring

noreply@blogger.com (Ross Harte) — Wed, 25 May 2011 11:29:00 +0000

We've done our fair share of travelling with young children on a budget - why stay at home when going abroad is the same price? Each time we fly or float we discover new things that make the travelling experience that little bit more relaxed. Some we'd even call life- (or at least holiday-) savers. Here they are:

Sun and sleep cover - a black mesh cover for the buggy that gives UVA and UVB protection from the sun (so no need to worry about suncream) and makes the outside world less interesting when curious eyes need to take a nap (eg Koo-di). And then there's the buggy itself, which all airlines will allow the whole way to the aircraft door before sending to the hold. Don't even think about not bringing, it makes for a great bag/towel/food carrier too!

Car seat - if hiring a car at our destination we found it much better to bring our own car seats rather than rent upon arrival. Most airlines won't charge to do this, whereas the car hire company gets you for up to 8 euro/dollars per day. It's especially helpful to have your own seat if baby is under six months old as the hire seats don't seem to cater for small infants. Consider investing in a strong cover for the seat for easy transport and if you don't want it to get dusty in the aircraft hold (eg Sunshine Kids).

Bucket and spade - if there'll be sand where you're going, you'll end up buying an over-priced novelty set anyway!

Inflatables - when at the pool we've found inflatable baby seats to be fun for baby and release you to swim a little too. A ring or armbands help for toddlers' enjoyment.

Sticker-books and toy cars - these work for boys anyway - go to Asda/Tesco before you leave and grab a token 'new' thing for the journey. The novelty factor should buy you some valuable time when I-spy doesn't work any more :)

Soltan Once Kids Waterplay - it's five-star sun protection for up to six hours with three hours of water play. And it hasn't bothered our family members with sensitive skin. We've found the Soltan insect repellant range to work well too. Soltan is made by Boots.

DVD player - we were loathe to succomb to this one but are glad we did. Looking at online retailers it seems prices have gone up in the last couple of years, but you don't need a top-range model - a 7-inch screen is fine (a video output socket means it can be connected to a TV or projector at home) - just check reviews of battery life. Use in the car and on ferries and planes that don't offer screens and have a quiet child for 90 minutes of bliss! Your phone might also be able to show movies or play games...

That's our list for now, I might add to it if I remember more. What's worked for you?

Abiding

noreply@blogger.com (Ross Harte) — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 11:53:00 +0000

By the time I left college I had heard quite a lot about 'abiding'. There's a strong emphasis on spiritual formation in Methodist ministerial training,the sense being that you can always read a book about something to learn more facts, but if you aren't abiding 'in Christ' your ministry is going to be fruitless.

I am reminded again today to 'abide', 'remain', 'stay' in Christ. Lord, please centre my heart, mind, soul and strength on you today.

Poor at home, poor abroad

noreply@blogger.com (Ross Harte) — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 22:56:00 +0000

It's a long time since I've posted - I'm realising that some of the things I used to put on my blog now appear on Twitter, or even as comments on Facebook. And seeing as people reading this blog on the web might not be connected to me on Facebook, I thought it might be an idea to bring some of those comments 'into the open'... Who knows how long this will last, let's face it, my track record hasn't been good since leaving College!
__________________________________

I use the 'Superbadger' app on facebook to engage with politicians and business leaders, campaigning for poverty and justice issues with Tear Fund. Today I sent David Cameron a message to congratulate his government on their commitment to not only freeze, but increase the foreign aid package of the UK in the comprehensive spending review. It says something when a Conservative government goes out of its way to support the most impoverished people in the world, even at a cost to our own country.

As far as I can tell (from the 'cash' link on this page: http://bbc.in/a8Gku2), most families in this country with an income up to ~£2000 per month will lose out by approx £250 per year by 2012 - a fiver a week. I'm hoping that won't bring too much hardship to people. The big problem will be job losses, we need to push hard for clever thinking in saving and creating jobs. I wish I knew how to do that!

The foreign aid increases, according to George Osbourne (http://bit.ly/b6k2EJ), will save the lives of 50,000 pregnant women and 250,000 babies. I'm ok with that. See Christian Aid's response here: http://bit.ly/d9ZZYO

Ordained to Equip the Saints

noreply@blogger.com (Ross Harte) — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 15:10:00 +0000

On Sunday 13 June 2010 I was ordained as a minister of the Methodist Church in Ireland. Which probably leaves some readers wondering what I've been doing for the previous two years! Suffice to say that upon leaving College we were considered 'on probation' before making the lifelong commitment to serve the Church.

One part of the Ordination Service, which is formal yet satisfying, is the giving of an account of God's call on the ordinand's life. Here's what I prepared (I don't think I deviated too much from it!)...

--------------------------------------------

I've always been a good boy :) Raised in a loving home, my parents and the people of Craigmore Methodist Church fulfilled their baptismal vows to raise me in a Christian context. Aged 8, I made my first profession of faith at a Good News Club meeting. At 12, I committed my life to Jesus, determined to stand for him, at an event attended with our Youth Club leaders. By 17 I was the chairman of the Methody Christian Union, preparing for A-levels that would send me down the path of Law & Accounting at Queen's University.

My Grannies had always said I'd make, "a great wee minister," but I knew better. Even if accountancy didn't work out, there was always the next best thing - driving trains!

However, God intervened and I ended up on Team On Mission #6, embarking on a gap year experience that gave me a love for the people of the Methodist Church in Ireland, a passion for communicating Jesus, a desire to help people meet God through music, and an understanding that my culinary skills were always going to be quite limited!

An important passage at that time was 2 Timothy 4, including the phrases, "Preach the word," and "Do the work of an evangelist." That year included two unrelated but meaningful incidents - one where I went to a prayer meeting asking God to refresh my youth leader, but instead it was I who had a soul-warming experience of the Holy Spirit. The other took place at a Christmas concert, when in the middle of a carol I almost audibly heard God say, "You're going to be a Methodist minister." That doesn't happen every day!

The following decade was marked at its beginning by sitting in a car telling Kathryn that she ought to know I was probably going to be a Methodist minister - but that didn't put her off! We dated for five years and have been married for almost nine, sharing together in ministry throughout. While I may be the one wearing the collar this evening, you are sending us jointly to lead God's people, discern God's voice and engage in God's mission.

I am so blessed to have such a gracious companion for the journey, joined in mission now by our sons Timothy and Micah. I love you all very much.

I said at the beginning that I've always been a good boy. When preachers used the Prodigal Son story I always felt a bit for the elder son, and couldn't identify with the prodigal. However, as I've grown older I've come to realise how much my life is surrounded by, and depends upon, God's grace...

"What would I have become

if you'd never stopped to pull me through?

What would this life have done

if you'd never whispered liberty?

I heard you sing so sweetly a song of love.

Jesus, how sweet the name, the name that saves.

Jesus, how sweet the sound, the sound of grace."

Today I stand before you as one convinced that he has heard God's call to minister in the name of Jesus and in the power of the Holy Spirit.

This part of our journey has begun with the warm, understanding and patient people of Dundrum, Newcastle and Downpatrick. Our home church of Craigmore, our families, DYCW and the Edgehill community, and our new friends in Newcastle have encouraged us at every step.

And though at times I may grow weary or lose heart, I know for certain that those who wait on the Lord will find new strength. They will fly high on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

--------------------------------------------

Notes: Song words from 'How sweet the name' by Delirious - and yes, I did sing it; End quotation from Isaiah 40:31 (NLT); Discover more about Team on Mission at www.irishmethodist.org/dycw; Oh, and did I mention we have number two son? Facebook and Twitter weren't around when Timothy arrived so I announced it on this blog.

Lent Again

noreply@blogger.com (Ross Harte) — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 13:23:00 +0000

We're back to the season of Lent again! I've hardly posted in the past year, apologies for that... But I'd like to try this again, especially the bit about spotting self-denial taking place around you (particularly where it happens in a way to benefit other people or you can see that it is forming genuine discipleship in that person/community).

Rather than blogging those spotlights, I reckon Twitter is a good way of recording such deeds - if you want to play, use the hashtag #selfdenial in your tweets. I don't think that tag is original to me but it doesn't seem to be being used formally at the moment.

Perhaps discipline and 'taking up your cross' can be more a part of my life this year, and maybe yours too?

Jesus is coming, get ready!

noreply@blogger.com (Ross Harte) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 22:41:00 +0000

I wrote a wee thing for a primary school assembly, and thought I'd share it with you...

To Adam and Eve, who rebel and must leave:
Jesus is coming, get ready!
Noah glimpses the rainbow and knows he is free:
Jesus is coming, get ready!
Abraham’s son, Isaac, a miracle, is born:
Jesus is coming, get ready!
God speaks through a bush and gives Moses the Law:
Jesus is coming, get ready!
To the people of Israel, made homeless by war:
Jesus is coming, get ready!
Hear the message of prophets through centuries soar:
Jesus is coming, get ready!
John the Baptist shouts it, loud for everyone:
Jesus is coming, get ready!
Mary’s filled with joy, for she’s going to have a Son!
Jesus is coming, get ready!
Every December we should pause and remember
Jesus is coming, get ready!
It’s the time of the year when we give a big cheer:
Jesus is coming, get ready!

Sing, “Come, Lord Jesus, Come”.
“Come, Lord Jesus, Come.”

Advent

noreply@blogger.com (Ross Harte) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:52:00 +0000

Here's a video door to be opened every day as we get ready for Christmas. The play button will show something different throughout Advent. Enjoy!

Olive Branch

noreply@blogger.com (Ross Harte) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:57:00 +0000

Dear Princess,

Please accept my humble apologies for being a sarky git the other day. Your regular dose of wit and wisdom has become an enjoyable part of my life online, and I thank you for it.

Lots of love,

Minister Moo.

[Image courtesy of saavem]

Catchup

noreply@blogger.com (Ross Harte) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:00:00 +0000

It appears I have been neglecting t'blog, which just won't do. I haven't stopped pondering, so why the slowdown in posting I hear you ask? Probably in the main it's due to Twitter - why bother you with a blog post of a few sentences when 140 characters will do the job? So if you're not already on the Twitter bandwagon you at least will know where some of my thoughts are going (you can see them on the right of this page if you're on the Random Moos website). If you happen to receive my posts through some sort of RSS reader you can also receive my Tweets that way: Ministermoo Feed.

Rather than promise a full recounting of tales of the Summer, and then never delivering (a la the Princess - sorry, that's not fair, she did tell us about Singapore eventually), here are a few notes on stuff I was thinking about...

Team On Mission

The fifth/sixth/whatever of September came round again, which meant it was another year since Andrew, Joanne, Nicky and myself stumbled into Team On Mission #6 - a year of mission, banter, comfort-zone stretching and fun. I can honestly say it was the most important year of my life, setting attitudes, disciplines, friendships and aspirations in motion. It is not always this way: after all, throwing four eighteen-year-olds with diverse backgrounds and personalities into the one house with a common goal is not an easy thing to pull off, but I think in the main it worked for us. I owe my understanding of the Methodist Church in Ireland largely to that year, especially the fact that even where a small church is struggling to survive there are faith-full people longing to see God bring restoration.

The 'travelling team' as it is now known has a difficult task to accomplish, a sort of 'hit and run' evangelism where even three months in one place allows for only the beginning of friendship, and many relationships cannot be sustained. Yet I wonder if it's more in line with the original idea of itinerancy, bringing one message to many people and places, adding something to the relationships and formation of faith of that community and then moving on. It concerns me that we will be in Dundrum, Newcastle and Downpatrick long enough to build warm relationships but too short to see transformation.

War

We were very glad to see a friend back from a six-month stint in Afghanistan with the Army, safe and well. It's also been good recently to hear of the experiences again of Chaplains in the Armed Forces. However, it has unsettled me somewhat to compare the media coverage of the deaths of our brave men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan with those of the non-combatant citizens of those countries. Our forces are doing a good job in quelling insurgency and attempting to bring some form of peace and order, yet hardly a day goes by without another 'Omagh'. I shudder to think of the damage that is being done to those communities every week, considering the damage done in ours over decades.

That'll do for now!

[Chinook image courtesy of clarke_nr]

That's the Spirit!

noreply@blogger.com (Ross Harte) — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 10:49:00 +0000

We're a few weeks into the season of Pentecost but it was only a few days ago that I came across a live broadcast from the BBC that was shown on Pentecost Sunday. It came from Kingsgate Community Church in Peterborough, and was so good it even had Chris Moyles glowing about it :)

I was involved in an episode of Songs of Praise a few months back (by 'involved' I mean 'missed the rehearsal, slipped in near the back for the recording but was dragged to the front to fill an empty seat') and I think it's safe to say that by the time it was over most of us were well and truly knackered, and the fact that many of us still had smiles on our faces in the finished broadcast was a miracle of grace. The reason? One camera. One camera to take every single shot - the 'swooping down from the ceiling' shot, the 'gentle entrance past ivy-entwisted candlesticks' shot, the 'please don't laugh, please don't laugh, I know my face is filling 37-inch screens across the nation' shot, and the 'wide-angle, everybody's in it so it doesn't matter quite so much if I get the words wrong' shot. And a few more. We sang the same three songs over and over for five hours.

So it didn't come as much of a surprise to me that, despite the huge amount of work invested by the Dean, Cathedral staff and the choir, the programme felt a little flat. Contrast our Songs of Praise experience to the Pentecost service from Peterborough, and I was blown away. The service was live, but had numerous shots and angles. I'm guessing that being live made a difference to the atmosphere, and every little thing had been thought about to make it a delightful audio-visual encounter with God, inviting people into worship rather than simply the singing of songs. It must have taken months to prepare, and a lot of money, but it was worth it.

What do you think?

Vote!

noreply@blogger.com (Ross Harte) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 21:25:00 +0000

I break my 'it really couldn't have been that long, could it?' blogging silence to remind those of you living in Europe to VOTE tomorrow.

Obviously I do care about whom you vote for, and if you ask me directly I'll tell you who my Number 1 is going to and why. But perhaps more pressing is the actual need to VOTE! It's one of the responsiblities we who live in a free and democratice society have. If you don't vote, you can't complain or expect politicians to even consider doing what you want them to do. (And then there are the people who died to save us from a dictatorship, and the people who are continuing to die around the world in bringing freedom to other societies)...

So make the effort and do it! And pray while you're at it :)

[image can be downloaded from here]

Nana

noreply@blogger.com (Ross Harte) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 14:22:00 +0000

It's been a strange old week, a mixture of our first Easter in a new setting, a return to Castlewellan to visit Craigmore Youth Club's Easter Camp, and the death of my other grandmother. Another fantastic lady! And again, I was invited to share a few words at her funeral. The text is below:

I’ve been pondering for several days what to say about Hilda Elizabeth Harte, or ‘Nana’ as she always was to me and all her grandchildren – Jenny, Ian and Malcolm; Nigel and Kate; Stephen and Sheena. She was ‘Mum’ to Mavis and Gerald, Ken and Averil, Ray and Sue. She was ‘Hilda’ to her brother and sisters, Albert, Mabel, Grace and Marjorie, and to her late husband, Fred. To many, many people she was that ‘lovely lady’, Mrs. Harte. I hope you don’t mind if I refer to her as Nana.

We were looking yesterday evening at Nana’s photo albums, which document much of her 94 years. Hilda Elizabeth Cummings was born on 14 July 1914 and lived near Washing Bay in Co. Tyrone. She saw virtually the whole of the 20th Century!

As a young woman she worked in Stevensons of Dungannon (otherwise known as Moygashel), where Major Stevenson on one occasion described her as the ‘clever little lady’! But she was swept off her feet and away from Tyrone when one of the junior ministers, who used to cycle past the Cummings homestead on their way to Stuartstown Methodist Church, courted her and married her on 27 October 1936. Fred and Hilda were a team, often visiting members of their churches together, where Nana’s warm style was very much appreciated. She played the organ, taught Sunday School and was generally wonderful! I received a note from a family who were genuinely thankful for Nana and Papa in their retirement as babysitters, and another from a local preacher who appreciated Nana’s encouragement as she moved towards becoming a minister. One of my stronger memories is of Nana and Papa holding hands while going for a walk – I remember how encouraging it was to think that a couple could still be in love after almost sixty years of marriage, and resolved to never be embarrassed about holding my wife’s hand in public.

They had moved to Margaretholme sheltered accommodation in Sandymount for a short period but it was clear after Papa’s death that Nana would need more personal attention. She moved back to Dun Laoghaire where Mavis and Gerald could keep an eye on her, but after four years it was fully apparent that Alzheimer’s Disease had taken its hold and she would need full-time nursing care. The Royal Hospital, Donnybrook, became her new home, where she very happily settled and stayed until her death on Wednesday morning. The care and attention she received there was truly fantastic, hence the family’s desire that you support the Hospital in Nana’s memory.

The scourge of Alzheimer’s is that it robs us of the character of the person we love, yet the body remains. At times over the last eight years we have seen glimpses of Nana’s former nature shine through – beautiful smiles and delight in playing the piano, a love of children and of singing, and her delight in God her heavenly Father.

Much was expected of a minister’s wife and family in the 40s and 50s, perhaps more than was fair. Nana had duties to fulfil and a role to play, but at the core of her being was the love of God. She found great joy in sitting down at a piano, any piano, and singing hymns and songs of worship to Jesus. Nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. Today we can take comfort from knowing that Nana and Papa are now reunited in that place that Jesus had prepared for them, praising God together forever.

One translation of 1 Cor 13:12-13 reads: Now we see things imperfectly as in a poor mirror, but then we shall see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God knows me now. There are three things that will endure – faith, hope and love – and the greatest of these is love.

There is no doubt that in her last years Nana saw things imperfectly, as in a poor mirror – but today she sees everything with perfect clarity, the partial is made complete, and the three things that endure – faith, hope and love – have come to fulfilment.

Her faith was in Jesus Christ, the God who created us, became one of us and died to save us from ourselves, to bring life in its fullness. Her hope was an Easter Saturday hope – that the same God who raised Jesus from the dead would also raise her. Her love was in the One who first loved her, God who created us to be in loving relationship with him.

Yesterday some of us were talking about how different personality types respond to various situations. I often find it easier to talk about Jesus in this setting than with a smaller group of friends or family. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that there is life after death, and the One who we have the choice to spend that life with is ready to comfort and counsel us in this life. That was Nana’s experience, and it is mine. Feel free to talk with me about it some time.

May the God of love, who promised to give us his peace, fill all our hearts and minds with love and peace this day and every day.

If it wasn't for Easter

noreply@blogger.com (Ross Harte) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 17:03:00 +0000

If it wasn't for Easter, I really don't know what I'd do. If Jesus wasn't alive I don't think I could do this.

But he is! ALIVE, RISEN, TODAY!

And that's good.

Album Cover

noreply@blogger.com (Ross Harte) — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 23:13:00 +0000

Lots of people have done this, and I think it's amazing what comes up!

If you'd like to give it a go, here are the rules:
Follow instructions exactly:

1 - Go to wikipedia Hit “random... Read more” (NB - I couldn't find this so I just clicked 'Random article')
The first random wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2 - Go to quotationspage.com
The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.

3 - Go to flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”
Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4 - Use photoshop or similar to put it all together. (NB - if, like me, you don't have photoshop - download getpaint.net for free)

No Going Back

noreply@blogger.com (Ross Harte) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 10:06:00 +0000

In a sense, I'm at a loss for words.

It breaks me to write my first 'noticing' of self-denial regarding the people killed in Northern Ireland in the last three days. It seems that the off-duty army personnel threw themselves in front of bullets to protect the pizza delivery men, hours before they were due to leave for service in Afghanistan. And the police officer shot last night was among a number responding to a call for help from a vulnerable woman.

I'm writing today because in a sense I don't know what else to do...

Following the weekend's events it is clear that money, politics and being nice do not 'solve' our problems - this province needs desperately to be reconciled to itself. I find it hard to work out what my role is in that, other than to note that a deep-rooted sectarianism continues to be embedded in our middle class Methodist culture. If we can identify the existence of sectarianism there is a chance that we might be able to deal with it and work together towards full reconciliation.

Ultimately, though, we need to cry out to God for healing for those who have been bereaved and hurt; for a breaking of hardened hearts of those who believe that murder will achieve anything - that they would turn themselves in to the Police and receive the just penalty for their crimes; for the Church to stand united against evil and together in Christ; for the Spirit to move in power, bringing revival to this island.

For those of us who feel powerless, prayer is access to the all-mighty One who can bring healing to hearts and nations. May God direct our steps when we rise from our knees.

What more must Zimbabwe suffer?

noreply@blogger.com (Ross Harte) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 11:50:00 +0000

I just read that Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's wife was killed in a car accident yesterday. After all that the people of Zimbabwe have suffered in recent years, this is one more tragedy.

There are no indications at the moment of foul play, although my understanding is that assassination by truck has happened in the past in Africa. If it truly was an accident it will take great leadership and presence of mind to hold on to Hope. I pray this will not be the proverbial straw but that God will comfort and strengthen those who peacefully struggle for freedom.

I, along with many others, will be pleading, "How Long, O Lord, how long?"

The Path of Self-Denial

noreply@blogger.com (Ross Harte) — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 11:12:00 +0000

It's Ash Wednesday and so Lent begins. This year, rather than 'giving up' something (which is admirable but alas in the past hasn't made me any more like Jesus, it's just saved me some money due to decreased chocolate consumption), I want to travel down the path of self-denial.

If there's anything the human race could be accused of, it's the obsession with self, the monarchy of 'me' - and I count myself firmly in that camp. Despite my best intentions my needs, wants, almost always come first. Self-discipline is not one of my strong-points - it could not be said of me that I 'beat my body into submission' as Paul would advocate.

However, it wouldn't seem right for Lent to take on a legalistic tone where guilt comes to party for seven weeks as I fail day after day to live up to my higher-than-possible standards. Smoking-cessation advertisements carry the tag, "requires willpower". My experience is that willpower alone may not be enough to knock the King of self off his throne.

So here's what I want to do - and this post will act as a kind of accountability:
* Purposefully invite the Holy Spirit to fill me each morning for strength to live for Christ and not me
* Pray with Kathryn each night rather than watch the West Wing (!)
* Listen for God's whispers of, 'do you really need to buy/eat/do that?' and obey
* Keep an eye open for instances of self-denial taking place in the world, and blog them

Let's see what happens!

A picture speaks a thousand words

noreply@blogger.com (Ross Harte) — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 11:25:00 +0000

Well, twenty anyway - according to Wordle, this is how Random Moos can be portrayed in 20 words...

Hallelujah

noreply@blogger.com (Ross Harte) — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 22:23:00 +0000

The X Factor final has just reached its conclusion for another year, and a star is born... Well done Alexandra!

But the star over the next week will be the single that Simon Cowell wants you to buy to make it number one - Hallelujah, originally by Jeff Buckley [note: oops, just discovered it's a Leonard Cohen song]. It's a song I've heard many times before, I suppose popularised through (of all things) an animated movie about an ogre.

But tonight I had a moment of grace. JLS and Alexandra sang the words,

"But love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah"

The words spoke to me of the weak Christ on the cross - God's rescue mission to the World, doing something entirely unpredictable and stunning, winning and wooing us. Jesus didn't summon an army and beat us into submission; he lived and died a life of love to call us voluntarily into relationship with him.

And then comes,

"But remember when I moved in you
and the Holy Dove was moving too
and every breath we drew was hallelujah"

Tomorrow I'll be preaching on Psalm 126, which sings of the great things God has done in the past, but today being in a place of tears. A place where we remember the closest of relationships - humans and the Creator of the Universe walking together; but today feeling cold and dry.

Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy.

Hallelujah!

Slip of the Tongue

noreply@blogger.com (Ross Harte) — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 17:28:00 +0000

Gordon Brown made a mistake during Prime Minister's Questions today. And David Cameron made as much out of it as possible. See what I'm talking about here.

It caught my attention to the point where I sent an e-mail to David Cameron. Here it is:

Dear Mr. Cameron,

While the Prime Minister today made a slip of the tongue with regard to saving the banking system in the UK, your witty response had, to my mind, a little too much sarcasm contained within.

You said, "He is so busy talking about saving the world, he has forgotten about the businesses of this country."

I would contend that one of your main roles, should you become Prime Minister, will be to play our part in saving the World. Certainly our country has many problems and will face a very tough period shortly, but it is nothing in comparison to the trials currently being faced by the people of Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Israel, Malawi, Argentina and many other nations.

Mr. Brown's remarks were indeed an amusing gaffe today, and I appreciated the banter between members of the House. But please, in looking out for the disadvantaged in the United Kingdom, remember the poorest of the poor around the World.

Yours sincerely,

Mr. Ross Harte.

Two-Year-Old Nativity

noreply@blogger.com (Ross Harte) — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 22:09:00 +0000

I was just driving Timothy home from the last night of our town-wide Alpha Course finale. He'd had a great time running around at the back of the room but was gradually becoming just a little tooo distracting :)

As we started to pull out of the car park he said (in his best almost-two vocabulary), "Church. Lord. Jesus. Born."

At least someone understands what this is all about.