One of the reasons is the fear of being judged and ‘stuck’ in time in others’ judgments, as opposed to those viewpoints being true for us at one point of time on our journey. This was well illustrated in the ‘Companion’ where an interview with Billy Graham in 1997 revealed a surprising response, for many of us, concerning who is ‘saved’.

‘I think that everybody that loves Christ, or knows Christ, whether they’re conscious of it or not, they’re members of the body of Christ…the Apostle James…said that God’s purpose for this age is to call out a people for his name. And that’s what God is doing today. He’s calling people out of this world for his name,whether they come from the Muslim world or the Buddhist world or the Christian world or the non-believing world, they are members of the body of Christ, because they have been called by Christ. They may not even know the name of Jesus, but they know in their hearts that they need something that they don’t have, and they turn to the only light that they have, and I think that they are saved, and that they’re going to be with us in heaven’.

That certainly gave us something to discuss along with what our previously held views on who was saved had been and the reasons some of us had come to questions these; whether we believed atheists would go to heaven; whether it’s important to know where we’re going when we die; and whether going to heaven or not is the message of Christianity.

All of this was, of course, set in the context of Jesus’ teaching. It is extraordinary how much of a gap there is between the answers many Christians might give to the question of how are we saved and the answers Jesus seems to give!

We had a very interesting evening, with everyone having plenty to say and decided to do chapter two next week, looking at heaven and what we mean by that – so watch this space for more on that and if any of you out there haven’t read ‘Love Wins’ – give it a go – it’s definitely worth a look.

Our theme was emerging – we are emerging, growing, changing, maturing, what does all that mean. Emerging and changing in the church is nothing new, Christianity emerged out of Judaism and has contined to change throughout it’s history. Throughout this history different ways of worshipping have left their mark.

We have left our mark round and about the bandstand over time, one of the ways we left our mark was by planting some snowdrops. Despite the ground where they are growing being a short cut to miss out a corner the snowdrops were well and truly emerging this morning.

We stood beside them and said

This is your garden, Creator God                                             
a thing of beauty
beyond understanding, 
a poem that is being written
not in words,
but in colours,
wind’s whisper,
soaring bird,
snowdrop’s petal,
gentle rain,
sunlight’s warmth.
This is your garden, Creator God,
a thing of beauty
beyond understanding

We had a meander in the park thinking through two types of emerging church. One the Celtic church which emerged in this country 1500 years ago and emerging church today, with particular reference to ourselves.

Early Celtic/Monastic Church

· A genuine love of nature and a passion for God’s creation, coupled with a sense of closeness between the natural and supernatural.
· A love of art and poetry, seen within surviving illuminated Gospels and other works. 
· Although they seem to have been theologically orthodox, there was a distinct emphasis on the Trinity, respect for Mary the Mother of Christ, the Incarnation and the use within worship of early forms of liturgy. 
· Within their religious life we see an emphasis on solitude, pilgrimage and mission, sacred locations and tough penitential acts.
· There were few boundaries between the sacred and the secular
· We see an emphasis on family and kinship ties.
· There seems to have been greater equality for women than we see generally in the Church today. 
· A generous hospitality was an important part of everyday life.

Thanks to faithandworship.co.uk

 Emerging Church today

•  Identify with the life of Jesus.
•  Trinitarian belief.
•  Try to live communal lives.
•  Be open, inclusive and authentic.
•  Serve with generosity.
•  Be creative and innovative.
•  Have a heart for justice.
•  Attempt to transform society.
•  No hierarchies, leadership without control, all leaders!
• Emphasis on sharing meals together.
• Safe environment for people whose opinion would be rejected by conservative and fundamentalist Christianity.
• High value on social activism, campaigning for global justice, hospitality, and acts of kindness and generosity.
• Environmental appreciation and concern.
• Add your own thoughts

Bible reading - Jeremiah 29:11

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a future and a hope”

Prayer

We included in our prayers today areas of the world where humankind is not in harmony with creation, places of war, famine or exploitation of the world’s resources and some more of the themes from Soul Space where we asked what people wanted to see detoxified from society.

NHS ‘Reforms’,  Child Prostitution,  Food Speculation,  The Separation Wall in Israel/Palestine,  Proposed cuts in benefits for the sick and disabled,  Rampant Rich and Paralysed Poor – People Polarised

We also included in our prayers we know who may lack the harmony of peace or health, for those in difficult circumstances

Communal prayer

Be with us Lord in our church as we acknowledge the importance of friendship, and appreciate how the love and companionship of our friends at Third Space mirrors the love you have for us. As we journey together help us to move from the familiar – into mission. Let us be like the sixth century monks that Michael Mitton likened us to, who took to the sea, raised their sails, navigated the storms of life, and trusted that God would lead them to a place where He wanted them to be.

Sharing bread and wine.

We are people who……

Have found Jesus to be beyond compare.

Invite all to join us without insisting they become like us.

Find more reality in searching and questioning than in certainty and absolutes.

Realise that how we treat others is the greatest test and expression of what we believe.

Firmly believe in the equality of men and women, that no-one is greater than another and that all people

bear God’s image.

Recognise that following Jesus is costly and we need to support each other in the work we feel called to do:

being peacemakers, striving for justice, befriending the lonely, healing the sick, serving the hungry and

destitute, visiting the sick and the elderly, inspiring children and young people, caring for God’s

creation……………….

In sharing bread and wine together look back to remember Jesus’ death and resurrection and look forward

to God’s feast for all peoples.

AMEN.

This is the bread of Christ,

          the bread of searching,

          the bread of equality,

          the bread of caring,

          the bread of community.  Amen.

This is the wine of Christ,

          the wine of peacemaking,

          the wine of serving,

          the wine of justice,

          the wine of the Kingdom.  Amen.

Closing blessing

We bless you, 
God of Seed and Harvest
And we bless each other
That the beauty of this world
And the love that created it
Might be expressed though our lives
And be a blessing to others
Now and always
AMEN

Between courses we used the words we have used in the past which are so thought-provoking:

On their own, the bread and wine are nothing. To become a foretaste and a promise of love made real and a world made whole, they need a story and a blessing and a people who believe.

It would not have been God’s table if they hadn’t all been gathered around it: the betrayer and the friend, the power-hungry and the justice-seeker, the faithful and the fickle…

When Jesus poured the wine ,and the bread was broken; when everyone could eat – the outcast and the beloved, the arrogant and the gracious, the wrong-doer and the wrongly done by – the table became a foretaste of love made real and of a world made whole. And the promise is, that when you are together, when you tell the story and give the blessing, when you break the bread and pour the wine, you will discover a foretaste of love made real and of a world made whole.

Word becomes flesh, flesh becomes bread, bread becomes body, body becomes word, bread is broken (we shared the bread)

Pain becomes wine, wine becomes joy, wine bursts the wineskins, God bursts the tomb, wine bursts into song (we shared the wine)

After some more words of liturgy we feasted some more – on Fi’s stunning cranachen trifle and Frances’ magnificent shortbread and for those who were not faint-hearted, a tot of Stag’s Breath (whisky and honey liqueur).

It truly was an evening of the kingdom – feasting, laughing, sharing lives, sharing Jesus… the kingdom here and now and a foretaste of what is yet to come. How easy it was to be thankful (mindful of Steve’s theme at the bandstand) for friends and all of God’s rich blessings expressed around the table! Thanks be to God!

Steve shared a prayer he’d grown up with at school known as the General Thanksgiving and had us reflect on the mismatch between those rather antiquated words and the values reflected in the world view of our society today. The mix of those ideas is reflected in this format below:

Almighty God, Father of all mercies,
we thine (your) unworthy servants (are we really that unworthy? Can my self worth cope with such denial? I think I’m pretty sorted really.)
do give thee (you) most humble and hearty thanks
for all thy goodness and loving-kindness
to us and to all men. (“People” obviously. I thank you Lord, that I am so PC.)
We bless thee (you) for our creation, preservation,
and all the blessings of this life; (although times are a little tough right now….)
but above all for thine (your) inestimable (not able to be estimated) love
in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ;
for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. (Well jolly good – absolutely.)
And, we beseech thee,
give us that due sense of all thy mercies, (are we overdoing this a tad?)
that our hearts may be unfeignedly (genuinely) thankful;
and that we show forth thy praise,
not only with our lips, but in our lives, (won’t the lips do? Please?)
by giving up ourselves to thy service, (Steady now – this is a getting serious.)
and by walking before thee
in holiness and righteousness all our days; (There’s that word righteousness…all a bit morally certain and judgemental for us Post- Moderns)
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
to whom, with thee and the Holy Spirit,
be all honour and glory, world without end. Amen. (Amen!)

With these words in hand we dispersed to wander around the park and to let the prayer and responses become our own conversation with God. We were also asked to reflect on 4 questions:

What would it mean to live a life of Eucharist?

To have a heart oriented in gratitude?

What perspective would we need and gain?

How different would our responses be at home, at work, at school?

Back in the bandstand, we turned to prayer, using some of the written suggestions from last week’s SOULSPACE, where people were asked to say what they would like the world to be detoxed from in the coming year. The ones we used this week were: Cruelty to animals; Child abuse; The Kibera slums, Nairobi, Kenya; Unemployment; Churches should support Occupy, both in London and worldwide; Discrimination against people because of race, religion or belief.  (We will use the others in subsequent bandstand gatherings). These and shared prayer needs then informed us as we built individual prayer cairns in the park (which we’ve left for the week). Harry had written a final prayer for us all at the end of that time then.

Prayer cairn in Hall Leys Park

Finally we shared  the eucharist, speaking the following words to each person in turn:

Receive this bread; feed on it with thanks; it is the gift of God to sustain and nurture; it is Jesus incarnated and given for us. Give thanks.

Drink this wine with thanks; it is the gift of God to bring us joy; it was a hard won battle; it is Jesus poured out for our redemption. Give thanks.

So, we head into the week with the challenge and inspiration of being thankful people… good stuff!

“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness – on them light has shined.” – Isaiah 9:2

Then and Now As we enter this season of Advent, let us remember the condition of the Jewish people 2000 years ago. The Romans had conquered Palestine and subjected the inhabitants to a set of foreign and often brutal rules. The conquerors did not respect, nor even understand, the religion and customs. People had lost their freedoms and when anyone tried to rise up in rebellion it was brutally put down.

Sound familiar? In the same area today there is oppression and lack of respect for beliefs and customs. Palestinians are subjected to brutality and their freedom of movement is limited. Family homes are demolished and when they try to rise up in rebellion it is brutally put down.

2000 years ago in the midst of that turmoil, a child came, born in a dingy, dirty stable. Out of those humble beginnings, a saviour was born. Because of that child we believe that love is stronger than fear, peace more enduring than hate, and that darkness will never put out the light. Because of that child, we dare to pray that injustice and oppression will end.

A time of quiet to pray for peace, freedom, justice and love in our world.

All – We are a people of hope, and this light is a reminder of that hope.

Prayers

T lights were lit for those who we named in prayer

All – We are a people of hope and this light is a symbol of our prayer

Talk

We looked at John Ch. 7 and 8 where Jesus is at the Feast of Tabernacles  It was one of the three great pilgrimage festivals of the Jewish Year.  The Feast lasted seven days, from the 15th to the 21st of  the seventh month – Tishri, that is early October in our calendar. The festival took place at the end of the fruit harvest. The people lived for 7 days in shelters or tabernacles made of palm branches. It was an agricultural thanksgiving, but also a reminder of their ancestors’ tent-dwelling days in the wilderness during the Exodus. It was a time of great rejoicing.

During the feast there were two very important events. The first was a great procession led by the priests to the Pool of Siloam to collect water which was ceremonially carried back to the Temple through the Water Gate, and then poured out. It was a vivid reminder of God’s provision of water during the Exodus. It would have been at this point of the festival that Jesus said, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”  (John 7:37-38)

That was the first important ceremony in the Feast of Tabernacles which Jesus applied to Himself. The second was even more dramatic. The Feast actually went on for seven days and seven nights. To make this possible, each night four huge candelabra were erected in the Court of the Women to provide illumination for the whole Temple area. The candelabra were very large, the height of the Temple walls.  The Temple itself was built on the highest point in the city of Jerusalem, so these huge flaming torches would have illuminated the whole city and probably way beyond its walls. It was then that Jesus stood up and said,  “I am the light of the world, whoever follows me will never walk in darkness” (John 8:12).

Why is this statement of Jesus at this time so controversial? Firstly, he’s claiming to be God, because the light from the candelabra was seen as a reminder of the “pillar of fire by night” which led the Israelites to the promised land. The lights at the feast were also associated with the great expectation of the coming Messiah.  (Isaiah 62:1-3)  So through this statement Jesus is saying that he is the Messiah!

So as Advent begins let the enormity of Jesus promise sink in, “I am the light of the world, whoever follows me will never walk  in darkness, but will have the light of life….”

The bread and Wine

All        

In this Advent season we await the coming of Christ Light of the World, come,

Come to the oppressed and exploited,

Come to the despised and rejected,

Come to all in whom the divine image is distorted.

We wait in joyful expectation.

Come not as a man of power, but in love and compassion,

Come to the outcast – like the shepherds in the fields,

Come to foreigners – like Magi watching from afar,

Come to rich and poor, young and old, male and female,

We wait in hopeful anticipation.

Come to bless all creation with your love,

Come to bring salvation on the earth,

Come to rule with justice and in peace.

Come Light of the World, illuminate our path.

We wait with all the peoples of the earth,

Light of the World we welcome your coming.  

The park had a heavy, almost enclosed atmosphere this Sunday which seemed to aid our quiet reflection amongst the trees. We spent some of the time wandering around the trees with the following poem to inspire us:

An October Astonishment

by Garth Gilchrist

When I touched the yellow maple leaves
They entered me
Without my knowing

This morning after I’d picked them
I had their gold sweetness
In my veins

It was after holding them in my hands
Upon my skin
In the slant light dewy morning
Plunging my nose deep in amongst them
Wet and cold, snuffling
The autumn scent
Suffused into air and me

My eyes fixed on their open hands
Veined like mine
My fingers traced their fingers

Crimson stems in my palms
Conduits through which shape
And substance entered –
Mapleness
Only vaguely I sensed
Some ephemeral
Sap entering me

This morning, after
In my own bed I woke
Bathed full and swimming in yellow light
That hovers in and around
Smooth maple branches in late October
On crisp mornings

I’d fondled the seeds, too,
Fuzzy winged pods
Full of imperceptible roots
Bark and limbs
A million invisible leaves
I’d given handfuls to the waiting children
They went twirling
Whirling through the sky
Eager, alive with mapleness
Maybe for this

I woke that morning
Wholly content, pierced through
Astounded in my bed, wrapped
In the warm light
Of maples

Garth Gilchrist of San Rafael, Ca, is an environmental storyteller
garthtales@aol.com

 We gathered leaves and used them in our confession:

Gen 3 ⁷ Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

You have given us a world of beauty, and we have spoilt it.
A world to feed us, and so many go hungry.
A world of riches, and we are unwilling to share.
A world to care for, and we think only of ourselves.
                     Forgive us, gracious God,
                     for those times your heart is saddened
                     by our selfishness.
For those times we have no thought for others, no cares but ours.
                     Enable us to see this world anew
                     as a gift from you,
                     to be shared and nurtured,
                     and those who live upon it
                     to be loved and cared for.

We lay down our leaves

And ask for your forgiveness and renewal
                     Amen

Adapted from:www.faithandworship.com/prayers_Repentance.htm#ixzz1c3bpgLKo
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution

Remembering the following words from Revelation, we wrote the names of nations who need God’s healing now on dried leaves we had collected earlier in the week:

Rev 22:2      Eden Restored       ¹ Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ² down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

And then using similar words from Ezekiel we did the same for people known to us who need Jesus close at this time:

Ezekiel 47:12                            ¹² Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.”

For people and nations

 Finally, we shared bread and wine using these words:

We remember Christ Jesus who hung on a tree for the healing of the nations

This is his body – for our healing

Maranatha! Come soon Lord Jesus.

This is his blood – giving us life

Maranatha! Come soon Lord Jesus.

The stillness of the air and the colours around us made for a gentle and special time together. It never fails to inspire worshipping God outdoors!

The Bread and the Wine

For the beauty and wonder of creation,  WE THANK YOU

For all that is gracious in lives of men and women,  WE THANK YOU

For our daily food, for our home and families,  WE THANK YOU

For minds to think, hearts to love and hands to create,  WE THANK YOU

For health and skill to work, and for leisure to rest and play,  WE THANK YOU

For all who pursue peace, justice and truth,  WE THANK YOU

For Jesus, his life, death and resurrection,  WE THANK YOU.

It was a beautiful morning in the park to think on God’s creativity and that creativity that he has set in us. As we spent time alone reflecting on this, wandering around the park, listening to God, He amazed us on the park bench nearest the bandstand with a display of every variety of Ladybird you could imagine! (or certainly a fair few of the 67 species found on these shores, as Grayden informed us.) Thank you for that, Lord!

A God of Expression
God smiles, this much I know,
for he created laughter so that we might join in the enjoyment of his creative energy – 
those wonderful colour schemes of bird, butterfly and flower.
The shapes and expressions on so many creatures and insects 
These weren’t created by a boring God
they were drawn and planned by a God with a sense of humour
and that’s a comforting thought!
Creator God, we praise you for the diversity of your world 
and for the life you have breathed into all things
ALL: For the colours we see
The sounds we hear
ALL: The textures we feel
For the large
ALL: And the small
The fierce
ALL: And the timid
Predator
ALL: And prey
Creator God, we thank you for your creation, perfect in its design and purpose, perfect in its diversity and unity.
Psalm 19
How clearly the sky reveals God’s glory!
 All: How plainly it shows what he has done!
Each day announces it to the following day 
All: Each night repeats it to the next
No speech or words are used, no sound is heard
 All: Yet their message goes out to all the world and is heard to the ends of the earth
Creator God, your Spirit enables our own creative abilities as we allow Him to work through our words, our hands and our imaginations.
We thank you for the beauty of created things, for pots and bowls moulded 
by the skilful manipulation of clay, for a portrait which captures the essence of a personality, for the written word which transports us to a faraway place
a poem that captures the raw emotion of a moment, a prayer that speaks to our heart and soul.
You are present wherever mankind opens its eyes to see, can be heard whenever mankind opens its ears to hear, can be felt as hands are outstretched in faith.
All: As the wind blows across this land where it wills, so your loving Spirit blows in us and through us.
 As the sun warms the cold earth after the chill of night, so your love warms our hearts with joy.
 And your touch brings a peace into our restless lives.
God of Love, God of Joy and God of Peace, may we know all three as we open our eyes to the wonders of this garden in which you have placed us and begin to recognise the image of your love within the selfless actions of others.
Creator God, we pray for your Kingdom, established here on earth wherever you reign in hearts open to the expression of your praise and glory. 
All: Your Kingdom Come
But we also look forward an eternity in your Kingdom, your promise to all who truly believe
 All: On earth as it is in heaven
We take a moment of quiet to reflect on the creativity of our God, expressed through the world and through the creativity within each one of us
And together we join in the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples.
All:
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy Kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory. for ever and ever. Amen

COMMUNION: The body of Christ, broken for us as an expression of His love. The blood of Christ, shed for us as an expression of His love.

God of expression, enable us, your creation, to enjoy along with you 
the sheer exuberance of your creativity.
All: Amen

Source: liturgy5.htm#ixzz1aDNoLqo7

The Gardener’s Apprentice
in the cool of the day
you create me
shape me
with divine image sparked dust
you make me, name me
aim us 
in community
you ask only that we obey thee
and become
tender
earth steward
friend be
in work,
at play
and walk with you
in the cool of the day.

Source: the-gardeners-5.html

 “floats your boat”    

   What does this mean?

Here are some definitions from  the Urban Dictionary:

Whatever “soothes your soul” or whatever “works best” aka – whatever you feel like doing.

Whatever turns you on, interests you, suits you, something you like, your preference or choice.

So if Jesus floats our boat are we willing to let him use us (the vessel of our lives) to further his kingdom.

CAN JESUS USE YOUR BOAT?

Asking if Jesus can use your boat isn’t as strange as it may sound at first. After all, it is no coincidence that a person’s body is often called, or referred to, as a vessel. One of the great subjects of the Scriptures is the type of vessel a person becomes in this life; a vessel of honour or a vessel of dishonour.

(Luke 5:1-3)  1. Once when he was standing on the shore of Lake Gennesaret, the crowd was pushing in on him to better hear the Word of God. 2 He noticed two boats tied up. The fishermen had just left them and were out scrubbing their nets. 3 He climbed into the boat that was Simon’s and asked him to put out a little from the shore. Sitting there, using the boat for a pulpit, he taught the crowd

All of a sudden, seemingly, Jesus had a need. He needed a vessel to use so that He could launch out away from shore and teach the people. Simon’s boat is chosen because it is there, not because it has been freshly cleaned and painted, or because it is somehow superior in some way. I would think that Simon’s boat was neither better nor worse than the other boats there. It was probably pretty average as far as fishing boats go. In fact, as all fishing vessels are, it would be a bit “ripe” with all the fish remains and blood that would be lying around.

We do not have to be perfect or cleansed or especially holy for Jesus to be able to use us. Just available.

Can Jesus use your boat is a sermon idea by Todd Pekel; workerstogetherwithhim.org

We ask ourselves the question - Are we available vessels to be used for God’s Kingdom?

We scribed prayers on paper for those who have no fresh water and those who are working towards providing fresh water supplies, those suffering because of the floods in Pakistan and those bringing relief, those in need because of the blockade in Gaza and those who try to bring them relief, particularly remembering those who try to break the blockade in boats.

We prayed for those we know who are in need. Praying that we might be available to bring the peace, hope, joy and the faith of the kingdom to them.

The prayer we had written were turned into origami boats, these we had intended to float away along the river, but then we thought of the impact on the environment. So our prayer boats were placed on the virtual river in the bandstand.

We watched a clip form a Tearfund DVD and prayed for them
all, along lines requested by them, using incense as a symbol of our prayers
disseminating through the air to them…

It was wonderful to be reminded that the Kingdom of God is
at work and inspiring to us to be making sure we’re playing our part in it too.

It felt good to be outward looking and to know that our
small group in the Bandstand can stand alongside others in God’s family however
far away.