42 The law we need

2010-02-06T18:37:53+00:00

We need "Strict Liability" in the UK. This youtube clip explains it:

Hat tip: Copenhagenize.com - The Copenhagen Bike Culture Blog: Strict Liability.

My wife ...

2010-02-06T11:31:53+00:00

Two wildly contrasting posts last night have got me thinking:

First, Jack a friend from her own blog and around here, has a guest blogger spot and came up with: The CBE Scroll » Thank you, but what else? It is a great piece that needs to be read in full.

Second, Adrian Warnock has been writing about a current trip to the US, his latest post includes plenty of praise for his wife see St Joseph, Jeff Gates and Micah Fries.

There is an interesting connection as both use Proverbs 31 to make entirely opposite points :-)

Adrian to continue to push his agenda for wives who exist only to support their husbands in "a submissive and honoring way". He uses a selective quote from Proverbs 31 which ignores all the independent and managing roles the wife has.
Jack is making points about how women are introduced as "lovely" and uses Proverbs 31:30 to point out that "beauty is fleeting".

On the other hand the connection is broken and they stand in contrast as Jack writes

I’m sorry to say, I’m not sure that the Church is doing much better on this matter [ed: that women are invariably introduced with a reference to their beauty]. In my eighteen years as a Christian, I can’t tell you how often I’ve heard male pastors, speakers and missionaries reference their “beautiful/lovely/gorgeous” wives, often with nary a word as to what else it is that they love about their wives.

So Adrian gets going straight away in his first paragraph with his first mention of a wife:

who with his lovely wife Peggy

I am reminded of a post I wrote 3.5 years ago 42: Captivating Women. In that I wrote about my wife, Jane:

Instead I was (and still am) delighted to have fallen in love with a woman who is characterised by intelligence, creativity, organisation, humour and musical ability.

I don't think I was very fair at the time as there are many other qualities that characterise Jane and that together make the woman I love as my life long partner.

However, and you knew this was coming, there is a but. Adrian writes:

Single men if you think you may have God’s hand on you make sure you marry such a godly woman who will help you achieve everything God has for you. Quite frankly, such a wife will be more important than anyone else in helping to shape you, all the time doing so in a submissive and honoring way. Beware, however, that as much as a good woman can make you, the wrong kind of woman can completely ruin you for any significant work for God. The women I have met here, including of course Jeff’s wife, have all impressed me with their commitment to the cause, their warmth, and their loving support for their husbands. Anyone who claims that the women in our churches are somehow not valued and not given room to serve their Lord has not spoken to some of the incredible women we have in our family of churches, fully caught up in God’s mission and playing very significant roles.

I get the feeling that the comment "Anyone who claims that the women in our churches are somehow not valued and not given room to serve their Lord" might be aimed at me (as well as every other egalitarian in the world). Great, bring it on.

Adrian's claim that it is only people who have not spoken to the incredible women in their family of churches that believe they are not valued and not given room to serve their Lord would be far more convincing if

I was not concerned that when he refers to "their Lord" he means their husband who in "a submissive and honoring way" these wives are helping to shape so that HE can achieve all that God has for him.
Adrian could bring himself to actually mention some of these roles in which women are being valued and given room to serve their Lord (hopefully their eternal, loving Lord Jesus). In Adrian's post all we see women praised for is their submissiveness, their beauty, the way they complement their husbands, their commitment [ed: I don't deny that it must take a lot of commitment to give up on all that God created you to be and still calls you to be in order to be submissive to your husband], their loving support of their husbands etc
We also saw something of the role of single women. Adrian says these submissive wives have roles in the Church (although as I have said he never mentions what the roles are) but there is never any mention of single women and their important roles.

Adrian, your post shows nothing of any progress at all in really honouring women, it shows so little of the spirit of Proverbs 31 where we see a powerful woman independently managing a large household, essentially a business enterprise and being praised for it. Sadly the post continues the subjugation of women that is a consistent sign of the complementarian viewpoint.

Open editing of the Official Methodist Consultation Social Media Guidelines version 1

2010-02-04T22:35:46+00:00

Version 1 of the Official draft copy of the Methodist Social Media Guidelines is now available as a read-only document.

The open edit version has been updated to match the official version and is again open for editing.

All contributions made to the unofficial version will be passed to Toby Scott (Communications Director for the Methodist Church). You can contribute in many ways:

Directly edit the document within Google Docs from any web browser. If you me your email address (by commenting here, by email to dave@warnock.me.uk or direct tweet to @dave42w) I will send you an invite allowing you to directly edit the document.
Leave suggestions in the comments below
Tweet suggestions to me @dave42w
Write suggestions on your own blog (please let me know about the blog post anyway you wish, if your blog is in my blogroll I should pick it up anyway)
Email me using dave@warnock.me.uk

Official Methodist Consultation Social Media Guidelines

2010-02-04T19:14:18+00:00

Following 42: Opening Consultation: Social Media Guidelines we now have the official consultation from Toby Scott:

Dear friends

Following the Council’s response to the social media paper we have a brief opportunity to consult widely. To this end, a revised version of the paper is now online at http://docs.google.com/...

Please pass this on – district chairs will be told tomorrow and we’ll get a link up on the Connexional website. For now I am taking responses by email – I look forward to yours. Full notes on how this will work are in the document.

Toby Scott | Director of Communications and Campaigns

The actual document begins:

Consultation – PLEASE READ THIS FIRST

1)                This is a paper for consultation. Comments are invited by email to Toby Scott scottt@methodistchurch.org.uk. The final time for comments is 5pm on Monday March 1, 2010. This does not allow much time so please keep your comments brief.
2)                Updated versions of this paper will be posted each week based on the comments received.
3)                Comments should be as brief as possible, clear as to which part of the document they refer to and focussed on the topic at hand. Responses that contain material not relevant to the matter at hand might not be read in time.
4)                Clarity and focus is better than volume.
5)                Anyone is free to discuss this elsewhere (such as on their own blog) and then to send me a summary of responses, but I cannot read all blog postings on this topic.
6)                I will not have time to respond to all individual emails on this, but I will try to do so if people request a private response. I will certainly not have time to sent individual thanks, so please accept in advance my thanks for every contribution made.
7)                After this consultation, a final version of the this paper will go to the strategic leaders and then the April meeting of the Council and then, if accepted, to the June meeting of the Conference. The final version will take into account the responses received to this consultation, but also the comments received from the Connexional Leaders Forum and the Council. The actual implementation of rules for Connexional Team staff will be done in conjunction with the Development and Personnel office.

I am committed to continuing the open consultation that I started in 42: Opening Consultation: Social Media Guidelines and Toby has said he is quite happy for blogs (ie no special treatment for 42) to act as hubs collecting comments and passing them through.

So later tonight (I am just out for a Circuit Leadership Team Meeting) I'll update my google document to match version 1 from Toby with the differences that contributors have made so far.

So you have a choice. Pass your comments directly to Toby as he suggests or work them through 42. Here you will see things more quickly and interactively. The comments from here will be submitted to Toby using the timetable he has laid out (they will not be treated differently from comments sent direct). See 42: Opening Consultation: Social Media Guidelines for how to contribute here.

Great City Bikes

2010-02-02T23:14:49+00:00

I have been looking at some new bikes, it is very pleasant when the combination of the weather, lack of infrastructure, a horrible cold and not much time have meant not much riding.

I am going to re-iterate that I firmly believe that we need to see a huge change in the way we encourage and support cycling for transport in the UK. That means a very significant switch in funding and space to dedicated, separate, high quality cycle routes, masses of cycle parking and a full opening up of public transport to bikes. See what I last wrote on this in 42: Winter is when infrastructure really matters. Also see the blog Crap Cycling & Walking in Waltham Forest for loads of examples of really poor infrastructure as well as accounts of appalling driving.

But while we do need a much better infrastructure (and changes in the law) to get sensible amounts of people cycling (we really should be aiming for 50% of ALL journeys which is already achieved by some places in The Netherlands) we can still make it better to cycle now for those of us with the brains to choose a mode of transport that is cheap, fast, healthy, good for the environment and good for the local economy.

So here are two absolutely excellent examples of City Bikes.

1. WorkCycles Fr8 City with Universal Frame.

I have ridden one of these courtesy of BikeFix in London. Lovely ride, very stable, great view, easy to get moving and a wonderful feeling of security and presence in traffic. Not built for speed but built to be dependable transport with incredibly low maintenance. Leave it outside and ride it everyday without wearing special clothes, without carrying tools, without cleaning it, oiling it or adjusting it (at least only once or twice a year). Not only all that but options to carry loads of stuff - up to 3 kids [youngish] and still space for luggage.

If you need a city bike and live in a city or town that is reasonably flattish this really should be on your list.

You can read loads about it on the manufacturers website. I think there are 2 UK suppliers: Bikefix - the bike shop on your desktop and really useful bikes. There are a huge range of options but prices start at around £1,000 which should give you totally hassle free transport for under £100 a year.

2. Cargo bike BULLITT, a fast cargo bike designed by Larry vs Harry, Copenhagen, Denmark.

If you feel that you just can't carry enough on a FR8, or maybe you want a bit more speed and style.Then the Bullitt may be for you. There was an excellent cargo bike review in Velovision magazine issue 36. These are the 21st century version of the traditional Long John cargo bike. The load sits low in front of the rider which makes it easy to load and easy to keep an eye on. However, the Bullitt combines this with light weight, rigidity and high performance components. Although many models are available the Clockwork stands out for me as providing a great balance of performance and low maintenance (hub gears and disc brakes).

Again lots of options available including a box you can carry kids in and a lockable cargo box (I just wish they included a full chain guard to protect the chain from the weather and allow riding in normal clothes without cycle clips). According to the Larry vs Harry website the manufacturer) they have two dealers in the UK: cargobikeboutique.com or Bardsley Cycles, 482 Manchester Road, Heaton Chapel - Stockport 09716-76164 or email hamrag@uwclub.net

They are going to be a bit more expensive than the FR8 but hugely flexible and again should last years and years without problems.

Summary

Notice what these two bikes have in common that is so rare among the bikes sold in the UK.

Hub gears: Essential for low maintenance and reliability (yes you can go single speed or fixed gear if you are an enthusiast but for most people gears are a better solution).
Great load carrying options. if you are going to use a bike for everyday transport then you need to be able to carry a friend, a week's shopping, rubbish to the tip, ...
Mudguards. Not only do they keep you dry and clean but they also protect the bike so it lasts much longer and does not need cleaning.
Solid Stands: Makes a huge difference when loading a bike with shopping or kids.
Designed and built for a long working life.

Opening Consultation: Social Media Guidelines

2010-02-02T18:04:10+00:00

The Methodist Council has asked for an open review of the Social Media Guidelines for the Methodist Connexion (see 42: Social Media and the Methodist Church).

The Council have suggested that a summary be added based on the Civil Service Guidelines. They are:

How the Civil Service Code applies to online participation

Disclose your position as a representative of your department or agency unless there are exceptional circumstances, such as a potential threat to personal security. Never give out personal details like home address and phone numbers.
Always remember that participation online results in your comments being permanently available and open to being republished in other media. Stay within the legal framework and be aware that libel, defamation, copyright and data protection laws apply. This means that you should not disclose information, make commitments or engage in activities on behalf of Government unless you are authorised to do so. This authority may already be delegated or may be explicitly granted depending on your organisation.
Also be aware that this may attract media interest in you as an individual, so proceed with care whether you are participating in an official or a personal capacity. If you have any doubts, take advice from your line manager.

1. Be credible

Be accurate, fair, thorough and transparent.

2. Be consistent

Encourage constructive criticism and deliberation. Be cordial, honest and professional at all times.

3. Be responsive

When you gain insight, share it where appropriate.

4. Be integrated

Wherever possible, align online participation with other offline communications.

5. Be a civil servant

Remember that you are an ambassador for your organisation. Wherever possible, disclose your position as a representative of your department or agency.

Transformation into native Methodist thinking

How do you feel these should be transformed so become native Methodist Guidelines (ie completely in tune with our understanding of God, Christian Faith & Discipleship and our Traditions)?

[Update 2]

I have decided to get the ball rolling with an entirely unofficial process allowing anyone to contribute to an unofficial summary that the Connexional Team will be free to use (or ignore) as they choose.

[End update 2]

I will do my best to ensure that anyone and everyone who wishes can contribute, obviously this has no official status and you should also feel free to provide your thoughts directly to the Connexional Team or in some other way.

I have created a google document for the latest version of everyone's contributions which is automatically published at http://docs.google.com/View?id=dgtrsgks_60dp2s2xc7

My idea is to offer you freedom to contribute to this document in as many ways as possible. Here are some possibilities:

Directly edit the document within Google Docs from any web browser. If you me your email address (by commenting here, by email to dave@warnock.me.uk or direct tweet to @dave42w) I will send you an invite allowing you to directly edit the document.
Leave suggestions in the comments below
Tweet suggestions to me @dave42w
Write suggestions on your own blog (please let me know about the blog post anyway you wish, if your blog is in my blogroll I should pick it up anyway)
Email me using dave@warnock.me.uk

Please note that I am not trying to control this process, you are completely free to ignore my suggestions for ways to contribute and handle things anyway you wish. My hope is to enable and encourage, not control. I will try to merge any suggestions I discover into the google document at http://docs.google.com/View?id=dgtrsgks_60dp2s2xc7 although if you have asked for edit access please feel free to do it yourself.

[Update 1]

I hope it is obvious, but I will state it anyway. All contributions should be compatible with the existing guidelines (see 42: Social Media and the Methodist Church) and with the summary itself as it emerges.

[End Update 1]

[Update 3 on 3/2/10]A first draft with pretty minimalist changes from the Civil Service Code is now in the Google Document at http://docs.google.com/View?id=dgtrsgks_60dp2s2xc7 .[End Update 3]

Social Media and the Methodist Church

2010-02-02T11:23:18+00:00

Pete got in first with postmodernbible: Social Media and the Methodist Council: the result. Here is my take:

The resolutions as officially released by the Methodist Council are:

1. Changes made to the text of the report

Main paper Agenda Page 29 paragraph 7.2.ii delete “after the end of
the meeting”.

Background paper Agenda Page 38 paragraph 9.3 delete “after the end of
the meeting”.

The point of the deletions was so as not to inadvertently prevent
Council members consulting others about Council papers (others than
those designated as confidential) before the meeting. 7.2. iii of the
main paper precludes discussion of the debate or its outcome during
the meeting or until after the official communications are issued.

2. The following resolution was passed:

The Council adopts the guidelines (sc. sections 5 to 10 of the main
paper) for use in the bodies and situations over which it has
jurisdiction, and recommends them to the Conference for adoption in
other parts of the Methodist Church. The Council further invites the
Team to keep these guidelines under open review. The Council also
directs the Team to produce a summary version of them similar to the
Civil Service guidelines.

Note that these relate to the original paper [PDF]MC/10/02 Social Media

Note also that as the information has been officially released members of the Council are permitted to engage with the topic even though Council is not over.

I realise that I have been mocked elsewhere for my understanding of and belief in the process of Methodist Conferring as it happens at the Methodist Council. Despite that I still believe it has significant value and should not be bypassed. However, I also believe in openness and transparency. Let me explain how I reconcile the two and why I believe the resolutions of this Methodist Council take us forward in a positive way.

Before a Methodist Council Meeting all the papers are published on the Methodist Church website for all to read (excluding for obvious reasons those marked Confidential - there are not many of these). Despite rumours to the contrary nobody has mentioned changing this policy.
The first resolution has removed an accidental restriction that stopped Methodist Council Members engaging with these papers on Social Media before the meeting. This was clearly a mistake as Council Members are encouraged to engage with those they represent on the issues that Council deals with. Before this meeting I was struggling with this issue and felt constrained in what I could write about this paper. So I feel this is a significant improvement.
Council heard about the concerns about the paper that have been raised on various blogs and also the way that the process had been perceived by some. There was discussion about various potential responses including sending the paper back for revision. However, Council also heard about some urgent pastoral situations (although confidentiality was properly respected so no details were shared) where it was felt that something was needed from this Council, even if only a starting point.
Council looked at guidelines that other organisations have adopted - specifically the BBC and the Civil Service. The Civil Service guidelines particularly appealed due to their simplicity, clarity and values base. We considered whether to simply adopt the Civil Service guidelines but concluded that a) we did not have time to make the changes needed to adapt them for the Methodist Church (given that it was about 9:30pm when we finished today I accept that) and b) the Civil Service guidelines are supported by longer documents such as the Civil Service Code for when more detail is needed and we would need to put this in place as well to avoid to much variation in interpretation.
So Council came up with the second resolution which contains two changes that I feel are good news

The Connexional Team is tasked with producing a summary version of the guidelines similar to the
Civil Service guidelines. I understand that to mean a simple summary that becomes the main public presentation of the guidelines. As they will be similar to the Civil Service guidelines they should be values based.
"Council further invites the Team to keep these guidelines under open review." I see this as good news in two ways. Firstly, the door is open to present revised Guidelines to the April Council Meeting and therefore there is hope that the Guidelines that actually go to conference will be a revision of what we have now. Secondly, the review is to be open. It is not clear exactly how this will be worked out but I hope that a way will be found to allow all those who wish to take part to do so (although we cannot ignore that time is limited if this is to get to the April Council meeting and thus to Conference this year). Obviously this "open review" is for the whole guidelines including the new summary.

There are still challenges ahead and there are cultural differences between those comfortable living in the world of Social Media and those who are not. However, my hope is that we now have something that is a reasonable compromise.

It gives some guidelines to those who needed something immediately for urgent pastoral issues
It recognises that this is a start and sets a direction for something better
It looks to encourage participation from those who have felt excluded

As for how this all fits into my understanding of conferring which has been (I believe unfairly) characterised as authoritarian and closed to Social Media.

First, I am delighted that the official policy now supports the wide discussion of papers coming to conference and allows all (including Council Members) to express their views (of course views need to be expressed in a way that is compatible with our Christian faith - but why would we accept anything else?)

Second, having explored with others far more experienced that I the concept of conferring as we understand it in the Methodist tradition and particularly as it happens within the Methodist Council I am far more comfortable with some of the restrictions placed upon Council members during meetings. For me that means

we do our best to come properly prepared through reading and consultation
when we are in the meeting we give our full attention
everything stays within the meeting during the meeting. The time for external input and sharing is over
once the decisions are official (currently determined by releases by the Methodist Church Media team) sharing and discussion are permitted with some limits. First, we do not share who said what in the discussion (so that people can feel free to express themselves without fear). Second, we take collective responsibility for the decisions Council makes (I think that means for example that we do not dismiss them or ignore them).

Now I feel I can live with these for the moment (so no tweets or blog posts from me during a council meeting - this being written in the middle of the night after being released by the media team and posted in a coffee break). They do provide a balance between being open and properly performing the governance tasks we were elected to do (which includes a lot related to being the legal trustees of various things, plus being the legal employer for Connexional Team staff).

However, I hope that as we work through the review process we will also be able consider how we can engage with social media during meetings in ways that are healthy from a governance perspective while improving our openness, transparency and immediacy. For example my experiences of blogging and tweeting in meetings is that they greatly increase the care with which I listen, something that is surely to be welcomed.

My prayer is that Council have done enough to respond to peoples fears and that we can move ahead in ways that support the Misio Dei (Mission of God).

Making choices

2010-01-30T15:20:05+00:00

It seems to me that life and particularly Christian discipleship is about choice.

Some choices bring joy to others and build us up, others drag us and all around down.

With that in mind I am delighted with some choices I have seen recently. For example that Methodists from Raunds made the choice to get up at 3am this morning to go and cook breakfast for people who are homeless in London. This morning others in the circuit met to plan future Cafechurch events to reach people in this area with the Good News.

I am also sure that my choice to engage with the future of the Methodist Church through standing for the Methodist Council was the right one for me. While reading the 400 odd pages of reports is time consuming I do believe that making time for reflection and conferring in that way has been a good choice for me. Mind you I am also convinced that for me engaging through social media is also an appropriate choice. See The Kneeler: A place to Confer...?

Sadly other choices abound. During the last few days I have been saddened by some choices Methodists have made online. Choices that have not exhibited grace, choices that have torn down people and have not reflected Christian values.

I am not going to name anyone (and I will simply delete any comments that do so). But come on people this is not good enough, it is not worthy of the Lord we serve, it is not worthy of our faith, it is not how Methodism should be seen by anyone.

Meanwhile, to everyone else: Don't look at us, we are failures, we have not lived by the gospel we preach and we need forgiveness. Instead look to Jesus and encourage us to do the same. Then the gospel reading we have explored recently might be true today as it was 2,000 years ago:

Luke 4:14-21 - Today's New International Version - BibleGateway.com:

Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.

He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

Wow what choices we could make! What a difference they could make to our lives and the lives of people around us.

Snow and Homelessness

2010-01-30T14:38:07+00:00

My sincere apologies. I am afraid we have done it again. You may remember from December that Methodists from Raunds caused the snow (42: Improving the chances of snow).

This morning we went to the Whitechapel Mission again and so it snowed again. I got quite a surprise when I went out to the car at 4am, in fact we had snow on and off all the way to London and even at Whitechapel itself.

I guess we should not be surprised but of course it had a big impact on the number of people who are homeless and wanted a hot breakfast. We had a queue at the hatch from before we started serving food at 8am right through to 10am.

I was chief egg fryer and cooked 120 beautiful eggs. Also while serving we had to cook extra hash browns, extra sausages and extra porridge. Still we judged it very well, if I say so myself, with almost exactly nothing left at the end.

I don't think I have ever seen the canteen so full, there were loads of people having to stand. Very hectic.

We have a big problem in this country and still politicians seem to not care and be doing nothing to improve the situation. The contrast between so many people that have been so marginalised and left in such need and on the other hand the hive of activity and building work around the Olympic park that we drive past on the way home is heartbreaking.

With an election this summer who will try to win my vote with a commitment to properly respond to homelessness.

On slow blogging

2010-01-25T23:36:15+00:00

Just a quick heads up that things are going to be a bit slow around here as in other parts of life they are anything but slow.

Fortunately we are having some holiday at half term. However before that there are 12 weekday evenings (excluding Fridays - my day off). So far I am working 10 of them with the possibility of a meeting to fit in on one of the others.

With several lent courses following half term things won't slow down much.

One reason for the workload is that we have been rather short-staffed and that will continue until at least mid May.

Sadly the impact of that is visible beyond blogging. For one thing I have been trying to shake off a cough for 2 1/2 weeks, thought I had done so but 3 services and a ecumenical lunch on Sunday undid much of the progress and the assembly I took this morning was a bit of a trial voice wise.

Another classic indication of being rather more busy than is ideal is easily measured by either belt holes or the bathroom scales - neither giving encouraging feedback at the moment.

Yet another indication is the frequency of filling cars with fuel and paying for servicing - again not encouraging.

Anyway having written this I thought it would a sensible idea to look at the breakdown of those meetings:

2 evenings Fresh Expressions planning (2 different Fresh Expressions). Important to me as Circuit Fresh Expressions Enabler
2 evenings Circuit Leadership team (unusual to have meetings so close together but required at present)
2 evenings on a retreat for ministers in their 5th year of ministry
2 evenings as Chair of Church Councils (covering for a colleague)
1 evening taking part in a Fresh Expression (the other one meets on a Saturday evening so does not figure in this count).
1 evening at Methodist Council
1 possible meeting as a briefing on a key agenda item for a Church Council

I also have one Saturday at Whitechapel (4am til about 2pm).

Fortunately maybe a bit quieter for Sunday worship with only 2 services each Sunday (but I also have 2 services on the Sunday when we are away on holiday). On the other hand on 2 Sundays both services are in the same Church so no repeats.

Now off to get on with the 400+ A4 pages of reports/briefing papers for Methodist Council next week.

Cafechurch Network training

2010-01-23T23:15:57+00:00

As mentioned in 42: Coffee and other bits we are part of the Cafechurch network and have run two Cafe church events in the Wellingborough Costa Coffee.

Today, I went to a training course Help, I'm leading a cafechurch! - day conference in London at the Costa Coffee 13 New Bridge Street, London EC4V 6AU. Nice location and as helpful staff.

Anyway a helpful day, met some interesting people with useful experience they could share. Will be taking plenty of ideas into our next planning meeting in the coming week.

Changing the World

2010-01-19T13:49:50+00:00

If there is one thing I am passionate about it is this:

The world needs to be changed.

I hope that comes through clearly in the things I write here. I also hope that it is clear that my motivation for this passion is just as clear.

I believe the world needs to be changed because I follow Jesus as my Lord and Saviour.

However, I also believe that many other people who do not have the same motivation also want to see the world changed and have many of the same goals as me. So

I will gladly work with people who have similar goals but do not share my faith in Jesus.

The changes that I want to see include:

Utter destruction of Poverty everywhere
Justice for all people
Peace throughout the world
All people to be valued, welcomed and included
Protection of the planet and its resources for future generations
Building of communities around these goals.

For me as a Christian these changes form part of what I understand as the need to be part of the building of the Kingdom of God and also preparing for the return of Jesus. However, I believe that many others would see these changes as desirable, certainly as worthwhile and maybe even as essential.

Does my life show commitment to changing the world?

I have been reflecting on how my commitment to these changes becomes real. In other words what aspects of my life make concrete contributions to these changes. Alternatively "what do I do?" and "what am I?" so that people can see and experience my commitment to these goals.

As I look at the very public side of myself in the contents of this blog I hope that my commitment can be seen in four main areas

My lifestyle as a disciple of Jesus
My work within the Methodist Church (and wider Christian Community) to encourage change and growth
My support for and contributions to Free Software
My commitment to cycling as transport

In some ways these may appear a mixed bag of general and specific, they may also leave you wondering if they are connected and even how they might support the changes I am committed to.

So I want to explore each of these four areas in a series of posts before then considering more generally how we can change/should the world. While I hope all my thinking is theological I also hope that it is still relevant to those interested in changing the world who do not share my faith perspective.

One of the reasons for this series was a post by a friend (Dave Faulkner) Seth Godin: Without Them « Big Circumstance and the comments that followed. In them I mentioned that I try to bring change in the way Seth Godin suggests and that I refer to it as "being easier to get forgiveness than permission". Dave asked me to expand on what I meant and in particular on the importance of motivation and process in doing this.

However, that is not the only reason. Through reflecting on these issues I also hope to find it helpful for me as a review of where I am and how well my life actually fits with what I believe is important. Therefore this is not fully planned and worked out so diversions and changes should be expected on this journey. Hopefully that taking stock will be of interest and perhaps help to others too.

Please feel free to challenge woolly thinking as we go and for that matter encourage anything good as well :-) Helping me be honest and thorough is good for me and should make this more generally useful as well.

Going back

2010-01-17T23:58:12+00:00

Today was unusual, unique even.

Not the morning service, that was quite normal (annual covenant service at Thrapston with a new person joining the congregation).

But in the afternoon I had been invited to the ecumenical covenant service at the Shared Church in Ringstead. It was great to be part of the congregation for a covenant service (see 5 things I, me, myself,, love about Methodism - part 5) without any reading, leading, preaching or anything else. Plus it was great to see everyone again.

It was special as this is the first time I have been back to a Church where I have been a minister after finishing there. It is an unusual situation as I have not moved, but the Circuit was re-organised in the Summer and so since August I am no longer the Methodist Minister at Ringstead Shared Church. [Actually the pedant in me wants to admit that I did go back for a welcome service for Kevin the new Baptist Minister but that was so soon after leaving that it did not feel like returning].

So I now have some limited experience (well one experience, hence the comment about today being unique) returning to a Church where I have been been a minister and so far in my wide experience it is good :-)

Anyway it got me thinking about another "Going Back" that is coming up soon. On February 14th we are visiting my "home" Church (St Paul's Methodist Church, Crawley) and I am taking the two morning services. That is going to be quite strange as we have only visited once since moving to Raunds four and a half years ago. It was my home Church from 1976 to 2005 with a couple of gaps (University and when we lived in Croydon when first married) and so we have a lot of history there.

I guess I am wondering a bit about how it will feel to us and to the congregations there. Will we all have changed so much that it feels strange? Last time I preached there I was still a student with little experience as a Local Preacher, I wonder if I have changed much. Yet at the same time I have a grand total of one service taken outside the Nene Valley Circuit since my appointment so I am not exactly experienced at this :-). Strange how things change. As a Local Preacher I used to really like going to different circuits to preach. Now as a Minister I love being with the Churches I serve, where I know more of what is happening in people's lives and where I can do more to try to connect Sunday Worship with the whole of the life of the congregations and communities.

H'mm, odd to write that because in many ways it is not what I would have expected of me a few years ago. Maybe I am just getting old. Maybe I used to feel safer doing "hit and run" services whereas now I can handle "hit and stay" :-)

Anyway, better dash now cos someone seems to have gone crazy with my diary for the coming week.

Church of England saves Methodist Covenant Service

2010-01-11T08:14:14+00:00

Yesterday the annual Covenant Service at Raunds Methodist Church was saved by St Peter's Church of England. Seriously, my voice was really giving up with this cold and interrupted by coughing so we only got through the service because Shena (Rector at St Peter's) was leading the service and presiding at Communion. I only had to preach and my voice just about held out for that although I had to get Phil to turn up the volume on the mic far more than normal.

It was great that so many commented afterwards on how good it was to worship together and just how many had come despite the weather.

The service was followed by our monthly lunch at Church, Roast Beef this time. It was a few minutes late for which the preacher got the blame :-)

I confess to being very relieved at not having an evening service so I went to bed. Feeling much better today, enough so I awoke early to listen to the start of Chris Evan's breakfast show on Radio 2. Next stop is to find lots of extra warm clothes for a staff meeting at the circuit office (hopefully followed by coffee in the snug at Beans to thaw out).

Coffee and other bits

2010-01-09T22:12:05+00:00

Just back from our second Cafe Church event, part of the Cafe Church Network, held at the Wellingborough Costa Coffee. Monthly Saturday evenings. Opens at 7pm for 7:30pm start.

Tonight the theme was debt which is highly appropriate for this time of year.

Nice to meet some new people and have a good chat over my favourite coffee (if you must know it is a Massimo, skinny latte with extra shot).

Thanks to Sam and Matt for the live music.

Sadly though my record Christmas (1st Christmas in Raunds where I have not had flu or a bad cold over Christmas) has now come to an end and I now have a horrible cold with bad cough (enough to keep me out of bed all last night). So I struggled a bit during my little bit at Cafe Church.

Fortunately tomorrow we have a joint service with St Peter's (CoE) at Raunds Methodist. They are joining us for our annual covenant service which is great - especially as Shena (the Rector) is going to lead most of the service and preside at Communion so I only have to preach. Mind you on Wednesday Shena had no voice so it may mean we have to be adaptable switching to the one with the stronger voice at random places in the service.

Winter is when infrastructure really matters

2010-01-06T23:30:25+00:00

So we have had a bit of snow and ice in recent days. I really mean a bit, here it has not been very deep but it did get very slippery where it was not cleared and got packed down (most residential roads and nearly all pavements).

So I have not done any cycling. A couple of years ago I fell off when the bike just slipped out from under me. Last year I had a bigger fall when caught out in a few inches on my way to Launde Abbey so I am cautious about going out cycling in icy weather.

There are several problems:

Falling off on ice. Itself not a big deal, the problem is that you will be cycling on the road (we don't have much in the way of cycle facilities here and anyway I don't think any of them are cleared or gritted). When you fall in the road the danger is from cars etc who have not been giving you enough space and who you feel are likely to run over you.
Lack of gritting: It is not a very priority so all the quiet roads where we normally cycle (as there are no cycle facilities) don't get cleared. They soon become sheets of ice as there are just enough cars to pack the snow without clearing tracks then a bit of thawing during the day and freezing at nice and you just get sheet ice. Terrible for cycling
Lack of cycle facilities. As there are no cycle facilities (or they are not cleared of snow and ice) you have to ride in the road. On many roads there will be quite a long period of time where there will be clear tracks where the car wheels go but deep icy snow on the sides. This is very dangerous for cyclists. We have to ride in the tracks but then cars can''t overtake and they get very very impatient very very quickly. Then they either squeeze past using the same tracks or go onto the ice themselves. Both are insanely dangerous for the cyclist..

For any claim to be a nation supporting cycling as a sensible, practical, cheap, efficient, green means of transport we must have a proper infrastructure. That means:

Good cycle routes fully separated from motorized vehicles. In towns and cities and between them as well.
Proper maintenance of cycle facilities (repairs, lighting, routes around roadworks, snow ploughs, gritting, leaf sweeping)
Legal protection. Vulnerable modes of transport (cycling, pedestrians) need to be assured that the law will automatically assign fault to the more powerful modes of transport (cars, buses, vars, lorries etc).

Here are a few blog posts demonstrating how it is possible to keep people cycling in winter:

Britain is falling further and further behind. We are simply not making the basic investments needed to transform our rates of cycling yet it is increasing essential that we do so for our health, our economy, our communities and our environment. Radical action is needed fast

#uksnow is useful

2010-01-06T11:33:41+00:00

Try #uksnow Map 2.0 and add your own snow reports. Actually quite helpful in making a decision about whether to take our son into a General Studies A Level Mock this afternoon.

You can see my measly 1/10 for NN9 :-(

My next phone?

2010-01-05T21:59:54+00:00

Well it might well not happen but it seems like the new Nexus One Phone - Web meets phone from Google would suit me really well as my next phone.

It would be especially great if I could use it on the 3 network that I am currently with. For me having high quality google calendar, gmail and integrated contacts for phone and email would be amazingly useful.

Looks like the best way of avoiding an iPhone (don't like the double monthly cost of the iPhone with less minutes and messages than I get now).

Wrestling with Doctrine

2010-01-05T08:49:48+00:00

Pam concludes her post Wrestling with Doctrine with:

I think the Church and her officers are called to pass on the creeds faithfully from generation to generation. And we are also given the grace to wrestle with our own doubts and interpretations and we are asked to be gracious unto others as they wrestle.

The argument seems a good one to me and worth reflecting on

42: 5 things I, me, myself,, love about Methodism - part 5

2010-01-04T18:46:55+00:00

Ok the final part of my own top 5 loves about Methodism. The other parts are 42: 5 things I, me, myself,, love about Methodism - part 1, 42: 5 things I, me, myself,, love about Methodism - part 2, 42: 5 things I, me, myself,, love about Methodism - part 3 and 42: 5 things I, me, myself,, love about Methodism - part 4.

They were

"Meeting the Living God"
"Theology"
"Commitment to Equality and Diversity (or Inclusion)"
Methodist Ministry

Now we have

5. The Methodist Covenant Service

I wanted to include something distinctive about Methodist Worship and especially at this time of year our covenant service really stands out for me. It is especially wonderful as I get to lead it five times (and attend another as a member of the congregation). By the end I am really starting to get to grips with what it means for me. Along with a few other items in the year (retreats, Greenbelt, some small groups etc) it is one of the things that really lifts me and sustains me in my ministry.

For me this year some posts by my friend Pam have really helped challenge me on what the covenant means see Holy Communion and Pushing on Closed Doors particularly this quote:

I'm reminded of the part of John Wesley's covenant prayer where we pray "let me be employed for you or laid aside for you" and I always secretly thought "thank you that I am employed for you, and - truth be told - I don't really want to be laid aside for you, thank you very much." And then another part of me wonders what John Wesley himself was thinking when he said these words. His life story is not exactly one of allowing himself to be laid aside!

I don't think that this prayer necessarily implies passivity. I don't think it implies giving up on pushing doors. For me, I think it implies the need to find new doors to push and it also implies being patient whilst going through the process of finding new doors and pushing on them. There is also comfort in these difficult words, because other people throughout the centuries have prayed them in far more difficult circumstances than I'm in.

I don't want to include the Covenant Prayer here, though it is wonderful, as if that were all the Covenant service is. For me the whole package (hymns/songs, prayers, scripture readings, sermon, covenant prayer, Holy Communion) is needed and essential and it is the full combination that makes the service.

Anyway there is the 5th thing I love about Methodism, as I said at the beginning there are many many more and I advise looking at the Methodist archive section of 42 to find more of them.

PS also see Eternal Echoes: Body Language.