Author Archives: Richard Passmore

At last

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The Governments Green paper on Youth has finally been published and a link to the summary can be found here.

This year also sees the launch of The Frontier Lecture at Greenbelt where Bob and Annette Holman will be reflecting on long term Christan community based mission and youth work and compare this to current government policy including the new green paper.

The Frontier Lecture aims:
To provide a focused well thought out, original, insightful talk around the issues of social justice, and frontier theology. A prophetic call towards a community of Shalom.

Objectives
1. To provide fresh insight on the interaction of faith and justice.
2. To highlight policy and practice within the Christian community and government, that does not promote Shalom.
3. To broaden the variety of people able to hear the message by holding an Annual Lecture at different Christian events, e.g. Greenbelt, Spring Harvest, Youthwork.
4. Raise the profile of FYT’s contribution to issues of social justice with young people and communities.

Communion 2

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In response to Nikki’s questions I am not sure. Having a conversation recently reinforced the issue that the gospels were recorded after many of the letters. I was discussing inclusive communion and how Jesus included Judas in the meal even though he was about to betray him. Does this give us evidence that we can make communion inclusive? One response suggested was that as Judas subsequently hanged himself, that this was a result of taking communion in an unworthy manner. However this sits very uneasily as Jesus himself then set Judas up and the unworthy manner bit was not mentioned in the gospels but in letters. So I still think there could be a case for inclusive communion (perhaps the agape meal that Nikki distinguishes) but I struggle with these kind of semantics and denying people a communion regardless of where we think they are as it may give glimpse of God.

Communion

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The question was asked today why do we celebrate communion? My immediate thought was because at the time, having some sort sacred meal was very culturally relevant and a good way of connecting this “new” religion with the diverse religious communities around, particularly as the passage we were looking at the time was from Corinthians (a cosmopolitan city with a variety of temples and religions). Whilst all the gospels talk about the last supper, only Luke records that Jesus tells the disciples “to do this in remembrance of Him”. I wonder how much the early church read into these words (at the expense of the other gospels) to institute a communion meal that would help people connect and how much we have now read into it to see it as instituted by Jesus rather than by Paul and the disciples. This is not to say it is wrong to have communion or that Luke was not accurate, but maybe its time for a rethink about what we mean by communion and how we find ways that connect with the people today in the same way a sacred meal would have 2000 years ago.

The Clique film

Locating shame

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One of the things the prisoners window got me thinking about was where we locate feelings. In psychology in discussions around consciousness there is the homunculus which describes the notion of feeling detached from consciousness and the part of the brain that allows you recognise processes (not very well explained sorry) but I always think about it like the numb skulls the men from the comic that control the person except that we are aware of them. I have been thinking about whether we internalise feelings as much in a more post modern mindset or we have a certain level of detached awareness as everything become more relative. I was discussing this the other day as whether guilt was a more internalised concept and therefore an inappropriate concept when discussing the gospel with people or evangelising because it is kept at a distance in more postmodern thinking patterns. Whereas shame is felt because of its external factor (ie felt and driven in relation to others rather than self) it is more processed and gets through the relativism that is around. I am not advocating the use of shame and guilt in evangelism but think out loud.

Cathedral

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Had a great weekend away in Salisbury. The cathedral is great and has some great works of art, the coolest font and a great sculpture outside both by the same bloke. But the windows were fantastic especially the main window which was in memory of prisoners of conscience. Which set my mind and heart racing particularly as we were there the same day as the Live8 concert. It was also where the BBC did a Christmas drama thing with Timothy Spall as teacher taking a class away. A great drama tackling a load of issues. Sitting in the place I kept thinking what a great resource this place could be. I have always been quite critical of big old buildings, all that money for upkeep when you could sell it off for flats, but I reckon with a few risks you could do some really good stuff linking the building, drama and young people together around multifaith, spirituality and a host of other issues.

An inclusive bike ride

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June continues to be mad, however one project we now have underway is the FYT virtual Cycle ride who I work for. FYT have a strong history of working with young people on the edge, and working to include them in the church and kingdom. As such we wanted to do an event that everyone could be involved in, regardless of age or ability. So we have come up with a wacky concept that is all inclusive and are looking for people to join in this slightly twisted idea of the old favourite – a sponsored bike ride. Go here Once Bitten dvd for more details. If you want to sponsor me, or become a virtual cyclist please let me know via the blog. I would love to set a target of getting 50 virtual cyclists via the blog. FYT never really push themselves PR wise, for example few people would know that in the last year we have had contact with over 7000 people doing direct youth work, and 2000 youth work management. With the size of our team, to say we were punching above our weight would be an understatement. So please get behind this thing, and sign up and start linking. Thanks

Hearing from my Inward self

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Apologies for the sporadic blogging, June is a mad month for work. It seems that everyone is trying to cram stuff in before the summer. I hate it when I get too busy especially if it means being late.

Yesterday I met an interesting guy from New Zealand a church leader looking at emerging church and stuff as part of a sabbatical. I am finding more and more leaders open to new stuff which is SO encouraging. Less people shouting heretic and more people open change has to be a good thing in my mind. On another matter, one reason for my busyness is that I am sorting a fund raising event for FYT- The Virtual Cycle Ride. I don’t want to spoil the surprise but it will something that everyone can join in, whether your 8 or 80.

FYT have some great projects in the offing, which is great but I must remind myself of the need for balance. So for all you other activists out there, with a mad June or July approaching, here is a word of warning from Henry Thoreau.

“when our life ceases to be inward and private, conversation degenerates into mere gossip. We rarely meet a man who can tell us any news which he has not read in a newspaper or been told by a neighbour; and for the most part the only difference between us and our fellow is that he has seen the newspaper or been out to tea and we have not. In proportion as our inward life fails we go more constantly and desperately to the post office. You may depend on it that the poor fellow who walks away with the greatest number of letters proud of his extensive correspondence has not heard from himself in a long while.”

The Foot Fist Way psp

Mission and Emerging church

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I have a growing unease about much of the emerging scene. It is one of those nagging but growing feelings. I like the co-operation and much of the generosity both in terms of theology and ideas but the growing shape and organisation seems to be turning quite product focused. I think the initial questions of what is church and mission in contemporary culture has been replaced with how do we worship in ways that reflect our culture, perhaps with the assumption that this will answer the mission question. In an earlier post I likened the emerging church to a bonsai tree that was top heavy. I wonder if the way the current conversations around are adding to this. There was a good post on simple church a while ago that I agree not to organise check out the comment. The unease is growing and I think we may miss the mission along the way.

Hopeful with Aslan

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I love the summer. I know feeling are very subjective, and quite in contrast to Marks last post on science. Summer makes me feel good. Summer reminds me of great residentials with young people, detached work when it is too hot to play football so you sit in the sun and talk, days out with young people who have never seen the sea, and chilling out with them as friends.

I love the evocative feeling that CS Lewis writes about Aslans recovery and his joy at rising again, but what is even better is how Aslan includes the children in the joy and journey ahead.

‘Oh, children,’ said the Lion, ‘ I feel my strength coming back to me. Oh, children, catch me if you can!’ He stood for a second, his eyes very bright his limbs quivering, lashing himself with his tail. Then he mad a leap high over their heads and landed on the other side of the Table. Laughing, though she didn’t know why, Lucy scrambled over it to reach him. Aslan leaped again. A mad chase began. Round and round the hill-top he led them, now hopelessly out of their reach, now letting them almost catch his tail, now diving between them, now tossing them in the air with his huge and beautifully velveted paws an d catching them again, and now stopping unexpectedly so that all three of them rolled over together in a happy laughing heap of fur and arms and legs. It was such a romp as no one has ever had except in Narnia; and whether it was more like playing with a thunderstorm or playing with a kitten Lucy could never make up her mind. And the funny thing was that when all three finally lay together panting in the sun the girls no longer felt in the least tired or hungry or thirsty.

‘And now,’ said Aslan presently, ‘to business. I feel I am going to roar. You had better put your fingers in your ears.’

And they did. And Aslan stood up and when he opened his mouth to roar his face became so terrible that they did no dare to look at it. And they saw all the trees in front of him bend before the blast of his roaring as grass bends in a meadow before the wind. Then he said,

‘We have a long journey to go. You must ride on me.’

What Doesn’t Kill You dvdrip