Note: Memo to self - re-write will before next flying with the RAF

Unperterbed by the two and a half hour delay made in order to accomodate the 'late arrival of priority passengers' we were finally on our way to the aircraft. Past the leased 757, past the row of Lockheed Tristars, down to the group of even more aged VC 10's. A brief wait in the coach. Then the Flight Lieutenant who was the Captain came to address us. We've only got one serviceable aircraft and that's not working though we're trying to fix it. Clearly they're not called VC's for nothing, for at that precise moment my courage started to falter.

Eventually we were ushered on board to be greeted by a standard of décor and levels of wear and tear that would have made Jim Royle proud.

And then the the coup de grace - we were going backwards! An optical illusion caused by the fuel tanker moving away? A slight re-positioning of the plane? No, the seats in VC 10's all face away from the cockpit. Hence the most bizarre take off ever from my perspective. It was enough to make even Aeroflot jealous.

Finally, and of no real importance, the ethics of seating meant that I was morally obliged to take a middle seat directly behind a child whose own seat was fully reclined. I'm not sure then which is the most likely to finish me - the 40 year old plane or DVT?!

Things can only get better.

Footnote: I am reliably informed that all RAF aircraft fly backwards for safety reasons. Maybe we should try it in church? Also all credit to the aircrew as both landings were inch perfect, in other words, no touchdown was felt.

Losing the will to live... thanks to BT

You'd have thought setting up a new phone line and broadband would be simple in this day and age - it isn't. Leaving aside the multiple question quiz you need to complete every time you ring anyone these days - especially BT - and the 'who knows where call centre' which you are eventually put through to, check this out...

In order to save the church money, I decided to migrate my Sky TV and add broadband and phone for a modest amount, leaving my Virgin phone and broadband which can't be split to service the church. Sky said, 'no problem', that only left BT to install the line which Sky utiltise to provide their service.

However, several days after placing the order on line, BT hadn't replied so I rang. May minutes went by and eventually obtained a reasonable date for installation. Then I asked the fatal question: 'How long between the line going in the the broadband being switched on?' Answer from Sky - ten working days! 'Too long', I said, and reluctantly decided to go to BT for the broadband who presumably could activate it straight away as I was now going direct. But no. Time required five working days! It was like being back pre-nationalisation.

So in the end back to Virgin who did the job on time and very well at that. Except they messed up the phones, but that's another story....

Mark 1.38 - a Procrustean bed?

Mark 1.38 A Procrustean bed?
Jesus replied, "Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.

No Christian can doubt the importance of the spoken word, for the prophetic is central to the bible story, not least the ministry of Jesus Christ. However, in my opinion, it has become routine to focus on the spoken to the exclusion of the enacted word when, in truth, both are equally important. In this regard Mark 1.38 - the lectionary reading for Sunday 8 February - has become something of a proof text.

In the days when I attended Proclamation Trust Conferences - and I have to say they were a great blessing to me - it was axiomatic that Jesus' ministry was primarily one of preaching and in this verse lay the summary evidence. However, this case can only be made by ignoring the context, both before and after. Immediately before, Jesus' heals Simon's mother-in-law, plus many sick. Immediately after, he drives out demons and heals a leper.

29 As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. 30 Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they immediately told Jesus about her. 31 So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them. 32 That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. 33 The whole town gathered at the door, 34 and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons....
39 So he travelled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons. 40 A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean." 41 Jesus was indignant. He reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" 42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.

All of which suggests that Jesus came both to announce the in breaking of the Kingdom of God and to realise its arrival through his actions.

Similarly, Christians are called to share in both the ministry of Christ the Prophet - by declaring the Word of God - Christ the priest - by mediating God's healing and forgiveness - and Christ the King - by sharing his just and good rule over the world that is his.

What God has united - that is word and deed - let no man put asunder, to paraphrase Jesus' words on another occasion.

I will have more to say about this in a later post. Meanwhile reflect on what it means to share the Good News in today's world by viewing the beautiful video below taken from the website of Trinity Grace Church in NYC.

Church meets Crossroads with goody bags thrown in....

Apologies to those of you who don't remember Crossroads, a Seventies ITV soap set in a hotel (and commiserations to those who do!) This Sunday I attended an NFI - New Frontiers International - church called Hope which currently meets in the Marriott Victoria and Albert Hotel on Water Street, Salford (just up from Granada Studios for those who know the area)

Hope Church should have been very different from St Cuthbert's given that NFI are a relatively new grouping established by Terry Virgo approximately forty years ago and are independent, charismatic and very much engaged at home and abroad in planting new churches. And differences there were - louder, more contemporary music; no liturgy; little formality; no intercessions or bible reading; very groovy Powerpoints with psychedelic video backgrounds etc etc. They also gave visitors 'goody bags' Mine contained a Why Jesus? booklet, a pen, a leaflet about home groups, a welcome registration form and a box of Maltesers!

However, what stood out most were the similarities - the committed core doing most of the work; the taping off of seats at the back to encourage people to sit forward; the ladies making tea and coffee or trying to because someone had forgotten the milk; the bookstall filled with the likes of authors such as Chris Wright, Nicky Gumbel and John Piper; the kids play fighting in the foyer afterwards; individual members struggling with the adversity of life, to judge by the comments of the lady behind me which interspersed the service etc etc. Seems like church, under the surface, looks much the same everywhere.

Other things worth commenting, I believe, are, firstly, negatively, the music which was very similar to that at the church I visited at the end of January, that is lyrics all about Jesus and me and nothing about anyone or anything outside of that cosy relationship. We MUST do better than this both for our sakes, God's sake and those outside the church.

Secondly, then, positively, here was a group of Christians numbering approximately 130 in total with many of them students who had an annual budget of c. £130K which supported a pastor, youth pastor, administrator and several outreach and anti-poverty projects in addition to which they were looking for special monies of, I think, around £2000 a month to facilitate amongst other things their monthly outsiders event usually held in a hotel or similar. No wonder NFI is growing and prospering.

Thank God for licensed lay ministers

During the last couple of days I have had the privilege of receiving the ministry of two Church of England Readers - soon to be know as 'licensed lay ministers' for reasons best known to someone somewhere at Church High Command.

Firstly, Geoff ?????? at St Mary's, Stockport, who both led the service and preached in the absence of the Rector, Roger Scoones. As reported previously, the prayers were thoughtful and engaging as was the sermon (it was actually two sermons 'sort of' joined in the middle, though I'll overlook that!) What struck home to me the most was when Geoff translated the concept of 'being all things to all people' from 1 Corinthians 9 into his working world which is that of an educational editor. How important, he said, that GCSE study guides should be in '16 speak' and not some more remote and verbose form. Likewise with the Christian Gospel.

Secondly, Malcolm Winton at my own church, St Cuthbert's, who spoke at the funeral of church member George Pullain on Monday. The eulogy was informed, witty and touching, though the highlight for me besides a personal knowledge of the deceased and the evident time spent with the family in preparation, was the keen awareness of local geography and otherwise. As with Geoff's sermon, this 'earthed' things beautifully. The sermon, from Philippians 3, was also perfectly tailored to the occasion, sympathetic and yet challenging.

Where would be without such men (and women)?

a load of (snow) balls

Thank goodness I'm an adult because that way I can have fun and do things like take part in Tough Guy and go skiing. Meanwhile my kids - the ones who really should be having fun - after all, that is, or perhaps better that was, an important part of childhood on my understanding - are not allowed to throw snowballs at school or run when its slippery. Where and when did education turn down this blind and boring alley?

Glad to say that at the St Cuthbert's Old School Nursery the kids were taken out to try a sledge, to play and to learn to appreciate the wonderful world God has made.

Footnote - I did manage to take Lizzie and Joe sledging to Pott Shriggley on Sunday as per the video footage

Of such is the Kingdom...

I visited St Mary's, Stockport today. No service information was available on their website so took a flyer and arrived on time at 10.30.

St Mary's is a huge cathedral like building situated next to the marketplace in the centre of Stockport. It joins several other historic churches in vying for what must be a pretty small slice of population given that people have generally moved out of the town centre.

The congregation was, shall we say, modest and, in the main, of riper years. Likewise the interior was, similarly, showing its age though, to be fair, some ongoing work was evident on the ceiling following the external refurbishment of the tower recently completed.

What the congregation lacked in numbers, however, it made up for in variety and resolve. Surely a group like this should be putting themselves first? Wrong, right at the start of the service they spent a good ten minutes thinking about the work of the Leprosy Mission and later took an extra collection - give 10p or £10 simply what you can.

Surely a group like this would not have the energy to think about mission? Wrong, mission formed the centre piece of both the sermon and the prayers, the latter including the following by John Henry Newman:

Lord, help me to spread thy fragrance everywhere I go.
Let me preach thee without preaching,
not by my words, but by my example,
by the catching force,
the sympathetic influence of what I do,
the evident fullness of the love
my heart bears to thee. Amen.

The singing was hearty and the fellowship after the service was good. All this in spite of the absence of the Rector, Roger Scoones, who was off skiing (what is it about clergy and skiing?!)

As I stated in the title, of such is the Kingdom of God

Battered, bruised, but not broken (I think)

The Regimental Skiing Trip was a whole new experience and one I'm probably unlikely to repeat. It also confirmed my wife's prophetic powers, 'He'll never ski!'

Actually, I came close to proving her wrong for, after two days of remedial tuition as I had arrived later than the main group because of Tough Guy, I was actually progressing pretty well even as far as 'red' graded slopes. The picture shows a section I skiied down several times without too great an incident though, admittedly, not a great deal of control.

However, at the end of the third things reached a level beyond which I didn't progress. For one thing, besides the many falls that didn't hurt much, I took one that did - on my shoulder coming off a drag lift. For some days afterwards when I ran I looked like a cross between Max Wall = stiff back because of bruising from general falland Napoleon Bonaparte = immobile arm due to injured shoulder!

For another, I was increasingly conscious of the fact that every year at least one person seemed to incur an injury - usually a damaged cruciate ligament which requires an operation and a long period of re-habilitation - and I did not want that person to be me.

Finally, the last two days skiing were on mountain routes - the Felhorn and Nebelhorn - and that added a whole new dimension. Steer wrong here and you're into the safety netting or worse. Suddenly rock climb climbing with its fixed anchor points and safety lines seemed a whole lot safer than hurtling down a hillside on two anti-gravity machines, though I suppose for seasoned skiiers that is the appeal.

In conclusion, a good week especially in terms of getting to know members of the Regiment better, wonderful scenery, a definite physical challenge and that realisation that, perhaps, I'm getting a bit old for some things.

Soooooooooooo cold

Sunday January 32nd it was entitled, Tough Guy 2009, the Year of the Gorilla. 5000 competitors, some wearing as little as a Borat mankini, gathered to the sound of a Scottish pipe band, to do battle with a 5 mile cross country run complete with The Brasher-Disley Steeplechase, the Bracken Maze Torture and Slalom - a fierce and sustained up and down a wooded hillside - followed by The Killing Fields a twenty three obstacle assault course with pleasures such as the Somme Surprise, The
Behemoth, Vietcong Tunnels, the Brandenburg Wall, the Death Plunge and the Water Tunnel.

I'd completed the summer variant which was hard, but not desperate, but in order to prove my manliness to someone - I'm not sure who - here I was again.

The course itself proved relatively easy, especially as I'd worked out last time the most efficient way to drag my somewhat aged and at best rather ungainly bones over, under, around and through the various obstacles. The real problem was the perishing cold - the air temperature was zero at best WITHOUT windchill - and, furthermore,large sections of water that had to be waded through, on occasions at neck height and at one point above head height! I myuldn't feel my feet for the last forty five minutes or so. Crazy, but I made it.

A quick, tepid shower, then on my way to Stansted for a flight to Germany to ski with the Army....