http://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/en-EUMokoFeed10http://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/http://data5.blog.de/design/preview/d5/8d5531e5d1b63298b6608c9e239650_160x200.jpghttp://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/12/17/another_christmas~1449965/tag:neilsthildas.blog.co.uk,2006-12-17:/2006/12/17/another_christmas~1449965/Sun, 17 Dec 2006 21:13:27 +0100 <p>So now the Christ has to come out of Christmas in order to keep everyone happy. One could put it another way. Those of us who call ourselves Christians have been asking for Christ to be put back in the modern Christmas. One need only look around to see that Christ is no longer in Christmas! I am not sure if he would want a great deal to do with the events we call Christmas.</p> <p>Candles at our carol service are now a safety risk and must not be used.<br> Have you ever seen a child on fire from the lighted candle at a carol service?</p> <p>However, I have seen many children and adults living in darkness because their lives lack the light of the risen Christ.The carol service can be the point where people come to an awarenss of something other than themselves. Candles help in so many ways. </p> <p>Answer...put the Christ back in Christmas. Our carol service should be about good news of Jesus and not accountable to the political correctness. After all most children are damaged not by candles but by the greed and selfishness of our prevailing culture. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/12/17/another_christmas~1449965/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>carol-servicepolitical-christmascandleshttp://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/12/17/another_christmas~1449965/#commentshttp://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/12/17/another_christmas~1449962/tag:neilsthildas.blog.co.uk,2006-12-17:/2006/12/17/another_christmas~1449962/Sun, 17 Dec 2006 21:12:56 +0100 <p>So now the Christ has to come out of Christmas in order to keep everyone happy. One could put it another way. Those of us who call ourselves Christians have been asking for Christ to be put back in the modern Christmas. One need only look around to see that Christ is no longer in Christmas! I am not sure if he would want a great deal to do with the events we call Christmas.</p> <p>Candles at our carol service are now a safety risk and must not be used.<br> Have you ever seen a child on fire from the lighted candle at a carol service?</p> <p>However, I have seen many children and adults living in darkness because their lives lack the light of the risen Christ.The carol service can be the point where people come to an awarenss of something other than themselves. Candles help in so many ways. </p> <p>Answer...put the Christ back in Christmas. Our carol service should be about good news of Jesus and not accountable to the political correctness. After all most children are damaged not by candles but by the greed and selfishness of our prevailing culture. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/12/17/another_christmas~1449962/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>carol-servicecandlespolitical-christmashttp://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/12/17/another_christmas~1449962/#commentshttp://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/12/13/christmas~1435013/tag:neilsthildas.blog.co.uk,2006-12-13:/2006/12/13/christmas~1435013/Wed, 13 Dec 2006 21:31:44 +0100 <p>Long time no blog. I do not know how all these bloggers find the time to sit down and write. Maybe they do nothave the luxurious life of meetings, parents nights, marking and preparing lessons not to mention the annual carol service and the odd (I mean odd) sermon. Add to that research and there is little time for a blog or two.</p> <p>Sit down iwth a coffee and the dreaded weed to write some meaningless trivia which no right minded person will ever read.<br> So the silly season is now in full swing. A covenant group presented their case to the Archbishop. Now what is that all about?<br> Do they wish to split the seamless robe of Our Lord or stand in the way of natural progress? Who knows? More importantly who cares? The little old ladies of St T's only care if they play the well known hymns too fast!<br> I do not care if my parish priest is gay or straight, black or white or anything in between. All of us have fallen short of the glory of God. It is high time some of these clergy took a look around them and saw that we are in a nose dive from which we can't pull out by returning to their version of Biblical truth. IT IS THE TRUTH WHICH SETS PEOPLE FREE AND NOT ANOTHER GROUP OF SELF APPOINTED PROPHETS.<br> Get out and preach the GOOD NEWS!!!!!<br> Celebrate the Eucharist and preach the word which keeps people like me going through our long and difficult working week. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/12/13/christmas~1435013/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>covenantchristmassilly-seasonchurchhttp://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/12/13/christmas~1435013/#commentshttp://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/11/04/remembrance_season~1294905/tag:neilsthildas.blog.co.uk,2006-11-04:/2006/11/04/remembrance_season~1294905/Sat, 04 Nov 2006 15:14:44 +0100 <p>To remember is to be human: we acknowledge in gratitude and regret our common and sometimes flawed past and then use that knowledge of the past to inform our present and future. In remembering we may find that we have difficult choices to make when we live in the present and prepare for a future.</p> <p>The historian and theologian Owen Chadwick, writing in the journal History in 1976 put forward the idea that he expected the observance of Remembrance Day to die out. In his article he writes that in the 1930’s young people misbehaved during the services in several places including Cambridge where undergraduates disrupted the university service. In defence of these youngster’s actions, it was said that unlike their parents who had been involved in the Great War, they had not experienced the horror of war. Little did they know that they were the very generation who would, in 1939 face another world conflict. </p> <p>Only a handful of World War One veterans remain, even those who were in their teens in World War Two are now well into their seventies and eighties. Yet, many people still make a conscious choice to remember. Since the end of World War Two there have been other wars and conflicts, more casualties and more dead to remember. Since the end of World War Two there has only been one year when a British serviceman or woman has not been killed in conflict. There are a significant number of people who make the choice to gather around memorials up and down our country and anchor themselves in the past events which have shaped our current situation. The news broadcast into our homes every day remind us that conflicts where members of our armed forces are being killed or injured are never far away. Since the last Remembrance Sunday services of last year have ended more women have become widows, more children have lost fathers and more friends have had their lives prematurely ended as a result of conflict. As the current conflicts continue it is sobering to think that there will probably be people gathered around memorials today who may well be mourning family and friends next Remembrance Sunday. </p> <p>Sometimes it is not easy to make our past relevant and meaningful in an age when we are encouraged to be politically correct, multi faith and multi cultural. In remembering our past we may offend our former enemies and dig up the wounds of past conflicts. There is a tension between remembering and digging up things which may be better left in the past. The past is another country- they do things differently there. That saying is very true. We can’t look at the past through our 21st century eyes and with the benefit of our hindsight. We hear a call for a pardon for the men executed during World War One, a noble call it may be when we look at the situation from the relative comfort of the 21st century. However, we seem to forget that as brutal and as horrid as it was, execution was how the army responded to acts of what they termed cowardice. We can’t go back, we can however learn from our past mistakes. Like my old metalwork teacher said- “The person who never made a mistake never made anything”. Sometimes we can only learn and move on, ensuring that we never make the same mistake again. It is with some regret that the words of William the Silent ring true- “History repeats itself, it has to because no one listens.”</p> <p>Remembering the past means that we have to grapple with difficulties, with our deepest convictions and with complex ideas. Do we support our country’s intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan? We meet today in difficult times, killing continues in these places and our service men and women face danger every day. The numbers of those dead and injured continue to rise and there seems little end to both these conflicts. I recall well attending a remembrance service in 2001, just after the attacks of September 11th and the invasion of Afghanistan. In a small church in the town of North Berwick the local British Legion were appalled by the sermon in which the preacher condemned the action of our government. As time has moved on I wonder if that preacher would get the same response today when senior British Army officers voice similar opinions about the war. Do we remain silent, supporting the action of our Government or do we exercise the freedom that was won for us by so many we are remembering today and oppose the government. The freedom we have and enjoy carries with it a responsibility to make choices and voice our opinion without fear of oppression. That choice is your choice and yours alone, the sermon on Remembrance Day is not a place for either the glorification of war or the condemnation of the actions of our democratically elected government. </p> <p>Remembrance is a common link between religion and our society which so many experts now claim is secular. For those of us who claim to have a religion, the act of remembrance is central to our worship, sacraments and our scriptures. Remembrance anchors us in our history where we find our traditions and identity and at the same time points to our future where we can find hope. As a Christian that central act is the Eucharist, Holy Communion or Mass. The death of one man for the healing of many – “Do this in remembrance of me.” This act was never meant to be a simple re-telling of God’s past actions The true community of believers re-enacts, re-members and re-presents God’s work Sunday by Sunday. </p> <p>Today when we gather here we do these things at our service. We re-enact when we speak of what those who have participated in war have done, we remember when we put back together the pieces of the past and we re-present when we when leave here to try to move on and learn from our past mistakes. </p> <p>May we never forget that for our today so many people gave their tomorrows. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/11/04/remembrance_season~1294905/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>political-sermonveteransremembrance-sundaywarpreaching-on-remembrance-sundaypoppieshttp://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/11/04/remembrance_season~1294905/#commentshttp://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/11/04/remembrance_season~1294903/tag:neilsthildas.blog.co.uk,2006-11-04:/2006/11/04/remembrance_season~1294903/Sat, 04 Nov 2006 15:14:36 +0100 <p>To remember is to be human: we acknowledge in gratitude and regret our common and sometimes flawed past and then use that knowledge of the past to inform our present and future. In remembering we may find that we have difficult choices to make when we live in the present and prepare for a future.</p> <p>The historian and theologian Owen Chadwick, writing in the journal History in 1976 put forward the idea that he expected the observance of Remembrance Day to die out. In his article he writes that in the 1930’s young people misbehaved during the services in several places including Cambridge where undergraduates disrupted the university service. In defence of these youngster’s actions, it was said that unlike their parents who had been involved in the Great War, they had not experienced the horror of war. Little did they know that they were the very generation who would, in 1939 face another world conflict. </p> <p>Only a handful of World War One veterans remain, even those who were in their teens in World War Two are now well into their seventies and eighties. Yet, many people still make a conscious choice to remember. Since the end of World War Two there have been other wars and conflicts, more casualties and more dead to remember. Since the end of World War Two there has only been one year when a British serviceman or woman has not been killed in conflict. There are a significant number of people who make the choice to gather around memorials up and down our country and anchor themselves in the past events which have shaped our current situation. The news broadcast into our homes every day remind us that conflicts where members of our armed forces are being killed or injured are never far away. Since the last Remembrance Sunday services of last year have ended more women have become widows, more children have lost fathers and more friends have had their lives prematurely ended as a result of conflict. As the current conflicts continue it is sobering to think that there will probably be people gathered around memorials today who may well be mourning family and friends next Remembrance Sunday. </p> <p>Sometimes it is not easy to make our past relevant and meaningful in an age when we are encouraged to be politically correct, multi faith and multi cultural. In remembering our past we may offend our former enemies and dig up the wounds of past conflicts. There is a tension between remembering and digging up things which may be better left in the past. The past is another country- they do things differently there. That saying is very true. We can’t look at the past through our 21st century eyes and with the benefit of our hindsight. We hear a call for a pardon for the men executed during World War One, a noble call it may be when we look at the situation from the relative comfort of the 21st century. However, we seem to forget that as brutal and as horrid as it was, execution was how the army responded to acts of what they termed cowardice. We can’t go back, we can however learn from our past mistakes. Like my old metalwork teacher said- “The person who never made a mistake never made anything”. Sometimes we can only learn and move on, ensuring that we never make the same mistake again. It is with some regret that the words of William the Silent ring true- “History repeats itself, it has to because no one listens.”</p> <p>Remembering the past means that we have to grapple with difficulties, with our deepest convictions and with complex ideas. Do we support our country’s intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan? We meet today in difficult times, killing continues in these places and our service men and women face danger every day. The numbers of those dead and injured continue to rise and there seems little end to both these conflicts. I recall well attending a remembrance service in 2001, just after the attacks of September 11th and the invasion of Afghanistan. In a small church in the town of North Berwick the local British Legion were appalled by the sermon in which the preacher condemned the action of our government. As time has moved on I wonder if that preacher would get the same response today when senior British Army officers voice similar opinions about the war. Do we remain silent, supporting the action of our Government or do we exercise the freedom that was won for us by so many we are remembering today and oppose the government. The freedom we have and enjoy carries with it a responsibility to make choices and voice our opinion without fear of oppression. That choice is your choice and yours alone, the sermon on Remembrance Day is not a place for either the glorification of war or the condemnation of the actions of our democratically elected government. </p> <p>Remembrance is a common link between religion and our society which so many experts now claim is secular. For those of us who claim to have a religion, the act of remembrance is central to our worship, sacraments and our scriptures. Remembrance anchors us in our history where we find our traditions and identity and at the same time points to our future where we can find hope. As a Christian that central act is the Eucharist, Holy Communion or Mass. The death of one man for the healing of many – “Do this in remembrance of me.” This act was never meant to be a simple re-telling of God’s past actions The true community of believers re-enacts, re-members and re-presents God’s work Sunday by Sunday. </p> <p>Today when we gather here we do these things at our service. We re-enact when we speak of what those who have participated in war have done, we remember when we put back together the pieces of the past and we re-present when we when leave here to try to move on and learn from our past mistakes. </p> <p>May we never forget that for our today so many people gave their tomorrows. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/11/04/remembrance_season~1294903/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>warveteransremembrance-sundaypolitical-sermonpoppiespreaching-on-remembrance-sundayhttp://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/11/04/remembrance_season~1294903/#commentshttp://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/10/10/meetings_about_meetings~1207245/tag:neilsthildas.blog.co.uk,2006-10-10:/2006/10/10/meetings_about_meetings~1207245/Tue, 10 Oct 2006 19:25:49 +0200 <p>I just wonder how much time is spent in meetings about meetings to discuss something or other? Or is it that I am the odd one out and would much rather get on with the job.<br> Maybe we should have a meeting do decide about the next topic for the next meeting to debate the options about when to hold the meeting next term to decide the date of the next meeting. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/10/10/meetings_about_meetings~1207245/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/10/10/meetings_about_meetings~1207245/#commentshttp://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/10/07/where_is_hell~1197786/tag:neilsthildas.blog.co.uk,2006-10-07:/2006/10/07/where_is_hell~1197786/Sat, 07 Oct 2006 19:42:36 +0200 <p>So the Roman Catholic Church are changing their doctrine of Limbo.<br> I pose the question to everyone in blogland who has been to church in the last ten years. When did you last hear a sermon in which Hell was mentioned? Maybe it hs gone the same way as school playing fields and public parks and been sold off to a property tycoon or supermarket. Hell has not frozen over but been redeveloped with neo-georgian executive homes for 4x4 drivers. There might even be a branch of Tesco there.<br> I recall a time when the congregation was not happy unless they were threatened them with Hell at least once on a Sunday. What has the Church of England done with Hell?<br> Maybe I should break the duck and preach about Hell in my next sermon. I mentioned this to an evangelical friend who is from an independent chapel background. He smiled and agreed that even in his tradition he had not heard Hell mentioned for a good few years.<br> Of course those of us from a more liberal background have thought about Hell as being like a derelect industrial site where the former occupents have been released by the risen Christ. Like most derelect industrial sites it might just be redeveloped by some less than savoury business person with ill gotten pounds and a white van.Watching the trailers for the film Jesus Camp I can't help feeling that these property developers have arrived! </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/10/07/where_is_hell~1197786/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>jesus-campliberalevangelicalspreachinghellhttp://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/10/07/where_is_hell~1197786/#commentshttp://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/10/07/look_me_in_the_eye~1197734/tag:neilsthildas.blog.co.uk,2006-10-07:/2006/10/07/look_me_in_the_eye~1197734/Sat, 07 Oct 2006 19:23:15 +0200 <p>When I was a small boy...even smaller than I am now my mother used to say look me in the eye when you are talking.<br> Eye contact is a vital part of communication, the eyes are a window of our soul. So it seemed correct for Mr Straw to ask the Muslim women to remove their veils when he is speaking with them. I am sure it is an attempt by Mr Straw to engage in communication and not a matter of offending their religious beliefs.<br> There is no problem about the covering of womens head it is simply that Mr Straw would rather have eye contact with people. It seems he has walked into the pit of PC police who patrol our daily lives. Whatever next?<br> This is not an issue of religious freedom or human rights but simply an excuse to bash Mr Straw.<br> If people are so concerned about religious freedom they should concentrate on reclaiming Christianity.I can't help feeling that for some people PC is very one sided and an excuse to bash those of us who call ourselves Christian. Will there be a time when those who jump up and down about Muslim rights start to defend Christianity? I somehow think not. It is far too easy to bash Christians- we don't tend to take to the streets and burn flags etc etc. Our society is multifaith and multi ethnic, it might be time to consider that all religions should be treated the same rather than bowing down to Islam out of fear rather than respect. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/10/07/look_me_in_the_eye~1197734/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/10/07/look_me_in_the_eye~1197734/#commentshttp://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/10/01/church_statistics~1177615/tag:neilsthildas.blog.co.uk,2006-10-01:/2006/10/01/church_statistics~1177615/Sun, 01 Oct 2006 15:50:38 +0200 <p>It comes as no surprise to find that the good old CofE along with most other churches is in terminal decline. As we freefall towrds a fate like that of the dodo or some obscure Latin American tree frog we might want to consider how we got ourselves in this situation.<br> The biggest decline of church attendance is amongst those under the age of 20. Yet more and more parents want their children to attemd CE schools. Now it does not take an expert to figure this out, a cynic may suggest that many people attend church just so their offspring can get in the desired CE school. If such people are remove from the stats we face an even greater crisis. It is not possible to quantify the numbers of those attending just so their children can get in a school but anecdotal evidence seems to suggest that it is a considerable number. Yet, few people seemt to suggest that this is an alarming feature of the recent stats.<br> The solution to the decline in numbers attending Church lies in many areas not least of all our CE schools. It might be time for those at the top to start to consider the vital role our schools play in the future of the CE. After all it might even be said that we, the humble teachers of the Church of England schools hold the future of the mighty Anglican clergy in our chalky hands. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/10/01/church_statistics~1177615/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>statisticsclergyteachersanglicanchurch-attendancehttp://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/10/01/church_statistics~1177615/#commentshttp://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/09/19/life~1142193/tag:neilsthildas.blog.co.uk,2006-09-19:/2006/09/19/life~1142193/Tue, 19 Sep 2006 21:46:04 +0200 <p>John Lennon onece said that life is what happens when you are busy making plans.<br> Well, teaching is what happens when you are busy making plans to teach. So it seems just now. Planning so many things and attending meetings to plan everything from the Taize service to the Christmas service. Yes, Christmas comes early when there is a service to plan.<br> I wonder if Jesus spent so much time planning?<br> Here I sit planning a trip to Zambia, a paper to present in Oxford and a lesson on World Poverty to Year 11 pupils. In the midst of this the new students arrive, maybe I should teach them to plan rather than do!<br> Somewhere over the Rainbow everything which we have ever planned will happen.<br> Not much blogging because work gets in the way and I would rather be working than blogging. Could this be the end of the blog for me after such a short time? </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/09/19/life~1142193/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>christmasplanningjudy-garlandhttp://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/09/19/life~1142193/#commentshttp://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/09/13/schools_failing_again~1122983/tag:neilsthildas.blog.co.uk,2006-09-13:/2006/09/13/schools_failing_again~1122983/Wed, 13 Sep 2006 17:44:05 +0200 <p>A headline in the daily Torygraph "Billions spent but UK schools still fail". So now the chattering classes are being fed with ample Government policy bashing from the usual suspects. Only a matter of days ago they were being told that more pupils were passing examinations. Of course this was not because of any efforts on the part of pupils and staff but rather the examinations were easier! It seems the chattering classes want to have their cake and eat it.<br> Those of us involved in education are caught between the rock and the hard place - once again we are accused of failing our young people. What about the parents! Has anyone ever thought about the amount that parents can do to support our schools and teachers? It is time this country supported teachers not just by throwing millions into a balck hole but by encouraging pupils to learn and parents to support their learning. Maybe then we might find changes for the better.Schools are not failing. Society is failing to value thoes who work in education. This is just another example of teacher bashing from people who should know better. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/09/13/schools_failing_again~1122983/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>supporteducationschoolsparentshttp://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/09/13/schools_failing_again~1122983/#commentshttp://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/09/11/church_times_and_schools~1116771/tag:neilsthildas.blog.co.uk,2006-09-11:/2006/09/11/church_times_and_schools~1116771/Mon, 11 Sep 2006 18:59:29 +0200 <p>Not wanting to anticlerical in my previous comment about blessings it was just an observation from the pew so to speak. If a punter on the pew can make such an observation it might be time for some members of the Anglican clergy to take a long, hard look at themselves and see how other people see them. By that I do not mean those of us who attend churches but rather the vast majority of people who never set foot inside a church. </p> <p>I am prompeted to this action by the comments in the Church Times about education. To which I wish to answer....It is we the common, poorly paid, overworked and undervalued teachers who struggle daily with apathetic pupils who should be given some credit when our charges gain a few GCSEs. Never once in that rag of the middle aged, pew warming, chattering classes is there a mention of how hard teachers work in schools. It is high time the clergy in the Church of England gave some credit to teachers in Anglican schools. We are not some sort of uneducated laity to be filled every Sunday by their (for the most part) dull words. We all have at least one university degree and reach every day numbers of people most clergy can only dream of reaching.Could it be that the clerics need to take a lesson from us in this respect?</p> <p>So come on you vicars...give the teachers some credit for the success of CofE schools. One day we might not be here and then where will you be? Tending to your flocks of 50 Polo munching grannies in twin sets and dreaming of a youth club of rising acolytes for your high altar! </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/09/11/church_times_and_schools~1116771/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/09/11/church_times_and_schools~1116771/#commentshttp://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/09/09/blessings_by_anglican_clergy~1110953/tag:neilsthildas.blog.co.uk,2006-09-09:/2006/09/09/blessings_by_anglican_clergy~1110953/Sat, 09 Sep 2006 16:04:46 +0200 <p>I can't help but comment on the double standards of many Anglican clergy. They seem happy to bless warships and nuclear submarines which are weapons of mass destruction costing the taxpayer a fortune. Yet, they are not happy blessing gay relationships or letting people who are divorced get married in church. </p> <p>A funny old world! </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/09/09/blessings_by_anglican_clergy~1110953/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/09/09/blessings_by_anglican_clergy~1110953/#commentshttp://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/09/03/smoking~1093533/tag:neilsthildas.blog.co.uk,2006-09-03:/2006/09/03/smoking~1093533/Sun, 03 Sep 2006 15:56:07 +0200 <p>Sitting down and enjoying a large GandT with my cigarette.Bach on the CD player and the smell of the roast beef which I am cooking is filling the air. So much for those people who moan about smoking etc etc. I enjoy it, I don't do it that often, I am considerate (I do not do it near others who object) and I mainly do it in my own home at the back door. Now what is wrong with that? There are far worse things than enjoying a quiet smoke whilst contemplating this morning'sermon. No, I will never stop smoking 5 a day, eating meat or drinking gin....my Granny did all these things in moderation and died......aged 97. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/09/03/smoking~1093533/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/09/03/smoking~1093533/#commentshttp://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/09/02/countryside~1091688/tag:neilsthildas.blog.co.uk,2006-09-02:/2006/09/02/countryside~1091688/Sat, 02 Sep 2006 19:36:39 +0200 <p>The task for today was to write the sermon - well finish it.I am one of those people who tend to wander off once I get started, I enjoy sermons both listening to them and preaching them. It seems that the sermon has gone out of fashion these days and it is hard to find one that hits the spot. Not moaning about it but it is probably an unusual position to be in as a liberal Anglican as the sermon seems to be the domain of those of a more evangelical bent.<br> The first sermon of the new term is I am told the one everyone listens to. This says a great deal about the others! It is also the one I have to do and in order to fit everyone in I have to preach it twice. My own parish priest Paul is celebrating the eucharist for us which will be his first encounter with a congregation of 900. I am not sure how many people preach to 900 people these days but it can't be many.<br> A wander round the countryside is just the thing to concentrate on the job in hand so off I went in the rain. The familiar countryside around here was a place where I played and messed about as a child. It has changed, the old barns and farms are now converted to communter houses with the dreaded silver 4x4 sitting in perfect condition on the paved driveway. The city has come to the countryside. Where have all the farmers gone? Cashed in on the property boom and sold out to business people working in the city? I hark back to an age of simple folk who grew their own spuds and sold veg from the gate of their small holding. The fact is there never was such a time. Life in the country was hard and people were poor. No wonder most of the local farmers have sold up and cashed in. I would have done the same. There is no way that I would spend my working life breaking my back in the freezing cold for the price of a few spuds.<br> The old farms now look like townhouses with pvc window frames and Narnia lamps. They are protected by huge security gates, intercom systems and large dogs. What is going on here? Who are they afraid of? The peasants who might venture down the country lanes to enjoy a little slice of what they experience? Who knows? I wonder who lives in these places and my imagination runs riot...drug barons, gangsters or footballers? Earlier this year there was a police raid on one of these converted farms and two arrests made. Armed police blocked the top of the lane and there were reports of people being held hostage. You just do not know your neighbours these days or rather you can't know your neighbours due to the security gates and large dogs. Best not to dwell on this too much.<br> Sad to think that Gerard Manley Hopkins lived in the lane at one time. I wonder what he would have made of the mansions with their footballer's wives and gangsters!<br> I contemplate the demise of the great sermon and reflect that maybe there was never a golden age of churches full of eager listeners and vibrant preachers. The 1851 church census does not provide evidence of the pews being full and subsequent research tends to suggest that for the most part congregations were never large. </p> <p>The walk provided me with ideas but not for the sermon. </p> <p>I returned home and completed the sermon on the Eucharist just in time to recall that I still had the presentation on Mark's Gospel to finish. The rain and the wind, the increasing work and an e-mail from Liverpool Hope is telling me that summer has ended and the new term is about to start. Bring it on!!!! </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/09/02/countryside~1091688/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/09/02/countryside~1091688/#commentshttp://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/08/22/the_garden~1061134/tag:neilsthildas.blog.co.uk,2006-08-22:/2006/08/22/the_garden~1061134/Tue, 22 Aug 2006 23:12:52 +0200 <p>It was all the fault of Adam. I decided this fact whilst pulling out weeds from the jungle which sort of passes as a back garden. If it was not for him the eating that apple the weeds would not have grown in the first place and I could have spent the afternoon doing something more constructive than keeping up with my neghbours designed gardens. The problem with suburbia is that everything is just so designer, so much so that everything is the same including the water feature. I would call it the pond but the estate agent told us that the water in the garden was a water feature not a pond.It had a tube and pump thing which spurted water but that got gunked up and stopped working. I could not be bothered to clear out the dead birds and other monsters of the swamp both real and imagined from the apparatus. So the pond is something akin to a primeval swamp which has got greener over the summer. The neighbours will start to moan soon if something is not done about it. As they say in Scotland I may just have to get a wee man in to sort it out before I get a visit from envronmental health. I tell people I am going for the natural look when the weeds get within next door's eye level.<br> Never mind it will rain tomorrow and I can get some real work done on the Mark's Gospel stuff which I said I would do back in March. Apart from a few sad powerpoint slides there is nothing for the students to look at. Then there is the sermon but that is another story as they say. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/08/22/the_garden~1061134/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>gardensuburbsadampondmark-s-gospelhttp://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/08/22/the_garden~1061134/#commentshttp://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/08/21/monster_truck_musing~1056763/tag:neilsthildas.blog.co.uk,2006-08-21:/2006/08/21/monster_truck_musing~1056763/Mon, 21 Aug 2006 14:13:55 +0200 <p>Why do so many people need to drive very large 4x4s in Liverpool? I don't mean Landrover and Honda types for which there are practical reasons and justification. I am talking about those big pick up things with names like Ninja, Warrior and Animal written on the side. These things should be on the roads of the USA not on our city streets. They are black or silver and driven by men with shaved heads, one can get a glimpse of them through the tinted glass as they speed around cutting everyone else up. Why is there a pathological need to have such trucks in the UK. Could it be that some people need to make up for the lack of something else? Scousers are in love with their cars, usually a silver BMW or Merc.If that lights your candle fair enough, but the monster trucks are a growing hazard.<br> Does life have to be so empty that the only way to express yourself is by having a big truck and driving like you own the road? </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/08/21/monster_truck_musing~1056763/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/08/21/monster_truck_musing~1056763/#commentshttp://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/08/20/sunday~1054018/tag:neilsthildas.blog.co.uk,2006-08-20:/2006/08/20/sunday~1054018/Sun, 20 Aug 2006 13:13:31 +0200 <p>Natalie is still in Scotland so a lazy Sunday looms. No grass cutting it is raining again so that leaves church.<br> The congregation was outnumbered by the choir and the sacred ministers comprising of the vicar (Paul who made it in the Church Times when he was arrested), Barry (new but not so young curate and the reader David (a good preacher). A typical Abglican congregation average age 68 (The youngest was me apart from the two teens in th choir).<br> Debate with myself should I go out or stay in and read? Procrastination is the theif of time so I thought I must write something before deciding what to do for the rest of the day.<br> Life just goes on rolling like the motion of the sea, sometimes I think there is someone there, but it is mostly only me! </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/08/20/sunday~1054018/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/08/20/sunday~1054018/#commentshttp://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/08/19/assemblies~1053056/tag:neilsthildas.blog.co.uk,2006-08-19:/2006/08/19/assemblies~1053056/Sat, 19 Aug 2006 22:36:06 +0200 <p>I am well aware that it is the middle of our school holidays but needs must and the neeed is to write some assemblies for next term. The list of themes suggested by me and approved by our worship group is in sitting on my desk along with a Bible and assorted bits of paper. The only problem is a blank mind.<br> Assemblies in a Church of England school are an act of worship which should in the broadest sense follow the teachings of the Church. There is no debate about the nature of assemblies except the content, assemblies are a fact in school and long may they be so! I have long held the idea of writing a book on the subject. Not one of those books that provide ready made assemblies with drama, cartoons and a choice of so called "music" all to be planned, produced and given out in the busy working life of the teacher responsible for collective worship.There have been several eduacational books with titles such as "Getting the buggers to read","Getting the Buggers to Behave", so I dreamed up the title "Getting the Buggers to pray". I wonder if it would sell?<br> Assembly is an event where we try to engage around 400 girls at a time. Two assemblies each week, one for the upper school and one for the lower school. Then there is also the dreaded 6th form assembly!<br> Doing God in school is an issue in its self, in a CE school it is part of the package. Like buying a box of Roses or Quality Street, you may not like the toffees but they are in the box. So it is with a CE school, you may not like the idea of collective worship but it is part of the package. For the parents who object to it there is a choice of schools. In making the choice of a CE school, worship is part of the deal. It is of great concern that this worship should be of the highest quality and not a bolt on extra.<br> Local clergy help but they need to be chosen with care. There are far too many willing evangelicals wishing to preach to a large congregation. Collective worship of any form must be appropriate to the needs of our pupils. What may go down well in the local charismatic congregation probably will fall flat in a school. Likewise the multi point sermon with every detail drawn out of a passage will also fail. Pupils can't be subjected to evangelical tirades by well meaning ministers.<br> I believe the pupils sitting in our assemblies in our CE schools can make or break the Church as we know it. Done properly assemblies and collective worship can lay a solid foundation for the the future of the Church of England. It is not a task to be considered lightly by those in authority. I don't just mean headteachers and those who lead the worship but the wider church. There are far too few experienced teachers involved in the Church of England at a senior level. The Bishops whilst full of good intentions often fail to grasp the full potential of the Anglican Secondary school with regards to church growth. The school is a field for mission but before anyone sets a clerical foot inside a word of warning from someone on the inside. We must learn to be aware of the spiritual development of our young people, we need to know where they are at in terms of their journey. To communicate effectivly with school pupils we must be aware of what is going on in their lives. Teachers are a resource to be valued by the Church of England. I have seldom heard any praise for teachers in CE schools from our synods. Yet it is the teacher who knows the pupils not unlike the shepherd who knows his/her sheep. Those of us who take charge of collective worship are not like the parish priest in that respect. </p> <p>It is not an overstatement to suggest that the pupils in our Church of England schools are the future of the Church in our communities. Let us treat them as such and value them by providing the quality they need. We are well known for providing high quality education it might now be time for the Church of England to look at how we can provide high quality, relevent worship in schools. The way forward might just be to seek leadership on this matter from the teachers not just the Bishops. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/08/19/assemblies~1053056/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>anglicanworship-in-church-schoolscollective-worship-in-schoolschurch-of-englandhttp://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/08/19/assemblies~1053056/#commentshttp://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/08/19/the_next_step~1052124/tag:neilsthildas.blog.co.uk,2006-08-19:/2006/08/19/the_next_step~1052124/Sat, 19 Aug 2006 15:37:41 +0200 <p>Yesterday (Friday) I had my first meeting with the DDO about my call to be a Non Stipendary Priest in the Anglican Church. I had mixed feeling about it as I had been in this position before many years ago. Over the past few years I have felt a strong sense of call. Don't get me wrong there were no lightening bolts or voices in my head just a quiet sense of needing to explore this. I am happy in my present job but feel that there is something else I must do so after listening to friends and praying about it I made a move. It is strange how I come up with all the reasons why I can't do something only to find that I am wrong. Others seem to see much more of us than we think they do and it came as no surprise to our DDO that I had come to see him.<br> So this is it then, the journey continues. The Church just might be getting two for the price of one! </p> <p>It is raining today and Natalie is still in Scotland visiting her mum. So I went and did the food shop which I hate with a passion. On the way back I got soaked, shouldhave worn a raincoat but then nobody wears raincoats anymore. I recall those plastic things we wore as kids, may not have been the hight of fashion but it would have saved me from having to dry out my clothes in the kithcen whilst I write this and avoid cleaning the house. Still it is good to live like a single man for a few more days. Not got very far on the to do list as I can't cut the grass in the rain. Any excuse!!!!</p> <p> <small> <a href="http://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/08/19/the_next_step~1052124/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>http://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/08/19/the_next_step~1052124/#commentshttp://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/08/14/wallsingham~1038230/tag:neilsthildas.blog.co.uk,2006-08-14:/2006/08/14/wallsingham~1038230/Mon, 14 Aug 2006 11:57:32 +0200 <p>Well we returned tired and praised out.<br> Youth Pilgrimage has left me with mixed feelings about a number of things not least of all is the question about young people engaging in worship. What exactly is going on? There seems to be a gap betwee what the army (it was an army) of white robed priests are doing and what the people are doing at such events. The priests seemed to be showing off their fine robes and being noticed by the bishops whilst the young people seemed to engage in a spiritual disco with hand waving, clapping and a variety of emotions displayed for all to see. However, putting aside my natural cynical outlook most peoople had a good time.<br> This leads me to go back to comments about the pre-reformation church. The relationship between priest and people. The priests were doing their own thing whilst the people were engaged in popular piety. That is the same today at events such as the Wallsingham Youth Pilgrimage. The result of such activity is that most people have a good time and get something from it. As long as we put aside any sense of community we can say that on an individual level the event wokrs well. We are unable to say that everyone had the experience the clergy believied they had. Listening to our young people and how they communicate their spirituality is vital and more work needs to be done in this area.To what extent many of our Anglo Catholic priests can engage with young people is a matter of some concern. It is an area which is very much open for debate. We belong to a tradition which has much to offer our young people if only the clergy start to listen to youth and those who are involved with them in schools and churches. Maybe it is time to put to one side the attitude that Father knows best and become more open to the talents and skills available. A priest is not a jack of all trades and it is time many of these men stopped trying to be mini popes in their parish. It seems to me that the Anglo Catholic clergy are afraid of debate or are unwilling to discuss issues with an educated laity. There is a line between us and them which does not exist in any other area of modern society. Yes, there is a need for structure in the church and yes there is a need for authority but there is also a need for the clergy to consider that some people have more experience and training in youth than they do!<br> I am sad to say that for so many of our Anglo Catholic priests thier sense of their own importance gets in the way of the wider mission of the church and all our tradition has to offer. </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/08/14/wallsingham~1038230/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>spiritualyouthwallsingham-youthchristian-youthhttp://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/08/14/wallsingham~1038230/#commentshttp://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/08/05/wallsingham~1016052/tag:neilsthildas.blog.co.uk,2006-08-05:/2006/08/05/wallsingham~1016052/Sat, 05 Aug 2006 16:39:37 +0200 <p>This is my first ever blog...not true as I wrote one which went off into cyberspace and has never been found. So it means I write another one.</p> <p>I am about to go to Wallsinhgham with the youth of St Thomas church in Lydiate. Fun!!!<br> Never having been before, my wife and I are looking forward to the experience. As for the youth. Well we have seen few people under the age of 65 in the church, which is rather typical of the average parish church in the UK. This may prompt a hail of comments but having been to many churches I am inclined to ask the question where have all the young people gone? I suppose I can answer that question without turning to the recent publication "Making Sense of Generation Y". This is interesting reading but for many of us (who are teachers and youth workers) it tells us nothing new. There are some suggestions in the book which might be worth looking at. However, I tend to think many congregations in the UK will not venture into these areas as it is far too much of a risk. There are also too few people who are able to give the time and effort to engage with generation y.<br> We can do three things:<br> 1.Remain where we are<br> 2.Invite people in to join us<br> 3.Go out and meet people where they are<br> The sad fact is inevitable decline despite the denials and talking up which is being done by senior clergy. There is a crisis and we need more than a Bishop's finger to resolve it. Radical services with flashing lights and multi media are great but how many parishes have the skills and money to do this?<br> I do not have the asnwers which is why I am researching the topic as a Farmington Research Fellowship. Any suggestions or comments? </p> <p> <small> <a href="http://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/08/05/wallsingham~1016052/#comments">Comments</a> </small> </p>generatiion-yhttp://neilsthildas.blog.co.uk/2006/08/05/wallsingham~1016052/#comments