I just ordered a copy of this film.
I thought it worth checking out as there seem to be some parallels between Canada as a culture and Scotland. And because these clips suggested it might be worth while…
The next one kind of hits the spot with me- the reason why I blog and use a website, and why I am persevering with the Emerging Scotland thing
So- a new year turns.
If you are like me, you will have been indulging in a little self examination- thinking about how life has been, and what possibilities the new year might bring.
Perhaps you have had thoughts of stepping out the old routines, and opening up some new things- finding new places, new connections and deeper spirituality.
Perhaps you are ready for some adventure. Small ones perhaps- not all of us are Bear Grylls!
Anyone fancy some fish by the way?
Assuming that this is not your fancy- how about joining us for trips into the wilderness to find something slightly more palatable?
If so, we at Aoradh would love to hear from you.
We are planning some trips out into the wild places hereabout- to find places where we can appreciate the beauty of the mountains and hills about us, and also to use some of these spaces for group and individual meditation. These will mostly be based within Argyll, Scotland- or in the Cowal Area, where we are based.
Nick and I have been working on some wilderness meditations- some of which are on the aoradh website- here. We would very much appreciate some folk who are willing to be our guinea pigs (or should I say, Red Squirrels) as we give them a wider road test.
As part of this, a few of us are planning a trip to a small uninhabited island on the bank holiday that begins Friday the 1st of May. We have not finally decided the venue for this yet- there are a couple of possibles, and it rather depends on transport. Past trips away have included trips to Coll, Little Cumbrae and the Garvellachs.
The format of these trips has been that people are prepared to be self supporting- with their own camping and back packing gear. We will then make our own small community for a weekend, in a beautiful, wild and uninhabited space.
For the weekend trip, there may be some transport costs- but that is all, we are not interested in profit- but rather in friendship with each other and a deeper relationship with God.
So we are clear about the legalities of this- we offer a partnership- not a package tour. You come at your own risk!
For those who need to be more organised- we have set some dates for later in the year when we hope to organise one day events- which will include a mediation around a ‘found’ space in the wilderness- caves, rivers, mountains etc.
16th May (Family weekend??)
20th June
18th July
19th September
24th October
contact me for more info!
Pull up a log- sit by the fire. The Kettle is on…
Just another Missional Tribe weblog
I have been posting a selection of stuff from this blog onto the Missional tribe weblog (here)- which is throwing up some interesting connections.
I will continue using this blog as my main one, but will paste over stuff as it appears relevant.
Some of the group discussions are well worth checking out too…
I am determined to keep chewing on this word to see if I can find some flavour…
(Check out this previous post in which I express some skepticism.)
One of the blogs I read is Brother Maynard’s Subversive Influence. I was intrigued by a new project that he is part of called Missional tribe.
In case you think this is another jump onto the trendy Christian bandwagon, here is what Bro Maynard has to say here…
Do a Google search on the word “missional” and you’ll get 1,200,000 hits. Search “missional” at Amazon and 1,238 missional products appear before your very eyes. It’s the Western Church word of the moment. The key to all that ails the church. The promise of a bright future – beginning with a bold tomorrow. That is, if we only knew what it meant.
Clay Shirky’s Here Comes Everybody and Seth Godin’s Tribes helped to inform our discussions. Missional Tribe’s first iteration was as a Wiki. Then the mini “blogstorm” around Out of Ur’s Dan Kimball Missional results post convinced us that what the conversation needed was a place to discuss, share stories, watch videos, ask questions, and grow together. Where all of this can easily be tagged and indexed for rapid access in the future. The Missional Tribe social network was born (www.missionaltribe.org).
Less than two months after the decision to launch a social network, the beta of the Missional Tribe site launches today — Epiphany, on the church calendar. We would like you to join us in being a part of this non-hierarchical network.
From simply reading and commenting on posts and in the Forums, to creating your own Missional Tribe blog or posting a video — Missional Tribe is a place to track and expand the missional conversation – as we follow the Lord back into the neighborhoods where he has strategically placed each one of us.
So, I think I will join in for the ride, and see where it takes me…
We had a bit of fun with this today- Resolution randomizer.
It works a bit like a fruit machine, matching up three options to generate some useful (if slightly bizarre) NY resolutions.
Because, let’s be honest, most of my half hearted attempts have been pretty boring. You know the sort- I will lose weight and get fit. I will read the Bible more often. I will get up early to pray before the rising sun. I will organise and focus. I will motivate and set meaningful goals. I will set sail into a silver sea of achievement and fulfillment.
Until torpedoed by chocolate, and the many distractions and diversions that reality rolls in my way on a daily basis. Oh- and then there is my innate weakness of character…
Perhaps I am hard on myself. Sometimes I have kept resolutions- for whole days at a time!
It seems that I may not be alone.
But aspirations to change- they can not be bad can they? We seem to make remarkably consistent ones-
So do I bother this year?
No- but…
I have been thinking about what I would like to get into over the coming year.
I would like to get the wilderness mediations book/project thing into another gear- and for this, I will need to be fitter.
I would like to finish a couple of other writing projects.
Aoradh projects beckon too- a monthly session in a pub, the TENT thing, and performing 40 again in Lent.
Emerging Scotland stuff- our first meeting of the year is in a few weeks, and I would love to see this becoming a real network of friendship and support. I still see no other alternative that would provide this. (See here and here for more info.)
There are still other goals- but these are between me and mine. I may well fail, but perhaps that is never the issue…
As for you, my friends, may 2009 bring you adventure.
And may you remain in good company.
And walk with God.
I have had a lovely few days of celebration, music and laughter.
Every year, out house fills up with friends for a NY house party. Rooms accumulate gatherings stratified according to a fluid set of gender/age/interest divisions. Someone is perpetually brewing/ cooking/playing music/theologising or leading a party of kids out for an expedition into the great outdoors…
Nights become well used and long, sleep is snatched only when necessary, and we eat too much, and drink not a little- but, to be honest, as we are mostly too prone to hangovers- tea is the favourite tipple these days.
Highlights for me this year were;
There was one other more complicated part to the gathering. Neil, who would have loved this weekend, was not here. But to have the chance to have long conversations with Sheila, his wife, was precious.
So my friends, far and near- may 2009 be a blessing to you. May you construct good memories that build health and life. And may you remember the difficult broken things with love and care. And may you move forward…
In hope.
Some photos;
Here’s a plug for The Project
Who knows where its heading- but come along for the ride! Here’s the detail;
In August this year, Greenbelt Festival hosted a conversation for anyone interested in exploring the possibility of doing something like Greenbelt in Scotland. So a second meeting took place in Perth in November to take things a step further.
So ‘The PROJECT‘ was born… an interim process of small, viral, organic events during 2009 & 2010, building to the possibility of a larger event in 2011.
These small events would allow us to flesh out what a bigger event might look like; to more immediately model the kind of thing a larger event would contain; and to build a community of folk who’d be able to make a larger event happen.
It was clear at both meetings that any future event in Scotland should have its own identity, should grow out of Scottish culture and concerns, and not merely attempt to imitate Greenbelt. Although initially inspired by the spirit that Greenbelt (and other events) manifests, ‘The PROJECT‘ should develop a distinct Scottish nature, responding to the specific conditions, context and needs of this place and time.
WHAT IS ‘THE PROJECT‘?
A series of interim events leading to a larger festival event. As yet, there’s no specific shape or clear consensus about a larger event’s length, breadth, geography or season.
Whatever we end up with would be inspired initially by the spirit of Greenbelt, but should also learn from other Scottish & European models such as Street Level, Carberry Ferstival, Kirchentag or even the Edinburgh festival, The Mod, Celtic Connections.
The ‘interfaces of engagement’ would be: arts – faith – theology – ecology – politics – philosophy – spirituality – justice… basically celebration, inspiration, irreverence, laughter, tears, questions, argument, friendship, shivers up the spine – add your own noun to the list.
PROCESS & PEOPLE
The Perth meeting tasked Dot Reid, Graham Maule and John Cross to identify people who would be on an initial interim Steering Group.
There is some concern that ‘The PROJECT’ should not be owned by larger organisations, or become institutionalised. So that task brief was to identify people in terms of their interest and ability to take things to the next stage (and not in terms of being ‘representatives’ of organisations).
The interim Steering Group will organise 2 events in 2009 to bring people together and to help think through the possibilities of ‘The PROJECT’.
This group is not intended as a permanent group, but would commit to the interim 2009-2010 stage. If there is then judged to be enough energy and enthusiasm for the large event by that time, a new steering group appropriate to any more extensive undertaking would be formed.
INTERESTED?
if you want to join the community of like-minded people engaged in the task of realising ‘The PROJECT‘, you can join this Facebook group.
Or you can join a similar group on Bebo.
You can visit ‘The PROJECT‘’s interim website for details of the thinking behind ‘The PROJECT‘ and to find out about the events that will be taking place over the next couple of years.
And you can start to spread the word… tell your friends and colleagues about ‘The PROJECT‘ and get them to register their interest.
Dot Reid, John Cross Graham Maule.
In response to Brian McLaren’s event in Glasgow (mentioned in my previous post- here), here is an excerpt from part of a book called ‘Blue-dark’, available here.
I reproduce it as a kind of mission statement- a reminder of what I set myself towards.
I have a feeling I may have posted this before, but for my own sake at least, I think it is worth saying again!
The term ‘underground railroad’ was first used in relation to an organisation of people who helped slaves escape from the American south to the northern states who had declared against slavery.
In the dark days of the Third Reich, when the whole of Europe was under the heel of dictatorship, still there was a remnant. There were men and women who were uncontaminated by circumstance, and emboldened by passions born of a different Kingdom. Sleeping now like spring in winter were memories of better times now gone. And with the sleep came dreams of justice for the oppressed, liberation for captives, and ministry to the sick and the lame and the alien in a conquered land.
Ordinary people – just like you and me, in an extraordinary situation, performing simple acts of heroism, in the face of certain prosecution and possible death. At first they were loud in their outrage, but hard lessons taught caution and subterfuge, and so they went underground.
And quietly, in the shadows, they grew bolder, and found that they were not alone. Many people opened up their lives and their homes, and began to gather the unlovely and the unloved, to give food, and warmth and shelter. They found others who still kept the light alive. And so they formed a network. No-one knew the whole of this network – the overall plan was less important than the simplicity of saving those immediately at risk. But almost by some hidden hand, Jews, gypsies, gentiles, escaped soldiers, political undesirables – all were passed down the line – closer to freedom, closer to the other Kingdom.
So was born a time of heroes.
And the Underground Railway…
I think that we are called to live what we believe.
And to believe in how we live.
It sounds simple, but so few do. Jesus said that when we are born again in him, we become new creations. The old parts of us are dead and gone, and the new person is made in His image. This means that we become more like him.
More passionate
More compassionate
More holy
More real
More loving
More merciful
More open
More hungry for justice
More whole
More like a child
More willing to go for it!
Less selfish
Less concerned about earthly security
Less proud
Less jealous of what others have
Less carnal
Less judging of others
Less earthbound
Less empty.
So what gets in the way? Why is it that the old habits drag me down? It is almost as if the old man, who is dead, rises in me like a corpse and fills me with the smell of death.
And somehow this becomes normal. It becomes culturally acceptable. We see it all around us, in both the secular and the so-called sacred. Jesus told us to enter through the narrow gate, because the alternative is broad and easy, but leads to destruction. Narrow is the way to life, and only a few find it (Matt 7: 13-14).
He was never much into going with the flow.
What would it be like to live what we believe? It would mean loving God, and loving others. Simple.
Unlearning lots of layers of stuff that get between us and Him, between us and people.
I believe it is possible. Because I have seen it. I have seen men changed. I have felt it. I am not the same.
And I am not my own – I belong to a different kingdom. This kingdom has different rules and has a different culture.
So I decided to set myself again to live what I believe. I became less tolerant of the smell of death, and instead went for life, and laughter, and freedom. Like Lazarus, I walked to the mouth of the tomb, and looked out.
And I began to see a world full of different colours. It brought me to tears, but still I wanted to sing praise songs, redemption songs, songs of freedom.
But also, I saw again the people all about me through new eyes. Some were broken almost beyond repair, at least in this world. Others were hungry, others were homeless. And here and there were people captured by addictions and close to death. Many of them had been inoculated against God by their experience of religion. It was almost as if he was giving me a window into their souls. And my heart broke open.
I decided that it was wrong, and something needed to be done. But it is hard to go against the culture, to swim against the tide.
What is needed, I thought, is an underground railway…
(From ‘Blue Dark, 2006, by Chris Goan)
I took a trip into Glasgow last night to hear Brian McLaren speak at Strathclyde university. His writing has been hugely influential on my spiritual life and my understandings of faith, and so I felt a bit like a groupie!
I went with a couple of friends from Dunoon, Simon and Ali, and had a chance to meet up with a couple of on-line buddies too- Stewart and Thomas. In fact, the picture above is Stewart’s- who had the technology (royalty check in t’post!)
It was a great night. Finished off by a lovely drive home over the Rest and be Thankful pass under a clear starry sky. Oh and a good take-away in Balloch…
Brian McLaren was profound in what he said- and although not much of it was new to me, the words were like food to the soul. Lots of people seem to have this experience of listening to him almost telling their story- allowing them to ask questions, and permitting them to start a new journey with God. I am reluctant to build him up with labels that will later become millstones around his neck, but he has something of the Apostle about him that is not taken, but rests as a result of who he is.
Yesterday is a case in point- it was not just what he said, but the way he said it. There was a kindness to his words- a respect for all things, but always a gentle invitation for as all to aim for something better.
Highlights? For me there were many. He got into a lot of discussion about the Kingdom of God- and old theme for me, which has been the subject of much discussion in our housegroup. We had previously playfully tried to find new names for the Kingdom of God, and I was delighted to see McLaren taking this to a whole new level.
The suggestion is, that Jesus was using the term ‘Kingdom of God’ as a way to engage with the people of his time in words they would understand. If he was here today- he would do the same, but would not necessarily use the same words.
‘Kingdom’ today ( suggested McLaren) is a word that has lost it’s potency- it is embedded in an ancient understanding of power and authority. What Jesus was doing was suggesting that there was a new way of doing Kingdom.
He then went on to list a whole series of words that Jesus might use if he was here today (Stewart gives a list of these on his blog- The Dream of God, The Peace Revolution of God, The Mission of God, The Party of God, Network of God, Ecosystem of God, God’s New Planet, Beloved Community, God’s Economy, The democracy of God.)
But there were two that I really liked.
One was
The dance of God
The idea that we learn to take part in a dance, in which we are part of an interrelated, dependent cycle of life and love- moving in response to divine music…
And perhaps most of all, I liked
The non-terror cell of God, or The insurgency of God
These seemed redolent with an idea that has been buzzing about my head for a while about a subversive group of Christians modeled loosely on the underground railway- I’ll post it soon I reckon.
(Check out this series of posters- here)
I have posted some stuff before on our embryonic Emerging Scotland network (or whatever it comes to be called!) here.
Today I circulated a document as follows- if you want to know more, get in touch!
Emerging Scotland Network… getting things started.
What?
It is clear in my mind that the proposal is for a facilitated network, which imposes few restrictions or obligations on members. We need to decide pretty early on what we would seek to embrace and include. My preference is for a very ‘generous orthodoxy’- and again, this seems to fit in with those who returned the questions.
The object is to support and sustain one another, share ideas, resources and find companionship and encouragement, and there may be grounds for formal/informal mentoring or partnership arrangements.
People may be part of existing church situations in which they are seeking new ways of being or doing, or they might be planting something new- or perhaps just dreaming of doing…
How?
By a variety of means: websites, blogs, on-line networking, but also face to face meetings, retreats, information sharing events etc.
We are clear that the development of a website is a priority, but only to facilitate real human contact! Stewart has a possible way of making this happen- but might appreciate input from anyone who has skills/interest.
Sharing ideas/ skills/ resources – labyrinths, prayer rooms, musicians, poets, and people who know how to support and empower through prayer. Not to forget preachers and evangelists etc etc!
What next?
This is up to you!
Below is a list of dates. Michaela and I will facilitate the first couple to get us started, and then others can take their turn. Please give consideration to whether you could host such an event or meeting!
These meetings will have an open invitation, but for practical purposes, we will need to know numbers in advance…
What will we do at the meetings?
This too is up to you! I suppose it could be a shared coffee, or something more developed?
But I would suggest a combination of the things below-
Ø Business stuff- organisation of the network, ‘leadership’, accountability etc
Ø Creative prayer and worship
Ø A focus on key themes, for example- kids in the new context, the Bible, sectarianism, poverty, worship, rural/remote issues etc
Ø Specific local stuff relevant to the host area.
It might be that if you have an event or activity that coincides with one of these meetings (or we could make fit) then this is an opportunity for people to lend a practical form of support to one another.
So – dates… please put these dates in your diary, and we will try to fill them all… IF PEOPLE WANT TO SUGGEST OTHER DATES, let me know!
|
Date |
Where |
What |
Facilitators |
|
24th January, 2009 |
Starbucks, Borders Bookshop Glasgow Fort shopping centre Just off the M8 Glasgow |
Meet and share session A chance to check out the thing a bit closer- and find out more. Sort out some business issues- fill some dates, and allocate some tasks, |
Chris and Michaela Goan 01369 707009 chris@goan.fsnet.co.uk |
|
28th-29th March, 2009 |
Chris and Michaela’s house 179 Marine Parade DUNOON |
WEEKEND RETREAT/OPEN HOUSE. A chance to spend some more in-depth time with people, and God. Come for the day, or for the weekend (we have room for quite a few, but obviously first come, first served!)
Kids are welcome, but we need to plan things around them- so let us know!
No cost- but you might need to bring some food along to throw into the communal pot.
This might include- quiet room, walks along the shore, worship sessions, specific group discussion times, sharing meals and sitting round log fires… |
Chris and Michaela Goan 01369 707009 chris@goan.fsnet.co.uk |
|
16th May 2009 |
? |
? |
? |
|
27th June 2009 |
? |
? |
? |
|
12th September 2009 |
? |
? |
? |
|
21st November 2009 |
? |
? |
? |
Chris Goan
14.10.08.
this fragile tent 