Emerging in Ludlow

Exploring

"...and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time."

T S Elliot

Meeting of spirits.

Sometimes when you meet people, you know that God is right there with you. There is a spiritual 'thing' going on which means you meet as more than just people. Meeting Phil and Viv was like that today. They are the first people that have contacted me via the blog. We talked about church and about what God was doing here and there. As we leave, and have to trust God for what continues... there are some great people, better people coming. Allez!

Warning: Sporadic Blogging Expected

Yes, it's been a busy time. We are looking at details of houses, schools, communities and everything else. This is of course on top of the already busy life with four kids. So blog entries may be a bit sporadic for a while.

One thing I have been thinking about again is place. I have posted before about the idea of thin places and our relationship with the land: I have been thinking about whether it's important to God where we are. Specifically rather than generally I mean. Yeah alright, what I mean is: does God mind exactly where were situate ourselves or could we happily fulfill our calling anywhere or in a more general location?

For me this is a bit like the question does God have a specific husband/wife in mind for us? I think usually not. It may be that for some people with a particular calling, God has a particular spouse in mind. Isaac was a case in point. For most of us though there are probably many people with whom we would be able to make a good marriage. I think that God cares much about the qualities of the sort of person we might choose, but not the actual individual. Once married however, all heaven works to support that relationship. This is how I feel (at the moment) about my five year old daughter. I want her to marry someone who loves God, who will care for her and look after her and love and respect her, but that could be one of any number of people.

So is this the same with where we live? Does God mind whether I am in Nottingham or Lincoln? Little Carlton or Wellow? Maybe for some people he does, he has a specific place in mind. For us though I think not. Maybe he does care about us not being too far away from schools and my work. Maybe he does care about not stretching ourselves too much financially. Maybe it's important that we can become part of a community... But these could mean any number of places. So...

...that means it's our decision! Oh no!

Ludlow Flood - again

The power of water is quite frightening. This is Ludford Bridge.

The water came over the wall on Temeside. Again, though many places have it far, far worse.

Noah's Ark?

There is a carpenter up the road who is restoring a wooden yacht. We call it Noah's Ark. Every time we pass it in the car we shout "Noah's Ark" and know that we are nearly home. We have competitions for who says it first. We are about as far from the sea as you can get in England (2 hours), but I'm beginning to think it might come in handy.

Will it ever stop?

Notre Dame

I found this photo still on the camera from our trip to Paris.

Freedom

Lord, I've seen the looks.
The warm summer day when I turned up at Church
in a bush shirt.
No tie, no jacket.
No, not everyone's looks.
But enough to make me wonder.
The criticism, thinly disguised as a joke.
I thought it was the worship that mattered
but apparently it's being in step.
Thank you for all that makes us different, Lord.
For the variety of your world.
I suppose creation could have been easier
If you'd only chosen one green,
but when I stand in a field and absorb the landscape
there must be a hundred greens, all different.
Light and dark, warm and cold, intense and pale.
That's the beauty, the joy.
It would be insane
to try and repaint them, all the same.
And yet I see folk are doing just that
to each other.
To themselves.
Lord forgive us
for rejecting the diversity of your world,
it's wonder, it's change.
For denying the marvelous mosaic
of human personality.
For loving ourselves so little
that we box ourselves in with rules that you've never made.
Help us to see
that in Christ we are free.
Free. Not to trample on the freedom of others,
But free to be ourselves,
Free to laugh
Free to live
Free, within the endless bounds of love, to grow.
Free to reflect your image,in our diversity.

Eddie Askew: From Disguises of Love 1983

Emerging in Nottingham(shire)?

Last weeks trip was positive and we think that it seems right to go. We like the eastern part of the county - even into Lincolnshire. There is much to be worked out and worked on and our timescale is long, it's likely to be October before we move.

That means that this blog will need to be re-invented! As far as my hopes for a community here go, they remain hopes and in God's hands.

Emerging in Newark? Emerging in Southwell? Emerging in Tuxford? Emerging in East Markham? Emerging in Saxilby? Emerging in North Clifton? Emerging in Eagle? Emerging in South Muskham? Suggestions on an email...

We are confident in God who is able to guide and direct us.

More global warmth

The Guardian yesterday had an interesting article countering the main argument of the Great Global Warming Swindle. This was that changes in the output of the sun were the driver of climate change not carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. To me the article does not appear dispassionate and this, as Carmen commented on a previous post is a real issue. The arguments are polarized and though from this article the scientific community would seem to be agreed, the language and posturing belong to zealots which has obviously not convinced the common man - me included.

Interesting that the emerging church would probably accept that zealous rehearsing of arguments will probably only make people suspicious. Perhaps Mr Gore would get further by sailing around the world rather than jetting to stand in front of his big screen - at least this would be in line with his talk.

Again agreeing with Carmen - somewhat ironically - is that regardless of climate change I think that consuming less, traveling less and generally being much more responsible with our precious environment is a crucial imperative.  It does worry me that the race for ethanol to make cars 'green' may make poor people hungry.

Global Warming: true or false?

Mark Berry posted views on Live Earth. I didn't see any of the coverage, we don't have a TV. Yesterday, however I did go to a friends house to see a recording of Channel 4's The Great Global Warming Swindle.

I have a science degree - we studied basic meteorology - and I have a long interest in climate change, we also studied this at University. The friend I was watching with is a much more serious scientist. We were both swayed enough to think that there are serious doubts in the global warming argument.

Let's get this straight. There is no dispute that the climate is changing, just whether we are causing it.

I am going to try to examine some of the arguments here - I think it's really important to be informed about this debate and not necessarily to swallow what we are being fed by a sensationalist media. More I think that the church needs to neither deny on the basis of a Satanist conspiracy or just flow along with, the prevailing arguments.

Here's the first thing that struck me: carbon dioxide makes up only 0.038% of the earth's atmosphere. A system that is sensitive to changes in the parts per million (ppm) that is talked about, is sensitive indeed (and of course this may be the case). Secondly, the most important green-house gas is water vapour - did you know that?