Apparently I have Awesomeness

“It’s Official – I’m Awesome,” I posted on Facebook.

“Of course you’re awesome,” said my husband from the computer desk a few minutes later.

“But this is someone I’m not even married to who think so too!”

No, honestly, I’m not getting a swelled head, it just feels good when someone writes something nice about you.

Maria from New Zealand It Is Then wrote the following:

Okay, next are two ladies I met at a bloggers' conference this autumn: one's Rachelle and the other's Claudia.
Neither seemed particularly captivating over the internet when I first saw them register for the conference, but boy did I like them both in person! And now as I keep reading their blogs, I have the same feeling I sometimes get with Treena: how is it that I'm not getting more of that awesomeness across from the screen? It's like I feel a little cheated even, like there's so much going on in their heads and in their lives, and I'm just getting little measly snippets here and there.

So basically, there’s not enough of ME coming through in my blog.

Sorry about that folks, it’s not my intention to deprive you of my awesomeness.

When I’m sitting here alone with the thoughts in my head, writing them down, there’s no interaction or dialogue happening.  It’s just going onto a screen then out into a void of the blog-iverse.

Otherwise, when I’m sitting having a conversation with a friend, it’s a different dynamic.  There’s instant feedback, and the conversation will go in all sorts of different directions.  My thoughts will go to different and (if it’s the right kind of friend) deeper places.

So a lot of who I am is sort of defined in interaction with other people.  Which is not always possible to write about because it’s as much about the other person as it is about me and not always appropriate for a public forum.

The challenge for me is to work on that part of my writing.  To let more of myself show.  So you all get to see my awesomeness too.

How to (or not) build a Cathedral

 

Option 1:

Cost: about $30 from the local book store. 
Materials:  Some sort of plastic stuff
Time:  one afternoon. 
Seismic strength: appears okay, although the steeple has come off occasionally.
Comparison to the historic original:  Pretty good.
Practicality for worship:  Only if you’re about 1 cm tall.

Option 2:

Cost: About $5 million (NZD)
Materials:  Cardboard, steel and some kind of clear plastic.
Time: Over a year
Seismic Strength: Appears okay, but the cardboard doesn’t like getting too wet.  No steeple to fall down.
Comparison to the historic original:  Nil.
Practicality for worship:  Very good.

Once or twice in the Before, I had stopped and sat in the Cathedral-that-was for a few minutes of private prayer in my lunch break.

In between taking photos, I did the same today.  The building has changed, but God is still the same God.

How NOT to build a cathedral:

Take the Church Property Trustees through the courts to prevent them from “deconstructing” what’s left of the Cathedral-that-was, thus delaying and increasing their costs for building a permanent replacement, and leaving a deteriorating, weathered ruin.

In my opinion, the cathedral is supposed to be a place for worship, not a museum.  Those opposed to its replacement have missed the whole point of the building.  The architects would have intended the the building to direct people’s attention heavenward, not for the building to be focus.

In the very unlikely event that Jim Anderton or any other members of the Great Christchurch Buildings Trust are reading this, Please let the Church get on with what the Church is supposed to concentrate on:  worshipping God, building relationships and serving the community.

He aha te mea nui o te ao?
He tangata! He tangata! He tangata!

What is the most important thing in the world?
It is people! It is people! It is people!

Ducklings, Daffodils and the Deeper Magic

The ducklings wouldn’t stay still for the photo.  Hence the rather blurry heavily cropped pic.

The daffodils were more co-operative.

The weather has been gradually getting warmer.  It’s no longer dark cycling to and from work.  Although it’s not officially spring for another week, it’s within sight.

We emerge from the caves where we’ve been hibernating, rubbing our eyes, blinking at the strange bright shiny thing in the sky, and wondering what do you call that not-grey colour again?

Energy!  Life! Sap flowing!  Blood pumping! 

Time to clean house, weed the garden, plant the vegetables.

Here “Down Under” we don’t have the entwining of Spring and Easter that the Northern Hemisphere does.  Even with the separation of the natural and ecclesiastical seasons, it’s hard not to think of resurrection and new life at this time of the year.

These thoughts mingle with the funeral I attended today.  A  warm, creative, vivacious woman who departed this life far too young.   We celebrate her life, grieve that she is no longer with us, and hold the hope of meeting again.  Death in the midst of resurrection.

Spring is meaningless without the winter that proceeds it. . Nature is focussing on growing and reproducing while the warmth lasts, before the cold comes again. The decayed vegetation from last season has nourished the soil, feeding this year’s new growth.  New life and hope are held in tension with loss and grieving.

John 12:23-36 (NIVUK) (Emphasis mine)

Jesus replied, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honour the one who serves me.

‘Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? “Father, save me from this hour”? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!’

Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.’ The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.

Jesus said, ‘This voice was for your benefit, not mine. Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.’ He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.

The crowd spoke up, ‘We have heard from the Law that the Messiah will remain for ever, so how can you say, “The Son of Man must be lifted up”? Who is this “Son of Man”?’

Then Jesus told them, ‘You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.’

This is the Deeper Magic, a Divine Mystery that through death there is a greater life.  The more I ponder this, the less I think I understand of it.

Selah. (Pause and think on this.)

This post is dedicated to Rhonda Tucker, 1969 – 2013.  Until we meet again.

Just start writing

I don’t really like blogging about the minute of daily life.  I want my posts to be interesting and meaningful.  Which is a great theory, but falls down when nothing much interesting and meaningful is happening in my life.  The last few weeks have been… routine.

So the challenge is to try to find meaning and inspiration in the daily routines of life.  The little ups and downs that no-one really wants to read about.

Miss Nine played a game involving a stick floating down a stream, and racing to catch it again at the bottom. 

Sometimes the stick got caught in an eddy, and didn’t seem to make much progress, until eventually it swung back around (or got poked) and caught the current again.

Some people talk about being in a rut.  Or being like that stick in the eddy, needing to be poked to get moving again.  But I don’t believe that’s where my life is.  It’s more like just being in deep slow water.  I’m still moving forward, but there’s not much to see on the surface.  A season to relax and brace myself for whatever rapids are ahead. 

Woven together

I started with the realisation that I’ve been attending the same church for 21 years.  I feel like I’m part of the fabric of this community, I’ve been woven into its very texture. 

Photo Credit: ©  Ellashouli Used with permission.

Although I’ve occasionally visited services at other churches, this is the one that feels like home.  Like in family, I am known there, with all my faults and failings, yet I’m also fully accepted and loved.

This church is more than just a community club.  Although we do socialise together, more importantly we worship and pray together.  We challenge each other, and support each other.

Luke the Physician describes the earliest known Christian church as follows:

The fellowship of the believers
(Acts 2:42-47 NIVUK)

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

(Some online resources for background reading about Luke and the book of Acts can be found here)

Okay, we’re not that good.  We don’t meet daily, we don’t share communal property, and miraculous wonders and signs are a  rarity.  And to be honest, if I did find a 21st century church that did meet daily and share communal property I’d probably by quite cautious of it, and checking it carefully on cultwatch.  There are lots of Christian Communities that are very good, but I can also think of lots of examples that start well then go astray.

Why is that, I wonder?

While I was reflecting on the good things about our church, I decided that what makes a great church is relationship:

• Between the people and God
• Between the leadership and the congregation
• Within the congregation
• Between the Church and the wider community

Relationships are like the warp threads that bind the individuals together into a unique community.

Photo Credit: ©  Ellashouli Used with permission.

The quality and depth of relationships is, in my opinion, the most important characteristic our 21st century church has in common with the 1st century church.

What do you think makes an awesome faith community?

Déjà vu

I have clear memories of my Dad taking me to this park when I was first learning to ride a bike, thirty-mumble years ago.

Back then, I wasn’t confident crossing the bridges, and would always wobble over just before the bridge.  My Miss Seven had no such problems.

The duck pond hasn’t changed much in three decades, although there has been some work done making a feature of the spring, and some strategically placed seating.

Now I get to enjoy taking this generation to practise their bike riding.  And one day, they might bring their children here too.

(Apologies for photo quality – using my phone camera)

Gap-Filler Mini-Golf

The surreal doesn’t even seem surreal any more.

A mini-golf course scattered around a broken city.  Seven holes (we only played six of them) in seven different “gaps”.  This is now a city with more gaps than non-gaps. 

Yet the children noticed none of this.  They can barely remember Before.  Normal is playing a hole of mini-golf surrounded by broken buildings and rubble.
 

It wasn’t strange to them.

The flooded remains of a basement was thought to be a strange swimming pool. 

We had fun. 

And there is more colour and life in this broken city than Before.

We are survivors.  And this city is also a survivor. 

We can never go back to Before, but I’m looking forward to the New.