My goodness this looks like one of those lively days. Transworld radio has delivered again and while I was having my coffee at 7:30 I heard about a new organization, new to me anyway called ataloss.org which is a uk wide service helping people who have been bereaved including provision for the children of the bereaved.
Founder and chief executive, Yvonne Tulloch, wrote that when she was suddenly widowed in 2008 she recognised how little those around her knew about bereavement, its difficulties and needs, and how hard it can be to find understanding support. The charity itself was established in 2016 and it’s certainly worth a look because very often, the universe doesn’t give us warning if it’s an accident or other unforeseen circumstances.
It reminds me that difficulties and sudden events can be used as a lever to stimulate greater effort or of course simply be the cause of your downfall and depression it’s really up to us using our God-given free will
very posh entrance to the rural Baptists church ( door on right)
Sometimes I think that no written description can do justice to anything I see or do but I’m going to have a go.
I arrived 15 minutes before the service was due to start; I heard the sound of merry voices inside to find about a dozen people gathered, all chatting to each other obviously they knew each other well and I was the newcomer.
Nothing wrong with that and I’m used to it so I went up to the nearest person and they greeted me like a long last friend, no social distancing here.
The Baptist minister turned up about five minutes to three just before the service was due to start. He had a lovely blue jersey on, the colour of the sky at the time. When he gave his address he did not dress up at all . He told me later he was a retired gardener and had a chap working for him called Ben. Ben had to get used to hanging around after a job while the preacher discussed one spiritual point of another with his customer. I also discovered that we were both sons of Vicars.
I realized that I was in the right place because everything was very informal. The service started about 10 past 3 and it was quite clear that this man was going to speak from his heart. The topic was ‘suffering’ and how the devil got to Jesus when he must have been very hungry after 40 days in the wilderness.
I thought he ate honey and locusts but try catching a locust so I’m not so sure about that theory.
Anyway, the devil tended him to turn the stones into bread and he said that man did not live by bread alone. A service was very simple in construction. There were four hymns, some prayers at the beginning and end, and an address. The last hymn was quite interesting because the minister had decided to change the hymn at the last moment so the organist had no idea what the tune was.
So he played one tune and we sang another which made for a merry noise. However by the sixth verse we had reached a consensus and we managed to produce something resembling harmony.
The style of address – It was clear that the minister had done his homework and had the talent of bringing the context of the event in the Bible to life by describing conditions at the time this is only possible if you’ve done a deep dive into the whole environment of the bible or should I say the New Testament and particularly the life of Jesus and his disciples.
I don’t want to turn this into a theological talk, rather a comment on how to deliver something.
Clinical he was not, enthusiastic and spontaneous he was. I was sold on that and afterwards we all had tea and coffee with some biscuits in the aisle. It was pointed out to me proudly that the walls were three foot click. The church was over 200 years old and they see no reason why it shouldn’t go on for another 200 years. Gosh it take me back to my childhood in a rural parish (Bergh Apton with Yelverton, Norfolk)
The countryside near Dunkerton, taken after the service. Pristine blue – good for the soul.
Small groups of people suit me fine. I cannot relate suddenly to 50 people especially in a bigger church so this was a small church, more like someone’s front room, and there was one group of people who all knew each other, that was more digestible for me and closer to that which I consider to be part of the essential essence of fellowship.
The minister talked about lent and said that instead of giving things up why don’t we try to do more of good things like I’m not speaking about faith matters, a generally extending ourselves and I could relate to this far more.
I shall return in a month and it is already in my diary,
Thoughts on Spreading the early Christian gospel
Brian: I would like to ponder on the problems that the disciples of Christ had when they were trying to spread the word and I want to point out that in many ways we have an easier task
# the early disciples faced intense persecution from both Jewish and Roman authorities. They were arrested, beaten and even killed for their faith
# at times the disciples struggled with their own faith and the faith of those they were trying to reach. This made it difficult to perform miracles and convince others of Jesus message
# the disciples must have faced temptations that could distract them from their mission. This included the temptation to give into fear, doubt, and worldly desires
# without communication tools, the disciples had to rely on letters and word of mouth to spread their message
# they had to travel long distances on foot or by primitive means deal with the practical challenges of moving from place to place finding food in shelter and staying safe
It is a miracle that the disciples were able to spread the message of Christianity far and wide, laying the foundation for the global faith we see today. I think we take technology for granted and we must be very careful to use it for good rather than for evil. Any attempt to depersonalize society is a step in the wrong direction.
The early ‘Christian’ gospel was, it seems distorted by the Romans.
But what we have is of value. they couldn’t distort everything, they couldn’t understand it.
Interpretation is everything.
Gnostic texts have more value perhaps?
From the Gospel of Thomas
(Translated by Thomas O. Lambdin)
These are the secret sayings which the living Jesus spoke and which Didymos Judas Thomas wrote down.
(Verse 1) And he said, “Whoever finds the interpretation of these sayings will not experience death.”
None is wrong.
All creation is by God… ALL. Not your cleverness or mine!