Oberammergau

We went to the famous Passion Play on 29 June 2010 and had a wonderful time there and later in Austria. I wrote a poem which was read at a service the following Sunday for our group and another group running parallel with us. Here it is.

Oberammergau Passion Play, 29 June 2010.

Now let me tell you briefly how

Things went at Oberammergau,

A tourist village, busy, clean,

With all around a mountain scene.

We went, of course, to see the Play

The twenty ninth of June our day,

And so we did, and it was great,

No matter that it went on late,

We saw the Passion tale unfold,

That story on the stage was told

By locals playing all the parts,

Excelling in performing arts

With livestock and that great big horse

Unfazed by noise, a tour de force;

Great drama, music, tableaux too,

Helped by the able backup crew

Who made the costumes skilfully

Or did the choreography.

Their efforts told of Jesus’ life,

Especially the final strife,

When his prophetic ministry

Conflicted with authority;

Betrayed, arrested put on trial,

That Pilate man was really vile;

And darkness came – as if to stay -

The cross, and Jesus whisked away.

But then a little glimpse of light

The Risen Lord returned to sight.

As light was passed from youth to age

He led his people from the stage.

Applause was loud but none returned

For accolades that they had earned;

And stunned we left the Passion Play

With much to ponder on our way.

A grand performance, marvellous,

But how has it affected us?

As lost for words we may well be,

For moments in eternity,

But from the Play this much is clear

The crucified now lives, is here!

W. John Young July 2010

Transitions

Arnold van Gennep was a great anthropologist and folklorist of yesteryear. The academics in those fields shunned him because he didn’t come through their academic schools but his most celebrated discovery has outlasted many of theirs. In 1909 he published his famous book about how people cope with major life events such as birth, marriage and death. Its title, Les Rites de Passage, has led to an expression in everyday English and his insights remain helpful for all sorts of transitions.

Van Gennep found that significant changes usually have three phases. First, there is separation from the old and with it there are formal and informal ceremonies and customs that help people say goodbye to the old - parties, presents, services... Secondly, there is an uncertain, threshold or liminal phase when one foot is in the old and the other in the new and we are not sure where we are. This is reckoned to be a tricky time. Finally, there is incorporation when we become part of the new and with it there are welcomes and ceremonies and customs that help us into the new situation.

However, there is more to this than social engineering for managing changes by suitable ceremonies. As Christians we realise that God is with us. And this is a fullsome presence - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit with us along with the people of God as the body of Christ. In the liminal period when old friends are left behind and we haven't made new friends this God is still with us and so are strengthened and encouraged as we cross the threshold from one situation to another.

East Shallowford Farm

A Visit to East Shallowford Farm
15 May 2010

[above - people assembling]

[below - seen on approach, last year]

On Saturday, 15 May, we went to East Shallowford Farm, a Christian farm project in the heart of Dartmoor which was being reopened after extensive refurbishment. The farmhouse is actually very ancient and goes back into the Middle Ages but this project began in the mid-1970s with the arrival of Elizabeth Braund and her friend Rosemary Bird. Since then they have worked the farm and provided rural experiences for inner city children mainly from London. It is an extension of youth work that Miss Braund had started, almost by accident, in Battersea in the 1950s. She became a Christian under the ministry of Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones at Westminster Chapel and the Doctor encouraged her to join a group that produced The Evangelical Magazine. As she put the magazine together in a nearly disused Baptist chapel local youngsters wanted to know what she was up to and this led to a youth work that flourished and continued when the chapel was demolished and replaced by Providence House. Miss Braund saw the need for urban children to have a wider experience by going on country holidays. After a few visits to a farm in north Wales the idea of a more permanent location was explored and that is how East Shallowford came into being as a Lung for the City. In partnership with Providence House this has been active for the last 35 years. Young people came and were introduced to farm work as well as experiencing the countryside and enjoying outings to the seaside. It was a Christian atmosphere and Miss Braund involved the youngsters in suitable dramas, told stories around the huge fireplace and on Sundays Dunston Methodist Church would have its small congregation augmented by a party from Shallowford. Many people discovered themselves and a Christian faith in the process and have greatly appreciated the Shallowford experience.

/below - last year\

By the twenty first century the buildings needed upgrading. This was challenging in that modernisation had to bear in mind the listed building status. The necessary consents were obtained and the funding for Phase 1 which was completed in May 2010. The farm house has been fully modernised. The huge fireplace has been preserved and all the other rooms have been brought up to a high standard. I was particularly interested to see what had happened to the room in which I did a lot work on the archives.

as we were - working on the archives / \ now - a bit more room /

It has been extended and could house workstations and facilities for researchers and teaching groups. The barn has had some work done on it and is well placed now for hosting events. Here is Elizabeth untying the ribbon to reopen the building.

On Saturday we met outside in the farmyard as it was such a lovely day but the barn offers shelter and space for a good crowd to meet indoors if necessary. Subsequent phases will, hopefully, include accommodation blocks and a warden’s house.

Sadly Rosemary died earlier in the year after being ill for the last three years. Elizabeth Braund is elderly but is still full of ideas. Her vision is shared by the local Methodist Superintendent the Reverend Edgar Daniel and it seems to me that the heart of the matter is the love of Christ which touches people inwardly and stimulates new relationships with God, other people, communities and the creation.

coincidences

Many events are put down to coincidence and they may well be but when they do occur they are noticeable. I have quite often heard a word on the radio at the same time as I have thought or said the very same word. It just seems one of those odd things. Other happenings appear more meaningful though the meaning may be in what we make of these events.
For instance, today I have been at the hospital for treatment and one of the other patients turned out to have been at the same school as me. When we realised that we are at the same school he mentioned names and included mine without realising that I was there in front of him! Now, that was very pleasant but it could have been a near miss if we had never got into conversation - actually I chatted with his wife while he was being treated and got as far as finding out that they came from the same area as I did years ago.
Just a few weeks ago one of my daughters was at an event and somehow there was a remark that another person had a baby in Africa. Our daughter responded that her mother had too and then it came out that this person had been in the same country as us and more than that in the same part of the country and had actually worked in the same place we did and lived a few yards from where we could come a few years after them. Again, it could have been a near miss with acquaintance continuing without any of this coming out. We got to meet this lady and her husband and wondered not only about the remarkable meeting but also the question of near misses.
And I could continue. A friend used to speak of God instances and I do believe that there is providence in some of these things. Whatever the case we can take the opportunity to develop the connections that such happenings open up. And as for the near misses - perhaps they would be reduced if we opened up to one another more often.
Indeed I can continue because 2 more examples turned up in the last few weeks. A chap I saw every day for a few weeks turned out to be from the same school as me but we hadn't seen each other for 50 years and another fellow I had met a couple of years ago at a church we visited a couple of times. In both cases these would have been near misses if I hadn't started a conversation.

Thailand 1

Our 2009 holiday in Thailand was an amazing time with many fascinating experiences of people and places. The variety of transport, the friendly people and temples all over the place. Sometimes such a riot of impressions that I could hardly take them all in and altogether two weeks was such a short time, just a glimpse of the surface of things without really grasping deeply how life, language and culture work.

The temples had too much in them for me though no doubt there is huge meaning for people who understand what all the decorations and ornaments are about. I was most impressed by the monk who sat absolutely still, apparently deeply focused on something.



And I enjoyed the swamp with its birdlife - the highlight was seeing an osprey at close quarters.











There are Christians in Thailand and we were impressed by the Youth House ministry and our daughter's part in it and the generous self-giving spirit of a Thai Christian, M.

Science

I like science and have learnt many wonderful things from doing it and reading about it. If I had been smarter at maths I would probably have gone further with it. When I lived in Wales I used to go with my friend Gwilym to the Cardiff scientific society for their winter lecture programme. It was always very interesting. They had a variety of topics drawing in people from a variety of disciplines; physics, chemistry, biology etc even sociology. Gwilym and I would then have an interesting discusson on the way home and would continue it over a cup of tea at his home.

The first scientific subject that interested me as a youngster was nature study, especially bird watching and that interest has stayed with me. Then soon after I started to get into astronomy and made a simple telescope and looked at the moon, the full moon which isn't the best phase but the effect was magical. I looked at better times and saw craters and then got a better telescope. It was only a 2 inch refractor but I had wonderful views of the moon and Jupiter and its moons and so on. In 1957 the first Artificial Earth Satellite was launched and I started watching satellites. For a number of years I worked in laboratories - chemistry and physics and though I left that line of work I kept up the scientific interest. When I was a school chaplain in Zambia I taught general science for a term when a teacher was on leave. I also ran an astronomy club and learnt a lot about the southern stars and the students found it interesting too.

Now I have a better telescope and can take digital photographs and that has been pleasing in good weather though I don't go into it anywhere as deeply as some. It is all very wonderful but I don't do cold mornings as I did 50 years ago!

Science is very amazing. The discoveries and advances that have been made are astonishing. Just when things have been sorted some new discovery throws everything into the melting pot again.

I once wrote an essay on what is science for? I argued for it being useful, a practical purpose, and there is a lot in that but the usefulness is wider than technology. It evokes wonder for example and also encourages patience and the search for truth and an open mindedness in expecting surprises. Apart from aiming at truth science has little ethical leverage and so its use and pursuit must be controlled by philosophical principles that are not inherent to science. It is therefore not the whole of reality and exists in a wider context of abstract realities such as principles and values that cannot be evaluated by science. Thus although reductionism and materialism are assumed by some scientists and they are free to use them it must be clear that these actually are philosophical stances brought to bear on science. Nobody is obliged to be a materialist and science can be approached from other standpoints.

Many Christians are scientists and have thought about these things. For myself, as a Christian, I think that science shows how the material universe is constructed and works and that is a cause for wonder and praise. Usefulness definitely comes into the picture and I think that Christians can be very open to new developments in science and technology but see them in the context of loving God with our whole being and loving our neighbour as ourselves. Undoubtedly, this does offer a critique of destructive, malicious uses as well as greed and the like but our attitude doesn't have to be negative all around as new discoveries are made which are potentially for the good of humankind and the world in general.

For me those early views of the moon and the stars opened the eye of faith to believe that there is a creator of all these wonders. How this developed into a Christian faith is another story.

Cross culture

Someone working in another country expressed her tension over being in one country and longing for 'home' and reflecting that if she was home she would long to be in Asian country she had moved to.
It is indeed a dilemma for people who work across cultures because they are in between the cultures and are neither one nor the other. Some expatriates try and create a world like the one they have left and emphasize aspects of the culture they have left. I have met British people in other countries who seemed more British than people in Britain. However, the home culture is never as simple as such folk imagine and by failing to engage with the people they are among they miss an opportunity for growth in understanding other people and learning new things from their ways. Furthermore, their lack of interaction means that they do not add their bit to the social and cultural mix. I found that being in another culture does throw into relief my own background and its strengths and weaknesses. Cultural differences become apparent and need to be assessed and bad things discerned but many features such as music, art, language are not to be despised but rather to be valued and learned from.
It is curious how, like plants, some aspects of culture transplant easily and others do not. Association football [soccer] has caught on in Africa, cricket in the Indian sub-continent and curries in Britain. On the other hand soccer and cricket have not flourished in the same way in the USA and American football has had little appeal in Europe.
There is 'culture shock' when we go to live in a new culture though we do expect things to be different. We spent 5+ years in Central Africa, a life-affecting experience, but when we came home we were surprised by the 'reverse culture shock' which is a two-edged sword because:
[1]. Home had changed since we left, it had moved on for better or worse, and on coming home we faced these changes. We may or may not have liked them but adjusting took longer than we expected.
[2]. We were changed by living somewhere else and by being immersed in another world with different languages, customs and values which we missed on coming home. We were not as we were when we left and adjusting to home again took longer than we thought it would.

Christians belong to this world and another world so are always between the cultures with the two worlds interacting. As the Citonga translation of a verse in Philippians has it 'Munzi wesu uli kujulu' ['our village is in heaven'] - we live in this world as people who belong to heaven and that can create tensions and frustration as well as filling us with love, joy and peace as our life is shared with the heavenly man, our risen and ascended Saviour and friend, Jesus Christ.