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Telling the Truth 2007: Yes its really going to be that good!

Normally, I'd leave it to my fellow locals to make their own decisions about free time. But this weekend's Telling the Truth Conference on the Arts and the Worshipping Church is really going to be so good... you won't want to pass this one up. In fact, if I didn't live here in Victoria, I'd still be travelling to get to be part of it.

The Event runs 3 days:

• Thurs Oct 25th 7pm (Lambrick Park Church) Keynotes and local stories
• Friday Oct 26th 7pm (Saanich Community Church) an extravaganza of art, live music, poetry exporing intersections with faith.
• Saturday Oct 27th 8am (Saanich Community Church) all day workshops and keynotes.
• Sat evening 7pm (UVic Interfaith Chapel) join us for a contemplative service "Hear the Silence" no charge for this service

Check out http://www.poasis.blogspot.com/ for all the details about the conference, cost / registration info, local presenters and story tellers and our guest speakers Jamie Howison and Gord Johnson from Winnipeg's St Benedict's Table whose theology is as good as their art and sense of humour.

And hey - even if its last minute..COME! Just mention that you're a "local" and we'll get you in!

Just trying something...

For those of you who are visiting the site, don't be alarmed, please ignore this image and peruse the various articles at your enjoyment.

regarding those who are 'locals', I'm using this image to put a picture on my profile page - apparently I have to do this. Don't be alarmed or dismayed, I won't harm you... much.

Actually, now that you're here, why not leave a comment. I think it looks awesome personally. A tribute to my Maori tanga (heritage). However this is not 'Moko' but would more accurately be designated as ' Kirituhi '- Skin art.

Mega church in a consumer culture....

I've also been checking out a conversation with my emergent kiwi mate titled,'Praise God from whom all economies of scale flow ' and added my tid-bit too. Here it is cut & pasted for your convenience.

I think that in the past, modern Christendom was so much part of the cultural tapestry of our societies ( NZ, Aus, Canada, USA, Europe etc. ), church was a natural part of that landscape. That religious fabric is being worn away as our societies are moving from a modern to some kind of post- modern fashion. Another way of saying it is that once Christendom was like a sea that covered our societies landscapes and now it's been reduced to pools, which are getting smaller, and there is a kind of amalgamation occurring - formation of mega churches. Among other things, Mega churches are reflective of our consumeristic culture where we can shop for all our spiritual goods and services in one place - a spirituality of entitlement. It also serves as a ' watering hole ' in the midst of a perceived dry , barren and dangerous landscape. What we might be seeing is the last ' Hurrah ' of modern Christianity before the pool dries up. Meanwhile, our societies are becoming more distant.

Our context is changing and the Church along with the Gospel must be contextualized as we engage new societal fashions or landscapes that are forming.
This is where the ' Emergent ' expressions of Church have a place. In short, I believe that we must emphasize a local - ' indigenous ' , wholistic, visible presence of Church. The local church must be recovered but perhaps more reflective of the neighbourhood that it finds itself in. By indigenous I mean we must study that context and seek to ' translate ' church and the gospel to it's surroundings - not synchronize but contextualize, there's a difference. I say wholistic because we need to dismantle our compartmentalized approach to faith - what we eat, where we shop, justice for the poor, environmental issues, to name a few, are growing concerns in our transforming culture - do we have a counter cultural voice here ? I say visible because we are supposed to be a shining light. for example, I personally am not in favour of house churches. I've been a part of one and I found it to be quite insular, self absorbed and at times elitist... Not to mention, void of eclesiology. And for the most part, invisible.... Steve I like the fact that you belong to ' Opawa ' Baptist church. It speaks of locality and it has a visible presence. It's ongoing challenge will be to contextualize, become a indigenous expression of Church there. Steve, if your church was to close down tomorrow, would the rest of the community of Opawa miss you ?... Or even notice ?

Who will lead the revolution ?... I'm not sure if its a revolution, maybe more of a re-definition. It will be guys( or Women ) like you Steve, visionaries and leaders who will boldly go where no modern Christian leader has gone before. I also think it won't so WASP'y( White Anglo Saxon Protestant dominated ) and I'd also say that grass roots initiatives will become more the norm.

Those enmeshed in Consumerism will be happy with mega church and probably stay there. Some will become disillusioned and leave, others will embark on the journey, adventure, and mystery with you.

My initial thoughts,

Tangira.

Made in God's image and Airplane seats...

I've been part of a conversation that's on the emergent kiwi blog. It started with a post titled, ' Large people and Airplane seats ' which was quite provocative and offensive to some people. Lately Steve has started another post that asks,... "Why, if Christians are made in the image of God, is it so hard to look at ourselves n*ked in the mirror?" . Here's how I responded to that question.

"Why, if Christians are made in the image of God, is it so hard to look at ourselves n*ked in the mirror?" .... Partly, because we are an overtly 'compartmentalized' people.

Well, first of all, Christians aren't the only ones made in the image of God - apparently all of Humanity is too. According to the story in Genesis humanity with all its diversity of colour, shape, size, psychology, personality, emotions, culture, and it's need for spirituality can all find its source from this statement, " made in the image of God "...It's a mysterious statement but it's ambiguity can also be explored... One of things it does do is affirm our physicality.

We are holistic beings that are are made up of many distinctive's described above. I think it's deficient to focus on the physical alone and ask the question, ' what does made in the image of God mean today ' ? This idea of compartmentalizing our beings, for the church, goes way back to St Augustine who was a huge fan of the Greek philosopher Plato. Plato promoted the idea of 'Dualism' which Augustine picked up on and masterfully applied it to the Christian life and world view of his day which still reaches down to ours. Basically, Augustine said that the Spiritual life was most important and should be the focus of our Christian growth. Our physical nature, over all, was something that was akin to carnality, the flesh, the inherently sinful part of ourselves. Some of the results of this philosophy in the church have been : The perception that sex is evil, the female body inspires lust, emotions and intuition can't be trusted, the physical body isn't that important, the environment can be exploited , even being 'educated' has taken a toll under this philosophy.... We often say to each other, ' how's your Spiritual life ' ? as though that's what's most important, as though it's separate from every other part of our beings.

I'm doing away with this kind of compartmentalization or personal separatism. I am one 'being' made up of many distinctive's; In that like the different organs of my body, they ' bleed ' into each other. Those distinctive's are all important to God and should be looked after in the pursuit of Godliness. I'm beginning to understand that I can't do anything spiritually, physically, emotionally etc. that's not going to effect every other distinctive of my being. We have a responsibility to look after our physical bodies, like we take care of our ' spiritual ' life. But not in the vanity and conformity of this world. We do it because in some measure it bears Gods image, which is a mystery, because we're all so different. So bear his image and be who you are but don't be conformed to the vain nature of this world.

That's my two bits...

Look out....the Truth is out there

Oct 25-27, 2007 Something the locals won't want to miss

Hey Locals

I just spent a great couple of hours (well, more like 4) chatting with folks about the Telling the Truth Conference this Oct. More details to come over the next month or so, but let me at least "leak" this info to you all now:

• Its looking very good for us having Jamie Howison and Gord Johnson from St Benedict's Table in Winnipeg come speak and run workshops at our conference. These guys will have a very broad appeal with something for the academic / theologically minded, artistic / creative, as well as church leaders and missional thinkers. What I'm saying is I know my "Local" friends will want to hear what they have to say, as well as participate in discussions with other members of the Church at large here in Victoria
• We have taken care to avoid conflict with Gulu walk this year (no pun intended)... so let us be the first to suggest you mark your calendars for Thurs Oct 25 (evening), Friday Oct 26 (evening) and saturday Oct 27.
• we're looking to include some sharing of stories to find out what is going on in our community and beyond. If you know of someone who is doing notable work with regards to the arts and the church let us know

I'll post further details over the summer. If you want more info now or have ideas to share, email me christine {dot} neufeld {at} gmail.com or leave a comment below.

Something to talk about...

Greetings locals.

So, I came across these words on the blog of local artist J Nobel:

"i'm convinced that visual art has a place in contemporary church circles apart from setpiece and backdrop, visual reference at best. i'm convinced that there is a more prominent place for visual art in the corporate body. i'm convinced that art can include, can gather together, can teach, can connect, etc. art is made in community, grows from community, is supported by community, and thus should serve community." read more here

J' has a lot of great ideas...and great paintings! That's why I think we should swarm the guy at his gallery opening Friday June 1, 7pm at Con Brio Studios. His show is called "Transitions". In addition to J's original works there will be live music, good food, and the potential for some very interesting conversations. Sounds like our kind of thing eh?

Here's the poster - hope to see you there. And don't forget to check the poasis site for more details.

A little more contemplation...

Hey everyone...

Thought you might like to know of a service coming up with our friend Ernest the Anglican. Less talk, more prayer...sounds very cool:

Taize Prayer at UVic this Friday April 20th
4:30 pm Interfaith Chapel
Come check out this opportunity for simple, welcoming, ecumenical prayer based in the rhythm of song and silence. This style of prayer, developed by the Taize community in France, is used worldwide as a way to sink deeply into the experience of worship and cultivate the presence of God.

Time to be appetized...

I love Sushi ! It's got to be some of the most artistic, well presented food out there.... And I'm not talking about the that cheesy 'western' friendly junk you buy in super markets. I'm talkin' the real deal, raw and rugged texture of sea creatures finely sliced.... There's a theology there that must be discovered with every bite. For some good Sushi in our area check out this place

.... And to get your taste buds primed, match your witts to this game , which I discovered from my good friend P. Wade . So take a break from your artsy fartsy, theological endeavours, play a game and go get some good Sushi at a very good price. Enjoy ! .... Remember, honor is everything !

Taizé at UVic | Friday Mar 2

If you're around campus at all tomorrow, Ernest (UVic's Anglican chaplain) is throwing together a Taizé service for 4:30 at the Interfaith Chapel followed by soup and bread. If you're interested in helping put things together, feel free to show up at 3:30....And as Ernest would love this to be far and wide and as ecumenical as can be - please tell anyone you think might be interested.

James wants your insight re: ethical trade etc

I'm looking to spend this week gathering your esteemed insight, opinion and schooling on the topic of evangelicalism and fair trade for an upcoming conference here in Vic. Please feel free to leave as much, or as little feedback here. Thanks eh?!

Stickman Art Show tonight (Fri Feb 16)

If you're around Gordon Hood Head this evening, make sure you swing by Lambrick Park Church and check out their fifth annual Stickman Art Show....Number 5's the charm they say.

Open Office - Copyleft Liturgy

Considering all our monastic and office chat lately, it was interesting to see the folks from Vaux have come back online with an opensource approach to liturgy. From the website:

The Open Office is an attempt to affirm that liturgical rhythm, but using resources written by people 'on the ground', rather than published and canonised from on high.

Each post is categorized to allow users to search through the normal headings of an Office: morning, noon, evening and night prayer, plus prayers and liturgies for festivals, birthdays and pretty much anything else. All of life can be celebrated, lamented or remembered together.

ThePrayer For a Meal on Tired Evening After a Week of Struggles in the City is especially great! Though Victoria's not so "city" as we sometimes pretend to think it is....Perhaps "a prayer for a meal on a tired evening after a week of struggles with people who are really laid back" would be more fitting of the island...

Thoughts in general?

Via Kester Brewin

Youth of the Apocalypse

A few articles here to peruse:

Punks to Monks:
Eastern Orthodoxy's Curious Allure for Young Rebels
by Danny Duncan Collum

When John Marler arrived at the St. Herman monastery in Platina, California, he was only 19, but he was already in a state of advanced world-weariness. A disenchanted ex-guitarist for hard-core bands Sleep and Paxton Quiggly, he was hoping that the monk's life would grant him a modicum of relief from the nihilism and despair of the alternative rock scene. Four years later, Father John, as he's sometimes called, has become an inspiration to a surprisingly growing number of young people eager to embrace the mystical theology of -- are you ready? -- Eastern Orthodoxy.

As Frederica Mathewes-Green reports in Regeneration Quarterly (Winter 1997), Marler and two other punks-turned-monks at St Herman's -- Mother Neonilla and Father Damascene -- are reaching out to disaffected teens in ways hitherto unexplored by Orthodox Christianity: a zine, alternative music, a Web site, and a chain of coffeehouses. The zine, Death to the World, has reached more than 50,000 readers, mostly punks who "feel out of place in this world,"says Father Damascene. "We try to open up to them the beauty of God's creation," he adds, "and invite them to put to death 'the passions,' which is what we mean by 'the world.'. . . Selfish passions can then be redirected into love for God." What's most remarkable about these monks is that they're tapping the heart of contemporary youth culture even though they have little or no contact with its commercial manifestations. Two of the St. Herman Brotherhood's three California monasteries have no electricity, phones, or running water. And Father John lives in a monastery on an island off Alaska and communicates only by mail.

On another level, however, the leap from punk to monk should not be that startling. Punk rock has always been a semi-monastic movement, with its distinctive reject-the-world garb and ritualistic mortifications of the flesh. The one thing punk has always insisted upon, from the very beginning, is passion. It didn't matter much whether it was the passionate nihilism of the Sex Pistols or the passionate idealism of the Clash as long as it was fervent and deeply felt. It's no accident that the hard-core wing of the punk movement gave birth early on to the "straight-edge"ethos, in which followers swear to abstain from drugs, drink, and meat.

There's something about going all the way, without compromise or equivocation, that appeals to young people in a time when commitments of all kinds, from employment to marriage, seem temporary and conditional. Of course, going all the way can mean all the way out -- to drugs, or crime, or a one-way trip to the Hale-Bopp mothership. Or, as in the case of the punk monks, it can mean going all the way into the life of the spirit.

Marler's book, Youth of the Apocalypse and the Last True Rebellion, is reviewed on Amazon; I've quoted the review in full:


In the darkening world of contemporary unbelief, where the impending storm clouds of destruction have indeed almost drowned out the light, this distress is most intensely felt by the still-tender souls of the youth.
YOUTH OF THE APOCALYPSE AND THE LAST TRUE REBELLION is a ray of light cutting through the dark clouds of hypocritical, worldly pseudo-religion. It presents the realities of Orthodox Truth without any apologies. This book is a virtual manifesto for the despairing children of the eleventh hour, addressing the issues and problems that are literally tearing apart the fabric of innocence. It deals with suicide, insanity, drugs, violence, art, the occult, the apocalypse, and finally with our salvation, suffering and resurrection out of the depths of the contemporary nihilistic wasteland.

"Humanity had thought itself sufficient, and even now we think we can escape our destiny by our own efforts. Escape!--that is our only thought. To escape from the insanity, the hell of modern life is all we wish. But we cannot escape!!! We must go through this hell, and accept it, knowing it is the love of God that causes our suffering. What terrible anguish!--to suffer so, not knowing why, indeed thinking there is no reason. The reason is God's love--do we see it blazing in the darkness?--we are blind." --Fr. Seraphim Rose

YOUTH OF THE APOCALYPSE was torn from the hearts of two young monks in Alaska, who themselves have been raised out of the darkness of contemporary nihilism in its most extreme form. It has already brought suicidal young souls, despairing Orthodox young people, and other Christian youth into the ranks of God.

And here is an excerpt from the book, that Amazon reprinted:

From the mother's womb the newborn child cries; and these teardrops continue even unto this generation of youth. Every tear of every child is a painful gesture of a universal confession of the fall of mankind from perfection--to corruption, suffering and death. This cry does not grow fainter as we grow older. On the contrary, in these times worthy of much lamentation the cry grows louder and is the only consolation of the youth of today.

This generation of youth, which could very well be the last generation, is shackled in despair to this cry because they see all too well that this broken world is coming to an end. And no one has told them the truth that in the Apocalypse God will wipe every tear from their eyes. But they have been taught by violence that this eternal truth is "relative."

Alone, imprisoned in this world, we are brainwashed into believing that "there is no absolute truth," and that there is "no answer to the question: Why?" After spending our childhood in such a cold prison, it's no wonder that in our youth we seek death. When there is no answer to the answer to the question "Why?" the only freedom seems to be oblivion. The youth of today have come to the conclusion that the only hand left to wipe the tears from their eyes is the hand of suicide. When there is no truth in a world of falsehood; when there is no beauty in an ugly world; when there is no love in a world of violence and hate; when there is no God in a faithless world; it's no wonder that in every room, on every street, in every city, the weeping of the young can be heard. This is why youthful rebellion is born and justified.

This breaking down of our world is due to one philosophy, one mission that has been victorious over man's freedom of thought since time began--Nihilism. It is the belief that "there is no absolute truth." It is like a heartless and gutless machine that presses on, giving birth to destruction, sorrow, pain and death. It chooses the young for its victims, for it is easy to scar the innocence of youth. It is this machine that controls that spirit of these times and tells us that there is no answer to the question "Why?"--and therefore no reason to live at all. It is this machine of apostasy that has given birth to the youth of today. We are her children; we are the children of Nihilism; we are the youth of the apocalypse.

Now we are left with a generation that is dying off due to suicide--the Last Genocide. This Genocide can only be stopped by Truth. In order to embrace this Truth we must die to this world and be resurrected. This is the unshackling. This is the Last True Rebellion.