Friday, January 21, 2005

What to do?

Jen made a comment on Nick's blog that I have edited below:
"I dont understand why you all just talk about all these topics, all the time...I havent read the blogs for ages because to be honest they often make me feel a bit hopeless....But is anything happening? Has anyone started anything off the back of these?..... maybe sometimes you just cant know what the right or wrong thing is and you just have to do it?"
I recognise the frustration. I am the sort of person who likes to get on and do things, and enjoy overcoming the hurdles. When you get to a state where you just can't cope with forms of church that currently exist, your first reaction is OK, let's do it differently. But what does 'differently' mean? For many it simply means the style of music, but when the not coping goes deeper than that you have to think about different fundamental structures. When you look at altenative structures they all seem to end up with the same problems, so you dream of having no structures at all. You try this and it seems to end up in a bunch of people turning up and having a chat, and you start to think 'Surely church must be more than this?'
So what do I need from 'Church'? Should I be asking 'What can I give to Church? How do you get past the point where a group of friends meet for a chat? Do you need to? How do you do something that's of use to people in different circumstances, or is it OK to have a 'Church' for people who are in similar circumstances.
My considered opinion having been detached from mainstream church for some time now is "I don't know". I care that I don't know and would love to find some way of working it out. At the back of my mind I have the awful suspicion that if I did find a way it would, in the end, be just like all the other ways that have been tried. My best option at the moment is to get on with life as best I can, and find opportunities to spend time with friends (old and new) who are happy to talk about God now and then. So please, come and talk to me about Him and about you, it's the nearest I can get to church at the moment.

Wednesday, January 05, 2005

3 interesting thoughts

Number one:
"Every single random, accidental death is something that should upset a faith bound up with comfort and ready answers." So said Rowan Williams in response to the Asian tsunami. How sad that it should be interpreted by the Sunday Telegraph as the Archbishop of Canterbury doubting his belief in God.

Number two:
A recent survey found that British people don't so much actively not believe in God, rather there is a general apathy - people can't really be bothered to put enough effort in to find out whether or not it's worth believing.

Number three:
The British people have been incredibly generous in their giving to the disaster relief funds.

Put all these together and we get an interesting view of Britain. We are not inspired by politicians or religious leaders. We are willing to stand up and be counted when there's a cause worth standing up for. Are we just too comfortable and well off so that we have become lazy in thought and enterprise? A poll of Radio 4 listeners came up with a recommendation that Bob Geldof is the person most worthy of being made a peer. Is this an indication that we're just waiting for a charismatic personality to come and tell us how to fix things? Is this a dangerous situation?