no laity

A few weeks ago, in the midst of a particularly taxing few days at work, I decided to re-read The River Why. I was looking for something that would not stress me out further, but would challenge me, as it does every time I turn its pages. (My previous read was Darkmans, which I love, but found almost unbearably disquieting - the characters' plights allied with my own, which was a very unhappy collusion.)

Having an end date for work puts me in a strange head space while there; difficult to ignite other thoughts in the midst of it all. So I am once again very glad for this novel and the journey the central character is on.

Another thing, which I meant to post a while ago is this, from the Slacktivist, one of the first blogs that I got really excited about:

'John Howard Yoder noted that that idea of the priesthood of all believers is often misunderstood as -- or is accused of being -- an attempt to abolish the clergy. Actually, he said, the opposite is true. The priesthood of all believers requires the abolition of the category of laity.'

I wish I had had the perspective to summarize this way when I was thinking about the same things.

how then should we live

Came across this here, which was a nice surprise.

The singing started for me when the Ellul quote connected with the one from Moltmann I pulled up the other day. All presents a challenge I have not really begun to grapple with.

'i bring what i love'

We went to see Youssou N'Dour last night at BAM. One of the best, most inclusive, and celebratory concerts I have ever been to. The audience was on its feet, dancing in the aisles of the opera house.

I was very happy (grinning, clapping, dancing), with a wee side mix of sadness...

My favorite haiku:

'Even in Kyoto
Hearing the cuckoo's cry
I long for Kyoto'
Bashō

Some blogging on the concert with photos here.

kitchen post its

I like these. They are probably my best drawings this week. The work saga continues (and will through the end of the month). Then some new story will begin. I suppose it already has.

nothing is wasted

Jim Gordon posted on Gordon MacKay Brown last year. I do not have a clear memory of his poetry, though I know we studied him in school. I love the extracts that Rev. Gordon posted because of the reminder of the holy importance of everything.

We are folded all
In a green fable
And we fare
From early
Plough-and-daffodil sun
Through revel
Of wind-tossed oats and barley
Past sickle and flail
To harvest home,
The circles of bread and ale
At the long table-
It is told, the story -
We and earth and sun and corn are one.

from Christmas Poem

necklace reckless

Kanye West - Can't Tell Me Nothing Video from Brian Rauschenbach on Vimeo.

When I was growing up the 5.35-6pm timeslot on BBC2 was reserved for old black and white classic short films. While I continue to feel a great deal of affection towards Harold Lloyd and Charlie Chaplin, my favourites then and now were Laurel and Hardy. Stan and Ollie worked together so long and hard that it did not look like work any more. I am sure that Zach and Will worked hard on this too but mainly it looks like they had a good time. (A lot of Will's work seems to have been to keep from laughing.) The video reminds me of the films that filled the time between the end of the school day and dinner - and not just because Zach Galifianakis = 2 x Will Oldham. Laurel and Hardy's comedy was a deliberate comment on and tonic for the depression: the heroes were often down on their luck and faced hard times. The rural setting of this video, and much else besides, makes for a pointed commentary on the song. And it is very funny.

contradict reality

'Faith, wherever it develops into hope, causes not rest but unrest, not patience but impatience. It does not calm the unquiet heart, but is itself the unquiet heart in man. Those who hope in Christ can no longer put up with reality as it is, but begin to suffer under it, to contradict it. Peace with God means conflict with the world, for the goad of the promised future stabs inexorably into the flesh of every unfulfilled present.'
Jurgen Moltmann, Theology of Hope, quoted in Disciples and Citizens, by Graham Cray.

Bishop Cray says, '[t]he goad was the sharp stick used by an ox-driver or ploughman to stop the animal from wandering.' When Jesus told Paul that it hurt him to kick against the goads I think I always pictured gourds, which are much gentler. I have a lot to learn. And I would probably change the script to read, Would it surprise you to find out you were never alone?

'the pitcher longs for water to carry/and a person for work that is real'

Really good article in the New York Times by Matthew B. Crawford. He presents a compelling critique of many kinds of modern work. His experience does not exactly match mine, though there is a lot that is spookily close. We finished degrees around the same time and maybe felt the same thrill followed swiftly by disappointment when we joined the workforce. A lot of what he writes on work seems right on to me. I especially like the following:

'Further, habits of mind have an ethical dimension that we don’t often think about. Good diagnosis requires attentiveness to the machine, almost a conversation with it, rather than assertiveness, as in the position papers produced on K Street. Cognitive psychologists speak of “metacognition,” which is the activity of stepping back and thinking about your own thinking. It is what you do when you stop for a moment in your pursuit of a solution, and wonder whether your understanding of the problem is adequate.'

And this:

'The good life comes in a variety of forms. This variety has become difficult to see; our field of aspiration has narrowed into certain channels. But the current perplexity in the economy seems to be softening our gaze. Our peripheral vision is perhaps recovering, allowing us to consider the full range of lives worth choosing. For anyone who feels ill suited by disposition to spend his days sitting in an office, the question of what a good job looks like is now wide open.'

He quotes from Marge Piercy's poem "To Be of Use", which is where the title of the post comes from.

at times

I am definitely going to be facing some change in the next few weeks. This has never been a very comfortable place for me. But there is a lot that is positive about the fact of the change, and about the challenge to self-examination that goes along with this. I am greatly encouraged by Pip Wilson's blog, which I need to write more on some time; he encourages me to welcome the itch that exists in 'the place called uncomfortable'.

Soon I will have a lot more time to write about all of this.

In the meantime, I was struck and helped by this Henri Nouwen quote, which appeared a week or so ago on a couple of blogs I like . I saw it first at Maggi Dawn's site.



I have not been drawing very much, so I thought I would post another page from my sketchbook to show the furthest I have been getting in putting pen to paper. I often do not get this far. But these were good words to come across.



I like that I wrote a verse from Colossians down and then decided to put the next one. And then the next one. This was on one of the days when I was most stressed.

i missed blogging

I have been having a fairly terrible time at work over the past few weeks. This has raised huge questions for me. Immediate ones to do with work and what I will do next. And then there are problems that I need to try and answer in the long now if I am to live with a stronger sense of calling, vocation and purpose.

We went to a panel discussion that involved the very delightful Emmanuel Guibert the evening of the first day that had been really bad for me in my job. The panel discussed this book, which M. Guibert co-authored with the photographer Didier Lefèvre. It was a blessed relief to be taken so far from my own problems and reminded of the wider world out there, full of need and wonder.

I stole this drawing as a way to try and gather my thoughts and calm myself.