GadgetVicar

Out With the Old and In With The New

It's been a most interesting end of the old and start to the new.

The rectory was burgled one early evening just before Christmas. The intruder was met by GV Boy, who is stilll struggling with the shock of that confrontation. I know what that's like - a few years ago I returned to the rectory during the day and discovered the front door smashed. As I got into the house and called the police, I heard movement upstairs and went to confront my visitor. He was out on the roof, making his escape by jumping off. If I 'd done the same, I'd have broken my neck, so thought better of it. A few months later the culprits (for there were two) were caught in another house nearby and given short sentences after admitting several dozen other offences. It's painful dealing with such events: the sense of violation and the fear of it happening again can linger for a long time. It does look like we'll need to increase the security arrangements at my home -"Machine Gun Preacher"?

No damage to the rectory or church in "Son of Bawbag", though I had to rescue GV Girl #1 on her way to work on Tuesday, after she was blown into a lamp post. Thankfully her injuries were slight.

The damage around the city however is very great and I saw several streets in the West End blocked off by police cars, as the fear of chimneys and slates falling was so great. Many trees have come down, and the debris is still being cleared up.

Yesterday, I was out getting soaked in the rain as I assisted the Dynorod man who was trying to sort out a damaged drain. I think he appreciated me holding my ladder for him. I wonder if his employers will accept my hourly rate?

Despite all of that disruption and difficulty, there has been much good time with family and friends as well as some wonderful worship (with larger attendances on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, possibly because the latter was on a Sunday?), especially on New Year's Day, when we had a simple eucharist, with one musician, some old songs and hymns and a lot of reflection. More people were present than I'd anticipated, and it felt like a good start to the year.

Today the sun is shining on Glasgow - I know it always does during the day, but it seems like it's had to do it through clouds forever!

I preached on the following passage last Sunday. It can easily be taken too personally and out of context, but this year I'm seeking new things in my following of Jesus Christ, not resting on my laurels or taking anything for granted.

"Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.

See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland." Isaiah 43:18-19

Frozen

I enjoyed a lovely Christmas at church, then out for dinner and good company. However, all that was followed by the realisation that the rectory had no water. It's likely to be a frozen pipe from the mains to the house, in which case all I can do is wait for the thaw to kick in. Toilets are getting 'interesting', but I managed a shower at a friend's yesterday. Thinking that I'll need to scrounge water from other friends if this continues much longer. I've been on the phone to British Gas who maintain and repair this stuff for us, but can't get a reply (currently been hanging on the phone for ninety minutes without being answered). I suspect there is nothing they can do anyway, but I need to try. I was supposed to have dinner guests yesterday but put them off until today. I'm now thinking that I'll have to postpone again.

This experience has given me a deeper appreciation of that which we take for granted in this country: the immediate availability of clean water. Too many people in the world don't have that, and while these last few days without water have been difficult for me, it's an everyday circumstance for so many.   

Sun

I was almost blinded by the glowing orb on the way to church at 7am this morning.

Almost made me want to put an Ipod soundtrack together for this unusual occurrence in these parts:

Sunrise - Pulp

Here Comes The Sun - The Beatles (or Good Day Sunshine?)

Staring At The Sun - U2

Sunny Afternoon - The Kinks

When The Sun Goes Down - Artic Monkeys

Turn Up The Sun - Oasis

Island In The Sun - Weezer

Always The Sun - The Stranglers

Rain

Soundtrack from my Ipod for the current (constant?) weather in Glasgow:

Why Does It Always Rain On Me? - Travis

Rain - The Cult

Rain In The Summertime - The Alarm

Summer Rain - Belinda Carlisle

Here Comes The Rain Again - The Eurythmics

Kingdom Of Rain - The The

Rain On The Scarecrow - John Cougar Mellencamp

Red Rain  - Peter Gabriel

It's Snowing

After church tonight: snowball fight.

It was fun, even though one or two people decided I made the best target. You know who you are.

To Memphis

We drove through Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas and Tennessee today and used cruise control liberally. GV Brother is delighted to be ticking off so many US states on this visit. Curiously, my Ipod on shuffle played several songs which mention US States including "Hawaian Island World" by World Party and "I Love You, Goodbye" by Thomas Dolby.  It really didn't seem like a ten hour drive as we passed the innumerable fields of corn and soya.

We enjoyed a fabulous Mexican meal tonight. We have avoided appetisers at meal times, and we often haven't  been able to finish the entrees because the portions are so enormous. Dessert has been out of the question! We've only had one dessert and that was at Lollapalooza last Sunday.

After dinner, we enjoyed browsing through books at Barnes & Noble. It's frustrating that books in the UK cost in £s what they cost here in $s.

Every restaurant was packed out, especially if had an outside eating area. It's 10pm here and the temperature is still in the late eighties. I hope to get to church in Nashville tomorrow evening. In the morning it will be the visit to Graceland and a whirlwind tour of downtown Memphis.

Tornado!

We went on an architectural boat trip around Chicago last night. It is probably the best way to see the fascinating buildings of this city. The guide was witty and knowledgeable. We had been warned that we might get rained on towards the end of the hour-long tour. Little did we know what lay ahead......

Our host, Jim, received a call from his wife to say that a tornado warning for downtown Chicago had been called. We thought little of that until shortly before we docked. We could see clouds rolling in very fast over the skyscapers. Lightning in the distance. Then it began to rain. Hard. Then sirens began blaring. Tornado warning sirens. The boat slammed fairly hard into the dock, and though we had taken shelter below decks, we were ushered off the boat into the pouring rain, while thunder and lightning cracked and illuminated all around us. We ran for the cover of Navy Pier, all the time avoiding the shelter offered by the trees. It seemed quite dangerous, yet strangely it felt surreal - I thought for a moment that I had entered the set for a disaster movie. We were urged to keep away from the windows by our host, "just in case" the tornado hit. Talk about excitement.

Though soaking wet, we ended up in a very fine seafood restaurant on the Pier and enjoyed the most spectacular forked lightning display with our fish and steaks.

We were grateful that this storm didn 't hit the day before, while we were at Lollapalooza. The chaos it brought would have been very dangerous to the crowd there.

Here is the storm as it came in. I love the tour guide as she continues to talk (about Oprah!), while the rest of us begin to worry....

Lollapalooza - Friday and Saturday

It's been soooooo hot!  We drank about two litres of water an hour simply to keep hydrated. We found it way too hot to enjoy (or endure?) all the bands we wanted to see. On Friday we found out how well the festival is organised. Very slick. We enjoyed The Enemy, The Kills and Bloc Party.

Radiohead were magnificent. At one point, way off in the distance to the left of the stage, the sky was illuminated by a thunder storm. Those pyrotechnics and the cityscape backdrop were awesome. The band then added their own effects with a fireworks display during the set.

Yesterday we started with The Ting Tings, who are a much better live band than I had anticipated. They were excellent with an energetic and engaging set that provoked much dancing. Foals followed. Loved the way they all face in towards one another rather than face the crowd. MGMT drew a massive crowd. Explosions in the Sky seemed to make beautiful sounds off in the distance, but by that time we were wilting in the sun.

Chicago makes a stunning backdrop for a music festival. The crowd are very well-behaved. There is a large fountain in Grant Park which is surrounded by a little fence. I've yet to see anyone cross this boundary, which has little in the way of security preventing it happen. Though alcohol is being sold, there is very little drunkenness. In Glasgow, that fountain would be full of semi-naked drunk men and women within moments. I don't think I'm being harsh on my own city. Americans do good behaviour rather well when they choose to.

Mind you, some gentlemen were passing round a funny cigarette this afternoon and their smoke played havoc with my eyes and made me feel very light-headed indeed.

We've taken the 'EL' (elevated train, made famous in countless movies) for both days of the festival. This must be one of the slowest rail services in the world, with lots of stops and signal problems It reminded me of my recent Ugandan visit when I travelled in a minibus which stopped everywhere.

Celtic strips abound here - I chatted to several  people I found wearing them. They were either of Scottish or Irish descent.

I discovered one man outside the festival exit boldly preaching about Jesus being the only way to God.

Before I go to church, here's a little something just for Grayza:

Blog On

I have returned from Uganda, courtesy of KLM. I wasn't able to blog as the internet cafes only have dial-up connections. I did try, but soon realised that it was a money-making scam by the cafe owners - they charge by the minute.

The last three weeks have been very humbling. Uganda provided plenty of opportunities for preaching and learning. I'll share some of what has been happening in the days to come.

Feeling the cold today though...........

Jerusalem - Day 4 So Far

Yesterday was very busy, and a lot of us are feeling quite tired. Temperature was up at 36 degrees today.

This morning started with singing led by the formidable ladies of the Mothers Union of Nigeria. It was exciting, colourful and different from what we've had so far. A video interview with a Nigerian bishop followed, who, while on the way here was delayed at Istanbul Airport and had encountered a businessman from Genoa. Long story short: the man was a Buddhist, the bishop shared his testimony of God's love in Christ with him, and he surrendered his little statue of the Buddha to the bishop as he committed his life to Him. The bishop is hoping he gets delayed on the way home too!

Vaughan Roberts gave a masterful exposition of 2 Samuel 7: The Church is the House built by God.  I found this very challenging. How we need to be the people of God in the place which we find ourselves: obedient, evangelistic and hopeful.

A conference statement is being worked on as I type. Small groups are feeding their thoughts back to be sifted and deliberated upon. Some people are hoping for much from this, perhaps too much. A new confessional structure within the Anglican Communion might not be founded this week. I hope it is. But if it isn't the story will only end here if we let it. The history of God's people, is one of almost constant rebellion and unfaithfulness. The challenge of the prophets is always one of obedience. That may be our calling. We might be largely ignored. But we can continue to point the Church and the world to Jesus, the Way the Truth and the Life.

Personally, I think we are at the start of something here. A family has come together, relationships developed and understandings deepened. At an institutional level, we must not expect too much. At a personal and relational level, I think much is happening. My conversations with bishops, clergy and lay people make me hopeful for the future. It may well be that it is in these things that much of the fruit of this time together will be born.

But it may be the statement will be stronger than I anticipate. Strong enough to challenge us and the rest of the provinces of the Anglican Communion to repentance? We'll know in a few days time.

We're just going into a session on "Enterprise Approaches to Poverty". Tonight we're off to the Wailing Wall to pray.

ps: Thanks to Beat Attitude for the new banner, which uses one of my photographs from this pilgrimage.

pps: Here are some of the members of my small group: Bishops Henry and Bethlehem from Nigeria and South Africa respectively and Richard from San Joaquin, California.