April Showers

Its been a while since I've done a more 'personal' post. This is us on holiday with our friends Dennis and Rebecca (who came out to be with us from Nevada!) over Easter. We had a lovely day walking the grounds and going into the property at Sledmere House in the Yorkshire Dales. And yes, we did have cream teas in case you were wondering :)! With proper Yorkshire Clotted Cream no less.

It was a beautifully sunny Easter weekend, and we did the 'pilgrimage' to Epworth. We saw Samuel Weseley's Parish Church (and celebrated Easter morning there), had ramble round the graveyard and had a picnic lunch on the grounds.

We also had a tour of the Wesely Family Rectory and a wander around the grounds there as well.


Coming up this weekend is the wedding of my dear friend Kate, in a hall on the Chatsworth Estate.

Otherwise, Geordan is busy PhD-ing and correcting Church History 11 final exams. (Of course he had to take time off to watch the match at Steve's last night!) I'm trying to spend as much time as possible with friends (before I'm tied down to homework again in a few months).

Looking forward to 'pie night' with our small group- and excited that May is just 'round the corner - which means more sunshine and less drizzle. I really can't complain though- we have had two WONDERFUL weeks in April, and for this I am thankful!

I Grieve

For the last couple of mornings our alarm goes off broadcasting grief over the airwaves about this horrific shooting. I wake up with a sense of emptiness - a certain sense of detachment. My brain cannot grasp the ludicrous act of the last few days.

Today it finally hit me. I've just spent a few minutes soaking up the words in this article on msnbc.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18143312/
It puts faces and names and stories to the 30 people who died in the massacre at Virginia Tech. 30 beautiful, productive people with families and friends and long lives before them. The tears came as I watched the slide show. I made myself read each and every profile. Completely useless, I know, but I feel that I ought to at least know a little bit about who they are. I can remember them without having met them, I can acknowledge their lives and pay tribute, even if its in a very small personal way. I'm too upset and angry to care much about the shooter. I'm not ready to ask probing questions about how and why this happened. But my heart aches for lost lives and families torn apart. I cannot do much, so I sit and I cry and think about the lives that have been ended and I think about the families left behind. Until I can bring myself to think critically about this tragic event, I grieve.

Vintage Faith and CathloCalEmergence

Having recently just read an article http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/february/11.35.html
about the 'Five Streams of the Emergent Church' and having had some conversations to do with misconceptions about the Emergent Church in North America, I submit my own 'home' Emergent Church: Vintage Faith Church, Santa Cruz:
http://www.vintagechurch.org/about.php

Here is a taster of their BASIC DOCTRINAL
STATEMENT
Vintage Faith Church holds to an orthodox historical Christian faith,
as reflected in these basic statements of our beliefs.
About the Bible We believe that the Bible is fully inspired by God, that it is entirely
trustworthy and is our guide for faith and life.
About God We believe that God is the loving Creator of all that exists, both seen and
unseen. God is eternal and completely good, knowing all things, having all power and
majesty. God exists eternally as the Trinity, in three persons, yet one God: Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit.
About Jesus We believe that God expressed Himself in human form through Jesus
Christ. Jesus was born of the virgin Mary and lived a sinless life. We believe He was crucified
for the sins of us all, rose again from the dead and ascended to heaven.
About the Holy Spirit We believe that the Holy Spirit, sent from God to live in all who
believe in Jesus, teaches, comforts, and empowers us, giving each follower of Jesus diverse
gifts for serving in the church and serving others in the world. We believe that it is through the
Holy Spirit that we change and develop a holy life and Jesus-like character.
About Salvation We believe that all people are created with dignity and great value in
the image of God. That people were created to live in a thriving relationship with God.
However, through our sin (failing to live by God’s moral standards), we break our intended
relationship with God and we experience the sad consequences of that broken relationship,
both spiritually and socially. However, because of God’s love for us, He sent His Son, Jesus, to
rescue us from those consequences and to restore our broken relationship with God, through
Jesus´ death on the cross, a perfect act of redemption for each of us. We receive the free gift of
forgiveness and are spiritually reborn through repenting (changing our mind and heart) of our
sin and placing faith in Jesus alone.
About the Church We believe that the church is comprised of any person, anywhere in
the world who puts faith in Jesus. The church itself is people who are empowered by God’s
Spirit to be part of the mission of Jesus here on earth. The church is one global community, but
has smaller, local expressions, such as Vintage Faith Church. Each local church expression
has a unique personality and we see beauty in that diversity. We believe that the church does
not exist for itself, but exists as a community of worshipers who are here to serve others, as we
bring the love and hope of Jesus to the world around us.
About the Afterlife and End Times We do believe there are a literal heaven and
hell and that one day Jesus will return, although we approach the topics of the afterlife and end
times with great mystery and wonder

Because the nature of Emergent Churches is to grow out of their own local traditions, I realize that for some (Dee??) this may not seem 'emergent' enough. I find it a tantalizing blend of what I like to call CathloCalEmergence.