Teenagers - what every parent has to know

Rob Parsons is speaking at Hinckley on 20 September 2008, on the subject of his latest book, Teenagers - what every parent has to know.
 

Do you say hello to strangers?

Scarcely has an introduction to a sermon provoked so much immediate feedback. Our epistle reading on Sunday was Romans 12.9-end, which was full of practical issues about lived-out Christian faith. Much of it is about the way we relate to others, including showing hospitality to strangers.

I introduced the topic by talking about the way that I try to acknowledge or greet people I meet on the streets of Oadby. I'm disappointed by the numbers of people who don't return a nod, a smile, or a "Hi". There are some interesting differences. I find younger people more likely to respond than the middle aged or older people, though they're less likely to initiate an exchange. But after the service, some older members of the congregation told me that their experience was the opposite.

I had quite a number of conversations along the lines of, "I know exactly what you mean. Oadby's like that. You'd be spoken to in Wigston/Evington/Sheffield"

What's your experience? Do you say hello to strangers? Do they return your greeting? Use the comments form and let us know.

Finally, the look on the face of the head-scarved moslem woman I met today when I wished her "Ramadan Mubarrak" was a picture. She beamed her thank-you with a broad smile. I think we both felt better.

News from the Lambeth Conference

The next meeting of the Gartree Deaneries Synod will be an open meeting, with Bishop Tim Stevens talking about his first-hand experience of the recent Lambeth conference. We've already had opportunity to hear from one bishop about the experience and it will be good to hear from our own bishop how it all went and where the Church goes from here.

The meeting is open to everyone and begins at 7.30pm on Thursday, 17 September at Kibworth Church Hall.

Breakfast at Barney's returns 14 September

Begin your week with a hearty breakfast and worship.

On 14 September, Breakfast at Barney's returns. Once again, enjoy a choice of full cooked English or something lighter, with juice, tea and coffee. Breakfast is served from 8.30 to 9.30am. 

Cooked breakfasts £2.50

Continental £2.00

Children's £1.00

Booking is essential, as we regularly get fifty people along. So email or call Anita 0116 271 4465.

Breakfast at Barney's usually happens on the second Sunday of the month. Check the calendar on the right of the blog page for details.

Meeting of Sidespeople and Wardens

Paul has sent me this for the blog:

Planned, but unprepared. The Sidespeople’s meeting.

When I was sitting in the relative safety of my study thinking about my expectations for a meeting I planned to chair this Wednesday evening, nothing of the real drama that followed was on my mind. Anita and I both felt that we would benefit from a better understanding of the role played by St. Paul’s sidespeople. So we invited the team for a glass of something and nibbles.

We felt that high on the agenda would be congratulations to the team for their excellent support and the understated way they manage their service for the Lord and the various congregations with which they are dealing. So with the innocence of youth on our side! We entered.... (without realising it) The dragon’s den.

"Hi Paul, I hope you realise that 'Who do you think you are?' is on TV at 9 o’clock", was the opening line. On the back foot, I braced myself for an unexpected onslaught of facts, figures and clearly thought out reasoning for things that happen in our services. I felt that the learning curve was turning into a spiral when we discussed the minutiae of sides persons duties. At 9.o’clock we ended and Anita drew breathe; it took me another five minutes to do the same.

As we packed away we knew that we had been dealing with a team which is on the ball and gives a lot of consideration to how our services are marshalled. It is going to take a while for us to get our heads around all the things that came out of this discussion but It has done us good to gain an insight into the work that our sides persons do. I hope that the new members of the team were encouraged by the wealth of detail and the expertise displayed during the evening.

Thanks to our Sides people and thank the Lord for the work they do.

Paul and Anita

Ramadan 2008

It's good to be aware that Muslims in Leicester begin the fast of Ramadan at 04.01am tomorrow. I find this a good opportunity to listen to and talk with Muslims in Oadby about their devotions and it's always interesting to explain that fasting and prayer are important in the Christian faith too. Ramadan ends this year on or around 30 September.

Christian Aid total for 2008 exceeds £10,000

I've just received the fabulous news from Chris that the congregation that the churches in Oadby raised a total of £10,072.60 this year for Christian Aid. This came through the Lent Lunches, the sponsored walk, a collection outside Sainsburys and the door to door collection.

The committee are meeting again at the beginning of October and are very interested in any ideas for raising money. Apparently one member of St Pauls is already planning to run in the London Marathon with sponsorship to go to Christian Aid.

Neil makes it to John O'Groats

I've just received a text from Neil Griffiths to say that he's arrived at John O'Groats, a thousand miles from Land's End which he left fifteen days ago.

That's an amazing feat. Well done, Neil and we look forward to welcoming you back to St Paul's on Sunday morning.

The abuse of the blasphemy law in Pakistan

I know that a number of people talked with Paskal about Pakistan after the service on Sunday. He told us about the abuses of the blasphemy law which, among other things, is leading to a cruel persecution of the Christian minority in some places.

For those who want to know more, the organisation which Paskal referred to is the Centre for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement. The material which they produce quotes Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, as saying, "The problem is not so much the idea of a law against blasphemy, as about a law whose penalty is so severe and whose practice gives so much scope for allowing people to settle private scores."

The story which Paskal told of the two kidnapped girls was reported online by Ekklesia here.

Lectio Divina - a course in 'stress and modern meditation'

Around the office, at the shops and in our homes, it's not unusual to hear people say, "I'm stressed!". We may lazily imagine that ours is the first generation to experience stress and the pressure of "having too much on at the moment" but the truth is that men and women have struggled with these issues throughout human history.

Perhaps what has changed is that we have cut ourselves off from the wisdom of the ages and have little resources for dealing with these issues. So I was glad to hear that a new course is being run at Beauchamp College, with the hope of helping people from mainly non-Christian backgrounds discover the deep resources in Christian spirituality. Here's the publicity material:

Lectio Divina is a new ministry offering Christian Meditation
Courses to those outside the church.
(Lectio Divina is supported by the EMBA and Home Mission.)
Since the beginning of January 2008 the Revd. Gert Glasius (formerly
minister of Ashby Baptist church) has been working as a detached evangelist in
the EMBA area organising Stress & Christian Meditation courses in hotels,
leisure centres and adult education colleges. The vision behind this new form of
mission is to offer the benefits of Christian meditation to those well beyond the
fringe of the Church.
How people respond…
Those attending the courses are mostly from non-church backgrounds and
often, during the course, engage with the bible for the first time. Psalm 23 is one
of the passages used; the imagery in the psalm still has the power to speak to
people in very different situations. Some have never heard of the words of the
psalm before and yet imagery like ‘the valley of the shadow of death’ evokes a
response in people often experiencing excessive levels of stress. A number have
not experimented with any form of meditation before and are learning to
appreciate taking time out to be more reflective. The Ignatian style of meditation
is especially appreciated with people expressing surprise about how powerful an
experience it is to place yourself into an imagined situation. Most want more!
Managers of adult education colleges or leisure centres approached have
been really helpful in helping to organise the courses. They have been pro-active
in offering to publicise courses to their membership, offering space on websites
or issuing press releases. Gert is currently employed by two adult education
colleges on a sessional basis. Shopkeepers have also responded very positively
to requests to display posters etc. The same reaction was received from
managers of health centres, dental or solicitors’ practices. On numerous
occasions conversations took place with people expressing surprise that there is
such a thing as Christian meditation. On a few occasions, conversation led to
prayer.
The ‘New’ Spirituality
Institutional religion is struggling to draw the attention of today’s generation.
Yet many people still express an interest in spirituality. Most however reject the
more establish forms of religion and turn to a wide range of spiritualities many of
which are informed by the major religions originating in the Far East.
In the area of meditation Yoga is seen as the main ‘provider’ with classes being
offered by adult education colleges, a number of leisure centres and not
forgetting the yoga sessions run in church halls. It is often forgotten (by
Christians as much as by others) that Christianity too has a long tradition of
meditation. The Lectio Divina Trust has been set up to bring the particular
emphasis of Christian meditation to as wide an audience as possible.
Lectio Divina focuses on two ancient Christian traditions:
Ignatian styles of meditation were developed by Ignatius of Loyola, the
founder of the Jesuit order, this form of meditation is part of the 30 days set of
Christian Meditation
exercises – a silent and led retreat which is still offered today by many Jesuit
retreat houses. Ignatian meditation is also known by its modern designation of
‘visualization’. You are encouraged to imagine yourself in a chosen passage from
the scriptures experiencing the story ‘as if you are there and so allow the
scriptures to speak afresh.
Lectio Divina or ‘Sacred Reading’ starts with choosing a text from the bible.
The passage is first read through to understand the general meaning. The next
step is to ‘slow read’ the passage paying attention to every single word allowing
that word to speak by making connection with where you are in your life. By
doing this you create space for God to speak. Having done this for some time
you put aside the text and spend time reflecting or praying about that whatever
stood out.
The reason for choosing these two forms of meditation is that both emphasise
the use of the bible in the meditation exercises.
Gert has practiced meditation for many years and since becoming a minister
has included meditation in services and in evening meetings. The power of the
scriptures to transform lives is part of his story hence his desire to see Lectio
Divina and Ignatian forms of meditation used outside the church
To contact Gert for further information:
E-mail: gert.glasius@lectiodivina.co.uk
Mobile: 0796 942 4095
Website: www.lectiodivina.co.uk
Address: The Lectio Divina Trust
Chapel Street
Ibstock
Leicestershire
LE67 6HG