the life & times of rennie d

beyond midnight

2011-12-14T12:48:00.001+02:00

The sperm of gods
Beats down
In rhythmic thrust upon
The heat drenched land
Beyond the darkness
Of the midnight hour

I dream of you
As rain pours down
From moon brushed
Clouds upon the
Gasping ground
Its thirst enveloping
The life-force of the Gods

I dream of you beyond
The midnight hour
And cry out in rhythmic
Expectation of your thirst
And gasp in expectation
As thunder echoes
in the clouds

I dream of you
And wake to feel
The heat of expectation
To hear the rain beat down
The coolness of a sated
Earth carried on the
Cooling breeze

I dream of you
As the gathering storm
Expends itself
The lightening shafts
Thrusting
Water pounding
At the earth

I dream of you
My body awakening
To the memory
Of your thirst
My passion warming
To the thunderous
Midnight storm

I dream of you

Rennie D
14 December 2011

the church's mission in an ecumenical context

2011-06-16T20:38:00.000+02:00

questions

· Can the Church’s mission exist in any context other than an ecumenical one?

· What is the nature of the Church’s mission?

· What is the nature of the Ecumenical context?

· How does the Church’s mission apply to the Ecumenical Context?

ecumenical experience – personal

· Alpha and Emmaus

· Ministers’ Forums

o White River, Nelspruit, Garsfontein

· CUC Malelane (Anglican/Methodist)

o Confusing Symbolic message

· Trinity, Lynnwood (Presbyterian/Anglican)

o Control of worship space

· Serene Street, Garsfontein

o Carol Service

· Anti-Apartheid Struggle initiatives

the church’s mission

· In its broadest sense the Church’s mission is to make God known to the Nations (Isaiah)

· Roxburgh and Romanuk in their book The Missional Leader: Equipping Your Church to Reach a Changing World (2006:xiii) speak of

o “... a missional understanding of church that emphasises an incarnational, servant approach and sees church not as a once a week gathering but as a community to which one belongs that relates to the whole of life. It is a community in which each person makes an active contribution, during gathered worship as well as dispersed service. These churches emphasise hospitality ... [and] are committed to maintaining their values of community, accountability, and service ... .”

· Nelus Niemandt, Professor of Missiology at Tukkies, commenting on a definition offered by Craig van Gelder in his book The Ministry of the Missional Church: a Community led by the Spirit (2007), says

o “… the missional church as called (from the world), gathered (by the Spirit as the body of Christ) and sent (to the world) to participate in God’s mission. The missional church’s purpose is to equip authentic disciples as missionaries in order that the church may be the agent of God’s mission in the world.

· Basis in Scripture: Acts 17:16-34

o Paul’s methodology in Athens a useful model for mission in the 21^st century.

an ecumenical context

· Canon Alyson Barnett-Cowan, Director of Faith, Worship and Ministry in the Anglican Church of Canada, addressing a session of the Lambeth Conference in 2008, comments

o “If the 20^th century was the great century of ecumenism, the early 21^st century provides an opportunity for churches to begin to live out the reality of their unity. After all the theological debate, the examinations of each other’s ecclesiologies, orders, and practices, there is now the possibility for real shared life and mission.”

o There has been a clear trajectory over the past 100 years for agreements variously termed ‘intercommunion’, ‘communion’, ‘full communion’ or simply ‘agreement’

o Three generations of agreements

§ Recognition of sufficient similarity in faith and order: declared that people could receive communion in each others churches.

§ A wave of schemes of union devised in many regions of the world

§ Proposals of “full communion”: leaving each church independent, but making commitments to work together and live into a fuller reality of shared life.

o Emerging generation

§ Agreement to consult with one another on matters of faith and order, life and witness

· How will churches discipline themselves to do this?

· How will they shift their self-understanding in order to do so?

· A definition of Communion, from The Lutheran World Federation document Mission in Context: Transformation, Reconciliation, Empowerment

o “Used ecclesiologically, the term “communion” expresses three levels of church relations: first, the unity of the church across all times and space; second, the nature of life together in the local church; third, the relationship between local churches in a regional and global context.”

o “The tendency to compete for mission fields in different parts of the world, in the race to expand the profile and sphere of influence of one’s own denomination or organization, should be replaced by cooperation and joint action.”

o “The vision and practice of communion can help the church address the prevalent fragmentation and division of communities and bring healing to a world broken by greed and violence.”

· Maintaining Communion – a move to Covenant

o The Anglican Communion is struggling to maintain communion and is moving towards a Covenant. Professor Iain Torrance, representing the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, addressing the final plenary session of Lambeth Conference 2008, described a covenant as follows:

§ “A covenant is different [from a contract]. As all of you know, covenant in the Hebrew Scriptures begins with the unconditional promise of God’s love. And who can come close to God and not be changed? So, a covenant is an initiative undertaken by transformed persons in response to a gift of unmerited grace. “

applying the church’s mission to an ecumenical context

· A useful document in this regard is The Ecumenical Stance of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) approved by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s 218^th General Assembly in 2008.

o “To commit to an ecumenical vision in this time and place involves a study of the changing ecumenical landscape. It is well known that a demographic shift in the global church from the north to the south has reshaped the dynamics of the ecumenical movement in a number of ways. Most importantly, the flow of influence is no longer from north to south or even west to east, but from every part of the world to every other part of the world. This has meant that ecumenical conversation partners are shaped geographically as well as denominationally.”

o “… many Presbyterians are confused about the meaning of ecumenism and question how it relates to their own lived realities in congregations and whether it has relevance to a post-modern church and world. There has been an erosion of understanding of some traditional ecumenical activities and loyalty to them. Nonetheless, lively ecumenical activity is taking place in many forms throughout the denomination at the national, regional, and local levels. “

o While we affirm our commitment to the unity of the Christian church, the ecumenical challenge for today moves beyond that initial vision to the healing and wholeness of the world. This broader goal of Christian ecumenism requires us to ask how we can be partners with others in building the human community that God intended from the very beginning. Where is there convergence between the Christian household and the larger household of God?

o The document notes nine “Contours of a New Ecumenical Reality” for the 21^st century, defined as “varied and diverse nuances for Presbyterians:

§ reconciliation in Jesus Christ;

§ a spirit of generosity toward others;

§ unity and diversity in the Holy Spirit;

§ justice in the economy, and for the earth;

§ the call of God to mission and evangelism;

§ solidarity with the marginalized;

§ common memory of a people on a journey;

§ hope for the future of the world;

§ a gift of God and a task for all human beings.”

o The document highlights ten priorities that a commitment to “the larger household of God” presents:

§ Growing the Ecumenical Vision

§ Facing Obstacles to Christian Unity

§ Bridging the gaps Between the Local and the Global, Individual Congregations and the Denomination

§ Enlarging the Table of Ecumenical Relationships

§ Covenanting for Justice and the Economy and the Earth

§ Covenanting for Peacemaking in a War-Torn World

§ Nurturing Interreligious Engagements

§ Renewing a Commitment to Disciplines of Christian Spirituality

§ Celebrating Gifts We Receive and Share

§ Revitalising Practises of Ecumenical Formation

o Creedal Statement: the document includes “An Affirmation of Our Ecumenical Commitment”

Prepared for a Seminar on 15 June 2011 as part of the Patronal Festivities of Trinity, Lynnwood, by the Rev’d Canon Mark R D Long, Diocese of Pretoria (The Anglican Church of Southern Africa).

incarnatione

2011-03-03T14:53:00.000+02:00

awareness

God awareness

called

God called

established, yet

called beyond

further

into Life

into Relationship

into the World

to Serve

to Love

to Be

Rennie D

3 March 2011

psalmus laudis

2011-03-03T14:50:00.000+02:00

created in the mystery of life
brought into being by desire
a moment of passion
a God-spark of creative energy
a life-time ahead
a life to be lived

nourished in the womb
nurtured and birthed
a form of hope
a touchstone in the darkness
of brokenness
hurt
relational chaos
separation and divorce

life
enfolded in purpose
lost
in abandonment
carried
by God

Rennie D
11 February 2011

doubtful curiosity

2010-09-04T12:37:00.000+02:00

I came across this text recently, written in my hand in the front of one of my older Bibles. It is a passage from Lazarus by Morris West (published by Heinemann in 1990; page 107):

This is why we must never be afraid to speculate - and never, never be afraid of those who urge us to contemplate the seemingly impossible, to examine ancient formulae for new meanings. Believe me, we are more readily betrayed by our certainties than by our doubts and curiosities. I believe that half the heresies and schisms would never have happened if Christians had been willing to listen to each other in patience and charity, and not tried to turn the Divine mysteries into geometric theories ..."

I still agree with West's comment.

Rennie D

in memory: nanna

2010-06-02T21:02:00.000+02:00

Kathleen “Kay” Durward: Nanna

In memory

It is a daunting task to distil a long life (97 years!) into a few short words of tribute. There are so many memories, my own and yours. I hope you recognise her in my words.

My earliest childhood memories are of “Langlea”, a home of big spaces and generous love. Listening in the early morning for the tea to be delivered, a sign that I could climb from my bed and join Nanna and Bumpa in their room; playing on the rowing machine while Bumpa shaved and brushed his hair, parting it carefully, brush in each hand; standing beside Nanna at her dressing table, mesmerised by the treasure trove of face-cream, nail-varnish, hair-spray, and her amazing collection of morning instruments, from cuticle-trimmer to a silver-backed hairbrush that had been her mother’s; then rushing off to dress myself for breakfast at 08:00. The rhythm of life: tea at 6; breakfast at 8; tea at 10.30; gin at 12; lunch at 1; tea at 3.30; whisky at 6 and dinner at 7.

Nanna was born in 1912 and grew up in a world very different from today; a slower paced world, where a holiday trip to Port Alfred took two weeks by ox-wagon and another two weeks to get home. Nanna embraced technology and knew how to use the throttle on her bright yellow sports car, and in her 90’s ditched her trade-mark typewriter and embraced the computer and emails.

Nanna sought to control her world. She had a pioneering and reformist spirit, perhaps a product of her youth, embedded as it was in colonialism and the mines. She took on life and sought to beat the chaos out of it. She was known to intimidate Bishops and was not afraid to confront the Nationalist Government policies in her involvement with the “Black Sash”. In the 40’s and 50’s she involved herself in Sophiatown with the likes of Trevor Huddleston and she built the first crèche in the area (in memory of her mother, Ida). Her generosity extended to paying for the education of a number of black clergy children, and through her involvement in the Ekutuleni Anglican Mission touched and influenced the lives of many.

But in the midst of everything, family took centre stage. She sought to protect, to nurture and to shape. And our memories of her are bound deeply to her love and care for us. She lost her mother, Ida, at 19 and spoke in recent years of the deep sense of loss she had carried throughout her life, missing her more and more as the years passed; and so perhaps we know who met Nanna as she stood at death’s open door. As a young teenager I remember her sitting on the side of my bed in the Blue Room one night, sharing the pain of seeing Pop-pops die, and reminiscing on his importance in her life. Bumpa’s death left her bereft and hopeless, and it took Simon moving in as a young Wits student to eventually bounce her back, with YCS students toyi-toying in the Drawing Room and young, black revolutionaries at the dinner table. James’ advent into Langlea was more genteel, but both gave her reason to live. She was remarkable in adapting to the worldview of a younger generation, and without sacrificing her own principles, was able to be accepting; and meals were often a space for sharing life and a good wine. The big family gatherings were always a source of joy to Nanna, and she loved having her children and grandchildren around: the pool, the swing, the “jungle” are all part of my happy memories of uncles and cousins and aunts and relatives; and the food and the laughter. Her great-grandchildren, too, were a source of joy. I only remember her angry with me once, when Simon and I had used the hot-water bottles as trampolines in our beds, and mine had burst ... requiring the bed to be remade!

Most of all, what stands out for me about Nanna is her faith in God and her commitment to prayer. God was never far from my relationship with her, and she was the source of my earliest awareness of the spiritual world. This seems at odds with her ability to hold life-long grudges and to be almost vitriolic in her condemnation of others, and of those we love. She was not unknown to manipulate us with her wealth; and the disparate manner with which she treated sons and daughters, children and spouses was often a mystery. She wasn’t unaware of this side of herself, but it was part of the chaos of her own humanity that she never managed to beat into submission. This more difficult side of her personality showed mainly when she perceived her children to need protection, or was jealous of the time she lost to those we love, or was just afraid that she may be forgotten; or was challenged in her reformist stride; and in recent years by her loss of influence as age took its toll. Underlined in her copy of THE OBLATE RULE C.S.M.V. IN SOUTH AFRICA are the words, “Despise no one, but honour all whom you meet or serve.”

The strength of her personality that drove her involvement in Sophiatown, and allowed her to face down the church’s discrimination of women in ministry – becoming one of the first women Lay Ministers in the Province in 1974 – had to have its shadow balance. And the shadow was further offset by her generosity to us and others; and the extensive time she gave in her attempts to reform the pastoral ministry of her local parish (I suspect, much to the vexation of a number of Rectors!); in her love for creation as seen in so many of her paintings, her garden that she loved, her cooking and her embroidery – all done to an intimidating level of perfection.

In many ways God was visible in her life, and certainly a centre of strength from which she lived. Typed out by Nanna and pasted in to the front of her A BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER (inscribed as a 1958 Easter gift from ”Bob & Toodie”) is a prayer composed from Milner White’s “My God my Glory”:

In the Field of my soul / There is a treasure hidden. / Thou art there, / Thou my Lord and my God: / More bright than light itself. / Over me like a banner, / Under me, a strong rock, / Around me as a house of defence, / Before me, a beckoning star; / But richest of all, within, / My treasure for ever, / Hidden still yet life of my life to-day, / To-morrow, my open Glory.

Nanna struggled to die, not I think because she was scared of death, but because she was scared of losing life. Burnt into her psyche was a determination to survive; and some of her final words are telling: “I can’t anymore.” It was time to pack for heaven, and she is gone. Ever the graceful lady, she wanted her shoes on to meet Jesus.

Forgive Nanna for the hurts of recent years; they were not always meant. Hold instead a memory of her indomitable spirit, and be encouraged to leave your mark upon our world.

Mark R D Long

A Grandson

Wednesday, 2 June 2010

what is a south african?

2010-05-14T14:03:00.000+02:00

Below is my response in the form of a Letter to the Editor to Ivor Chipkins' article in The Times of 11 May 2010:

Ivor Chipkins’ comments “What is a South African?” (May 11, 2010) touches on an area of deep national significance: the present social crisis in our country. What are we celebrating sixteen years on from 1994? We should be celebrating a society driven by our Constitutional norms of tolerance, respect and equality; but we are not. This points to massive failure of political leadership, and it is not the fault of Apartheid any longer.

One of my most painful experiences after voting for the ANC in 1994 was filling in a government form that required me to define myself by race, and sixteen years later I am still required to do so. I objected to being classified this way during Apartheid, and the fact that I continue to be classified this way means that I have not yet experienced freedom in the land of my birth. I accepted in 1994 that race classification may be necessary for righting the wrongs of Apartheid, but after sixteen years I am only convinced that it has sustained racially negative perceptions and classist attitudes.

When will I be allowed to forget that I am “White” and be allowed to remember that I am South African? I may be, in Max du Preez’ words, a “pale native”, but I am a native none-the-less.

Government needs to take our Constitution seriously, and lead from the front. Our leaders, from Mr Zuma down, need to renounce the present essentialist focus on race and culture, and focus our society on the essential principles of our Constitution: tolerance, respect, equality.

It interests me that, despite the debacle in Mr Malema’s disciplinary hearing (May 14, 2010), he was pulled up for his lack of respect. Perhaps there is hope here that the ANC has not truly lost its heart, and that our confidence shown in the ANC in the 1994 elections was not in vain?

Mark R D Long, Pretoria

transforming discontinuity

2010-04-24T18:55:00.000+02:00

I share below a response to my sermon last week, from a friend I haven't seen in 30 years, on a far continent. An audio copy of the sermon Transforming Discontinuity is available at http://bit.ly/ad9QlP - please have a listen!

My friend's response:

Markus

Well. That was quite the most extraordinary experience!! I recognized your voice from 30 years ago. But I remember a shy, uncertain little fellow behind the voice. Now I hear a mature man speaking out with conviction and confidence. Are you aware of how you have changed?? Apropos your sermon. Just incredible. I would never have believed it.

The content of your sermon was also really thought provoking and inspiring. Inspiring because it made me think of discontinuous change. i.e. that change I experience today is not necessarily linked to what happened yesterday. As a psychologist I know that predictability is of key importance in our lives. And therefore your words make me wonder what affect unpredictable and discontinuous change has on us. I see this at work and your words make me aware of the needs of my colleagues. Their vulnerability and anxiousness about what tomorrow will bring.

Also, your words brought a memory back to me of a particular event I experienced while working in the UN. I was helping 3 children who had lost 4 of their siblings and their parents during the war. We had to extract these three young people because the oldest son was going to testify for the prosecution and their lives were threatened because of that. I took part in the extraction and we fetched them with one hours notice in a UN helicopter. They will never return to their home country and now have new identities living “elsewhere” as we say in the UN.

While I was in contact with them, I was notified by a UN inspector that the remains of their family had been identified in a mass grave through DNA samples. The UN DNA tested the whole of the respective nation for this purpose. Since they were not able to return home, I volunteered on their behalf to visit the mass grave, fetch their family and ensure that they received a proper burial according to the Muslim faith.

While standing in this grave with the remains of a small 4 year old boy in my arms his body wrapped in a blue UN packet, I felt so incredibly alone and bereft. So this is the “end station” of war I thought. Suddenly I was aware of a presence by my side. Saw no one. But the intense feeling that Jesus was standing at my side with me. His support for me and his care for me enabled me to do what I had come to do.

In the UN, every day is full of discontinuous change. And trauma. You mention both repeatedly in your sermon. And I can testify to the fact that the certainty that the Lord in whom I believe is with me always.

Thank you Mark!!

holy week meditations

2010-03-22T19:30:00.000+02:00

Palm Sunday

Eternal Father, your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ, fulfilled your will by taking our nature and giving his life for us: help us to follow the example of his humility by walking in the way of the cross; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen (An Anglican Prayer Book 1989 pg 174)

Today marks the beginning of Holy Week: our annual pilgrimage with Christ on the final journey to the cross. This is a journey Jesus embraced knowingly, as we will remember on Maundy Thursday. Today’s collect (above) draws the alpha towards the omega: Jesus birth at Christmas now enfolded in his death, the beginning at an end, yet not. We will celebrate another new beginning, a resurrection on Easter Sunday. But this week we walk with Jesus towards his death, we journey together as we have before in our Baptism into the death – and life – of Christ!

And we begin the journey at Jerusalem’s gate, on a donkey, with a crowd pressing in, a joyful crowd, palms waving and strewn before us on the ground, cloaks tossed down to carpet our path. A humble donkey for us, no conqueror’s war-horse, just a donkey. No army, just disciples. And a crowd. A crowd that responds to Scripture, to a knowledge, to an expectation of freedom. And we are that picture. As the rabble responds, so the authorities take note and begin to plot our downfall, our death. And we walk on towards a death this same rabble will cry out for, stirred by those who seek our demise.

But today is a day of celebration. And hope. This Jesus, a Galilean with roots in Judah, takes possession of Jerusalem, and becomes a symbol of our desire for freedom: freedom from Rome, from Greece, from Syria, from all who have oppressed us over centuries, from all that holds us back from experiencing life in abundance.

What do you celebrate today? How is Jesus a sign of hope to you, now? What freedom do you look for and see in this Saviour on a donkey, powerful enough not to need the war-horse for show? What constricts you? What hurts you?

See the sign of God: see Jesus. See that God is present and has already begun to act, has already begun the process of setting you free. And rejoice!

Make us true followers of Jesus, each day of this coming Holy Week, that as we walk the way of his cross, we may commit ourselves all over again to the fashioning of his Kingdom in Jerusalem, in our own communities and across your world. Amen

(Prayer by Maxwell Craig in “Lent & Easter Readings from IONA” pg 49)

Canon Mark Long

Lent 2010

Monday in Holy Week

The Servant of the Lord (Isaiah 42:1-7)

“Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations. … I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness” (Isaiah 42:1, 6-7 TNIV).

As Jesus contemplates his death, we contemplate today his purpose: that which God is doing through him in our world, and continues to do today. The above words spoken by Isaiah centuries earlier speak directly into Jesus’ experience as we reflect on what God was doing, and continues to do today, no longer in Jesus, but now in us through Jesus, and through the Spirit of God. Isaiah speaks of God’s delight, God’s absolute pleasure in Jesus … and in me … and also in you. We, too, have been chosen; we, too, delight the heart of God. What a thought!

Isaiah speaks of hope, and it is a hope that we as God’s people, as those who have discovered new life through Jesus Christ, are called to live out. Can you imagine being blind, maybe from birth, and suddenly being able to see? Or a prisoner, and suddenly free? Jesus death and subsequent resurrection is this covenant of which Isaiah speaks, a covenant that resources us to make this image, this vision, real in practical ways: to bring others into relationship with this God who gives sight, who brings light into the deepest darkness, who brings hope into situations seemingly lost and beyond control. The chaos of our lives, of our society is not beyond the ability of God, and not beyond the ability of us who draw on the resource of God’s love.

How is your life an image of hope to others: to family, friends, colleagues, even strangers? When last did your smile rekindle light in someone else’s eyes?

O God, our maker, open our eyes to new possibilities and perspectives, organisations and projects, structures and outlooks …

Help us to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem:

to break down the barriers in ourselves that prevent us from reaching out to neighbours and making peace; to rebuild communities based on understanding and justice, illuminated with the true light of Christ. Amen

(Prayer by Neil Paynter in “Lent & Easter Readings from IONA” pg 62)

Canon Mark Long

Lent 2010

Tuesday in Holy Week

The second Servant Song (Isaiah 49:1-6)

“Before I was born the LORD called me; from my birth he has made mention of my name.” … [God said] “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 49:1b, 6 TNIV).

Predestination is one of those “Biblical concepts” that leaves us a little lost on occasion. The above passage is one that the Church has long understood to refer to Jesus, the long awaited Messiah, who would step in and be God’s answer to the need of his people. To be called by God is not to “boxed” by God, but rather set free to fulfil our purpose as human beings and as children of God. God has not predestined our every action, or even the manner in which we will live our lives, but we will be used towards his greater purpose if we are willing to make ourselves available. There is a bigger plan, a bigger purpose that God calls us to. If we seek to serve God we will often find that our decisions made out of our own free will lead us towards this greater purpose. We find we are steered by the Spirit of God, never coerced.

Leadership often places us beyond the boundaries where we feel comfortable and competent (“It is too smaller thing …”) but never beyond God’s grace. As God’s children we are all called to leadership, particularly in living lives that are good on a moral and ethical level. This is part of our calling as Christians. Additionally, we give leadership as parents, as members of our peer group, as interactors in our society. Leadership does not always have to be recognised to be real: it is about setting an example and allowing our beliefs to inform our actions.

You are called. You have purpose. Start living it, and you will discover it!

Jesus, help us to create churches with your passion and light planted at the heart; Churches where we are prepared to address injustice and where “in a gesture a thousand words are spoken”; challenging, prophetic churches possessing a generous, rich fund of warmth and love and welcome and real celebration.

Christ, light and life of the world, bless your Church with the grace and power to flourish and bear fruit; the courage and faith to grow rooted in your gospel and in the grassroots of community. Amen

(Prayer by Neil Paynter in “Lent & Easter Readings from IONA” pg 68)

Canon Mark Long

Lent 2010

Wednesday in Holy Week

The third Servant Song (Isaiah 50:4-9a)

“The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught. … It is the Sovereign LORD who helps me.
Who will condemn me?” (Isaiah 50:4, 9a TNIV)

There is purpose in God’s instruction: Isaiah says that it is to sustain the weary. Living life is not easy, living life well – morally, ethically – is hard. Being loving, compassionate, caring in a sustained manner is almost impossible (just ask your spouse, child or a good friend, if you think I’m wrong!). Life is tough – in many and varied ways. My wife, Dawn, says life would be much easier if we were informed of this at birth, then when life is truly good and abundant we would celebrate, and when it is tough (which it is most of the time) we would accept this as normal and get on with it, and live it well. Scripture is a very powerful reminder: God’s word does sustain us, encourage us, give us the strength to stand up and walk again, journey again.

What sort of time do you give God to speak to you: does he wake you morning by morning? Whose is the instructed tongue that sustains you – Isaiah, the Psalmist, a Gospel writer? We know that in our physical lives we need food and liquid; the same is true of our spiritual lives – they are less tangible, but there none-the-less. What feeds you spiritually? – because if it is not Scripture then it will be something else: perhaps the media, and what kind of ethics does Hollywood purvey? In interacting with young people I often point out that what “Soapies” and “Movies” say about relationships is have sex, and if the sex is good begin a friendship; Scripture says, build a friendship, and if the friendship is good get married and celebrate the joy of your friendship sexually. Quite a difference? What feeds your soul?

Pray for the grace to take risks, … to trust God’s promise. Pray for the humility to know that one person’s extravagance may be another’s sacrificial gift, another’s wisdom. Pray for the grace to believe that security lies not in stocks and bonds and bank balances, but in the God who responds to a generous spirit. Amen

(Prayer by Anna Briggs in “Lent & Easter Readings from IONA” pg 71)

Canon Mark Long

Lent 2010

Maundy Thursday

The ministry given by the Spirit of the Lord (Isaiah 61:1-9)

“They will be called mighty oaks, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendour. They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. Strangers will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards. And you will be called priests of the LORD, you will be named ministers of our God” (Isaiah 61:3b-6a TNIV).

As God’s children we are all gifted by God for ministry. Isaiah reminds us that an important part of our ministry is to rebuild and to restore that which has been devastated. It is a call to serve a broken and hurting society. Serving is not something most of us find easy – mostly we prefer to be served, especially if we are South African and male. But ministry is a call to serve, to humble ourselves and see to the needs of others before we see to our own. This does not require us to be door-mats, and to ignore our own needs; it is rather a call to compassionate and caring living.

To truly be able to serve we need be confident – confident in our calling, in our identity; we need to know where we have come from; we need to know where we are going. We need to have vision, we need to be clear about our mission, we need to know who we are, we need to understand our context. What gives Jesus, in the garden of Gethsemane, the ability to put aside the powerful call of his humanity to run from the suffering that lies ahead, and submit to the call of the Father on his life? At this point he is clear on the call that lies burdensomely on his shoulders, he knows who is, he knows where he has come from and where he is going, and he has the strength to say to the Father, “Your will be done!”

Do you have a vision for your life? Do you know God’s purpose for you? And are you journeying in relationship with God through the Scriptures? Are you in relationship with others on this same journey, or do you journey alone?

Jesus, our brother, once you knelt sleepless in the darkness of a garden, alone, and wept and prayed, sweating, bleeding, with the pain of powerlessness, with the strain of waiting. An angel offered you strength – but it was a bitter cup.

We pray for all who wake tonight, waiting, agonising, anxious and afraid, while others sleep: for those who sweat and bleed, and weep alone. If it is not possible for their cup to be taken away – then may they know your presence kneeling at their side. Amen

(Prayer by Jan Sutch Pickard in “Lent & Easter Readings from IONA” pg 81)

Canon Mark Long

Lent 2010

Good Friday

The Suffering Servant (Isaiah 52:13-53:12)

“See, my servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted” (Isaiah 52:13 TNIV).

The above verse from Isaiah is in many senses “Glorious”. Who would not want to be wise, to be acknowledged and exalted by others? Many of us long for this kind of recognition. However, as we read on into Isaiah 53 we understand fast that there is another meaning, another sort of “lifting up” meant here. Jesus’ wisdom has led him, on a civil level, into conflict with the Jewish authorities of his day, and on a spiritual level into conflict with all that stands against goodness and holiness. At our Baptism we reject spiritual, material and personal evil – it is evil in this multiple form that raises Jesus up, lifts him high on the cross of pain, suffering and death.

For the disciples there is a hopelessness to this picture, and last night they have run, fearing for their lives, their hopes and dreams battered and almost broken. As some creep back today, join the crowd at Pilate’s Palace, quietly follow at a distance as Jesus, with help, carries a part of the cross to Golgotha, and watch Jesus – already scourged – nailed painfully to the cross and “lifted up”, their hopes and dreams are shattered. Where is the goodness of Good Friday in this image?

Today we journey with Jesus through his final suffering, through the political expedience of his trial and condemnation. We experience – together with his mother Mary, some of the women who followed him, and John – the pain of watching him suffer the final agony of suffocation. As he breathes his last and dies, we are crushed and overcome with grief: for his death and for our broken dreams. But we are also struck, as we reflect, that he held no bitterness, no need for revenge; that he thought of others, of his mother whom he gave into John’s care, of his executioners and asked the Father to forgive them. This is different. What have we seen? What have we experienced? What does it mean for our lives?

God who knows my frailties, forgive my self-doubt and uncertainty when I am content from a distance to watch others’ pain. God who calls my name, even when I am reluctant, forgive my resistance and my fear of being overwhelmed by the task you compel me to take on. God who offers me the cross, a burden too great for me to carry, help me be a willing participant on a journey I can neither understand nor change. God who believes in me, help me to go on believing that you take the little I have offered and use it to make a difference. God who knows me and calls me, who burdens me and believes in me, help me to hear your voice of thanks, and be ready to serve again. Amen

(Prayer by Tom Gordon in “Lent & Easter Readings from IONA” pg 93)

Canon Mark Long

Lent 2010

Holy Saturday

The Easter Proclamation (An Anglican Prayer Book 1989 pg 204-206)

“Rejoice, heavenly powers! Sing, choirs of angels! Exult, all creation around God’s throne! Jesus Christ, our King, is risen! Sound the trumpet of salvation!” (APB pg 205)

Holy Saturday is a day of waiting and preparation. Traditionally, our worship space is cleaned and scrubbed, flowers are arranged, the altar is draped in glorious gold, new candles are brought out and an Easter Fire is prepared. We are waiting and preparing for resurrection. Sometime between sunset tonight and sunrise tomorrow this great event will take place, and we will be called to rejoice, sing, and exalt.

At the time of Jesus death, Holy Saturday was a day of grief and loss and separation, and Easter Sunday a day of chaos and uncertainty, all focused around the Sabbath: a day that calls for rest, for recreation, for reflection. And so today is an opportunity in the midst of our preparations to reflect. How has this Lent been for you? What have you experienced? How have you grown? What have you heard God saying? What is God calling you to? What dreams have been crushed? What hopes have been renewed?

Do you see Jesus differently now that you have walked this journey? Do you see yourself differently; the people around you differently? And if so, why? And if not, why? What resurrection in the breadth of your life and your relationships will you celebrate tomorrow?

Yesterday, our hopes and dreams were shattered; tomorrow they will be renewed! Let us rest today, and prepare …

God of all creation – who cannot be contained by our boundaries or our definitions – light from beyond galaxies, sea without a farther shore; you are present in every distinct place, in every moment in history. You are here and now. Help us to understand that those from whom we are separated in life by distance, by sea and land; those from whom we are separated by difference, by prejudice, by language, by lack of communication; and those from whom we are separated in death. By its long silence, its aching absence – are each of them in your presence; that beyond our horizons, beyond our boundaries, beyond our understanding, they are in your embrace. Amen.

(Prayer by Jan Sutch Pickard in “Lent & Easter Readings from IONA” pg 104)

Canon Mark Long

Lent 2010

a lent course

2010-02-22T14:28:00.001+02:00

A Lent Course

of the Diocese of Pretoria

Anglican Church of Southern Africa

Equipping and Strengthening Families

Turning Houses into Homes

When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, "Woman, here is your son," and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home. – John 19:26 TNIV

Prepared by the Rev'd Canon Mark R D Long

February 2010

based on the Bishop's Charge, Synod 2008, Diocese of Pretoria

and on ideas presented at a workshop on Family Life in the

Archdeaconries of Hennop's River and Tshwane-Bokone

Week One – Introduction

Opening Prayer:

Introductions:

Read: "Life is no longer about family values but money and material gains. All what we do is more about self. We have adopted the "Western" attitude and culture of individualism and materialism. It is my wish that we change this mind set and think broadly about family – its importance and value. … In the context of African tradition and culture, family is the whole community where each person is not only responsible for his/her family but [for] any other member of the community [as well]. Adults are parents of every child whose upbringing is everyone's responsibility." – Bishop Jo Seoka: The Bishop's Charge, Synod 2008, Diocese of Pretoria.

Discussion:

In "Buzz Groups" of two's or three's share your response to the above statement.
In the large group share one thought out of each "Buzz Group".
Try and sum up the group discussion in one sentence.

Scripture:

"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind' (Deut 6:5). This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbour as yourself' (Lev 19:18). All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." – Matthew 22:36-40 TNIV

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. – 1 John 4:10-12 TNIV

Discussion:

1 John 4:16 says: God is love. What is "Love" in the context of the above two Scripture quotes? Try and provide a working definition.
Compare your working definition to what the media, especially movies and "TV Soapies", represents love as. Do you see a difference?
The reading from 1 John, above, refers to sacrifice. What does "sacrifice" mean to you?
The reading from Matthew defines relationship as focused love, on God and others. How does love impact your relationship with God, with family, with others? Share specific examples.
Where do you experience love? And where do you share love?

Closing Prayer:

Week Two – The Blessing of Family

Opening Prayer:

Sharing:

Read: "Family time of prayer is today a rare commodity. In fact there is hardly time and space for family togetherness. Very few of us spend quality time with each other as family, eat together, share memories and plan for the future. We have become such busy bees that family values have gone out of the window leaving our children confused and spiritually empty" – Bishop Jo Seoka: The Bishop's Charge, Synod 2008, Diocese of Pretoria.

Discussion:

What "Blessings" have you experienced personally by being a part of your family?
Do you agree/disagree with the above quote? Why?
Transformation is never instantaneous: what one "Blessing" is missing from your experience that you can make a priority to build in? Share this with the group.
Bishop Jo speaks above of our children being left "confused and spiritually empty" – this is one of the "Woes" of family life today. How can the Church family help us in this regard?

Scripture:

"Look," said Naomi, "your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her." But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me." When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her. – Ruth 1:15-18 TNIV

Discussion:

Remembering that Naomi's husband and two sons have died (Ruth is Naomi's daughter-in-law), what "Family" does Ruth commit herself to?
Why is Ruth so determined to stay with Naomi? What "Blessings" do you think Ruth was expecting?
Naomi tries hard to send Ruth back to her own family of origin. Reflect on the emotions Naomi must have experienced at Ruth's refusal.
Do you think Naomi felt affirmed by Ruth's response? Why, or why not?
Who in your family circle needs to be affirmed? Plan to write them a note this week to thank them for being a 'Blessing" to you.

Closing Prayer:

Week Three – Belonging to Family

Opening Prayer:

Sharing:

Read: "Individuals are held within the life of a family from birth to death. Anglicans affirm the place and goal of family life for all, in terms of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. Families are part of the family of God as well as part of a larger community" – Lambeth Conference 2008.

"The gospel is all about inclusion, otherwise Jesus would not have asked his followers, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" Here we learn about a new kind of family … Jesus turned the family structure into the wider community – connecting the family unit into a network of relations. … It is such relationships that will build the Church instituted by Christ to which all of God's people belong. Families are a given and are not something one chooses, … Each person belongs and is connected to the family … we are part of family at all times and in all places of our lives" – Bishop Jo Seoka: The Bishop's Charge, Synod 2008, Diocese of Pretoria.

Discussion:

What does it mean to belong? What does it mean to be family?
What is it that draws you to the Anglican Church? What is it about this community that helps you feel you belong? Do you feel excluded in any way? Why?
In today's world how can our families be more meaningfully part of the "larger community"? Who/what is our "wider community"?

Scripture:

So God created human beings in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. – Genesis 1:27 TNIV

Do not forsake your friend or a friend of your family, and do not go to your relative's house when disaster strikes you—better a neighbour nearby than a relative far away. – Proverbs 27:10 TNIV

Discussion:

What does it mean to be "created in God's image"?
How do you respond to the fact that you are made in God's image? And that so are others?
How do you celebrate this "image of God" in your family life?
Are you able to ask others (family, friends, and colleagues) for help? Share a situation where you did, and why the other person or group's response was helpful/unhelpful?
Which relationships in your life need to be strengthened to help you feel more included?

Closing Prayer:

Week Four – Believing in Family

Opening Prayer:

Sharing:

Read: "I am … putting a challenge before you to seek God's guidance … as to how we can be involved in 'Equipping and Strengthening Families: Turning Houses into Homes'. … we can make a profound contribution as a faith community in rebuilding and transforming family life and responsible citizenship. … Our homes must be turned to worship spaces, meals into Eucharistic experiences and conversation to means of bonding and renewal of family love and nurturing" – Bishop Jo Seoka: The Bishop's Charge, Synod 2008, Diocese of Pretoria.

Discussion:

Describe your picture of a "Home". What makes it different from a "House"?
Belief has to do with principles, those things we believe to be true. What principles are important for family life?
A house is a place without principle or relationship. How can we implement these principles to help our own houses become homes?
Choose a principle that you believe is missing from your family life: share how you plan to implement it? Who will you need to negotiate with? What will you need to change?

Scripture:

Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, "Woman, [The Greek for Woman does not denote any disrespect] here is your son," and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home. – John 19:25-27 TNIV

Discussion:

Share your response to the above reading from the Gospel of John.
What does Jesus believe about family? Why?
Share what you value about your own family and experience of family life.
How do we share this with others? Our own family? Fellow Church members? Society?

Closing Prayer:

Week Five – Family Behaviour

Opening Prayer:

Sharing:

Read: "The need today is much more than ever 'for families to have a rule of life that focuses the family on the centrality of Jesus Christ, with respect for each other as children, the brothers and sisters of Jesus' (Bishop's Charge 2005, pg 5)" – Bishop Jo Seoka: The Bishop's Charge, Synod 2008, Diocese of Pretoria.

Discussion:

A "Rule of Life" is a covenant that guides the behaviour of a community, and helps individuals know how to behave in relationship to others in the community. It is more than a set of rules; it is a way of living. What two principles (above) are key to a rule for Family Life?
Are these two principles evident in your family? If so, how do they impact on the behaviour of family members?
"What would Jesus do?" Is this a question your family asks? If not, how do you think it would change family and individual behaviour if you begin asking it?
We are all created in God's image: how does this (or could this) impact on family behaviour?

Scripture:

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord's people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. – Ephesians 3:14-21 TNIV

Discussion:

Paul (above) shares the principles he believes should be core to family and community relationships in this wonderful prayer for the Ephesians. Share your response.
Often we wait for others before we are willing to transform our own behaviour. Commit yourself to a specific positive behaviour change in your family life that you will implement and continue to live out even if no-one else in the family responds. If you have the courage, share this with the group.
Share what has been valuable to you over the last five weeks in this course.

Closing Prayer: Pray Paul's prayer for the Ephesians (above) together for your own family, for your local Church family, and for your community.

six characteristics of christ

2010-01-02T14:23:00.000+02:00

I came across the following in a web blog by Jeff Elkins, and thought it may be a useful personal or group statement of purpose for those seeking to take Christ to the world, as we seek ways to move away from expecting the world to come to Christ (a default response most institutionalised Christians have).

“We will share Jesus with others by loving God and loving people through lives defined by…

Humility – understanding our need for God, we will be defined by our transparent, sincere brokenness.

Forgiveness – with an attitude of brokenness, considering others to be better than ourselves, we will seek to offer forgiveness, restoring others to right relationship with God and one another.

Service – longing to see people restored, we will love them with reckless and messy abandon.

Worship – as we encounter God through loving others, we will proclaim Jesus as Lord with uninhibited authenticity.

Wonder – in reverent stillness we will appreciate God’s glory without fear.

Surrender – knowing that Jesus is God and we are not, we will daily humble ourselves, deny our selfish ambition, and seek the Spirit’s guidance.”

…and then we ask each other where we have succeeded and where we have failed.

a call to anglican priesthood

2009-12-09T22:34:00.001+02:00

an exploration of "The Charge to Priests"

An Anglican Prayer Book 1989, page 587-588

by Canon Mark R D Long, Diocese of Pretoria, Anglican Church of Southern Africa

Introduction

Invited to preach by my friend and colleague at the 20^th Anniversary Eucharist of his ordination to the Priesthood I returned to the Scripture readings and "The Charge to Priests" (The Charge) found in An Anglican Prayer Book 1989's Ordination Service. Ordained to the Priesthood myself 20 years ago on 12 November 1989 alongside my friend, the sermon became a reflection on my own ministry and journey. The following reflects the direction of my sermon but is also a journey in itself.

In re-reading "The Charge to Priests" I was amazed on what a wonderful discourse it is on ministry, not only for clergy but for laity as well, and how focused it is on Jesus.

I found the themes of The Charge highlighted in the readings: Micah 2:5-7, Psalm 145:1-7, 2 Corinthians 5:14-19, and John 20:19-23. It may be worth referring to these and "The Charge to Priests" before you journey further.

Called through Baptism

The Charge begins by reminding all listening that the Priest will always remain a part of the Body of Christ, of the community of all believers; and that all believers – members of God's Church – have a wonderful call. This call, like the Trinity, is three-fold:

to witness to Jesus Christ as Lord of life;
to proclaim Jesus to the world; and
to walk in the footsteps of Christ.

If we link these three statements above to the Trinity then we discover, excitingly, that "to witness to Jesus as Lord of life" is to be involved as God's people in the creative work of God; "to proclaim Jesus to the world" is to be involved in the redeeming work of God; "to walk in the footsteps of Christ" is to be involved in the sustaining work of God. The call to witness and proclaim is in the broadest terms: to life and to the world. And we are called to do this primarily through example and action.

Both life and the world are our play-ground: we are called as God's people to a holistic embrace of all aspects and areas of life; there is no area we should not be. And we are not called to talk, we are called to act: "Go into all the world and proclaim the Good News, and if necessary use words" (attributed to St Francis of Assisi).

Made Deacon

The call to be made Deacon is one to which the Priest has already responded, and the Diaconate will always define the foundation on which the call to Priesthood is received. This is a call to service. The Charge reminds us that there are two aspects to this call:

to be a servant of God; and
to be a servant to God's people.

"The Charge to Deacons" (An Anglican Prayer Book 1989, page 583) gives greater clarity to these two statements: it is a special ministry of "humble service" and a call to serve "all people". The Diaconate finds its focus in seeking out the poor, the weak, the sick and the lonely, and thereby demonstrates that in serving those in need we serve Christ himself. The ministry of the Diaconate is for the Deacon to be immersed in the world to such an extent that the Deacon is able to interpret to the Church the needs, concerns, and hopes of the world.

While acknowledging the above, "The Charge to Priests" subtly redefines the role of service for the Priest: it is no longer to "all people" but to "God's people". It may be argued that in terms of all humanity carrying the "image of God" these two phrases are synonymous. However, "The Charge to Priests" is attempting here to give some definition to the two roles, that of Deacon and that of Priest. The Deacon now to be ordained Priest will have other priorities, primarily that of making disciples. Service for the Priest will find its purpose in nurturing God's people as disciples, equipping them to witness to Jesus Christ as Lord of life, to proclaim Jesus to the world, and to walk in the footsteps of Christ.

Ordained Priest

"The Charge to Priests" focuses, for obvious reasons, on what it is to be called to ordination to the Priesthood. The calling to the Priesthood has many aspects, but is directed by the threefold description of the Anglican Priest as

priest,
pastor, and
teacher.

If we apply the image of the Trinity, then the "priest" is the creative role, the "pastor" the redemptive role, and "teacher" the sustaining role. Thus Priesthood in the Anglican context is not just about being "priest" – it is far more inclusive, holistic and abundant. Core to Anglican Christianity is balance, finding the via media, the middle way. The challenge for the Anglican Priest is to find the balance in being priest, pastor and teacher. It is a broad and challenging ministry to which we are called. Trinitarian imagery also gives focus to the different roles: to be priest is to build, to be pastor is to heal, to be teacher is to nourish.

The ministry of the Priest as "priest, pastor and teacher" is described as a lifetime of ministry in the following of Christ, sustained through an ever deepening practise of prayer, and enriched by daily reading and study of Scripture. The Priesthood requires a living relationship with Christ, and this relationship is nurtured in prayer and in immersion in Scripture. Prayer and study impel us into action: our relationship with Christ is the driving force of ministry.

The primary focus of the Priesthood, while directed by the roles of priest, pastor and teacher, is on making disciples. The Charge addresses the "How?" of making disciples with thirteen action words: bring, lead, proclaim, preside, intercede, help, share, rebuke, pronounce, care, bring back, guide, prepare. The detail describing these actions can be found by reading The Charge, but suffice it to say, the making of disciples begins with bringing people into relationship with Christ and ends with preparing them to embrace death and the fullness of eternal life. In addressing the "Why?" of making disciples The Charge states that the purpose is "that they may be saved through Christ for ever. " Anglican Priesthood is focused in the present, but embraces the eternal.

Conclusion

The Charge ends with the observation to the Priest that "This ministry will be your great joy and privilege", that it is a "weighty responsibility" that should not be undertaken lightly nor without a clear call from God; and that those whom God calls God will also strengthen. The weight of responsibility can be overwhelming, self-doubt can be destabilising, the expectation of others disheartening. But we have chosen obedience to the call of God, we are volunteers, there is no contract, just a license from the Diocesan Bishop empowering us to serve. We acknowledge this privilege, and we take joy from the fact that we minister not out of compulsion, but voluntarily in obedient response to God's call and in relationship with Anglican Church structures.

And on occasion we are paid.

9 December 2009

Mark R D Long

and when i stamped my feet

2009-11-26T20:45:00.001+02:00

And when I stamped my feet on the grave

The thumping soon became a dance

And I felt both the sadness and the joy

Well up in my heart

And I knew then

That life and death

Are so close

And in that space

Sacredness arises

And the tears that ran down my face

Released me to the great mystery of it all.

Anonymous

transformation

2009-11-15T19:00:00.001+02:00

Transformation: one definition is "qualitative change" – I like this. This definition moves us on from numbers to value. Our consumerist orientated society discounts value, and is in conflict with our faith which discounts a quantitative approach to life.

wisdom

2009-11-12T21:09:00.001+02:00

I came across this wonderful list of words describing Wisdom (The Wisdom of Solomon 7:22-23 NRSV):

The Nature of Wisdom

There is in her a spirit that is intelligent, holy,

unique, manifold, subtle,

mobile, clear, unpolluted,

distinct, invulnerable, loving the good, keen,

irresistible, beneficent, humane,

steadfast, sure, free from anxiety,

all-powerful, overseeing all,

and penetrating through all spirits

that are intelligent, pure, and altogether subtle.

remembrance sunday - lest we forget

2009-11-08T21:08:00.000+02:00

I found this wonderful poem which I used as the focus for our Remembrance at Church this morning:

Lest We Forget

What do we forget when we remember
What are the stories left untold
What do we think each November
As we march down that glory road
As we march down that gory road

One hundred million
Don’t come home from war
Another eight hundred million
Who lived to bear its scar
Who lived to bear its scar

Lest we forget
What they were dying for
Lest we forget
What they were killing for
Lest we forget
What the hell it was for

What do we forget when we remember…

Owen Griffiths

neglect

2009-11-06T10:13:00.000+02:00

Realised I have been rather ignoring my blog page. Somehow life gets full, and with recording my sermons these days, I reflect in writing less. I have new energy having come across http://ow.ly/15ZKzM where Chris Brogan says:

The secret to blogging every day is a blend of three things: discipline, practice, and ideas.

racism, classism & tribalism

2009-06-05T18:16:00.000+02:00

The following is a letter I wrote to the Pretoria News (published 5 June 2009) in response to an article titled "It is the church's duty to preach racial harmony" by Rich Mkhondo (published on 1 June 2009) in the Comment section. The Pretoria News titled my response "Roots of racism lie in SA's colonial history":

I read with interest Rich Mkhondo's opinion (Comment 1 June 2009) on the church's duty to preach racial harmony. There can be no doubt that racism remains a key issue in our society: its roots lie in our colonial history, and can be traced back to attitudes in Europe well before van Reebeck ever set foot in the Cape. It is also true that the church is often, sadly, no more than a microcosm of wider society. However, as Mkhondo points out, the church has both the responsibility and the resources to engender new attitudes and more whole relationships.

I am aware that I write as a so-called "White" South African, and so struggle to fully comprehend the level of pain inflicted on so many fellow South Africans during the apartheid era. As part of my training as an Anglican Priest I was immersed in the township life of GaRankuwa in the mid 1980's, and was substantially conscientised to the realities of southern Africa and the devastating impact of racial discrimination as experienced by those who suffered under it. I realised, too, how I - as an oppressor by default of my heritage - was damaged as a person.

In our new democratic dispensation the word "racism" tends to be used to cover a broad perspective of negative and hurtful attitudes. For many so-called "Whites" racism is very specifically aligned to apartheid, and when the declaration is made "I am not a racist" it is often perceived by fellow South Africans to be a somewhat hypocritical statement, when in reality it is a heartfelt cry that rejects apartheid and embraces the new South Africa. What many of us so-called "Whites" struggle with is often classist attitudes - that during apartheid strongly underlay racial ones - and it is often (agreed, not always!) this classism that fellow South Africans experience as racism in today's society.

As the Anglican Church in Pretoria we have raised the issue of racism, together with classism and tribalism, as ones that must be addressed in all our communities. Key to the process is building relationships, creating awareness of different cultural perspectives, and creating a broader and more inclusive ownership of church life and worship.

MARK R D LONG, Garsfontein

an advent/Christmas journey

2009-01-03T09:57:00.003+02:00

Advent this last year came alive for me in my sermon preparation: a sense of expectation, a call to prepare, an opportunity to seek God's direction and then to accept God's call and purpose for our lives. Christmas is a culmination of this Advent journey requiring us to become accountable as human beings made in God's image, to take up God's purpose for us - as expressed in Genesis 1 - to work alongside him in creating order out of darkness and chaos, and to continually embrace our role in helping constrain chaos in our lives and communities.

rennie D

3 January 2009

redefining church/Church

2009-01-03T09:37:00.007+02:00

Phyllis Tickle, on the Emergent Village Weblog has opened a discussion on the nature of church/Church, which may be worth a visit. Joan Chittister, in her wonderful book In Search of Belief says: "... we have to forget one kind of church and recommit ourselves to the creation of the other one, the one created by the Holy Spirit, rather than the one created by centuries of political accretions and clerical control." My personal sense is that we need to acknowledge that there will always be church in terms of the Christian human collective expressing faith in word and action. The key, I suspect, is for the Christian human collective to maintain our relationship with God in such a vital and abundant manner that Church, the creation of the Spirit, continually informs and transforms church.

rennie D
3 January 2009

being church

2008-08-01T09:27:00.001+02:00

For some brief comments on this topic - quoting Archbishop Rowan Williams - please see my article at http://therectorsdesk.blogspot.com/2008/07/august-2008.html . I think it is instructive!

Rennie D
1 August 2008

a god of possibility

2008-07-28T10:54:00.000+02:00

My sermon for the 17th Sunday of "Year A" is availalbe on OVI. I focus on God's name (Exodus 3) being a name of possibility and mystery, an invitation to a journey of continuing discovery and action.

Rennie D
28 July 2008

a benedictine approach to sunday

2008-06-25T17:20:00.004+02:00

Joan Chittister, in her daily commentary on the rule of Benedict, shares the following thoughts on the importance of Sunday and Sunday Worship in the life of the Christian community:

It is a day full of tradition and rhythm and rememberings of the simple but important concepts of existence. It is a return to basic truths that are never to be sacrificed for variety and always reinforced through repetition [The Rule of Benedict - insight for the ages; pg 80].

Joan makes these comments in the light of Western culture where "The idea of sabbaths that are fixed and solemn is for most part gone ..." replaced by "... Sundays ... spent in hectic activity designed to make us relax by drowning out the pressures of the rest of the week with the inane uselessness of the weekends" [ibid.]. She compares this with the Benedictine spirituality, where:

... the sabbath is the moment for returning to the surety and solemnity of life, for setting our sights above the daily, for restating the basics, for giving meaning to the rest of the week so that the mundane and the immediate do not become the level of our existence [ibid.].

Rennie D
25 June 2008

identity

2008-05-31T11:30:00.005+02:00

My sermon for Corpus Christi is now available online at OVI. This sermon begins an exploration on identity, taking into account our Modern heritage and the impact of Postmodernism on our lives and faith, specifically the "Us/Them" dichotomy of Modernism and the implications of a Postmodern approach to faith.

Rennie D
31 May 2008

transformation, identity & xenophobia

2008-05-27T18:04:00.003+02:00

You will find my thoughts on the relationship between transformation, identity & xenophobia at The Rector's Desk. Have a look!

Rennie D
27 May 2008

fullness of life

2008-04-13T20:16:00.002+02:00

Unconditional love, fullness of life: what impossible concepts! According to the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures only Jesus gets this right ... it's a characteristic of the Divine. But it is something that humanity is called to live out, to express in our relationships, to transform our lives. I reflect on this in today's sermon.

Rennie D
13 April 2008

encounter with Christ

2008-04-06T16:08:00.002+02:00

My sermon for today is available. I have focused on the nature of encounter in the post-Resurrection experience of early Christians, and the means it becomes for transforming our daily lives and our very selves into activists for the Gospel.

Rennie D
6 April 2008

palm sunday

2008-03-16T18:42:00.003+02:00

My sermon for Palm Sunday is available at http://www.twango.com/media/markrdlong.sermons/markrdlong.10096. Other recent sermons are available at http://www.twango.com/channel/markrdlong.sermons. Today's sermon focuses on Jesus response to his accusers (in Matthew): "They are your words". I focus on the role Scripture plays in Matthew in terms of this response, and the call that it is to us as Anglicans to immerse ourselves in Scripture beyond our times of formal worship.

Rennie D
16 March 2008

the creed for a new age

2008-03-06T18:32:00.005+02:00

For some time I have searched for a revised version of the Creed that makes sense in the 21st centuary world in which I live. Joan Chittister, in her book In Search of Belief published by Liguori/Triumph (1999; pg 205-209), provides such a Creedal statement. In her book she explores the Apostles' Creed, and expands it in such a way that, in her words, "life speaks to the heart with new timbre for a new age" (pg 205):

I believe in one God
who made us all
and whose divinity infuses all of life
with the sacred.

I believe in the multiple revelations
of that God
alive in every human heart,
expressed in every human culture,
and found in all the wisdoms
of the world.

I believe
that Jesus Christ,
the unique son of God,
is the face of God
on earth
in whom we see best
the divine justice,
divine mercy,
and divine compassion
to which we are all called.

I believe in the Christ
who is One in being with the Creator
and who shows us the presence of God
in everything that is
and calls out the sacred in ourselves.

I believe in Jesus, the Christ
who leads us to the fullness
of human stature,
to what we were meant to become
before all time
and for all other things that were made.

Through Christ
we become new people,
called beyond the consequences
of our brokenness
and lifted to the fullness of life.

By the power of the Holy Spirit
he was born of the woman Mary,
pure in soul
and single-hearted –
a sign to the ages
of the exalted place
of womankind
in the divine plan
of human salvation.

He grew as we grow
through all the stages of life.
He lived as we live
prey to the pressures of evil
and intent on the good.
He broke no bonds with the world
to which he was bound,
He sinned not.
He never strayed from the mind of God.
He showed us the Way,
lived it for us
suffered from it,
and died because of it
so that we might live
with new heart,
new mind,
and new strength
despite all death
to which we are daily subjected.

For our sake
and for the sake of eternal Truth
he was hounded
harassed
and executed
by those
who were their own gods
and who valued the sacred
in no other.

He suffered so that we might realise
that the spirit in us
can never be killed
whatever price we have to pay
for staying true to the mind of God.

He died
but did not die
because he lives in us
still.

“On the third day” in the tomb
he rose again
in those he left behind
and in each of us as well
to live in hearts
that will not succumb
to the enemies of life.

He changed all life
for all of us thereafter.
he ascended into the life of God
and waits there
for our own ascension
to the life beyond.

He waits there,
judging what has gone before
and what is yet to come
against unending values
and, in behalf of eternal virtue,
for the time when all of life
will be gathered into God,
full of life and light,
steeped in truth.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the breath of God
on earth,
who keeps the Christ vision present
to souls yet in darkness,
gives life
even to hearts now blind.
Infuses energy
into spirits yet weary, isolated,
searching and confused.

The spirit has spoken
to the human heart
through the prophets
and gives new meaning
to the Word
throughout time.

I believe in one
holy and universal church.
Bound together by the holiness of creation
and the holiness of hearts forever true.

I acknowledge the need
to be freed from the compulsions
of my disordered life
and my need for forgiveness
in face of frailty.

I look for life eternal
in ways I cannot dream
and trust
that creation goes on creating
in this world
and in us
forever.

Amen.

Rennie D
6 March 2008

annual report

2008-01-27T08:37:00.000+02:00

I haven't blogged for sometime - Christmas Holidays and all! My Annual Report to our Parish Vestry, presented this morning in the sermon slot at both services is available: the script at http://therectorsdesk.blogspot.com/2008/01/rectors-report-to-annual-vestry-2008.html
and an audio file at http://www.twango.com/media/markrdlong.sermons/markrdlong.10090. It created some emotionally charged discussion at the meeting around the issue of the eurocentric focus of our worship. "Inclusive" and "Flexible" are clearly in the area of VERY UNCOMFORTABLE when used in this context of a growingly diverse cultural congregation!!

Rennie D
27 January 2008

recent rantings

2007-11-29T10:46:00.000+02:00

My sermon for Christ the King is available at http://www.twango.com/media/markrdlong.sermons/markrdlong.10087. A sermon preached at a Memorial for a young man of 19, Olly Tucker, who died of HCM (hypertrophic cardio myopathy) is availalble at http://www.twango.com/media/markrdlong.other/markrdlong.10088.

Rennie D
29 November 2007

a new language for a new era

2007-11-29T07:20:00.000+02:00

In my latest article for our parish magazine I have commented on the need for a new language, a new way of communicating the Gospel, that makes sense in our 21st century world. This can be found at http://therectorsdesk.blogspot.com/2007/11/december-2007.html.

Rennie D
29 November 2007

towards defining a postmodern faith

2007-11-11T09:54:00.000+02:00

I continue my theme from All Saints in today's sermon, which you can find at http://www.twango.com/media/markrdlong.sermons/markrdlong.10086. In it I reflect on the need to redefine the Christian Faith from a 21st Century worldview if Christianity is going to survive. Quite how one does this will probably be the debate of the century, and cannot be defined overnight or even "overdecade". But it needs to happen.

Rennie D
11 November 2007

towards a postmodern faith

2007-11-06T04:41:00.000+02:00

We celebrated All Saints this last Sunday. I used the reading from Jeremiah 31:31-34 as my central theme, that we are called by God to an adult faith and relationship. This is increasingly critical in a postmodern environment where God viewed through the primitive cultural lens of the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures often leaves us doubtful of a deeper spiritual reality in an environment where scientific, medical, sociological and psychological perspectives give seemingly more reasonable explanations. This sermon is available at http://www.twango.com/media/markrdlong.sermons/markrdlong.10085

Rennie D
6 November 2007

leadership and justice

2007-10-21T08:03:00.000+02:00

I focused in today's sermon on leadership, issues of justice, gifting, perseverance and ministry. I do this within the context of our parish election of leadership for 2008, and focus on the nature of leadership being primarily a communal responsibility. An audio copy is available at http://www.twango.com/media/markrdlong.sermons/markrdlong.10084.

Rennie D
21 October 2007

recent sermons

2007-10-14T05:52:00.000+02:00

Due to a malfunctioning PDA I have recorded few sermons during September and early October. I didn't preach today as my wife, Dawn, returned from an international adventure. Two recent sermons are available at http://www.twango.com/media/markrdlong.sermons/markrdlong.10082 (audio) and http://www.twango.com/media/markrdlong.sermons/markrdlong.10083 (Mind Map). Double click on the image for an enlarged version.

Rennie D
14 October 2007

mountain of god

2007-08-27T07:56:00.000+02:00

My sermon for this last Sunday is available at http://www.twango.com/media/markrdlong.sermons/markrdlong.10081

Rennie D
27 August 2007

faith

2007-08-12T05:45:00.000+02:00

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" (Hebrews 11:1). My sermon for today is based around this theme.

Rennie D
12 August 2007

what do you require of god?

2007-07-29T04:39:00.000+02:00

I haven't uploaded sermons for sometime - largely because I have been on leave and so haven't preached many! My sermon for last week and today are now available. Last week I focused on the question, "What do we require of God?" and this week on "How do we respond to God's response?" Essentially, we are largely aware of what God requires of us, at least in general terms - the Scriptures paint God's requirements in broad strokes. However, what are our expectations of God, and can we dare to think in such terms? When God responds to our expectations, our requirements, do we recognise his response, and how do we react? Click on the highlighted words above and they will direct you to the related sermon.

Rennie D
29 July 2007

port & poetry

2007-07-21T08:56:00.000+02:00

It's time once again for Port and Poetry @ Rivermeade. Last year's theme was "Rugby", this year's is "Cricket"... but this is South Africa (Southern Hemisphere) and time for everything other than Cricket. Cricket in July? Perhaps in the cold reaches of the Great North? I have reflected on this theme:

Poetry and Port

an engagement of friends
sharing words head-scratched
borrowed and acknowledged
funny serious rude and prude
laughter Port-enhanced and real
a theme both comical and surreal

Cricket – in July!? when Tennis, Rugby
even Cycling does entrance
with Venus on the rise
and Hunter on the stage
Super XIV won and Tri-Nations lost
a World engagement immanent
our theme: Cricket – in July!?

Yes, Cricket! that game
of gentlemen and rogues
one team in and one team out
eleven men in until they’re out
a ball a bat an umpire or two
bowling batting fielding catching
Yes, Cricket! that mark of Empire!
our theme – in July!

In "researching" this poem I came across the following explanation of the game, one I saw years ago:

The Clear & Understandable Rules of Cricket

You have two sides, one out in the field and one in. Each man that's in the side that's in goes out, and when he's out he comes in and the next man goes in until he's out. When they are all out, the side that's out comes in and the side that's been in goes out and tries to get those coming in, out. Sometimes you get men still in and not out. When a man goes out to go in, the men who are out try to get him out, and when he is out he goes in and the next man in goes out and goes in. There are two men called umpires who stay out all the time and they decide when the men who are in are out. When both sides have been in and all the men have been given out, and both sides have been out twice after all the men have been in, including those who are not out, that is the end of the game!

Rennie D
21 July 2007

faith? reason?

2007-07-08T09:02:00.000+02:00

A comment on Faith by Terry Goodkind in his novel Chainfire (pg 540); Zedd, the First Wizard, addressing his grandson Richard, the first War Wizard born in three-thousand years, also the Seeker:

“Faith is a device of self-delusion, a sleight of hand done with words and emotions founded on any irrational notion that can be dreamed up. Faith is the attempt to coerce truth to surrender to whim. In simple terms, it is trying to breathe life into a lie by trying to outshine reality with the beauty of wishes. Faith is the refuge of fools, the ignorant, and the deluded, not of thinking, rational men.”

It is a statement that undermines Richard's belief that his wife, Kahlan, the Mother Confessor, is alive despite the fact that no one remembers her, underlined by the reality that at this precise moment in the story they are looking at her decomposed corpse freshly dug up from the below her gravestone in the Confessors Palace graveyard.

The story goes on to prove that Richard's belief is not based in "the beauty of wishes" but in the reality of relationship and memory (and thus also experience), and that reality is not what we see, but what we know to be true. What we see can be manipulated, what we experience cannot? Essentially a negation of the age of reason, and a judgement on those who seek to place reason and faith in opposition. An interesting perspective.

Rennie D
8 July 2007

trinity and corpus christi: community & relationship

2007-06-12T07:13:00.000+02:00

have been a bit forgetful of late, but my sermons for the last two weeks are now availalble: Trinity (with a focus on the nature of God and the nature of "us" as humanity); Corpus Christi (relationship, integrity and accomodation). Please have a listen - click on the highlighted words!

Rennie D
12 June 2007

further reflections on pentecost

2007-06-01T07:29:00.000+02:00

Interpretation of Tongues

I have some background in Pentecostalism (Assembly of God late 70's & early 80's) which sometimes manifests in an Evangelical bent (although my immersion in Anglicanism since birth tends, I like to believe, to keep me grounded in reality). Thus, any thought or conversation around the gift of tongues links me into the early church experience and what is often referred to as "glossolalia". This Pentecost season has drawn me to the Genesis account of Babel, where God confuses language because a common language became a force for human communal self-interest. In the light of this the Acts reading takes on new meaning: it is the gift (lost at Babel) of being able to communicate with all people, restored in order to make God and his activities known, to glorify God and not human community - and thereby gifting us to fulfil the Great Commission.

"Language" Interpretation

Further, my insight this season, is that this gift is not primarily about "foreign" or "angelic" languages, but about interpersonal communication and helping people to understand each other. We often speak the same language but mean very different things, or even more confusingly, only slightly different things. Body language, tone, attitude, worldview, theological outlook - all confuse our communication with each other. This is specifically true in our African context where many of us use the English language to communicate, but because it is often our second, third or even fourth language, our communication is often torpedoed before we even begin. In today's increasingly global, multi and differently cultured environment we need the "Interpretation of Tongues" just to interpret what someone else is saying in the same language! Our backgrounds, experience, insight are all used by God in this particular manifestation of the gifting of God's people by God.

Sermons (click on the highlighted words below)

I have uploaded two sermons, one a more lengthy exposition on my first point above, and the other a briefer reflection shared at the evening Chapel Service at St Alban's College in Pretoria. that reflects more fully on my second point above, with specific reference to parent / teenager miscommunication!

Rennie D
1 June 2007

church unity

2007-05-23T09:19:00.000+02:00

Ascension to Pentecost marks a "week" of prayer of Church Unity. I was invited to briefly address the local Roman Catholic Seminary students on this topic this evening, to pray with them for Church Unity. A real privilege, and most interesting that it is the Catholics reaching out to us. My reflection on this issue is available at http://www.twango.com/media/markrdlong.sermons/markrdlong.10066

Rennie D
23 May 2007

the vision is dead?

2007-05-19T07:22:00.000+02:00

My Ascention Day sermon can be found at http://www.twango.com/media/markrdlong.sermons/markrdlong.10065

Rennie D
19 May 2007

the vision is dead! long live the vision!

2007-05-13T03:04:00.000+02:00

Today's sermon is available at http://www.twango.com/media/markrdlong.sermons/markrdlong.10064

Rennie D
13 May 2007

mystery and certainty

2007-05-10T04:19:00.000+02:00

I am in the process of reading John W de Gruchy's book Being Human. de Gruchy reflects on the impact Scripture Union had on his spiritual formation and conversion and compares this experience to "the rather tepid Christianity that many found in their home congregations where the preaching and worship seldom made any connection with our experience" (pg 67). He goes on to say, "This remains true today as many young people - and also not so young - look beyond mainline denominations for a more authentic, lively and meaningful Christian experience. Others again are attracted to more Catholic forms of Christianity, with their apparent certainty of faith and morality, and the mystery and tangibility of their liturgy" (pg 67-68).

If de Gruchy's analysis is correct, then the challenge for the Church is to offer a Faith experience that maintains mystery and certainty in creative juxtaposition. It is this seemingly contradictory mix that develops an environment that is authentic, lively, and meaningful.

Rennie D
9 May 2007

love your neighbour

2007-05-07T02:22:00.000+02:00

My sermon for the fourth Sunday after Easter is availalble at http://www.twango.com/media/markrdlong.sermons/markrdlong.10063, and focuses on "love your neighbour as yourself" (Leviticus) and "love one another as I have loved you" (John).

Rennie D
7 May 2007

transfiguration

2007-05-07T01:49:00.000+02:00

An interesting poetic perspective on the transfiguration by Edwin Muir: http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=178990

Rennie D
7 May 2007

identity

2007-05-04T02:48:00.000+02:00

In my latest "... from the Rector's Desk" in the May edition of our Parish Magazine I reflect on the issue of identity: who I am as a human; who we are in God; who we are as a Parish that uses the word tradition to define a part of who we are. A copy of the article is availalble at http://therectorsdesk.blogspot.com/2007/05/may-2007.html.

Rennie D
4 May 2007

union

2007-05-03T10:27:00.000+02:00

Brother James is busy archiving my grandmother's lifetime collection of "snaps". This is an interesting perspective on the Union Buildings in Pretoria.

Rennie D
3 May 2006

photos on flickr

2007-05-01T09:57:00.000+02:00

Daisies
Originally uploaded by markrdlong.

I have recently added some photos to my Flickr "Creation" set on the theme of flowers, animals and scenery. You'll find them at http://www.flickr.com/gp/61024590@N00/t0ku2a

Rennie D
1 May 2007

the LORD says!

2007-04-29T11:59:00.000+02:00

My apologies to those who like to follow my weekly sermons. Over Easter I somehow never quite got a ful sermon recorded for one reason or another. Herewith, though, my sermon for Easter 3 in which I explore how we can determine God's will in the context of a society that increasingly says "anything goes". Scripture is a good starting point, and those that declare "God says ... !" usually inhibit communities from truly discovering God's will as such a statement closes down communication and intra-community dialogue. This sermon can be found at http://www.twango.com/media/markrdlong.sermons/markrdlong.10043

Rennie D
29 April 2007

ancient miracles and modern science

2007-04-19T09:46:00.000+02:00

An interesting article I came across via Books Inq. Well worth a gander if you are interested in whether or not ancient Biblical miracles have a basis in modern medical science - it appears some do! See http://www.answersingenesis.org/creation/v21/i4/trees.asp.

Rennie D
19 April 2007

the spiritual life

2007-04-12T11:25:00.000+02:00

Joan Chittester comments, helpfully, that:

The spiritual life is not a set of exercises appended to our ordinary routine. Spirituality is not just a matter of joining the closest religious community or parish committee or faith-sharing group.

The spiritual life is ... a complete reordering of our values and our priorities and our lives. Spirituality is that depth of soul that changes our lives and focuses our efforts and leads us to see the world differently than we ever did before.

The Rule of Benedict - Insights for the Ages, pg 151 (edited)

Rennie D
12 April 2007

leadership

2007-04-12T00:11:00.000+02:00

Yesterday I had fun spending gift vouchers - plus a lot extra - at Exclusive Books. My purchases included The Definitive Drucker by Elizabeth Haas Edersheim. I found the comments in the introduction (pg 12, 13-15) relating to leadership useful.

Edersheim quotes Peter Drucker as saying, "The most important thing anybody in a leadership position can do is ask what needs to be done. And make sure that what needs to be done is understood [emphasis mine]."

Drucker goes on to comment on why so many people in leadership fail, and makes two comments in this regard:

1) They go by what they want, rather than what needs to be done;

2) The enormous amount of time and effort to make oneself understood - to communicate.

In replying to a question by Edersheim as to how leaders can be certain they know what needs to be done, Drucker emphasised two things: asking and listening [emphasis mine]. And in this regard he is also quoted as saying, "... the right questions don't change as often as the answers do."

Further, and personally I think this is a key function of leadership, Drucker emphasises that we all must step up to the responsibility to manage our way to an optimal tomorrow as "... we are all charged with influencing and managing the changes that will define our future."

Rennie D
12 April 2007

lenten review

2007-04-11T08:34:00.000+02:00

The following quote by Joan Chittister (from The Rule of Benedict - Insights for the Ages, pg 146), seems to sum up my Lenten journey this year:

Benedictine spirituality recognises that a thing may become valueless to us before it actually becomes valueless. In that case it is given to someone else in good condition. Benedictine spirituality does not understand a world that is full of gorgeous garbage while the poor lack the basics of life.

Rennie D
11 April 2007

anglican eucharistic theology

2007-04-09T10:50:00.000+02:00

An interesting site - there is a comment on our Southern African Eucharistic Theology!

Rennie D
9 April 2007

disturb us, lord

2007-04-08T09:41:00.000+02:00

This caught my attention:

Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.

We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.

(attributed - Sir Francis Drake -1577 )

Rennie D
8 April 2007

clergy school - a perspective

2007-04-01T09:57:00.000+02:00

Diocesan Clergy School, hosted and directed by UNISA, has been an inspiring experience. We have had some outstanding input from various high-calibre academics, including our own Anglican sub-Dean, Prof. Barney Pityana (also vice-Chancellor of UNISA). We have investigated the church’s role in rebuilding our society’s value base, while exploring the diversity of our call in dealing with the various moral challenges all South Africans face, seeking to find ways to reclaim our prophetic voice.

The importance of good ecumenical relationships is critical in allowing the church to speak with “one voice”, rather than with a fragmented denominationalism. Significant to this discussion is the issue of authority, and the Clergy School was asked to recognise four different types: traditional, rational, negotiated, symbolic; that we as Anglicans have a specific perspective on how these aspects influence our praxis, and our understanding of Scripture. The Bible is a consequence and not a cause of Faith, and as Anglicans we question what Scripture means, rather than simply what it says. These perspectives on authority and Scripture impact on our ecumenical relationships. There is a call on us to re-explore the message of Jesus, to regain a radical commitment to the Kingdom of God as put forward by Jesus, and as experienced in the early church, and to be relational – an emphasis on being rather than doing – and not legalistic in our interpretation both of Scripture and Tradition, while also recognising the social and economic relevance of Scripture.

We have been reminded that poverty should remain one of the church’s main preoccupations, that an “option for the poor” is preferential and not exclusive (i.e. not an “option against the rich”), and that transforming the plight of the poor includes the transformation of the wealthy. Sadly, excessive accumulation of monetary and material wealth is mostly at the expense of the poor, and actively ferments poverty. We were asked, “Is inequality ordained by God?” because our lifestyles as Christian people often suggest that it is! Interestingly, while the USA Constitution enshrines “Freedom” as an inalienable human right, our South African Constitution enshrines “Equality”. The lack of genuine equality in South Africa is an active cause of socio-economic domination by a South African elite - increasingly being referred to as the “new apartheid”! Top business structures in this country are still largely in the hands of white people, and despite a growing black middle class this remains an area of grave concern, especially for us as Church. The crisis we face, both as Christians and as South Africans, is that our Constitutional Democracy is deliberately misinterpreted for personal and financial gain. Twelve years into our new democratic society there is no consensus or collective commitment to definitive values, even though key values are enshrined in Constitutional dispensation that include human dignity, human rights and social justice. In South Africa the centre is falling apart as we struggle to maintain the consensus gained in 1994, and this is visible in the corruption, crime and other indicators of moral collapse. As Church, we need to exercise authority in bringing people back to the values of the Gospel and values as defined in the Constitution.

In considering the value-crisis in our society within the context of our Constitution and our Constitutional Democracy, the Clergy School was asked to consider three important questions:

What is it that undermines our Christian values in the communities in which we live?

How do we “hold the centre” as a faith community, individually and collectively?

How do we become effective moral agents?

In answering these questions it was noted that mission happens when the Church is in engagement with the World, and that in order to be effectively engaged we need to develop a moral outlook that is not simplifying or dismissive in attitude, but rather one that builds confidence, assertiveness and freedom. In addition, there is a need to recognise the syncretistic nature of African Christianity – something that is also true of the Western approach to the Christian Faith – if we are to build a new moral base in our society.

Underlying the above is the question, “How do we formulate a Christian society, and how do we influence South African society with this vision?” There are no simple answers, but a partial answer is that we need to own responsibility, backed by an informed personal position refined through public debate. We need to gain a high level of identification and agreement on the issues, and those that are of priority. We need to abandon an “all or nothing” approach in our Biblical interpretation in order to develop a public Theology, including openness to the integration of other societal disciplines (economics, politics …) with our Theological development. We need to acknowledge issues of pronounced patriarchy – men’s oppression of women – and the related pandemic of HIV/AIDS where poor black women in particular suffer: in this regard Biblical interpretation from a patriarchal perspective becomes an obstacle by habitually negating the validity of women’s experience. Once consensus is reached through dialogue, we need to find ways to translate our vision in such a way that it is palatable to a pluralistic society, which often embraces an “anything goes!” approach. We should not allow a concern that such translation will compromise our Christian foundation, for this is unlikely if we seek to uphold the values enshrined in our Constitution in the process.

We were challenged to embrace a pastoral response in interacting with our society, to be bridge-builders, building links between: constitutional rights and religious identity; the judging voices of Christians and those rendered voiceless by religion; fundamentalist/dogmatic voices and those demonised through these judgmental attitudes; fixed forms of traditional morality and fluid internalisation of the best of pluralistic views; the sacred and the profane; hurts of the past and the healing of the future. Essentially a challenge to allow the Church to be the Church, as hard and costly as this will be!

Going forward, we must not underestimate the influence of religion on society – the majority of South Africans claim to be Christian, and many others religious. The task is to move ahead as Church, to regain a progressive voice, and to develop tools that will help individuals to live out their faith. Do we have the courage, as Christians and as Anglicans, to regain our prophetic voice?

Acknowledgement must be given for the high level of academic input received, along with meaningful and stimulating engagement, that has informed the above reflection that contains the helpful insights of the following: Profs D Masoma, R Dolamo, M Masenya, C Landman; Drs J Aristide (President of Haiti), M Naidoo, P Lenka Bula; Canon Prof Martyn Percy and Rev’d Emma Percy. Our grateful thanks to each for their contribution to our week together, and to Bishop Dr J Seoka and Sub-Dean Prof B Pityana for their contribution and vision.

Canon Mark Long
1 April 2007

am i a sinner?

2007-04-01T03:28:00.000+02:00

My sermon for Palm Sunday is available at http://www.twango.com/media/markrdlong.sermons/markrdlong.10042. I have reflected on the nature of God's incarnation, that (according to Philippians) we are warned to not seek equality with God. However, God sought equality with us in and through Jesus' life on earth. Not only this, but God was willing to seek equality with the poorest-of-the-poor and those outcast by society. I ask the question, "Am I a sinner?" and reflect that on most Sundays as we have reminded ourselves of the 10 Commandments during this time of Lent, I have left the church property feeling good about myself - I have not committed murder! I have not been adulterous! I've even honoured my parents! I'm OK! ... but am I? I've accelerated, not braked, when the traffic light turned from green to amber. I've driven over the speed limit. I've spoken on my mobile un-hands-free while driving ... and that's just for starters! But I'm OK! What about more serious sin ... CRIME, for instance? My breaking of the law is inconsequential ... or is it? How do we as Christians and South Africans build a value-based centre that outlaws corruption, crime, rape, murder ... if we don't first acknowledge that we, too, are sinners - even if our sin is "rationalisable" and seemingly inconsequential? How do we set an example and speak out against the lawlessness of our society when we struggle to keep the easiest of rules? Why did Jesus die?

Rennie D
1 April 2007

an abundant reception

2007-03-23T09:18:00.000+02:00

My sermon for Lent 4 is now available. The focus is on the amazing willingness of God to wait for us to recognise our need for him (as seen in the parable of the prodigal son), along with God's willingness to continue to provide for us even while we re-learn obedience (as seen in his interaction with the early Israelites as they move from Egypt through the desert and into the Promised Land).

Rennie D
23 March 2007

the challenge of moving beyond

2007-03-11T10:16:00.000+02:00

My sermon for the third Sunday in lent is available at http://www.twango.com/media/markrdlong.sermons/markrdlong.10040, and focus' on the challenge of moving beyond constancy towards the unknown, to enter into conversation from the perspective of God's will - and not from individual desire - as to the direction a community should journey together.

Rennie D
11 March 2007

lenten sermons

2007-03-04T07:25:00.000+02:00

My sermons for the 1st and 2nd Sundays in Lent are available at http://www.twango.com/media/markrdlong.sermons.

Rennie D
4 March 2007

an african nicky cruz

2007-02-06T08:13:00.000+02:00

Out of the Black Shadows by Stephen Lungu with Anne Coomes is a fun read. It is full of evangelical challenge, and a reminder, once again, of the importance of evangelistic fervour. Stephen Lungu is an African Nicky Cruz, a life turned from the violence and despair of street living to serving God as an Evangelist with international appeal. Worth a read if you desire a bit of straight forward, uncomplicated Christian inspiration!

Rennie D
6 February 2007

gem squash tokoloshe

2007-02-06T08:02:00.000+02:00

Gem Squash Tokoloshe by Rachel Zadok is an excellent, but disturbing, account of a young white girl growing up in rural and urban South Africa in the 1980's and '90's. It is in essence a book of spiritual exploration more than anything else, challenging a modern western perception of spirituality and psychological disease. Well worth a read.

Rennie D
6 February 2007

golf & faith

2007-02-04T08:38:00.000+02:00

My sermon for today is available - in it I draw the parallels between the game of golf and the life of faith.

Rennie D
4 February 2007

reflections on the year past

2007-01-28T08:34:00.000+02:00

My sermon, which is in essence my report to the Annual Vestry (the Anglican version of an Annual General Meeting) of the Parish I serve, is available. I lead in with a focus on the Old Testament reading for the day from Jeremiah (his call) and the "reminder ... that God is a creative God, and that “destruction” as much as “building” is part of the creative process." The full text is also available.

Rennie D
28 January 2007

god delights in us

2007-01-14T07:02:00.000+02:00

My sermon for the 2nd Sunday of the Year is available. I have focused on the fact that God delights in us, resources us with only the best, and seeks to be part of the various "pictures" we carry (of God, of ourselves, of others). All this needs to deeply inform us as we respond in mission and ministry.

Rennie D
14 January 2007

epiphany

2007-01-07T09:55:00.000+02:00

My sermon for Epiphany is now availalble. The focus is on belonging and identity.

Rennie D
7 January 2007

i am home

2007-01-02T08:57:00.000+02:00

I have just completed Max du Preez' book, Pale Native: Memories of a Renegade Reporter, Zebra Press, 2003. As an Afrikaner Max touches on the complexity of being African and pale (page 5):

I am a native of this land, but unlike most other natives, I am pale.

This statement launches Max du Preez' narrative, one that touches regularly – and disturbingly – on events that have been as formative on my existence as on his. I, too, am a pale native (born in Johannesburg), though I lack the roots in Afrikaner identity that plays backdrop to Max’s story. I am a product of the British Empire, but no less connected to the African soil. Like many of my composite tribe, my heritage is a patchwork of belonging: my maternal line bequeaths me a third generation African heritage (and a second generation Scottish!). My adopted paternal line allows me second generation African status, and my biological paternal line a second generation English heritage. All this taken into account, I am more African than English; not Afrikaner, but African none-the-less.

My siblings, perhaps more African than I by birth, have abandoned the African soil, preferring the nourishment of England. They are not alone, a part of the “pale native” Diaspora of this generation who find nourishment on other continents, but whose souls never quite settle, never quite inhabit their adopted cultures. There is a thirst for home, for the African soil – sometimes acknowledged. Unlike them, I remain. What keeps me rooted?

There is much in the New South Africa that makes me feel uncomfortable in a pale skin, even unwelcome. A greater part of that discomfort lies in history, an awareness that we have contributed to the oppression and rape of Africa, the heritage of our Colonial past and the more recent evil: Apartheid. It is an ancestral guilt, not always personal but collective.

Pale Native addresses much of this discomfort, and in so doing creates a new space for belonging. Max du Preez, as he shares his own struggles as an Afrikaner who seeks to break with the traditions of his tribe, brings me to a new place of certainty, a renewed assuredness that I, too, belong. The African soil is my home. With Max I am able to proclaim – proudly – that,

My soul is not the soul of a bywoner … I call myself a native of Africa: pale, but no less native. (pages 5 and 274)

I feel the passion as I read,

The energy that I feel gushing from the soil, my African soil, through my foot soles and into my spirit tells me who I am. The ancient mountains and valleys around me whisper to me that I am where I belong. Forces much greater than loud-mouthed politicians and my own fears and insecurities have placed me exactly here at this time. I am who I should be and where I should be (page 5).

I am home.

Rennie D
2 January 2007

new year - the opportunities

2007-01-01T09:40:00.000+02:00

A new day dawn's the beginning of a New Year, a day for hope and dreams in the midst of many challenges for the world and for Africa. Let us renew our commitment to life, to community, to relationship, to peace. Let us be responsible in conversation and in action. Let us serve God with confidence as we meet and recognise the Creator's image in our shared humanity. As people of Africa let us celebrate, and in so doing, resource the Nation that has resourced us! Viva, Africa!

Rennie D
1 January 2007

christmas weekend sermons

2006-12-31T09:46:00.000+02:00

My sermons for the Christmas weekend are now availalble: Advent 4 preached to the community of Anglicans at St Agnes, a chapelry in Stanza Bopape (Mamelodi); Midnight Mass and Christmas Morning preached at Corpus Christi Anglican Church in Garsfontein, Pretoria.

Rennie D
31 December 2006

sermons by mark long

2006-12-17T04:10:00.000+02:00

My sermons are now availalbe on the net at http://www.twango.com/channel/markrdlong.sermons. The sermon for Advent 3 is availalble.

Rennie D
17 December 2006

the second commandment

2006-11-05T05:51:00.000+02:00

English is a strange language: to like and to love, to dislike and to hate – there is a synonymous discord in these words. Often, and (I suggest) incorrectly, like is seen as a lesser form of love, and dislike as a lesser form of hate. To like or dislike a person is to render that relationship superficial. The Biblical command to love, especially to love one’s neighbour as oneself, is a call to take relationships beyond superficiality to a more profound level of being. To love is to supersede all other responses and to interact not with a perception but with the image of God implanted in every human being. To love is to consign that relationship into the presence of God; to hate is to eliminate that relationship from the presence of God. It is a profound place of being with another person.

To love oneself is to recognise the perspective of God, to see our lives through God’s eyes, and to acknowledge that God loves us despite our imperfection. The second commandment is a call to build our self-awareness not on what we see in the mirror; not on our awareness of our selfishness, wrong attitudes, and poor self-image; but to build on the perfection of our image carried in the mind of God. This brings us into the presence of God, and so enables us to bring our relationships into the presence of God, and to find a profound place of being with God and with another person. We are called to build on a different, a holy, foundation.

Rennie D
5 November 2006

spiritual nourishment

2006-11-05T05:09:00.000+02:00

While Rennie D appreciates Frank Wilson's accolade, it is of concern that an occasional blog can have greater impact than regular warming of a physical pew. It is encouraging, though, to see literary critics and reviewers experiencing the need to speak out about faith, especially in a world that is increasingly focused on, and disillusioned by, the polarity of fundamental religious fanaticism that derives from Islamic-backed terrorism and the disquieting response of modern American colonialism and empire-building.

Frank Wilson's Great minds ... is worth a read, as is another link that Frank points to: a kind of self-interview by John Derbyshire God & Me. Also worth reading is and article by Richard Morrison What the sneering legions of atheists need to remember.

Rennie D
5 November 2006

... only consequences

2006-10-15T09:53:00.000+02:00

In nature there are neither rewards nor punishments – there are only consequences (Robert Ingersoll)

Adam and Eve, having eaten of the forbidden fruit, are questioned by God (Genesis 3:8-19), “Where are you?” and “What is this you have done?” A common response is that it is their disobedience that leads to them being driven from Eden. But … is God angry?

“Where are you?” is more than a question of physical whereabouts, it is a deeper query of being, it is “Where are you now that you have made this choice; how has it affected you; how are you changed?” Adam’s response, “I was afraid because I was naked” speaks of self-awareness, of God-awareness, of being naked in every way before God, and of no longer being confident in this state of emotional and moral nakedness in God’s presence. Adam’s wisdom, gained through disobedience, distorts his relationship with God, makes him uncomfortable before God.

“What is this you have done?” is God giving Adam, giving Eve, the opportunity to take responsibility for their choice and subsequent action. Both miss this opportunity, neither accept responsibility: “My wife …”; “The serpent …”. Both give excuse, attempt to pass the responsibility elsewhere for the choice they have made.

It is tempting to assign the consequential curse and humanity’s exclusion from Eden to Adam and Eve’s disobedience in seeking wisdom (a gift God did not yet believe them ready to receive). However, having gained wisdom, they are cursed and excluded for failing to accept responsibility for their choice and subsequent action. Rather than a punishment dictated by God, this is a consequence brought about by humanity’s unwillingness to accept responsibility.

Much of humanity’s suffering is due not to wrong choice, but to our failure to accept responsibility for those choices ... there are neither rewards or punishments, only consequenses!

Rennie D
15 October 2006

the de villiers code

2006-10-04T05:29:00.000+02:00

The De Villiers Code (a South African take-off of The Da Vinci Code) by comic writer, Tom Eaton, begins with the wonderful words:

FACT:

At least two thousand people believe that the Earth is flat.

Five million people believe that they have been abducted by aliens.

Twenty million people have bought The Da Vinci Code.

All descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents and secret rituals in this novel are accurate. Entirely fictitious, but accurate.

It goes downhill from here … which is part of its allure!

Rennie D
4 October 2006

... to be alive is a grand thing

2006-09-15T05:48:00.000+02:00

I came across the following quote from Agatha Christie in Encyclopaedia Britannica’s “On This Day”:

"I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing."

It is wonderful to find someone who, despite clearly walking some very dark trails through life, was able to remain so commited to life.

Rennie D
15 September 2006

forging a real-world faith

2006-09-12T05:29:00.001+02:00

I have just picked up Gordon MacDonald’s book Forging a Real-World Faith for a second time. This book had a profound impact on me some six or so years ago, and needs a second look. I am struck in the Introduction by his following statement:

“I created my own word – real-world – and I assigned three dimension of reality to it. First is the place the Bible calls Heaven where the Everlasting God, Creator of everything, dwells. The second dimension is the inner space of the human being with all its darkness and its potential beauty. And the third dimension is the streets upon which we live out our lives as we work, play, love, and struggle.”

This book had deep impact on my world-view, and requires further reflection.

Rennie D
12 September 2006

principles of giving

2006-09-12T05:29:00.000+02:00

What underlies the Christ-follower's call to give, and why is Christian Stewardship so often a focus on finance?

Jesus, when questioned about his attitude to the Law, pointed to love as the underlying principle of the law (Love God with all that you are and love your neighbour as yourself). And what is Love other than God (God is love)? It is our response to this principle of the Law, to God himself that defines our levels of commitment to God and to the building of his Kingdom.

Proverbs 3 (from verse 5) points us to three principles of giving in the Christian context:

The first is Trust. The question is, “Do we trust God? … to be our provider, sustainer and source of abundant life? What relationships in life are immune from the Trust factor, what relationship can grow and mature without Trust at its core? Jesus points to the poor widow in Matthew 12 (from verse 41) as an example of supreme Trust in God to be her provision and abundance. Paul reflects in 2 Corinthians 8 (from verse 1) how, despite extreme poverty and severe trial, the Corinthian Christ-followers are able to respond with rich generosity (and it is not about the amount, but the act). It is easy to give out of wealth, it is much more challenging to give out of poverty – the ratios are so much closer!

The second is Submission. This is not – and probably never has been – a popular concept, except for those who have the resources to command it. Christ-followers are called to Submit their lives to the will of God, to God’s agenda, to forfeit self-interest, and to look beyond the self to the needs of others, and to the requirements of the Kingdom.

The third is First-Fruits. This is a call to give off the top, not from what is left over. In Jesus’ day a family, having reaped their field of corn, were required to give the first-portion of it to the temple. A responsible family would then have put aside what was needed to plant for the next year’s crop, and the left-over corn would have been divided up for eating over the next twelve months. The demands of modern life have us responding in a reactive manner, often driven by self-interest, easy access to credit, and an over-extended budget. Our modern lifestyles demand that we enjoy the First-Fruits, the needs of others and of the Kingdom forgotten, or marginally acknowledged.

If the above principles undergird our lives, they put priorities in place that help us live lifestyles that place God, his Kingdom, others, at the centre of our concern: relationally, emotionally, financially.

Rennie D
12 September 2006

dreamers of the day are dangerous

2006-08-15T13:46:00.000+02:00

Encyclopaedia Britannica’s “On This Day” gave the following quote from T.E. Lawrence (born 15 August 1888), The Seven Pillars of Wisdom:

“All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, to make it possible. This I did."

I find these words profoundly powerful, and am challenged to dream with open eyes …

Rennie D
24 August 2006

rennie d "a good man"

2006-08-15T02:07:00.000+02:00

Frank Wilson hails from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - in the United States - and is The Philadelphia Inquirer's Book Review Editor. He writes an "Editor's Choice" column each Sunday in the Books section. Frank blogs @ Books, Inq. and occassionally points to Rennie D's postings. For this, and this comment in particular, Rennie D is much appreciative!

Rennie D
15 August 2006

the great white

2006-07-23T21:44:00.000+02:00

In anticipation of “Port & Poetry” @ Rivermeade Farm – in line with a Rugby expectation – I have reflected on the Springboks disastrous recent Tri-Nations away fixtures against Australia and New Zealand these past two weeks (hopefully the upcoming encounters will yield more positive results):

the great white

a country waits
with baited breath
a team to make us proud
or groan, defeated
at the end

what strategy
what plan
to see the battle-weary
Bokke snatch defeat
from Wallaby
extinction
in the Kiwi-nest

and of the White
we call him Great
our strategist
our planner
his jaw is clenched
his teeth are ragged
outwitted to the end

rennie D
22 July 2006

the family

2006-07-23T20:06:00.000+02:00

Some recently taken photos of the family: rennie D and Mrs (who have recently confirmed their ancient Roman majority), and the young ones!

seek good, not evil ...

2006-07-07T21:32:00.000+02:00

Amos (5:14-15) declares, “Seek good, not evil, that you may live … Hate evil, love good; maintain justice in the courts.” To live, to be in eternal relationship with God, is to seek good and to hate evil. It is both a personal commitment, and a community commitment. To say, “I am in relationship with God, and I’m OK!” is not enough. The commitment to which I am called by God is inclusive of seeing to it that this goodness operates in, and is evident in, the society within which I live; that there is “justice in the courts”.

Too often as 21st Century Christians we focus on a personal relationship with God, and forget to take responsibility for societal sin: corruption, crime, violence. We are quick to blame others, especially Government and other community structures. We forget that it is our responsibility; that if these “other” structures are failing, it is you and I – fellow ambassadors of the Kingdom of God – that will be held accountable on the day of Judgement.

Sunday Worship (any Worship) is worthless if it doesn’t reflect positively in both our personal lifestyle and also in our community commitment and involvement, in our seeing to the values of God being instilled and upheld in our local and national Civil and Governmental structures.

Rennie D
7 July 2006

rumi

2006-07-02T19:42:00.000+02:00

I came across a small volume, Gardens of the Beloved, of selected quatrains of the Sufi mystical poet, Rumi (Mowlana Jalaludin Mohamad born 1207 in Balkh), translated by Maryam Mafi and Azima Melita Kolin. For Rumi the essence of the Divine is the nature of love. I was particularly struck by the following:

I filled the garden with candles tonight,
set the table with wine and sweets
and called the musicians.
How I wish that you could be here!

In Rumi’s poetry “Garden” is symbolic of an inner space, depicting the outward beauty of nature and the inward beauty of Spirit.

Rennie D
1 July 2006

our lives: a place where others meet god

2006-06-25T14:43:00.000+02:00

What does it mean for my life, and our community life, to be a place where others meet God? The Biblical equivalent is to be a “living sacrifice”. It is a response. It is a call. It is primarily a place of being. It is about friendship, about allowing my life, our community life, to be a place where others can discover friendship with God. Our lives become a place in which friendship with God is initiated, or restored, or enhanced. It is about allowing space in my life, our lives, where others may come – invited or not – and discover God’s presence and reality in relationship.

Rennie D
25 June 2006

problem "sorted"

2006-06-20T22:04:00.000+02:00

The following just came in by email, and appealed to Rennie D's sense of humour:

After every flight, Qantas pilots fill out a form, called a "gripe sheet," which tells mechanics about problems with the aircraft. The mechanics correct the problems, document their repairs on the form, and then pilots review the gripe sheets before the next flight. Never let it be said that ground crews lack a sense of humour. Here are some actual maintenance complaints submitted by Qantas' pilots (marked with a P) and the solutions recorded (marked with an S) by maintenance engineers.

P: Left inside main tire almost needs replacement.
S: Almost replaced left inside main tire.

P: Test flight OK, except auto-land very rough.
S: Auto-land not installed on this aircraft.

P: Something loose in cockpit.
S: Something tightened in cockpit.

P: Dead bugs on windshield.
S: Live bugs on back-order.

P: Autopilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200 feet per minute descent.
S: Cannot reproduce problem on ground.

P: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear.
S: Evidence removed.

P: DME volume unbelievably loud.
S: DME volume set to more believable level.

P: Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick.
S: That's what friction locks are for.

P: IFF inoperative in OFF mode.
S: IFF always inoperative in OFF mode.

P: Suspected crack in windshield.
S: Suspect you're right.

P: Number 3 engine missing.
S: Engine found on right wing after brief search.

P: Aircraft handles funny.
S: Aircraft warned to straighten up, fly right, and be serious.

P: Target radar hums.
S: Reprogrammed target radar with lyrics.

P: Mouse in cockpit.
S: Cat installed.

P: Noise coming from under instrument panel. Sounds like a midget pounding on something with a hammer.
S: Took hammer away from midget.

Rennie D
20 June 2006

virtue a stumbling block

2006-06-18T22:31:00.000+02:00

Yesterday I participated in the funeral of a person whose life was driven by her Christian faith, and difficult circumstance had taught her selflessness. Her selflessness, though, was precisely what caused her death, and disabled her friends and church community in their care for her. Her recent life, and even more recent death, highlights the chaos and confusion of life: we seek holiness, only to find our virtue is our stumbling point.

Western thought tends to follow a linear approach, which remains valuable while we experience progress and success in life, but falls radically short when we experience breakdown and failure. Hebrew (Biblical), and often African, thought patterns are more circular, and allow for more rich responses when life falls short of our dreams and hopes, and especially when life leaves us broken and destroyed. We need to see both success and failure as growth, and it is only in returning to our starting point that we can truly perceive the value of the journey. A linear approach to thought and life does not allow this, because it expects us to reach a different point, and end point dissimilar to our origin. A more circular approach allows, even creates, space for reflection. It allows, too, for our virtues to find counter-point in our vice, and vice in our virtue; and rather than condemnation, hope for the next journey.

Rennie D
18 June 2006

should marriage be legislated?

2006-06-14T22:10:00.000+02:00

The question asked is: does one need to have legislation, given the principle of marriage and hence the spirit in which one enters into it? The answer much depends on what one means by the “principle of marriage”. I would define marriage as a close, intimate, relationship that is officially recognised by society, in which two people (preferably one female and one male) love, care and support each other.

Society needs parameters if it is to function and remain healthy, and legislation is the easiest way of setting such boundaries. Legislation, as we discovered in Apartheid South Africa, can set parameters that create an unhealthy and unjust society. However, having no parameters leaves space for chaos. Legislation should protect the rights of the individual, as well as create a healthy space in which inter-societal relationships (including marital relationships) are formed and nurtured. Legislation does not prevent misuse or abuse within relationships, but it does set bench-marks as to appropriate behaviour.

In terms of marriage, ante-nuptial (or prenuptial) agreements are all about assets, not relationship. Hollywood utilises this instrument to ensure the less wealthy partner gains as much (or as little) as possible of the wealthy partner’s assets at breakdown. A more healthy approach is to utilise this instrument to protect the individuals within the relationship from forces outside of the relationship (such as one partner entering into business agreements, that if unsuccessful, may harm the other asset-wise). Couples who cohabit, but don’t “marry” in the eyes of the State or the Church, often draw up similar documents for similar reasons.

Marriage is both a relationship and an institution: as relationship it requires love, caring, support, empathy, selflessness, sacrifice, patience …; as institution it requires legislation.

Rennie D
14 June 2006

reflections on pentecost

2006-06-04T08:30:00.000+02:00

My Ascension/Pentecost journey of the last two weeks has been an insightful one:

Power

In his closing comments to his Disciples at the Ascension, Jesus promises them “all power” from above. At our recent Clergy Day in Lyttleton we were challenged to be “power hungry”, and it strikes me the reason the disciples staggered drunkenly around Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost is that they were “drunk with power”. These are concepts of power we normally see as negative due to the inherent misuse, even abuse, of power by politicians and others in positions of authority in government and civil society. However, the dictionary describes “power” as “the ability to act”, which from a Christian perspective is a God-given gift. As a child of God I need to hunger for a greater ability to act.

Spirit

The Hebrew word for “breath”, “wind” and “spirit” is a single word: Ruach. In Genesis 2 God forms the primeval Adam who remains but a clay form until the “breath of God” gives Adam life, symbolic of humanity’s gift of eternal life. The eternal nature of life is wasted and then lost in the disobedience of “the Fall”, but restored at Pentecost as the Spirit, or “breath of God”, overcomes the disciples, and their drunkenness is symbolic of their abundant experience of life and relationship with God in that moment, and the restoration of eternal life as a gift to humanity.

Tongues

The Pentecostal movement and subsequent Charismatic response in the Anglican Church with its emphasis on the gift itself, has taken the focus away from the important symbolic content of the event, the restoration of what was symbolically lost at Babel: the gift of communication with all people - that God may be made known to the Nations!

Rennie D
4 June 2006

reflections on marriage

2006-04-04T19:11:00.000+02:00

As an Anglican Priest and State Marriage Officer I do not solemnise many marital relationships, perhaps two or three a year. Recently, in preparing for a marriage service, I had some opportunity to discuss – largely “our” – marriage with my wife, Dawn. In addition I remain intrigued as to why people marry, especially when – in Western dominated societies – many no longer do … when living together is socially acceptable … and … easier? What is the draw of marriage that human beings return to it generation after generation, century after century? The answer – for me, anyway – lies in the colossal challenge of the Christian call to selflessness:

The Judeo-Christian Scriptures apply the symbol of marriage to the relationship that God shares with his people, and they with him. Why?

The common denominator appears to be the selflessness that God demonstrated continuously throughout Old Testament times in regularly calling his people back into relationship with himself – despite their disobedience, waywardness, and whoring after other gods – demonstrated finally in the key action of God in Jesus in the Crucifixion … and Resurrection.

The human experience of the environment that marriage creates is a remarkable and adventurous one: in this environment two individuals are faced with the opportunity to lay aside their selfish natures and practice selflessness.

Christian marriage is defined as a lifelong – “till death do us part” – commitment: it takes that long to gain the thoughtfulness that leads to selflessness. Marital relationships that survive a lifetime do so, not because the partners involved miraculously become more than human, but because between them there are enough acts of selflessness in the morass of selfishness to build hope.

Marriage (as defined by Scripture, not Hollywood) is the only relational environment that human beings enter that creates space for this particular experience. This is true precisely because it is a lifelong commitment. Any relationship that does not offer an “until death” clause does not offer the long term dedication, loyalty and devotion necessary for this attentiveness to selflessness to develop.

Rennie D
4 April 2006

the trials & tribulations of rennie d

2006-04-04T17:30:00.000+02:00

Two months ago I experienced an unexpected revolt by my gall bladder, which took a general surgeon and a hospital visit to put down. I am able to report that our campaign was successful, and, apart from a few scars, I have survived! In reflection:

memoir of a gall bladder

a gentle caress
grows to acute child-birth ache
muscles clench in referred concern
bile stone-stoppered seeks
a duct to flow
restless movement
no relief wrapped in sweat-beaded
grimace
an hour two four
colic-gurgle
marks a shifting pain
disbelief muscle ache
somnambulant relief

airport waiting
in surgical haute coutier
theatre seven air-conditioned sterility
burning sleep courses through
breathe deep
sleep

confused awakening
jostle
knife-pain deep and spread
groaned and muttered
pinprick dulls the spread but
focuses the knife-hurt
more
shoulder ache restlessness
pinprick relief
dried-mouth muttering
a gentle hand whispering
her presence

rennie D
18 February 2006

a delighted rennie d

2006-03-20T22:25:00.000+02:00

The following poem was ignited by some words of Oswald Chambers’ in his marvellous devotional My Utmost for His Highest. It came to fruition while wandering between rows of desks while young people slaved at exam texts:

delight

delight, i hear
a word, a life
dedicated to
being

delight, i hear
a place, a life
encompassed
possessed

delight, I live

Rennie D
4 September 2003

a branded family man

2006-03-15T21:59:00.000+02:00

While on a Lenten Retreat in 1995 I had the opportunity to reflect on “belonging”, and the two poems below echo something of that reflection:

family

a desire for love
an opportunity
companionship and
sharing

a desire broken
selfishness
i the important
ignores the other

a desire for wholeness
sacrifice and joy
intimate and responsible
honours the other

Rennie D
21 March 1995

branded

i am branded
on his palms
a nail in his wrist
a cross not forgotten

i am community
with my family
they are branded
on my palms

Rennie D
21 March 1995
revised 15 March 2006

rennie d in the way

2006-03-08T22:27:00.000+02:00

In 1988 I lost a friend, seemingly to the vagaries of the Apartheid regime. It deeply affected me, and others. I wrote this poem in her memory, to a friend who was more than a friend:

to a comrade in the way

not so long ago I walked in
a stranger among friends
you walked forward
and a friendship was forged
the warmth of your emerald eyes eternal
their depths unfathomable
in you I saw the nature of Christ
now you are gone

your life ended only to begin
in our pain the seeds you’ve sown
find their life-water
you died a prisoner of hope
and your blood cries out
for justice and righteousness
you call us to future hope
of freedom

our paths were not so far apart
you and i
now you are gone

shalom

rennie D
29 June 1988
revised 8 March 2006

the conscientisation of rennie d

2006-02-25T12:02:00.000+02:00

In the mid 1980’s I found myself, a white South African recently freed from military conscription, living in a township and undergoing a disturbing, yet exciting, process of conscientisation. This was a reflection:

i walk in the depths of minds uncertainty
searching thoughts for paths to security
which way to turn or where to run
an impossibility

new ideas bursting out the old
what to accept to reject to hold to hate
excitement verses incomprehensibility
foot after foot I tread
a weary mile
mind in concentration
eyes upon the ground

answer lord
bring order to my troubled mind

“my boundaries for you have fallen
in pleasant places”

“your righteousness will shine
like the dawn”

rennie D
12 June 1986
revised 27 February 2006

the birth of rennie d

2006-02-24T22:44:00.000+02:00

This poem, published in Vent Vol. 8, June 1984 (a Rhodes University Lit.Soc Publication), marks the birth of Rennie D:

my ears are plugged
deaf nothing
can't hear
can't understand
plagued with uncertainty

dare trust dare love
trust and love
understanding comes
knowledge ability bring
freedom love

rennie D
2 March 1984
revised 24 February 2006

and exactly who is rennie d?

2006-02-21T10:21:00.000+02:00

Rennie D was born out of late teenage shy self-awareness and a desire for anonymity, married to my first attempt at having my poetry published in a university students' magazine. In this first attempt I used my two middle-names, the second of which is now reduced to just a single initial. Both names have their origin in my maternal family line, and Rennie is my maternal grandfather's mother's maiden name, and - according to sources that claim to know - is of Pictish origin, giving a "fantastical" element to my own musings. This "fantastical" element is provoked by my interest in fantasy literature, engendered through an early exposure to C S Lewis' Narnia series (which I have read at least five times) and J R R Tolkien’s Hobbit and Lord of the Rings trilogy. I’m presently immersed in Terry Goodkind's The Sword of Truth series. I particularly appreciate the "parable" nature of this genre, and find it a faith-inspiring emersion.

I have never been a prolific poet, but find the multifaceted focus of words in poetry to be an occasional and valuable reflective tool in ruminating on the nature of faith and life in all its adventure. This blog is no attempt to share poetry (although there will be some), but poetic in the sense of contemplative cogitation on life's experience. Faith and life, the spiritual and material, the emotional and the rational, reality and fantasy are "Not one. Not two.":

“How does a person seek union with God?” the seeker asked.

“The harder you seek,” the teacher said, “the more distance you create between God and you.”

“So what does one do about the distance?”

“Understand that it isn’t there,” the teacher said.

“Does that mean that God and I are one?” the seeker said.

“Not one. Not two.”

“How is that possible?” the seeker asked.

“The sun and its light, the ocean and the wave, the singer and the song. Not one. Not two.”

This blog seeks to be "Not one. Not two." Welcome to the life and times of Rennie D!