For moments like these...

We did a session (topically!) on the death and resurrection of Jesus last night, and i finished by playing a song that contains the lines, "you would rather die than go to heaven without me."

One of the lads came up to me afterwards, and said, "that song, that line about how Jesus would rather die than go to heaven without me - that was REALLY powerful; I've never thought about it like that before."

I got home, did a little dance, and have been smiling ever since!

Passion in fashion

Passion seems to be an appropriate theme for this blog for two reasons. Firstly, I watched the passion of the Christ for the first time this week, Second, because I am reading a book by Kenda Creasey Dean called 'practicing passion.' which is a theological construct of youth ministry based around passion - Christ's, the young people's and our own.


So firstly.. the Passion of the Christ.
I wasn't really sure what to expect from this one, as I heard such mixed reviews from Christians whose opinions and tastes I respect.
In the event, my reaction was mixed too. There were bits in there that I found dubious in the extreme. (Raven and eye incident, anyone? Not biblical, gratuitously violent, and as to what it says about God... don't even get me started!)
Yes, it was VERY violent and bloody - for me that was actually quite a barrier. I'm really squeamish, I hate violent films, and the fact that for most of the film Jesus looked inhuman because of the levels of disfigurement to his face and body made it hard for me to identify with him as a character in the film. I had to call on my imagination of the life of Jesus, the Jesus I know in order to try and make that identification. For me, that was where the Miracle maker has the edge on this film - the start of the Mm reminded you WHY Jesus was such an amazing man, whereas you needed to supply that context for yourself in this film!

However - in spite of this, there was a turning point for me. I think it was the flash back to the last supper. The familiar words of 'this is my body, broken for you,' and 'this is my blood, shed for you,' took on a real significance - one that you KNOW is there, but can so easily be glossed over or not appreciated in the context of all the words we normally use. At this point, I had to acknowlege that yes the film was barbaric - but actually, crucifixion IS! The sanitised pictures and portrayals we see of Jesus with a mere trickle of blood, looking serene and at peace... well, why? Are we saying it didn't really hurt? That because Jesus is God, he could somehow cope with it better? That becoming sin, becoming what was most abhorrent to him was a peaceful experience for Jesus? Do we limit the extent of God's passion expressed for us by limiting the suffering God endured? Do we therefore limit our own passionate response, because we haven't fully taken in what happened that day?

I'm blogged out for now - will bloc on the book next time I'm in!

Technically yours

Well I've finally been shown how to link blogs to mine, so I can get started! I've done 2 already... although I'm not sure if one of them is working :-/

Still failing to import pictures and banners and blogflotsum so I'm flying the flag of the technically inept still!

Going global

So far, it's tuesday, and I'm having a very cool week, making lots of contacts in interesting places!
I've had a comment on my blog from someone I've never met before, from the states. I've had a letter from a youth worker in Mityana, uganda, and I've made a friend who is Polish,
(jak sie masz, by the way!) all in two days!

My plan for world domination advances on target.

Mwhahahahahahaha.

The problem with schools and hospitals...

The problem with schools is that you just can't get the staff - in one school the head teacher has to double as the cook.

The problem with schools is that the food is just no good - in this school, lunch (as cooked by the head) is the only meal most of the 250 pupils will get all day. Did I mention that everyday it is porridge, and it's almost impossible to keep the flies out of it?

The problem with schools is that the buildings are in such a bad state of repair. The kitchen the lunch is made in doesn't have electricity, running water, or even all four walls and a complete roof.

The problem with schools is lack of equipment. This school struggles even to find paper for the pupils to write on.

The problem with schools is that the teachers are underpaid. Half the teachers in this school have not received any of their pay from the government. The other half have shared the wages they do get with them.

The problem with hospitals is lack of beds. There are bed frames, but no mattresses, few blankets, no bedding. The hospital wing for bones and joints has 120 patients whose bed is the floor.

The problem with hospitals is lack of equipment. Children who cannot breath for themselves have no access to respirators, or ICU levels of care. There is no electricty for any machines. Their only option is to wait to die. There are no fridges to keep any vaccines in - any that come in need to be used immediately. Otherwise they get thrown out.

The problem with hospitals is poor sanitation. They have no running water.


You may have guessed by now that this is not some pre election rant about the state of our schools and hospitals, and that the school and hospital in question aren't in this country. Next time some one claims that our public services are 'practically third world,' I'm really going to have to try hard not to punch the tv.

Last night I went round to see my youth leader, Karla, and her daughter, Abby who have returned from their trip to the Church in Mityana, Uganda, and we spent the evening looking at their photos, and chatting about the people they met and their experiences.

I was left feeling totally overwhelmed, really angry, utterly humbled and utterly gutted.
Every photo showed the basic needs that people in the community have that aren't being met.
There was so much that needed to be done, it was a case of where would you even start to begin? There was so much unnecessary suffering - at the school, there are 50 boarders, for whom the nearest thing they have to a parent is the lady who is also the headteacher and the cook. Moses, the youthworker, who is younger than me, is bringing up his three teenage neices in a house smaller than our living room, as his brothers and sisters have all died.
The sheer amount of poverty and suffering was overwhelming. I've heard the stats, I've listened to the news reports, I've seen the pics, but somehow this made it so real. What's harder to get my head around is that that is just one town. There is a whole country where this is life. Stuff that there is a whole CONTINENT. I feel so sick and so angry, it is wrong, wrong, wrong.

And then, Karla and Abby brought out a bag of gifts that the young people had sent over to us. I really can't begin to convey the sacrifice that this was for them, they have so little. I just hope we can convey how precious these gifts are to our young people, and that they can get passionate about justice for the poor. There really is no option not to.

Multi talented

Further to yesterday's blog...

My husband thinks skilling up the young people to be able to cook is a good plan. He also feels we should give them practice in 'life management skills,' ie doing our hoovering and ironing!!

Not sure what the young people would have to say about that one!

Food for thought

Both Simo and Sarah have posted recently on Jamie Oliver's programme about school dinners, and there has been much chewing over of how Jamie has a good point, what we eat is really important - yet how often at youth events do we feed our own young people pizza, donuts and a whole host of other high fat/ sugar foods that can't really be thought of as very balanced!

And this got me to thinking, well, why not include a healthier approach to food? One of the things that Jamie did that worked was getting the young people to cook their own food.

Now here's the thing you see, I can cook, and as someone once said to me 'you are the best resource you'll ever have for youthwork,' it would make sense to use the skills I DO have with the youth - so why not cooking too?
After all, many of the young people I'm working with now will be leaving home in two or three years, and it makes good youthworkerish sense to give them life skills too!

Then add into this the fact that one of the hallmarks of a healthy community is that they eat together - at youth groups we often snack together - but maybe we could grow and deepen some of our relationships by growing the quality of time we spend eating, and even cooking together? Many of my enduring friendships have had a strong element of food in them. (I'm not referring to my relationship with either chocolate or coffee, btw!)

Of course, can't miss out the spiritual bit - so how about using the time as an opportunity to look at the passage where Paul talks about spiritual milk vs more chewy spiritual stuff (translation according to me!) and getting them to think about what their spiritual life is, and where they get their fuel from - and maybe getting into growth.

Alternatively, I'm sure bits of the film 'Supersize me' could be used to reflect on how what we put into our bodies affects us - and lead this into a discussion about how what we put into ourselves affects who we are and who we become. It could lead to some useful reflection on discernment; how far is what we put into our bodies and our minds useful, or not?

Conveniently, I'm meant to be hosting /providing a meal for a group of young people on Sunday. I think the menu may just have changed!