headwayyouth- phil smith's blog

something to make you smile...

http://mattstone.blogs.com/eclectic_itchings/2005/05/the_stories_we_.html

Spirituality Shopper

I'm a bit of a channel 4 fan so was quite looking forward to Spirituality Shopper last night but it failed to impress on a number of notes...

1. i really struggle with this consumerism approach to spirituality... maybe i shouldn't, maybe it's good coz it puts us out there, on the shelf along with all the other faiths, but i do. i know we are in a "spiritual marketplace" to steal pete ward's phrase, but i really feel uncomfortable with all this... pluralism i think i can cope with, relativism is something different. Whereas pluralism puts beliefs alongside each other relativism suggests all are equally true and that latter concept, which seems to be the basis of this programme, i really struggle with...
2. dancing, helping the needy, having a meal with some mates and even meditation are not essentially religious acts... you can easily engage in these activities and not engage with any system of belief
3. spirituality seems to have lost its soul. yes i know experientialism is sexy to the western world but this is not what christianity or for that matter any other faith is about. we seem to have swung for the modernist cerebal approach to its touchy-feely antithesis... when we need to find a happy medium... bring back the monastery!

For more musing on this subject there was a fine article in yesterdays Guardian by Dr Giles Fraser a vicar and prof of philosophy.

monastery- part 3

Yes i know it finished two weeks ago now but i never posted about the last episode. I thought the whole thing has been so good. Some fine PR for those of us trying our best to follow Christ. I'm in the midst of designing the cover for a book called "How to be evangelistic withouth being religious". I can't quite figure out how that title  fits with the monastery though. Undoubtedly the monastery was religious but it also seems to have been incredibly evangelistic, both for those who participated and those of us who watched...

If you haven't read this yet. It's weel worth having a read of Tony's story

highways training day

Later this summer i fly out for two weeks mission to jordan with highway projects and yesterday was the training day. it was really good to meet the guys on my team and all those involved in the leadership of highways. As well as chatting to my team i also had to leader worship for a bit; two peeps read from Isaiah 55 and Matthew 11 and we used this this powerpoint slideshow full of pics of jesus mostly from the old bill. I few guys were asking for details of the prayer i used. it comes care of thomas merton:

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

I first used this pryer when doing some worship for youthworkers last year by turning it into this fetching little postcard... it's come in pretty handy ever since

I'm back in the office as of tomorrow so blogging should become a bit more regular now!

wi-fi wonders!

as i said i'm away for a few days so blogging care of my buddies imac which is so much more difficult than on a pc so bear with me!
i heard this story yesterday about a church in cardiff about a vicar who has installed a wireless network in his church. the reports all seem to say it's because of the churches falling numbers but i think this is a great way for the church to reach out to the local community in a way that is a little more dynamic than another coffee morning (much as i love coffee mornings of course!)

to those interested well worth checking out lou's blog , which i've added to the blog roll, for more details of what happened at the festival and some more quality musings...

back to normality

after a fine weekend at the festival now a return to a warm bed... nice!
i'm away for a nice break with a few close friends and, after a long weekend away i'm well out of touch with the world but you might want to check out the following...
1) some guys have started a new campaign to stop the scapegoating of young people- hurrah!
2) on a more leisurely note this is a quality website where you can design and upload your own postcards. i came across it in the midst of a conversation between guys in the emerging church who are looking into different ways of advertising there emerging congregation...

pictured are the wonderful guys from reading who did the youthwork along with matt and yaz... thanks guys!