jonnybaker

memories

just back from a cycling holiday in belgium with amos trust. i am not much of a cyclist - i cycle round ealing most places but not any great distances. so it was satisfying to clock up nearly 200 miles over 3 days though i can certainly feel it a bit now. cycling was enough of a challenge without thinking how to take photos en route - i did take a camera but just took a few shots in the evening and a few on the way with the iphone. here are 7 memories - the sum total of photos i have added to flickr...

amos flanders tour - the bikes on the eurostar en route to calais from where we cycled to messen.

behind the scenes - sweaty cycling gear hung out to dry each night - nice eh?! it's actually my favourite photo!

the amos fridge - it would be rude in belgium not to get organised about your beer after a long day's cycling

westvleteren proof - it was a treat to be able to taste the exclusive west vleteren 8 and 12 beers - these are extremeley hard to track down - brewed by trappist monks to fuel their monastic life of silence they sell beer at the café next door and a few outlets in belgium. it has no labels other than the cap on the bottle. and it tastes amazing. this photo of jenny's is my reaction to the first taste. and this is mike gaining proof he was there photographing the beer menu!

remember - we passed many cemeteries and stopped at two - tyne cot and vladso - both with thousands buried and remembered from the first world war. vladso is a german cemetery where i took this on the iphone.

chris - the amos trust director

snap - the last evening gathered in brugge on some steps for a photo - photographing you photographing me!

jenny on the other hand cycled with great pace and took photos whilst cycling and has a flickr set which follows the 3 days. you can see my joy above at stopping at a café for a late lunch on day one after a big hill climb with the sun shining. amos trust organise a trip like this each year - this one had several families on board and an age range of 5 to 68 so if you are interested give them a shout...

authentic faith - eating is the new sunday service

beth keith has published a piece of research looking at fresh expressions of church amongst young adults. i always love beth's work - she has a knack of lifting the lid off things that then seem obvious in hindsight. the report is called authentic faith and you can buy it here - i am hoping a couple of our younger pioneers might review it for the pioneer site but meantime here's a piece by beth that gives a few headlines and here are some comments in response by young adults.

she identifies 5 different types of church - church planting hubs, youth church grown up, deconstructed church, church on the margins, context shaped church

the most interesting part for me is around groups are are connecting with those outside of church. she says

The churches managing to reach young adults with no prior faith or church experience - and from a broader socio-economic background - exhibit very different traits and practices. Meeting more often around the dining table than the church building; eating together is the new 'Sunday service'.

yws13 - resonance

just arrived in west brom to get ready for resonance an early day for the youthwork summit 2013 that jenny and i are leading - it's a reflective retreat type day... then racing back to ealing for the opening of small adventures exhibition!

photography exhibition small adventures opens friday

small adventures, a photography exhibition that i am taking part in opens this friday. i have a book of photos and 4 photos which will be on display along with around a dozen other photographers from the ealing LIP group. hope you can pop in if you are in london...

sorrow

another amazing weekend...

just back from the last of this season's ReSource weekends in somerset visiting streetspace. it's such a great way to learn - visiting projects and seeing what people are up to in their context. i have enthused about many weekends before so instead of doing so again i'll link to kim's review of the weekend - an amazing weekend...

I learn most from experience, from being out in the context that is being explained and taught. I smell it, taste it, imbibe it and assimilate it, and then I can apply what I learned to other scenarios. I learned more and was challenged and excited more than I have been in the entire academic year, this weekend. It reminded me who I am in a way that the classroom never can.

...and we will become a happy ending

occasionally something comes along that is a wonderful surprise. this happened to me recently when a book arrived in the post called and we will become a happy ending it's a collection of stories and sayings, ponderings and pictures that describe a church called theStory in canada - it fuses meditation, liturgy, prayer, art, theology. it's laid out beautifully like a coffe table book. it really is amazing. you can preview the book here

when things like this come along i find myself filled with hope. it's a real labour of love. it's available on proost i am delighted to say - proost exists for precisely this sort of creative publishing that comes from the bottom up. it's available as a downloadable pdf. of course if you are a subscriber it's available as part of your subscription! i actually have 10 physical copies that i have bought - they cost me around £15.50 each by the time postage is added. i am very happy to pass them on at cost price so if you know me or bump into me just ask. or you can order it through amazon.

impression

just loving spring this year - the blossom is amazing, and yesterday i went for a walk and noticed some bluebells. i have made various attempts to photograph them - my best so far is probably here. my favourite attempts always seem to be to play with the colour and push into more abstract shots...

seoulwork - pioneering in korea

i recenty spoke about soulwork. forgive the wordplay but more recently i got to visit s korea for the first time and take part in some seoulwork (!) with the diocese of seoul. i have added a set of photos to flickr here (though i didn't have much time to get out and about on my own with a camera). and i have written about the trip here - pioneering in seoul.