jonnybaker

think like an artist [or pioneer]

having said i'd mention a few books i've read this year i have since failed to do so - start of term and all that!

but one short, easy to read book i loved is think like an artist by will gompertz. i probably like it because i  think like an artist (at least judging by this book). i like books on creativity. but the thought that i was musing on when reading it was how similar the ways of thinking gompertz describes for artists are to pioneers. i guess it's because the gift that pioneers bring is one of seeing new ideas and possibilities. here's a quote or two where you can substitute pioneer for artist...

Artists don't seek permission... they just do it.

They rarely sit back and wait for things to happen to them - they happen to things!

To break the rules and defy all these powerful people takes enormous courage... It generally takes at least two to take on the status quo - an artist and a patron.

The future depends on us talking a different approach

Passion is the spur that makes us want to know more. It provides the impulse for the thoughtful enquiry that generates the knowledge which fires our imagination to come up with ideas. These lead to the experiments that eventually result in the production of a realised concept. That is the path that creativity takes.

you get the idea... one chapter that appealed to me at the start of a new year with a fresh intake of students was one titled all schools should be art schools which i quoted from at our induction last week (and i admit i wish i had studied art rather than maths!). i certainly think the approach would be well suited to pioneers and i hope we capture a flavour of it at cms. 

art is all about breaking rules and discovering new stuff... There is of course a paradox in the notion that students should go to school to learn to break rules but it is worth contemplating

Art school or not students need to leave education as independently minded, intellectually curious, self confident and resourceful - prepared for and excited by the future and what they might be able to contribute to it. 

i am here to meet people with sparky brains

i can't quite believe we are starting the seventh year of cms pioneer training but we have just done so with induction this week for around 27 new pioneers joining the other year groups which will make for quite a crowd now on tuesdays at cms. i am really looking forward to getting to know them and the journey ahead as they do MAs, certificates, and diplomas. i loved the comment by one of the new students who said he was looking forward to meeting people with sparky brains! there's an article here with a bit more info. 

it was also the start on saturday of a new pioneer hub in chelmsford - st cedds - which had a group of 14 or 15 starting together on a journey of training and participating in mission over a couple of years. this is a partnership between cms and chelmsford diocese and a new adventure. 

one!

granddaughter flo is one - what a sweetheart!

monkey crossing

crossing a bridge in kamikochi in the japanese alps this monkey was crossing the other way. i have finally finished adding my photos from japan - a set taken in the mountains - kamikochi and takayama

to go with sets from tokyo, nagoya, bamboo grove, cormorant fishing and kyoto

a little child will lead them

leading the communion service at greenbelt for several thousand people is a challenge - the scale of it but also doing something that is both creative and appeals to a wide range of people - i know as i have led it a couple of times! this year was one of the best all built around the simple idea of children leading it. this included the sermon slot where the archbishop of canterbury was aksed questions by children on his role and on the passages. the favourite question seemed to be who would win in a fight between him and the pope! anyway greenbelt and andrew graystone (who put it together) have made the liturgy and resources available here - a little child will lead them - thank you greenbelt! i am making this a worship  trick. 

do have a look at one day - a piece of liturgy that managed to be profound and hilarious at the same time...

and this is all worship trick 66 in series 4

grace seeds - confession, affirmation, communion prayer

last night's grace was on the theme of seeds and a lovely communion service. these are a few of the prayers that those of us planning it wrote - and i am adding them as a worship trick - 65 in series 4...

a confession:

Gardener God

Forgive us for the times we have kept our seeds in the packet

For the times we’ve been too scared to risk, too selfish to love, too embarrassed to try

Gardener God, have mercy on us

 

Forgive us for where we have let weeds grow in the soil of our lives

For the times we have forgotten to pray,

for the days when we don’t bother to listen,

for the moments when we neglect the stirring of your spirit

Gardener God, have mercy on us

 

Forgive us for when we have trampled on the seedlings of others

Through careless words or outright criticism,

through envy or feeling threatened,

through being insensitive or wrapped up in ourselves

Gardener God, have mercy on us

 

Forgive us for when we think it’s all down to us

When we forget that to grow we need the earth of our community,

The water of other people’s contribution,

The sunshine of your favour,

The nutrients that come through conversation and challenge

Gardener God, have mercy on us

Amen

affirmation (based on the grace ethos/values create, participate, risk, engage):

We believe in the Creator who imagined this world 

And then made it with all its earthy glory

Who made us in God’s image

With the same gift of imagination

Made to CREATE

To look after the earth and develop its resources

 

We believe in Jesus the Son of God

Who most perfectly embodied that God like image

He was able to see what God was doing and join in

Participating in the overflow of God’s love for the world

Who call us to PARTICIPATE

In the the same love for the world

 

We believe in the Spirit of Life 

Who animates us with the breath of God

Who assures us that we are God’s children

Who calls us to RISK 

To offer up the gifts we have been given

 

We believe that one day God will make all things new

While we wait we will ENGAGE

In our communities, our neighbourhoods and our workplaces

Bringing foretastes of that new creation now

Sharing the good news of God’s wonderful Kingdom

Amen

communion prayer:

Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground a dies it remains a single seed 

but if it dies it will produce lots of wheat. 

 

Wheat is ground to make flour 

Flour is mixed with water, salt and yeast to make bread.

 

Bread is your body

Your body is broken

For healing

 

Unless a grape pip falls to the ground and dies it remains a single seed 

but if it dies it will produce lots of grapes on the vine. 

 

Grapes are crushed to make juice

Juice is mixed with water, yeast and sugar to make wine.

 

Wine is your blood

Your blood is poured out 

For forgiveness

 

Thank you so much for gifts of bread and wine to remember you by

Thank you so much for being the seed that fell to the ground and died 

that we might have new life

Send your Spirit on these gifts

 

Come to the table 

You are welcome if you are waiting 

You are welcome if you are buried

You are welcome if you are hidden

You are welcome if nothing’s happening

You are welcome if you are growing

You are welcome if you are flourishing

All are welcome at God’s table,

especially those who know they are poor, weak and broken.

God is here, the One who makes the seed grow

Amen

mobile [japan 8]

it seems most people are on their phones on the london underground but in japan it seemed even more the case! i loved this shot on the underground in kyoto, japan. i am getting there with my japan photos - and have now added a set from kyoto to go with the bamboo grove and cormorant fishing which were also in kyoto

ramp things up [japan 7]

lowell will probably hate me posting this but there are so many friends in the uk who used to work with lowell that i thought they'd love to see a photo on the blog. it was great to meet lowell and kande in japan and find how friendship is simple to pick up even after all those years as though it was yesterday you left off. it helps that they are wonderful people and hosts! one conversation i loved with lowell was where he said he had been thinking about peoples comments to him about ageing and passing on the baton in hope international, the ngo he works for and is passionate about, or slowing down (and i should add he is not old!). but as he had reflected on it he felt that there was plenty do so he said he was simply intending to ramp things up a notch! i found this inspiring but i also related to it as someone who loves making things happen - life is about being and doing after all...

nagoya [japan 6]

in japan we stayed with friends lowell and kande who we had not seen for years - it's amazing how friendship is simply rekindled as though it was yesterday. they live outside of nagoya so these photos are in and around there...

exhibiting at brentford festival on sunday

the photo group i am part of in ealing will be taking part in the brentford festival this sunday - entry is free - come along and say hi...

grace seeds

a new season of grace starts on saturday sept 10, 8pm, st mary's ealing. do come and join us as we look forward to the year ahead. there will be communion and a café afterwards. i really like september - it always feels more like new year than new year if you know what i mean. 

words of hope

i have read a stack of books this year and always mean to mention them on the blog and don't seem to get round to it so alongside editing photos from the summer in the next month i'll add a few books i have read that i think worth a mention...

first up words of hope from amos trust is a collection of prayers and liturgies and reflections - it's delightful and poignant. amos trust is small human rights organisation challenging injustice and cultivating hope. the words capture their spirituality wonderfully well. it's such a refreshing change to read words that you can echo an agreement to in your own heart. i find the arriculation of spirituality in much contemporary worship is either very focused on individual relationship with god or on proclaiming how great jesus is on a throne in the sky. it's harder to find songs and prayers of longing and anger and hope that relate to the world we actually live in.

the book is available here

this book is a reminder to me of the importance of communities and movements articulating a mission spirituality not just in mission statements and branding and in news stories but also in prayers, liturgies, poetry, art and longings that are expressed soulfully. it is of course what proost has been about and is about for years!