jonnybaker

emerged - chipping in to the conversation

the latest episode of the emerged podcast series has contributions from a few places round the world that were experimenting in the emerging culture back in the 90s and 00s. it was great fun to have an excuse to chat with tony jones after many years and some of our conversation features in the episode around leading the way in decline, alternative worship, emerging church, fresh expressions and the labyrinth in a can! i laugh a lot listening back to it. it was great to hear sivin kit, jason clark, graeme codrington, pete rollins and dave andrews on the same episode. i am enjoying the series - loved that season. makes me want to kick on further into that whole movement really. the work is not done, though to be honest i have kept at it. 

 

snowdon horseshoe

we packed in the miles this week! on our way back from oban we visited friends gav and erika in llandudno. for those who have followed gav's crazy building ventures the results are amazing. on friday the weather seemed kind enough that we could do the snowdon horseshoe. this is a route up to snowdon along the miner's track and then looping left over lliwedd and up to yr wyddfa. jen and i have done plenty of walks but this was another level for us. looking at lliwedd i wondered how on earth it is even possible to go up it. but sure enough there is a path of sorts and putting one step in front of another we made our way up. i have been up once before by the rangers path but this was much more dramatic in terms of views. the top of yr wyddfa never came out of cloud so when we headed up there is was snow and cloud! it was such a wonderful day - exhilirating and we felt we were in safe hands with gav who has run up and down all those routes on multiple occasions. photos of the day are here - snowdon horseshoe

this photo gives a good sense of the scramble up lliwedd - you can see jen making her way up.

a lost rainforest in britain

having read guy shrubsole's the lost rainforests of britain it was great to be able to visit one on the island of seil which you reach via a bridge a few miles south of oban - balluchan hazel wood. i have added some photos here - scammadale and seil along with a few from scammadale where we have spent a few days with friends in a magnificent glen. next stop llandudno where we head tomorrow.

the one who walks the earth

settle - ambient prayer 2

the second ambient prayer at grace on saturday went really well. the whole thing is here - ambient prayer 2 - including the playlist, card, exercises, movie and slides. we have made sure we put everything up so if anyone else wants to try it out it's all there. feel free and let us know how you get on. i am hoping to develop say a series of 6 over the next year or so. it will be quite a nice off the shelf intro to contemplative prayer.

i have enjoyed thinking about a visual idea to go with each one. this time it was an old grace idea reworked - shake up a jar and watch it settle. i  loved how it came out orange which was to do with some christmas left over syrup from making candied grapefruit - it had a bit of campari in it which helped the liquid be a bit thicker! it definitely slows you down - you know it's slow when a drip of water falling from the lid feels like some action. it lasts around 4 minutes so the challenge is to watch it all!. the average length of viewing on instagram so far is 16 seconds which tells you everything you need to know about social media and attention span.

i am adding the jar as a worship trick - why not?!

 

open days for training at cms - come along!

come along to an open day and find out about our training at cms for pioneers, ordinands, lay ministers, youth, children and family workers, pioneers in new housing areas, those exploring african christianity and mission in the west and so on. 

this page lists all the open day dates at the moment and has some student interviews about how they found it. there is one on feb 26 in person and feb 27 online for example. i love love love what we do and seeing the journey students go on as they explore that blend of who they are, their dream for what they sense their call is, discovering a world of global and local theology and mission that both deconstructs and opens up imagination for what's possible. there's a sort of pragmatism out there at the moment which seems to want to get to work with as little training as possible. my advice is get to work but train while you do. i have observed over the years that those who dive a bit deeper seem better able to do the imaginative work especially if you want to be future facing.

we know because students tell us that the training gives people confidence, a community of fellow travellers, language and skills for mission and ministry. and as jo says for many "it blows them away"!

we have recently had an inspection - we are part of a wider set up with ripon college cuddesdon. think ofsted equivalent for theological education. you can read the 60 page report on the church of england web site (yeah right!). but to save you the trouble the inspectors had very positive things to say about what we offer at cms. the quote above is the short version! last year we managed to get a few funded places for youth minstry which we will try and pull off again (no promises).

if you join the next year intake you might be the 1000th student to have joined in some training with us! 

i have been thinking this week about our charism or what is the unique gift we offer which we have summarised as true north. but of the nine facets of that, the one right at the heart of it is freedom. we will do out utmost to help you be free to be the person you are and pioneer out of that freedom.

GET interrupted

had fun yesterday at a screenprint workshop at print club london - a present from jen for christmas. i took a design from a forthcoming app on creativity which we are working on at GETsidetracked . i know i said it would be out last summer but we will get there. this image is from the prompt 'GET interrupted' - a key thing in the creative process. they came out wonderfully well - thanks to joel for the idea for this image and jon for drawing it. i wasn't expecting this but i now have a limited edition print run numbered 1-7 which feels very artist like!

gather for the day in bristol - march 21

we are hosting a day in bristol on march 21. the focus is around pioneering mission with and in places where people are experiencing poverty. that experience has risen dramatically. pioneers love the edges and i know lots of people present in those spaces. 

we used to host what we called conversations days - exploring a theme with a range of presentations and workshops. i have always loved those. this is one of those only we are now using the name 'gather' as it seems to be what we are doing. somehow post lockdown the name has changed! part of the reason i love them is it is a chance to catch up with people pioneering who i have not seen for a while. but also the days have always been inspiring and challenging. this one will be no different. 

ash barker will be presenting on his book tour no wastelands. he is an absolute legend. i can't wait.

rosie hopley is a pioneer in bristol who has worked with people at the edges in a couple of social enterprise and charity projects. 

eunice attwood is a champion of people experiencing poverty - i was very moved and challenged when i heard her present on this

clean for good will be bringing a posse - this is an enterprise model that is good news for the cleaners working for them. they now have reached around the one million pound turnover mark which is exciting.

there will be more conversations too. and of course it's the gaps, lunch and so on that will be good too. we'll doubtless be going out for a drink afterwards so book a late train back so you can join us.

would love love love to see you there.

you can find out more and book here 

homeless jesus

a sculpture by tim schmalz. this is in the middle of mayfair - could not be better placed! it is a really amazing sculpture, wonderfully made.