jonnybaker

a carol i have written

earlier this year i wrote a carol or perhaps it might be better described as an advent hymn. it has been posted as part of the proost advent series here incorporating a video from jon birch. i was inspired reading isaiah 9 and in particular the imagery of verse 5:

The boots of the warrior and the uniforms bloodstained by war will all be burned. They will be fuel for the fire.

in a world with so much brutality and violence the image of a fire burning army boots and clothes of war struck a chord and a deep sense of advent longing for another possible world. that turned into lyrics for a carol or advent hymn ‘smoke is rising’. the last verse quotes arundhati roy which I am sure many of you will recognise. niall dunne has written what i think is a beautiful melody. this came about through a chance conversation at cms (niall has started the undergrad pioneer training this year). i’d love any reactions to it. even more I’d love any of you to try it out and lead it. let me know how you get on if you do though it’s a bit late possibly for this year now. i imagine it with a huge church or choir but I don’t have one of those!

my sister ruth kindly has written out the melody and chords. i should add that the guitar tuning is DADGAD which sounds lovely. hopefully you can work out what i am doing from the video if you go that route and like me are not used to that. that’s how I learned it from niall. i should say i am singing it a bit lower than niall as I struggled to reach the top note in f. ruth has written chords in f and in d and unhelpfully I am playing it in e flat!

i have not had the time or kit to record it properly so this is recorded on a phone - thanks to jon birch for his steady hand (and gorgeous lounge). maybe this will spark a new project?! and double thanks to jon who was inspired to make a movie loop of a fire of army boots and clothes of war (with help from ai) which you can see incorporated into the proost version. it's great to be able to contribute to proost which seems to have risen like a phoenix from the ashes.

here are the lyrics:

Smoke is rising
Jonny Baker and Niall Dunne

Smoke is rising from a fire
Of army boots and clothes of war.
Weapons made into ploughshares
Violence is no more
Violence is no more

You have broken slavery’s yoke
And the oppressor’s rod
Lifted the burden from our shoulders
Prince of peace, mighty God
 
Herod’s palace is in crisis
At the news of a new king.
One has come into the world
Who makes the angels sing
Who makes the angels sing

Peace on earth, peace on earth
Their chorus fills the skies
The rich will leave empty handed
The humble poor they will rise

Peace on earth x 3
Their chorus fills the skies
 
Another world is possible
She is on her way
I can hear her breathing
On a quiet day

Another world is possible
This shall be the sign
A child is born, a son is given
In darkness light will shine

Peace on earth x 3
Their chorus fills the skies

grace christmas labyrinth

come and join us for our grace christmas labyrinth on saturday night. 

Join us for a meditative and prayerful Christmas labyrinth, a peaceful evening before the hectic part of the season gets going.

When we first did labyrinths in the 1990s, there was a four-part structure about our relationships with God, Self, Others and Planet, with the labyrinth itself being about God and the other three as stations. Given current situations this structure seems very relevant.

There will be mulled wine and mince pies in the cafe afterwards.

three wise prophets - christmas cards

out of the box cards always do great christmas cards. go and have a look! one of my favourite new ones is three wise prophets continuing their annual three wise women card tradition.

the light shines

wonderful to visit christmas at kew this year. there's a set of photos here - christmas at kew 2022

keep it simple

wise words from a church notice board in brooklyn

happy christmas!

it's a weird one admittedly but happy christmas! this image seemed rather fitting this year...

grace 9

several times at grace we have done our own take on nine lessons and carols - only it's unikely to be carols! nine people select a tune related to the traditional readings following the christmas story. come and join us from wherever you are in the world - sit back and relax. here's the blurb

The next Grace will be a Zoom gathering at 8pm on Saturday December 12.

9 lesson, 9 tunes - it’s a Christmas tradition! Even King’s College are going virtual this year.

There will be a cafe afterwards. We would have mulled wine and mince pies in normal circumstances - maybe get yourself some seasonal snacks and be the envy of your breakout group.

If you would like to join us please email [email protected] and we will email you an invitation link.

out of the box christmas cards

out of the box is a card company that sells creative cards that are playful and inspiring. our house is full of the cards because jenny set it up! they have got some really good designs for christmas. i like this doc martin wearing angel with weary feet. obviously it's hard to get cards in shops and who is in the shops anyway??!! so do head to their web site and have a look - scroll down the card page to find the christmas ones.