jonnybaker

who is my neighbour?

as part of faith in the world week harry was commissioned to write a poem who is my neighbour? which aired on radio 2 this morning - you can watch a video here. as ever it's fab!

grace retreat

did you know that there is an ignatian centre in london that hosts a retreat day on the second saturday of every month open to all? 

next grace we are joining them for the day - see here for info - so if you are planning on visiting grace next month it will simply be a cafe with a prayer space in the evening as the day is the main focus this month.

discordant zine

discordant is a new venture, a creative zine or journal with a DIY ethos inviting contributions from anyone engaging with christianity and culture. it's part of the proost family. the idea is to participate so go and take a look and get involved. the first theme is wonder and you have until february to contribute. there is an example here you can download for free which also has a sampler of 6 tracks free too. love it!

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!

40 temptations - something for lent

ian adams has produced another amazing resource - 40 temptations. it's a downloadable pdf booklet with 40 reflections which combine poetry, photography and mediation. they are profound, really profound. this booklet began its gestation last year as a series in morning bell which i remember being wowed by at the time. i'm not sure whether temptation is the right word - ian also describes them as taunts, a sort of internal (or external) script that tempts us to be less than we are or can be as humans made in god's likeness.

to give an example one is:

you don't belong here

the naming of these taunts is so powerful. i think we all have this kind of thing going on rumbling below the surface (or sometimes shouting loudly in our minds) to derail or sabotage us. it's quite a daring ask to set yourself or your community to face these down over lent. it's much easier to pretend they are not there to be honest, or at least to keep them hidden in the dark. but i dare you to journey with this resource over the season of lent either alone or with a community you are part of...

this is the third booklet like this that ian has produced - the other two are come and see - on starting a missional community; and give me a drink - on mission. those would also make good study resources for lent.

if you are looking for other ideas for lent have a look at proost news this month which links to a few things.

fear, courage and change - church of england welcome to the incoming future!

every organisation, institution, business has to negotiate change. the rapid changes in the wider culture and perhaps especially in technology in the last 30 years make it feel as though change is the new constant. i happen to quite like change and newness but i realise not everyone does. it can certainly generate anxiety and fear in good measure. and in many places there is a very real sense of pressure. the new environment seems to call for flexibility, adaptability and improvisation. however when the pressure is on there is always the opposite instinct at play - defence of what already is, the status quo, at all costs and resistance to change.

in the next few days the church of england governing body general synod is receiving several reports. they were published a couple of weeks ago - on discipleship, simplification, resourcing the future and resourcing ministerial education. they have a focus on mission, growth and investing better in those at the margins which in itself is encouraging (though i realise 'growth' is a complicated word that has had a backlash from those who see it tied to measures of success and effectivenes making the church sound like a business). the church of england is full of surprises! i realise a blog post about some church reports might not sound that interesting but in their own way they are putting before the church questions about the inevitable incoming future and whether the church of england will act on the basis of courage or fear. without question she has to change!

i won't go through all the reports here but the one of most interest to me personally and the pioneer leadership training at cms is the resourcing ministerial education one which stresses the need to train people for adaptibility and flexibility for the future. it is also the most far reaching in its proposals. in my view by far the most interesting and long overdue proposal is to rapidly develop lay ministries and increase numbers and to that end developing a stream of funding for lay ministry training especially to resource the future. this will be funding training in a similar way to ordinands. my own take on the various streams that have brought challenge and renewal at the edges of the church in the last thirty years is that they have been largely lay led - in many cases unpaid, untrained and not licensed as well! the majority of pioneers training at cms are in this category. this is genuinely exciting news. it will be for ministry that is licensed but at cms last year we admitted 8 people as lay workers in the church of england which we can do because we are a religious community of the church - i am one myself. i'm slightly pinching myself on this as it's as though we have set something up that has anticipated this future. if this goes through it looks as though people in the church of england could train with us to pioneer and get fees paid for.

there is also recognition that training that is on the job or in-context produces good results and they are trying to encourage development of more pathways like this that are within reach of people who are training whilst working which is a good model and will generate innovation especially if the matched funding proposed is agreed to. this is causing great anxiety amongst providers of residential training who will no doubt be on the defensive at synod. both have their place and as far as i can see a mixed economy of provision is envisaged but for pioneers, on the job training is both recommended and the only way i would ever be interested in training pioneers. it's also so much better value - i know people hate discussions around money but money is a real issue in pretty much every diocese. there will be opportunity for innovation here for colleges who have almost exclusively focused on training ordinands because that is where the money has been. the proposal on money is that there will be a standard grant allocation that a diocese will decide how to spend on approved providers.

the report proposes increasing ordination numbers especially younger and i hope that pioneer numbers will get back on the up - we'll see. dioceses will have more say about the training pathways. they want to review and streamline selection process, presumably for pioneers too so it is done in a year. individuals pathways for training will be more flexible. they are proposing tough limits on age by making dioceses pay for over 50s. there will be money available for leadership development beyond the first phase of training.

in other words it's proposing something of a sea change. i think it's exciting, challenging, and hopeful. it's not without its problems and more work needs to be done. for example i think the critique of business approaches and language is welcome. i liked linda woodhead's challenge in the church times and on tv to not collapse the church into a congregational paradigm or a clerical paradigm but to retain a vision of church in society and public life. decisions won't be made on details - i think it will be a discussion and then voting to give permission for the reports to be taken forward. the key issue for me is imagination. i have in my mind arbuckle's phrase 'culture eats strategies for breakfast' and hope that the culture of the church doesn't eat these up but has the imagination to see ahead. don't be afraid synod!

12 days of christmas at nomad

nomad podcast is doing a series of podcasts from a few wise men and women. jenny baker is one and she applies the bechdel test to the christmas story - nice idea! listen here

pioneering spirituality: research and reflections - gearing up for the year 3

i am looking forward to october 14 when we have a day at cms on pioneering spirituality. this follows on from the day we had last year. that was so good we ended up producing the pioneer gift. there are several speakers and workshop leaders. i am particularly chuffed that steve bevans will be with us as he is one of my heroes... the idea of the day is to push out conversation and thinking about pioneering mission about which we are learning lots and have lots more questions. i hope too that we will simultaneously begin to pull together some resources around pioneering spirituality. we'll keep you posted.

you can download a flyer here, read here for details of what is happening, and book here. last year was full so book early. hope to see you there.

reflections - photography for yale

reflections is a magazine that is produced by yale divinity school reflecting on a theme in relation to theology and/or spirituality. the current issue (spring 2014) is on the challenge of faith in a changing culture and how that is impacting on a younger generation of adults. each issue has a guest photographer and i am the photographer for the current issue. i have a dozen of so magazines - if you are in the uk and want one let me know. if you are in the us you can sign up and receive it for free. all the articles are also online.

wild spirit - new on proost

excited about a new resource on proost this month - it's a collection of prayers from russ parker on the theme of wild spirit. russ led the pilgrimage to ireland i went on recently and we've known each other for probably 25 years now. this is typical russ - raw, direct, impassioned, creative and infused with longing and a wildness of the spirit... a must and ideal for pentecost of course. here's the latest proost news as well.

on pilgrimage [1]: ireland pilgrimage photos

just back from a wonderful eight days pilgrimage in ireland with a group of pioneers visiting some of the sites of early irish christianity and its saints, trying to imagine and be inspired by the stories. it was a fantastic time. i hope to add a few thoughts about it. first up i have added a set of photos to my flickr pages - ireland pilgrimage.

lent on proost 2 - francis: stories and reflections

following oin from my first post about lent resources on proost, we have published another! and it's a first on proost for andy freeman - francis: stories and reflections

This new devotional book comes from Andy's love of St. Francis and includes creative rewritings of the stories of Francis mixed with practical activities, prayers and reflections.  There are forty daily devotions in all so it is perfect to accompany Lent but also can be used at any time throughout the year.  The book is also accompanied by five original drawings from Andy's daughter Jess.

i always like to have something on the go daily in lent and if you too like that then this fits the bill. 

there are no women on my theology bookshelf - maggi dawn blows up a theory!

fantastic blog post from maggi dawn coupled with a brilliant resource list of books to check out

there are no women on my theology bookshelf

lent on proost

i have neglected to blog about proost here for a while. we have had a bundle of new resources of late. lent has become a really strong season for creativity in worship and spirituality for those on the alternative/emerging end of things. we have gradually built up quite a collection. anyway here's the latest proost news which outlines some resources old and new…

Lent was once described as the "bright sadness". It's a season which embraces every human emotion and every spiritual experience. In this time we learn to hope in pain, to become at peace in turmoil.  At Lent we learn to find God in all things. We hope some of the resources available on Proost will help you in this journey.

This month we're launching a wonderful new book by Tim Watson. Old Lost and Broken Dreams is a beautifully moving journey through pain, disappointment and loss through poems, litanies, blessings and prayers. This is a wonderfully inspiring book to help you through Lent as Tim's inspiration is St. John of the Cross' idea of the Dark Night of the Soul - that somehow at our weakest point we learn new maturity in our understanding of God.  Tim writes

"And as we journey through life as people of faith we will face all kinds of challenges. Perhaps we will find ourselves feeling like isolated prophets. Perhaps sometimes we will feel like Thomas after the resurrection. Sometimes we will have more questions than answers. Sometimes we will have to wait doggedly for the voice of God or for the leading of the Holy Spirit."

I want to recommend this book to all of you. I found it deeply inspiring as I read the manuscript before publication and I've come back to the poems and prayers again and again since then.  I'll be looking to use a poem or prayer each day to help me through Lent. Do take a look.

As well as Tim's new book there are lots of resources in our Lent section of the website. A particularly popular resource is Si Smith's 40 and it's accompanying 40 Book by Si and Chris Goan. These are two inspiring interactions with the story of Jesus in the wilderness with moving words and beautiful illustrations.  Each Lent we find loads of people download this resource and love it, coming back to it each year.

Another great resource is Cave by Harry Baker. This is all about seeking God alone and echoes the yearnings and challenges we all find in solitude and isolation. Harry's poetry is incredibly popular and this one is a Proost favourite.

At Lent we often find people seek out Pocket Liturgies on the site to help their community or church travel through the season together. Making Communion from Grace is one of the most popular in this line of Liturgies. Making Communion is the second set of Liturgies from Grace but specifically explores Communion and is packed with creative, innovative approaches to the church's most ancient rite. It also has a long introduction which helpfully shares Grace's story and how they have negotiated a creative approach within the Church of England.

As well as these individual resources you may want to explore the other areas of the website. A Get it Allsubscription is a great way to do this, enabling you to get your hands on everything on the site for one whole year. Why not sign up today?

This is the first of two updates you'll be getting from us this Lent as we have more new resources to launch shortly. Watch this space.

Take care

The Proost Team

practising spirituality through apps - examine

i remember when we created the labyrinth at st pauls cathedral how surprised i was that lighting a candle on a laptop by clicking on it with a mouse felt right - it was conducive to prayer, it mediated a spiritual encounter. that was back in 2000 and the world of digital technology has changed enormously...

on saturday at grace at home in the world we were exploring ignatian spirituality and in the grace facebook page is a list of suggestions of resources for people to follow that up. we did an examen at grace and one that was mentioned was an app called examine which i have since added to my phone and intend to try and use. it enables you to do the ignatian examen and it tracks the previous 90 days so you can get a sense of the flow. i'll let you know how i find it. i am making it a worship trick - 50 in series 4.

but it got me wondering what apps people use for prayer and spirtuality on a regular basis. perhaps if you have some you use, you could leave a comment, a tweet, or facebook message? it might also be that you have ideas for an app?! in which case add those as well.

jacob's ladder - an advent calendar in sound

love this advent calendar in sound. it's an absolutley huge amount of time and effort that must have gone into creating it. the intro on the blog explains it all but essentially a speaker a day is added through advent to jacob's ladder. it's by artist sunil chandy and if you are anywhere near penge or beckenham in london go visit...

and of course this is a worship trick - 47 series 4.

#XmasByNos - tweeted grace christmas by numbers - worship trick 46 series 4

in our twentieth year in grace we are revisiting some old themes in a new playful way. last night's grace was a rework of communion by numbers. in the original, a liturgy was followed through by opening a sequence of envelopes around tables in a cafe style and following through a service together. the twist this time round was that each table needed to follow the hashtag #XmasByNos on twitter and instructions arrived via phone or ipad. it worked wonderfully well. and it was particularly amazing to have a few people joining in at the same time from other parts of the world. if you follow the hashtag you can see the instructions, link to some photos, see the tunes played and rework the service yourself.

at the bottom of this post here there are links to the various prayers used including a eucharistic prayer for christmas. i wasn't involved in the planning - it's always fun to arrive at a grace not knowing what is going to happen...

i am making it worship trick 46 in series 4

happy birthday to you!

grace is 20 years old today! i have been part of it for 18 of those. here's the first ever flier. we have grace XX sat night to celebrate - looking forward to it. wow...

practice takes practise - running over rocks

ian adams latest book running over rocks came out over the summer. i read it on holiday (our holiday started out sharing a meal with ian and gail before cycling from south to north devon so it was nice to catch up with ian as well). it's a lovely book of spiritual practices.

there are a number of reasons i like the book. 

the first is that i think i have become more and more interested in how to live a life. that is perhaps a glaringly obvious thing to say. is there any other option? in the summer john drane was reflecting with some of our pioneer students that the old adage believe-belong-behave had been reconstructed some years back as belong-believe-behave but now the front foot is perhaps on behave-belong-believe. i can think of a thousand argumenst to have with that phrase anyway which is not the point - the point is that it reminded me that lifestyle or how to live out a life as a human, as a person, in community, following christ, that somehow makes a difference in the world is what many people are seeking after. in other words its a life that is embodied, lived, practised. i certainly am interested in a life of faith that enables me to live in a more christlike, prayerful way, paying attention to the world, god, others. 

the second is that i think ian has a great way with language - he seems to talk about faith in a way that is open and welcoming and accessible and creative. i am sure he has thought hard and worked carefully on this. it's no mean feat. 

the third is that the practices are really good and helpful. there are 52 in total and they are organised into sections - like earth and body, stillness and movement, possibility and so on. you can dive into any section or any practice. you could pick a practice each week of the year. i think it would make a good book for a community to go through in a season like lent. the practices are also a good mix of ancient tried and tested along with creative and fresh ideas. here's how ian describes practices in the intro

Practices are the earthy business of encountering ideas, then working out how they might take shape in us. They help us move from aspiration to reality. They work slowly over time. We shouldn't expect immediate results, but we can expect that through them the change for good that we seek will come, gradually forming something new within us.

the fourth is that ian has great wisdom. he has soaked himself in much of the understandings of those who have navigated the religious life and draws on it in a way that is accessible but has depth. the section of practices of descent is a good example. 

the fifth is that ian has written a poem for each practice so there are over 50 poems which is a delightful addition. 

practice takes practise - in other words this is not a book to read like i did - in a week! it's one to try out and practise. in my defence i have kept the book with my journal having read it so that i will come back to many of the practices. it reminds me a little bit of anthony de mello's book sadhana a way to god - which is a book i have come back to so many times with its spiritual exercises. 

ian and gail are leading a retreat in may which looks like an absolute bargain if you would like a weekend to be introduced to some of the ideas. 

summer 2013 report on cms pioneer training

if you are interested download a copy of the annual report for the cms pioneer training course i lead. the idea of an annual report may not sound that exciting but I really like writing it as it's a chance to look back and reflect. it's now 3 years since we started which is hard to believe. it's been both hard work and fantastic in equal measure. people say that it takes 3 years for a start up to get established so i think we have made it - it feels like it. we have a new year of students starting the week after next. at this point we have 13 or 14 new who will be doing either an MA or Foundation Degree - which is a really nice number. the will be joining the other two year groups and on top of that we will have people doing individual modules. it never seems to stand still...

if any of you reading are pioneering, into mission, or whatever way you want to describe it, check out what we are doing. a couple of good ways in are ReSource weekends , and we also have a day in november conversations on pioneering presenting research around pioneering mission with a number of speakers that is going to be a really good day. i will blog about that separately in the next couple of weeks.