SOUL SURMISE

TOMORROW IN FITZROY WAS HARD WORK TO RECORD

Recording on-line sermons were new to me 4 months ago and though they are now very much the norm they do not always run smoothly.

It is a very different gift. I have needed to create a relationship with a screen. I look back to fleeting moments on Sky News, The View or on Melvyn Bragg’s South Bank as helpful experience but it wasn’t a lot. I was glad to be able to pick up on a new discipline quickly.

The new preparation skills have perhaps been more difficult. I don’t feel that if I am speaking to a screen that I can look at notes, whether down or up or sideways. That has meant preparing notes very differently. They are diagrammatical so that if I have to I can give a quick glance to know where I am going next.

This week’s sermon was the worst experience I have had. I had problems over the 24 hours before recording downloading the content on paper into my head. I felt I had something to say. The Lectionary text in Matthew 11 was so relevant to Covid 19 times. I was happy with that but I couldn’t get the flow. 

I asked Alison, our Fitzroy TV sermons producer in our Streamyard studio, for an extra half hour and paced the kitchen, increasing my Saturday step count, trying to get the flow right.

When we started I wasn’t my usual confident self. Then there was a ping. A Facebook message arrived in and we had to stop. Switch off Facebook and my phone. Take 2.

Take 2 was ok but nothing like the standard I demand from my delivery. About two thirds of the way through I stumbled over my favourite Mumford & Sons quote. I stumbled so badly that I stopped. Alison actually said that I wasn’t in the zone. Indeed. I asked for an extra half hour to go pacing around that kitchen again.

Eventually, I was back and right in the zone and, though it is for you not me to judge in the morning, I was very content with the final result. As you watch tomorrow, be aware of the struggle it was and the time and patience that Alison and my in-house sound engineer Jasmine had to give me.

The Lectionary is relevant again for our Coronavirus world. The two major ideas of rest and wisdom are pertinent. As I unpack those words we look at them in the social and spiritual realms. God tells Solomon he can ask for anything. What would we answer to that? Jesus invites us to lay down our burdens. Will we take him up on that invite? 

The sermon, like the service, is scattered with Ugandan references. A Fitzroy team should be in Arua, Uganda right now and we hear greetings from those we would be working with. I even wear an African shirt. It all makes for a colourful service.

Recording the evening Light From Rock Music was not smooth either. I recorded that on Friday and whereas last week I had a written script for the Van Morrison edition I wanted to be more focused on the screen than my notes. Again, it took a few takes.

However, I am quite happy with this exploration of Bob Dylan’s entire catalogue. We do spend a part of it in his “Gospel Years” as they have come to be known when Dylan was very much claiming a born again Christian stance between 1979 and 1981. 

However, we ask if Dylan’s early 60s Civil Rights phase was more prophetic than his Christian years and then look at his brand new number 1 album Rough and Rowdy Ways and ask if there is still Light to be found there. 

Adding to it all are the covers of Dylan songs by Chris Taylor, all the way from San Antonio, who I believe to have one of the best voices to traverse Dylan’s lyric-scape as proven on his wonderful record Down A Dead End Street. 

 

The Fitzroy Sunday Service will be on Fitzroy TV  from 11am on July 5, 2020

Light In Rock Music Vol 2: Bob Dylan - Pressing On will be on Fitzroy TV from 7pm on July 5, 2020

LIGHT FROM ROCK MUSIC: BOB DYLAN - PRESSING ON (Fitzroy TV on July 5th)

Bob Dylan. The folk singer, come rock pioneer who was awarded the Nobel Prize For Literature and is currently Number 1 in the album charts at the age of 79. Bob Dylan who between 1979 and 1981 recorded three albums known as his Gospel Trilogy.  

I am very excited to be speaking about Bob Dylan in our new Fitzroy TV series Light from Rock Music. During the vows we take during ordination services in the Presbyterian church we are told not to refuse light from any quarter. In this series we are doing what I have been doing for 40 years and actively seeking light in the work of recognised rock musicians.

The first in the series was Van Morrison in which I was delighted to have Belfast songwriter Brian Houston as my guest singer. Brian recorded imaginative versions of Into The Mystic, Full Force Gale and When Will I Ever Learn To Live In God adding beats and sounds and even a snippet of John O'Donohue reading one of his benedictions. I was so pleased at the response, even from one person who said they knew nothing about rock music but found the VOLG insightful and meditative Watch Light From Van Morrison: Dreaming in God HERE 

In our Bob Dylan episode I am thrilled to have as my guest singer Chris Taylor. Chris is from San Antonio, Texas and came to fame in the Contemporary Christian Music world as lead singer of Love Coma before a catalogue of solo records that reveal the artist within, in his eclectic and creative range.

If Brian Houston was an obvious choice to sing Van Morrison, being from the same East Belfast streets, then I chose Chris because of his stunning album of Bob Dylan covers called Down a Dead End Street. That record was in my Top 10 albums of 2017 and in my review (read that HERE) I wrote of how Chris's "voice has a strong rough hue that makes traction in Dylan’s quirks. That gives him the sensitivity to eek out the yearning and deep soul searching going on." Wait until you here his covers on Sunday night!

In my commentary on Dylan I will be looking at those "Gospel years" when there is plenty of light in creed and spiritual formation. I will also, however, be looking at his short folk Civil Rights years and wondering if he was more biblically prophetic then than in his very clear Christian records. I will also be looking at the 40 years since his Christian phase and asking if there is still light to be found, right up until his brand new number 1 record Rough and Rowdy Ways.

Light From Rock Music Vol 2: Bob Dylan - Pressing On will be available on FITZROY TV from 7pm on Sunday July 5th

Followed by Light For Rock Music Vol 3: U2 - Don't Let it Go Out on July 12th

JUNE 28th 2020 in FITZROY

I am thrilled to be back on the preach again tomorrow in Fitzroy. The service goes live at 11am on Fitzroy TV. I will be asking where we go from the crossroads that we are at. As pubs open, people start thinking of holidays and the possibility of church gatherings is being mentioned how do we traverse the road ahead. I'll be looking at Matthew 10, Romans 12 and Galatians 5 to see if we can find our way forward. All wrapped in the by now familiar bespoke worship that tis week includes a wee Psalm co-written by King David and Bono.

In the evening (going live at 7) is a new series Light From Rock Artists. When Presbyetrians are ordained as ministers and elders there is a phrase used in the preamble to the vows that says we “are not to set their reason above the Word of God, or to refuse light from any quarter.” I have been finding light in the songs of rock musicians for forty years. So we start a series that we hope will continue into the autumn but begins with a mini-series of three. The first is Van Morrison. I will be asking what light we can gain from Van Morrison's sense of wonder and fiery visions bright and will be accompanied by Brian Houston who has imaginatively revisited three Morrison songs.

JUNE 21st IN FITZROY... plus news of a new Rock Stars In Ten series

For those who have somehow not heard, I had my gallbladder taken out quite suddenly just twelve days ago. In hospital, as I waited for the operation, I had to quickly change things. I was able to use an old Taylor University Chapel talk from last November to fill the immediate gap of June 7th. Considering it was seven months old it fitted well with our service that concentrated on the recent events in America.

I then immediately mobilised my youth Director Paul Bowman for June 14th, knowing that he would be creative in using our gifted young people to lead us and also be potent in the sermon.

I was also aware that I needed another week to recuperate before I could preach again. As I lay wondering, the new Moderator of the Presbyterian Church In Ireland, Rev Dr David Bruce, gave me a pastoral phone call and offered to preach. Oh yes please.

So tomorrow (going live on Fitzroy TV at 11am) I am delighted to welcome David to Fitzroy. His brother-in-law Clive Gould is a member of ours and David and Zoe know us well. I look forward to watching. I also might make a wee appearance. 

I am recovering well and hope to be back next Sunday, not only in the morning service BUT also with a new series going live in the evening.

Rock Stars In Ten (Along With Some Songs) will see me draw some spiritual nourishment from rock artists. In order to give more impact I felt we needed the songs. So, I asked a couple of gifted musical friends to help me with the first two and then we will be back to Fitzroy finest players and singers for the U2 night.

So, I am delighted to announce:

JUNE 28 - VAN MORRISON IN TEN (Along With Some Songs from BRIAN HOUSTON)

JULY 5 - BOB DYLAN IN TEN (Along With Some Songs from CHRIS TAYLOR)

JULY 12 - U2 IN TEN (Along With Some Songs from The FITZROY COLLECTIVE)

So, along with the songs these short vlogs will be slightly longer than ten minutes but they will shorter and sharper than our usual Fitzroy Gospel According To... evenings. 

Watch FITZROY TV here

ONE DAY THERE WILL BE SUCH A GATHERING - BUT NOT YET!

DOUG GAY'S Missing  -  Video by PETER GREER

Recently, we played this Doug Gay song during our Fitzroy Sunday On-Line Service. Doug, a theologian, author and songwriter, wrote it in lockdown. It is a beautiful juxtaposition of lament and hope. Psalm-like. The verses have us lamenting the pain of separation in lockdown. It is cathartic.

Then the chorus breaks in with this joyous hope. Peter Greer put a Fitzroy-centric video to the song and when Doug hit that line, "One day there will be such a gathering.." and a photo of a very full Fitzroy came up on the screen I freely admit that I spontaneously burst into tears. 

It surprised me. I have been one of those who have been experiencing what has become known as "lockdown relief", the breather that us introverts have enjoyed. yet, seeing my Fitzroy community... their faces... in that familiar space. I didn't realised how much I missed it.

A lot of my imagining as a pastor these days is about that gathering. How long will it be? How can we make it happen? What will the stepping stones be like in between now and that full church experience?

The government has said that churches can meet again on June 29th. That is easy rhetoric. I found it humorous and a little sad that I had to find the news under a headline that stated that hairdressers were being allowed to reopen. That is the place that churches have in the world of 2020! 

The reality though is much more complicated than the rhetoric. As I have blogged before the very clear restrictions of Stay At Home was much easier to live out than the Be Alert of reopening. 

When we say churches can reopen Fitzroy has to consider all that needs to take place to make sure the building is safe from spreading Coronavirus. There are practical steps to work through. Then we have to ask how we can safely work through social distancing. Can we use every other pew. We have the architects drawings out. If we do that then do we need two services... or three? Will we have to turn visitors away if there are no pews available? When will the science of this pandemic tell us we can sing again? If we can't sing then what will a service look like? It is likely that for a time the Welcome Area will remain either closed or unable to fit the numbers who will want to restore fellowship. 

What is certain is that that emotional moment in Doug's song is still a long way off. We continue to need patience. In the meantime we will be living in the blend and blur of the virtual and real. The pastoral and indeed missional work of the church goes on and perhaps that is the over riding factor in how we move in short careful steps from the lament of Doug's verses to the celebratory joy of us all back together again.

Grace and imagination will be needed, as always.

ROCK STARS IN TEN (ALONG WITH SOME SONGS) - A New Fitzroy Series

Coming up on Fitzroy TV, a new series about Van Morrison, Bob Dylan and U2...

Over the past few months Fitzroy TV has given you the wonderful series Paul in Ten. This was a series when a New Testament authority in Fitzroy, Gary Burnett, gave us short snappy talks on different themes in the theology of the apostle Paul. It was a resource used by so many (watch Paul In Ten here)

As that series came to an end, I began to think of something to follow it. One thought led to another and I thought that perhaps we could do Rock Stars In Ten

Over the past decade Fitzroy has presented a Gospel According To... series where we have performed the music of a wide variety of rock and pop stars as well as Disney, CS Lewis and the West end. 

These have taken the form of creative music and other art forms blended with a spiritual commentary, drawing out theology and Biblical themes.

The idea for Rock Stars In Ten is for me to be more succinct and draw some spiritual nourishment from a few artists. In order to give more impact I felt we needed the songs. So, I asked a couple of gifted musical friends to help me with the first two and then we will be back to Fitzroy finest players and singers for the U2 night.

So, I am delighted to announce:

JUNE 28 - VAN MORRISON IN TEN (Along With Some Songs from BRIAN HOUSTON)

JULY 5 - BOB DYLAN IN TEN (Along With Some Songs from CHRIS TAYLOR)

JULY 12 - U2 IN TEN (Along With Some Songs from The FITZROY COLLECTIVE)

So, along with the songs these short vlogs will be slightly longer than ten minutes but they will shorter and sharper than a Gospel According To...

More on these evenings and hopefully more in the series to come... 

 

THE NEXT TWO SUNDAYS IN FITZROY - JUNE 14 & 21, 2020

With myself on the sidelines, do not think for one moment that Fitzroy's On-Line Sunday service will be any less than excellent these next two weeks.

Going live tomorrow (June 14th) at 11am will be a short sharp youthful service full of energy, contemporary worship and relevant Biblical thought. Our fabulous Youth Director Paul Bowman will be in charge and it will be imaginative and meaningful. I am looking forward to it myself, tucked up in my recuperation blanket!

Next Sunday (June 21st) we are delighted and honoured that the new Moderator Rev Dr David Bruce will be preaching for us. David has been a friend and mentor for decades. He was UCCF Travelling Secretary when I was on Queen's CU Executive, he was minister of  Ormond Quay and Scots in Dublin when my office as Youth Development Officer was there in the early 90s and we have crossed paths in his recent role as Secretary to Council for Mission in Ireland. His brother-in-law Clive Gould belongs to Fitzroy

So, I hope to be back for June 28th and as well as the Sunday Service that day, we will be starting, in the evening, a brand new series that I think the music fans might revel in. More details coming soon!

 

A BONFIRE IN A HURRICANE - A NEW SONG... AND A PRAYER ON PENTECOST SUNDAY 2020

On Pentecost Sunday 2020, after my sermon, we played this brand new song (written by Steve Stockman and Jonny Fitch... performed by Jonny Fitch... lead guitar by John Trinder... a three minute summary of that sermon... and then prayed the prayer below...

 

 

God

Here we are on Pentecost Sunday

All together

Yet all in different places 

And uneven spaces

Lord, we are united across geography

From British Columbia to Alberta to Ohio 

From Holland to England, Scotland Wales

Back to Ireland and home to Fitzroy Belfast

Lord we together in Jesus

But…

Some of us are only children loving the space, with our daughters at home, loving this time

Some of us are older, alone and feeling the isolation

Some of us are children and a little bored

Some of us are parents trying o juggle homeschooling and work

Some of us are under pressure in business

Some of us are enjoying the breather

Some of us are students under pressure

Some of us are going through labour alone while our husbands wait in the car park

Some us are teenagers and missing adolescent adventure

Some of us are grieving and having to do it at a distance

Some of us are enjoying nature, reborn

Some of us don’t want to go back to what life was like before

 

Lord, we come before your Holy Spirit

Together in uneven spaces

And we are anxious, confused, uncertain, wondering, hoping, loving

So on this Pentecost Sunday

Lord blow a bonfire in a hurricane through us

Revive us, refresh us, reorientate us, reboot us

Lord, the great ideas of Jesus’ alternative ways

Cost him his life

Lord toss that wild idea everywhere

Holy Spirit inspire a new human strain

Of mercy, humility, equality, justice and grace

Lord blow away the vacuous straw of urgent joyless chaff

And nourish Christ like ambition, values and selfless love

Lord purify us, 

Forgive us Jesus

When we made you safe and nice

Dying and being raised to life for nothing more than a few petty little habits

Lord forgive us when the world looks at your Church

And sees plodding, predictable platitudes

Instead of a full force gale of goodness, kindness and hope

Lord here we are on pentecost Sunday

Together in different geographical places and eleven coronavirus spaces

We offer ourselves

Blow through our fears

With fearlessness

Like a bonfire in a hurricane.

In Jesus's name

Amen.

 

you can watch the entire service HERE ON FITZROY TV

THE 2020 IRISH BLESSING SONG - My Reflections

Tomorrow is Pentecost. It is the day that we Churches celebrate the day that God poured out the Holy Spirit across humanity, founding the church and beginning the creeping reality of the kIngdom.

To celebrate such a blessing, churches from all over the entire geographical width and breadth of Ireland have come together to send out a message of hope and vision and grace.

These past few months have been tough times for very many people across our island. There has been anxiety, fear, frustration and a lot of disorientation and confusion, never mind the death toll and grief.

In the midst of the darkness there have been little candles of light flickering. The environment has had a breather. We have met our neighbours. We have started to value our doctors, nurses and hospital cleaners. We have reassessed what is important.

Maybe the Irish Blessing is a blessing across Ireland before the song itself is even heard. For centuries our churches have been guilty of being the slowest to get over the Reformation and Counter Reformation wars. They were centuries ago, for goodness sake. Most every other country is over it.

We have remained cold to one another playing out theological sectarianism in our churches while politicians play it out in elections and paramilitaries play it out on the streets.

Before I even got to hear the Irish Blessing I was blessed by having a long glance across the hundreds of churches who took part. All the main denominations and a wide array independent churches come together in harmony, working together to bless rather than divide the island. Might it be saying in the performances beautiful grace notes that the war is over.

Listen to the wonder of the music. The short few minutes of the video belies the hours and days of work that has gone into the planning, scoring, playing, recording, editing and mastering.

Listen to the words of this old Irish hymn, one of Ireland’s greatest pieces of poetry, music and spiritual insight. Allow it to be wash over your soul. Send it out over our cities, towns, villages and town lands. Let it wash over the land.

On that first Pentecost morning, the disciples were holed up in lockdown, frightened and wondering how it would end. In that dark place God blew the walls off with blessing.

On this Pentecost morning, all of us in lockdown and unable to meet in our churches, listen to the fact that for these few moments of the Irish Blessing, as the churches yearned to bless the island, we blessed ourselves by not only singing these words but by listening to them and living them out… all together.

Now that is a blessing!

It goes live here tomorrow morning at 9.45 - The Irish Blessing 2020

THE IRISH BLESSING GOES LIVE TOMORROW MORNING at 9.45

Tomorrow is Pentecost. It is the day that we Churches celebrate the day that God poured out the Holy Spirit across humanity, founding the church and beginning the creeping reality of the kIngdom.

To celebrate such a blessing, churches from all over the entire geographical width and breadth of Ireland have come together to send out a message of hope and vision and grace.

These past few months have been tough times for very many people across our island. There has been anxiety, fear, frustration and a lot of disorientation and confusion, never mind the death toll and grief.

In the midst of the darkness there have been little candles of light flickering. The environment has had a breather. We have met our neighbours. We have started to value our doctors, nurses and hospital cleaners. We have reassessed what is important.

Maybe the Irish Blessing is a blessing across Ireland before the song itself is even heard. For centuries our churches have been guilty of being the slowest to get over the Reformation and Counter Reformation wars. They were centuries ago, for goodness sake. Most every other country is over it. 

We have remained cold to one another playing out theological sectarianism in our churches while politicians play it out in elections and paramilitaries play it out on the streets.

Before I even got to hear the Irish Blessing I was blessed by having a long glance across the hundreds of churches who took part. All the main denominations and a wide array independent churches come together in harmony, working together to bless rather than divide the island. Might it be saying in the performances beautiful grace notes that the war is over. 

Listen to the wonder of the music. The short few minutes of the video belies the hours and days of work that has gone into the planning, scoring, playing, recording, editing and mastering. 

Listen to the words of this old Irish hymn, one of Ireland’s greatest pieces of poetry, music and spiritual insight. Allow it to be wash over your soul. Send it out over our cities, towns, villages and town lands. Let it wash over the land.

On that first Pentecost morning, the disciples were holed up in lockdown, frightened and wondering how it would end. In that dark place God blew the walls off with blessing. 

On this Pentecost morning, all of us in lockdown and unable to meet in our churches, listen to the fact that for these few moments of the Irish Blessing, as the churches yearned to bless the island, we blessed ourselves by not only singing these words but by listening to them and living them out… all together. 

Now that is a blessing!

It goes live here tomorrow morning at 9.45 - The Irish Blessing 2020