A while back I posted about “The Blessing”, sung by churches across the UK. I’ve just been listening to other versions from around the world, for a bit of an international morning! 🙂
From the Arab world
to Nigeria and South Africa…
…a change of pace in Ireland
then back to the blessing in Australia!
And finally – be blessed in Hebrew…
Lots of different languages and cultures, but all family ❤
I may never meet these people in this life, but I'll see them in the next!
All the more reason to sing with them now…
I’ve been enjoying watching Songs of Praise on Sunday mornings – hymns and choruses to sing along to, and inspiring stories as well. My memories of old episodes seem to be of dreary, slow hymns sung by choirs that were trained to achieve near perfection… I have no idea if that’s what they used to be, or if that’s just my flawed recollection. The episodes I’ve been watching are more recent, and the songs are sung by various congregations in the area of filming for that week. I love that! Ordinary people, of all ages and situations, belting out praises joyfully and without too much in the way of professionalism. There may be an organ playing, or a full (or partial) band. Some stand still, some raise their hands with abandon, some just do that weird shuffle thing that’s sort of in between… I don’t care. I just love seeing people share joy in praise – it feels a bit like I think heaven will be.
Recently, the show was filmed in Coventry, centring around the cathedral. Coventry was badly damaged by bombing during the Second World War, and the cathedral was nearly destroyed in 1940. The decision to rebuild was taken straight away, as a sign of faith, hope and trust for the future. The ruins of the old church remain, with the new building at right angles to the old, built from the same type of sandstone. The cathedral’s Ministry of Peace and Reconciliation provides support in areas of conflict around the world.
From the beginning of time there has been conflict, between cities and countries, and between individuals. As Christians, we are called to peace, and to a ministry of reconciliation. We each get to choose how we respond to conflict/hatred/injustice…
I just came across this clip, and thought it succinctly explained some concepts of inherent prejudice – the beliefs ingrained in us that we don’t realise we’ve learned. It’s only short, so of course can’t go in depth into it all. It would be easy to start to distance myself from the protests across the world right now – I live in a complex that has a locked gate at the entrance and I don’t go out much – but I have to continue to look at where I’ve learned prejudice, and to talk to my boys about what we see and understand. It’s uncomfortable, but necessary, to keep assessing and questioning what I believe to be true…
At time of posting, there are two other videos in this series. Click on the “YouTube” button at the bottom of this video to find the channel and watch them (and any others that come after these).
If you want a more in depth look at inherent racism in the US, and how it plays out now, watch this (free to watch on YouTube right now, but I don’t know how long it will be available).
It’s just past midnight – that time when the silence crowds in and the winter cold creeps just a bit closer to the bone. Thoughts and memories tumble, with a little sadness mixed in.
I wasn’t looking for this song, but it came up, so I listened. It felt like a warm blanket, the chill receding into the darkness…
As an Australian, I was not brought up watching Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Fred Rogers was a Presbyterian minister, trained in music, who spent most of his life living out his mission to children through the medium of television. His show focused on love and kindness, but also covered difficult topics (such as death, war or divorce) with honesty and in a way that children could comprehend.
In 1969, even though the Civil Rights Act of 1964 had supposedly ended segregation in public places, some places were still opposed to desegregation. These included some public pools. In May of that year, an episode of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood showed a short clip where a black character (Officer Clemmons), who is also a policeman, is invited to cool his feet in a children’s wading pool.Mister Rogers is already enjoying the cool water, and when Officer Clemmons declines the invitation because he doesn’t have a towel, Mister Rogers says they can share his. It’s hard to find a good clip of it, but here’s the best I could find –
Not all of us are good at physically speaking loudly. We can all “speak” loud and clear in our own ways, though, even if it sounds quiet and unassuming. Fred Rogers knew exactly what he was saying here, and used his voice the best way he could.
Years later they recreated the scene. This time Mister Rogers took the towel and dried Officer Clemmons’ feet himself, echoing Jesus’ washing of the disciples’ feet in John 13. It’s something we don’t see much of in the church anymore. Perhaps we could stand to look again at the words and actions of the Servant King…
Back to the original question – who is my neighbour?
25 Just then a religion scholar stood up with a question to test Jesus. “Teacher, what do I need to do to get eternal life?” 26 He answered, “What’s written in God’s Law? How do you interpret it?” 27 He said, “That you love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence—and that you love your neighbor as well as you do yourself.” 28 “Good answer!” said Jesus. “Do it and you’ll live.” 29 Looking for a loophole, he asked, “And just how would you define ‘neighbor’?” 30-32 Jesus answered by telling a story. “There was once a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. On the way he was attacked by robbers. They took his clothes, beat him up, and went off leaving him half-dead. Luckily, a priest was on his way down the same road, but when he saw him he angled across to the other side. Then a Levite religious man showed up; he also avoided the injured man. 33-35 “A Samaritan traveling the road came on him. When he saw the man’s condition, his heart went out to him. He gave him first aid, disinfecting and bandaging his wounds. Then he lifted him onto his donkey, led him to an inn, and made him comfortable. In the morning he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take good care of him. If it costs any more, put it on my bill—I’ll pay you on my way back.’ 36 “What do you think? Which of the three became a neighbor to the man attacked by robbers?” 37 “The one who treated him kindly,” the religion scholar responded. Jesus said, “Go and do the same.” Luke 10:25-37 (The Message)
It seems like the world’s on fire at the moment, and it’s hard to see truth in some places.
Of course, you could say that that’s been the case for a very long time. Most of us have just not been looking in the right direction.
As the protests that followed the murder of George Floyd are continuing in the US, it’s hard to watch the pain and sadness boiling over, and to see the backlash from some who just want the Black community to shut up and play nice.
It’s tempting to give in to discomfort and turn the TV off. Flip over to YouTube or catch up TV for a bit of comedy to feel better. I have the privilege to do that. I don’t have to live this every day.
But I also have the responsibility to push past discomfort, or feelings of wanting to justify myself as a white person, and to look at what’s happening, and what I can do or change.
Firstly – Black Lives Matter.
It’s amazing that that seems to have to be explained or qualified to some. Nevertheless, it’s true. And please don’t come back with “All lives matter”. Of course they do. That’s taking away from the issue, and stems from being unwilling to engage with systemic racism and white privilege.
There’s an explanation going around that might help make it a bit clearer – if your house is on fire, it’s not going to help you if the fire department comes to your street and starts hosing down all the houses in the street before coming to yours. All the houses matter. It’s just that it’s yours that’s burning at this moment.
Secondly – White privilege exists, and I have a responsibility to look at my part in it.
What is white privilege? I’ll start with what it isn’t. It’s not saying that every white person’s life is easy, or we haven’t worked to get where we are or gone through terrible things in our lives. What it is, is simply acknowledging that having white skin confers an advantage from birth – most obviously we aren’t judged at first sight simply by our colour. There aren’t assumptions made on our character, lifestyle and whether we belong somewhere because of our skin.
I have two boys – one who is 21, the other 16. I have never had to have The Talk with them – the one where we discuss what they should do in the likely situation that they are pulled over by police. The one where we try to reduce the chances that they are detained or shot.
I have not been followed in a shop because I look suspicious.
I have not been judged to be lazy, morally deficient, drunk or on drugs, having criminal tendencies, threatening, or otherwise undesirable, on first sight.
I’m not likely to stand out much at all, in general society…
Lastly – There are many resourcesavailable to educate ourselves on the issues, and on what we can do. There’s also a lot of misinformation – there are people invested in continuing the status quo. It’s always worth checking sources before clicking on that share button…
Remember the names of those killed just this year for being black, in the “wrong” place and time. Here are some of them. George Floyd – died after a police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes, as he pleaded that he couldn’t breathe. Ahmaud Arbery – chased and gunned down by two men while he was jogging, because they considered he looked suspicious. Breonna Taylor – shot eight times in her bed by police executing a “no knock” warrant, who forced their way in without announcing themselves.
As Australians, we shouldn’t be complacent, and there is work to do here, and prejudices to challenge.
More than 400 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have died in custody since the end of the royal commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody in 1991. They each have their own stories, and their own names. Here are some – David Dungay Junior – Killed in custody after refusing to stop eating a packet of biscuits. His last words were also “I can’t breathe”. Kumanjayi Walker – Shot three times at his home at Yuendumu. Tanya Day – Died in custody after falling asleep on a train and being taken in for “public drunkenness”.
Yes, there’s a lot to read, listen to and learn.
It’s time to do that.
Black communities have been trying to get our attention for decades, or centuries… don’t focus on the few that seem to be behaving in ways you might not deem to be appropriate. Look at what they’re trying to say.
To finish, here are some protest songs from the past.
Back in April I participated in a one day mini scavenger hunt for Gish. I normally do the week long one in August, but the one day hunt is fun as well!
There was another one day hunt on the 31st May (US time), which translated to 3am Sunday morning here. I stayed up long enough to get the item list, then went back to bed for a bit 🙂
This one was quite leisurely for me. I did writing or drawing items, so spent much of my day in bed with pens/pencils and paper surrounding me. I also had plenty of time for online church services and Songs of Praise – yay! Not so much for sleep…I still feel like I’m catching up.
This time around some of the planned frivolities were postponed, as the protests concerning the death of George Floyd were happening there. Other items were added to educate and bring attention to Black Lives Matters and the unfolding situation. As I was the only Australian in a group of Americans, I left most of these to whoever wanted to choose them first. That’s not to say that I don’t have strong feelings about what’s happening (and that needs its own blog post). I just felt it best to leave first choice to those more immediately affected right now…
Here are the items I did do!
59 – Using a page of an old book, magazine or newspaper, make a “blackout poem” by taking a black marker and redacting words until a poem is formed about your hope for the future.
39 – Write a haiku illustrating some silver lining of pandemic life that you have discovered.
12 – Our homes and neighborhoods are our entire world right now, but that shouldn’t stop us from having adventures – and every adventure starts with an epic, Tolkein-style adventure map. Create an adventure map of your home (including your yard, if you have one) – including the light and the dark places.
I tried to follow the style of the maps in my early edition Lord of the Rings set – not sure how well it worked…
61 – Giles Duley is a humanitarian and photographer that is one of GISH’s close friends. His photographs have changed the lives of countless victims of war. His VENT Studio project invites you to use his images and the stories he tells as inspiration for your own art. Create a charcoal drawing inspired by one of his photos. But remember his single guideline: respect the story of the person you’re representing: http://ventstudio.co
I’ve since seen others’ interpretations of this task, and they’ve been more like academic essays. I just jotted down what I was thinking while I read…
It was getting a bit later by this time, and I hadn’t had much sleep. I did this next one, and was quite happy with it. I couldn’t upload it to the site in the end. Apparently it was just a kind of place holder for the kids’ part of the hunt, and was not meant to be done. Oh well! 😀
78 – GISH, JR: THE “KIDS’ MENU” FOR KIDS AND THOSE WITH CHILDLIKE WONDER
Here’s a song we sang Sunday at online church. It’s one we’ve sung quite a few times before.
With the weather getting colder recently, I’ve had a bit of a cough, so it’s been fluffy socks and warm clothes for me! These verses from the song have also been a comfort –
“It’s Your breath
in our lungs
so we pour out our praise…”
I was born and raised in North Queensland. I had various fevers, and most of the childhood diseases, growing up. I don’t remember ever having the common cold, though!
When I moved to England at 25, I had no immunity to the bugs there, and seemed to have colds on a regular basis. The blocked nose, difficulty breathing, coughing… I’d never had those before, and thought I was dying! The doctors pretty much laughed at me, but again I found comfort in the songs we sang at church. There was one in particular at that time, which included these lines –
“To You, I bow:
The King who commands my every breath,
The Man who has conquered sin and death,
My Lord and my King;
My everything.”
I don’t know what the future will bring.
But I do know a King who does!
a bit of creativity, a bit of eco consciousness, a bit of inspiration.... hopefully not a lot of pompousness and blathering :D
i'm not entirely sure what's going on here... let's travel along and see...
