Electro-Ecclesial Experiments

 

Our leaders met recently and decided to keep our church building closed for services,  until at least 15th February, in line with the government lockdown. Churches are allowed to meet, but following recommendations from the Baptist Union, it seems right to move online for two reasons: to protect our attenders & to protect society by not spreading the virus.

Many are disappointed by this. We have different opinions. So we must remain united and sensitive to each other; respecting each other’s viewpoints, attributing integrity to each other, as we each seek to be faithful to our God.

Shot Gun Wedding – Covid Marriage

 

Although a bit different from the shotgun wedding, with the bride’s father hovering with his loaded weapon, to make sure the reluctant groom marries his pregnant daughter, there has been pressure for people to get married during the pandemic. Like wartime weddings, where people were in a rush, because they didn’t know what would happen, or where they’d be, Covid weddings are similarly different.

Decision and Design

 I had to make a decision, which disappointed many – cancelling physical services in our building. It was more difficult, because we are actually allowed to meet, by the government. The question is whether this is wise, in view of the rising infection rates, from the new strain of Covid. The government itself is being criticised for not taking responsibility. Naturally, noone likes to limit people’s freedoms, and shut things down. But, leaving restrictive measures until the last minute, makes it harder for people to plan. Part of leadership’s task is to make tough decisions; and, although not at PM level, this is also the Pastor’s role.

These Latter Days

 

No, I’m not going on an ‘end-times’ kick, but merely reflecting on how these ‘latter days’ of the pandemic are playing out. Ironically, as the vaccine begins to be rolled out in Britain, depression returns. Through most of the year, I had remained generally positive, responding to the emergency, with determined action. This was easy, because there were low expectations, nothing to justify. But underlying it, I suppose the perpetual darkness of the soul had persisted; what US singer Bill Mallonee calls our ‘blister soul’. 

Virus & Vaccine - Luke 2.8-12 (a sermon)

(This is the notes for a sermon I preached on 20th Dec 2020, addressing some of the concerns people have about the Covid vaccine. You can watch it on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kingscrossbaptist/videos/149894860248562)

Here’s my link to preaching the Sunday before Christmas about the virus! The angels say: Do not be afraid. Meant for Christmas, but valid for Covid. Politically, they faced Roman military occupation. Socially, the shepherds were among the most marginalised, poorest groups. I want to address the fear people experience today, about the virus, and now about the vaccine. I’m nervous about doing so, because it is controversial, and people in the church have different views. 

Surprised by Fidelity

“How can you plan for a new reality when you don’t even have the remotest idea what it would be like?” Suzette Haden Elgin, Native Tongue 

This quote is from a 1984 feminist scifi novel. I’ve noted before that planning has been difficult this year, because we’ve had to adapt to constant changes. Preparing for 2021, we must again be tactically nimble, while remaining faithful to our strategic goals; combining plans and purpose,  flexibility with fidelity. Gabriel Marcel, the Christian existentialist philosopher, developed his notion of “creative fidelity”, in response to his experiences during the French resistance in World War Two. Such fidelity demands supple openness, alongside stubborn determination. 

Against (Theological) Method

Paul Feyerabend’s book, Against Method: Outline of an Anarchistic Theory of Knowledge, questioned the notion of a singular scientific method. This countered the concerns we students had about ‘methodology’ in our subjects (mine was history). Looking back we were interested, not so much in the nuts-and-bolts of how to do history, as the overarching philosophical worldview employed to understand it.

When I came to teach theology (a short-lived disastrous enterprise), I was surprised to discover an infatuation with ‘method’. Deriving from Third World Liberation Theology, this approach was designed to promote action, rather than abstract academic debate. Perhaps the most influential instance, in Britain, is Laurie Green’s ‘Spiral’ (in Let’s Do Theology. Resources for Contextual Theology):  a circular process involving stages of Experience, Exploration, Reflection, and Response; which then spirals off into fresh experience for later reflection, in a continuing process of action-learning.