... loveable?
It seems to me that this is one of the defining questions of our lives.
How we answer will shape much of our behaviour, whether we perceive it or not. The answer will shape what we do and how we act, intentionally or subconsciously. Moreover, that will determine the answer to this question: "Am I love-able?"
Ask yourself (you may want to reflect on your initial response):
Am I loveable?
Am I love-able?
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Redemption Songs - Greenbelt 06
This Poem/Prayer was written by Martin Wroe for the moment Greenbelt opened on Friday. I only got to read it later when Pip showed it to me as he was blogging (see http://pipwilsonbhp.blogspot.com/) and think it's amazing - love the way Marley and Micah are woven together. Met Martin briefly on Monday but it was just before Pete Rollins so no time to say thanks.
Redemption Song for Greenbelt 06
We are not on our own this weekend
We are together
We are not singing solo
We are a massed choir
We are not singing songs for ourselves
We are singing songs for each other
Songs of freedom
Because none of us is free
Until all of us are free
Songs of hope
About a movement of Jah people
Away from a land of war and greed
Away from a world policed by soldiers
From the heart of America
We are going to Exodus land
Where the song of redemption
Is not just for ourselves
But for our sisters and brothers in every country
Redemption songs
From South Africa to the Lebanon
From the Middle East to middle England
From the West Wing to the West Bank
From the House of Commons to the House of Big Brother
Songs of freedom, anthems of liberation
At Greenbelt 06
The sweet melody of emancipation
To hear how the hand of the Almighty
Can free this world from mental slavery
From physical slavery,
From emotional, political and economic slavery
From the slavery of the self
Into the freedom of Love
The freedom of Truth
Who will set us free
Give us your help good Lord
To sing these songs of freedom
We want to be
One Love, One Heart
We want to
Get together and feel alright
Cus way down inside us
And way out beyond us
All we ever knew was redemption songs
Songs of freedom Redemption songs
Redemption to what we were made for
Dreamed for
Loved into being for
Redemption from slavery and drudgery
From envy and vanity
Redemption from materialism and consumerism
From sectarianism, pessimism and
Loony fundamentalism
Redemption Songs
Where all of us are free
Where we can
Get up, Stand up,
Stand up for the rights
Of the people that Jesus Christ remembers
Even if everyone else forgets them
A song of Redemption in the poor world
From slavery to the rich world
A song of redemption in the rich world
From slavery to false dreams
We want to hear how the hand of the Almighty
Can free this world from mental slavery
We want to
Get up, Stand up
And not give up the fight
A song about a world where
No woman, no man, no child
Does no crying no more
A song of redemption where all people choose to
Do justice
Love mercy
Walk humbly and
Live generously
On the good earth
You have
Loaned us
A song of freedom from addiction
To substances which are choking our planet to death
A song of redemption where
Every little thing’s gonna be alright
A song saying thanks and praise to the Lord
And we will feel alright
Saying let’s get together and feel alright
Cus our hands will be made strong
by the hand of the Almighty
All we ever had
Redemption Songs
Won’t you help to sing these songs of freedom
All we ever had
Redemption songs
One love, one heart
Let’s get together and feel alright
Give thanks and praise to the lord
And it will be alright
Give thanks and praise to the lord
Cus all we ever had was songs of freedoms
Redemption songs
Redemption Song for Greenbelt 06
We are not on our own this weekend
We are together
We are not singing solo
We are a massed choir
We are not singing songs for ourselves
We are singing songs for each other
Songs of freedom
Because none of us is free
Until all of us are free
Songs of hope
About a movement of Jah people
Away from a land of war and greed
Away from a world policed by soldiers
From the heart of America
We are going to Exodus land
Where the song of redemption
Is not just for ourselves
But for our sisters and brothers in every country
Redemption songs
From South Africa to the Lebanon
From the Middle East to middle England
From the West Wing to the West Bank
From the House of Commons to the House of Big Brother
Songs of freedom, anthems of liberation
At Greenbelt 06
The sweet melody of emancipation
To hear how the hand of the Almighty
Can free this world from mental slavery
From physical slavery,
From emotional, political and economic slavery
From the slavery of the self
Into the freedom of Love
The freedom of Truth
Who will set us free
Give us your help good Lord
To sing these songs of freedom
We want to be
One Love, One Heart
We want to
Get together and feel alright
Cus way down inside us
And way out beyond us
All we ever knew was redemption songs
Songs of freedom Redemption songs
Redemption to what we were made for
Dreamed for
Loved into being for
Redemption from slavery and drudgery
From envy and vanity
Redemption from materialism and consumerism
From sectarianism, pessimism and
Loony fundamentalism
Redemption Songs
Where all of us are free
Where we can
Get up, Stand up,
Stand up for the rights
Of the people that Jesus Christ remembers
Even if everyone else forgets them
A song of Redemption in the poor world
From slavery to the rich world
A song of redemption in the rich world
From slavery to false dreams
We want to hear how the hand of the Almighty
Can free this world from mental slavery
We want to
Get up, Stand up
And not give up the fight
A song about a world where
No woman, no man, no child
Does no crying no more
A song of redemption where all people choose to
Do justice
Love mercy
Walk humbly and
Live generously
On the good earth
You have
Loaned us
A song of freedom from addiction
To substances which are choking our planet to death
A song of redemption where
Every little thing’s gonna be alright
A song saying thanks and praise to the Lord
And we will feel alright
Saying let’s get together and feel alright
Cus our hands will be made strong
by the hand of the Almighty
All we ever had
Redemption Songs
Won’t you help to sing these songs of freedom
All we ever had
Redemption songs
One love, one heart
Let’s get together and feel alright
Give thanks and praise to the lord
And it will be alright
Give thanks and praise to the lord
Cus all we ever had was songs of freedoms
Redemption songs
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
5 more words, 2 more songs, and a hymn of thanks
Let's do this....
1. tired
2. unsettled
3. restless
4. thoughtful (but process murky!)
5. lonely
Two more slow grooves to curdle your soul and your tonsils:
The Thrill is Gone - B.B. King
Ball and Chain - Big Mama Thornton
Popped into see Ned on the way home from Greenbelt, Cheltenham, last night. Hadn't seen him for 10 days. His mom called him from the 3rd floor bedroom. He came pounding down the stairs, ran down the hall and threw himself at me.
Reminds me of a question Claudia asked me Saturday night - what was the most important lesson I had learnt as a dad the last five years. I admit it took me a few minutes to answer and rather tentatively I offerred the power of love - particularly that I find in, and for, and from my son.
And,
as I dwell on that now,
unconditional love.
Charges at you after a time of separation.
Kisses your forehead as you awake to a new day.
Buys you a present on holiday.
Insists on spending entire pocket money, on Father's Day,
to buy England memorabilia for the World Cup.
That wants to just sit,
play a game,
or read a book,
simply to be together.
6. Dan - you lucky, lucky bastard
1. tired
2. unsettled
3. restless
4. thoughtful (but process murky!)
5. lonely
Two more slow grooves to curdle your soul and your tonsils:
The Thrill is Gone - B.B. King
Ball and Chain - Big Mama Thornton
Popped into see Ned on the way home from Greenbelt, Cheltenham, last night. Hadn't seen him for 10 days. His mom called him from the 3rd floor bedroom. He came pounding down the stairs, ran down the hall and threw himself at me.
Reminds me of a question Claudia asked me Saturday night - what was the most important lesson I had learnt as a dad the last five years. I admit it took me a few minutes to answer and rather tentatively I offerred the power of love - particularly that I find in, and for, and from my son.
And,
as I dwell on that now,
unconditional love.
Charges at you after a time of separation.
Kisses your forehead as you awake to a new day.
Buys you a present on holiday.
Insists on spending entire pocket money, on Father's Day,
to buy England memorabilia for the World Cup.
That wants to just sit,
play a game,
or read a book,
simply to be together.
6. Dan - you lucky, lucky bastard
"Frankie says, no more"
Finally I have got around to blogging again. Probably to an audience of one now (me!) as you've given up checking.
Funny how things ground to a halt over the World Cup! Have been mega busy since - will try to fill in the gaps later - was at the Greenbelt Arts Festival over the weekend so gonna start there.
Was managing a seminar and talk venue (Sovereign). I really enjoy doing this venue - the programme changed from last year so I got to stay put, but see some different stuff:
FRIDAY
Bill Drummond (ex KLF art-ironist) - session ran 2.5 hours until midnight [called "The 17"] open to only the first 34 people! Closed, no spectators. Bill explained his thought processes and why he thinks music needs to start again. Fascinating concept - what if there were no music? We could recall that there used to be, and that it was important to us, but that was all. What would we do? Bill had an option....
SATURDAY
Claudia May - What Christians can learn from the blues. A really interesting woman who delivered a thought-provoking talk with some fab CD clips from Big Mama Thornton. Caught up with Claudia in the Contributors lounge late in the evening and we slipped into level 4.5 real quick. Loved chatting over a mug of tea and noodles!
Harold Hoyle
Religious education painful? Not anymore. Was busy / distracted for much of the session, but liked this guy who works with kids or on the edges of society, excluded, or in prison.
Born Again - with Glen Patterson, the author/reason behind the film/documentary, introduced by Gareth Higgins. Most of the session was a Q&A between Gareth and Glen as the latter forgot to bring the film on DVD! Nonetheless it was an absorbing discussion about the term "Born Again" and what it means to different people. Glen professes no Christian faith now - would have liked to see the DVD as the anecdotes ranged from hilarious to big-time cringe. Glen had some disturbing insights about religion / faith / sectarianism and people who confess conversion experiences.
Life Art - featuring a naked man and 27 artists keen to sketch him! Saw lots of the drawings afterwards and they were very good. Wish I had that gift.
[Glad to have been introduced to Ian Long (artist behind the 'Blobs') by Pip Wilson earlier in the day and strike a conversation as squeezing this session into the schedule was problematic. I don't think any of the punters were any the wiser and I was able to thank Ian for the Dads + Lads blob drawing so that's cool !!]
SUNDAY
Michael Symmons Roberts - Bodies, loved and wounded, dead and risen. Michael is a poet and he read his work for about 45 minutes - it was excellent and I thoroughly enjoyed hearing it. Meant to get to the bookshop to buy his book but bumped into an old friend and settled for a brew instead.
Ibrahim Hewitt - From mission hall to mosque: a journey of faith. A Geordie, this man converted to Islam and told his story to a packed, respectful audience. I was impressed with his narrative and reflections on being a British Muslim. May God / Allah bless him (may His name be praised).
Jean-Claude Bragard and Anna Cox - these guys are the producers of the series shown on BBC1 in July "Miracles of Jesus". I saw some on TV, but not much, so was glad to see 4 clips from it which brought informed debate and feedback. This session was typical of one that I would not chose to go to but was glad I was there to hear the issues around broadcasting religious programmes. This department is responsible for Songs of Praise, the Heaven and Earth show, Son of God on BBC1 and Noah's Ark on BBC2 and more. Similarly on:
MONDAY
Christina Morgan and Trevor Barnes - Religion on radio. These guys have been involved with BBC Radio for decades between them, and involved with (as I recall) Thought for the Day and Beyond Belief on Radio 4 amongst many other programmes etc. The delicacies of trying to position debate and draw articulate contributions from all faith communitiess was well conveyed when the 'facts' (truth?) are so highly emotive and open to broad interpretation and application.
I just looked at the BBC's website on religion where they have a comments section for different faiths. Gob smacked how often listeners are posting on this site, but then at some point Trevor quoted someone as saying "religion is the new history". http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mbreligion/
Pete Rollins - The fidelity of betrayal: what would Judas do? Another session with people turned away. A few shenanigans (!!!) as we tried to switch venue at the last moment to try to accommodate everyone, however a downpour put paid to that. Pete was quite a guy - about 30 (?), from Northern Ireland, involved with Icon (sounded like an alternative worship thing [won't say emerging though, Pete, in case you ever read this!!!] exploring faith and worship through questions rather than providing answers - my interpretation of what I heard!).
Pete talked at a million miles an hour (much to the chagrin of the deaf signers!) and had an impressive grasp of theology and philosophy that he conveyed thoughtfully and provocatively in relation to his subject, which I just about kept up with, maybe, I couldn't tell you much more of what he said! He drew the youngest, coolest support of the weekend and told a couple of the best jokes I've heard in ages!
Vic Thiessen - I love the smell of napalm in the morning. Taking his title from Apocalypse Now, Vic spoke on Redemptive Violence in Cinema - good stuff, good DVD clips. He did well juggling the technology!
So there, that was my 'day job' at the weekend. Loved it :o)
Funny how things ground to a halt over the World Cup! Have been mega busy since - will try to fill in the gaps later - was at the Greenbelt Arts Festival over the weekend so gonna start there.
Was managing a seminar and talk venue (Sovereign). I really enjoy doing this venue - the programme changed from last year so I got to stay put, but see some different stuff:
FRIDAY
Bill Drummond (ex KLF art-ironist) - session ran 2.5 hours until midnight [called "The 17"] open to only the first 34 people! Closed, no spectators. Bill explained his thought processes and why he thinks music needs to start again. Fascinating concept - what if there were no music? We could recall that there used to be, and that it was important to us, but that was all. What would we do? Bill had an option....
SATURDAY
Claudia May - What Christians can learn from the blues. A really interesting woman who delivered a thought-provoking talk with some fab CD clips from Big Mama Thornton. Caught up with Claudia in the Contributors lounge late in the evening and we slipped into level 4.5 real quick. Loved chatting over a mug of tea and noodles!
Harold Hoyle
Religious education painful? Not anymore. Was busy / distracted for much of the session, but liked this guy who works with kids or on the edges of society, excluded, or in prison.
Born Again - with Glen Patterson, the author/reason behind the film/documentary, introduced by Gareth Higgins. Most of the session was a Q&A between Gareth and Glen as the latter forgot to bring the film on DVD! Nonetheless it was an absorbing discussion about the term "Born Again" and what it means to different people. Glen professes no Christian faith now - would have liked to see the DVD as the anecdotes ranged from hilarious to big-time cringe. Glen had some disturbing insights about religion / faith / sectarianism and people who confess conversion experiences.
Life Art - featuring a naked man and 27 artists keen to sketch him! Saw lots of the drawings afterwards and they were very good. Wish I had that gift.
[Glad to have been introduced to Ian Long (artist behind the 'Blobs') by Pip Wilson earlier in the day and strike a conversation as squeezing this session into the schedule was problematic. I don't think any of the punters were any the wiser and I was able to thank Ian for the Dads + Lads blob drawing so that's cool !!]
SUNDAY
Michael Symmons Roberts - Bodies, loved and wounded, dead and risen. Michael is a poet and he read his work for about 45 minutes - it was excellent and I thoroughly enjoyed hearing it. Meant to get to the bookshop to buy his book but bumped into an old friend and settled for a brew instead.
Ibrahim Hewitt - From mission hall to mosque: a journey of faith. A Geordie, this man converted to Islam and told his story to a packed, respectful audience. I was impressed with his narrative and reflections on being a British Muslim. May God / Allah bless him (may His name be praised).
Jean-Claude Bragard and Anna Cox - these guys are the producers of the series shown on BBC1 in July "Miracles of Jesus". I saw some on TV, but not much, so was glad to see 4 clips from it which brought informed debate and feedback. This session was typical of one that I would not chose to go to but was glad I was there to hear the issues around broadcasting religious programmes. This department is responsible for Songs of Praise, the Heaven and Earth show, Son of God on BBC1 and Noah's Ark on BBC2 and more. Similarly on:
MONDAY
Christina Morgan and Trevor Barnes - Religion on radio. These guys have been involved with BBC Radio for decades between them, and involved with (as I recall) Thought for the Day and Beyond Belief on Radio 4 amongst many other programmes etc. The delicacies of trying to position debate and draw articulate contributions from all faith communitiess was well conveyed when the 'facts' (truth?) are so highly emotive and open to broad interpretation and application.
I just looked at the BBC's website on religion where they have a comments section for different faiths. Gob smacked how often listeners are posting on this site, but then at some point Trevor quoted someone as saying "religion is the new history". http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mbreligion/
Pete Rollins - The fidelity of betrayal: what would Judas do? Another session with people turned away. A few shenanigans (!!!) as we tried to switch venue at the last moment to try to accommodate everyone, however a downpour put paid to that. Pete was quite a guy - about 30 (?), from Northern Ireland, involved with Icon (sounded like an alternative worship thing [won't say emerging though, Pete, in case you ever read this!!!] exploring faith and worship through questions rather than providing answers - my interpretation of what I heard!).
Pete talked at a million miles an hour (much to the chagrin of the deaf signers!) and had an impressive grasp of theology and philosophy that he conveyed thoughtfully and provocatively in relation to his subject, which I just about kept up with, maybe, I couldn't tell you much more of what he said! He drew the youngest, coolest support of the weekend and told a couple of the best jokes I've heard in ages!
Vic Thiessen - I love the smell of napalm in the morning. Taking his title from Apocalypse Now, Vic spoke on Redemptive Violence in Cinema - good stuff, good DVD clips. He did well juggling the technology!
So there, that was my 'day job' at the weekend. Loved it :o)
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