engaging the powers and change

Our second 3-in1 event yesterday was a success even if the weather was probably a deterrent to some turning out so early on a Sunday afternoon. It leaves me wondering further about the place of such events in terms of the dissonance between what they actually achieve and what you hope for. I'm not at all convinced they do what most people think they do, but recognise we do need certain events to act as a gathering around who we are and what we stand for etc. For example, Paul Goodliffe, spoke this year very well and brought some significant challenges about making THE difference, but I suspect a lot of this was lost for a whole myriad of reasons. To what extent anything will be translated into the life of any of our Churches is questionable. In this sense, however, why is this different to any other Sunday in a local church? Change happens gradually and I actually think change, which happens best, happens gradually. The problem (my problem) is being content with a 1 degree change, which is so slight no one notices it's happened. The difficulty is holding onto the new compass bearing taking the last 1 degree into account. How long is it before people start to twig we're travelling in a very different direction? Actually, not very long. Reflecting on the last ten years, which I was reminded about last night, it feels to me we're travelling in a very different direction to then. I wonder of our exec will think the same this evening!?!?
In this sense, turning an old association around is not dissimilar to turning a Church from looking inwards to outwards - both take time, patience and sufficient strength to hold the line you think you're on because the easiest thing in the world is to simply revert to aiming for the last distinguishable landmark you remember on the horizon rather than trusting the compass.
Today we begin the 'Engaging the Powers' event, which will be held at St Marks, Easton. I'm looking forward to what looks to be a creative and engaging time. Paul Cloke will be talking this morning about 'Spiritual geographies', which should be good. Paul is based in the Geography department at exeter University and used to be based up here in Bristol and it should prove to be an engaging conversation. Unfortunately, I can't stay for the afternoon and the looking at spiritual landscapes and power in Bristol.

is it dead, or will it grow?

Not sure if you’ll be able to see clearly from the photo, but I have now officially pronounced this tree dead! It’s (was) an eucalyptus tree I bought for £1 at the Bath & West Show some years ago – lovely trees, which grow rapidly, but with shallow roots. It blew down during one storm and I lovingly staked it up, protected the trunk until it could continue to grow unsupported. However, the time came for change – now, trees you must understand don’t like change. After all, the spot I’d chosen suited it well, it had grown through the difficult times, but now there was another job it might do just as well. The problem was, it meant moving place – the job was down the bottom of the garden where it’s vigorous growth could block out the sight of the houses rising up the hill beyond our garden. I set about my plan – move the tree. ‘It wont work’ some said, the roots will be too well established. I didn’t want to hear that. Oh well, I thought I’ll give it a go – if I lose it, it wont be the end of the world as it was now too big and crowding out other growth we anted to see in smaller shrubs adjacent. I dug a big hole around the tree to expose the roots, but even though I’d read they were shallow, they’d been there a few years now and their depth and size surprised me. I tried to dig around them, but couldn’t really dig out next doors fence! I got so far and thought ‘that’s far enough’ – out came the axe. I tell you, it was much quicker to remove the tree from its place by cutting the roots – Maggie came out surprised I’d moved it so quickly. It looked good in its new location, but I wasn’t convinced it would grow. Hey, that looks like new green growth doesn’t it – there were signs of growth at the ends of branches. This initial spurt was short-lived, however, and slowly, but sadly surely, decline set in. Almost unnoticeably at first branched began to turn brown … until now. The tree still maintains its height and its size, but dead is what it appears to be!