AndyBlog

17 Sep 2012

Shock horror! Church holds Christian singing service featuring also some talk about God.

Yes, I know this sounds a little ridiculous, but it's true. Woodhorn Church, near our beloved Newbiggin, no longer functions as a working church and it's future is in some doubt. So, it being a truly remarkable building, the "Friends of Woodhorn Church" we're formed as an active group looking to find positive ongoing uses for the grade one listed building that would guarantee its use and safety in the years to come.

These last ten days have featured some of the most successful events yet. The concert a week last Saturday was a triumph, featuring five great singing acts and yesterday's 'Songs of Praise' was, in effect, the closing ceremony for an awesome flower festival.

I had the honour of playing the piano for this sell-out event and I was blown away to see the church packed to the rafters. More literally than you might imagine.

If you're in the Ashington area and are not involved on any level with this project, you really are missing out on a uniquely good thing. I'm so glad I have the health and strength to play my part.

Cold Comfort Shirt

I'm wearing my comfort shirt today - you know the one. It has holes in it, and it's way too big, even for me. Over the years it has gotten thin, and it seems to offer little warmth to me today. Inside it, I can feel myself trembling as I face the reality of the time ahead.

The last three weeks have been a time of heaven - of haven - for me. It has been a time of hope, of healing and of self discovery. An important time on every level I can think of, and probably every level that I can't. It's like the scales have fallen from my eyes and I have finally seen something that I should have seen years ago. Many years ago.

In short, it has been fantastic - I would struggle to conjure up sufficient superlatives to fully satisfy the feeling in my heart - either for the wonderfulness of her being here, or for the devastatingness of her being gone. My spell checker tells me that there is no such word as ”devastatingness“ - well, there should be, and there is now. It's as if my happiness is encased in a massive chunk of ice in front of me. I can see it, and observe it in almost every way - I just can't touch it and properly engage with it again.

I'm wearing my comfort shirt today, but it is not working. Maybe I'm spelling it wrong. Here, let me try again:

”chert“

...well, nearly.

What is the real meaning of Christmas?

More than ever, I believe that the real meaning of Christmas is weeks of preparation, a desperate bid by shops to make up their retail shortfall, sending cards out to enough people so they don't feel snubbed and the need to give good presents to our nearest and dearest.

It's about Santa - or Father Christmas, Rudolph and the other reindeer. It's about mince pies, pretend snow and Carol singing (although not Carols).

On another level Christmas is about surviving and not letting people down. It's about holding the family together without arguments and it's about surviving all the parties without making too much of a fool of ones-self.

It's not that I resent these things, I actually enjoy them. I love that we spend more time socialising and doing things for other people. Christmas is a great way to look forward to the harshest weather of the year. I would hate if Christmas was removed from the calendar.

...but as a Christian, I am less aware of the Biblical significance of Christmas than ever. It seems, at best, secondary to everything else I associate with Christmas. It's like a tagged-on meaning to Christmas for me, and a great many of the others I speak with.

Jesus' birth is not the real meaning of Christmas, it is the emphasis on this winter festival that Christians place. The festival would happen just the same without it. I seriously doubt whether Christmas does much in the way of reinforcing the Christian message. It seems to act more as a sort of guilt-inducing party-pooper:

“Sure, you're having fun and eating too much - but shouldn't you be thinking about the REAL meaning of Christmas?”

I could forgive anyone who comes up with a “whatever” response to that one.

So what is the real meaning of Christmas? I would say that Christmas will have its own meaning for each of us every year. The message changes in the same way that the world changes and we change. This year, the message for me is that I am so very fortunate to be part of a loving family who truly care for one another. I am also thrilled to be living in the best place on earth, as I call it. I am also slowly learning to shed the past and move on into the promises of the future. It's not been an easy journey at times, but I am grateful to be travelling it.

Each year there is much to learn, and much to resolve for the future. My thought would be not to take refuge in tradition alone, but to look for new ways reach out to those around us and help to make the world a more smashing place to be. Just like Jesus did.

Oh shit. I promised myself`I wouldn't do that.

So Merry New Year And  A Happy Last Christmas To You All!