Hello.
Back in the mists of time, when I announced that “mini sofa” would be joining us in the world, I also announced that there may be a certain amount of children / kid focus around here. (I think I said it would be called “Dads Corner”). That never really happened.
Instead, The Little Southern Dad blog was born. Its a general collection of stuff n’ gubbins about parenting, babies, beer, lego, and Doctor Who.
All the important stuff in life.
Please check it out!
From what I can see, I seem to be a little late in finding in this, but I love the following from Katharine Welby on depression, hope, and God:
…I am very low, very sad and yet at the same time very happy. It seems like the chemicals in my brain are at war with my circumstances ‘I am happy’ ‘No you are not’ ‘no really I am’ ‘no really you are not’. This is the current sound track to my life.
Amongst all the dull thoughts I have been thinking, I have been pondering the happy/depressed state of my mind and wondering at it. What does it mean to find hope within an illness that is doing everything possible to rob you of it?
I have friends, a nice home, a very supportive family near by, a good church, a good job, a brilliant doctor, and an incredibly wonderful boyfriend, however, previously I have had many of these things and still found myself unable to find a way out of the despair.
Read the rest over at katharinewelby.com
Well, in case you missed it. At the start of this week, the Huffington Post, published the following little story:
A university’s Christian society has banned women from speaking at events and teaching at meetings, unless they are accompanied by their husband, it has been revealed.
The Bristol University Christian Union (BUCU) had originally decided women would be allowed to teach at meetings after their international secretary resigned in protest, but the group has since changed its policy.
Read more on Huffington Post.
The resulting “upset” in the news and on Twitter prompted the following strongly worded press release from Bristol CU via UCCF:
Bristol University Christian Union (BUCU) deplores the recent exaggerations and misrepresentations in some parts of the media of its position on women’s ministry in the church.
It is well known that Christian churches differ on this question. BUCU is not a church, but a student society, so it has never had a formal policy on women’s ministry.
In recent months, the Executive Committee have been exploring ways in which BUCU can best accommodate members with divergent and strongly held convictions, while expressing our unity as Christian believers. In line with our basic position throughout that process, which has not been widely publicised, the Executive Committee now wish to make clear that we will extend speaker invitations to both women and men, to all BUCU events, without exception.
BUCU is utterly committed to reflecting the core biblical truth of the fundamental equality of women and men.
Well. The story seemed to calm down after that. Then an interesting little article appeared on the Guardian:
So. It seems that the General Synod may be happening this week.
Either that, or there’s one giant cage fight about women Bishops. I’m not sure which it is, but either way Richard Littledale has shared some reflections about this and the above image which are worth checking out.
Vicky Beeching has taken a look at “How social media could swing the vote for women bishops” in The Guardian, which includes the following gem:
Social media is a strange animal. It sometimes appears as a winged horse, enabling our aspirations for free speech and people power to take flight, and sometimes as a hyena, sniffing out the worst of human nature, devouring our manners and vomiting up banal content. Scepticism about its value to campaigns is understandable; after all, millions of Twitter accounts lie abandoned and unchecked. Much energy can be spent lobbying in cyberspace, speaking to avatars that may be listening or may simply be the ghosts of people long gone. Yet despite their Schrödinger-esque limitations, these digital channels still possess the potential to rattle top-down institutions and give the masses a megaphone.
One institution ripe for some grassroots disruption is the Church of England. The voices of those in the pews are not always reflected in the policies made, and the election of leaders happens very indirectly. The decision about women bishops lies in the hands of the General Synod, so the rest of us are left waiting, wondering whether our wishes will be represented. For this reason we felt the Yes2WomenBishops campaign was vital. Our hope is to create an upward flow of information in a very top-down institution; to send a message from the grassroots to the leadership.
Worth taking a look at the whole article, not just for the comments on women bishops, but on the use of social media in communicating between people who make the church decisions and people in the pews.
“Generally speaking I am not a horse – I think that’s a really important point to get across.”
Sophie over at exeterymca.org.uk has been looking forward to their 20th anniversary celebrations:
I feel that as Britons we have had a lot of reason to celebrate in 2012; we have hosted the Olympics, celebrated a Royal Wedding and witnessed a Golden Jubilee. Reflecting on these events has made me realise how good celebrations are at raising profile, recognising importance and acknowledging success.
Take the Olympics for example. In the run up to that event the spotlight was on sport like never before. Even as a relatively un-sporty person I couldn’t help but get swept up in the sport mania that embraced Britain. Personally it made an impact. I have taken up running and even joined a running club. Similarly, the Olympics gave us a unique opportunity to assert the importance of sport in British life. Whether it was through building brand new, state-of-the-art sports facilities or through the numerous funds which have been set up to get Britain active, the importance of sport has been reiterated through politics, media and celebrities time and time again. Finally, what a fantastic opportunity the Olympics gave us to acknowledge the determination and success of countless sports men and women from a huge range of sporting disciplines.
So what are my hopes for our year of celebration in 2013? Well I am not going to pretend that our anniversary will be anything like on the same scale as the Olympics or the Royal Wedding and Jubilee. However, I hope that it will achieve some similar outcomes. I hope that through our anniversary celebrations we will be able to put the spotlight on youth homelessness…
To read more about the plans for the Exeter YMCA 20th anniversary celebration, check out the blog over at exeterymca.org.uk
Just a sample of a powerful blog post from fragmentz
I am learning to live in hope.
I am also learning that I can be a voice. Someone who can speak out.
Someone who can tweet, write, talk, share and hopefully raise an awareness of what ‘surviving’ is like, whether that is surviving abuse, or surviving mental health illness. And as I continue to learn to keep growing as a person, and keep living in hope, I am learning to use the voice that I have.
Read the rest of “Some thoughts on being a survivor, and Jimmy Savile” over at fragmentz.org
Peter Stephenson from Exeter YMCA, has had a look at the power of finding hope:
Mari-Carmen appeared one night and ate some food with us whilst we chatted. Despite the filthy state of her clothes and face, and her unkempt and unwashed hair, it was clear she had once been a beautiful young woman before heroin had taken over her life. I remember Mari-Carmen so well because of a conversation we had one night that haunted me for weeks after.
A couple of us were encouraging her to seek help, but she refused to even consider it. Not now, not tomorrow, not next year, not ever. Absolutely not. Not aggressive at all, but clearly decided. Why? Slowly and thoughtfully she said, “Porque he perdido la esperanza. He estado en todos los centros y sigo igual. Esto será mi vida hastaque me muera” “Because I have lost hope. I’ve been to all the different [rehab] centres, and still I’m just the same. This is my life until I die”.
Have a few minutes to spare? Read a little more over atPeters Blog.
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With thanks to the Opinionated Vicar
