Managing Monday with George Herbert – Take 2
George Herbert (1593-1633) was a Welsh born Anglican priest, theologian, poet and orator. Though he was only 39 when he died, he accomplished an extraordinary amount in his life (including a brief stint in the Parliament of England in 1624 and 1625). While a priest remembered for his genuine care of his parishioners, he struggled with his call to ministry, reflected in one of his most famous poems The Collar which concludes with the words, But as I rav’d and grew more fierce and wilde At every word, Me thoughts I heard one calling, Child! And I reply’d, My Lord. For a second week...
Read MoreChurch: From Members to Attenders…
Language reflects the way we think about things, and with that in mind I was struck when someone recently claimed that it has only been in the last 50 years or so that Christians have spoken about “going to this church” or “attending this church”. For the many hundreds of years before that, they would have said “I belong to this church”or “I am a member of this church”. If the claim is true (and I suspect it is) it’s an interesting change – from members to attenders. Think through the implications… Attenders are primarily...
Read MoreManaging Monday with George Herbert
George Herbert (1593-1633) was a Welsh born Anglican priest, theologian, poet and orator. Though he was only 39 when he died, he accomplished an extraordinary amount in his life (including a brief stint in the Parliament of England in 1624 and 1625). While a priest remembered for his genuine care of his parishioners, he struggled with his call to ministry, reflected in one of his most famous poems The Collar which concludes with the words, But as I rav’d and grew more fierce and wilde At every word, Me thoughts I heard one calling, Child! And I reply’d, My Lord. Here are a few of...
Read MoreProtestants, Reformers or Transformers…
As the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation draws near (it is usually dated from Luther posting his 95 theses on the church door in Wittenberg on 31 October, 1517), it is worth asking if we are now primarily protestants (from protestors) or reformers. The Protestant Reformation involved both protest and reform. It was a protest against a corrupt religious system, and some of its particular practices, such as the sale of indulgences. Later it was a strong protest against the April 19th, 1529 reversal of the August 27, 1526 German Reichstag decree allowing each individual government...
Read MoreManaging Monday with Parker J Palmer – Take 3
I first came across the work of Parker J Palmer (1939-present) when I was loaned a copy of his book The Courage to Teach. It’s a wonderful read, and it led me to track down some insights from his wider writings. Palmer, a Quaker, is well known for his work on education, social change, vocation and spirituality. Today is our third and final look at some of his insights… The questions we ask ourselves are at least as important as the answers we come up with, often more so – Parker J Palmer The highest form of love is the love that allows for intimacy without annihilation of...
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