In its comments on the Pilling report, 'Anglican Mainstream', has this:
Anglicans believe that liturgy expresses doctrine.
And then argues that blessing of a same sex civil partnership would therefore change Anglican doctrine. Doesn't this imply that any Anglican service which isn't approved of by synod has the same effect? I didn't realise that an action by a local church had such powerful consequences. I'm off to plan a service!
And I'm sure that many Anglican Mainstreamish churches are quite happy to have unauthorized services when it suits them.
Last night was the first evening of the Silk Screen's new season which opened with Xavier Beauvois' Of Gods and Men (Des Hommes et des Dieux - Of Men and Gods - the director isn't happy at the transposition!).
An intense, slow moving film, it tells the true story of a small Cistercian (I think that's right rather than Trappist which some reviews have) monastery in Algeria and the monks struggle of faith and commitment to their community and to the local community in the face of a corrupt government and on the other hand of local Islamic extremists who see them as Western interlopers. The film gets inside the interior life of the monastery showing the liturgical life of faith as well as the interior struggle of the monks - being offered an easy exit by the government - but there is their long history of being there for their Muslim neighbours.I'd guess that being familiar with both faiths helps in understanding the film's journey. There's many very moving moments both in dialogue and in silence, a scene herding sheep comes to my mind, as well as the set-piece towards the end of the monks listening to Swan Lake and drinking wine together - I was reminded of Jean Renoir's film Au Revoir les Enfants - and it's use of Schubert - another example of a religious community under attack. This review is worth a read:
These Christians mean different things to people near them. To Algerian neighbors in their small town, they’re a source of free medicine and advice, not to mention homemade jam (looked like honey to me! (ed)) sold at a local market. To a government official who’s supposed to protect them, they’re a headache.
To the local army captain, who knows they succour anyone in need, they’re an aid to terrorism. And to the fundamentalist jihadists, these monks become many things: a willing or unwilling source of supplies, a mysterious force to be respected, a bargaining tool in times of war.
The above is a clip of the first contact between the monks and the jihadists - you'll find a link to the trailer for the film on the Silk Screen site (link at top of this posting - but not any more!) - I thought that trailer gave meaning to my title but it only includes fragments of the exchange so here's the full (but very short!) clip!
Here's a link to the Guardian review.
Church congregations are often predominately feminine which can give problems to men wishing to attend. This however only entrenches the issue - Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill calling for the exposing of effeminate worship leaders.... some back peddling but no apology!
Last night St Michael's choir sang the FaurÃĐ Requiem as part of choral(!) evensong. Plenty of space for meditation, payer, thought. Sometimes it's a work I find too saccharine - the waltzing into paradise at the end of the Agnus Dei but at its best moments there's simplicity and bare power. Beautifully sung particularly the young soloist in the Pie Jesu. We wondered to what extent the work was influenced by the horrors of the Franco-Prussian war but I see it's primary spur was the death of FaurÃĐ's parents. The work was interspersed with English liturgy, prayers, Bible reading and a talk. A good congregation for a moment of quiet in Lent and particularly to enjoy the decidedly non-Lenten food and drink afterwards!
The orer of service is now posted at the Scargill Keepsake auction blog - the auction pages have been removed (as it's over) - but I do wish they'd keep this page otherwise people (like me) who link to specific pages in their blogs look silly when the linked content is rather different! Link to the actual service pdf.
Brady juxtaposes post-revolution, modern Persian art with the inherent homoeroticism present in some classical Persian art. He explains that there is “this love for other men in their culture that is really denied today. Look,” he continues, “you have this in your culture, you should embrace it.”
but instead the piece tells the story of the judicial murder of two gay youths. So many conflicting emotions for me about Iran at the moment - there's western demonisation and there's also the fundamentalist Islam side. There's a few other good recent postings at that blog including - compare and contrast(!) - this article on the Orthodox Liturgy
A few weeks ago I attended a funeral where we had a version of the benedicite that included these words
O ye puffins that brighten the clifftops, Bless ye the Lord, O ye curlews and lapwings O ye dunlins that wheel together over the waves, Bless ye the Lord.
and so on
O ye orchids that gem the grassy slops, O ye golden flags that deck the waters edge with glory, Bless ye the Lord. O all ye works of the Lord, bless ye the Lord, Praise him and magnify his name for ever
The deceased was a keen bird watcher - I thought I'd find more details on this via google but not a thing...anyone know the authorship? - ah Google groups has it Iona - as I might have guessed - and by E.D.Sedding - I see we missed out some of the more localised references.
... This is the end of all the roads Over the grass there is the night dew And the wind that drives up from the sea along the moorland roads; I hear a curlew start out from the heath But fly off calling though the dusk, The wild, long, rippling call. The Thing is found and I am quiet with the earth. ..
