A Christmas Tale by Tom Herbert

The Unfinished Shepherd

The woodcarver sat in his armchair beside the fire, reading a newspaper. Slowly, he turned a page. “Well, Tiger” he said to the ginger cat lying contentedly on his lap. “Christmas is drawing on.” He was looking at a colourful advertisement, with lanterns, stars, and a big Santa Claus. It announced a “Grand Christmas Fair” at the local market. “What shall I do, Tiger? Perhaps I will carve a set of Nativity figures to sell. You know, Mary, Joseph, the Child Jesus in the manger, and so on. But I won’t make them very big or they’ll not be finished in time. Mmm, I must look and see what I can find”.The next day he went to his wood store where he examined a few logs. “They’re too big,” he sighed. “I am only making small figures, such as would fit on a mantelpiece.” Then he took out a branch that he had cut from the old pear tree in his garden, and which had been seasoning for several years. “Ah, this is better. My pear tree is too old to produce much fruit now. But it provides shelter for the wildlife, and now it will produce fruit of a different kind.”

He took it back to his shed, got out his carving tools and shaved the end of the branch down about six inches. He decided to make a shepherd first, to be sure of his technique, before he carved the Holy Family. He outlined the face, and robes; and then refined the details. This took several hours, but after the final smoothing with sandpaper, there stood a shepherd complete with a little lamb in his arms. “It could be better,” he said to himself, “but it’s ok. I must press on with the others if I am to be ready for the fair.”

Next, he carved Mary and Joseph. He was quite pleased with them and put them next to the shepherd. “I could do with another shepherd now,” he thought. “One kneeling down perhaps; that shouldn’t be too difficult, I’ve already made one shepherd”. He took the branch again, shorter now after having cut the other figures. And he shaved it as before. He then outlined the main details and began to refine them, but try as he might he could not get it right. Using various knives and gouges he persevered, but they wouldn’t cut as he wanted. He thought perhaps they weren’t sharp enough, so he ground the blades on his stones, and polished them on his leather strop, until they were razor sharp, but still he could not cut the wood as he wanted. In fact the piece was ruined. “Oh dear,” he thought, “it’s no good. I really can’t afford to spend any more time on this one.” So, regretfully, he cut it off from the branch, and the little figure fell to the floor of the shed amongst all the debris such as wood shavings, saw-dust, and scraps of used sandpaper.

The woodcarver started work on another shepherd, and when this one was successfully completed he carved some sheep, an ox and an ass. Next he carved three wise men, and even a camel. He was quite pleased with them all, and bought some special coloured polish to finish his figures, but he thought it would be a good idea to try it out first on a piece that wouldn’t matter, if it went wrong, or if he didn’t like it. Just then, he thought of the unfinished shepherd, lying on the floor of the shed. “I’ll try it on that”, he thought, “if I can find it”. Surprisingly enough he found it quite easily. He squeezed a little of the polish from its tube on a piece of rag and rubbed it over the unfinished shepherd, then buffed it with a soft cloth, turning his mantle a beautiful burnished terracotta red. “That will do,” he said to himself, and he popped the unfinished shepherd into his pocket

The woodcarver polished all the figures the same lovely colour, and it lent them a warm glow. Now all that was needed was a stable. So he set about making a little rood shelter for them with two pieces of the branch he had been carving, a flat piece of wood for the floor, and one for the roof which he covered with pieces of bark. When it was complete, he arranged his figures in it, and stood back to see what they looked like. “They don’t look too bad, but it’s not quite complete, there’s something missing, and I can’t quite think what it is. Anyway, I haven’t got time to carve any more now, I must take them to the fair tomorrow, besides, there’s nothing left of the branch.” He fingered the unfinished shepherd in his pocket, took it out, and looked at it. “Mmm..."

The next morning the woodcarver took his crib set to the Christmas fair, and set it out on a stall along with other seasonal craft items. Passers-by often stopped to look at it. Some even picked up the figures and examined them. At one point, a lady said she would love to buy them, but she had to see to her family’s needs, and didn’t think she would be able to afford the crib as well. “Strange,” thought the woodcarver, “that a tableau reminding people of the poverty of Christ should, itself, be a luxury.” The day wore on, and finally the stall-holders began to pack up. The woodcarver hadn’t, sold his crib set, so he packed up too. “Never mind,” He thought, rather disappointed. “I will have to sell it elsewhere. I have a friend who runs a gift shop. Perhaps he will sell it for me.”

The following Sunday, he went to church as usual. It was the first Sunday of Advent, and the theme was preparation. Children were buying Advent calendars at the back of the church. Some of them couldn’t wait until they got home, and were excitedly opening the first window, which revealed an angel. It was then clear to him “That’s what I need to complete my crib, an angel, but the branch is finished, and it would look odd if I carved it out of something else.” He put his hand in his pocket to take some money out for the collection at the door, and felt the unfinished shepherd. He drew it out and looked at it. Some friends asked him, “What have you got there?” “It’s an unfinished shepherd,” said the woodcarver. “It was going to be part of the crib that I have made, but it went wrong.”“What a shame” they said. One of them said, “he can go in my crib anytime.” Another one said, “What will you do with it?”“I think – I think- “the woodcarver said, “I think I will turn it into an angel.” So, when he got home, he took the unfinished shepherd, and selecting a V tool, cut a deep furrow down the middle of his mantle, dividing it in two. These two halves he carved into a pair of wings. Then he reduced the size of the head, and refined it to match them. He then refined the robes so they flowed as if the angel was in flight. Finally he screwed a small hook in his shoulders so that he could be suspended from a little eye screwed in the roof of the stable. “Well, Tiger,” he said, stroking the cat’s warm fur. “Now my crib is complete, but who will buy it?

A few days later, the woodcarver was shopping in his local supermarket, when someone touched his arm. “Didn’t I see you at the fair?” It was the lady who had wanted to buy his crib. “I don’t suppose you still have the crib you were selling, do you?”“Yes, I have,” he said.Oh, I’m so pleased, I was so afraid you may have sold it.”“No, no, it’s still at home.”“I would very much like to buy it.” So she paid the woodcarver then and there, and he delivered it to her door the next day. Now he was content. His Nativity set had gone to a good home, and he looked forward to going to the Midnight Mass with his family. There, he would see the church crib, decorated with evergreens and coloured lights, and like the shepherds and wise men he would kneel in worship and welcome the new-born king.

The lady set up the crib in her front window, with all the little figures watching and waiting. For days and days they waited. The woodcarver had not made a manger with the baby Jesus for this set of figures because he had made one last year for a set he was going to make, but had never continued with. At midnight, the lady quietly slipped the Infant Jesus in the manger between Mary and Joseph. All was silent. Far off in the night a church bell rang. Then; softly, softly, softly the snow began to fall. The first delicate little flakes, on touching the ground, melted away in seconds, yet soon everything was clothed in pure white, as in renewed innocence. How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given. Reflected by the snow, the moon filled the little stable with a wonderful light. From his place in the roof, the little angel, no longer an unfinished shepherd, kept watch over the Holy Family. From somewhere in the house, the clear voice of a single choir boy could be heard singing “Silent night, holy night- “ Christmas had come at last. Hope was rekindled, and the Christ Child was born once more in the hearts of believers.

Fr Simon's Leaving Presentation

It was wonderful to see so many people from the parish and school come along for Fr Simon's official leaving mass and presentation. After a mass concelebrated with Fr Pat and a 'shortish' sermon, Brian Cantillon took full advantage of the moment to deliver a speech full of fond memories and plenty of references to his favourite subject - 'candles'. The presentation cheque of over £1,000 came as a great surprise and was much appreciated by Fr Simon. After the speeches everyone took advantage of the 'shared table' buffet and drinks and the opportunity to sit and chat. This was a memorable evening and a fitting tribute to Fr Simon, whose contribution to the life of our parish community is unlikely to ever be forgotten.

Submitted by Mairie Gelling.

Click here for more photos, courtesy of Brian Cantillon, Brian Sharp and Mairie Gelling.

Jicamarca enters the blogosphere

I have just received word from Sister Jacinta that the project is now able to communicate with the world via its new blog. Already there is a terrific collection of photos which give you a flavour of the wonderful work which is being done there. Either click on the picture or on the link below to visit the site. Why not subscribe to the feed to find out when new content is posted?http://thejicamarcaprojectsvalle.blogspot.com/

Early Autumn Windfall

After the enjoyment, fun and success of the Create Exhibition this summer, a spot of good news! Wirral Borough Council has awarded the Create Group £500 for the purchase of arts and crafts materials. The purchase of a good variety of 'kit' for the group should make us more attractive to new members who might want to develop existing skills and perhaps have a go at something new! So, come on you painters, card makers, sculptors etc etc etc, come and join us at the Scout Hut off Marksway Pensby for two hours of creativity ( 10am -12pm) Mondays. We value the social aspect of the group, so be assured of a warm welcome. The history of the Church shows that art and the faith go hand in hand, we may not be Leonardo da Vincis but our group is an expression of our faith in fellowship and creativity, welcoming all faiths or none. I'll pop back into my cave now and dream up my next 'masterpiece' Yogi

Luciano Pavarotti

Luciano Pavarotti 12 October 1935 - 6 September 2007

Rest in Peace.

A Big Holy Family Welcome to Fr Pat O'Brien

Welcome to Fr Pat O'Brien who said his first two masses today at Holy Family. We hope that you enjoy your time with us. Rev Jeff did the honours preaching today (which he did admirably, as always!) but this means that we have to wait another week to have the pleasure of Fr Pat opening up scripture for us. So that is one treat we still have in store. Someone's ears perked up at the mention of Fr Pat's former career in retail. This person, who shall remain nameless but is a cleric of this parish, seemed rather excited about the possibility of some retrospective staff discount at TJ Hughes in Birkenhead...

Thank you, Fr Simon...

Fr Simon has finally taken his leave of us to take up his new post at St Michael and All Angels after a brief sojourn of just under 4 years, following what has become a trend for this parish (a fellow-parishioner tells me that our record is 6 years). His time with us has been one of tremendous growth for the parish. Of course, he has his detractors but you can't please all of the people all of the time and he has certainly pleased the majority of us. If there is one thing that mildly irritated me about him, it is the way he always apologised for the length of his homilies. If the Holy Spirit blesses you with words to say, say them, no matter how long it takes you. The Sunday mass is possibly the only chance that many of us get to unpack scripture and I often feel desperately short-changed when I have cause to attend mass at other parishes - many priests seem to find a 3 minute sermon an overexertion! So, Fr Simon, preach the gospel always and particularly on Sunday, use words, as many as it takes to make the point.

I have heard many parishioners speak of the sincere care and support that he has offered them during times of bereavement; his great sensitivity is a gift which will prove an advantage to him in his hospital chaplaincy role. He has attracted many young families to church, bucking the national trend. His theological knowledge is admirable and as good as any I have experienced. I believe that he believes what he preaches - this should be taken as read but it isn't always the case. Above all he is fun-loving and real. When he was inducted as parish priest here four years ago, I was chatting to some of his former parishioners from St Aidan's and I asked what he was like. The response came, "He's just like one of the kids - he's always playing football..." Four years on we can all probably agree with that.

Fr Simon, thank you for revitalising our community by your encouraging spirit. We will miss you greatly but we wish you every blessing in your new parish and may you continue to respond with vigour to God's call on your life. May your new parishioners take you to their hearts and may you enthuse them to take responsibility for and ownership of the running of their parish in ways that they have never done before.

Off to Greenbelt

Well, we are, as a family, preparing to trek off to Cheltenham Racecourse to Greenbelt 07. The weather forecast is looking good. We can't wait. I might blog from the festival but I'm not making any promises as Greenbelt is full on, Mach 3, wall to wall stimulation. But don't take my word for it, have a read of Jonny Baker's blog posting to get a flavour of what is happening.

CANCERactive talk

We've received the following information from parishioner Susan Davidson which may be of interest to you or to someone you know:

Chris Woollams co founder of the charity CANCERactive(www.canceractive.com) is coming to the auditorium at Ness Gardens on Tuesday 16th October to present the latest research on the role of probiotics in cancer prevention, as well looking at the many therapies and treatments that are available that can help prevent and/or recover from cancer. This promises to be an inspired talk and not to be missed. Tickets are £5 in advance, £7 on the night and are available from 0151 648 8998. Ness are opening their licensed restaurant from 6pm to enable ticketholders to purchase a meal or drink prior to the event. There will be a raffle and an opportunity to purchase Chris' international best seller "Everything You Need To Know To Help You Beat Cancer". All funds to CANCERactive.

Church Chuckles

Now I know that this is a time of great instability for all of us, what with the Diocese reorganising us into the new Pastoral Areas and the impending departure of luvly-jubbly-choochy-face Fr Simon to our neighbourinos over in Woodchurch. But remember, be loyal to your parish community, 'cos your parish community loves you. Forget any artificial re-drawing of the boundary lines, all you have to remember is that if we stand firm as a parish, all the other stuff will follow. Rather like a pebble dropped into a pond, the benefits of our unity will be felt way beyond our own church.

Anyway, serious message over let's have a larf!

There is, as they say, many a true word...

Thanks to the wit and wisdom of Dave Walker over at the Cartoonchurch.com

Just in case you didn't catch it on sinnergize...

Here's a little vid to warm the cockles of your heart... Bet you didn't know that Ricky Gervais had such depth...



Courtesy of Godtube.com

Praying in tongues...

Well, following the long-awaited 'Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum' (the Pope's rubber stamp for priest's to say the old Latin mass without having to seek permission from the local bishop) there has been a glut of information flying around cyberspace. A new site, Sancta Missa, has just come to my attention which gives you everything you need to know about the 1962 Missale Romanum. It is, in fact, a tutorial site to give everyone confidence, be they clergy or the faithful, in participating in the Tridentine rite. Just the thing for 40-somethings like myself who have no knowledge of such matters. I can't wait to get my teeth stuck into it. Anybody know where I can pick up a nice mantilla? In the words of the late Hughie Green "Friends, I mean that most sincerely..."

Over for another year...

Well that's it then, for another year. This year's CREATION exhibition was another success. We had some different things this time. We had beautifully decorated 'Fabergé' eggs and handmaid puppets on our handicrafts table. Whilst the number of paintings and drawings was down on last year, the overall quality and the diversity of styles was improved. An interesting aspect of this year's show was the number of artists/craftspeople who decided to bring work along to the church. This made for a most industrious and productive community atmosphere.

Flickr slideshow

A new blog dawneth...

A message to fellow inhabitants of Planet Blog, a new blog has been set up for the dissemination of ecumenical news and activities among the churches of Pensby,Thingwall and Barnston. It's called Sinnergize and contributions are welcome from all of our local churches so if you would like to participate in this joint Christian venture, you can leave a comment here. But why not bookmark it and check out what is happening from time to time?

http://sinnergize.blogspot.com

CREATION 2007 - Work of our hands

A reminder to all you artists and craftspeople out there, our annual art festival takes place between Monday 6th and Saturday 11th August. We are really looking forward to seeing your wonderful God-given gifts on display (even fledgeling gifts). Last year we had everything from books to barge art and we are hoping for more surprises this year. We are hoping to encourage some of our more experienced artists to come along and work 'in residence'. Don't forget, we will also have CREATION the Word, our evening celebration of words, written, spoken and sung. We can't give too much away at this stage but there is a possibility of something a bit special (all will be revealed at the appointed time!).

Check out the reports on previous events by clicking on the links below:

CREATION 2005
CREATION 2006

Photo courtesy of NASA - http://hubblesite.org/gallery/album/nebula_collection/pr2006050b/

Church Chuckles...

Fancy a bit of a larf? Check this out. Thankfully it's not our church (shame!)



How many were set-ups, do you reckon?

Love and Peacey in Assisi...

We are fresh from our return from the Holy Family parish holiday, er, I mean pilgrimage to Assisi. What a time we had!

An enduring memory of the visit is the presence of Peacey. Peacey is an installation by artist Ugo Nespolo which graces the main piazza and the Basilica of St Francis in Assisi and consists of strings of doves suspended from the masonry. May I take this opportunity to assure Fr Simon that I did not suggest the name Peacey to the artist though, as a native Scouser, I wholeheartedly approve of the practice of adding 'y' to any one-syllable word or name. I refer to the official Peacey presentation for an explanation of the name:

"PEACEY is a fantastic name that evokes the ideal of which the art work is depositary: the Peace.

Friendly, familiar and young, the name PEACEY is easy to remember and thanks to its english matrix, it lets possible the diffusion of its worldwide message."

So, I hope that has cleared up any confusion...

In spite of an abundance of torrential downpours, we had a superb time and we have all returned relaxed, knowing each other to a deeper level than we did before. This was helped along, no doubt, by the free wine with dinner at La Rocca. New friends were made and friendships were deepened by the effects of praying together and playing together. The week was not without laughter - indeed laughter was an integral part of the experience. Our time together has been infused with the spirit of Francis.

Who said it?

Just for fun, see if you can guess which of our illustrious pilgrims is responsible for coming out with the following:

1) The Pope's coming!

2) There's a canoe behind me, isn't there?

3) Stuff Cardinal Levada!

Ah well, I suppose you had to be there.

Check out the more detailed report of the pilgrimage the main parish website.

Well done, Liverpool, I'm proud of you

I did feel somewhat inclined to write a less than subtle post here. I was sorely tempted to write a vitriolic diatribe on how "we wuz robbed", jammy Italian teams and dodgy match officials. But I'm not going to. Why the change of heart, you may ask. Well, after the game I didn't feel inclined to watch somebody else's celebration but I couldn't be bothered getting up out of my chair either, so after the final whistle I just continued to watch the TV. As I watched, I saw members of the AC Milan team applaud our players, even in the midst of their own celebrations. I noted with interest the fact that the might red international army of Liverpool fans remained in the stadium and applauded the Italians. I listened as a series of Liverpool players were interviewed and gave all credit to AC Milan for their victory. No bitterness; not a hint of it. I remembered that we British were once known for our sporting nature and at this moment, in a stadium in Athens, that sportsmanship still existed. How ironic that this great, British attribute should reveal itself in a Liverpool team of international dimensions under the management of a Spaniard and the ownership on two Americans. Such a pleasant change from the bitter war of words that pours forth weekly from that other golden soccer trio of Ferguson, Wenger and Mourinho.

That great legend of Liverpool FC, Bill Shankly, once famously said, "Some people think football is a matter of life and death...I can assure them it is much more important than that." Well, of course, nobody knows better than Liverpool fans how untrue that statement is. We have known our dark times. We have felt deep shame after the loss of life at Heysel and we have grieved the loss of our own at Hillsborough. We have spent our time in the wilderness. We have also been fortunate enough to experience the highest highs that sport has to offer, many times. In this part of the world, football is in the blood, but ultimately there are some things more important. We must remember that as we journey through this life we learn more from our failures than we do from our successes. Undoubtedly we will return, wiser and stronger for this experience. Tonight's score line may not have fallen in our favour but Liverpool FC did enough to make me proud of them.

Be warned, Europe, Rafa and the boys will be back. In the meantime, we will remember the good times.

New diocesan website

After about nine months of gestation the diocese of Shrewsbury has a new baby! The new website is finally launched today. Why not follow the links to pay a visit and give them a bit of a ratings boost in their first week?

Muchas gracias por su ayuda

Dear Father Simon and Friends of Holy Family Parish Pensby,

Greetings to you all from Sagrada Familia El valle Jicamarca Anexo 22. Since our last newsletter at Easter much has been happening in the Valley.

With your generous donation we have been able to start some new projects to help our people and especially the young mums and school children. We have started a Mums and Toddlers group 3 mornings a week and this is attended at the moment by 12 young toddlers and their mums. The aim of the Club "Rainbow" is to enable the children to develop social skills and to play and learn at the same time. We have 2 young Mums who help us to run it. To equip this club (with tables, chairs, Lego building blocks, jizsaws, plasticine, crayons, balls, animals charts etc) we used $700 and will use another $100 will be used during the year to treat the mums and to celebrate birthdays.

We were able with your money to give school materials to 60 children who attend our homework club and for this we used $300. The children and parents were delighted with this gesture and, as a result, this year our numbers have increased in the classroom. Thank you for your generosity.

To accommodate the increasing numbers we have extended the classroom making a separate area for 6th grade and Secondary. This work was completed this week and we were able to pay for it with your money $500. The children are delighted with it and enjoy the peace away from the younger children.

The children who come to do homework are given a glass of juice or a hot drink and a roll. We will be able to finance this with your help too $600 should cover the cost for this.

For Christmas we will use $200 to give a party for all who attend the activities, not forgetting the craft work group.

So you can see that your donation has been able to fund quite a few activities.

The people of Sagrada Familia send their thanks "Muchas Gracias por su ayuda".

Hope all of you will now enjoy some sunshine.


Con mucho cariño a todos,

Sisters Jacinta and Marie.

Las Hermanas de la caridad de Évron.

The Pope's new book.

So, who is going to be the first to read the Pope's new book?


Be sure to write us a review, whoever you are.

Spiderman 3 - The Review

Well, it is finally here. Read and enjoy the review of the new Spiderman movie, brought to you by Holy Family's answer to Jonathan Woss...


For me Spiderman has its roots back in my childhood. Growing up reading comics you were either a reader of DC (Superman/Batman/Wonder Woman etc) or Marvel (Spiderman/Daredevil/Captain America/The Hulk/etc). I belonged to the Marvel camp and I grew up with these characters and their problems. Why you might ask? Well, all the characters in the Marvel Universe had superpowers but they also had a humanity that was often lacking in other comic book characters. Spiderman was a geek/outsider who was forever coming second in his personal life while achieving much as a superhero; there was a vulnerablility to him that I could appreciate and that made him believable. The Spiderman movies have been true to this aspect of the character as well as delivering the box office thrills that we all want for our £7. Spidey 3 is no different; it's true to the character and is full of spectacular set pieces.

It is a very good movie but not a great one. It has a complicated plot and it reaches for the sky but it falls short by attempting to do too much. I'm happy that it does so because it would have been so easy just to rejig the first two movies and ramp up the effects. More of the same would have been good box office but Sam Riami (the director) is a fan and cares about the characters and so we do see developments and new challanges.

We begin the movie with Peter Parker (Spidey) finally being accepted by the city;his relationship with MJ (girlfriend) is going well but then all hell breaks loose and Peter is targetted by an alien parasite that amplifies negative emotions. Peter becomes stronger but he is filled with Pride and the film is about how you deal with it and the need for revenge. We get to meet Venom and one of the classic villians the Sandman (brilliantly done by the effects crew!), throw in Harry Osborne as a new Green Goblin; Topher Grace as an arrogant press photographer; Bryce Dallas Howard as Gwen Stacey; the great Bruce Campbell (king of the B movie) as a french Maître d'; JK Simmons retutrning as Jonah Jameson (two great scenes, especially with his stress pills) and you can see why I say that it's trying to be too ambitious. There is a lot going on, but can you fault a movie for trying to be great?

Should you go and see this movie.....? YES, YES, YES - it's great fun and it has a moral core to it that is often missing in blockbusters; I would like to see an extended cut released for the DVD so that some more of the back story could be filled out but that's a quibble of a long time fan. I will be seeing it again and I urge you to do the same. In the words of Stan 'the man' Lee, Excelsior True Believers!!

Brought to you by Rev. Simon P. O'Connor

Baby Got Book...

Spotted this on Dirty Catholic's blog and couldn't resist sharing it with you. Enjoy!

Countdown to Spiderman 3 Review...

While we are waiting for Fr Simon's promised review of the Spiderman 3 follow this link to read an article in Christianity Today just to whet your appetite...

Church...it must be Sunday

Well, the good shepherd knows his sheep and they know him, so went today's gospel reading. By a series of weaves and turns, this led us to the the fact that everything is connected in the world and that as the body of Christ, we are one. We cannot hurt one person without it hurting the whole mystical body of Christ. this led to the old illustration of the butterfly flapping it's wings in China causing a tidal wave in LA. I thought this was, perhaps a bit of an unfortunate choice. Only earlier dear old Fr Simon had gently rebuked those of us who 'don't do clapping' during the clapping Gloria. We are very English, he says. He always accuses us of 'being English' at times like that. Well, forgive me, but I will hang on to my English reserve. After all, if a mere butterfly can cause a tidal wave on the other side of the planet, the good Lord alone knows the what the cumulative effect of all those flapping love handles and bingo wings might be! I shall continue to keep my wobbly flesh under control, methinks!

I hope you've all got Spiderman 3 logged into your diary. What do you mean, you're far too busy reading the entire canon of Martin Amis novels?

Music from the Sistine Chapel - Sixteen, Harry Christophers

Last Friday I had the supreme pleasure of attending a concert by the Sixteen, featuring some of the most beautiful traditional music of the Sistine Chapel of the 16th and 17th Centuries . The concert took place in the sumptuous surroundings of Liverpool's Metropolitan Cathedral which looks more spectacular every time I see it. I did have one or two concerns about the accoustics of the Cathedral. In the past I have attended services there and singing has been strained; the time elapsed for the sound to reach those furthest from its source spoiled the overall sound quality. My fears were, however, unfounded. The evening started with an informative introductory talk by the founder of the Sixteen, director Harry Christophers and one of the singers. We learned about the great riches of music from this tradition by Allegri, Palestrina and Anerio. We also learned such interesting snippets as the fact that castrati were still used in the Sistine Chapel choir until the early 20th century when Pope Pius X decreed that only 'whole men' should sing in the choir, with high vocal parts being taken by boys. There was much grimacing and leg crossing from 'whole' men in the audience at this point!

The Sixteen actually consists of 25 singers, 18 of whom perform in each concert. All of the singers are of soloist standard. In some cases this can be dangerous - think of the Three Tenors who sing competitively against each other and can sound quite cacophonous as a result. The Sixteen, however, create a quite perfect and beautiful harmony. The spacious area beneath the 'crown of thorns' in the Cathedral structure which contains the altar provides a perfect stage for this kind of performance. Christophers had clearly spent some time familiarising himself with the less than conventional chuch layout and was able to create some spellbinding accoustic effects by creative positioning of the singers. The highlight of the evening was, of course, Allegri's Miserere which was originally used in the Tenebrae service at the Sistine Chapel as the candles were extinguished - now there's an idea! The control of the voices in this piece, particularly those mesmeric top Cs, was phenomenal. But this was not just about the Miserere. The other pieces were equally spellbinding and the performances flawless. It was a privilege to attend.

In his talk, Harry Christophers said that in the UK there is a great tradition of choirs performing these pieces, indeed it is choral groups such as the Sixteen who take the traditional music back to its origins in the great cathedrals of Europe. The once great reputation of the European cathedral choirs has been in decline for some time. This concert only skimmed the surface of the magnificent treasury of sacred music that the Catholic church has given the world. I wouldn't describe myself as a great traditionalist, indeed I am sure many would describe me as a very wet liberal (if you are of a mind to use political terms where matters of faith are concerned!) but I do believe that we do ourselves and God a great disservice if we neglect this wonderful music which takes our liturgy to another level. Let us restore it to its rightful place in our repertoire.

Onwards and upwards in the chocolate campaign...

Today it was the turn of Mars. Don't you just love velvety, smooth Galaxy chocolate? Mmmm.... Anyway I am nothing if not a fair person so my first stop was to the Mars website to find out what they are currently doing. And it is quite impressive. Like Cadbury's they have been on to this child slavery scam for a number of years now and are working with various organisations to bring about a certification system for cocoa production. This is ongoing but it is behind schedule. This is, I think, where the likes of Stop the Traffik come into play, as a pressure group to speed things along. But Mars had lots of info about what they are doing in cocoa research, education & environmental projects as well as dealing with the social issues. I won't be too quick to demonize anyone but that is no reason to give up the fight...

Mars policy - Approach to Responsible Cocoa Farming

Blogging the Bus...

The Bus, the latest in innovative community projects by Pioneer People took to the road tonight at Fishers Lane Community Centre. Under the watchful gaze of Project Manager, Sam Hawthorn, local youngsters were able to enjoy snacks, video games and movies. We would hate you to think that Peter Buckley is typical of the calibre of young person that the Bus is trying to attract. He was just visiting, having heard on the grapevine about the vibe. For the more energetic, there is also a cage to show off your footy skills. The bus is on the road again this Thursday to the Skate Park behind the Glegg just by Gayton Roundabout. The bus will be open from 1-9pm nine until Sunday and the tickets are absolutely free!

Stop the Traffik - Into Battle...

I have been a bit of a chocolate addict for all my life. Chocolate is more than just a 'sugar burst' for me, it goes much deeper than that. My Dad was not what you would call demonstrably affectionate. He was much loved and respected but, certainly from my childhood experiences of him, he was a bit distant - the big, strong man in the corner. As a small child I remember, often on a Thursday night (pay day) how he used to send my brother out to the mobile (remember mobile shops?) to buy sweets; a veritable embarrassment of riches, with virtually every sweet product that the mobile stocked. Dad would empty the bag of goodies out onto the floor and share them out. I would look on, my mouth watering in anticipation and then I would proceed to stuff my face until I felt sick. I always seemed to feel full halfway through a Crunchie. I would have to leave it until the next day when I would return to it, the honeycomb centre all soggy and sweet with yesterday's saliva. So I guess chocolate is synonymous with love for me. As much as I have grown to love Fairtrade chocolate over the years, it just doesn't excite me in the same way as Cadbury's, Mars and, dare I say, Nestlé. So I have resolved not to be passive in the Chocolate Campaign. So, let battle commence.

My first stop was the Cadbury website. I wanted to give them a chance to declare their commitment to Traffik free chocolate. I was encouraged by the comments on their website. But knowing that large corporations can be a bit slippery I sent the following comment to them:

I have enjoyed Cadbury's chocolate products for most of my 45 years. Recently the plight of child slavery in the cocoa farms of the Ivory Coast has been brought to my notice by the website www.stopthetraffik.org. At the moment I am not buying any chocolate unless it bears the fairtrade guarantee. As I love Cadbury's chocolate this is a major sacrifice in my small world. I am heartened to read in your webpages about your involvement in a global alliance to bring about an end to unethical child labour practices in cocoa production. However, would you not consider publicly showing your commitment to this cause by printing a 'Traffik free' guarantee on your product labels? If this is a just social issue which has your corporate support, where is the harm? The sooner you can do this, the sooner I can once more avail myself of your delicious product range.

I will keep you posted of any response.

Livesimply

Food shopping can be a nightmare, especially for busy mums, so is it any wonder that it is hard to just buy what we need without buying too much and throwing a lot of it away. I was shocked to read an article in the Daily Mail taking one person's week and seeing how much unused food she did throw away.
I am as guilty as anyone, at the moment there resides in my fridge two pieces of cheese slowly getting more green by the minute which I only bought because friends were coming. I had to throw away a whole bunch of grapes because I had forgotten that they were there. The list is endless. I am going to make a real effort to make this a part of my livesimply promise not to waste food by overbuying. I really believe it can be done and not only do you waste less food, you will save money!
If you have ideas share them with us. We all want to live more simply but when you go into a supermarket common sense goes out the window as we are overwhelmed by the vast quantities of food that assails our senses. Here are a few of my suggestions;
Don't overbuy and end up throwing away
If you can't resist a BOGOF make sure it doesn't become a throw one away
Buy at local butchers
Buy at local greengrocers
Only buy from supermarkets what I can't get locally eg favourite pate and cloudy apple juice (my husband insists only Tesco's will do)
Buy Fairtrade.

A reforming Food Waster

Easter greetings from Jicamarca

Just thought I'd post the latest e-mail from Srs Jacinta and Marie in Peru...

Queridos Amigos,

¡Saludos a todos de Ustedes! Here in the Valle life continues to progress . January 23rd we began our summer activites for the children. This year we were able to offer Art/Craft, Irish Dancing, Games, English and Drawing. All the activities were well attended and we had on average 135 children weekly. Some young people came from the parish to help us and a "good time was had by all".

January too saw the arival of Sian Williams a young woman from Wales who came to spend 2 months with us helping us with the summer activites ( her mother Liz used to be in matron in Gelli Fair Porthmadog). Sian also did a lot of painting for us. The classroom has a new look and our water cyclinders are the envy of all !! Muchas gracias Sian. Sian is now doing a tour of Peru and will go on to Bolivia and Chile.

March 1st the schools re-opened for the new academic year. Once again our classroom is filled with young people coming to do their home work each day. The children who attended last year received some schools supplies to help them complete their work. Thank you to the people and organisations who sponsored this scheme which we hope to repeat next year. As the numbers who attend have increased we will extend for the last time our classroom making a seperate area for 5th grade, 6th grade and Secondary children.

The Valle has many young families and lacked the facility of a pre school play group. We now a new building, a multi-use saloon which we are using to accommodate our play group. 3 mornings a week the young Mums come with their toddlers 0-3 years for 3 hours to participate in activities just jigsaws, lego, drawing, painting dance etc. At the moment we have 14 children and no doubt the numbers will increase. Thanks to Appel de Paurve, Holy Family Parish Pensby England and friends from Australia and Wales who have sponsored this scheme. The Mums are deliighted to have a bright area in which their children can play and learn before going to proper school.

In March we had a visit from our Australian friends Tim and Fran. They come each year and Fran likes to spend some time with us taking part in the activities and geting to know the children and Mums.

We are now in Holy week and we got off to a great start on Palm Sunday with about 70 people at the Mass and Procession of the palms. Last night Holy Thursday we had a prayer service with readings on the institution of the Eucharist and the washing of hands. 2 people came to the washing bowl and washed each others hands, all done in a prayerful manner while we sang some Taize chants. We were very pleased that so many people came.

And so we continue to celebrate Holy week with the culmination on Easter Sunday, For the first time we are receiving 5 people into the Catholic church as full members. Each one of you wil be remembered at our Mass on Easter Sunday as we proclaim Cristo Resucitó!

Happy Easter to all.

Con mucho cariño a todos,
Jacinta and Marie

And fond greetings and best wishes from all of us at Pensby...

Stop the Traffik 3

Do not watch this until you have watched the first film posted on 3rd April AND the second film posted on 4th April.

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www.stopthetraffik.org


Film produced by Contrapositive. Photos: Richard Hanson, Tearfund. Additional footage: The Salvation Army International Development (UK). William Wilberforce/Slave images: Anti-Slavery International.

Stop the Traffik 2

Do not watch this until you have watched the first film posted on 3rd April.

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www.stopthetraffik.org

Stop the Traffik 1

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www.stopthetraffik.org

No pain, no gain...

I love to watch European films. European directors do not shy away from the tragic ending, if it is the appropriate one. You can feel complete despair at the end of some of these films but inwardly, you know that it is utterly appropriate. The Americans have great difficulty with this and have to 'sugar the pill'. This explains why so many Hollywood films descend into schmaltz. I recently saw an interview with the people who made the Walkers crisps ads featuring Gary Linekar. Walkers is owned by American company Pepsico. The British marketing company were explaining to the American executives the ad's concept of Gary, local boy made good, coming back to his home town of Leicester to much adulation. The Americans liked it but for one point - the ending was deemed unacceptably cruel when Linekar steals a child's bag of crisps. Could he not give the crisps back to the child at the last minute? It took some persuasion to convince them that the British audience would get the humour and that this was the appropriate ending.

Last Saturday I watched a Spanish film called Mar Adentro (The Sea Inside) by director Alejandro Amenabar who has since achieved note in Hollywood with his film The Others. Mar Adentro was based on true events and tells the story of a man, Ramón Sampedro, who had an accident when diving into the sea which left him quadraplegic. We join the story after Ramón has endured twenty eight years of disability, paralysed from the neck downwards. It follows his fight to end his own life but it is not a courtroom drama, rather a close study of human relationships and how we deal with serious illness and disappointments. I didn't feel that the film made any judgements on the ethical debate of assisted suicides but was a very human story. Nor was it a maudlin tale; indeed Ramón was a surprisingly humorous and upbeat character given the serious subject matter of the film. In one scene, Ramón steps out of his bed and walks to his bedroom window. At that point my other half paused the DVD and said to me "Shall we switch it off now and go to bed? It will be a happy ending then." I suspect we have watched too many Hollywood films. Obviously this would be a wholly inappropriate and dissatisfying end. We continued to watch the film and, as expected, it was just a dream scene.

On Sunday morning, much of this was echoed in my mind as the Passion was played out in the Mass and discussed in Fr Simon's homily. Again it resonated in the content of the joint service at 5 o'clock. Imagine if we could freeze-frame history at the point of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Initially it doesn't seem such a bad idea. After all, it was a high point and we all like nothing better than the feel good factor. But you can't live your life, floating six inches above the ground. Nothing was achieved without going through Good Friday, the ultimate low point later in the week. In the twists and turns of the Jesus narrative, it is the appropriate turn of events, unpleasant though it is to us.

May you find the strength this week to live Holy Week to the full, to embrace your brokenness in the cross and emerge fully revived in the Easter experience.

Coming soon...A Day in the Life of an Ark Volunteer

This photo is really just by way of an appetizer for a blog posting which has been pledged to us by a fellow parishioner who does a voluntary shift at the Ark in Birkenhead. If you have ever wondered about volunteering at the Ark or if you would just like to know more about the project, you'll have to keep dropping in from time to time, won't you? Alternatively, why not subscribe to the People's Blog web feed? Then we can let YOU know when we have updated content.

A Happy Ending?

I was looking at some of the old blogs and was moved by 'It Beggers Belief .' I travel to Liverpool every week and walk through the underpass between St John's Precinct and Lime Street Station. For at least two years I gave change to a chap sitting in that damp and dirty place. He was always so polite and grateful and I was very touched and saddened every time we had our almost weekly encounter. I often reflected that If I were a real Christian I should have taken him to one of the many 'eateries' in that area and bought him a hot meal ! but no, too radical for me!

Once when he gently squeezed my hand and thanked me in his gracious way he told me that his name was 'Mullah', we had a little chat and as we parted he said his usual 'look after yourself.'

Soon afterwards I saw 'Mullah' talking to two ladies and they turned out to be two long lost cousins! That was the last time I saw 'Mullah.'

Of course I prayed for him so perhaps my prayers were answered - I do hope so because if anyone deserved a helping hand it was 'Mullah,' - a real gentleman.

I know it's good to help in little ways folks like my friend but wouldn't it be wonderful if society was truly Christian and saw Jesus in a special way in the broken and downtrodden!

Anyway I'll pop back into my cave now!

Yogi

What is the Point of Being a Christian?

This is the first book by Timothy Radcliffe that I have read. I bought it at Greenbelt Festival last year on the basis of some talks he did there. My copy still bears the scars of Cheltenham Racecourse mud. I don't know much about Catholic speakers and writers, since a good deal of what I have read to date tends to be recommended by friends of the Protestant tradition. We Catholics either do not read books with religious/spiritual themes or we guard our reading habits jealously. I also think that the Protestant writers have the marketing sussed. Their books are not necessarily any more interesting, they just package them better.

Anyway, I digress. I went to see Timothy Radcliffe speak on the basis that (a) I'd heard of him (just about) and (b) he is a Catholic. I felt duty bound to drop in on a fellow Catholic. The only other alternative that I knew about was James Alison. As his talks were veering into the arena of homosexuality I thought I would give them a miss. This was not for reasons of homophobia, I hasten to add (though for one or two self-indulgent seconds I thought the world at large might get the 'wrong impression' about me!); no, my reasons were that the whole 'gay' issue can be a bit bandwagonish and so I thought that on this occasion I would give it a miss. To be fair, given another opportunity I probably would go along and listen.

Radcliffe was extremely popular. They opened up the side of the tent so that people would not be disappointed. I had to sit outside but was able to hear him clearly. I was immediately impressed by him. He is well-spoken, erudite and humourous. The realm of his experience as a widely travelled Dominican Friar and theologian lends an air of authority to what he has to say. In spite of his academic prowess, he is a great communicator and is able to convey complex ideas in simple language. His practical experience as Master of the Order means that he has seen a great deal of what life in this world has to offer to the most disadvantaged and so his message is one of hope mixed with realism. So I bought the book...

The title of the book is What is the Point of Being a Christian? In one sense, this is a personal quest but there is much in Radcliffe's search to which I felt able to respond affirmatively. He begins with what was, by his own admission, the glib response of "because it is true" but in the chapters of the book the deeply complex concept of Christian truth is unpacked. Central to the notion of Christian truth is the role of the individual within the community and the difficulties which arise within human relationships. Radcliffe tackles the fact of and theories for the polarisation between faith groups, within the wider Christian Church and indeed within the Catholic church itself. He considers the impact of the 'Now Generation' and the concept of 'Liquid Modernity' as expounded by Zygmunt Bauman. Liquid modernity is the point we have reached in post-modern culture whereby we are no longer dealing in the concrete but the abstract - we deal in a currency of signs and symbols - think of the golden arches of McDonalds, the Nike swoosh. He explores the changing role of sabbath in the 21st century.

This book is intelligently written, balanced,well researched and shows a solid grasp on the complexities of the modern world. Timothy Radcliffe OP may be an academic but dry he is not.

What is the Point of Being a Christian? ISBN 0-86012-369-3 available in Christian Bookshops or on order from any good bookshop.

Comic Relief - the serious bit

As usual there were lots of information films, sometimes harrowing, in last night's programme. Often tears are uncomfortably juxtaposed with laughter but, by and large, this tension works well. Last night there was a film which illustrated the importance of something as seemingly trivial as a mosquito net, costing £2.50. The film featured a young mother undertaking the long and difficult journey from her rural home in Tanzania to the nearest medical facility with her small child who was suffering from malaria. I expected it to follow the usual format of arrival at the hospital in the nick of time with the message "but thousands of children are not as lucky as Shayla". Wrong. I watched in disbelief as the look on the young mother's face turned from one of worry to absolute desolation. Shayla had died in her grandmother's arms. I was shocked. Later in the programme, to illustrate the fact that one child dies every 30 seconds, this clip was shown again with a countdown in the corner of the screen. I don't think for one moment that the organisers of Comic Relief are irresponsible people. I have no doubt that much soul-searching was done before the decision was finally taken to show this clip and without a doubt it will have provoked high levels of compassion among the viewing public. But in this instance, I think it was wrong. To witness at such close quarters the shocking and complete despair of a mother as the fragile threads of her child's life slip away just felt wrong and voyeuristic. It reduced the sacred stuff of human tragedy to a mere marketing ploy. Well, that's how I felt, anyway. But that is not to detract too much from the good that is done via the Comic Relief proceeds.

An appropriate way to end this posting would be to share the recent reflections of a much-loved friend of mine who is 'on the ground', as it were, in Africa:

"It can be so tiring seeing endless European projects, propped up by white people…..with the best intentions but not really doing anything to give people dignity and responsibility and creating a kind of aid dependency and expectancy. There are no easy answers but there is a lot of naivety in projects that are set up. Nakuru is full of ‘projects’ and of course people will try to benefit from anything going. So much wisdom is needed. Kenya has received so much aid and is one of the most corrupt countries. We were trying to imagine the other day what it would do to a city’s morale if foreigners kept pouring into Birkenhead to solve the problems of homelessness, drug abuse etc etc (rich Americans maybe?!). In the end you’d give up, take no responsibility and just expect handouts. So much better if local efforts were supported behind the scenes?"

Food for thought.

Comic Relief Day - the flippant bit...

I'm not a big fan of the telethon thing but if I have to engage with one then it would be Comic Relief. I can't stand that Pudsey Bear thing - not that I disagree with charity fundraisers per se (oops, Sorry about the Latin, it's a Catholic thing!) I guess it is the whole "let's take a look around the BBC regions to see what people have been up to - Over in the Midlands Quantity Surveyor Colin Wilkinson has spent the day surveying quantities whilst immersed in a bath of Heinz oxtail soup and raised £7.50 for Children in Need" And all the waving of the 'big cheques' gets up my (big, red) nose. At least Comic Relief is entertaining AND they have the good sense to only do it once every two years. There were a number of highlights in last night's show. Of course, I was eager to see who had won the Fame Academy title. It was, as (sort of) predicted here the delightful Tara Palmer-Tomkinson with her 'kinky boots' routine. In terms of voice, Tricia Penrose should have won it, without a shadow of a doubt. She did a great rendition of the immensely talented Alicia Keys' If I Ain't Got You. (As I click, I am listening to the original) But as in all these things it is a popularity contest and Tara was the bigger personality. What really matters is that loadsa money was raised for good cause.

I latched onto Ricky Gervais' spoof appeal video instantly, having spotted the blue screen technology. Nevertheless it will remain, I suspect, one of those supremely wicked comedy moments for some years to come. True comedy pushes the boundaries and this was pure genius. Even as I was protesting at its inappropriateness I was laughing.

Peter Kaye came up with a good one - a remake of the old Proclaimers hit 500 miles. I'm not a big fan of Peter Kaye, partly because he is too popular (here I reveal one of the many complexities of my personality). There are certain people that I use as a guage in this. I like to catch on to new talent early on. As soon as I began to hear middle-class mums and 12 year-olds saying "yeah, I know" and "I'm the only gay in the village, see" I knew it was time to move on from Little Britain. Kaye has a very retro act and his humour is quite unsophisticated - he's a bit of a one trick pony really. BUT, he enlisted the help of the extremely talented Matt Lucas to add some comic credibility. And of course, cameos from everyone in comedy, current faves and has-beens alike. The inclusion of the Proclaimers themselves should give their career a boost. I saw them two years ago at Greenbelt Festival and I remember how, when this song was played, spontaneous singing and dancing seemed to break out across the whole festival site with no generational boundaries. This bodes well for sales of the Comic Relief version. This should partially make up for Amarillo which I hoped had been consigned to the 1970's archives forever but has since been adopted as an anthem by lovers of tat everywhere.

Best laugh of the night goes to Catherine Tate. Stroppy teen, Lauren, goes to 10 Downing Street on her work experience placement. When PM Tony Blair (the REAL Tony Blair) turns the tables on her and says "Am I bovvered?" I almost lost control of my bodily functions. Well in, Tone, mate, the boy done well. George Bush may have his Barneycam videos, but you were real class!

Comic Relief does Fame Academy

When Fr Simon suggested giving up TV for a day for Lent, you may have all sat and nodded approvingly but I just thought "Nah!!". I actually watch very little TV and wouldn't miss it if it weren't there. So, with a clear conscience I have been watching the recent series of Fame Academy for Comic Relief. I wonder why the likes of Shaun Williamson (formerly Barry from Eastenders) is taking part. He has a good voice and has probably done a bit of cabaret in the past. Have you seen local lad, Ray Stubbs, perform? Sports commentator Ray is, I am told, a former resident of Ridgewood Drive in Pensby. He is clearly in it for a laugh but has been fairly entertaining in the process. He always has a slightly manic and dangerous look in his eye. I would perhaps like to see 'It girl' (no, it's nothing to do with computers!) Tara Palmer-Tomkinson do well. I get the impression that she has a fundamental honesty and vulnerable childlike quality. She puts me very much in mind of people like Marianne Faithful and perhaps even Edith Piaf - a chequered past but also an inner strength.

Eh?

The Exhortation on the Eucharist? Motu Proprio? What does it all mean? No, I'm not being rhetorical, what DOES it all mean?

Somethin' Wonderful

Today's photo is of last night's lunar eclipse as seen in Pensby, taken on a very ordinary compact digital camera. For once the night skies were clear enough to observe the moon turn copper as all but a smidgen of the sun's light was blocked by the Earth. It amazes me that this is not an uncommon occurrence but it is the first time that I have seen it. As a family we spent a good ten minutes standing, open mouthed in awe looking at it.

Today's gospel reading was the Luke's account of the Transfiguration. Fr Simon's homily opened up the idea of seeing the wondrous in the mundane. He illustrated this by reading a passage from An Evil Cradling by Brian Keenan who was held hostage in Beirut by Hezbollah. The passage described how a humble orange transcended its mundane state and was transfigured in Keenan's eyes as a result of the deprivation he experienced in captivity. This put me in mind of a book I once read by Columbian novelist Gabriel García Márquez. One of the features of the writing of García Márquez is magical realism. Ordinary things, such as umbrellas, are described in such a way that they become extraordinary, the magical sits comfortably alongside the everyday.

This concept intrigued me when I was engaged in an important stage in my spiritual journey. It opened my eyes to the importance of giving everything appropriate attention. I suppose it could be described as the art of being 'fully present' or 'living in the moment'. It taught me to be attentive to the fragrance of lavender on a summer evening, the lush greenness of the grass after a spring shower and the song of a solitary bird at dusk.

The playwright Dennis Potter was interviewed by Melvyn Bragg when in the advanced stages of terminal cancer. It is no secret that when we accept life as finite, we see things though different eyes. Potter described this phenomenon to Bragg between pauses to take sips of liquid morphine from a hip flask. He said that outside the window of his study at his home near the Forest of Dean there was an apple tree. He went on to describe his impressions of the spring blossom on the tree as the "blossomiest blossom". This ordinary blossom had transcended its natural state. Potter probably hadn't noticed it until he realised he would never see it again. The certainty of death had enabled him to be fully present. There is wisdom in that.

Coincidentally, the theme of this year's Greenbelt is Heaven in Ordinary. If you would like to explore these ideas further, you could do worse than to be fully present to the muddy fields around Cheltenham racecourse over August Bank Holiday weekend! Click here for information.

Well in Bono laa!!!

I know we all suffer a little celebrity do-gooder fatigue from time to time. We see the likes of good old "Sir"-Effing-Bob or indeed "Sir" Bono on TV and we want to say "yeah, yeah, point taken, why don't you just go back to making records..." Well, I for one am prepared to take off my cynical head today and say an understated "nicely put" to Bono. Click on the image below to hear a stirring speech made by the man himself on the occasion of winning the Chairman's award at the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) last night. I just love the way his voice quivered with passion toward the end. A "Spirited" performance if ever there was one and a message for us all to take to heart.

A Life Stripped Bare: My Year Trying to Live Ethically

No, not me, Leo Hickman. I remember making my second visit to the Eden Project in Cornwall in August 2005. The first time was when it first opened. If you have never been there, I would recommend it, should you ever be in Cornwall. It is a most impressive ecological experiment constructed in the wastes of an old china clay quarry. Even if you have not been there, you will recognise the biomes, the two giant greenhouses which replicate the environments of temperate and tropical zones. Well, no visit to a place like that is complete with out a trip to the book shop to round the day off. This is where I chanced upon A Life Stripped Bare: My Year Trying to Live Ethically by journalist Leo Hickman. The book documents his journey from his 'mange tout' moment, that is his epiphany when he realised that his supermarket green beans had been air freighted at great expense from Kenya just so so that he could have out of season veg in London. Hickman responded to a challenge to live ethically by having three ethical auditors visit his home to talk to him about how he could live more ethically and exposed the dark secrets lurking in his cupboards in the process. The book was a great eye-opener for me and is a superb read for anyone questioning western lifestyles in this year of Living Simply. Hickman traversed the whole gamut of ethical living; the dilemma of whether to buy Fair Trade or organic, to buy import or local, ethical investments, composting, the disposable vs terry nappy debate, natural or synthetic furnishings, natural cleaning products, travelling carbon neutral, voluntary work and anything else that you can think of. What I loved about this book is that it wasn't a fundamentalist rant on the subject, it was a relatively ordinary bloke and his family trying to do their bit and the heartening thing is that some things worked really well and some things just didn't work at all for them. But it was all washed down with a healthy dose of humour. Surely this is an encouragement to us all to have a go.

A Life Stripped Bare is available from all good bookshops
(ISBN-10: 1903919614, ISBN-13: 978-1903919613)

The Guardian's Ethical Living Site featuring Leo Hickman

The Vocations Crisis

The recent pastoral letter, as evidenced by a recent post, has raised more than a couple of controversies of its own. Nevertheless it must be accepted as an honest attempt to address the increasing problem of priest numbers, a problem which, it seems, grows more grave by the day. I think Fr Simon has said that 2008 is the big year for the diocese with something in the region of 12 priests due to take their retirement after a long life of service to God and to their community (though I have no memory for numbers, so be warned, I may be way off beam there!). Sadly this is not mirrored by the numbers of those coming into the priesthood. What is more tragic is the startling number of younger priests that this diocese has lost through death and decisions to leave the priesthood. Meanwhile this places a heavy burden on those who are left behind. Is crisis too strong a word?

When I was younger and had not been married for very long I recall that there seemed to be a spate of marital breakdowns among my friends and colleagues. It was what I can only describe as a domino effect. At times I felt destabilised. Although I had no reason to feel unhappy in my own marriage, the radical departure from the seemingly happy domestic scene for so many people that I knew made me feel restless and question, rightly or wrongly, my own situation. I suppose I was in shock. Ask yourself, when people you know have divorced, could you always see it coming? Or from the outside, did it go from apparent domestic bliss to the divorce courts in one fell swoop? I say this to suggest that there may be a parallel with those who follow a vocation to the priesthood. Is there a support mechanism in place for our priests to talk about and deal with how they feel when a colleague leaves? Or are they just left to get on with it? Do we consider the implications on our priests?

I think I have been guilty of self-interest when considering the implications of the diocesan restructure. Perhaps I ought to consider the effects that the priest drain has on the morale of those who are trying to follow their vocation in evermore stressful circumstances and what I can do to alleviate the situation.

But I, as an individual, cannot solve such problems in isolation. Perhaps I am being unfair but I am perplexed that Rome appears to disregard the problems of vocations. Historically they have created a structure which relies upon the role of the priest in order to function. Can there be a Catholic church without priests? Whilst they are the only ones allowed to administer certain sacraments, no. Then why the inflexibility? I would say that some creative thinking is called for but actually we could all suggest potential answers; it is not, as they say, rocket science. But it would seem that Rome is happy to fiddle while the church in Britain burns. The vocations crisis will not be solved by a snazzy marketing campaign though this did not stop the Archdiocese of Indianapolis trying with the little bit of fun pictured above.


May I ask anyone who visits this blog this week, to pray for more men to have the courage to respond to God's call on their lives and to pray for strength for all who are trying to follow a priestly vocation. And perhaps for those at the zenith of God's Church on Earth to wake up and smell the coffee...Fair Trade, naturally!

Britain's Best Kept Secret

I am referring to the Northumbrian coast. Family circumstances have recently been drawing me to this part of the world and it has been a real treat. I have visited it at different times of the year and each time there has been something different to enjoy. This recent journey has revealed the power of the North Sea in all of its glory. You can't help but be inspired by the waves crashing over the harbour walls at Seahouses. Sadly there were no boat trips to be had but nature provided her own show.

Last time I was there was in early June and I was able to take a boat ride. We were in quite a small boat and so were able to get in close the the rocky cliffs which provide shelter for a whole host of nesting sea birds. I've seen many such scenes on television but to experience nature in the raw in our own islands is breathtaking. Nothing prepared me for the smell - the many thousands of puffins, shags, terns and guillemots which gather in the Farne Islands each year will produce a phenomenal amount of droppings. Believe me, when the smell of pure guano burns the back of your nostrils, you know you are alive! Fantastic!


This time we visited Lindisfarne, or Holy Island, which took on a new mysterious beauty, veiled as it was in sea mist. We had to wait a little while but patience was rewarded, as it always is, by some little magic or other. This time, as we stood, a solitary group, looking out to sea on St Cuthbert's island, we saw something move on the rocks below. It was a seal. We have seen them in the past from boats, but this one was really close by. We marvelled for a little while before leaving the little fella to his own devices.

Oops! She did it again...

It seems that a day cannot go by without poor old (young) Britney Spears being pictured in the press in the act of some embarrassment or other. The latest is her decision to cut off her locks in favour of the Grant Mitchell look. Who would be a 'celebrity'? Sure, there is the advantage of the lavish gifts from clothes designers who want to publicise their latest range, not having to wonder where the next meal is coming from and what have you. But where is the joy? I can remember Britney as a teenager promoting clean living - remember her talking about how she diligently completed her prayer journal at the end of each day, even when on tour. Remember her expressing a desire to remain a virgin until she married? The press loved that one and couldn't wait for the opportunity to snarl 'I told you so!'.

Poor Britney is struggling. All things aside she is still just a young mum, recently estranged from her husband and she has to face humiliating images and stories of herself daily in the so-called newspapers. The hair shaving worries me. I'm no psychologist and I may well be wrong but I would say that is classic low self-esteem behaviour rather than a fashion statement. It seems she is now seeking professional help. I for one hope she sorts herself out. Even celebrities shouldn't have to be unhappy. Who amongst us hasn't messed up somewhere along the way? But by and large our mistakes are relatively anonymous. If you have a spare second in your prayer time, you could do worse than to remember Britney.

Not that I would buy any of her records, you understand...

If it ain't broke then why are we trying to fix it?

I've spent a couple of weeks mulling over the pastoral letter from the Bishop and I am no closer to figuring out what it is all about. He initially contextualises his letter within the sphere of the diminishing numbers of priests and cross-references it back to the Pastoral and Property review and the ensuing 'White Paper'. I suppose everybody thought that that particular catalogue of horrors had been filed away and forgotten about; though we must not forget that a number of communities in the diocese have been cruelly culled as a result of the 'rationalisation' which followed the publication of the aforementioned document.

What is quite perplexing is the language in which the Bishop has chosen to couch his 'pastoral' letter. Not the language of a loving father, forced to take tough decisions which hurt him as much as they hurt his children. No, he has borrowed language from the cut-throat world of business. We have 'down-sizing predictions', and new councils (yes, more councils!) with 'key personnel'. I was waiting at any minute for parishioners to be re-Christened as 'stakeholders' (Anyone for B.S. bingo?). Let's just go the whole way and bring in Jarvis to handle the Facilities Management. If this is born of the Holy Spirit then my name is Donald Trump! It is a pure management consultancy - what is worse, it is amateur management consultancy. It is heartening to know that it has the full support of the clergy (subtext, it's going to happen, get used to the idea, and your priest's remit was to obey his bosses, not to consult his flock).

I love the way it is sold as an opportunity for those who wish to get more involved in the life of the church. The Church recently spent a fortune on a survey about church & family life. Didn't you get the message, guys? These days we all work 40-50 hours per week, that is we leave home at one end of the day and we don't see it again until the other end. After that there is the most important job of all, FAMILY!!! In short, we laity are not just sitting here scratching our backsides waiting to be given church responsibilities. Perhaps a good start would have been to do a review of the current division of responsibilities in parishes. You might have been surprised by the contribution of the laity.

I'll let you into a secret, shall I? The rest of God's church is waking up to the fact that small is beautiful. Real strength in church life is built upon the close, supportive relationships formed in small groups or cells. So why are we rejecting this model in favour of the 'bigger is better' route? People are actually less inclined to become involved in a large, impersonal church.

I really am hardpressed to see any advantages in these proposals. The only logical one is this; if the Diocese chooses, at some time in the future, to get rid of a church, they can argue "Well, we're not really disbanding a community because the real community is the Pastoral Area. We're just liquidating surplus building stock."

I would be interested in any comments that you may have, whether you are from this parish or not. Follow the links to download copies of the Bishop's letter and the Pastoral and Property Review.