Young Montana?

Ive already blogged about Young Montana? ( question mark is deliberate)the 20 year old music producer from Coventry who, to quote from one web-site  “was plucked from obscurity out of Coventry, UK when Mary Anne Hobbs of the BBC Radio 1 anointed him as her “Favorite Unsigned Artist of 2010.”

He is releasing his first album on May 3rd called Limerence  and the web-site:

http://letsgetdigitaldigital.com/2011/04/young-montana-limerence-preview/  describes it as:

“Playful yet complex, the controlled chaos of Limerence displays Young Montana?’s pristine sense of sonic exploration. Showing remarkable skill with sample collage work, Young Montana? is running circles around anyone else attempting this sort of beat fusion right now”

At first, some of the music sounds discordant and noisy, but Ive grown to love it and will be downloading his album on Wednesday.

The Lets Get Digital web-site has some sample tracks but the best for me is called Sacre Cool: it has had nearly 56,000 hits on You Tube and its great to bop to! Heres the link to Sacre Cool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZT0wlH4y8k

You may wonder why a Vicar knows Young Montana? Ah, well you never know you might come into your life when you arent looking!

Young Montana?’ s album is being released by Alphapuprecords:

http://www.alphapuprecords.com/artistpage.php?ArtistID=169

By the way, the word Limerence, new to me,  has an interesting meaning:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limerence… tis all about being in love.

And finally…

A great write up about the Royal Wedding by the venerable Church Mouse… do go to his link and read it… and at the bottom of his blog you will find a link to a video of a verger cartwheeling down the aisle of Westminster Abbey after the service – priceless – the nearest we get to the Royal Wedding spoof of T mobile…

http://churchmousepublishing.blogspot.com/2011/04/church-of-englands-moment-in-global.html

Or the YouTube link:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ir7GuJQ_IFA&feature=player_embedded

Sleep well…

And now for some pictures….

Well, if  2 Billion people were watching the Royal Wedding on TV then just imagine how many photographs there must be of the day……

I wasnt really there – no more so than the other 2 Billion, but I did take some pictures – Im not sure if its allowed to take pictures from the TV, so if I’m likely to get sent to the tower, maybe someone could tell me and I will remove them.

Here are my favourite ones……

A very high view of  the bridal party walking in.. you can just see a couple of the trees.

Leaving the Abbey after the service – Harry with Catherine’s sister and Charles just behind them with Catherines mother.

Making the journey to Buckingham Palace in the carriage.

This is my favourite picture -though I cant quite tell you why.

Here is the Queen as she returns to Buckingham Palace. One TV commentator says she was saying ” It was amazing” – but I cant vouch for that as I wasnt really there!

Leaving Buckingham Palace in Prince Charles’ Aston Martin.

* I was very grateful to Ruth Gledhill for commenting on an earlier blog when I relayed her tweet “

This is what she said: “Thank you for mentioning that quote, it comes from CS Lewis, via Krish Kandiah. For Times subscribers, the full interview with Krish is on my blog at The Times, Articles of Faith. Best wishes, hope you enjoyed the wedding as much as we did here at The Times in London!

Being dragged into Westminster Abbey

I reckon having mega trees in church for weddings could become quite trendy…. here is one of the maple trees being brought into the Abbey.. what do you think?

“Six field maples and two hornbeams will be placed in large pots made by craftsmen at Highgrove, the Prince of Wales’ Gloucestershire home. The containers holding the trees were painted to match the Abbey stone”

Read more: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2011/04/26/royal-wedding-decorative-trees-for-westminster-abbey-lifted-into-place-115875-23088800/#ixzz1KtbjZGVv

I’m getting very excited now – although the personal invite didnt come after all, I shall be glued to the TV all morning….and pleased that I hear William and Catherine will be called the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. ( I expect it was a close run thing between that and ” Duke and Duchess of Paxton”)

Just come across a tweet from Ruth Gledhill:

 ” Hear God’s whisper through the liturgy”….. I hope lots of  people do…

Thoughts

What I can’t believe is that it is thirty years ago since I bought a colour TV to watch the wedding of Charles and Diana…. it feels like only yesterday to be honest that I sat with a group of churchy folk and enjoyed the ceremony. sipping sherry and waving flags.

Well, 30 years on, Im nearly ready for tomorrow’s ceremony…. Ive got some yummy things to eat and Im looking forward to watching the morning’s proceedings  – then I shall go and find a street party or two in the village.

I’ve come across a lot of folk who are looking forward to watching it on TV   and several who will keep well away from it all.  Each to their own – but lets not forget that the focus of it all is taking place in a Chuch of England building with an historic Christian context.

Maple trees in the nave of the Abbey…. a Welsh firm just delivered a load of toilets for the massive crowds in Pall Mall… Fiona Bruce on BBC TV news getting very excited….

Meanhwhile an awful bomb going off in Morocco, troubles rage on Lybia and Syria, freak tornado storms in the USA…  what a world of contrasts.

Royal wedding Little Paxton style

Here are a few pictures from todays special celebrations at Little Paxton School……

A splendid felt collage

A selection of wedding dresses exhibited by the staff

The wedding breakfast arrives….

The table set – soon the whole school arrives….

It was great fun and I hope the children grown-ups enjoyed themselves.

A friendship ceremony

Well, aware of the forthcoming Royal Wedding one of our local schools is having a Freindship Ceremony today – complete with a real William and Catherine, friendship bands, stirring music, a supporting cast and a Vicar.

I hope it helps the children to think a bit about the importance of friendship and watch the Royal Wedding tomorrow with a bit more understanding.

Here are the words we shall be using… all made up by me but based on some of the ideas in the marriage service. Please feel free to use if they are of any help to anyone planning something similar.

Words for a celebration of Friendship Ceremony

Welcome:

Welcome to school today for this special ceremony celebrating William and Catherine’s friendship.

 We may not be in Westminster Abbeyas Prince William and Catherine Middleton will be tomorrow, and crowds may not have lined the streets in our  road, but all the same today is a special day for all of us as we remember how important friendship in life, and celebrate with our William and Catherine as they promise to  be friends for life.

 

Just a few notices:

Switch off your mobile phones.

Join in with “ we will”.

No confetti is allowed.

Please join in with the hymn.

Welcome to applaud the happy couple after they have knelt down for a blessing.

I hope you really enjoyed the occasion and maybe for each one of you it can be an occasion to think about how important friendship is to you in your life.

 Introduction:

We come together today in the presence of God

To celebrate the friendship which William and Catherine

Have found in each other

To offer our support and affirm our faith in them

And in all that they share together.

May the words we share together

Strengthen their friendship and trust in one another

And may their experience of being friends

Grow ever richer and deeper.

Friendship is given that two people

may comfort and help each other

sharing happy times and sad times.

Enjoying each other’s company

and always being there like a rock

o give support and understanding.

Friendship is about being faithful

and true day by day.

This is the way of life that William and Catherine

are now to enter.

They will join hands and exchange promises.

They will give and receive friendship bands

to keep for ever.

Loving God, for all the love of this day

We praise you.

Hymn All Things Bright and Beautiful

Now I have to ask you all if anyone knows any reason why these two people

should not be friends for life to speak up now.

William and Catherine: The promises that you are about to make are being made in the presence of God. If either of you knows a reason why you should not be friends for life, you are to declare it now.

The Promises.

Minister:

William:  will you take Catherine to be your friend?

Will you always be loyal and kind to her

As long as you both shall live?

William: I will

Catherine:  will you take William  to be your friend?

Will you always be loyal and kind to him

As long as you both shall live?

Catherine: I will.

Will you all, the families and friends of William and Catherine support them

in their friendship, now and in all the years to come?

All: We do.

I will ask Daniel to take Catherine’s right hand and pass it into William’s right hand.

I now invite you to join hands and make your promises in the presence of God and your friends.

William:

I William

Take you Catherine

To be my friend.

To always be loyal and kind

To be there for you in good times and sad times

To always support and care for you

All the days of my life.

In the presence of God I make this promise.

 Catherine:

I Catherine

Take you William

To be my friend.

To always be loyal and kind

To be there for you in good times and sad times

To always support and care for you

All the days of my life.

In the presence of God I make this promise.

Exchange of the Friendship bands.

 

Minister:

Loving God, may these friendship bands be to William and Catherine

A symbol of their friendship now and in all the days to come.

William ( places the band on Catherine’s  wrist)

 

Catherine, I give you this friendship band

As a reminder of my promise today

to always be your friend. Amen

 

William, I give you this friendship band

As a reminder of my promise today

To always be your friend. Amen.

In the presence of God and before their friends and family

William and Catherine  have made their promises to each other

To always be true and loyal friends.

I can now pronounce they are friends for life!

 Kneel

God has joined William and Catherine  together in friendship.

Let no one ever spoil that friendship Amen.

 

William and Catherine may now stand and we shall all give them a round of applause.

Sign the certificates with witnesses.

Prayer for friendship.

 

Loving God

Help us all to be good and true friends one to another

Help us never to let anyone down

And to keep the promises we make.

Help us to generous in sharing our time

Patient in our caring

And always reliable and trustworthy.

 

As we care for each other

Help us as well to care for the world around us

And never to take our planet earth for granted.

 

Bless all those being married in the coming weeks

Especially Prince William and Catherine as they

Prepare for their wedding on Friday.

Keep them safe and everyone who will be in London tomorrow.

 

May God bless us all

In the days the days to come

With his peace and goodness.

Amen.

 

Will you please give another round of applause to William and Catherine as they leave the ceremony with their friends.

Looking outwards…..

I have just come across this picture from the splendid web-site:

http://www.thisischurch.com/sunday_service_resources.html

Usually images of the empty tomb have us looking  inside – but here the emphasis is on looking outwards – with the cross in the far distance, never forgotten, with  a mission to be outward looking in our task of serving the world beyond  our church building.

British weather being nothing if not changable, Im sitting with two fleeces on putting together some ideas for our local primary school’s acting out of the Royal Wedding. Its going to be a friendship ceremony with a real William and Kate – and Im trying out a new potion I found on e-bay to grow a beard by Thursday when I can be the A B of C… will let you all know how I get on.

Easter thoughts 2

Good Morning Everyone and a very Blessed EAster to you all.

Have been up early and written Easter thoughts No2: – based on that wonderful T-mobile Ad of the Royals dancing down the aisle:

It starts off like “Easter Thoughts I”  and then digresses:

Homily for Easter 2011

Well, it’s the event that everybody seems to be talking about, some with more enthusiasm than others.

“ It’s good because it takes our mind off all the gloom and doom” I have heard said.

So, are you a lover of the Royals and can’t wait to celebrate with them next Friday – or are you rather disenchanted with it all and will make a point of avoiding all the hype?

Have you bought any of the memorabilia yet which has been produced for the day?

It is thought that the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton next Friday will  provide a £527.1 million boost for UK retailers.

The Government of course decided to make April 29^th a bank holiday and on that day it has been  estimated that in the UK £4.6M will be spent every hour – a lot of it on food and drink –including £9M on champagne. Then there is the vast array of memorabilia – from coins, mugs, pottery, replica jewellry, specially brewed beer and underwear with Will and Kate blazoned over the front or back. Own up – have any of you acquired any yet? Its not a totally new idea of course – here is a commemoration mug of June 22^nd 1911 – nearly 100 years old – Queen Mary and George V.

For me, the best and funniest thing that has come out of the Royal Wedding industry is a short video made by the mobile phone company T-Mobile. It is the latest in a series of promotional ads to sell their wares – and they hire a gang of Royal look- a- likes all dressed in glorious wedding  gear, an international congregation and  St Bartholomew’s Church in London. As the rock tune “ House of Love”  strikes up  and the beef eaters begin to jive, in comes the Archbishop of Canterbury clapping and swaying followed by  the Royal family entering the church for THE wedding.  At first glance, you have to wonder if it really is the royals- the look-a-likes are so good you could be fooled into thinking they were all in there letting their hair down.

It finishes with the banner across the screen “ One’s life is for sharing” – a royal twist on T-mobile’s motto “ Life is for Sharing”

Apart from the comedy aspect of it – I rather like the sentiment we are left with  – “Life is for sharing”. It is a perfect reminder of what we are about on this Easter Day.

Amongst the amazing things which Jesus said to his friends during the last weeks of his life was this: “ I am the resurrection and the Life – he who believes in me, though he die yet shall he live. And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die” He had just brought his friend Lazarus back to life and he was telling those stunned by this miracle that those who became associated with him, those who let themselves get caught up in his presence would enter into a kind of life often called eternal life – life shared with God for ever.

The heart of Christian teaching about the cross was that in some mysterious and powerful way, when Jesus died on the cross he took upon himself  the sins of the world, our sins, your sins and the ever present possibility of those sins forgiven and a new life begun.

When Mary Magdalene saw Jesus risen from death in the Easter garden very quickly she was given a mandate to go and tell – to tell her friends what she had witnessed. She was to share what she had seen, not keep this momentous news of new life to herself and so we read “ Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples “ I have seen the Lord”

 The resurrection of Jesus was for sharing – not for a small group of friends to keep all to themselves. They didn’t have the advantage of mobile phones or mass media to convey their message. It was all by word of mouth, personal encounter. Life is for sharing – once Jesus had ascended into heaven and the Holy Spirit came to enthuse his followers, they turned into a missionary band whose message was full of the Good News of Jesus Christ, crucified, risen, ascended – his life  and love available to all who believe in him.

 “ Jesus is for sharing” – 2,000 years on that message is still buzzing round the world.

Every Christian Group has a mandate to share the good news, the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We may never know how our witness effects those around us. A few of us went to a local nursing home just before Easter  and sung some well known Easter hymns. It seemed to us there were fewer folk left in the room after we had finished – yet some days afterwards someone said to me that several of the residents who were bed bound had heard our singing and really enjoyed it. We had no idea of the effect we had had – again rather like someone who lives opposite the church  who said she always likes it when the light is on in the church at night – it cheers her up. There are many ways to share the life and light of God locally and  in our troubled world – just one of them will be getting our bells ringing again after many years of silence. Jesus Christ and the life he brings is for sharing – let’s ring our faith out!  Faith is for sharing – and it’s never too late to give and receive that faith.

It’s never too late to find something new out about Gods love for us and pass it on.  Never too late to try and grapple with the ever present reality of pain and suffering in our world and make sense of it against the background of God’s immersion in every part of human living. Never too late to understand, as Helen Keller wrote “ Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it”

I read in my safe warm spring garden yesterday an article in the Church Times by chaplain in Afghanistan, Antony Feltham-White. Some of us met him last year when he preached at Great Paxton. He writes of how some of his soldiers from 2^nd battalion the parachute regiment had cleared a village of IEDs – those vicious improvised explosive devices and brought  the village “ back from the dead” . Once again its inhabitants  could return and rebuild their lives. In the course of this clearing, one of his soldiers died – a life shed to bring new life to others.  “ God has shown me that whenever I confront death, there also will I find life”. Humbling words from a man who has seen far more trauma and pain than most of us thankfully ever will.

Even in the saddest, most harrowing of circumstances, we can find a strand of resurrection life. 

 “ He is Risen from the dead!” exclaims Mary – words which miraculously have reached us down the centuries – and are as fresh and relevant as they ever were. May his resurrection life fill the dark places of our lives, give us renewed courage as we negotiate life’s twists and turns and give meaning to all that we experience and strive for. Amen.

Hope you all have a lovely Day.

Paxtonvic

Thoughts for Easter

Homily for Easter 2011

 “ Better Kate than never”

 Well, it’s the event that everybody seems to be talking about, some with more enthusiasm than others.

 “ It’s good because it takes our mind off all the gloom and doom” I have heard said.

So, are you a lover of the REoyals and can’t wait to celebrate with them next Friday – or are you rather disenchanted with it all and will make a point of avoiding all the hype?

 Have you bought any of the memorabilia yet which has been produced for the day?

It is thought that the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton next Friday will  provide a £527.1 million boost for UK retailers.

The Government of course  decided to make April 29^th a bank holiday and on that day someone has estimated that in the UK £4.6M will be spent every hour – a lot of it on food and drink –including £9M on champagne. Then there is the vast array of memorabilia – from coins, mugs, pottery, replica jewellry, specially brewed beer and underwear with Will and Kate blazoned over the front or back. Own up – have any of you acquired any yet?

Its not a totally new idea of course – here is a commemoration mug of June 22^nd 1911 – nearly 100 years old – Queen Mary and George V. ( out with my visual aid!)

Amongst all the Kate and William merchandise a brand called  “Better Kate than Never” caught my eye. Ted Baker is a London designer who has come up with a collection of items which he is selling in the USA including underwear, bull dogs, handbags and scarves  – all with colourful royal motifs – and I heard on the radio yesterday that there are tee shirts around with “ Better Kate than Never” across the front.

Whilst some will be avoiding it all costs – billions in this country and across the world will be watching on TV, online, from their mobile phones and other internet gadgets

Why the huge popularity? Here is one suggestion…

“ Social media and the blogosphere can act as a kind of “echo chamber”. People get each other excited about an event, and then feed off of each other’s excitement. It has the effect of increasing exponentially the degree to which people anticipate and talk about an event”  In other words,  enthusiasm spreads like fire in a dry forest.

http://www.royalweddinglive.tv/how-many-people-will-watch-the-royal-wedding-live-of-prince-william-and-kate-middleton/

That first Easter morning, there was no internet to get the message round that something amazing had happened. Mary Magdalene, when she encountered the risen Lord in the garden, couldn’t put her hand to her iphone and text her friends “ The Lord is risen! Come and see!”

Everything was by word of mouth, everything done by running and walking and talking face to face. There were no video cameras hiding in the olive groves or mobile phones ready to snap the scene as the grave clothes lay on the slab in the tomb. No controversial shots of angels,  or pictures of the Risen Lord with the marks of torture on his hands. It was all done by  excited words and hearts beating for ecstatic joy and wonder.

Neither did anyone start making commemorative mugs or tunics with “ He is Risen “ across the front. All those first witnesses of the resurrection had to go on was their own experience of Jesus – risen from the dead. They had total confidence that their beloved Lord and master had overcome death and was out and about among them. The news, spread by word of mouth, must have stunned their audiences.

 He appeared to hundreds of them according to Paul, he walked with friends on the road to Emmaus. He appeared in an upper room and even invited Thomas – who needed a bit more evidence to start with than some – to touch him. Can you imagine how today’s media would have handled this Royal event – the Messiah, God’s annointed King, crucified yet risen from the dead.

I say we have no memorabilia on this Easter day of that turning point in human history. I suppose we could say we have those charming symbols of new life – eggs which can give us, if we care to put the chocolate to one side, a pleasant reminder of new life breaking out of the tomb. We have bunnies, flowers and lambs – all spring reminders of new life  and by association of the new life that Jesus gives us. We have too the cross – the powerful  and perennial symbol of all that Jesus did for us and our troubled world. when he died in such a cruel way.

But may I suggest one other thing that each of us may like to cultivate not just during this Easter season but every day of our lives. “ Better Kate than Never” runs the commercial tag on the Kate and William merchandise. It’s a pun of course on the phrase  “Better late than never”

It’s never too late to find something new out about Gods love for us. Never too late to try and grapple with the ever present reality of pain and suffering in our world and make sense of it against the background of God’s immersion in every part of human living. Never too late to understand, as Helen Keller wrote “ Although the world is full of suffering, it is  full also of the overcoming of it”

I read in my safe warm spring garden yesterday an article in the Church Times this week by chaplain in Afghanistan, Antony Feltham-White. Some of us met him last year when he preached at Great Paxton. He writes of how some of his soldiers from 2^nd battalion the parachute regiment had cleared a village of IEDs – those vicious improvised explosive devices and brought  the village “ back from the dead” . Once again its inhabitants  could return and rebuild their lives. In the course of this clearing, one of his soldiers died – a life shed to bring new life to others.  “ God has shown me that whenever I confront death, there also will I find life”. Humbling words from a man who has seen far more trauma and pain than most of us thankfully ever will.

Even in the saddest, most harrowing of circumstances, it is never too late to find a strand of resurrection life. I’m sure we all wish our royal prince and princess every good wish on Friday and a long and happy marriage. But long after the champagne has been drunk and the bunting has come down, we have something in our hearts that can transform our lives and the world around us day by day.

“ He is Risen from the dead!” exclaims Mary – words which miraculously have reached us down the centuries – and are as fresh and relevant as they ever were. May his resurrection life fill the dark places of our lives, give us renewed courage as we negotiate life’s twists and turns and give meaning to all that we experience and strive for. Amen.

The Easter Font – Little Paxton Church