Call me weird but I have had a thing about gravestones and memorials- as a youngster I would walk around churchyards and memorials fascinated and often quite moved by the people who have been honoured. I don’t think it is morbid mainly because the memorials were inscribed to be read so we can commemorate their memory.
Anyway, I was in Christchurch, Dorset and whilst I was there I attended one of 'Talking Pictures TV's' (TPTV) regular Film Festivals (TPTV for those who have not heard of them, is the UK's most watched independent TV channel, and they focus on TV and film from the 1930s to 1980s or so-a great watch). I digress but whilst I was there I visited Christchurch Priory, in Dorset, an 11th century building that goes back to the time of Edward the Confessor. There are many such memorials within the setting, but one sculpture that really stands out is the one to Harriet Harris who in 1815 at the tender age of just 32 died.
Her memorial as you can see above is of her tenderly cradling one of her children on her lap, her head resting gently on his while her two older boys, their arms around each other, are at her knees, tenderly reaching out to her.
We know little of her life, but the elegant prose inscribed in her honour tell us an awful lot:
‘Gifted by nature with uncommon beauty of person and countenance, possessing manners equally dignified and engaging, she never allowed herself to be influenced by the flatteries and allurements of the world. She enjoyed with rational cheerfulness those hours which she could spare from the performance of her domestic duties. So deeply impressed with the feelings and confidence of a true Christian was this pious and excellent woman: so fully prepared was she at all times for another world, that the sudden and unexpected approach of death could not disturb the sweet serenity of her mind, nor did one repining word escape her through 14 days of acute suffering, she calmly gave up her soul into the hands of the Creator, quitting all she loved with these words: “I have had my full share of happiness in this world”’.
What an example of the way to live your life and more importantly ‘to go into that dark night’ not as poet Dylan Thomas suggested “ rage, rage against the dying of the light”, but to gracefully and serenely go on one last adventure of this world and into the waiting hands of God.
As I say, we know little about Harriet Harris, but she sounds to have been a remarkable woman and a true Christian. What an example for us to follow....
I am sure many of you are taking part in ‘The Big Church Binge’ which St Mary’s and other churches have been promoting. For those unaware of it, it is a great initiative to encourage Christians to watch one episode a week of Season 3 of the great series ‘The Chosen’. That healthy habit will take us close to when Season 4 is due to open in UK cinemas in January.
‘The Chosen’ started in 2018 with the aim of accurately representing the character and intentions of Jesus and the Gospels, by taking viewers deeper into those stories of Jesus and those who knew Him. There is no doubt how successful the series has been in that respect – as I write there have been over 500m views of the series (the target is 1bn views so 50% there already) and over 100m people have seen it – equivalent to over 1% of the entire world population.
Its biggest impact however is in how it has evangelised and discipled new, especially younger, people into the faith as its style of storytelling is in a language and form that the unchurched can really respond to. I think it passes the first test of discipleship which is you have to engage and entertain people in order to allow them to be discipled-it is also very funny and we should never forget that humour is also a way to understand and believe.
How it has done that is by showing how human the disciples were and not far removed from our own experiences today and we grow in their own development. The creative choices the production team have made are not without controversy, but they are informed by the Gospels and really work well. So Matthew is played as someone on the autistic spectrum, a person who would have been reviled by his family and community, collecting the taxes of an occupying force and forcing people into poverty, but realising on meeting Jesus that there is a better way. Thomas is shown as someone who overthinks things and has to be 100% sure of something before believing it, whilst Mary Magdelene is someone with mental afflictions and is challenged by her former life. You also learn more about the family behind the disciples -how for example do their wives and family react to them suddenly leaving home and following this man Jesus? In ‘The Chosen’, we get an idea of that.
So for those new to the series, ‘The Big Church Binge’ has started with Series 3 (think Matthew 6 and Luke 11)- we are in the second year of Jesus’ ministry, he is about to give the Sermon on the Mount speech, John the Baptist has been imprisoned by Herod and a young apprentice takes an interest in Jesus-by the name of…Judas- on meeting him for the first time Jesus says to him cryptically “ Judas, are you ready to do hard things?”: you get the picture.
Although I have seen all the series so far, I am enjoying them again and I hope you are too.
To see ‘The Chosen’ there are a variety ways to view it: a) on ‘The Chosen App’, b) at https://watch.thechosen.tv/ or c) on Amazon Freevee- all free so happy viewing!
There is a famous joke about going to church which goes something like this:
“One Sunday a mother shook her son awake, telling him it was time to go to church, but he would not stir. Ten minutes later she was back: “Get out of bed immediately and go to church”. “Mother, I don’t want to-it’s so boring, so why should I bother?”. “For two reasons: you know you must go to church on a Sunday, and secondly, you are the Bishop to the diocese…”
As funny as this is, there is like a number of jokes about church, a serious point to mull over. The Bishop in the joke may have had a point because quite often people ‘say yes to Jesus but no to the Church’. Reasons for that tend to fall into the idea that going to church amounts to little more than older people gathering in a cold building to listen to overlong, tedious sermons. If truth be told, there are some churches like that, because as a new Christian, some 30+ years ago, I went to them, and I was struck by the huge contrast between what I learnt in the Gospels and what the reality of being a believer in some of our churches was like. That forced me to look around and I have over the years found churches that do reflect the love, compassion, joy and fruitfulness that Jesus taught.
Church attendance is, as we know, in steep decline, but it doesn’t have to be like that. In a number of places, churches are thriving. Those churches generally have a few things in common in that they :
Have a clear mission and purposein that they are know who they are, what they stand for, what they are trying to do and how they are going to achieve that;
Actively Engage – churches who know their local community and who reach out to them are the ones that grow especially those who harness the positive power of social media;
Are willing to adapt and change – churches that regularly look at what they do in terms of worship style and are open to change things when they work, tend to be the ones that thrive and be attractive to the ‘unchurched’ (those new to the faith);
Have lay people who are active in their leadership-churches that have lay volunteers who take an active role in their leadership are more likely to thrive;
Actively engage with children and young people-churches that invest in young people and families such as employing a Children’s or Youth Worker are shown to be a growing faith community;
Are welcoming- churches that have an ‘open door’ to their communities are the ones that build relationships with people that lead to church growth;
Nurture disciples- those that offer Life Groups or discipleship programmes that encourage Christian witness show growth;
Have leaders who envision and motivate people-churches that have people who energise and empower people help deliver the message in Ephesians 4:11-13 that Christ equipped us so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith, to become mature and attain the fullness of Christ.
There is no ‘instant magic recipe’ for churches to thrive and reverse the trend of church non-attendance, but it can be done by adopting some of the above healthy habits that encourage people to want to become involved and hear the Gospels that will, if they let it, change their lives for the better.
Wherever you look at the moment there is ‘Barbie’! The release of the film about the Mattel fashion doll that was launched way back in 1959 has become a global cultural phenomenon. Within a couple of months, it has become the 7th most popular film in UK Box Office history, and the 15th highest grossing movie in the world of all time-and is already available to stream. It has also ignited a lot of talk about women, their role in society, and where men fit into that as well.
However, for me the really interesting thing about ‘Barbie’s colossal success is how influenced it is by the Bible stories. When I, with the encouragement of a female friend took the plunge to see the film, I thought to myself “..I know this story…”, and people of faith viewing it may have the same reaction.
If you have so far escaped ‘Barbie’, the story is set in ‘Barbieland’, where Barbie lives somewhere where there is no aging, no death, no pain, no shame or self-consciousness…but then suddenly she becomes self-conscious…. Now, where or what does that remind you of?
It is of course Genesis 3, the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve and ‘The Fall’. Now in case you think I am reading too much into what could just be a joyous, fluffy and very pink comedy, its writer/director Greta Gerwig has spoken about the parallels between the Bible and Barbie and that it was a conscious choice she made to link them together. She talked about being brought up in a Catholic school and how the Bible stories continue to resonate with her. Although taught as a Catholic, she was brought up and still attends a Unitarian Universalism Church- the spiritual movement that evolved from Protestant Puritan movements, and you see that influence in ‘Barbie’.
She also pointed out that a central scene where Barbie meets her maker -not in this case God but the spirit of the real life Barbie creator Ruth Handler- was specifically framed to look like Michelangelo’s fresco painting of ‘The Creation of Adam’ in the Sistine Chapel, where of course God gives life to Adam.
Where the film differs from Genesis 3 though is that it is Man in the form of Barbie’s boyfriend Ken, that is created for Woman (Barbie) rather than the other way round. The most touching moment of the film for me is when Barbie and Ken have to leave their Garden of Eden to go the real World to make things right again in Barbieland. There the two of them become very self-conscious with people looking at them- all that is missing is them wearing fig leaves!
‘Barbie’ although seen as a feminist film is in effect a very optimistic, happy film which tells its audience that it is OK to be vulnerable, that change in life is inevitable and through the gift of goodwill our futures are ours to make. Barbie’s maker does not force her to act in a particular way- that is left to Barbie and in a real sense to all of us.
Its huge success tells us something else too. That no matter how challenging current society is for Christians and the Church, the Bible’s ‘soft power’ and influence is very much present and ‘on trend’, as its adapted stories continue to excite and engage modern audiences even if they are covered under huge layers of pink!
