Colourful Dreamer

I was lent this book in the Solomons. It is old, published in 1970. But I have not read anything like it before. Anthony Bloom was the Russian Orthodox Archbishop for Britain. He grew up in France after the Russian Revolution, and trained to be a doctor, which he continued to practice after becoming a monk. This short book begins with an interview with Anthony which in itself is really interesting. The next 100 pages deal with prayer, using stories from the Orthodox tradition and the gospels. It is delightfully written, easy to read, and profound. He begins by stating that the absence of God is the necessary beginning of real prayer! Until God is absent we rely on feelings we generate ourselves and our own efforts. When we live with the absence of God, then and only then are we forced to admit our absolute dependence on God, and that prayer is a gift from God. I have never read anything like that before. The chapters are: • The Absence of God • Knocking at the Door • Going Inward • Man

Ever wondered where you’re chocolate comes from? Ever thought that child slaves helped pick it? Ever wondered about who suffers for you to indulge in some yummy dark stuff? I got this email from a colleague about three weeks ago. "Hi all We are putting together a petition to encourage the producers of 60 Minutes to investigate the Chocolate industry here in NZ in particularly where they source their Coco beans from, and we hoped that you could support us in doing this by posting this on your blog/website and linking to the petition: The reason we are doing this is because we want to do something that will (1) help people focus on the issue of modern slavery (2) we want people to be more ethical and thoughtful in what they consume (3) because we want to eat chocolate with a 'relatively clean' conscience knowing that it is slave free chocolate and the only guilt we feel is knowing we have eaten far too much. So if you would like to join us and distribute a petition in your n

Kia ora I ahve just finished our major youth event, national anglican youth forum. This is one of my hihglights for the year, partly because it is young people that organise and run most of it, which is enormously life giving, and at times really stressful. They do things differently from me, and are at times way more conservative in their spoken attitudes. (I am not so sure about their behaviour though). For me, this event is the living out of what I am on about, offering young people the tradition that has given me life, and then giving htem permission to recreate it. The worship services are mixed, and liturgical, and nothing like what I expereince at church, or what soem people say young people want. They are creative, at times reflective, sometimes loud. And they speak to young people because young people have organised them. And I am about to go to the Solomons for a week with the Franciscans. You know our motto, join the Franciscans and see the world. I am a little nervous, and