Thursday, May 18, 2006
SUnday May 21st 2006
Hi. Gather at the Bowlers' at five followed by supper. The youth group will be at Riverbend with Youth Unlimited (YFC).
Sunday, May 14, 2006
TIME Magazine Archive Article -- There's No Pulpit Like Home -- Mar. 06, 2006
Here is an interesting Time magazine article on house churches.
Friday, May 12, 2006
Monday, May 08, 2006
Sunday, May 14th 2006
Hello Everyone,
This week we will be meeting at the Bowlers' home on Beaton in Comox.
5-6 Service
6-7 Potluck Dinner
7-8 Discussion time
God bless,
Martin
For more information call 339-4359
This week we will be meeting at the Bowlers' home on Beaton in Comox.
5-6 Service
6-7 Potluck Dinner
7-8 Discussion time
God bless,
Martin
For more information call 339-4359
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Sunday, May 07-2006
Hello everyone,
This is just to inform you we will meet as usual this week at the Davies' home on Pridy Rd. from 5-7. David, Jannice and the family are home. We have no set plan for the 'study ' section this week. Perhaps we could all put on our prayer and thinking caps and give some thought and prayer as to what we'd like to do for the next while.
The evening will be:- study or planning 5-6pm, pot-luck and fellowship 6-7pm
I know Larry, Judy and Ben will not be able to make it this week.
God bless and see you Sunday.
Martin
If there are any changes to this plan for Sunday, I will e-mail you all on Saturday, so check you machines then.
This is just to inform you we will meet as usual this week at the Davies' home on Pridy Rd. from 5-7. David, Jannice and the family are home. We have no set plan for the 'study ' section this week. Perhaps we could all put on our prayer and thinking caps and give some thought and prayer as to what we'd like to do for the next while.
The evening will be:- study or planning 5-6pm, pot-luck and fellowship 6-7pm
I know Larry, Judy and Ben will not be able to make it this week.
God bless and see you Sunday.
Martin
If there are any changes to this plan for Sunday, I will e-mail you all on Saturday, so check you machines then.
Monday, May 01, 2006
Archbishop of Canterbury on "The Gospel of Judas"
Article written for the Mail on Sunday newspaper
16th April 2006
A few days ago, I finally got my copy of the Gospel of Judas that people have been talking about. And no, in case you’re wondering, it didn’t make me tear up the New Testament and start looking for a new job.
It’s actually a fairly conventional book of its kind — and there were dozens like it around in the early centuries of the Church. People who weren’t satisfied with the sort of thing the New Testament had to say spent quite a lot of energy trying to produce something which suited them better.
They wanted Christian teaching to be a matter of exotic and mystical information, shared only with an in-group. So a lot of these books imagine Jesus having long conversations with various people whose names are in the Bible but who we don’t know much about. This, they claim is the real thing— not the boring stuff in the official books. Don’t believe the official version, they say. The truth has been concealed from you by sinister conspiracies of bishops and suchlike villains, but now it can be told.
I suppose that explains why there’s always such an interest in stories about ‘lost’ books coming to light. Think of the massive international industry around the Da Vinci Code: it’s exciting to think of conspiracies and cover-ups when trust in traditional institutions is low. The same sort of thing seems to have happened with the history of the Church and its Bible.
But here’s the problem. We're familiar with a world of cover up stories; we’re on safer ground with their cynicism and worldly wisdom; they are less challenging and don't force us to confront difficult realities. And, like any kind of cynicism, it actually stops us hearing anything genuinely new or surprising. We need to stop and ask ourselves from time to time just why the cynical version is the one that appeals to us , is it just because we can cope much more easily with the picture of a world that always works by manipulation and deceit? Don’t we want to see anything more challenging? Are we just too lazy to recognise something really fresh, something that hints at a bigger and a better world?
The people who wrote the Gospel of Judas were trying to persuade their readers that everyone before them had got Jesus wrong, and that the folk who ran the churches were only in it for their own profit (never mind that these leaders and their followers regularly faced death for what they believed, just as some believers still do now, as we’ve been reminded in recent weeks). This story in itself was an easy option, something that couldn’t ever be completely disproved but would create a climate of mistrust.
But why were those writers not satisfied with what the Bible says? It becomes a lot clearer when we compare the Jesus of the Bible with the Jesus of these other documents.
In the new ‘gospel’, Jesus is made out to be a mystery man, a guru. He laughs mockingly when the disciples try to understand what he’s about. He is said to reveal the mystic names of heavenly powers, and to explain how the universe was created by inferior angels. He claims that the soul is only a very temporary dweller in the body. And Judas is told repeatedly that only he understands Jesus, not the other, dimwitted, disciples. It’s the standard kind of teaching you expect from gurus of a certain sort.
Now turn to the New Testament. Here is the real Jesus who actually has a recognisable human setting. His favourite method of teaching is to tell sharp and sometimes satirical stories of ordinary life, with a sting in the tail. He doesn’t suffer fools (especially religious fools) gladly, but he has all the time in the world for those who are thought to be failures. He is a straightforward, not a cynical man. He likes being with children. He knows his disciples don’t fully understand him and sometimes it makes him angry, but he goes on loving and trusting them. When he’s faced with a horrible and unavoidable death, he trembles and cries, but goes on with it.
When the Jesus of the Gospels comes back from the dead, he doesn’t go and crow over his enemies, he meets his friends and tells them to get out there and talk about him — about what his life and death have made possible, about forgiveness, making peace, being honest about yourself, checking the temptation to judge and condemn, tackling your selfishness at the root, praying simply and trustingly.
This is flesh and blood. It’s not about exotic mysteries. It is about how God makes it possible for us to live a life that isn’t paralysed by guilt, aggression and pride. It asks us to come down to earth and face what’s wrong with us. Is it surprising that some people found this too direct, too in-your-face to cope with? No wonder they preferred to go on about the names of angels and the secrets of how the world began.
Let’s ask ourselves why we’re sometimes more comfortable with such stories about conspiracies and stories about mystical gurus. Is it perhaps because when we turn to what the Bible actually says, Jesus challenges us pretty seriously? What if this is a story we haven’t really listened to before? And what if everything could be different because of this particular story?
That’s the question we ought to be asking at Easter. What if this surprising character in the New Testament is not just another teacher, another guru, but someone who really could change the world? Everything truly can be different because of the real story of Jesus, the Son of God.
Well, that is the real front-page story, bigger than any story about the discovery of a lost document and ultimately more exciting than any number of conspiracy theories.
And that’s perhaps why the Bible story is still being told two thousand years on, by people who have discovered that the world and their lives really have changed.
ENDS
© Rowan Williams 2006
Lambeth Palace press office
Tel: 0207 898 1280
Fax: 0207 261 1765
Top
16th April 2006
A few days ago, I finally got my copy of the Gospel of Judas that people have been talking about. And no, in case you’re wondering, it didn’t make me tear up the New Testament and start looking for a new job.
It’s actually a fairly conventional book of its kind — and there were dozens like it around in the early centuries of the Church. People who weren’t satisfied with the sort of thing the New Testament had to say spent quite a lot of energy trying to produce something which suited them better.
They wanted Christian teaching to be a matter of exotic and mystical information, shared only with an in-group. So a lot of these books imagine Jesus having long conversations with various people whose names are in the Bible but who we don’t know much about. This, they claim is the real thing— not the boring stuff in the official books. Don’t believe the official version, they say. The truth has been concealed from you by sinister conspiracies of bishops and suchlike villains, but now it can be told.
I suppose that explains why there’s always such an interest in stories about ‘lost’ books coming to light. Think of the massive international industry around the Da Vinci Code: it’s exciting to think of conspiracies and cover-ups when trust in traditional institutions is low. The same sort of thing seems to have happened with the history of the Church and its Bible.
But here’s the problem. We're familiar with a world of cover up stories; we’re on safer ground with their cynicism and worldly wisdom; they are less challenging and don't force us to confront difficult realities. And, like any kind of cynicism, it actually stops us hearing anything genuinely new or surprising. We need to stop and ask ourselves from time to time just why the cynical version is the one that appeals to us , is it just because we can cope much more easily with the picture of a world that always works by manipulation and deceit? Don’t we want to see anything more challenging? Are we just too lazy to recognise something really fresh, something that hints at a bigger and a better world?
The people who wrote the Gospel of Judas were trying to persuade their readers that everyone before them had got Jesus wrong, and that the folk who ran the churches were only in it for their own profit (never mind that these leaders and their followers regularly faced death for what they believed, just as some believers still do now, as we’ve been reminded in recent weeks). This story in itself was an easy option, something that couldn’t ever be completely disproved but would create a climate of mistrust.
But why were those writers not satisfied with what the Bible says? It becomes a lot clearer when we compare the Jesus of the Bible with the Jesus of these other documents.
In the new ‘gospel’, Jesus is made out to be a mystery man, a guru. He laughs mockingly when the disciples try to understand what he’s about. He is said to reveal the mystic names of heavenly powers, and to explain how the universe was created by inferior angels. He claims that the soul is only a very temporary dweller in the body. And Judas is told repeatedly that only he understands Jesus, not the other, dimwitted, disciples. It’s the standard kind of teaching you expect from gurus of a certain sort.
Now turn to the New Testament. Here is the real Jesus who actually has a recognisable human setting. His favourite method of teaching is to tell sharp and sometimes satirical stories of ordinary life, with a sting in the tail. He doesn’t suffer fools (especially religious fools) gladly, but he has all the time in the world for those who are thought to be failures. He is a straightforward, not a cynical man. He likes being with children. He knows his disciples don’t fully understand him and sometimes it makes him angry, but he goes on loving and trusting them. When he’s faced with a horrible and unavoidable death, he trembles and cries, but goes on with it.
When the Jesus of the Gospels comes back from the dead, he doesn’t go and crow over his enemies, he meets his friends and tells them to get out there and talk about him — about what his life and death have made possible, about forgiveness, making peace, being honest about yourself, checking the temptation to judge and condemn, tackling your selfishness at the root, praying simply and trustingly.
This is flesh and blood. It’s not about exotic mysteries. It is about how God makes it possible for us to live a life that isn’t paralysed by guilt, aggression and pride. It asks us to come down to earth and face what’s wrong with us. Is it surprising that some people found this too direct, too in-your-face to cope with? No wonder they preferred to go on about the names of angels and the secrets of how the world began.
Let’s ask ourselves why we’re sometimes more comfortable with such stories about conspiracies and stories about mystical gurus. Is it perhaps because when we turn to what the Bible actually says, Jesus challenges us pretty seriously? What if this is a story we haven’t really listened to before? And what if everything could be different because of this particular story?
That’s the question we ought to be asking at Easter. What if this surprising character in the New Testament is not just another teacher, another guru, but someone who really could change the world? Everything truly can be different because of the real story of Jesus, the Son of God.
Well, that is the real front-page story, bigger than any story about the discovery of a lost document and ultimately more exciting than any number of conspiracy theories.
And that’s perhaps why the Bible story is still being told two thousand years on, by people who have discovered that the world and their lives really have changed.
ENDS
© Rowan Williams 2006
Lambeth Palace press office
Tel: 0207 898 1280
Fax: 0207 261 1765
Top
Monday, April 24, 2006
Sunday April 30th-2006
This coming Sunday, April 30th, C.O.O.L will again be meeting at the Davies' home on Pridy Rd. We will watch the second half of the movie, The Gospel of John, from 5-6. We will follow the movie with discussion about it and then take time to pray for our needs and the needs of others. The evening will finish up with a pot-luck dinner as we did last week. We will finish at 7PM for those who need to go, but all should feel free to linger over an extra cup of coffee.
Best wishes, God bless.
Martin
Friday, April 21, 2006
Sunday, April 23rd-06
This coming Sunday we will be meeting as usual at the Davies' home on Pridy Rd. from 5-7PM. We plan to watch the first half of the movie, 'The Gospel of John', and have a discussion based on what we see. Of course we will have our usual pot-luch dinner too. Next week, on the 30th, we will watch the remainder of the film and have a similar evening. We don't wish to get into anything resembling a 'series' study, as David and Jannice will be home soon with their family, and we wish to include them in any future long term planning
Friday, March 31, 2006
Upcoming C.O.O.L. Sundays
Hello everyone,
Here is some info re-the next few Sundays with C.O.O.L.
Sunday April 02...Meeting at Davies home 5pm-7pm for video study and dinner.
Sunday April 09...Palm Sunday..Davies & Tom Morgan will be traveling to Lighthouse Church in Nanaimo to support Rev. Kathy King and the church there in their service. We also welcome anyone else to come . In the evening we will be going to the Greg Sczebel Concert at the Sid Williams theatre in Courtenay. We will be taking the youth from the church to see this. It is a fund raiser for Habitat for Humanity and for Youth Unlimited in the valley. Greg is an up and coming Christian musician. Tickets for this concert are available from the Sid Williams box office and can be reserved on-line or by phone. No meeting at the Davies' home this week.
Sunday April 16th...Easter Sunday. Davies will be attending Living Word Episcopal Church, Courtenay, B.C. (Rev'd Bill Hedges). We assume that others from C.O.O.L. will be attending services at their regular places of worship. There will be no evening meeting at Davies' home this week.
I hope this is clear to all reading it. Any questions please call 339-4359 for clarification.
Blessings on all.
Martin and Cynthia
Here is some info re-the next few Sundays with C.O.O.L.
Sunday April 02...Meeting at Davies home 5pm-7pm for video study and dinner.
Sunday April 09...Palm Sunday..Davies & Tom Morgan will be traveling to Lighthouse Church in Nanaimo to support Rev. Kathy King and the church there in their service. We also welcome anyone else to come . In the evening we will be going to the Greg Sczebel Concert at the Sid Williams theatre in Courtenay. We will be taking the youth from the church to see this. It is a fund raiser for Habitat for Humanity and for Youth Unlimited in the valley. Greg is an up and coming Christian musician. Tickets for this concert are available from the Sid Williams box office and can be reserved on-line or by phone. No meeting at the Davies' home this week.
Sunday April 16th...Easter Sunday. Davies will be attending Living Word Episcopal Church, Courtenay, B.C. (Rev'd Bill Hedges). We assume that others from C.O.O.L. will be attending services at their regular places of worship. There will be no evening meeting at Davies' home this week.
I hope this is clear to all reading it. Any questions please call 339-4359 for clarification.
Blessings on all.
Martin and Cynthia
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Mission-Shaped Church
Here is some homework for COOL folks over the next month or two as we consider our next steps in our fresh expression of the local Body of Christ. This church of England report looks at a number of fresh expressions of church from around the world and is very pertinent to what we are attempting to do at COOL in particualr and in the ACiC in general. It is recommended by our bishop.
Please go to the link and download the pdf report or read it on line. Especially the sections on small christian communities or base ecclesial communities and also the ones on cafe church and network churches.
Enjoy!
David+
Please go to the link and download the pdf report or read it on line. Especially the sections on small christian communities or base ecclesial communities and also the ones on cafe church and network churches.
Enjoy!
David+
Saturday, March 04, 2006
Update from Antigua, Guatemala, Week Three.
It is hard to believe that we have completed three weeks of language study in Antigua already. It has been marvellous. Antigua is an interesting place, full of ruins, old churches, beautifully-dressed indigenous people and lots of foreign students and tourists. We have enjoyed the school immensely and are impressed by how quickly the kids have picked up the Spanish language. Their French helps.
We are off to Costa Rica for two weeks vacation followed by a visit to the Mayan ruins at Tikal and a brief excursion into Belize. Then we have four weeks back in Antigua and Lake Atitlan Before returning to Canada.
Church-wise we have had some interesting contrasts: one of the teachers here invited us to attend his Pentecostal church last week. I have also attended the two RC services including the imposition of ashes on Ash Wednesday. There are churches everywhere, both RC and protestant (mostly Pentecostal). The syncretic elements of Mayan + RC beliefs are not as evident here as we understand them to be in areas where there are more indigenous people. We shared communion together one Sunday night in our cottage, first half in Spanish, switching to English when the congregation (AKA family) mutinied. Most people we talk to have not heard of Anglicans – if one is neither RC nor Pentecostal they don’t have a category to fit you in!
Immense poverty here, along with great natural beauty. There are numerous aid agencies in Guatemala, some medical, others food/health/developmental, including a group of engineers and architects. We have talked to various health teams and toured the local Fransiscan hospital which looks after many chronically handicapped people permanently as well as hosting visiting teams of surgeons and other MDs from USA, Canada, Spain and Italy who come to do provide surgery for the impoverished villagers from the rural areas. We visited a ward of severely malnourished babies – have not seen such malnutrition since we trained in South Africa. Great to see the inter-denom co-operation amongst the teams. One very friendly Texan Fransiscan friar studying here runs a similar hospital in Honduras staffed by inter-denominational teams from the USA.
Lent has begun in earnest here: processions, special services and displays of art (consisting of flowers, coloured sawdust “carpets” and elaborately dressed figures enacting biblical scenes).
We shall only have sporadic internet access over the next four weeks but shall try to keep in touch.
Adios for now.
David+
We are off to Costa Rica for two weeks vacation followed by a visit to the Mayan ruins at Tikal and a brief excursion into Belize. Then we have four weeks back in Antigua and Lake Atitlan Before returning to Canada.
Church-wise we have had some interesting contrasts: one of the teachers here invited us to attend his Pentecostal church last week. I have also attended the two RC services including the imposition of ashes on Ash Wednesday. There are churches everywhere, both RC and protestant (mostly Pentecostal). The syncretic elements of Mayan + RC beliefs are not as evident here as we understand them to be in areas where there are more indigenous people. We shared communion together one Sunday night in our cottage, first half in Spanish, switching to English when the congregation (AKA family) mutinied. Most people we talk to have not heard of Anglicans – if one is neither RC nor Pentecostal they don’t have a category to fit you in!
Immense poverty here, along with great natural beauty. There are numerous aid agencies in Guatemala, some medical, others food/health/developmental, including a group of engineers and architects. We have talked to various health teams and toured the local Fransiscan hospital which looks after many chronically handicapped people permanently as well as hosting visiting teams of surgeons and other MDs from USA, Canada, Spain and Italy who come to do provide surgery for the impoverished villagers from the rural areas. We visited a ward of severely malnourished babies – have not seen such malnutrition since we trained in South Africa. Great to see the inter-denom co-operation amongst the teams. One very friendly Texan Fransiscan friar studying here runs a similar hospital in Honduras staffed by inter-denominational teams from the USA.
Lent has begun in earnest here: processions, special services and displays of art (consisting of flowers, coloured sawdust “carpets” and elaborately dressed figures enacting biblical scenes).
We shall only have sporadic internet access over the next four weeks but shall try to keep in touch.
Adios for now.
David+
Friday, March 03, 2006
Lent Begins
Here's wishing you all a very fruitful Lent as we prepare to celebrate Christ's death and resurrection at Easter.
Blessings to all from Antigua, Guatamala, where they REALLY celebrate Lent and Holy Week!
David+
Blessings to all from Antigua, Guatamala, where they REALLY celebrate Lent and Holy Week!
David+
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Sunday, Feb.26th/06
Due to the snowfall and subsequent hazardous driving conditions, this evening's meeting at Pridy Rd. has been cancelled. We will meet as usual at 5PM on Sunday March 05. Blessings on all and be safe on the road.
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Sunday, Feb. 26th-2006
Hi folks,
This is a gentle reminder that we will gather once more at the Davies home at 5PM for study. This week we will actually be considering more options for study. Please feel free to come with ideas loaded into the grey matter. At 6PM we will eat together and the evening will finish at 7PM for those who wish to leave. Please feel free to stay longer if you wish to chat.
For anyone wishing more information, please call 250-339-4359
See you soon,
Martin
This is a gentle reminder that we will gather once more at the Davies home at 5PM for study. This week we will actually be considering more options for study. Please feel free to come with ideas loaded into the grey matter. At 6PM we will eat together and the evening will finish at 7PM for those who wish to leave. Please feel free to stay longer if you wish to chat.
For anyone wishing more information, please call 250-339-4359
See you soon,
Martin
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Current plans
Church of Our Lord will not meet at the home of the Davies this week, Sun., Feb.19th. Some of us wish to attend the installation of Rev. Kathy King as the new priest at Church of the Light, Nanaimo. The installation is scheduled for 2PM.
We will be meeting as usual the following week at the Davies home. We will meet for discussion and planning at 5PM followed by pot-luck dinner together from 6-7PM. If you need more information, please call 250-339-4359. Please continue to pray for the Bowlers as they learn Spanish and vacation in S. America.
We will be meeting as usual the following week at the Davies home. We will meet for discussion and planning at 5PM followed by pot-luck dinner together from 6-7PM. If you need more information, please call 250-339-4359. Please continue to pray for the Bowlers as they learn Spanish and vacation in S. America.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Hola
Hola from beautiful Guatamala. Bowlers arrived safely and have seetled into the Spanish school (Escuela San Jose de Viaje) which is set in 2 acres of charming colonial buildings and gardens. We are all too aware of our limited linguistic abilities. Three of us have come down with a bug already. Hopefully temporary!
Here is a reminder: COOL continues to gather at the Davies' home and Lindsay will be looking after the youth cell group. YU continues as before.
David+
Here is a reminder: COOL continues to gather at the Davies' home and Lindsay will be looking after the youth cell group. YU continues as before.
David+
Friday, February 03, 2006
Sunday at Five
For February, March and April COOL Sunday at Five meets at 1930 Pridy Rd in Comox (off Anderton) Tel 339-4359.
Saturday, January 28, 2006
Confirming Our Faith: Healing and Wholeness.
Christian Beliefs about Healing
This Sunday at Five will be at the Bowlers' at 2087 Beaton Ave, Comox . We shall begin with the Eucharist, followed by potluck supper and then Cynthia will facilitate a discussion on a Christian understanding of healing.
1. What do we mean when we talk about different forms of illness? Give examples of Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual illnesses.
2. How do you feel when you are ill?
3. What makes it difficult to pray when you are ill?
4. How did Jesus go about healing those who were ill? Give some different examples.
Luke 5:12-16; 7:1-10; Luke 8:26-36; Luke 8:40-56. etc.
5. Jesus sent his disciples to do as He had done. He sends us today to be his instruments of healing. Our instructions are in James 5:14-15.
The Sacrament or sacramental rite of Unction, otherwise known as the anointing of the sick, is based on the James chapter five scripture. The priest lays hands on the person who has asked for prayer and then anoints their head and hands with consecrated oil. The priest or other Christians then pray for the person. Always as part of this there is opportunity for the person to accept Christ as Lord and Saviour.
6. What is happening when we pray for physical healing and the person does not get well?
7. If we acknowledge that this world is not our home and that our home is heaven what do you see as the perfect healing?
8. In your experience what does Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, always do when we pray for healing?
This Sunday at Five will be at the Bowlers' at 2087 Beaton Ave, Comox . We shall begin with the Eucharist, followed by potluck supper and then Cynthia will facilitate a discussion on a Christian understanding of healing.
1. What do we mean when we talk about different forms of illness? Give examples of Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual illnesses.
2. How do you feel when you are ill?
3. What makes it difficult to pray when you are ill?
4. How did Jesus go about healing those who were ill? Give some different examples.
Luke 5:12-16; 7:1-10; Luke 8:26-36; Luke 8:40-56. etc.
5. Jesus sent his disciples to do as He had done. He sends us today to be his instruments of healing. Our instructions are in James 5:14-15.
The Sacrament or sacramental rite of Unction, otherwise known as the anointing of the sick, is based on the James chapter five scripture. The priest lays hands on the person who has asked for prayer and then anoints their head and hands with consecrated oil. The priest or other Christians then pray for the person. Always as part of this there is opportunity for the person to accept Christ as Lord and Saviour.
6. What is happening when we pray for physical healing and the person does not get well?
7. If we acknowledge that this world is not our home and that our home is heaven what do you see as the perfect healing?
8. In your experience what does Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, always do when we pray for healing?
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