Friday, December 29, 2006

Christmas Day


Christmas Day came with 'Surprises' out of boxes all wrapped up. Children had great fun and adults as we ripped them open and we sang or prayed or read the story. It gathered up all our advent journey as you can see here.
Amazingly, though I didn't realise it at the time, the sun was shining right on the manger!
So we got excited at the surprises we opened, the surprises of the story... shepherds turned up... and Mary pondered these things in her heart. So we took some time to ponder too.
A church full and a wonderful part of our day!

Saturday, December 23, 2006

As it is in Heaven

For some time now we have wanted to catch this movie. Finally managed it last night. Our little local cinema The Metro is great for good qusality little films. I rarely see Hollywood these days.


The story is simple. It doesn't have glamourous cast, nor glitz, no complex twists and turns. Rather it has evertything of the everyday, the complexities are in the individuals and their daily lives. It shows the scenic remoteness of the village in Norrland, northern Sweden. You can check out a synopisis elsewhere, but the main character is complex and 'strange' really, but his is a search like all the others amidst a social-cultural context where each is bound up and gagged in a range of ways. Also the past that binds them too. You can at times feel the intensity of it. perhaps that's because it is all too real. The closedness of the small village, the church, the choir. The minister is an interesting and inwardly eaten up guy just like the rest and tortured by his understanding of faith. There are some good lines too as liberation comes for each one of them, though not without pain.

Daniel (Michael Nyqvist), a successful and talented conductor, who returns the rural village he grew up in, to recover from a heart attack. No one recognizes him because he had changed his name many years ago. Soon, he is approached to lead the local church choir. As he confronts his own past demons, love comes in the form of one of the choir members, Lena (Frida Hallgren), who helps him to find who he really is. His return though sees him alone in the midst of winter in the village. As he encounters people, he is asked to come lead the choir. He refuses, but is often heard say 'I am here to listen'. I think there is something profound in those words when we go anywahere new and meet new people.

It is its simple story about the beauty of life that makes this film a gem. The music isn't bad either and the scenery all come together and engage your emotions.

I can only agree further with the following comments:
Another thing the audience may have problems with is the simple
characterizations in the film. Everyone has a straightforward role – the
teacher, the artist, the priest, the abuser, the abused, the messiah, the bully;
everything appears so clear-cut and one-dimensional. But, there is so much
honesty in them that their petty differences seem to be a stark reflection of
our own lives.
To top it all off, the film features some truly moving scenes
which will leave you mesmerized with the beauty of music and on a deeper level,
life. Other than the obligatory final inspiring scene, another gorgeous sequence
to look out for is when the abused wife, Gabriella (Helen Sjöholm), sings a song
specially written for her. One of Sweden’s biggest musical stars on stage,
Sjöholm’s voice will enchant the cynic in you.
Sure, there are no loud
explosions and no fancy computer generated effects to draw in the average
movie-goer. But do yourself a favour, watch this film, experience the beauty of
life, and you will take home a piece of heaven with you.

Friday, December 22, 2006

Planting and tending lessons

At our mid-week Caim this Spring (NZ time) we set about a garden ministry. Each Saturday morning we took on a garden and dug veggie plots, went back and planted seeds or seedlings, or simple weeding and tidy up.

Closer to home, I decided this year to plant some veggies too. It started something looking like this -

sugar snap peas, sweet corn(!), lettuce, Rocket, beetroot, broccoli, red onions, carrots, parsnip, and butternut squash.
a venerable harvest to share around with friends and neighbours.





In a time of huge ministry change for us all at Highgate, but also myself, the little garden plot has served to remind me of Peterson's 'Under the Unpredictable plant' where he uses a gardening image for ministry.

I confess it has helped me through the past months and weeks since Martin just left a few weeks ago. tending these plants, just enough shelter too as it has even hailed recently, delicately taking out the weeds and watering as required... all the gentle reverence for pastoral care.



So here is a recent update on my patch. See how they grow. It was hard holding back at that crucial stage of simply placing the seeds in the soil. Waiting and waiting and waiting.

With some thinning out some should grow even more, but I hope to harvest some lettuce and rocket for making a fresh salad with plenty taste. Yum!