On the roof of Rome - an evening hosted by Francis Campbell, British Ambassador to the Holy See

The Craighead Institute was honoured to have its certificate giving ceremony at the residence of the British Ambassador in Rome this evening. We walked up almost 10 sets of staircases to reach a roof terrace with of course stunning views - this is Rome in June. Ambassador Francis Campbell
was very welcoming and gave a good speech about how without religious organisations delivering services to real people at the grassroots, it would almost impossible to achieve the millenium development goals. He also particularly welcomed our group as there were far more women than at the usual receptions hosted at the residence!
Later after we had moved downstairs, the ambassador gave us fascinating insight into the complexity of the issues followed by the British embassay to the Holy See - using diplomacy to push the millenium development goals; the multilateral approach that the posting requires and the growing understanding of the importance of religion in diplomacy and international affairs. A heartening and interesting evening.
There's a link here to an article by Campbell in the Tablet in which he says:

Europeans take it for granted that modernisation and secularism go hand in hand. But the experience of the rest of the world tells a different story. The challenge is maintaining faith while living peacefully with those who do not share it. Retreat is not an option.

A pilgrimage in the footsteps of great women

On Saturday June 6th ecumenical pilgrims will set out from the German city of Erfurt to walk the 18 kilometers to Arnstadt. The walk is on part of the pilgrim way between Erfurt and Paulinzella which was opened in 2008.
The focus of this 6th annual ecumenical pilgrimage are two strong women Elisabeth of Thüringen (1207 to 1231) and the Beneditine St Walburga (710 bis 779).
To my shame I know almost nothing about mediaeval female saints and mystics but this idea of trying to put together a pilgrimage to places of great or strong women really appeals to me. I'^ll have to suggest it to WIM.

The expressive organisaiton - maybe the way to see how management is a theological task

One of the things I am beginning to grope my way towards with the paper I am writing for my leadership and spirituality course is how to affirm management and leadership as theological tasks.
This evening I've just been sent a link to a book which I think may help me do that, "The Expressive Organisation". It has some interesting looking chapters on for instance: Scaling the tower of Babel: relational differences between identity, image and culture in organisations, or: Corporate communication orchestrated by a sustainable corporate story, or: Reputation as strategy. Sounds like I have some fun reading ahead.

That last part is sort of where I'm heading in terms of trying to work out a link between the theological idea of being "witnesses" or "disciples" and the organisational ideas of how and what you do being as important as whatever your product may be. I'm probably not making much sense but never mind, thinking aloud onto my blog is part of overcoming writer's block.

Orhan Pamuk on Walter Benjamin

It is now well documented that the Stranz-Browns are waiting for another conversation about Walter Benjamin. Things keep offering us the idea that this might be possible. Today by chance I began reading Orhan Pamuk's wonderful book Other Colours. The preface is only two and a half pages long but full of wonderful quotes, of which more later, it ends with this which made me smile and may be part of another conversation about WB once I get back to Geneva:

I am hardly alone in being a great admirer of the german writer-philosopher Walter Benjamin. But to anger one friend who is too much in awe of him (she's an academic of course), I sometimes ask, What is so great about this writer? He managed to finish only a few books, and if he's famous, it's not for the work he finished but the work he never managed to complete." My friend replies that Benjamin's oeuvre is, like life itself, boundless and therefore fragmentary, and this was why so many literary critics tried so hard to give the pieces meaning, just as they did with life. And every time I smile and say, "One day I'll write a book that's made only from fragments too." This is that book, set inside a frame to suggest a center that I have tried to hide: I hope that readers will enjoy imagining that center into being.

What I love about this idea is that the fragmentary can truly become an "oeuvre". Of course that fragmentary writing needs in the first place to be of a slightly higher order than my own sermons sometimes scribbled on the paper tablecloths of the local pizzeria (really sermon writing is no longer so much fun since they went in for proper tablecloths). Leaving the oeuvre to one side though I think what appeals to me is that of course none of our lives will ever fully achieve, fully write all that they could. And yet in some ways they will also achieve so much more too, leaving meaning to be pieced together long after we are gone. Reminds me of a bit from Middlemarch which I've probably quoted before (yes I have -how boring am I?):

But we insignificant people with our daily words and acts are preparing the lives of many Dorotheas, some of which may present a far sadder sacrifice than that of the Dorothea whose story we know.
Her finely touched spirit had still its fine issues, though they were not widely visible. Her full nature, like that river of which Cyrus broke the strength, spent itself in channels which had no great name on the earth. But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.

Congratulations to Margot Kässmann -10 years Bishop of Hannover

Margot Kässmann turned 51 this week and on June 5th she will mark 10 years as Bishop of Hannover, the largest of Germany's regional Protestant churches. epd wrote a profile about her last week.
This autumn the German Protestant churches will elect a new Council chair of the EKD when Bishop Wolfgang Huber retires. It is just possible that Kässmann might be elected to this role which would be in addition to her position in Hannover. She is someone I have long looked up to and admired. I'm not sure whether to hope she will replace Huber or not, it's like wishing more stress onto someone who already has a terribly busy lifestyle.
I know from meeting many pastors and members of her Church in Hannover how widely respected and liked she is, what a great job people think she's doing. My congratulations come with heartfelt wishes for her continuing good health and all that her ministry of oversight may bring in the years ahead. the epd article quotes her as saying "There's a lot of water to go under the bridge before the autumn, I am happy with my life as it is now". Long may that continue.

Margot Käßmann: Mit Herzen, Mund und Händen. Spiritualität im Alltag leben. Gütersloh 2007, ISBN 978-3579064420; English translation: With Hearts, Hands and Voices: Spirituality for Everyday Life. Geneva 2007, ISBN 978-2825415221
Links to WCC Publications and to Amazon.

Off to Rome for final part of course on spirituality and leadership

Sad that it's the last time for now that I shall take the night train to Rome
Here's a taster of a tiny (and bloggable) bit of what I have written so far:

Surf the Volcano, Visit the Circus: A Liturgical and Feminist Reflection on Organisations and Leadership

...

Reflecting on issues of management and leadership, I have realised that some of the models for reflecting on these categories are set, if not by an overtly patriarchal discourse, then at least by a discourse which sometimes forces women leaders into models that they have not always had the chance to develop. One of my concerns as an ordained woman is to see what models for women's leadership may be possible, could be developed, might be taken up by the churches and church organisations. How can I as a woman, how can women more generally find their voice?

Recent reading of Grace Jantzen's work also helps me to see that often simply by being and by having their own voice, women are putting a spanner in the works of the way things have always been done. This is a challenge and a responsibility for women involved in leadership, and something that male and female leaders in the church need to become more aware of to have a more holistic approach to understanding some of the dynamics at work in their organisations. In what ways do I / we as wo(men) leaders support and conform to systems which so often work against us? What does surfing the volcano and visiting the circus mean for women with leadership responsibilities today? In churches, such as mine, where women have been ordained for several generations (the first woman in my tradition was ordained in 1917) there is also the question of how we support one another as women leaders at a time when the clergy in many protestant denominations is being feminised.

Top 100 Bible verses on Bible Gateway

The folk at Bible Gateway decided to publish the top 100 Bible verses consulted on their server during March and April. The top two verses to come out were:

John 3:16: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Jer 29:11: For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

The Jeremiah text was one of those used for the Calvin celebration this weekend and one I particularly like. You can consult the full top 100 here.

You can also take part in their read the Bible in 90 days summer project.

In the beginning was the logos - calligraphy by Sophie Verbeek

My good friend and calligraphy teacher Sophie Verbeek has recently restyled her website and you can now get a better overview of her work and projects, it's really worth a visit.

Today she has published a fabulous new book of her work inspired by Jean-Yves Leloup's translation of the Prologue to John's Gospel. It's called Au commencement le logos and you can see a preview here.

This is a really ecumenical project - Jean-Yves Leloup is a French Orthodox priest, Sophie herself was baptised as an adult into the Roman Catholic Church having been brought up in a fairly secular mixed Christian-Jewish family. Here is a quick translation of what Sophie says in the foreword to the book about how she came to undertake this project:

"While looking to bring together my art, my background and a metaphisical
questionning, I one day read Jean Yves Leloup's translation of the Gospel of
John. As this is a text both of great poetic sensitivity and of great mystical
intensity I was particularly moved by this version which is 'a recognition of
the radically Hebrew dimension of Christianity'.
This dual inheritance is my own personal background so this version moved me deeply and I really wanted to work on the first 18 verses which I found very intense and marked by mysticism."

Now my hope is that we can find one or several spaces for Sophie to exhibit this work inspired by the logos, there are several wonderful church spaces in Geneva which would be a great. Here's the French of the foreword:

Cherchant à concilier ma création artistique, mes origines et un questionnement métaphysique, j'ai lu un jour la traduction de Jean-Yves Leloup de "L'évangile de Jean".
Etant un texte d'une grande sensibilité poétique et d'une grande intensité mystique, j'ai été particulièrement sensible à cette version qui est "une reconnaissance de la dimension radicalement hébraïque du christianisme."
Personnellement issue de cette dualité, cette version m'a beaucoup émue et j'ai eu envie de travailler les dix-huit versets du Prologue, que je trouvais très intenses et emprunts de mysticisme.
Dans sa traduction, Jean-Yves Leloup, psychologue, philosophe, prêtre et théologien orthodoxe, a une volonté de rester dans le sillage des Pères de l'Eglise "qui ne sépare pas science exégétique, connaissance philosophique et expérience spirituelle."
C'est une invitation au lecteur pour qu'il approche "son souffle de ces braises obscures" dans un effort d'écoute, qui est pour Jean-Yves Leloup "le premier pas
vers le dialogue." La dimension poétique de ce texte est indéniable, mais plus on
semble s'en rapprocher, plus se sens se révèle inaccessible. Il appartient
à un autre temps, une autre dimension.

John Hegley on developing creativity in the classroom

There's a great article and photo gallery by John Hegley in the Guardian about how he encourages creativity in the classroom. I love his idea of singing instructions about what to do next - but as I don't have a mandolin I might find this a bit more challenging! Anyway here's a taster of his article:

When in a performance, on occasions I will ask the spectacle-wearers in an audience to exchange their beloved pair for the spectacles of another audience member. It is a symbol of the enrichment to be had of experiencing another viewpoint. I am currently involved with a Jewish and a Catholic primary school that have been looking at aspects of each other's religion, relating to Easter time.

A mixing and a matching of the cultures
A flavour of the others' point of view
In the Catholic school we talk about the Pesach
the last meal to be set in front of Jesus, a man who some seem to forget, remained a Jew.
We all look at the ritual observance:
the dipping of the finger into wine,
the spilling of a droplet ten times over
to mark the plagues of Egypt, and a sign
that the suffering of Egypt is acknowledged

.

Word of the day "Allinghi" - the stranzblog's first award

The stranzblog has received its first award a "lingy" no less. (Couldn't resist the pun - all weekend instead of saying "cheese" many of the younger Swiss folk said "Allinghi" when photos were taken - then I got home to discover I had received a lingy.)
David Ker has launched a new home for the Lingamish brand and it looks great, he's also trying all sorts of new technical stuff out which I only marginally understand.
Anyway David also has this thing about hippos and the lingapotamus in particular.
David also blogs in a slightly more serious vein over at the Better Bibles blog, as well as blogging he's believed to have a full time job with Wycliffe Bible translators. Great folk.

The Fail Hippo (Inspired by the Twitter Fail Whale, of course!) copyright David Ker (I'm sure it's all his own work)

Word of the day "syrop de sureau"

A translator should not really admit to forgetting words but I do regularly forget the French for the elder tree - sureau. Strangely I seem to be able to remember it more easily in German - Holunder - and this helped me out over the weekend when there were a large proportion of people from Alsace in the group we were travelling around the Jura with. Les Alsaciens traditionally grew up speaking two languages, French and Alsacien, and then learned high German early on at school (and now I am not going to call them Alsations in English for obvious reasons). This makes folk from Alsace great walking dictionaries when you're in the middle of nowhere trying to find a word, which I was!
I hoped that the women who are part of the aux p'tits bonheurs GAEC might have some elderflower cordial amongst their delicious products but I needed to find the word sureau before I could ask. So having got the word I plucked up my courage and asked for syrop de sureau - which is a real tongue twister in French. Unfortunately they didn't have any, well not the kind I was looking for, I wanted elderflower cordial and they only had elderberry cordial, so I learned that I need to add a blanc or noir after my syrop de sureau to get it exactly right. They told me that I should try and make my own - part of their mandate to is to retrieve, revive and share folk wisdom and recipes from the past. Given the amount of elder blossom on the other side of the fence at the bottom of my garden I ought to give it a try - but I'm not sure I'll manage that before I go to Rome on Wednesday.
Anyway if you live somewhere where you can get hold of elderflower cordial it is wonderful and refreshing with some cold fizzy water. A real taste of the early summer countryside.
And there is some fascinating etymological background to why it is sureau in French here - and no it has nothing to do with being on water.

Tweeting the Bible in German makes it into the record books

Great news! The Bible in tweet format in German has been completed in record time and by a record number of people.
epd reports here that more than 3,000 people took part in the attempt which started on the first day of the Protestant Kirchentag in Bremen and which ended a day earlier than planned when all of the 3906 passages were tweeted by 11 yesterday morning.
You can read, comment and rate the versions that now exist online - one of the really challenging things was that the organisers decided to let more than one tweet per passage be written, making achieving the target more difficult but allowing for more diversity in the texts written. A good way of trying to get across the Pentecost message. I'm looking forwards to reading the finished product. I also think that my KT group next year are going to have to learn to tweet the parables in French. Meanwhile an old fashioned book format of the tweeted Bible will be published in time for the Frankfurt book fair later this year. Congratulations to all the team, it's been fun.

Jean-Jacques Bauswein's 65th birthday

The Stranzblog is currently on holiday somewhere in the Jura near Champagnole to mark our friend Jean Jacques Bauswein's 65th birthday. It's a wonderful fun weekend with extraordinary cultural and not so cultural discoveries. We bought delicious home-made jam from two women who have set up a small cooperative selling fruit and aromatic plant products, grown either in their gardens or collected from the surrounding countryside. We visited Emmanuel Jobez' Villa Palladian in Syam, and St Claude's Pipe museum. We took the "train des hirondelles", relaxed, got to know others in the group, ate great food and then heard the answers to the quiz we were all supposed to have taken part in beforehand. Stranz/Brown incorportated got "nul points", but still got a prize. I have enough problems understanding cryptic clues in English let alone French.
There is no internet connection where we are staying so you are spared daily updates on our activities. This morning we got up early as I had to interrupt celebrations to lead worship for Pentecost in Ferney as several of our young people got confirmed this morning. It was powerful and moving to hear them confessing their faith, my colleague Bernard preached very well on the Emmaus Road text and afterwards we gathered for drinks and photos garden. I caught up with lots and lots of news from people I hadn't seen for many years, happy and sad stories vivified by the Spirit.
Meanwhile Dr B has been covering the big service to mark Calvin's 500th birthday from the Cathedral in Geneva. It was broadcast on Eurovision this morning. Must see if I can download it or watch it.
In a moment we will head back to the mountains for some wine-tasting before a festival meal at which Dr B will for the first time in his life wear a DJ and bow tie - yes this party even has a dress code. More when we're back and recovered from wine-tasting and assorted festivities. Photos will follow.

New film on the way from Naveen Qayyum

There's a report here from the Netherlands about Naveen Qayyum's new film project following on from the success of Talking Faith which I've mentioned several times before. The new project which has received funding from the WCC and the Council of Churches in the Netherlands is called Building Bridges and looks at relations between young people from different religous backgrounds. More about the new project soon when I know a bit more, Naveen's work is very much worth supporting.

So what story are you telling at the moment?

Steve Taylor has been writing about daring to tell our wilderness stories. Reading his sermon and reflection made me realise what a huge challenge living and bearing witness in the modern world is for those with faith, it is assumed that Christians are both hypocritical and judgemental, Steve suggest this in his sermon:

One response is to be transparent. To tell our wilderness stories. To stop pretending we’ve got it all sussed. Be real about our struggles. Which could lead to a new perception: Christians are transparent about their flaws. So that’s a first application. If the story of Jesus begins in wilderness, then Christians need to be tellers of our wilderness stories.

Second application is that we need to place our wilderness stories within God’s wilderness story.

Being transparent, making ourselves vulnerable through story-telling is not always easy but only if we dare to do that will we also be open to looking for what Steve calls "Angel moments". As I wonder about my own story being too self-satisfied, easy and boring I found the idea of trying to tell it in wilderness terms helpful. Janet has been saying to me for ages that narrative theology is the way to build up community and building up community is about building up individuals. We all need to tell our stories in real ways and dare to show the cracks.

Manure or sweet hay - what do carry in your back pack?

Giuseppe Platone, the longest serving member of the Kirchentag's international committee said his official goodbye to the committee and the Kirchentag's General secretary Ellen Ueberschär at the beginning of the Kirchentag in Bremen. He also handed over to his replacement from the Italian Waldensian Church on the committee Sergio Manna.
The Waldensian Church like many minority churches punches above its weight. In his speech Giuseppe also said how important it had been for him to feel that the Kirchentag made space for people from minority churches from beyond Germany's borders.
He brought all members of the committee a special present from the Waldensian valleys, called a kippa which is a small basket used to carry everything on peoples backs in the steep mountain farmlands. These baskets are symbols of hard work, minority, sustainable living and very much like a form of basket rucksack.
In a brief and moving meditation Giuseppe spoke about how people would carry all kinds of different things in these baskets depending on the time of year, from manure and seeds, clothing, harvested produce, food, firewood and newly cut hay to feed to livestock or to take down to be stored.
Sometimes the basket is full, sometimes waiting to be filled. It made him think of the biblical verse "bear ye one another's burdens" - though this didn't stop him from giving Ellen Ueberschär a much larger basket than the rest of us, the general secretary certainly has a heavier burden than many of us. As he handed out the baskets Giuseppe also remembered how his own basket had been filled with memories over the years and thought of how we fill each others' baskets with good things. He remembered a visit he had undertaken in the 1990s to many other members of the international committee and how this had cemented relationships and support for the Kirchentag.
As we wished him well we were all pleased to hear that Sergio will be maintaining the Waldensian Kirchentag tradition of an evening of Bible and spaghetti.
Meanwhile Giuseppe will also be leaving his position as the editor of the Protestant newspaper Riforma early next year - the lead article says Mensch wo bist du in Italian. We wish him well with all his new projects.
Meanwhile are you handing out manure or sweet hay from your back pack?

And now for the Calvin celebrations

Well Geneva is an international city, so it's only fitting that a journalist from a British newspaper should come here for this weekend's Calvin celebrations. More surprising is that Andrew Brown has travelled to Calvin City to write about the Chinese. Very interesting and I look forward to reading more from him as the week progresses.

Bishops do it, pastors do it, young and old do it, even I did - go on tweet the Bible in German!

The People at evangelisch.de still need help to fulfil the world record attempt to tweet the Bible by Pentecost Sunday. They are 62% towards their target as of today so please if you feel you can help by tweeting one of the Bible passages in German that still haven't been tweeted.
It's actually rather relaxing to focus on reducing a Bible passage down to 140 keystrokes - though getting the German grammar sorted out is quite a chllange!