Ciné-Soupe

Last night I went to 'Cinésoupe' - in Templemars. We were shown 9 short films ranging from amusing animation to a more 'heavy' french/taiwanise film.

I enjoyed 'La clé du problème'- starring 'Guillaume Cotillard' (Ensemble c'est tout)...the director was present - to answer questions from the public. He was obviously passioned by the cinema. He said that he doesn't make any money out of doing short films - he earns his living in producing ads!

after the projections we ate soup!

An interesting evening!

The Consumer Cycle Continues...

i watched the end of Scrubs (3rd season)last night.
it's a great series I love it...it really cracks me up...
but i was deeply saddened by JD.
Eliot was going out with Sean until JD convinces her to drop him...JD is happy
to have Eliot back but he realises that he doesn't love her.
He has got what he's always wanted but once he's got (her)it he doesn't want (her) it...

this clearly demonstrates the consumer society attitude - we are promised by the marketeers and advertisers that if we obtain 'it' we will be happy - but the truth is once we've consumed it we are left wanting - and the cycle continues...

Sun shining through the blinds...

while i was at my dad's house i caught the sun shining through the blinds...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/marklindores/4363052182/

Icons

in my last post i commented that i bought an icon.

here's something i found on Taizé's website that may be useful to understand the use of icons:

Icons contribute to the beauty of worship. They are like windows open on the realities of the Kingdom of God, making them present in our prayer on earth.

Although icons are images, they are not simply illustrations or decorations. They are symbols of the incarnation, a presence which offers to the eyes the spiritual message that the Word addresses to the ears.

According to the eighth-century theologian Saint John Damascene, icons are based on the coming of Christ to earth. Our salvation is linked to the incarnation of the divine Word, and therefore to matter: “In the past, the incorporeal and invisible God was never represented. But now that God has been manifested in the flesh and has dwelt among men, I represent the visible in God. I do not adore matter; I adore the creator of matter, who has become matter for my sake, who chose to dwell within matter and who, through matter, has caused my salvation” (Discourse I,16).

http://www.taize.fr/en_article340.html

Peterborough cathedral

We spent the afternoon in Peterborough...did some shopping,
and then decided to take a walk round the Cathedral ( our 3 girls aged - 14,12 & 9 - groaned!)...

to my delight they enjoyed the Cathedral - the architecture, the history, the atmosphere...

i grew up in Peterborough and took this ancient edifice for granted...i remember once playing my electric guitar in this beautiful sanctuary when i was a youngster...at the time i didn't appreciate the ancient spirituality that the cathedral represented.

today i see the value of the ancient; the deep spirituality, contemplative prayer, lectio divina...
by the way, i bought myself an icon from the Cathedral...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/marklindores/

MASSIVE ATTACK

i've been waiting some time for Massive attack's latest album -
and it's out now!
i've just downloaded the deluxe version (more tracks re-mixes...)

it's now on my iPod!!

(thanks to jonny for reminding me)http://jonnybaker.blogs.com/

The becoming of community...

just finished reading ian mobsby's 'the becoming of g-d' -
the last couple of chapters deal with the issues of community and leadership.
ian rightfully states that we live in a society of acute consumerism and individualism -
and that the challenge for us today is to create human communities that will reflect
God's kingdom - ian calls these 'intentional spiritual communities'.
spiritual communities that are modeled on monasticism and deep spirituality and led by servant leaders...
here's a quote:
'human becoming through community is no just about contemplation, participation and worship. There are also very real possibilities for practical action...some examples of practical action are those who work with the homeless, cafés to connect with local people in public space...social work...the source of our inspiration, the Monks and Friars of the pre-modern period, were very involved in practical projects with the poor and needy...i love the idea that the Church's café becomes the hub of the local community. A number of emerging churches have done precisely this...a community taking on such a project, with a degree of maturity in contemplative prayer, can really enable growth through giving rather than taking and consumption...'

looking forward to ian's book on New Monasticism !!

Yoav Kotik’s Precious Metal

Yoav Kotik makes jewelry out of metalbottle tops...
http://www.thedieline.com/blog/2010/02/yoav-kotiks-precious-metal.html

yoav calls them his 'precious metal' collection...a cool idea using 'non-precious' material and then turning it into something 'precious'....

costumers actually pay to wear brand-name badges! -
that reminds me of an old post i made in another lfe on another blog
http://marklindores.skyrock.com/10.html

Spirituality & Technology

still reading ian mobsby's book...
interesting look at technology and spirituality and the link between the two...
apparently the west on the whole is turning towards sprituality and mysticism and away from institutionalised religion.
the world of information technology has encouraged sprititual seeking...we can now live in another world, a virtual world, a transcendant world...'todays techgnotics find themselves, consciously or not, surrounded by a complex set of ideas, and images: transcendence through technology' (Davies)
caputo says 'cell phones whose signals easily penetrate thick walls, satellites that link across the globe...we have found a way to mime angels'.

many people are spiritual seekers...the technology encourages their search for the transcendent and therefore new forms of mysticism could be effective. the catholic church constructed a form of liturgy that utilised all the senses, in order to engage in a world that was centred on mysticism...
for this reason the emerging church and alternative worship has often framed ancient liturgies for use with a postmodern audience...
i tend to agree with ian's analysis of the present situation. it would be certainly valuable to explore ways of engaging with our postmodern, mystical culture -by providing spaces where spiritual seekers and Chrsitian Pligrims could meet to 'experience' God; through image, ligurgy, art...

The becoming of G-d, perichoresis, creativity, love and intimacy!

i'm reading 'the becoming of G-d' by Ian Mobsby. ian was at the resource weekend i went to in london at the beginning of january.
it's a good read so far, he speaks of the importance of the Trinity - and how this is particularly pertinent for the 21 century.
he's both an emerging church & deep church guy...
here's an interesting quote 'a gift of the emerging church is that we see God equally in the Eucharist and in drinking beer together in the local pub'...
this is profound when it comes to mission; God is very much present in the world, he's active in the world...and he is made present by the activity and presence of Christians in our local communities...

ian calls this the sacramental model of church(a concept from A Dulles, 'models of the church')

ian also draws from the eastern orthodox church and there understanding of Trinity as perichoresis - a more fluid understanding of the nature of God - dynamism and activity; sometimes seen as a dance. Creator, Redeemer nad Sustainer embracing one another, no room for a hierachical or authoritarian relationships - but rather unity in diversity, perfect love, justice and interdependency. God is centred in mystery. He is both transcendent (outside of here and now) yet mysteriously immanent (actually here and now)...
God only partially reveals his nature, through his actions...this understanding does not sell out to certainty...God is complex, slightly out of reach who we will never fully know.

He says that for the Eastern church the very nature of God is centered on creativity, love and intimacy!

now i can relate to that...