Online journal of Duncan Macleod living on the Gold Coast, Australia
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Dear Lord Baby Jesus
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, the 2006 movie focusing on NASCAR racing in the United States, has a brilliant send up of popular spirituality in the Powerade sponsored “Grace” scene. Ricky Bobby and Carley, their two sons Walker and Texas Ranger, best friend Cal and Carley’s father Chip, exchange their preferences for the Jesus version of the day.
Replace the NASCAR trappings with the culture of any church with an eye for success, and you’ve got a cutting analysis of the egotistic prayers we can too easily find ourselves praying.
Click on the image below to play the video in YouTube (HD)
We used an alternative rendering of Once in Royal David’s City this morning, one of my favourites from the Iona Community. The new version, written by John Bell and Graham Maule in 1987, deconstruct the sentimentalism and triumphalism embedded in the original nineteenth century lyrics by Mrs. Cecil Frances Alexander. The original was published in Cecil’s 1948 book, Hymns for Little Children.
Cecil Alexander’s Verse One
Once in royal Davids city,
Stood a lowly cattle shed,
Where a mother laid her Baby,
In a manger for His bed:
Mary was that mother mild,
Jesus Christ, her little Child.
Iona Community’s Verse One
Once in Judah’s least known city
Stood a boarding house with back-door shed,
Where an almost single-parent mother
Tried to find her new born son a bed.
Mary’s mum and dad went wild
When they heard their daughter had a child.
As can be expected, some of the congregation were delighted with the fresh and realistic approach to the Christmas story, while others were offended at the departure from reverence and poetry they’d learned to associate with Sunday morning worship. I would not suggest using this approach with all our Christmas carols. But it does open our eyes to the nineteenth century perceptions that filter through into our 21st century expressions.
The song, by the way, is available in Heaven Shall Not Wait, a book, CD from Iona Community.
Terry Pratchett’s Nation
I’ve just finished the latest Terry Pratchett novel, Nation, continuing the well established Christmas tradition in the Macleod household. This is the first novel in some years to be set outside the Discworld setting.
The setting is the Great Pelagic Ocean, an alternative universe version of the Pacific Ocean in the 19th century. Ermintrude, a well heeled thirteen year old girl discovers she is the sole survivor of a ship wreck on a remote island, joined by Mau, a young man who is the only one from his village to live after the giant wave. Together they must come to terms with questions of philosophy, religion, ancestral voices, life and death. They’re joined by a rag tag collection of refugees from both the tsunami and murderous pirates and cannibals.
Nation is not the usual satirical romp we expect from Pratchett. Instead we’re presented with a coming-of-age novel presented with sensitivity and insight. The plot is filled with Pratchett’s fascination with astronomy, critique of imperialism, and clever irony.
Terry Pratchett gives us an introduction to what was going on his mind as he wrote Nation. Click on the image below to play the video in YouTube (HD)
Christmas Creed by Walter Russell Bowie
On Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning we included in the worship at Ashmore Uniting Church, “A Christmas Creed”, by Walter Russell Bowie.
I believe in Jesus Christ and in the beauty of the gospel begun in Bethlehem.
I believe in the one whose spirit glorified a little town; and whose spirit still brings music to persons all over the world, in towns both large and small.
I believe in the one for whom the crowded inn could find no room, and I confess that my heart still sometimes wants to exclude Christ from my life today.
I believe in the one who the rulers of the earth ignored and the proud could never understand; whose life was among common people, whose welcome came from persons of hungry hearts.
I believe in the one who proclaimed the love of God to be invincible.
I believe in the one whose cradle was a mother’s arms, whose modest home in Nazareth had love for its only wealth, who looked at persons and made them see what God’s love saw in them, who by love brought sinners back to purity, and lifted human weakness up to meet the strength of God.
I confess my ever-lasting need of God: The need of forgiveness for our selfishness and greed, the need of new life for empty souls, the need of love for hearts grown cold.
I believe in God who gives us the best of himself. I believe in Jesus, the Son of the living God, born in Bethlehem this night, for me and for the world.
About Walter Russell Bowie
Bowie began his time as an Episcopal priest in Richmond Virginia, and served as a Red Cross hospital chaplain in France in World War I. His advocacy for what was becoming known as the “Social Gospel” was lived out in his support for social reforms, and his opposition to the Klu Klux Klan and fundamentalist Christianity. In 1939, Bowie joined the staff at Union Theological Seminary as Professor of Practical Theology, later to become Dean of Students. He later taught homiletics at Episcopal Theological Seminary in Virginia.
Bowie was a member of the committee who edited the Revised Standard Version of the Bible. Fundamentalist opposition to the new translation in the 1950s included a rant by Carl McIntyre, in his brochure, “The New Bible (Revised Standard Version): Why Christians Should Not Accept It”, where he points to Bowie’s time as a radical in the 1920s. He was a member of the American Committee for Protection of Foreign Born, which challenged federal policies on immigration, The Church League for Industrial Democracy, the Citizens’ Committee to Free Earl Browder, and the Civil Rights Congress.
I just had the pleasure of watching Gustav Niebuhr talking on interfaith dialogue on ABC Fora (ABC2) this afternoon. Gustav Niebuhr is an author, journalist and commentator who writes mainly about issues of religion. In this passionate talk, delivered at the Chautauqua Institute in August, he argues that a better society will come from more interaction between faiths, races and creeds. In particular, Niebuhr reflects on the meaningful conversations that have been possible in the United States since September 11, 2001.
Gustav Niebuhr’s writings include the book “Beyond Tolerance: Searching for Interfaith Understanding in America” and articles for “The New York Times Magazine”, “The Christian Century” and “The Buddhist Review”. He is associate professor of religion the media at Syracuse University in New York State. Gustav is the grandson of Reinhold Niebuhr, and grandnephew of Helmut Reinhold Niebuhr.
Gustav talks about being inspired to write his book, “Beyond Tolerance”, by his experience at the New York Times in the late 1990s writing about religious conflict in which he encountered people who were engaged in inter-faith dialogue and projects. His interest in the topic was spurred into action when he found people of faith who deliberately reached out to the Muslim community in the wake of 9/11.
Michael Pappas in his interview suggests that crisis might be what is required to stimulate the building of inter-faith relationships. Niebuhr points out that relationships are built over time in response to a growing awareness of pluralism. He refers to the changes that have happened in the United States since the immigration laws were overhauled in 1965.
I found it interesting the idea the most effective relationship building is done not by intellectual dialogue (usually carried out by academics) but through shared projects. Niebuhr refers to the Interfaith Youth Core in Chicago, founded by Eboo Patel, as a great example of how that might happen. Niebuhr talks about using humour, interviews and stories to break down stereotypes.
Ira Glass on Storytelling
Fernando Gros points the way to a four-part series of videos on storytelling by American radio broadcaster Ira Glass, the host and producer of This American Life. The interview excerpts were produced by Current and posted on YouTube in 2006. Fernando got my attention with his recommendation:
“To be blunt, if you speak in public in any way - presenting, preaching, teaching, or if you create online content, blogging, podcasting or video, do yourself and your audience a favour; block out half an hour and watch the five short videos and read Garr’s summary. This is excellent and transformative stuff.”
On the Basics
Ira talks about the importance of the anecdote with movement, and the reflection with significance.
Click on the image below to play the video in YouTube (HD)
On Finding Great Stories
Ira talks about the importance of researching, looking for the best stories that will be compelling. Communicators face the temptation of focusing on production rather than selection. Ira’s focus on the art of storytelling is timely for me. I spent Thursday afternoon with Jason Bray looking through 45 minutes of stories he and his team have filmed for “Faith Stories”, a series we’ve been working on over the last year. There are many great stories but in some cases we have to cut out some of the material to make the rest of it more powerful.
Click on the image below to play the video in YouTube (HD)
On Good Taste
To get to the point of matching one’s own taste and one’s own capacity for excellence, you need to persevere, producing a volume of work. Over the last few months I’ve been going through five years of blogging, updating duncans.tv to become The Inspiration Room Daily, and bringing together my five Postkiwi blogs into one. It took me a while to get to the point where I was producing content that matched my own standards.
Click on the image below to play the video in YouTube (HD)
On Two Common Pitfalls
Don’t try to copy someone on TV. Don’t just talk about yourself.
Click on the image below to play the video in YouTube (HD)
Garr Reynolds at Presentation Zen has a useful summary of the Ira Glass tips.
Rick Warren Invocation with Purpose
The United States blogosphere is thick with responses to Barack Obama’s choice of Rick Warren to deliver the invocation (prayer) at his inauguration ceremony on January 20. The program, listed online by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, has Rick opening the ceremony with prayer, and Joseph Lowery giving the benediction at the end.
Music is being performed by The San Francisco Boys Chorus and the San Francisco Girls Chorus, The United States Marine Band, The United States Navy Band “Sea Chanters”, Aretha Franklin, with a piece composed by composer John Williams performed by violinist Itzhak Perlman, cellist Yo-Yo Ma (U.N. Messenger of Peace in 2006 and 2007), clarinetist Antony McGill, and pianist Gabriela Montero. Also included in the line up are Democrat Senator and San Francisco’s first female mayor Dianne Feinstein, poet Elizabeth Alexander.
So what’s the fuss about Rick Warren? It appears as though Rick is currently seen by many in the progressive camp through the lense of his recent support for California’s Proposition 8, which which amended the state constitution to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to participate in government-recognized marriage. Despite his support for the fight against AIDS in Africa, and a growing focus on social justice in the United States, it’s just too hard to ignore Rick’s suggestion that gay marriage would be in the same category as incest, pedophilic marriage, and polygamy. The concerns arise out of an interview with Beliefnet editor-in-chief Steven Waldman. See the transcript here.
“The issue to me, I’m not opposed to that (partnership benefits in terms of insurance or hospital visitation) as much as I’m opposed to redefinition of a 5,000 year definition of marriage. I’m opposed to having a brother and sister being together and calling that marriage. I’m opposed to an older guy marrying a child and calling that marriage. I’m opposed to one guy having multiple wives and calling that marriage.”
Not surprisingly, Rick followed up the video interview with a set of four (not five as usual) clarifications of his stand. He says that God created sex exclusively for husbands and wives in marraige but gave us free choice to live as we wish. It’s not the role of government, Rick argues, to disobey God and redefine marriage. He suggests that the debate is not about civil rights but about a desire for approval. This is clearly Rick’s strategy to stay in tune with the conservative Southern Baptist line.
It appears as though Barack Obama has chosen to include Rick Warren in the inauguration ceremony in an attempt to bring on board the conservative Evangelical camp that has been suspicious of the Democrat progressive agenda. He must have known that the choice would infuriate the gay rights campaigners who are still hurting from the decision in California. However, this is a long term strategy - recognising that people like Rick Warren, and the people who are influenced by their writing, are themselves on a journey. Rick has already made significant changes to his approach to social justice over the last five years.
I wonder who gets to write the invocation…
Tony Jones at BeliefNet has a useful summary of the responses from Beliefnet bloggers, the opinions overshadowed by the louder voices of the progressive blogging community at the moment.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
It’s sixty years since the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Following this historic act the Assembly called upon all member countries to publicize the text of the Declaration and “to cause it to be disseminated, displayed, read and expounded principally in schools and other educational institutions, without distinction based on the political status of countries or territories.” Sixty years on, I’m joining a new wave of online dissemination, display, reading and exposition, by posting the declaration in video and in text.
The video below was developed by Seth Brau for the Human Rights Action Center, as part of a campaign to get governments to print the declaration in passports. See more on the campaign at The Inspiration Room Daily.
Click on the image below to play the video in YouTube (HD)
Preamble
Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,
Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,
Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,
Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations,
Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,
Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in co-operation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms,
Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge,
Now, Therefore THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.
All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.
Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.
Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.
(1) Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
(2) No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.
(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
(2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.
(1) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
(2) This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
(1) Everyone has the right to a nationality.
(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.
(1) Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
(2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
(3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.
(1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
(2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.
(1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
(2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.
(3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.
Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.
(1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
(2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
(3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
(4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.
Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.
(1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
(2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.
(1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
(2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
(3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.
(1) Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
(2) Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.
Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.
(1) Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.
(2) In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.
(3) These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.
Top Ten Reasons Why Men Should Not Be Ordained
Kathleen Pearce, on her blog, Salvokat, recently published a humorous list that’s been doing the rounds in the blogosphere, and, no doubt, in print as well.
10. A man’s place is in the army.
9. For men who have children, their duties might distract them from the responsibilities of being a parent.
8. Their physical build indicates that men are more suited to tasks such as chopping down trees and wrestling mountain lions. It would be “unnatural” for them to do other forms of work.
7. Man was created before woman. It is therefore obvious that man was a prototype. Thus, they represent an experiment, rather than the crowning achievement of creation.
6. Men are too emotional to be priests or pastors. This is easily demonstrated by their conduct at football games and watching basketball tournaments.
5. Some men are handsome; they will distract women worshipers.
4. To be ordained pastor is to nurture the congregation. But this is not a traditional male role. Rather, throughout history, women have been considered to be not only more skilled than men at nurturing, but also more frequently attracted to it. This makes them the obvious choice for ordination.
3. Men are overly prone to violence. No really manly man wants to settle disputes by any means other than by fighting about it. Thus, they would be poor role models, as well as being dangerously unstable in positions of leadership.
2. Men can still be involved in church activities, even without being ordained. They can sweep paths, repair the church roof, and maybe even lead the singing on Father’s Day. By confining themselves to such traditional male roles, they can still be vitally important in the life of the Church.
1. In the New Testament account, the person who betrayed Jesus was a man. Thus, his lack of faith and ensuing punishment stands as a symbol of the subordinated position that all men should take.
As I read through the top ten list here I would add another. “Jesus didn’t ordain anyone, men or women”. I must admit I’m a little torn on this issue. I was recognised as a Uniting Church minister a couple of weeks ago, after years of secondment from the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand. I take seriously the commitment I have made to be available as a servant to the wider Christian community, in a relationship of accountability to the wider Christian community. And yet I have reservations about what Tony Jones calls a culture of “ontological superiority”. The life of the church too easily becomes an extension of the clergy, whether or not they’re called Rev.
Despite the humour, and despite my reservations about the church’s addiction to clergy-focus, the issue remains serious. Why should people be chosen for leadership roles based on their gender?
Apparently the top ten list was presented by David M. Scholer on February 20, 1998, at the Fuller Follies at Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA. David’s version was taken, with small modifications, from a November 24, 1997 internet communication from W. Ward and Laurel Gasque, who have long been champions of Biblical equality.
Blessed are the Poor in Spirit
I’ve been working with Dave Andrews on the production of resources associated with Plan Be, a book focusing on the beatitudes, from Jesus’ sermon on the mount. The most controversial of the eight statements on blessings, in my opinion, is the first one.
Translated literally into English from the Greek version (the original spoken version would have been Aramic) in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 5, verse 3: we get “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” That’s the translation provided by the King James Standard, American Standard, New Revised Standard Version, and New International Version.
Who are the poor?
What does it meant to be ‘in spirit’?
The Kingdom of Heaven - is that now and yet to come, or it about life after death?
Many Protestant and Pentecostal interpretations of this verse have viewed this beatitude through the ’spiritual’ lense, suggesting that it’s not about the people who are below the poverty line, but about people who recognize their spiritual need for God. I’ve talked to a number of people who see this as a commentary on “getting into heaven”. It’s not surprising that we have these approaches, when we look at the popular English dynamic and paraphrased translations of the verse as follows:
Happy are those who know they are spiritually poor; the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to them! (Good News Bible)
They are blessed who realize their spiritual poverty, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them. (New Century Version)
You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule. (The Message)
Blessed (happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous - with life - joy and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions) are the poor in spirit (the humble, who rate themselves insignificant), for theirs is the kingdom of heaven! (The Amplified Version)
God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. (New Living Translation)
God blesses those people who depend only on him. They belong to the kingdom of heaven! (Contemporary English Version)
While it is crucial to be humble enough to receive God’s help, there’s a danger that teaching around spiritual humility can focus on a concept of self-abasement, making ourselves low so that God can be high. The Calvinist doctrine of total depravity fits right into this framework, contrasting God’s complete sovereignty with our utter powerlessness over sin. When taken to extremes these doctrines have encouraged cultures of humiliation, self-induced and leadership-imposed, that have made the church the place to escape for the sake of mental health.
And what if we’re actually missing the actual poor in this process? Concern for the welfare of the poor was one of the highest shared values in a recent survey of Catholic young adults in the United States. Why is that? Perhaps it’s because the Jerusalem Bible translation does not spiritualize the first beatitude. “How blessed are the poor in spirit: the kingdom of Heaven is theirs.”
There’s a downside to this approach as well. Over 2000 years we’ve had more than a few wealthy Christians who have used the first beatitude as a way of justifying the existence of dehumanizing poverty. “Why should we do anything about it, when these people are going to be recompensed when they die?”
In his sermon on the mount Jesus indicates that everything is tipped upside down in the way God operates in the world. Those who do not rely on wealth or status for their sense of being have a chance to ‘get it’ - to be part of the common wealth Jesus was talking about. Jesus invites all his followers, no matter what their financial status, to be with the poor in the way they live their lives. That means moving beyond ideological debate to actually listen to and respond to the stories of the poor.
The Inspiration Room Daily
Daily inspiration from the world wide creative community, including reviews of television commercials, print advertising campaigns, interactive sites and music videos.
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Radical discipleship blog developed by an international team focusing on the beatitudes of Jesus - Be inspired, be reflective, be active, be informed, be encouraged, be connected
I’ve just finished the latest Terry Pratchett novel, Nation, continuing the well established Christmas tradition in the Macleod household. This is the first novel in some years to be set outside the Discworld setting.
