Wulf's Web-Den

Last night Jane and I visited St Paul, Onslow Square, which is part of the same ministry as Holy Trinity Brompton. We were curious to see how the service worked because we had heard that the band was placed in the middle of the room, facing inwards, with the congregation in a circle around.

I think it has a lot going for it. The church is relatively large but it means that, even sitting on one of the chairs at the edge, every member of the congregation is relatively near the front. It also means that the band is not the focus of the event. Wherever you stand, you see fellow worshippers. I imagine that the band can also see and hear each other much better than most other possible arrangements. The speaking was also carried out from the same point, with wireless mics allowing communication with all sections of the congregation.

I think the layout has a lot of strengths. I am not sure whether it would translate directly to my own church, which doesn't have nearly as much space (and probably a much higher proportion of people who would want chairs rather than the floor cushions that most of last night's congregation used). However, the experience has given me plenty to chew on and was a worthwhile Sunday evening outing.

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I have such a low tolerance for email spam that I normally zap it from my inbox before I even consciously register it. However, I got a message a few days ago that did pique my interest (or incredulity) enough to take a look at its offer of pre-filled communion cups.

Communion is the celebration of Jesus' victory over death and sin on the cross, inaugurated at the "last supper" the night before he was crucified and quickly established as an important part of the worship pattern of the early Christian church. Reams of theology have been written about what it means and there are many ways in which it is practised. This is the first time I have heard about the "new innovative product that has hit the western world"; apparently the cup "... presents Communion in a new way that churches love".

I think not. Even leaving aside the delivery of the message as email spam, written in fluent marketese, I am not convinced. The purpose of the eucharistic feast is not to consume bread and wine (or, in this case, wafer and grape juice) with the minimum of mess and fuss. Turning it into a business opportunity that dishes up the elements in sanitised little packages doesn't seem to fit with the teaching of a man who had just thrown money-changers out of the temple and who was about to be barbarically executed as a crucial point in God's plan for the salvation of sinful, weak humanity.

Apparently the product is "ideal for ministering to the sick and large congregations". I can see that it might be useful in some situations, like hospitals, but won't be pursing the opportunity myself. Among the last things I want my church to be doing in this day and age is generating more junk to be sent to landfill all in the name of a little more convenience.

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In his excellent TED lecture on music and passion, conductor Benjamin Zander said many memorable and worthwhile things, including this snippet that touches on leadership:

The conductor doesn't make a sound. He depends for his power on his ability to make other people powerful.

There are plenty of applications for that thought outside of standing in front of an orchestra.

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That is the title of the short message I gave last Sunday, which is now available for download (7MB MP3 file).

Ps. I hope to have a link to the fruits of yesterday's recording session soon - I was very satisfied with the rich, almost acoustic sound I was was getting out of my bass and am keen to hear it back on my own system.

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A meme I have seen used in several places recently is to look at how tiny the earth is in the big scheme of things. I picked it up when I was speaking at church last night, using an illustration which I found on the web a while ago.

Earth is tiny compared to the sun and yet the sun is tinier still compared to a giant star like Antares (also illustrated on the page given above). Remembering that God created and sustains all these heavenly bodies is a good antidote to the illusion that the Easter story is all about me as an individual.

We are each known personally but saved to be part of God's community, the church. Some interpretations of Christianity seem much more individualistic but, when I get a glimpse of the stars, I realise the picture is much bigger than my finite mind can comprehend.

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Jane and I have been baking hot cross buns, mainly to share after the two Good Friday services at church this morning. The ones with goat butter tasted fine; I'm particularly looking forward to finding out whether making up the quantity of mixed spice with garam masala makes a difference the the final batch!

However, more important things first - time to get up to church for the reflective service.

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I am very impressed with the BBC's Easter series, The Passion, which Jane and I started watching last night. It is available for a few days on their iPlayer service (here is a link to the first episode).

If I tried hard I could pick some holes in it; there are certainly lots of areas where the script writers have enjoyed the freedom to do more than just re-enact the narratives recorded in the canonical gospels. However, so far at least, it seems to be within the reasonable scope of a dramatised retelling.

I hope to see the rest of the series and look forward to it being released on DVD (already available for pre-order). Thanks to the Beeb for producing it and to Simon Jones for piquing my interest with his post earlier this week.

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