4Ü #248
Poiema
17 August 2006
- WASSUP - It's personal
- INSIGHT OUT - Poiema
- OUTSIGHT IN - Community
- SEE YA SUNDAY - Hope in Hard Times: Part 2 - Disaster
- LAST WORD - Live at the empty heart of Paradox
WASSUP - It's personal
No one I know gets up in the morning and says .
"today I'm going to have a disaster."
It's not something you put into your diary.
Disaster comes out of the blue and strikes when least expected
And when it comes .
When the phone rings .
When lightning strikes ...
When the peace is shattered
It's personal
It's very personal!
INSIGHT OUT - Poiema
Never thought of yourself as a poet?
Think again.
For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:10
The bible tells us that we are God's masterpieces / workmanship (poiema)
You are more than a creature; flesh and blood, heart, mind, soul and strength.
You are the poiema of God.
It is not that poems and sagas narrate what happens to men and women, but that in their narrative form, poems and sagas capture a form that was already present in the lives to which they relate.
Alasdair MacIntyre 1984:117
About time you started listening to more poetry isn't it?
Listen to the poiema of your life
Movements of hope and fear
Shadows cast by the light
Stanzas of triumph and tragedy
Rhythm and rhyme
A voice that has been silenced by life's noise
Is dying to be heard
OUTSIGHT IN - Community
What is it that is beyond a crowd, a group of people who work together, watch as spectators of a game or who gather to pray?
What is it that penetrates deep and welds hearts and minds as one?
What is it that strips away the facade of superficiality and lays bare motive for all to see?
A movement from crowd to community.
Not the kind of community that simply pay taxes or who share the same address, but a community that is in com - unity, common unity.
Community must be more than just gathering the troops, telling the stories, and remembering things past. Community must also be rooted in values that do not fail, values that go beyond the self-aggrandizement of human leaders.
E Griffin, The reflective Executive 1993 p 159
The values that form com - unity are not easily moved. They are rooted!
The journey from crowd to community is one that few choose to travel. For the values of community go much deeper than the team colour (I change from red to blue depending on who is winning).
I'm saddened when I hear companies who state their values as being honest and having integrity; for to say one is honest is in itself questionable. Shouldn't honesty be a given?
The kind of values that form community are the ones that you would be willing to live or die for; values that will either make or break you.
Ask yourself this question, when was the last time your community values were broken?
What was the consequence of that?
If there was no deep pain or remorse then you belong to a crowd not a community.
SEE YA SUNDAY - Hope in Hard Times: Part 2 - Disaster
This Sunday morning 8.30 & 10.30 am
This series will explore some tough issues that in one way or another touch all our lives; death, disaster, depression and divorce. While the topics in themselves look a bit depressing, the messages will be informative, provocative, practical and inspirational. If you know anyone one who needs some hope in the midst of hard times, invite then to come along.
Bread & Wine - 9.45am - Weekly Communion
Thanks for this time to chat.
Andrew
St Columba
Where Life and Faith Meet
andrew.norton@stcolumba.org.nz
http://anorton.voxtropolis.com
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LAST WORD - Live at the empty heart of Paradox
Find the real world, give it endlessly away
Grow rich, fling gold to all who ask
Live at the empty heart of Paradox
I'll dance there with you, cheek to cheekRumi