A Skyped voice,
An Apple Message,
An Instagram photo
or even
a good old email,
is no replacement
for eyes meeting,
a tender touch
and a warm hug.
Reflections
A Skyped Voice
Categories: Poem, poetry, Reflections, Uncategorized
Tags: family, Marriage, Poem, poems, poetry
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When We Didn’t Find a Camp Ground in Time
A while back I wrote about our favourite camping places. There have been times when we didn’t get to a camping place in time and we had to resort to sleeping in the car. Here are our non camping places.
1. In 2003 we arrived at our camping place in the Champagne region of France far too late. The gates were closed and the lights off. So we drove down a country lane and parked close to the grape vines. Trying to sleep in a Skoda Fabia is not an ideal way to spend a night. But at least were in a great part of France!
An Opel Mariva in Provence. Not an ideal car for sleeping in!
2. On the same trip we arrived late on the outskirts of Verona after crossing the Appennines in Winter. We stopped in an industrial car-park. Still in the Fabia we tried to sleep, my wife on the back seat and me in the front. I was kept awake by a series of furtive and clandestine exchanges made between trucks. Then a well dressed lady arrived at 2am in a BMW and left in a Mercedes. She returned an hour later and also had me guessing.
3. Previously I mentioned the brilliant camping places in Norway. The truck stop outside Drammen is not one of them. The Volvo S60 was more comfortable than the Fabia but it was still a car. Then again, the continuous heavy rain made the car more preferable to the tent.
4. Coming back from Germany one evening in the pouring rain we parked at a
truck stop just outside Venlo. This is not one of recommendations either.
5. The final overnight stop occurred when we dropped of our daughter in Geneva so she could catch a train to Zurich. We were dead tired as we had already survived a blizzard while driving over the mountains towards Grenoble. That was a harrowing drive with the fog and snow, and quite a few vehicles involved in accidents. We couldn’t stop as there was nowhere, we could see, to leave the road. So finally we arrived at a hotel just outside Geneva without a booking. We were informed that the minimum stay was three nights and the total cost would be well over 600 Euro – and we only wanted to stay one night! I was that tired I couldn’t drive safely any further. So we parked in front of the hotel which was part of a shopping centre and saved 600 Euro.
So just as there are some spectacular places to camp, every now and then, the car has to be the last resort – the very last resort!
Fish Selling and the Glory of God
This morning I was listening to excerpts from St Matthew’s Passion by Bach. “Kommt ihr Tochter” (Come ye Daughters). It is a glorious piece of music reflecting on the punishment that the innocent Christ received on our behalf. As with all his music, Bach wrote this for the glory of God. But to do something to the glory of God doesn’t mean it has to be spectacular.
Calvin Seerveld, in his little pamphlet “Christian Workers Unite” speaks of his father as a “seller of fish”. Seerveld describes the haggling over price, the dressing, gutting and cleaning of fish, taking the fish scraps to the dump – he describes, what for most of us, would seem a dirty and unsavoury job. He concludes this anecdote:
My brothers and I at work in the dumps, laughing and struggling, happy to be bodily alive there too: it is like a little hallelujah chorus sung by the South Bay Fish Market, the kind of earthly hallelujah, priestly service, angels fain would sing, but God has reserved for the believing man, (let me add: and woman!) the Christian worker.
It made me think that a true test of the “success” of a Christian life is exactly that – Do I live my life to the glory God? This life is not lived out of any sense that we are trying to earn God’s favour, but rather out of the deepest sense that we have understood, what Bach and Calvin Seeveld’s dad did, that the creator of the universe came down to earth and dealt with our sin on the cross and continues to prepare a Kingdom for his children. That is the motive to give all Glory to God and to sing “earthly hallelujahs!”
The Dark Side of the Church
Very recently I asked for readers to respond to a query I had about how people remember church when they were children (https://pieterstok.com/2013/07/13/your-experience-of-church-as-a-child/). I am still keen on hearing your responses.
One thing I didn’t expect (maybe I should have), was the number of private emails I have received from people recalling the abuse they received. This abuse sometimes arose because church authorities deliberately turned away from events in their families and congregation, or was perpetrated by them. This abuse ranged from spiritual and emotional neglect through to the more sordid examples we see in the news on a daily basis
It reminded me that in my years as a pastor I came across too many examples of events that had never been dealt with properly. The “lets sweep it under the carpet” syndrome was all too prevalent. In an effort to protect the church’s reputation we have mired it more deeply in hidden and unconfessed sin and with no real thought for the victims.
Jesus weeps at the sins of His people but the tears must be even greater when these atrocities touch the innocent and vulnerable who are largely made up of women and children.
So far I have seen two main results of this hidden abuse revealed in the emails. Some people turn their back on the church and faith and want nothing to do with either. This is a tragedy of eternal proportions. The other result is those people who, usually through a Christlike mentor or partner, have, at some future occasion, dealt with the abuse and have come out the other side with a stronger faith and a greater awareness of God’s love for them. This is miraculous!
These emails have convinced me that the issue of children in the church is a crucial issue at so many different levels. What do we do to protect them? How do we make them feel that they belong? What is their role in the church and what can we learn from them? These are just some of the questions!
And from you dear readers, I would still love to hear what you have to say.
Categories: Children, christian, Christianity, Church, Ethics, Faith, Reflections, Uncategorized
Tags: children, Christian, Christianity, Church, Devotion, Faith
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Children as Spiritual Champions – Part 1
The first book I am re-reading as I immerse myself in the topic of “children and church” is George Barna’s very personal confession and realisation, “Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions” (Regal 2003). In this book he acknowledges his own blindness, and suggests that this is modelled by the church at large – especially its leadership, with regard to the importance of children in the church.
In true Barna-esque style he weighs and measures the problem. He looks at the trends and suggests they are alarming (41). He measures the knowledge and values that children have and comes to the conclusion that American children are not being nurtured in the faith. He says this is even more alarming when you understand that most people come to their Christian faith in their childhood.
In a very moving chapter entitled “Why kids matter” he points out that, first of all, they matter to God. They are his gifts to us. Even more importantly, because they matter, He has given clear instruction to parents and the community at large as to the importance of nurture. I would add that we see this most intimately in Jesus’ relationship with children.
Barna also states that children are the battlefront of the spiritual warfare. The battle for the hearts and minds of children is where spiritual warfare is the hottest! He suggests that the more we invest in training, teaching, modelling, encouraging and etc. at this time the less we will have to pick up the pieces in the future.
Part 2 – soon. I hope!
Categories: Children, christian, christian education, Christianity, Church, community, Ethics, Faith, Family, Reflections
Tags: Christian, Christian Education, Christianity, Devotion, Faith, family
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To All My Readers
Dear Friends, for a while I have had it on my heart to write a book, loosely around the adventures and misadventures my wife and I have had with churches. However, I couldn’t get a clear picture and structure for this. I considered using the Camino as a metaphor. Then, this morning, as we were going for a walk and discussing the state of our world, the penny (insert currency here) dropped. Our real issue, if sharpened to one point, is the place of children in the church. Today we have extremes where children are missing because the congregation is aged, or missing because the children have been hived off into children’s ministry in another place or room. For many other churches there is not a clear picture of where the children fit into the people, and worship of God.
So in the months/ year or so to come my blog will be even less regular as I try to put flesh to the ideas we have. I have a working title: Alarm Bells: Where have all the children gone? I hope to have time to still post some of my eclectic ramblings, poetry, travel anecdotes, devotions and other guff. So please be patient with me.
Categories: Children, christian, Christianity, Church, Faith, Family, Reflections
Tags: children, Church, Faith
6 Comments
The Seven Up Series
The “7 Up” series is often described as the best documentary ever made. Starting with a one off program in 1964 it explored the future of British society through the lives of a group of 7 year old children.
Seven years later Michael Apted, who had been a researcher on the original program revisted the young people and continued exploring the direction of their lives. Last year 56 Up was released. Apted had returned to their lives with a film crew every 7 years for nearly 50 years.
I have always admired these people as they have had their lives audited and scrutinised by Apted and then the viewer. Yet because of their sacrifice in this process we have a record of changes, large and small, in British society over a 50 year period. From the class system, attitudes to marriage and children, through to the rise of technology and the changes in fashion, have all been recorded – both consciously and unconsciously. Their lives, and in some real sense, our Western lives have been etched into history.
As a teacher I have used this resource in a variety of ways. The series chronicles human decisions, character, history and society. However I have always been conscious that we are dealing with the lives of real people and that these lives have been filtered through the interviewing and editing by Michael Apted and his team. Whenever I use this series I remind my students to be respectful because the people are not Hollywood creations but fellow human beings with strengths and weaknesses, hopes and fears just like the rest of us.
I have never been disappointed by my classes responses. Yes they may like one person more than another but we have that in life anyway. It also wonderful to see how students respond to decisions that the participants make and modify their views and responses. I will relate some of these in the future.
I admire all the people in this project simply because of their courage and openness. When we see their lives we get a glimpse of our own.
I hope to write more in the days ahead.
Categories: Education, Family, people i admire, Reflections, Teaching, Uncategorized
Tags: 7 up, 7 Up Series, Education, family, Michael Apted
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Our Top 10 Camping Spots
Continuing with the theme of camping I thought I would list our 10 favourite camping spots. For some of these places camping is the only accommodation available. In one or two cases the facilities are primitive but the area sublime.
1. The Grand Canyon. When we camped there in January, what was particularly cool (apart from the weather) was the snow on the ground and the Coyotes howling across the canyon in the early hours of the morning.
The Loreley
2. The Loreley. This wonderful spot overlooks the Rhine valley. It is like being in a giant train set.
Camping at the Loreley in 2006
3. Gudvangen. This spot in Norway is just an example of many amazing camping places along the fjords. It is hard to find a bad spot to camp in Norway. Here though, it is important to chose the right season as frostbite is always an option.
The Murray River at Barmah
4. The Murray. The Murray River has numerous camping places that we like to return to, such as the Barmah Forest, and the numerous other state forests along its course. The river has moods, colours and a character that is always changing.
5. Hell’s Gates. At the mouth of Macquarie Harbour on Tasmania’s west coast there is a rather primitive camping spot which is amazing in its majesty and fury. The ocean surges into the harbour at this point and the waves on the outer beach can be fearful. If you continue west from here the first country you bump into is Argentina.
Torla, Spain
6. Torla. In the Pyrenees in Spain, surrounded by mountains is the town of Torla and the campsite is called Camping Rio Ara. This camping spot is close to the Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park. On the night we were there the thunder and lightning echoed and ricocheted down the mountain valleys.
7. Villingsberg. On a lake in Sweden near the city of Karlskoga is the Villingsberg camping place. Sweden is covered in lakes and inlets. Each one is special in its own way.
8. Loderups Stranbad. On the south coast of Sweden, east of Ystad, you find one of the many pristine beach camping places.
Roldal Stave Church
9. Roldal. Another place in Norway we remember fondly is Roldal. It has majestic views and also a Stave church nearby. When cooking a meal outside the tent one can smile because you have the best dining room in the world. What more could you want?
Narcissus Bay
10. Narcissus Point. On the northern tip of Lake St Clair in Tasmania there is a great camping spot. It is at the southern end of the overland trail. All the camper needs to do is watch out for snakes.
We have to add one more. 11. Santiago in Spain. This is not because the scenery is brilliant … but when we needed to have our clothes washed after the Camino, they took our clothes, washed them, dried them and folded them – all for a nominal fee. That was camping with style!
Categories: Reflections, Travel
Tags: Camping, Gudvangen, Hell's Gates, Loderups, Loreley, Loreley Camping, Roldal, The Grand Canyon, Top 10 camping places, Torla, travel, Villingsberg
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The Simple Life
Recently I reflected on my parents camping over 60 years ago. They traveled around Holland and Belgium by tandem bike. Yet I am still amazed, when I go on holidays, and I see the amazing rigs that people take with them.
I remember being on the way to the Grand Canyon on Martin Luther King Day in 2003. We encountered hundreds of “Snowbirds” driving their huge, coach sized RVs from the north, heading towards the 
warmer climes in the south towing the family car or truck behind them. No comfort was spared on the trip. On one evening, camped at Lake Havasu (the town in Arizona that has London Bridge straddle part of its man made lake) we had our little 3 man tent surrounded by RVs and campers. Sadly I don’t have a photo of that but it looked very ironic. What I found sad is that people don’t even leave their motor-homes. All they do is relocate their isolation! To me that defeats the purpose of venturing out into the world.
I would like to argue that camping should be a simple exercise – getting close to nature and other people. The fewer encumbrances the better. My wife and I don’t use a tandem but we try and get some long hikes into our camping schedule. As far as equipment is concerned, if it doesn’t fit into the VW Golf it doesn’t come.
I feel blessed that I have a “cheap” wife. I must explain. A friend couldn’t go camping unless all the mod cons came with them. He had to buy a very expensive caravan and a 4WD to tow it. My wife is happy with fewer comforts than I am. That is why I am blessed. A tent, a stove, a small table and two chairs and we have our home away from home, and when we hike we leave the furniture behind.
Josiah: a reflection
I have been doing a lot of writing lately, but alas, not my blog. It is report writing season and I have to assess and make comment on my students.
In the Old Testament God gave a report on Josiah, the King who started at 8 years of age in an era when Judah had rebelled mightily against God. Young Josiah went on a program of reinstating God’s law in Judah and removing idols. However God’s plan for Judah were already set in place. Despite His anger against the nation God was still able to declare about Josiah that:
Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did – with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses. 2 Kings 23:25
Sadly Josiah’s reformation was ultimately futile. Further evil kings followed and Judah was dragged to Babylon. We are reminded that the only true reformation is one that is purchased on the cross by Christ and applied to our hearts by the Holy Spirit. … and yet I hope that the Spirit of God plants in me the attitude of Josiah, who in the face of God’s anger against the nation, still did what was right.
In the face of so many evils today we need the courage of Josiah but we have the added blessing of knowing the Messiah, having His Spirit and being assured that His Kingdom will come!
Categories: christian, Christianity, Devotional, Faith, Reflections, Uncategorized
Tags: Christian, Christianity, Devotion, Faith, Josiah
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Travels from Ur 