tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90288891102706908222012-02-16T19:21:40.466ZComments and thoughts on various subjects deep and not so deep from a Gay Pluralist Christianmike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.comBlogger571100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-19607315609105841692011-06-30T22:41:00.002+01:002011-06-30T22:47:24.888+01:00

Having just come back from Israel and Palestine, I have created a blog with which to share my experiences and spread the word about the plight of the Palestinians.http://holylandofheartbreak.blogspot.com/Please head on over, and add it to your feeds tab. I promise you it will be worth it!

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-70702370262772853072011-06-10T00:17:00.006+01:002011-06-10T00:26:54.758+01:00

We've just finished our new website at work, with lots of great features including Glebe TV, a regular video slot with members of staff talking about what's happening in their departments. Up till now I'd left it to my colleague in the planteria to feature in them, but although he's younger and easier on the eye than myself, I thought I'd better share the limelight!Anyway, I hope it's not too

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-34387677384970476892011-05-31T19:06:00.003+01:002011-05-31T19:17:10.472+01:00

Go here and pre-order it - let's take it to the top of the charts to show the polititians we want this occupation to end.All proceeds to War On Want's Palestinian projects.

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-67603829495953905482011-05-02T20:46:00.001+01:002011-05-02T20:48:18.178+01:00

They really are the only party to be trusted these days - do take a look.

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-37451353947284914872011-03-13T22:14:00.004Z2011-03-13T23:30:39.760Z

Not 2 weeks after having to listen to my home group verbally attack homosexuals, the scales have been tipped rather nicely in the other direction. I regularly attend the "Workshop: Applied Christian Studies" course, which runs on weekends every 2 months or so, with a different theme every weekend. This one was entitled "Body and Soul: Living, believing and behaving", and dealt with value-based

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-27169329434120895462011-03-01T23:20:00.003Z2011-03-02T00:09:42.076Z

Home group tonight was... sadly predictable. The topic of toning down the message to attract a wider congregation, along with the Christianity vs Sexuality debate being in the news again today, ensured that homosexuality was discussed at length tonight, along with "people having sex before marriage".Now I'm not "Out" at my church, but nor am I "In" as such - If someone asks a question, I'll

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-14922467034508292952010-09-20T18:59:00.002+01:002010-09-20T19:36:07.975+01:00

OK, I admit, Workshop was very good - a lot different to what I'd imagined it to be as well. For instance I wasn't expecting to be part of a drum circle, about ten of us with African Ashiko drums, creating our own rhythm one by one, to harmonise together. (don't let anyone tell you that drumming is easy) Nor to hear Jesus' teaching styles be categorised as street magician, guerrilla gardener,

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-50803920146151352332010-08-31T19:53:00.003+01:002010-08-31T21:53:00.437+01:00

Here I am, at the end of 3 wonderful weeks off, having been to various parts of Switzerland, Taize in France for a week, and I've just come back from Greenbelt festival at Cheltenham racecourse. Down to earth with a bang tomorrow, as the boss has just texted to remind me of the early meeting we have.Taize was wonderful as always, with the worship and community spirit, and a lot freer this year,

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-21174185644874889282010-07-10T19:16:00.002+01:002010-07-10T19:45:18.207+01:00

Read this morning on Revmusings blog an account of a conference on Interfaith issues from an Evangelical perspective, together with a reflection from Julian Bond from the Christian-Muslim forum, that described 4 typologies used for engaging with other faiths. One read: 'Pluralism - all religions are OK because I say so''Because I say so' is a bit simplistic, and I don't think many pluralists

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-90116013399970202302010-06-21T19:57:00.005+01:002010-06-21T20:41:37.376+01:00

If you read my last post, then you may be able to guess what subject has been laying heavily and painfully on my mind all weekend. This morning was no different, and being the start of the week I had to be in a good frame of mind for my team at work.10 minutes before starting work, I wasn't doing any better, so I pulled over and had a brief period of quiet and prayer. I asked to be encircled

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-20310240839913701132010-06-18T19:53:00.005+01:002010-06-18T21:56:25.368+01:00

I passed by today the Humberstone Grange Clinic, site of Leicester's dynamic psychotherapy service. It brought back to mind a time in my life, only 6 or 7 years ago, when I self diagnosed Avoidant Personality Disorder (AvPD)It all started with an innocent online personality test, just one meant for fun. It highlighted several traits in my nature which got me interested, and led me to find the

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-2605289399161182992010-05-07T21:32:00.007+01:002010-05-07T22:51:11.142+01:00

What could be making me so happy and full of hope, despite only having had 4 hours sleep last night?Is it that the Conservatives have got the highest number of seats? Not likely.Is it that we now have a hung parliament and so chance for electoral reform? No, though that is something to be glad about.It is in fact that we have our first Green MP, Caroline Lucas, for Brighton Pavilion. Although the

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-77666747088255220012010-04-08T21:42:00.004+01:002010-04-08T22:12:04.576+01:00

Food inc. is a film about food production in the USA, how a few huge companies control it, and just how badly they treat their farmers, workers, animals and the environment. Also it shows just how easily they have drawn a veil over their bad practices, blinding the consumer with brands that smack of old fashioned farming and wholesomeness, whilst getting laws passed by government agencies

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-3964311677846044682010-04-01T22:45:00.002+01:002010-04-01T22:57:51.097+01:00

I love this Jars of Clay song. It so mirrors the feelings you get when you realise how far you have strayed from the path, and need to turn back to God and receive grace. It's not a proper music video alas.And from a quite different song, quoted in a sermon I heard tonight:- We strain to glimpse your mercy-seat, and find you kneeling at our feet.

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-57752989914598381302010-03-23T22:31:00.003Z2010-03-23T22:59:33.078Z

In the lent course today, praying for strangers was the topic for discussion. Towards the end we did an exercise in pairs, where one of the pair prayed in silence for the other for five minutes, where then they swapped over. The purpose was to discern from the Spirit what subject needed praying about.I'm never that keen on this kind of activity, as what pops into my head could be via the Spirit,

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-22176578471995539432010-03-06T22:09:00.005Z2010-03-06T23:02:25.071Z

Leicester's clock tower was today the scene of an Amnesty International campaign about oil company Shell's abuse of the Niger Delta, where thousands of barrels worth of oil have been spilt in careless extractions, devastating the animal and plant life in one of the worlds most important wetland ecosystems, and denying most of the rural population access to clean water, whilst the banned practice

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-63113553565795662522010-03-02T23:02:00.003Z2010-03-02T23:08:47.768Z

Heard today that Simon our Vicar will be leaving us (sniff) to take up a post in Islington. Mixed feelings here - Happy that he's going on to bigger and more challenging things, but a little sad as I'll miss his style of preaching, his friendly and easy going personality, and the laughs he usually manages to slip into the service. Also from a more selfish point of view, I'll be sorry to lose a

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-70705751221501673962010-03-02T22:20:00.004Z2010-03-02T23:12:56.693Z

I've just got back from my lent course, hosted by a different cell group to my own, since there wasn't enough in our group who wanted to attend an evening course. What I have found in both groups, is that all the people are at least ten years older than me, and have been at St Paul's for a decade or more, or have been a Christian for the same sort of time. Now don't think I'm complaining - it's

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-13380383186953344732010-01-03T21:18:00.004Z2010-01-03T22:49:14.658Z

For a few nights now, I've been sitting up late in rap'd concentration of my book - Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol. I shall try not to spoil the plot, but do go and read it, as it's thoroughly enjoyable and gets you thinking.The story is largely based on Masonic practices and secrets, but also on something called Noetic Science. This is (according to the Institution of Noetic sciences) "The

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-72068258259909484032009-09-23T23:07:00.006+01:002009-09-24T00:06:37.893+01:00

I have from time to time a recurring dream that I'm in hospital, on a ward, with a doctor in attendance - male or female, it changes with the dream. The hospital ward also changes - it's never the same place twice as far as I can remember. The doctor is encouraging me to stay put and rest, and not go wandering about the hospital, which I often seem to do. In reality, I have a fairly positive view

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-10771245365533079592009-09-13T21:37:00.007+01:002009-09-13T23:10:29.310+01:00

More than 18 years after I first attended Confirmation classes, I finally got confirmed on Tuesday. OK, so I freely admit, I've not really been preparing all this time! My original catechism was cut short - I think the curate in charge of the classes discerned quite rightly that I was only following my best friend into Christianity, and that my heart wasn't quite in it! However, since I started

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-15990909141464642722009-05-27T22:24:00.004+01:002010-07-01T23:36:16.480+01:00

http://panasonicyouth.buzznet.com/user/video/160541/Brilliant! But don't watch if you are easily offended by very camp ex Star Trek actors.(Update - video was taken down, so above is a working link)

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-69285026823490670762009-05-27T21:19:00.005+01:002009-05-27T22:14:29.117+01:00

Been thinking today about why I am not posting so much here at the moment, and how it reflects my spiritual life. Some part of me would say that it's because I'm happy with my church, and just as vitally, at ease in it, so I'm not posting about churchy things that annoy me.However, although that's quite true, it's more a case of Too Much Going On. In the Parable of the Sower, Mark says:"the

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-72162917800691704212009-05-27T08:56:00.003+01:002009-05-27T09:19:56.417+01:00

A few colleagues and I have created an allotment in the field behind where we work, and as the one condition of having a quarter to grow veg is that we each have to write a journal of what we have planted and harvested. Never being one to keep a diary, I thought I'd start up a new blog, not only to record facts but to share tips, show where I go wrong (and hopefully right). It's at http://

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-43677296896528164232009-05-02T21:58:00.003+01:002009-05-02T23:44:17.111+01:00

Having finished tonight the last half of John's Gospel, (and recently having read the other three), a few things came to mind. Firstly, John speaks to me in a way the others do not. I can't explain quite how, but I just want to keep on reading! The others don't enthuse me quite so much, though parts such as the sermon on the mount still enthrall me.I now realise that I need to read the gospel

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-76265036608522677162009-04-05T20:27:00.003+01:002009-04-05T21:43:49.779+01:00

Now that I've finally settled down in my chosen church of St Paul's Oadby, I feel I should get my donations sorted out, but Oh! what a business this tithing is. Deciding on the amount one decides to give to God, though both Church and Charities, isn't as simple as I first thought.So the biblical Tithe is Ten Percent, of which many say should be before tax, some after*, and others that you should

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-35231355354530103302009-02-16T21:07:00.004Z2009-02-16T21:44:06.471Z

If you've not heard of Transition before, it refers to a globally increasing network of groups, looking to prepare their town or city for when the oil runs dry, by working to "redesign energy systems and lifestyles so that we can meet our needs and thrive as a society, whilst eliminating our need for fossil fuels".Transition initiatives focus on organic food production, renewable energy sources,

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-47646232082731930322009-02-15T08:11:00.004Z2009-02-15T09:00:34.515Z

There have been two issues in the media recently that highlight a disturbing trend - what some would call a secular attack on Christianity: firstly the nurse who offered to pray for her patient; and then the Christian family that fostered a Muslim girl, who decided to follow Christ despite the foster parents intention to keep her original faith intact. Both the family and the nurse were accused

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-37262877967200865362009-02-10T18:38:00.007Z2009-02-10T19:21:11.678Z

If you've read my last-but-one post, you'll know I've been thinking about cutting back on what I spend and how I live to be in solidarity with the poor for Lent. This was to involve halving my supermarket spending, not buying so much of what I don't really need etc etc.Well it appears that I may have little choice in the matter, and may be starting sooner than the beginning of Lent. My colleagues

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-20572894920267872422009-02-02T22:14:00.006Z2009-02-02T22:42:48.517Z

My boss often says about the south of Leicestershire: "If we've got snow, the rest of the country's got it bad", referring to the fact that snow rarely settles here, and when it does, it's usually gone in a day. However not so today, where it's been snowing most of the day, and has settled a good few inches, whilst London and the home counties have been badly hit.So I came home in a spirit of

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-52678816206541943952009-01-28T19:02:00.004Z2009-01-28T19:31:04.027Z

Although Lent is nearly a whole month away, I've been thinking tonight about what I could do for it. Last year I gave up buying things other than food & household shopping, intending to give what I'd saved to a charity at the end. That wasn't very successful, and although I did make a donation, what I had saved would have been barely worth it on it's own.So tonight I came up with the idea of

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-90509683567579680132009-01-25T21:14:00.002Z2009-01-25T23:02:48.591Z

I attended St Paul's in Oadby this morning - my first time at a Sunday morning service since long before Christmas, and my first morning at this particular church. As the evening service, the praise was mostly modern worship songs, but this time with a couple of hymns thrown in, along with Anglican liturgy (which I rather missed during the last 9 months at the Baptist church) and a sermon/

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-80998136481720822582009-01-11T20:42:00.005Z2009-01-11T21:58:31.545Z

I overslept this morning for the second Sunday in a row, due to waking at 7am each morning in Brussels and then starting an hour earlier back at work. Very annoying, as I had meant to be at one of my prospective churches in about ten minutes time! Needless to say, I didn't want to turn up unshowered, unshaved and looking completely scruffy on my first morning at a new church, so I ditched that

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-81653101424064527012008-12-22T18:35:00.002Z2008-12-22T18:45:30.686Z

Merry Christmas to alll! Baking away at the moment in readiness for the Christmas festivities. Every year at this time I spend two or three days cooking all sorts of naughty treats - probably my favourite time of year, what with the almost tangible sense of anticipation. Other than Christmas, I'm getting ready to go to Brussels for the Taize European meeting (around new year) - don't know what

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-19310591277885229722008-12-03T19:00:00.008Z2008-12-03T19:41:09.683Z

I heard from Ellen, my Minister, in yesterday's meeting, that the site of the old prefab library (empty as moved to a better location) in Oadby is to be a new mosque. Unfortunately this has led to the old building being hit by graffiti: "Racist messages, swastikas and "say no to mosq" were scrawled on walls" says the Leicester Mercury (click on title to go to article).My friend and I passed it

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-1788580919202812182008-12-03T17:54:00.003Z2008-12-03T18:59:17.638Z

The writer of this blog (me) would like to apologise to any Baptists who may have read the last entry entitled "Still confused..." for what in hindsight I see was an unprovoked and insensitive attack on their branch of Christianity, particularly as they have so far all been pleasant and welcoming to me. I make no excuses - it was unfair of me.That said, since I made such a big issue of the

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-21519754014656034202008-11-25T22:47:00.003Z2008-11-26T00:02:25.491Z

One week now to the follow-up meeting between my Minister and I to decide whether Oadby Baptist is the right church for me, and I'm flipping from one decision to the other. Just a couple of days ago I had decided on leaving OBC to be Anglican once more - I miss the liturgy, it's where I started, plus my conscience would be eased by being part of a communion where the is some active debate over

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-83439272516220085652008-11-12T23:19:00.006Z2008-11-12T23:37:02.729Z

Just found this video on 'Of Course I Could Be Wrong' - An American Journalist, Keith Olbermann gives his reaction to the masses of people who voted Yes on Proposition 8 - the new law that has banned same-sex marriages in California.You can see how sincere he is - his passion for justice and his strength of emotion is palpable. Bless the man! Thank you Keith Olbermann, and thanks to Madpriest

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-45411932714811025462008-11-11T23:36:00.006Z2008-11-12T00:22:56.547Z

A couple of (fairly mundane) incidences have happened to me recently, and I have to wonder whether it's God communicating with me, or whether it's just me making something out of what may be just natural coincidences.Today I decided to bake a cake for my friend with MS - it's her birthday tomorrow and she's been going through a particularly hard time recently. Plus most of her family and friends

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-59092672591173294802008-10-08T23:00:00.004+01:002008-10-08T23:37:07.147+01:00

OK, so what exactly is wrong with horror movies? Can anyone tell me what, from a christian point of view is so particularly bad? Not that I'm a particularly great fan, in fact I've only 2 titles in my whole collection, (Final Destination 1 and 2) and I'd only loosely call them horror flicks as it is.What's sparked this off is the sermon I heard in church, Sunday evening. It wasn't about horror

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-32727179933876610962008-10-06T20:13:00.003+01:002008-10-06T20:23:44.802+01:00

Yesterday I found on the notices section of my church's weekly leaflet, that St Peter's were offering a course on Christian Meditation at the church hall starting this tuesday. Great, I thought, as I've always wanted to do this since I saw a programme on meditation a few years ago.However, tonight I've just noticed the time: 2:30pm. What about those like me that have to work? Admittedly I do

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-47460803357730971682008-10-06T18:45:00.005+01:002008-10-06T21:36:05.306+01:00

Yesterday I went for the first time to the Friends Meeting House in Leicester. Being gay and generally in favour of the peace movement, I've long wanted to try their style of worship out for myself as they must be the most accepting religious group around - of other faiths too, which suits me down to the ground.I was stopped at the entrance to the meeting hall by a nice lady who, recognising I

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-63669954320485431352008-10-01T18:49:00.006+01:002008-10-01T20:08:13.117+01:00

On advice from a friend today, I have emailed my new minister to arrange a chat, ostensibly to discuss recieving believer's baptism, but firstly to discover her attitude to my sexuality.I have been going to my local Baptist church for around 6 months now, initially because I was informed by the same friend that the new minister who's just been inducted had been to Iona a few times and was into,

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-61076061796098871462008-09-22T22:53:00.006+01:002008-09-22T23:30:39.918+01:00

I have been asked by a friend to pass on a prayer request about the riots in India between Christians and Hindus. Now I'm sure many of you have known about it for a while, it's not exactly new, but as for me I have to confess what with all the painful world news that keeps flooding in through various media, I had let my eyes glaze over a bit on this one.No more so. After forcing myself to look

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-39092219520094951892008-09-22T00:09:00.003+01:002008-09-22T00:27:08.939+01:00

This is a Word Cloud from http://wordle.net, a kind of jumbled up mass of words taken from a user-specified web page, in this case, the current front page of this blog. The more a word appears on the page, the bigger it is in the word cloud. It's a pretty nifty little trick, especially as you can choose the colour scheme!By the way, I really must put in a little note here to say this humble

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-57633781534376491842008-09-13T19:16:00.005+01:002008-09-22T23:39:59.109+01:00

At long last, The Community of Taizé have allowed the television cameras in! Last Sunday, the 7th of September, the Sunday morning eucharist was filmed and shown in a programme called Le Jour de Seigneur (catchy name!), on the the french channel France 2. It's wonderful, seeing the church again, feels like ages since I've been, though it's only just over a monthOne of my Taize friends posted a

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-49011107201928176022008-08-24T23:57:00.002+01:002008-08-25T00:46:18.656+01:00

Since I gave my local Baptist church such a smiting for their apparent callous treatment of a local homeless man a couple of weeks back, I thought that since tonights' service was as close to brilliant as you can get in an interregnum, I'd better be fair and write it up as well.The music was well chosen, the sermon (or "Talk" as they prefer to call it) was relevant, and the prayer was interactive

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-42711547981477273202008-08-22T23:17:00.002+01:002008-08-22T23:30:34.884+01:00

After reading a letter to Church Times, I thought I'd spread the word of this staunch supporter of Inclusiveness and Equality.Head on over to Madpriests Blog to read the letter (as Church Times will only let subscribers view it. Boo!)Thanks to Madpriest for this, and of course The Rev Mayland.

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-72189120525186800102008-08-16T00:13:00.002+01:002008-08-16T01:08:32.196+01:00

I heard tonight of yet another reality TV show - this one taking a bunch of 'Sinners' and with a smaller bunch of 'Mentors', attempt to convert them to Christianity. It started on Sunday appropriately enough, so I got it up on 4od tonight. 1 hour and much ranting at the screen later, I'm about to share my thoughts on the show with you. Though the creators of the show have tried with their

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-46783340619413082442008-08-11T20:20:00.001+01:002008-08-11T22:43:15.677+01:00

Having read tonight of a friend's mixed week while we were at Taize, I thought I'd better write mine up.There are so many wonderful things about Taize. Those who know me will attest to how long I can talk about the fun times I've had, the beauty of the worship, and how God's presence is so keenly felt there - and also how much I am capable of boring them with my over-excited talk in the weeks

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-68707039337673889542008-08-10T19:53:00.000+01:002008-08-10T23:25:05.228+01:00

I wish it didn't take this feeling of disgust to send me back to blogging, but there it is. The story is as follows.Having just come back from my annual week in Taize, I decided I really must go to church and try again with Oadby Baptist, having not attended for the past few weeks since I heard one stand -in preacher's semi-homophobic remarks thinly veilled in his sermon - as I hear from other

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-42562428487921236942008-05-21T23:40:00.000+01:002008-05-22T00:44:51.244+01:00

Reading the thread to the latest ASBO Jesus cartoon has set me thinking incessantly about the holy spirit, and it's manifestations in us. The subject in question is most commonly called the Toronto Blessing, with the most extreme result being 'slain in the spirit', where mid blessing, you lose your motor functions and fall down unconscious due to an overwhelming experience with the Holy

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-38022456984875850152008-05-14T21:52:00.001+01:002008-08-12T22:04:06.247+01:00

Anyone who keeps an eye on this blog (and I admit that may be no-one!) will see I have not been a good boy as far as adding to it. Apologies - though I could in some way blame the gorgeous weather and the subsequent hours spent in my garden; in truth it is more down to laziness.The thing that has jolted me into writing again is the home group I have joined at a local baptist church since

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-14331026829479172472008-04-21T23:29:00.001+01:002008-04-21T23:57:06.408+01:00

Just about to get some sleep, but before I do, I want to tell you about my bedtime routine.I have a great little free program called Sweet Sleep from Smitka development, and although much of the features are in Czech, they are easy to understand. It allows me to listen to music in bed, and drift off to sleep, with the volume decreasing over time until the amount of minutes I specified have

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-11948643361620758062008-04-16T00:18:00.000+01:002008-04-16T00:22:29.950+01:00

Tonight I finally got around to amending the modern creed I wrote for part of my Emmaus course. When I handed it in, I got the impression that it wasn't, ahem, too bad - the one main problem being that in the part about Jesus, I had forgotten to put in any mention of the ressurection (D'oh!). So since it isn't complete rubbish, I thought I'd post the final edit here. If you should wish to

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-76285352915376731752008-04-16T00:15:00.000+01:002008-04-16T00:24:16.451+01:00

How many times must I have uttered those words during prayer?As this beloved hymn has it:"Come down, O love divine, seek Thou this soul of mine,And visit it with Thine own ardor glowing.O Comforter, draw near, within my heart appear,And kindle it, Thy holy flame bestowing.O let it freely burn, til earthly passions turnTo dust and ashes in its heat consuming;"Bi­an­co of Si­e­na (?-1434), trans.

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9028889110270690822.post-14618390021276526902008-04-15T23:01:00.000+01:002008-04-16T00:15:36.155+01:00

I downloaded this brilliant programme via the channel 4 website, and finally got around to watching it the other day.Much of the documentary was spent following the presenter Dr Robert Beckford as he visited the supposed final resting places of Peter and James, revealling that there is very little evidence to prove they ended up in Rome and Santiago respectively. Indeed, what was getting clearer

mike_maplehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17096641061361976814noreply@blogger.com0