GOOSEgander 1 Spring 2017 no.39 EXTRACTED …...GOOSEgander Spring 2017 4 Mairi Munro was a member...

GOOSEgander Spring 2017

1GOOSEganderThe newsletter of the Wild Goose Resource GroupSpring 2017 no.39

www.wildgoose.scot

EXTRACTED VERSION, 32 pages


2

GOOSEgander is the newsletter of the WGRG, a semi-autonomous project of the Iona Community.

WGRG consists of three resource workers, John Bell, Jo Love and Graham Maule. Gail Ullrich is the group’s administrator and Kirsty Campbell is the sales adminis-trator.

The WGRG exists to enable and equip congregations and clergy in the shaping and creation of new forms of relevant, participative worship.

The WGRG has to find a majority of its own funding. As a result, it exists on a provisional basis, only taking on events for the coming twelve months at a time. The WGRG welcomes donations and other forms of financial support (Gift Aid) towards its work. If you are interested in supporting the work in this way, please contact the Group at the address below.

WILD GOOSE RESOURCE GROUPc/o Iona Community, 21 Carlton Court, Glasgow G5 9JP, Scotland. T: 0141-429-7281 E: [email protected] Web: www.wildgoose.scot

Wild Goose Resource GroupWildGooseRG

weeWONDERBOXWeb: www.wildgoose.scot/weewonderbox

weewonderboxwee_wonderbox

2

3 GOOSEeditorial

4 MAIRI MUNRO: A TributeJOHN L. BELL & GRAHAM MAULE on the recent loss of our feisty friend ...

7 COLUMBAFESTNews of weeWONDERBOX’s new summer festival.

8 SHHON, The Sheepdog: A Moving Tale (episode 1)Curious events during our recent move.

12 GOOSEooseBits & pieces about things Wild Goose ...

13 CELTIC Perspectives on Death &Dying (part 1)

JOHN L. BELL on Scottish/ Celtic practices.

17 LITURGY gander: Orders for Personal PrayerWGRG prayer orders for each day.

21 CHANGE Without DecayNews of the WGRG’s 2017 week on Iona.

22 SHHON, The Sheepdog: A Moving Tail (episode 2)Further curious events ...

26 NEW SONG ganderA song taster.

28 SO LONG, SavoyJO LOVE says farewell to our former base.

29 weeWONDERBOXGRAHAM MAULE on this new wonder.

30 TALKING mattersJO LOVE on a basic human practice.

32 CATALOGUEgander

33 DR. BELL’S SurgeryThe Doctor’s usual cures for liturgical ailments and constipations.

35 GANDER at the CalendarA selection of Wild Goose & weeWONDERBOX events April-July 2017.

CONTENTS

www.wildgoose.scot

Note: JOHN L. BELL’s article below isn’t included in this extracted version of GOOSEgander 39


2

GOOSEgander is the newsletter of the WGRG, a semi-autonomous project of the Iona Community.

WGRG consists of three resource workers, John Bell, Jo Love and Graham Maule. Gail Ullrich is the group’s administrator and Kirsty Campbell is the sales adminis-trator.

The WGRG exists to enable and equip congregations and clergy in the shaping and creation of new forms of relevant, participative worship.

The WGRG has to find a majority of its own funding. As a result, it exists on a provisional basis, only taking on events for the coming twelve months at a time. The WGRG welcomes donations and other forms of financial support (Gift Aid) towards its work. If you are interested in supporting the work in this way, please contact the Group at the address below.

WILD GOOSE RESOURCE GROUPc/o Iona Community, 21 Carlton Court, Glasgow G5 9JP, Scotland. T: 0141-429-7281 E: [email protected] Web: www.wildgoose.scot

Wild Goose Resource GroupWildGooseRG

weeWONDERBOXWeb: www.wildgoose.scot/weewonderbox

weewonderboxwee_wonderbox

2

3 GOOSEeditorial

4 MAIRI MUNRO: A TributeJOHN L. BELL & GRAHAM MAULE on the recent loss of our feisty friend ...

7 COLUMBAFESTNews of weeWONDERBOX’s new summer festival.

8 SHHON, The Sheepdog: A Moving Tale (episode 1)Curious events during our recent move.

12 GOOSEooseBits & pieces about things Wild Goose ...

13 CELTIC Perspectives on Death &Dying (part 1)

JOHN L. BELL on Scottish/ Celtic practices.

17 LITURGY gander: Orders for Personal PrayerWGRG prayer orders for each day.

21 CHANGE Without DecayNews of the WGRG’s 2017 week on Iona.

22 SHHON, The Sheepdog: A Moving Tail (episode 2)Further curious events ...

26 NEW SONG ganderA song taster.

28 SO LONG, SavoyJO LOVE says farewell to our former base.

29 weeWONDERBOXGRAHAM MAULE on this new wonder.

30 TALKING mattersJO LOVE on a basic human practice.

32 CATALOGUEgander

33 DR. BELL’S SurgeryThe Doctor’s usual cures for liturgical ailments and constipations.

35 GANDER at the CalendarA selection of Wild Goose & weeWONDERBOX events April-July 2017.

CONTENTS

www.wildgoose.scotGOOSEgander Spring 2017

3GOOSEeditorial

Welcome to GG39 ... an expanded 36-page, bumper edition, in recognition that there’s been a wee interregnum since GG38. Our apologies for that are due. We’re also writing with excitement from our new Base (above) in Carlton Court. Jo (see her article on page 24), is particularly thrilled that WGRG is based in the hay loft of this former Clyde Shipping Company stables. Come along and view it for yourself at the new series of weeWONDERBOX events in our very own new hame (see page 25). Already, there have been visits from groups of Finns, Danes and Germans (‘Hei’, ‘Hej’ and ‘Hallo’ to all of you), and we look forward to welcoming some nearer neighbours as well to this year’s continuing programme.

If ever you need to know about the upcoming schedule, of course you can check www.wildgoose.scot for weeWONDERBOX and other events. Do visit and sign up for eNews updates or via this link: https://eepurl.com/byreMj

It has been a particularly busy time, so if you were in touch during the flit and aftermath, thank you for your understanding.

There is ongoing interest in the work of WGRG in North America and John continues to be invited by churches and others to lead events and courses there.

He has been working on a new book of song texts which can be sung to familiar tunes, to be published both by Wild Goose Publications (in the UK) and by GIA (in USA). This will be called ‘Known Unknowns’ (see page 22 for an example). At the beginning of this year, he also embarked on a short sabbatical.

WGRG material is in demand elsewhere around the globe, too. ’Un Petit livre de célébrations’, a French edition of ‘A Wee Worship Book’, no.4, was recently published in Switzerland & France, and firm links with the Danish Church are being established. Kirkefondet, our Danish publisher colleagues recently published a second collection of WGRG and Iona Community liturgical resources entitled, ‘Gudstjeneste Fra Kanten’ (‘Services From The Edge’)

We hope you enjoy GOOSEgander 39.

As before, a downloadable (extracted) version of GOOSEgander is available. Visit the GOOSEgander page on the website: www.wildgoose.scot


4

Mairi Munro was a member of the work Wild Goose Worship Group from at its birth in 1983. She also

fulfilled telling roles in the work of both Wild Goose Publications

and the Wild Goose Resource Group. She died at the beginning of April this year. Here, John L. Bell

& Graham Maule pay tribute to their friend and her unique, feisty,

infectious life. Mairi Munro was fifteen when she came among us.

She was a regular at a large monthly youth event called ‘Last of the Month’ (LOTM), which took place in central Glasgow. Up to 400 teenagers came – most of them from outside the city – and Mairi was one of a contingent who were driven in from a church in Hamilton.

She was a keen singer and instrumentalist in choirs and bands and sometimes played her flute in whichever scratch ensemble led music in the LOTM closing worship. She was notable for her vibrant strawberry blonde/ red hair and fearless ability to try anything – something which had surfaced at the age of fourteen, when she travelled, unaccompanied, on public transport all the way from Scotland to France to visit her pen pal.

During her years at university, she became one of the first members of the Wild Goose Worship Group – a loose-fitting collection of young people, many of whom initially claimed they couldn’t sing, but who began to passionately experiment with new songs, different methods of prayer, and a variety of ways to share Scripture. She endeared herself to every-body by her careful practiced irrelevance, genuine kindness and forthright way with words. She was not the kind of person from whom you could walk away neutral.

When in the late 80s, the Iona Community was looking for someone to take charge of its fledgling publications department – Mairi got the job. Within a few years, she then changed offices and became a member of the Wild Goose Resource Group (the full-time wing of the Worship Group), joining around the same time as Alison Adam. For a wondrous decade, together and apart they cajoled, teased and encour-

aged people to try new things in worship, and were able to get music out of the most petrified of stones.

She had a unique ability to be no respecter of persons, whether they be bishops or bus drivers. This was evident when she led groups, workshops and events. Her lively theological mind and her love of the Bible were married to her ability to find the right register of language, using appropriate and incisive means to encourage discussion to identify and dis-miss what was shallow, predictable or evasive.

On one occasion when one of Mairi and Alison’s male colleagues was delayed from leading a singing event in Inverness, they assumed responsibility. The repartee, of these two irrepressibly feisty young wom-en on a stage openly disagreeing with each other, visibly unsettled the men in the hall until they realised that these were women daring to be playfully and disarmingly funny in public.

MAIRI MUNRO: A Tribute

FIO

NA

EVA

NS

(Above) Mairi in 2015; (Top right) Mairi in typical mischievous mood; (Bottom right) Rehearsing in Iona Abbey with the WGRG, 1999.


4

Mairi Munro was a member of the work Wild Goose Worship Group from at its birth in 1983. She also

fulfilled telling roles in the work of both Wild Goose Publications

and the Wild Goose Resource Group. She died at the beginning of April this year. Here, John L. Bell

& Graham Maule pay tribute to their friend and her unique, feisty,

infectious life. Mairi Munro was fifteen when she came among us.

She was a regular at a large monthly youth event called ‘Last of the Month’ (LOTM), which took place in central Glasgow. Up to 400 teenagers came – most of them from outside the city – and Mairi was one of a contingent who were driven in from a church in Hamilton.

She was a keen singer and instrumentalist in choirs and bands and sometimes played her flute in whichever scratch ensemble led music in the LOTM closing worship. She was notable for her vibrant strawberry blonde/ red hair and fearless ability to try anything – something which had surfaced at the age of fourteen, when she travelled, unaccompanied, on public transport all the way from Scotland to France to visit her pen pal.

During her years at university, she became one of the first members of the Wild Goose Worship Group – a loose-fitting collection of young people, many of whom initially claimed they couldn’t sing, but who began to passionately experiment with new songs, different methods of prayer, and a variety of ways to share Scripture. She endeared herself to every-body by her careful practiced irrelevance, genuine kindness and forthright way with words. She was not the kind of person from whom you could walk away neutral.

When in the late 80s, the Iona Community was looking for someone to take charge of its fledgling publications department – Mairi got the job. Within a few years, she then changed offices and became a member of the Wild Goose Resource Group (the full-time wing of the Worship Group), joining around the same time as Alison Adam. For a wondrous decade, together and apart they cajoled, teased and encour-

aged people to try new things in worship, and were able to get music out of the most petrified of stones.

She had a unique ability to be no respecter of persons, whether they be bishops or bus drivers. This was evident when she led groups, workshops and events. Her lively theological mind and her love of the Bible were married to her ability to find the right register of language, using appropriate and incisive means to encourage discussion to identify and dis-miss what was shallow, predictable or evasive.

On one occasion when one of Mairi and Alison’s male colleagues was delayed from leading a singing event in Inverness, they assumed responsibility. The repartee, of these two irrepressibly feisty young wom-en on a stage openly disagreeing with each other, visibly unsettled the men in the hall until they realised that these were women daring to be playfully and disarmingly funny in public.

MAIRI MUNRO: A Tribute

FIO

NA

EVA

NS

(Above) Mairi in 2015; (Top right) Mairi in typical mischievous mood; (Bottom right) Rehearsing in Iona Abbey with the WGRG, 1999.


5

Mairi had a passion for the world beyond Scotland. She spoke French, German and Spanish, and spent a year as a volunteer in Malawi, where the local women were delighted to meet a white girl who didn’t look anorexic.

At that time, a crucial democratic election campaign was underway in the African state, with the people struggling to replace the repressive regime of Hast-

ings Bunda. The centre where Mairi worked was one of the few places that had a photocopier. Mairi spent many late nights reproducing campaigning materials for the progressive forces who eventually overthrew the dictator.

Later she would visit Guatemala, the Philippines and South Africa, always returning with stories and songs and testimonies to indigenous people’s cultural and political resistance in the face of tough odds. For her, going abroad offered the possibility of encountering and embracing other cultures – their food, music, dances, traditions which made the world a bigger place and the church a more clearly and intentionally diverse community.

She loved being in mixed and all female company, in equal but different ways. In the former she delighted in taking the rip out of her male peers when they indulged in ‘boy’s talk.’ Her frequent rejoinder in try-ing to explain the aberrant or silly behaviour of the opposite sex was summed up in the phrase, ‘ I blame the parents!’

Her ability to say what others avoided was a defining characteristic, whether that was to register a protest, help a silent friend to articulate what was in their mind, or inform her male colleagues that her iras-cibility was caused by ‘the time of the month.’ She could explode with laughter, weep without embar-rassment, pout and be moody with equal ease and total openness. And she could take people along with her, trusting in their generosity of spirit, as happened when in a church meeting the congregation were being asked to consider what kind of minister they should call. Mairi magnanimously suggested that ‘if we were to discover that the person we wanted was gay, I’m sure that would be no problem to this congregation …’

She was the kind of person who could have a party in an empty room. A vast repertoire of songs – folk, religious, nonsense, pop – were at her disposal, but these were best used when she initiated spontane-ous ceilidhs among the most unsuspecting of people. Given enough warning, she would also ensure that her cooking (predominantly vegetarian) and baking skills added to the enjoyment of an evening in her company.

In August 2005, she married David Ashley, an art teacher, whom she met in a bus going to stag party, which preceded a wedding on Islay in which she was to be ‘best man’. They settled in Ellon, a town north of Aberdeen, where Mairi subsequently did some advanced music training in the Kodaly method, and started a group for the parents of small children to enable them to sing to and with their offspring. She also went into schools to encourage reticent adoles-


6

cents to sing. With defiant eleven and twelve year old boys, she would play to their dawning machismo, insisting that if they were to be men, they should not sing the same tune as the girls. Thus she quickly had classes singing African songs in at least two-part harmony.

The experience of having lived in and learn from three southern hemisphere nations and, through international conferences, meeting with people from the global church confirmed in Mairi a strong belief that justice and reconciliation were integral to living out the Gospel. This showed itself in her immediate affection for people from the developing world.

For a while she shared her house with Chitra and Sharda, a Nepalese couple who came to live in Glasgow while Chitra, the husband, studied to be an evangelist. And in Ellon, the same passion enabled her to help her new locality become one of the first Fair Trade Towns in Scotland.

Her marriage was blessed by the arrival of two chil-dren, Euan and Eilidh, who share their mother’s hair colour and spectrum of temperament and who were her pride and joy. But she stayed loyal to the wider non-genealogical family of which she was a part. So, when circumstances allowed and help with the children was at hand, Mairi would come down to the Central Belt to meet up with her ever-loyal friends,

and sing in recordings made by the Wild Goose Collective.

In her fondness for company, she exhibited one of the great marks of Christian faith, namely that right relationships are more important than correct theol-ogy. She was a sister, cousin, auntie, niece, counsel-lor and occasionally thorn in the flesh, as people and situations required.

Over three years ago, Mairi was diagnosed with brain cancer, and made aware that though medical procedures could extend her life, there was no cure. She bore this awarness with stoicism, determined to rid herself of what was surplus, to make her remain-ing years enjoyable with her family and friends, and to live life to its fullest until she died.

After four weeks in a small hospital not far from her home, she moved from life to Greater Life on 3rd April, the day on which members and associates of the Iona Community would name her in their prayers.

Our mutual friend and colleague, Christine Reid spent significant time with Mairi (and two other friends, Christine Carson and Ruth Clement) prepar-ing her for her death and helping her make decisions about her funeral.

About her Christine remarked that, ‘Mairi could be many things. But the one thing she could never be was other than herself.’

May she rest in peace, rise in glory and enjoy the company of heaven.

ALIS

ON

AD

AM

MA

IRI MU

NRO

(Top left) Mairi and David on their wed-ding day, Udny, 2005; (Top right) Alison, Graham, John and Mairi looking ded cool, Iona, mid-90s.


6

cents to sing. With defiant eleven and twelve year old boys, she would play to their dawning machismo, insisting that if they were to be men, they should not sing the same tune as the girls. Thus she quickly had classes singing African songs in at least two-part harmony.

The experience of having lived in and learn from three southern hemisphere nations and, through international conferences, meeting with people from the global church confirmed in Mairi a strong belief that justice and reconciliation were integral to living out the Gospel. This showed itself in her immediate affection for people from the developing world.

For a while she shared her house with Chitra and Sharda, a Nepalese couple who came to live in Glasgow while Chitra, the husband, studied to be an evangelist. And in Ellon, the same passion enabled her to help her new locality become one of the first Fair Trade Towns in Scotland.

Her marriage was blessed by the arrival of two chil-dren, Euan and Eilidh, who share their mother’s hair colour and spectrum of temperament and who were her pride and joy. But she stayed loyal to the wider non-genealogical family of which she was a part. So, when circumstances allowed and help with the children was at hand, Mairi would come down to the Central Belt to meet up with her ever-loyal friends,

and sing in recordings made by the Wild Goose Collective.

In her fondness for company, she exhibited one of the great marks of Christian faith, namely that right relationships are more important than correct theol-ogy. She was a sister, cousin, auntie, niece, counsel-lor and occasionally thorn in the flesh, as people and situations required.

Over three years ago, Mairi was diagnosed with brain cancer, and made aware that though medical procedures could extend her life, there was no cure. She bore this awarness with stoicism, determined to rid herself of what was surplus, to make her remain-ing years enjoyable with her family and friends, and to live life to its fullest until she died.

After four weeks in a small hospital not far from her home, she moved from life to Greater Life on 3rd April, the day on which members and associates of the Iona Community would name her in their prayers.

Our mutual friend and colleague, Christine Reid spent significant time with Mairi (and two other friends, Christine Carson and Ruth Clement) prepar-ing her for her death and helping her make decisions about her funeral.

About her Christine remarked that, ‘Mairi could be many things. But the one thing she could never be was other than herself.’

May she rest in peace, rise in glory and enjoy the company of heaven.

ALIS

ON

AD

AM

MA

IRI MU

NRO

(Top left) Mairi and David on their wed-ding day, Udny, 2005; (Top right) Alison, Graham, John and Mairi looking ded cool, Iona, mid-90s.


7

News of the arrival of our forthcoming seasonal celebration of faith, culture politics and creativity, courtesy of the weeWONDERBOX programme.

ColumbaFest is a new weekend festival to celebrate the anniversary of St Columba’s death.

St Columba is the holy man who came from Ireland to settle on the island of Iona, and in time, established the religious settlement there. He christianised Scotland; and the mission work of his followers spread out from there to reach parts of central and southern Europe.

Following the theme, ‘State Of Play: Scotland and the world today’, the festival, through workshops and other events will explore themes from Columba’s life, such as learning, mission, exile, prayer, spirituality and political engagement. And in echoes of his and the Celtic Church’s emphasis on incarnation, we’ll explore issues that are also of importance in the contemporary context and culture of Scotland, and which have broader resonance further afield.

Contributors

Workshop leaders and performers confirmed so far:

• Alison Phipps & Rob Swinfen … activists and Iona Community members, working in the area of asylum-seekers & refugees, education and housing.

• Ashton Lane … one of Glasgow’s finest home-grown modern country music ensemble, Esther and Tim O’Connor and compadres.

• BERT and other Scottish base Christian communities ... on living together corporately, compassionately and sacrificially.

• The In-Laws … Suzanne Adam & Steve Butler (of Fischy Music, Lies Damned Lies lineage and fame).

• John Bell & WGRG ... on Big Singing and other faithful glories and challenges.

• Pádraig Ó Tuama … Leader of the Corrymeela Community, peace, reconciliation & LGBT activist and poet.

More exiting contributors will be confirmed soon

… keep checking the ColumbaFest events page on our website (and for tickets): www.wildgoose.scot/event/weewonderbox-columbafest and our Facebook events page: www.facebook.com/events/427257524295398

Alternatively, email at: [email protected] or phone us on 0141 429 7281.

Times: Friday 9th June 2017 @ 7.00pm – Sunday 11th June @ 10.30pm.

Venue: The Ground, Iona Community, 21 Carlton Court, Glasgow, Scotland G5 9JP, Scotland and others.

COLUMBAFEST


8

GRA

HA

M M

AU

LE

SHHON, the sheepdog: A Moving Tale (Episode 1)

I’D JUSHHT COME DOWN FROM THE ISLE OF SHHKYE, I’M NOT VERY TALL AND I’M AWFY SHHY (SHHEEPISH EVEN, YOU MIGHT SHHAY ...), AND ALL THE LASSHHIES SHHOUT, ‘OCH AYE! SHHONN’S IN SHHAUCHIEHALL SHHTREET .... !’

THE NAME’S SHHONN ... SHHONN ... THE SHHEEPDOG I SHHEPHERD SHHEEP ... AT LEASHHT, THAT’S MY ‘COVER’. YOU SHEE, I’M REALLY A SHHECRET AGENT ... FOR M.I.SHHTICKSHH... I GO BY THE NAME ‘DOUBLE BONE SHHEVEN’ ...

I’D BEEN SHENT ON A MISHHION TO GLASHHGOW SCHITTY SHHENTRE ...

... TO FIND OUT THE MOVE-MENTS OF A SHHADOWY AND SHHCURRILOUSLY NEFARI-OUSHH SHHYNDICATE RE-KNOWNED THROUGHOUT THE THE SHHABBY SHHCOTTISHH UNDERWORLD, WHO GO BY THE NAME OF ...

THE WILD GOOSH-BERRIES !!!!

I TRACKED THEM DOWN TO AN ANONYMOUS OFFISH BUILDING CALLED THE SHHAVOY SHHENTRE ...

... TO BE PRESHHICHHE, SHHAUCHIEHALL SHHTREET!!!!!!

I CLIMBED UP A DRAINPIPE, PAUSHHING FOR A SHHECOND AT THE TOP TO CHECK THE COASHHT WASHH CLEAR. IT WASHH. I SHHLIPPED IN A HANDILY OPEN WINDOW ...

THE SHHTREET WASHH FULL OF SHHITIZENSHH AND A SHHERIESHH OF PLEASHHANTLY-TUNEFUL BUSHHK-ERS LINED THE SHHOPPFRONTS. CARSHH AND BUSHHESHH THRUMMED BY IN THE DISHHTANSHH AND IN AN ODD WAY IT REMINDED ME OF HOME ... SHHKYE ... BUT NOT VERY MUCHH.


8

GRA

HA

M M

AU

LE

SHHON, the sheepdog: A Moving Tale (Episode 1)

I’D JUSHHT COME DOWN FROM THE ISLE OF SHHKYE, I’M NOT VERY TALL AND I’M AWFY SHHY (SHHEEPISH EVEN, YOU MIGHT SHHAY ...), AND ALL THE LASSHHIES SHHOUT, ‘OCH AYE! SHHONN’S IN SHHAUCHIEHALL SHHTREET .... !’

THE NAME’S SHHONN ... SHHONN ... THE SHHEEPDOG I SHHEPHERD SHHEEP ... AT LEASHHT, THAT’S MY ‘COVER’. YOU SHEE, I’M REALLY A SHHECRET AGENT ... FOR M.I.SHHTICKSHH... I GO BY THE NAME ‘DOUBLE BONE SHHEVEN’ ...

I’D BEEN SHENT ON A MISHHION TO GLASHHGOW SCHITTY SHHENTRE ...

... TO FIND OUT THE MOVE-MENTS OF A SHHADOWY AND SHHCURRILOUSLY NEFARI-OUSHH SHHYNDICATE RE-KNOWNED THROUGHOUT THE THE SHHABBY SHHCOTTISHH UNDERWORLD, WHO GO BY THE NAME OF ...

THE WILD GOOSH-BERRIES !!!!

I TRACKED THEM DOWN TO AN ANONYMOUS OFFISH BUILDING CALLED THE SHHAVOY SHHENTRE ...

... TO BE PRESHHICHHE, SHHAUCHIEHALL SHHTREET!!!!!!

I CLIMBED UP A DRAINPIPE, PAUSHHING FOR A SHHECOND AT THE TOP TO CHECK THE COASHHT WASHH CLEAR. IT WASHH. I SHHLIPPED IN A HANDILY OPEN WINDOW ...

THE SHHTREET WASHH FULL OF SHHITIZENSHH AND A SHHERIESHH OF PLEASHHANTLY-TUNEFUL BUSHHK-ERS LINED THE SHHOPPFRONTS. CARSHH AND BUSHHESHH THRUMMED BY IN THE DISHHTANSHH AND IN AN ODD WAY IT REMINDED ME OF HOME ... SHHKYE ... BUT NOT VERY MUCHH.


9

SHHOMESHHING WASHH DEFINITELY GOING ON IN THISHH DANK AND SHHMELLY JOINT. BOKSHHIESHH WERE PILED HIGH EVERYWHERE I LOOKED...

‘SHHEALED AIR’??? YESHH, SHHOMESHHING VERY, VERY FISSCHHY WASHH GOING ON. MY EARSHH TWITCHHED. A VERY SHHUSHHPICHHIOUS SOUND ...

I LEAPT UP ON SHHOME BOKSHHIES ... TO SHEE WHAT I COULD SHEE ...

THERE WERE SHHIGNSHH OF DODGY_DEALINGSHH

EVERYWHERE!!!!!!!

THEN THE CLINCHHER!

A FRIDGE!!! A COLD SHHIVER RAN DOWN MY SHHPINE.

THE MOST EVIL CRIMINAL ACT CONSH-HIEVABLE! I KNEW WHAT THISHH MEANT.

BUT NO SHHOONER HAD I GRASHHPED THE IMMENSHHITTY OF THISHH, A NEW TERROR SCHHIRROCKED AND SHHATTERED MY POOR WEE EARSHH?

A WAILING, SHHRIEKING BANSHHEE LAUCHED HERSELF OUT OF THE DARKNESHH TOWARDSHH ME!


10

EVERYTHING SHHTARTED HAPPENING TOO FASHHT. I FLUNG MYSHHELF BEHIND AN UP-TURNED TABLE.

TOO LATE!!! I’D BEEN SHHPOTTED! NIMBLY, I ESHHCAPED AND TOOK REFUGE IN A DEEP PACKING CRATE.

MORE AND MORE OF THE THUGSHH WERE POURING OUT OF THE WOODWORK NOW...

... RIPPING DOWN CRATESHH TO TRY TO FIND ME.

SUDDENLY ONE OF THE THUGSHH HAD AN IDEA.

THE DISGUISHHE WORKED ...

BEFORE I KNEW IT, A BOKKSH SHHNEAKED UP BEHIND ME.

I FELT COLD SHHTEEL AT MY SHHROAT.

THEN EVERYSHHING

WENT DARK!!!!!


10

EVERYTHING SHHTARTED HAPPENING TOO FASHHT. I FLUNG MYSHHELF BEHIND AN UP-TURNED TABLE.

TOO LATE!!! I’D BEEN SHHPOTTED! NIMBLY, I ESHHCAPED AND TOOK REFUGE IN A DEEP PACKING CRATE.

MORE AND MORE OF THE THUGSHH WERE POURING OUT OF THE WOODWORK NOW...

... RIPPING DOWN CRATESHH TO TRY TO FIND ME.

SUDDENLY ONE OF THE THUGSHH HAD AN IDEA.

THE DISGUISHHE WORKED ...

BEFORE I KNEW IT, A BOKKSH SHHNEAKED UP BEHIND ME.

I FELT COLD SHHTEEL AT MY SHHROAT.

THEN EVERYSHHING

WENT DARK!!!!!


11

WHEN I WOKE UP, I COULDN’T MOVE ...

.. COULDN’T EVEN WAG MY TAIL OR HAVE A WEE SHHNIFF OR SHHKART. THEY’D SHHLIPPED ME A MICKEY-FINN (OR SHOMESHHING SHHIMILAR). EVEN THOUGH I KNOW I’M A SHHEEPDOG, I KNEW I WASHH NOW ALSO A SHHITTING DUCK ...

MY SHHOUL SHHUDDERED - OUT OF THE CORNER OF MY EYE, I COULD SHEE ...

... A VASHHT ARRAY OF TORTURE IMPLIMENTSHH!!!

AND SHHO THE NEXSHHT DAYSHH AND NIGHTSHH (HOW MANY I CANNOT SHHAY), BROUGHT A SHHEEMING-LY ENDLESHH SHHERIESHH OF CRUEL AND INHUMAN TORTURESHH AND INQUISHHISHHIONSHH. OF COURSE, I KNOW THAT I AM A SHHEEPDOG, BUT THESHH WERE PUNISHHMENTSHH YOU WOULDN’T METE OUT TO A DUMB BEASHHT ...

AT LASHHT IT SHHTOPPED. THEN I HEARD A VOISHH THAT I RECOGNISHHED AS THE BOSHH (AKA. HEICH_PUDDOCK) OF THE WILD GOOSHHBERRY SHHYNDICATE ISSHHUE THESHHE TERRIBLE WORDSHH ...,

SHHO ... THISHH WASHH TO BE MY SHHORRY FATE ...

TO BE CONTINUED ....AND NO DOUBT ... UNTIMELY DISHHPOSHHAL!!!!!!!!


12 GOOSE oose

JANNE MARK

Janne Mark is a name we might be hearing more about in the future. She is a Danish Lutheran who is musician in a central church in Copenhagen. During the Resource Group’s week last year on Iona, she de-lighted the company by singing several of her songs in Danish. The clarity of the melody line and distinc-tive Scandanavian texture of the harmony more than compensated for them being in a language few participants could understand.

However there are now seven of the songs nearing complete translation in a project between Janne and the Resource Group. The process of translation is never easy, as it is essentially a poem with stresses appropriate to its designated tune which has to be represented in a totally different language. But Janne, who is fluent in English, has been very helpful in her scrutiny and comments on the English texts.

It is hoped that sometime in the New Year several of her songs and some from the Resource Group will be recorded by her and her associated musicians in Denmark.

And we may be sharing one or two examples in future GOOSEganders! Watch this space.

KNOWN UNKNOWNS

This phrase, borrowed without permission from the meanderings of a former American Secretary of State, is the title of a forthcoming book of a hun-dred songs, now being prepared for publication. Half have never been published for congregational singing before, and those which have are being ‘re-tuned.’

The purpose of the book is primarily to enable small congregations where there has been no new hymn book for decades, and where musicians are in limited supply, to be able to sing contemporary texts to known tunes. Hence all the melodies are from the best known hymn and folk traditions in the British Isles.

In NEW SONG gander on page 22, we include one of these news texts (with music) for your interest.

ANAGRAM CHALLENGE

... And now for something new, daft and completely different! You may not know this, or you may know it only too well, but Jo is an anagram addict, and brings you this challenge.

Can you come up with a witty, wacky, wordcrafty anagram of WILD GOOSE RESOURCE GROUP, and send it to us. Results in the next GooseGander - and prizes too!

Here are a few rejiggings Jo has composed just to get you going, and giggling:

LO! WE GO SUPER GOOD CURRIES ‘O GOD’ SWORE ROUGE SURPLICEOO-ER ... SLUG RECOUPS WEIRDOLOWER OUR PRICE! GOOD GUESSGORGEOUS WORLD PIE SOURCE

CORRECTION/ CLARIFICATION

In John Bell’s article, ‘Turning The Tables’ in the last GOOSEgander, alert reader Marjory Williamson spotted this deliberate mistake ...

“John’s very interesting sermon reminded me of the old song we used to sing, Goliath of Gath, where in the last verse, ‘Slim David ... took off his helmet and cut off his head” and we always accompanied these words with actions of pretending to lift up an imagi-nary helmet and then slicing off one’s own head. Similarly I don’t think Jael hammers the tent peg through her own head as the printed wording says!”


12 GOOSE oose

JANNE MARK

Janne Mark is a name we might be hearing more about in the future. She is a Danish Lutheran who is musician in a central church in Copenhagen. During the Resource Group’s week last year on Iona, she de-lighted the company by singing several of her songs in Danish. The clarity of the melody line and distinc-tive Scandanavian texture of the harmony more than compensated for them being in a language few participants could understand.

However there are now seven of the songs nearing complete translation in a project between Janne and the Resource Group. The process of translation is never easy, as it is essentially a poem with stresses appropriate to its designated tune which has to be represented in a totally different language. But Janne, who is fluent in English, has been very helpful in her scrutiny and comments on the English texts.

It is hoped that sometime in the New Year several of her songs and some from the Resource Group will be recorded by her and her associated musicians in Denmark.

And we may be sharing one or two examples in future GOOSEganders! Watch this space.

KNOWN UNKNOWNS

This phrase, borrowed without permission from the meanderings of a former American Secretary of State, is the title of a forthcoming book of a hun-dred songs, now being prepared for publication. Half have never been published for congregational singing before, and those which have are being ‘re-tuned.’

The purpose of the book is primarily to enable small congregations where there has been no new hymn book for decades, and where musicians are in limited supply, to be able to sing contemporary texts to known tunes. Hence all the melodies are from the best known hymn and folk traditions in the British Isles.

In NEW SONG gander on page 22, we include one of these news texts (with music) for your interest.

ANAGRAM CHALLENGE

... And now for something new, daft and completely different! You may not know this, or you may know it only too well, but Jo is an anagram addict, and brings you this challenge.

Can you come up with a witty, wacky, wordcrafty anagram of WILD GOOSE RESOURCE GROUP, and send it to us. Results in the next GooseGander - and prizes too!

Here are a few rejiggings Jo has composed just to get you going, and giggling:

LO! WE GO SUPER GOOD CURRIES ‘O GOD’ SWORE ROUGE SURPLICEOO-ER ... SLUG RECOUPS WEIRDOLOWER OUR PRICE! GOOD GUESSGORGEOUS WORLD PIE SOURCE

CORRECTION/ CLARIFICATION

In John Bell’s article, ‘Turning The Tables’ in the last GOOSEgander, alert reader Marjory Williamson spotted this deliberate mistake ...

“John’s very interesting sermon reminded me of the old song we used to sing, Goliath of Gath, where in the last verse, ‘Slim David ... took off his helmet and cut off his head” and we always accompanied these words with actions of pretending to lift up an imagi-nary helmet and then slicing off one’s own head. Similarly I don’t think Jael hammers the tent peg through her own head as the printed wording says!”


17

Here, for individual and private use, we offer two basic WGRG prayer orders for the start and end of the day. In future GOOSE-ganders, there will be examples of additional, optional daily prayers on various themes.

LITURGY gander: Orders For Personal Prayer

A MORNING ORDER FOR PERSONAL PRAYER

Opening Meditation

Before I speak,before I listen,before I praise my Maker,I let myself become awarethat God has brought me safely to this day,that above me is the song of angels,that around me is the song of creation,and within me is the song of faithful people.

(Pause)

It is to that worship that I now join my voice.I am not alone;heaven and earth are here.

(Pause)

Prayer

Lord, you have examined me and know me:resting or waking, you see me,believing or doubting, you understand me,in strange and familiar places, you accompany me.

Should I make a request of you,you will give me a hearing;should I turn away from you,you will never lose sight of me.You know me better than I know myself;therefore I trust you.

O Lover of my soul,so that my heart might be clean,take from me any deceit, pride or arrogance;take from me unjust anger, coveted hurt and self-loathing.

Wash me clean of all that demeans meand discredits you;and eradicate anything which prevents me from accepting that I am loved.

(Pause)

Now clothe mewith generosity of spirit,with encouragement and hope,with godly desires and safe affections.

Wonderful you are,for you cherish and renew my spirit.Words are never enough;yet with all that I am I will praise you.Amen.

GRA

HA

M M

AU

LE


18

Psalm Portion (or another)

I waited patiently for Godand God bent down and listened to me.On my lips a new song was put,a song of praise to my Maker.

Happy are those who put their trust in the Lordforsaking the attraction of false deities.

You, Lord, have done great things:all that you intend is for our good;your kindness is beyond my telling.

God, I desire to do your will;let your word take root in my heart.

A Reading from Holy Scripture

Silence

Prayer

God my Maker,I open myself to the untold potential of the day before me.

I do not know whom I will meet,what I will encounter,what news will upset or inspire me.

Open the eyes of my mind, my perception, my understanding,for I do not want to miss the ‘more’ in the world I have yet to discover;or to treat as predictable a day I have yet to experience.

(Pause)

Jesus, lover of my soul,make me aware of the untold potential within and around me,for you have intended me for kindness not constriction,for wonder not boredom.

I do not know whose burden I might carry today,whose joy I might share,

what new thoughts may surfaceor what rogue desires may need to be subdued.

So, help me to live with a sense of proportion:to know when to speak and when to be silent,to promise no more than I can manage,to forsake anything which would diminish me,and to confront injustice wherever it is evident or subtle.

(Pause)

O Holy Spirit, present throughout creation,be beside me in all that I do,be between me and all that I fear,be within me and all whom I love,today and forever.Amen.

Silence

Morning Blessing

God, bless to me todaymy eyes and my seeing,my ears and my hearing,my lips and my speaking.

God, bless to me todaymy hands and my holding,my feet and my moving,my body and my health.

God, bless to me todaymy mind and my thinking,my heart and my loving,my soul and my believing.Amen.

GRA

HA

M M

AU

LE


18

Psalm Portion (or another)

I waited patiently for Godand God bent down and listened to me.On my lips a new song was put,a song of praise to my Maker.

Happy are those who put their trust in the Lordforsaking the attraction of false deities.

You, Lord, have done great things:all that you intend is for our good;your kindness is beyond my telling.

God, I desire to do your will;let your word take root in my heart.


Silence

Prayer

God my Maker,I open myself to the untold potential of the day before me.

I do not know whom I will meet,what I will encounter,what news will upset or inspire me.

Open the eyes of my mind, my perception, my understanding,for I do not want to miss the ‘more’ in the world I have yet to discover;or to treat as predictable a day I have yet to experience.

(Pause)

Jesus, lover of my soul,make me aware of the untold potential within and around me,for you have intended me for kindness not constriction,for wonder not boredom.

I do not know whose burden I might carry today,whose joy I might share,

what new thoughts may surfaceor what rogue desires may need to be subdued.

So, help me to live with a sense of proportion:to know when to speak and when to be silent,to promise no more than I can manage,to forsake anything which would diminish me,and to confront injustice wherever it is evident or subtle.

(Pause)

O Holy Spirit, present throughout creation,be beside me in all that I do,be between me and all that I fear,be within me and all whom I love,today and forever.Amen.

Silence

Morning Blessing

God, bless to me todaymy eyes and my seeing,my ears and my hearing,my lips and my speaking.

God, bless to me todaymy hands and my holding,my feet and my moving,my body and my health.

God, bless to me todaymy mind and my thinking,my heart and my loving,my soul and my believing.Amen.

GRA

HA

M M

AU

LE


19

AN EVENING ORDER FOR PERSONAL PRAYER

Preparation

In honour of God,I make this space

(Here a candle may be lit)

In honour of God,I take this time.

(Here a watch may be removed or a clock covered)

In honour of God,I wait in hope and wonder.

(Here a cross or an icon may be placed)

Silence

Prayer

O Holy God,you have been present to mewhile awake;and you will watch over mewhen I sleep.

So, as darkness falls,I thank you for the privilege of the day now done,

remembering what delighted meand what disturbed me…

(Pause) remembering what familiar things assured me…and what new things intrigued me…

(Pause)

remembering the faces of those I met…and the faces of those I missed…

(Pause)

All of life and all who live are your gift to me.So, whether today has been full of joy,or whether I have known more by way of disappointment,I thank you, my Maker, for every experience


20

which has nourished insight, interest, concern and understanding.

And because you know me through and through,I surrender to you any anger, resentment, envy or self-loathingpresent within me…

Take them awayso that they may lose their grip on meand I lose my fascination with them.

If there is anyone to whom I acted wrongly today,make me sorry enough to undo the harm I caused.

And if there is anyone who today offended me,help me to be truly forgivingeven as I, in my mother tongue, pray the words Jesus first prayed in his: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread and forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us in the time of trial and deliver us from evil, for the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours now and for ever. Amen.


Listen, my soul,behind the words of human speech,for the voice of God.

Listen, my soul,not for shallow talkbut for deep speaking to deep.

Listen, my soul,even if you do not understand.

(Reading)

Silence

Prayer

Into your care, O God,into your care I place those whom I lovethose for whom I worrythose from whom, in time, place or affection I am distant.

(Pause)

Into your care, O GodI place what in the world grieves me… and what inspires and excites me.

(Pause)

Into your care, O God,I give myself.

(Pause)

Night Blessing

I lie down with God;and God lies down with me.

I lie down with Christ;and Christ lies down with me.

I lie down with the Spirit;and the Spirit lies down with me.

God and Christ and the Spirit,all three,with me.

Text copyright © WGRG, c/o Iona Community, Glasgow, Scotland. www.wildgoose.scot


20

which has nourished insight, interest, concern and understanding.

And because you know me through and through,I surrender to you any anger, resentment, envy or self-loathingpresent within me…

Take them awayso that they may lose their grip on meand I lose my fascination with them.

If there is anyone to whom I acted wrongly today,make me sorry enough to undo the harm I caused.

And if there is anyone who today offended me,help me to be truly forgivingeven as I, in my mother tongue, pray the words Jesus first prayed in his: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread and forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us in the time of trial and deliver us from evil, for the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours now and for ever. Amen.


Listen, my soul,behind the words of human speech,for the voice of God.

Listen, my soul,not for shallow talkbut for deep speaking to deep.

Listen, my soul,even if you do not understand.

(Reading)

Silence

Prayer

Into your care, O God,into your care I place those whom I lovethose for whom I worrythose from whom, in time, place or affection I am distant.

(Pause)

Into your care, O GodI place what in the world grieves me… and what inspires and excites me.

(Pause)

Into your care, O God,I give myself.

(Pause)

Night Blessing

I lie down with God;and God lies down with me.

I lie down with Christ;and Christ lies down with me.

I lie down with the Spirit;and the Spirit lies down with me.

God and Christ and the Spirit,all three,with me.

Text copyright © WGRG, c/o Iona Community, Glasgow, Scotland. www.wildgoose.scot


21

... is the title of the 2017 WGRG week in the Abbey and MacLeod Centres on Iona. We’ll be explor-ing various aspects of change in the liturgical life and discipleship of congregations ...

For many people in churches, change is a no-go area, a source of stress and the cause of major disagreement. Yet change is the central dynamic of the Christian faith: Jesus both changes people and in the resurrection moves from being a corpse to a living body.

For many people (especially in the churches) mention of change evokes an immediate negative reaction. Some have put that down to the couplet in verse two of Abide With Me:

Change and decay in all around I see;Oh thou who changest not, abide with me.

Given that among the primary purposes of Jesus

CHANGE Without Decay

were to call people to repentance (which is a sub-stantial turn-around) and ‘to make all things new’, it is important that people of faith do more than have a knee-jerk reaction to change. It should be a central dynamic in our life.

This is what we will explore together as it affects the worshipping life of a community, drawing on and exploring what we have seen and enabled, such as the redesigning of space; solo performer ministries becoming shared endeavours; reluctant assemblies becoming oases of song.

These examples come from our long history of working with local churches in developing different approaches to congregational song, corporate shar-ing of scripture, lay leadership in worship and the re-structuring of places of worship to meet the chal-lenges of the world today; and will include examples of good practice in Scotland, the United Kingdom and elsewhere.

If you’re interested in the theme of this week, please contact us at the address on page 2.

GRA

HA

M M

AU

LE


22

WASHH ONE OF TOTAL DESHHOLATSHHUN... THE SHHILENSHHE OF THE TOMB HUNG HEAVY OVER THE SHHAVOY SHHENTRE.

THE SCHHENE WE’D LEFT BEHIND ...

I FELT MYSHHELF BEING ROUGHLY MANHANDLED ALONG THE HALL AND DOWN THE SHHTAIRSHH ...

SHHON, the Sheepdog: A Moving Tail*(episode 2)

(*Shhurely, shhome mishhtake? Shhould it not be ‘A wagging tail?’ - ED)

THEN EVEN MORESHHTAIRSHH ...

ROARING, MASCHHINE-LIKE SHHOUNDSHH ...

HELPLESHH, I RESHHIGNED MYSHHELF TO MY SHHAD FATE ...

I WENT INTO A SHHWOON ... MY WHOLE LIFE SHHWAM BEFORE MY EYESHH.

NEKSHHT SHHING I KNEW, A LIGHT APPEARED ASHH IF AT THE END OF A LONG TUNNEL OR SHHEEP-PEN. WASHH THISHH MY FIRSHHT SHHIGHT OF HEAVEN, THE SHHIM-MERING, SHHINNING PEARLY GATESHH???? I FELT MYSHHELF LIFTED, GENTLY, TENDERLY ... UPWARDSHH ...

MINUTESHH LATER, I WASHH LIFTED AGAIN. A GRUFF VOISHH WHISHHPERRED:

HERE WE ARE. DUMP HIM ON THIS

DEMOLITION SITE ... BESIDE THIS PILE OF RUBBLE. THOSE

BULLDOZERS ...

WILL START UP SOON AND CLEAR THE AREA. THEN IT’LL

BE CURTAINS FOR ‘DOUBLE BONE SEVEN’ ... OR RATHER,

‘LANDFILL’!! HAHA!

SHHTRONG BLASHHTSHH OF FREEZING WIND ... SHHO MANY VOISHHES ... SHHO MUCHH BUCHHLE AND MOVEMENT. DARKNESCHH DESCHHENDED AGAIN ... THEN I HEARD A VOISHH SHHAY:

THE NEXT STATION IS BRIDGE STREET.


22

WASHH ONE OF TOTAL DESHHOLATSHHUN... THE SHHILENSHHE OF THE TOMB HUNG HEAVY OVER THE SHHAVOY SHHENTRE.

THE SCHHENE WE’D LEFT BEHIND ...

I FELT MYSHHELF BEING ROUGHLY MANHANDLED ALONG THE HALL AND DOWN THE SHHTAIRSHH ...

SHHON, the Sheepdog: A Moving Tail*(episode 2)

(*Shhurely, shhome mishhtake? Shhould it not be ‘A wagging tail?’ - ED)

THEN EVEN MORESHHTAIRSHH ...

ROARING, MASCHHINE-LIKE SHHOUNDSHH ...

HELPLESHH, I RESHHIGNED MYSHHELF TO MY SHHAD FATE ...

I WENT INTO A SHHWOON ... MY WHOLE LIFE SHHWAM BEFORE MY EYESHH.

NEKSHHT SHHING I KNEW, A LIGHT APPEARED ASHH IF AT THE END OF A LONG TUNNEL OR SHHEEP-PEN. WASHH THISHH MY FIRSHHT SHHIGHT OF HEAVEN, THE SHHIM-MERING, SHHINNING PEARLY GATESHH???? I FELT MYSHHELF LIFTED, GENTLY, TENDERLY ... UPWARDSHH ...

MINUTESHH LATER, I WASHH LIFTED AGAIN. A GRUFF VOISHH WHISHHPERRED:

HERE WE ARE. DUMP HIM ON THIS

DEMOLITION SITE ... BESIDE THIS PILE OF RUBBLE. THOSE

BULLDOZERS ...

WILL START UP SOON AND CLEAR THE AREA. THEN IT’LL

BE CURTAINS FOR ‘DOUBLE BONE SEVEN’ ... OR RATHER,

‘LANDFILL’!! HAHA!

SHHTRONG BLASHHTSHH OF FREEZING WIND ... SHHO MANY VOISHHES ... SHHO MUCHH BUCHHLE AND MOVEMENT. DARKNESCHH DESCHHENDED AGAIN ... THEN I HEARD A VOISHH SHHAY:

THE NEXT STATION IS BRIDGE STREET.


23

FOR THE FIRSHHT TIME IN WHAT SHHEEMED LIKE FOREVER, I HEARD FRIENDLY AND KIND WORDSHH ...

HELLO ... YOU’RE OK NOW.

... YOU’VE BEEN THROUGH A TERRIBLE TIME. BUT IT’S ALL OVER. YOU’RE

SAFE NOW.

MY NAME’S GAIL ... WHAT’S YOURS?

SHHEE CONTINUED, TELLING ME THAT THE WILD GOOSHHES’ WORK WASHH (AND ISHH) IN COLLABORATSHHION WISHH THE SHHOOPERB, INTERNASHHIONALLY-RENKNOWNED IONA CONVALESHHENSHH RE-FUSHHGE FOR OPPRESSHHED AND SHHAINTLY CREATURESHH. THEIR JOINT AIM - A KIND OF RESHHCUE PROJECT TO PROVIDE NEW, SHHAFE AND SHHTIMULATING PUBLIC SHHPASHHES FOR THESHHE WEE BEASHHTIES TO QUESHHTION AND CHALLENGSHHE, HAVE FUN AND FROLICS, FREE OF THE DEAD HAND OF THE SHHTATUSHH QUO INCORPORATED - THE SHHADOWLY, SHHELF-SHHERVING, COMPLASHHENT CONSHHTITUENSHHY THAT WGRGG’S OPPONENTS, THE DEMONIC WILD GOOSHBERRIES SHHO EFFECTIVELY REPRESHHENT.

THAT’S A NICE NAME ...

“SCHHONN”, I SHHAID, SHHLIGHTLY SHHEEPISHLY ... SHHE SHHMILED. “THAT’SHH A NICSHHE NAME ...”, SHHE SHHAID ...

WE ARE THE WGRGG - THE WILD GOOSE RESCUE GUERRILLA GROUP. WE’RE THE DEADLY ENEMIES OF THE WILD GOOSHBERRIES, WHO CRUELLY KIDNAPPED

YOU.


24

GAIL’SHH WORDSHH WERE MOSHHT REASHHURING. SHEE INVITED ME TO ‘TAKE OFF MY CLOSHHE’ (WELL, MY BUBBLEWRAP) AND MAKE MYSHHELF ‘AT HOME’ ... OF COURSHHE, I SHHTILL HAD MY SHHINY COLLIE COAT ON ... BUT, I HAVE TO ADMIT I WASHH SHHTILL A BIT RELUCTANT, BEING SHHLIGHTLY UNSHHURE AND - YES, EVEN YET - SHHLIGHTLY ON THE DEFENSHHIVE.

SHHO, GAIL SHHED I SHHOULD MEET SHHOME OF HER OSHHER FRIEND-SHH & COLLEAGUESHH ...

FIRST ...

... SHHANDRA AND SHHUSHHIE, WHO WORK ON THE SCHHUBVERSHHIVE, SHHZAMID-ZSHHAT DISHHTRIBUTION OF TESHH-TIMONIES AND TECHNIQUESHH OF WEE BEASHHTIE RESCHHUE ...

... BONNIE (BEASHHTIE POCK-ET MONEY CONTROLLER) ANDLYNN (BEASHHTIE INFO MAN-AGER), RAB, THE RABBIT AND KIT, THE CAT ...

THEN I MET THE LOVELY KAREN, WHO’SHH RESHH-PONSHHIBLE FOR BEASHHTIE FOOD MENUESHH & NUTRITSHHION. UNFORTUNATELY, SHHPELLINGISHHN’T HER SHHTRONGESHHT POINT ..

CHRISHH (THE YOUTH BEASHHTIE DEVELOP-MENT WORKER) WASHH ESHHPESHHIALLY KIND. HE MOSHHT GENEROUSHHLY VACATED HISHH SHHLEEPING SHHPASHHE TO GIVE TO ME.

OF COURSHHE, BEING THE IRISHH SHHECOND COUSHHIN OF A PREVIOSHHLY RESHHCUED GLASHHGOW GIRAFFE MIGHT ALSHHO HAVE HAD SHHOMESHHINGTO DO WITH THISHH ...

GAIL INTRODUSHHED ME TO SHHEVERAL OSHHER NEW FRIENDSHH, BUT GIVEN THE HIGHLY SHHEN-SHHITIVE, TOP SHHECRET NATURE OF THEIR AC-TIVITIESHH, IT’SHH ADVISHHABLE NOT TO PUBLISHH THEIR PHOTOGRAPHSHH.


24

GAIL’SHH WORDSHH WERE MOSHHT REASHHURING. SHEE INVITED ME TO ‘TAKE OFF MY CLOSHHE’ (WELL, MY BUBBLEWRAP) AND MAKE MYSHHELF ‘AT HOME’ ... OF COURSHHE, I SHHTILL HAD MY SHHINY COLLIE COAT ON ... BUT, I HAVE TO ADMIT I WASHH SHHTILL A BIT RELUCTANT, BEING SHHLIGHTLY UNSHHURE AND - YES, EVEN YET - SHHLIGHTLY ON THE DEFENSHHIVE.

SHHO, GAIL SHHED I SHHOULD MEET SHHOME OF HER OSHHER FRIEND-SHH & COLLEAGUESHH ...

FIRST ...

... SHHANDRA AND SHHUSHHIE, WHO WORK ON THE SCHHUBVERSHHIVE, SHHZAMID-ZSHHAT DISHHTRIBUTION OF TESHH-TIMONIES AND TECHNIQUESHH OF WEE BEASHHTIE RESCHHUE ...

... BONNIE (BEASHHTIE POCK-ET MONEY CONTROLLER) ANDLYNN (BEASHHTIE INFO MAN-AGER), RAB, THE RABBIT AND KIT, THE CAT ...

THEN I MET THE LOVELY KAREN, WHO’SHH RESHH-PONSHHIBLE FOR BEASHHTIE FOOD MENUESHH & NUTRITSHHION. UNFORTUNATELY, SHHPELLINGISHHN’T HER SHHTRONGESHHT POINT ..

CHRISHH (THE YOUTH BEASHHTIE DEVELOP-MENT WORKER) WASHH ESHHPESHHIALLY KIND. HE MOSHHT GENEROUSHHLY VACATED HISHH SHHLEEPING SHHPASHHE TO GIVE TO ME.

OF COURSHHE, BEING THE IRISHH SHHECOND COUSHHIN OF A PREVIOSHHLY RESHHCUED GLASHHGOW GIRAFFE MIGHT ALSHHO HAVE HAD SHHOMESHHINGTO DO WITH THISHH ...

GAIL INTRODUSHHED ME TO SHHEVERAL OSHHER NEW FRIENDSHH, BUT GIVEN THE HIGHLY SHHEN-SHHITIVE, TOP SHHECRET NATURE OF THEIR AC-TIVITIESHH, IT’SHH ADVISHHABLE NOT TO PUBLISHH THEIR PHOTOGRAPHSHH.


25

FINALLY, JOHN (THE WILD GOOSHHES BEASHHTIE RESHHOURSHHE WORKER), REGISHHTERED ME ASHH A FULL RESHHIDENT OF THE LOVELY WILD GOOSHHES AND THE IONA CONVALESHHENSHH REFUSHHGE FOR OPPRESSHHED AND SHHAINTLY CREATURESHH. HISHH SHHPELLING, IS NOT MUCHH BETTER THAN KAREN’SHH, THOUGH ...

I WASHH BEGINNING TO FEELVERY MUCHHH WELCOME ...

GRADUALLY, THE CHAOTIC MESHH OF THE OFFISHHES WAS TIDIED ...

OUTSHHIDE, THE SHHUN BEGAN TO SHHINE. INSHHIDE, I CAUGHT SHHIGHT OF THE MISHHION SHHTATEMENT OF THE WILD GOOSHH AND IONA CONVALESHHENSHH REFUSHHGE.

IT WASHH A SHHIGN!!!!

YESHH, I NOW FELT SHHAFE!!!! I COULD DROP MY GUARD AND LOOK FORWARD TO A BRIGHT FUTCHHUREOF CONTENTMENT, COMPANIONSH-HIP AND SHHECURITY. I WASHH HOME!!!!

SHHLOWLY, GRADUALLY, I FELT ALL MY PROTECTIVE LAYERSHH FALL AWAY ...

THE BIRDSHH SHHANG ... AND THE SHHWEET SHHOUNDSHH OF WORK AND FELLOWSHHIPFILLED THE AIR ...

THE SHHTAFF CHHATTED AND BUSHHTLED HAPPILY ABOUT ...

[ED: HOWEVER IN AN OVER-LOOKED, SECLUDED CORNEROF THE WILD GOOSHH BASE ... TO BE CONTINUED ... ]


26

NEW SONG gander

Here is a hitherto unpublished text that will soon be published in a forthcoming new WGRG book, ‘KNOWN UNKNOWNS’ - a collection of 100 texts that can allow congregations (and primarily small ones) to be able to sing con-temporary texts to known tunes. We offer it at this time as its first use was for a gathering of people in a community in which child sex abuse had been prevalent. It was a time of prayer and healing for the survivors.

Given the recent news of wide-spread accusations of abuse in the sports (particularly football) world as well as the ongoing frustrations and controversies surrounding the major UK enquiry into past abuses, it may be an appropriate text for our time.

1. We sing for those whose song is silent,whose hidden hurt no tune could bear — children whose innocence of lovinghas long since gone beyond repair.God, who conceived and gave us birth,listen for those who’ve lost their worth.

2. We sing for those who lives were mangledwhen friendship turned to vile abuse,as those they trusted traded kindnessfor cruelty beyond excuse.God, in whose image all were made,feel for the ones who’ve been betrayed.

3. We sing for those who bear within themscars in the body, mind and soul,fears from the past and, for tomorrow,yearnings that they might yet be whole.God, who in Christ was touched by pain,make your hurt children whole again.

4. We pray for those who know temptationworse than our earnest words can tell,who covet power, who lie in waitingwith evil lusts designed in hell.Jesus, through whom the world is saved,conquer the sin, heal the depraved.

5. We sing that through believing peoplelives may be hallowed as they should;and ask that God in every victimshall see faith, hope and love renewed.This is our prayer, this is our songto God, to whom we all belong.


26

NEW SONG gander

Here is a hitherto unpublished text that will soon be published in a forthcoming new WGRG book, ‘KNOWN UNKNOWNS’ - a collection of 100 texts that can allow congregations (and primarily small ones) to be able to sing con-temporary texts to known tunes. We offer it at this time as its first use was for a gathering of people in a community in which child sex abuse had been prevalent. It was a time of prayer and healing for the survivors.

Given the recent news of wide-spread accusations of abuse in the sports (particularly football) world as well as the ongoing frustrations and controversies surrounding the major UK enquiry into past abuses, it may be an appropriate text for our time.

1. We sing for those whose song is silent,whose hidden hurt no tune could bear — children whose innocence of lovinghas long since gone beyond repair.God, who conceived and gave us birth,listen for those who’ve lost their worth.

2. We sing for those who lives were mangledwhen friendship turned to vile abuse,as those they trusted traded kindnessfor cruelty beyond excuse.God, in whose image all were made,feel for the ones who’ve been betrayed.

3. We sing for those who bear within themscars in the body, mind and soul,fears from the past and, for tomorrow,yearnings that they might yet be whole.God, who in Christ was touched by pain,make your hurt children whole again.

4. We pray for those who know temptationworse than our earnest words can tell,who covet power, who lie in waitingwith evil lusts designed in hell.Jesus, through whom the world is saved,conquer the sin, heal the depraved.

5. We sing that through believing peoplelives may be hallowed as they should;and ask that God in every victimshall see faith, hope and love renewed.This is our prayer, this is our songto God, to whom we all belong.


27

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Words & Arrangement: John L. Bell,Melody: 'NEUMARK', George Neumark (1621-1681)

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Melody: ‘NEUMARK’, Georg Neumark (1621-1681)

Melody: Georg Neumark (1621-1681). Words & Arrangement John L. Bell, copyright © 2017 WGRG,

c/o Iona Community, Glasgow, Scotland. www.wildgoose.scot


28

JO LOVE bids a fond (well, mibbe not ...) farewell to the former offices of WGRG and the Iona Community. This may be read as an ‘aternative version’ - and no less true than that - of Shhonn the Shheepdog’s story on pages 4-9 and 18-21.

Is it really a year ago already?! Rewind to February 2016. Staff meeting. Well, folks, it’s like this. Our lease at Savoy House expires on 26th February. We asked the landlords for a short term extension. They have now said we can have a five-year extension or be out by 26th February. So either we’re stuck here for another five years or we manage a complete of-fice move in the next three weeks.

If it was ever in doubt, it’s now official – we like a challenge! Carlton Court had come to our attention about two months earlier and all seventeen of us had visited at least once and voiced our cautious ap-proval. The landlords were certainly eager to have us, and to find ways to address the questions we raised, some of which were not yet settled as we sat there in February considering what was truly a no-brainer – three weeks it is then, we are moving.

There was no time to do the previously planned thorough sifting of every shelf, drawer and cupboard. No time for the clearing-out of everything that really didn’t need to come with us. Still, there was a jubilant level of bin bag filling and dusty box emptying! The tea area became the plastic crate area. The Leader’s office became the tea area. Team challenges were met on a daily basis… has anyone got another screw-driver? How do these shelves come apart? Where does this cable actually unplug? Can I get you some more bubblewrap? Hit the kettle, will you!

Looking back, the short sharp shock of a three week window was probably better than the luxury of longer time to think about it. A working office became a stack of crates and bare furniture, and so came the week of all systems down to allow for all systems go.

The advance party at Carlton Court were greeted with a big welcome basket of goodies from our new landlords! (In a much more recent fire alarm practice, Tunnock’s Snowballs were handed round for our inconvenience!)

Our new home is lighter, brighter, bigger, airier and

quieter! We will long be cracking jokes about inviting back a panpipe player or a tuneless crooner to ser-enade us for old times’ sake. Aye right. The bye-bye to the buskers is the sweetest part of the parting with Savoy!

And our new home is an old stables, much to Jo’s delight as a horsewoman! Where now we have our event space on the ground floor and most of the Iona Community office space on the first floor with WGRG on the second, a hundred years ago these three lay-ers housed the carriages, the horses and the hayloft respectively!

Needless to say, for the four of us on the top floor there is lots more elbow room. At one end is Gail’s room, with our small stockroom at the far end. In between, Jo’s papier mache desk tidy adds a splash of colours to the spacious blue-carpeted, white-walled central area, with our coffee table over by the French window and balcony overlooking the courtyard. Graham’s appearances tend to correlate conversely with the number of unopened mystery packages on his desk. John murmurs from time to time about a hot desk, but has so far enjoyed the new sofa in Gail’s little oasis of order and calm.

A year in and we are still experimenting with what goes where. In a stunning display of recycling and upcycling, the Savoy stockroom alcoves were dis-mantled and came with us, now rebuilt into a variety of new storage units, on casters of course, for an endless variety of easily-manoeuvred configurations and games of office dodgems. One unit houses our extended team the menagerie, members of which clamoured to appear on camera (above) with us.

SO LONG, Savoy

MIC

HA

EL M

ART

EN


28

JO LOVE bids a fond (well, mibbe not ...) farewell to the former offices of WGRG and the Iona Community. This may be read as an ‘aternative version’ - and no less true than that - of Shhonn the Shheepdog’s story on pages 4-9 and 18-21.

Is it really a year ago already?! Rewind to February 2016. Staff meeting. Well, folks, it’s like this. Our lease at Savoy House expires on 26th February. We asked the landlords for a short term extension. They have now said we can have a five-year extension or be out by 26th February. So either we’re stuck here for another five years or we manage a complete of-fice move in the next three weeks.

If it was ever in doubt, it’s now official – we like a challenge! Carlton Court had come to our attention about two months earlier and all seventeen of us had visited at least once and voiced our cautious ap-proval. The landlords were certainly eager to have us, and to find ways to address the questions we raised, some of which were not yet settled as we sat there in February considering what was truly a no-brainer – three weeks it is then, we are moving.

There was no time to do the previously planned thorough sifting of every shelf, drawer and cupboard. No time for the clearing-out of everything that really didn’t need to come with us. Still, there was a jubilant level of bin bag filling and dusty box emptying! The tea area became the plastic crate area. The Leader’s office became the tea area. Team challenges were met on a daily basis… has anyone got another screw-driver? How do these shelves come apart? Where does this cable actually unplug? Can I get you some more bubblewrap? Hit the kettle, will you!

Looking back, the short sharp shock of a three week window was probably better than the luxury of longer time to think about it. A working office became a stack of crates and bare furniture, and so came the week of all systems down to allow for all systems go.

The advance party at Carlton Court were greeted with a big welcome basket of goodies from our new landlords! (In a much more recent fire alarm practice, Tunnock’s Snowballs were handed round for our inconvenience!)

Our new home is lighter, brighter, bigger, airier and

quieter! We will long be cracking jokes about inviting back a panpipe player or a tuneless crooner to ser-enade us for old times’ sake. Aye right. The bye-bye to the buskers is the sweetest part of the parting with Savoy!

And our new home is an old stables, much to Jo’s delight as a horsewoman! Where now we have our event space on the ground floor and most of the Iona Community office space on the first floor with WGRG on the second, a hundred years ago these three lay-ers housed the carriages, the horses and the hayloft respectively!

Needless to say, for the four of us on the top floor there is lots more elbow room. At one end is Gail’s room, with our small stockroom at the far end. In between, Jo’s papier mache desk tidy adds a splash of colours to the spacious blue-carpeted, white-walled central area, with our coffee table over by the French window and balcony overlooking the courtyard. Graham’s appearances tend to correlate conversely with the number of unopened mystery packages on his desk. John murmurs from time to time about a hot desk, but has so far enjoyed the new sofa in Gail’s little oasis of order and calm.

A year in and we are still experimenting with what goes where. In a stunning display of recycling and upcycling, the Savoy stockroom alcoves were dis-mantled and came with us, now rebuilt into a variety of new storage units, on casters of course, for an endless variety of easily-manoeuvred configurations and games of office dodgems. One unit houses our extended team the menagerie, members of which clamoured to appear on camera (above) with us.

SO LONG, Savoy

MIC

HA

EL M

ART

EN


29weeWONDERBOX

GRAHAM MAULE tells more about an exotic, yet also indigenous new arrival on the WGRG scene ...

At Pentecost 2016, the Church celebrated yet another birthday. In parallel with this irrepressible annual event, a similar nativity occurred in ‘The Ground’, the new event space at the Iona Community’s new Glasgow base in Carlton Court. weeWONDERBOX — a joint initiative between the Iona Community’s Programme Development Team & the Wild Goose Resource Group — was born. Since then, a braw clanjamfrie (ie. beautiful, varied chaos) of open, pub-lic events have been held.

It’s not possible to list all of these past (or future) events, but details can be found on the Wild Goose website at: www.wildgoose.scot/weewonderbox

CONCEPTS & INTENTIONS

But, perhaps more interestingly here, I hear you say, what are the ideas and hopes behind weeWONDER-BOX? Well, we might summarise as follows:

A participative project

While practically conceived as a joint Iona Commu-nity & WGRG initiative, we equally want weeWONDERBOX to offer a renewed opportunity for both Iona Community folk and progressively-inclined, interested others to get involved – not only through attending but, crucially, also in devising, enabling and making events happen. Opportunities to collaborate with other groups & organisations also becomes more possible than has recently been the case. The full realisation of this depends on many folk working on this ‘demanding, common task’.

A modelling project

Not dissimilar to the tactics of Jesus, weeWONDER-BOX seeks to create real examples and demonstra-tions of the kind of event that can be physically experienced, learnt from and replicated at other times and in other places. The conversational ap-proach that JO LOVE’s article on page 26 describes, is a fundamental approach that is at the heart of weeWONDERBOX.

A public project

As UK and Western culture tends increasingly to privatisation, compartmentalisation and the isolation

of folk, weeWONDERBOX aims to celebrate and build living community in the flesh through repeated, accessible, embodied encounters, where compel-ling and ultimately meaningful relationships might be started, sustained and cemented. We believe it’s this kind of face-to-face encounter (or critical mass) that ultimately has to be the ground of all stages of human interaction and change-making.

An evangelical project

weeWONDERBOX aims to multiply the ways, means and occasions to ‘touch the lives of all’. This ‘all’ obviously includes those in the Community and WGRG stables, but also other faithful folk who might welcome increased opportunities for public, communal engagement: those who might not have encountered the approaches of concerned, contemporary Christian faith and practice.

A small, organic project

In many ways (and totally unapologetically), wee-WONDERBOX will also be opportunistic, occasional, random and (as the name suggests) small-scale and organic. We recall Jesus’ example of the mustard seed, reassured by the knowledge that ‘small is beau-tiful’ (and powerful). In any case, physical resources, funding and capacity do not allow for too much else at present, but we hope this will change.

We envisage that a wide range of regular, occasion-al or one-off formats of varied themes and content will make up weeWONDERBOX events. Liturgies, discussions, reading groups, creative workshops, activist gatherings, wee sings, walks, pilgrimages, interviews, talks, presentations, book launches, con-certs, ceilidhs. You name it, we’re interested in it!

Issues covered will range from biblical exploration, faith, politics, culture, environment, technology, media, peace, justice, reconciliation, economics, edu-cation, human creativity and imagination – in short, the whole gamut of pressing issues and challenges we face in God’s world – to seek out the compelling connections between human life, society, faith and discipleship.

Although most initial events will take place in The Ground in Glasgow, it’s possible that similar events could ripple out into other places dependent on fund-ing, capacity and a shared vision of participation.

If you want to keep posted on upcoming events, you can do several things; you can sign up to our eNews, at www.wildgoose.scot/weewonderbox or by follow-ing this link: http://eepurl.com/byreMj


30 TALKING Matters

Where, when and with whom do you have your best conversations? Have you recently had any unexpected, surprisingly deep exchanges, with a stranger, perhaps, or someone with whom you usually don’t get past the small talk, or even someone at church?! JO LOVE wonders about these compelling questions that we ignore at the mortal peril of our engaged, public living in society and in the Church.

How would you describe the conversational habits of the congregation you know best? Could you confi-dently describe it as a community of people who can and do really talk to each other? A place where deep sharing is part of the norm? A context where our true selves can show up, openly and freely? What if all of our churches had the reputation for being places where people share stories and experiences, thoughts and questions… about our encounters with God; the demands and delights of discipleship; the daily bread that is feeding us, what is making our souls sing.

Conversation – rich, deep, face to face conversation – the need for it, the longing for it, the reclaiming of it – seems to be a recurring theme, an insistent and growing thread, of recent years. Or is it just me and a bunch of particular landmarks along my way?

In June 2014 I attended a fascinating three days’ training in the “Art of Hosting” which ‘blends a suite of powerful conversational processes to invite people to step in and take charge of the challenges facing them.’ Other commitments prevented me from attend-ing any follow-up events until a one-day gathering last November. Twelve people, one circle, leaning in, knees touching, hearts on fire.

In June 2015, with some reservations and not a little sense of dread, I said yes to an invitation to serve on the Mission and Discipleship Council of the Church of Scotland. Hope had a surprising win over skepti-cism during my first experience of the Council! It was a two-day conference and for most of day one, we were in small groups with some seriously good discus-sion questions to chew on. I missed day two, the Busi-ness Meeting, thanks to my nephew having chosen

his wedding day to coincide, so it was with a blissful residue of optimism that I entered into the regular diet of ‘Resourcing Worship’ subcommittee meetings in the autumn. With just six of us and four already familiar faces, it was full immersion with no shallow paddlings first! The main piece of work I was immediately caught up in was putting together a resource with the working title “Conversations in Worship” – an attempt to give congregations a structured framework for enabling people to share their real stories - about God, worship, resonances between scripture stories and our own – all that stuff shied away from at your average church coffee time and rarely allowed to breathe within traditional worship services. What happened, then, when the material we initially put together - a simple four-question session lasting 60-90 minutes - was piloted with eight groups from Orkney to Glasgow and Aberdeen to Skye? Not being part of the pilot sessions, I had the thrill of listening to the astonishment of those who had, reporting back time after time, “people really appreciated it!” “they really took to it!” “even a stalwart Western Isles elder was nearly in tears of joy!” Without exception, people warmed to the opportunity to talk.

On our WGRG weeks on Iona, I’ve tried out a few workshops around simply giving a framework which invites people to have meaningful conversations. Back in 2012, guests began a ‘Pondering and Wander-ing’ session by sifting through question cards in five categories – God, Prayer, Bible, Discipleship, Com-munity. Choosing whichever question ‘grabbed’ them most from the given selection, they then paired up and went off for about 40 minutes of walking and talking. Regrouping for a short time, we didn’t debrief on the content of those conversations, but there was much enthusing on the experience of ‘just talking about the basic stuff of faith that we never talk about!’ and how the dynamic of the conversation felt different ‘on the hoof’ from sitting down to talk. ‘When you’re walking, the silences are no problem’, ‘you get that sense of the discussion moving, because you are!’

As an aside, I was intrigued to discover the top three questions that ‘grabbed’ people! —

3. How well does your church community know the real you? What makes that so?

2. What has been helpful or unhelpful in the ways you’ve been taught to read and understand the Bible? Have you had to unlearn anything you’ve been taught?

1. What is it, in a nutshell, that persuades you that God exists?

In the Holy City season of 2015-2016, we revisited the idea of discussions on the move, and ran a series

How would you describe the conversational habits of the congregation

you know best?

Where, when and with whom do you

have your best conversations?

Have you recently had any unexpected,

surprisingly deepexchanges, with a

stranger?

How well does your church

community know the real you?

30



30 TALKING Matters

Where, when and with whom do you have your best conversations? Have you recently had any unexpected, surprisingly deep exchanges, with a stranger, perhaps, or someone with whom you usually don’t get past the small talk, or even someone at church?! JO LOVE wonders about these compelling questions that we ignore at the mortal peril of our engaged, public living in society and in the Church.

How would you describe the conversational habits of the congregation you know best? Could you confi-dently describe it as a community of people who can and do really talk to each other? A place where deep sharing is part of the norm? A context where our true selves can show up, openly and freely? What if all of our churches had the reputation for being places where people share stories and experiences, thoughts and questions… about our encounters with God; the demands and delights of discipleship; the daily bread that is feeding us, what is making our souls sing.

Conversation – rich, deep, face to face conversation – the need for it, the longing for it, the reclaiming of it – seems to be a recurring theme, an insistent and growing thread, of recent years. Or is it just me and a bunch of particular landmarks along my way?

In June 2014 I attended a fascinating three days’ training in the “Art of Hosting” which ‘blends a suite of powerful conversational processes to invite people to step in and take charge of the challenges facing them.’ Other commitments prevented me from attend-ing any follow-up events until a one-day gathering last November. Twelve people, one circle, leaning in, knees touching, hearts on fire.

In June 2015, with some reservations and not a little sense of dread, I said yes to an invitation to serve on the Mission and Discipleship Council of the Church of Scotland. Hope had a surprising win over skepti-cism during my first experience of the Council! It was a two-day conference and for most of day one, we were in small groups with some seriously good discus-sion questions to chew on. I missed day two, the Busi-ness Meeting, thanks to my nephew having chosen

his wedding day to coincide, so it was with a blissful residue of optimism that I entered into the regular diet of ‘Resourcing Worship’ subcommittee meetings in the autumn. With just six of us and four already familiar faces, it was full immersion with no shallow paddlings first! The main piece of work I was immediately caught up in was putting together a resource with the working title “Conversations in Worship” – an attempt to give congregations a structured framework for enabling people to share their real stories - about God, worship, resonances between scripture stories and our own – all that stuff shied away from at your average church coffee time and rarely allowed to breathe within traditional worship services. What happened, then, when the material we initially put together - a simple four-question session lasting 60-90 minutes - was piloted with eight groups from Orkney to Glasgow and Aberdeen to Skye? Not being part of the pilot sessions, I had the thrill of listening to the astonishment of those who had, reporting back time after time, “people really appreciated it!” “they really took to it!” “even a stalwart Western Isles elder was nearly in tears of joy!” Without exception, people warmed to the opportunity to talk.

On our WGRG weeks on Iona, I’ve tried out a few workshops around simply giving a framework which invites people to have meaningful conversations. Back in 2012, guests began a ‘Pondering and Wander-ing’ session by sifting through question cards in five categories – God, Prayer, Bible, Discipleship, Com-munity. Choosing whichever question ‘grabbed’ them most from the given selection, they then paired up and went off for about 40 minutes of walking and talking. Regrouping for a short time, we didn’t debrief on the content of those conversations, but there was much enthusing on the experience of ‘just talking about the basic stuff of faith that we never talk about!’ and how the dynamic of the conversation felt different ‘on the hoof’ from sitting down to talk. ‘When you’re walking, the silences are no problem’, ‘you get that sense of the discussion moving, because you are!’

As an aside, I was intrigued to discover the top three questions that ‘grabbed’ people! —

3. How well does your church community know the real you? What makes that so?

2. What has been helpful or unhelpful in the ways you’ve been taught to read and understand the Bible? Have you had to unlearn anything you’ve been taught?

1. What is it, in a nutshell, that persuades you that God exists?

In the Holy City season of 2015-2016, we revisited the idea of discussions on the move, and ran a series


you know best?





stranger?



30

GOOSEgander Spring 2017 GOOSEgander Spring 2017

31

of seven “ROOT 66: Biblical blethers on the hoof” events. We tramped gorgeous gorges, heathery hillsides, sunny shores and wooded wilds, teasing out tales of Lot, Job, Peter, Manoah and his wife, sharing how we mark Lent, how we describe the divine, how darkness can be as valuable as light, how we might honestly answer if Jesus asked us, “Do you love me?” Our hikes included the hilarity of composing tabloid headlines about Lot’s daughters and role-playing Job’s Comforters of 2016!

In late 2015 I read the sobering and insightful newly published book by Sherry Turkle, “Reclaiming Conversation: the power of talk in a digital age.” Without doubt, the plethora of initiatives in churches and society to encourage face to face engagement, is a crucial response and antidote to our increasingly online lives. This new year, research suggested that more people resolved to quit social media than smok-ing, with the desire to get back to “more reading and talking.” In similar vein is one of the most reiterated quotes, and sure to be among the most enduring, from Obama’s farewell speech - “If you’re tired of arguing with strangers on the internet, try talking with one of them in real life.” It only dawned on me about a week after the ‘Art of Hosting’ reunion, how refreshing and how significant it had been to spend the whole day with mobile phones out of sight and out of mind.

On Iona last summer after a year of development with ‘Conversations in Worship’, ROOT 66 outings and reading, I tried out another workshop, with a greater focus on exploring the practice of having times of conversation within worship services. This is quite the norm at my home church where we’re posed a relevant question to chat about in twos and threes, arising from the Bible passage or as a lead in to hear-ing it. Yet there are still occasions when I’m reticent to offer my most honest response – usually when it’s a particular good and penetrating question! I put it to a bunch of ministers recently - what helps people talk at a deeper level? Someone commented, “The willing-ness of someone to go first.” Yes. I was reminded of the Sunday I opened my mouth and went first. A little vulnerability goes a long way, I discovered, as my conversation partner, far from looking at me like I’d just taken all my clothes off, nodded thoughtfully and offered back a similarly naked honesty. I’m both heartened and hounded by the memory. Heartened because it happened. Hounded by my own disquiet that there hasn’t been a Sunday since when I’ve sum-moned the same courage! But I’m convinced that a mustard seed of courage is the crucial catalyst.

Where possible, I’ve been following the stories of a few newish local happenings around this desire to encourage rich conversation, such as the Café Church and Pub Theology gatherings of Erskine Parish Church, and Kelvinbridge Parish Church’s first year of

‘Open House’ guided conversations. I’ve heard how Canongate Church in Edinburgh ran an early evening ‘Dinner Church’ (Pot Luck Supper by any other name!) for about two years. Deeper conversations can’t be manufactured, but people do tend to welcome what is set up in recognition of the importance of a space for sharing and discussing issues of life and faith more openly and honestly. There’s nothing quite like having a great conversation.

How does all this resonate with what is happening where you are? Below is a flavour of some workshop content. If you wish, make use of them for getting talking, whether for a first or umpteenth time, and whether it takes a little or a lot of courage… in a small group, over coffee or a meal, out on a walk, or even in church!

Share a story about ...

• a memorable encounter with God• a time you longed to be close to God. What did you do and was your longing satisfied?• a time when a story from the Bible connected strongly, and perhaps spoke deeply, to a situation you were going through. What came of it?• how you have made peace with a big regret. • what has helped your hurts to heal. In your experience, is time a great healer?• a significant experience of forgiveness, whether you were the forgiver or the forgiven.• a time you felt spiritually very alive!• a time you really argued with God. What came of it and did it change your understanding of God?• a time when an author or poet was a particu-larly helpful companion on your faith journey. What was it that you found helpful in their writ-ings?• a time when suffering (your own or someone else’s) expanded your sense of God.• a time when you have experienced God as powerful… or as powerless.• an experience that enabled you to “become like a child”. What have you seen in the childlike-ness of others that inspires or unsettles you?• coming to grasp a truth that has set you free.• a memorable experience of praying. What compels you to pray? How has your praying changed you?• experiencing profound certainty or uncertainty. What made it a good or a bad experience?


you know best?





stranger?



31



32 CATALOGUEgander

NEW TITLES

IONA ABBEY WORSHIP BOOK - Various Book, 272 pp: £11.99

This, the latest edition of the liturgies and resources of the island services reflect the Iona Community’s commit-ment to the belief that worship is all that we are and all that we do, both inside and outside the church, with no division into the sacred and the secular. The material draws on many traditions and aims to help us to be fully pres-ent to God, who is fully present to us – in our neighbour, in the politi-cal and social activity of the world around us, and in the very centre and soul of our being.

Each year, thousands of

NEW TO SHOP

WGRG LITURGY BOOKLET (Bundle) - Wild Goose Resource Group9 x Booklets: £22.50

This bundle features all the WGRG Liturgy Booklets currently in print (a total of nine).

Each booklet contains a full scripted liturgy on a specific theme or biblical topic, with full instructions for lead-ing, symbolic action, movement and music as required.

The Bundle price is a saving of £7.50 on the normal total price for these 9 booklets.

The Liturgy Booklets included are:

• Remember Me Today – a Holy Week reflection (No.4)

• Pictures Of God – on our images of God (No.5)

• Sweet Honey And Hard Plac-es – a collection of short liturgies on the Psalms (No.6)

• A Road To Roam – an in-house pilgrimage on liturgical space (No.7)

• Fencing In God’s People – on 3000 years of wall-building in Israel-Palestine (No.8)

• A Family Affair – on the Prodigal Son (No.9)

• Harvesting The World – on har-vest (No.10)

• God And Her Girls – on ignored women of the Bible (No.11)

• Spare Change And Gilt-Edged Grace – on money (No.12)

www.wildgoose.scot/product/wgrg-liturgy-booklet-bundle

A SEASONAL DOWNLOAD RESOURCE

Also available for those wishing to celebrate St Columba Day on 9th June, we have WGRG Liturgy Booklet (No.1) available in download form. Focusing on themes drawn from Columba’s life, this is a liturgy that has been subsequently and regu-larly used by congrega-tions and groups, since its original publication in 1997, on the 1400th anniversary of the saint’s death.

Check out the Wild Goose web shop site for Special Prices on some of these materials:

www.wildgoose.scot

visitors make their way to Iona and many are changed by their time on this small Hebridean island which has been a powerful spiritual centre over the centuries. The Iona Community believes that we are brought to Iona not to be changed into ‘religious’ people, but rather to be made more fully human. Our common life – including our services – is directed to that end.

This new edition of the Iona Abbey Worship Book has been exten-sively revised and rear-ranged. About 80% of the text is new material which has been devel-oped by members of the Iona Community since the previous edition.

www.wildgoose.scot/product/iona-abbey-worship-book-2017-bk


32 CATALOGUEgander

NEW TITLES

IONA ABBEY WORSHIP BOOK - Various Book, 272 pp: £11.99

This, the latest edition of the liturgies and resources of the island services reflect the Iona Community’s commit-ment to the belief that worship is all that we are and all that we do, both inside and outside the church, with no division into the sacred and the secular. The material draws on many traditions and aims to help us to be fully pres-ent to God, who is fully present to us – in our neighbour, in the politi-cal and social activity of the world around us, and in the very centre and soul of our being.

Each year, thousands of

NEW TO SHOP

WGRG LITURGY BOOKLET (Bundle) - Wild Goose Resource Group9 x Booklets: £22.50

This bundle features all the WGRG Liturgy Booklets currently in print (a total of nine).

Each booklet contains a full scripted liturgy on a specific theme or biblical topic, with full instructions for lead-ing, symbolic action, movement and music as required.

The Bundle price is a saving of £7.50 on the normal total price for these 9 booklets.

The Liturgy Booklets included are:

• Remember Me Today – a Holy Week reflection (No.4)

• Pictures Of God – on our images of God (No.5)

• Sweet Honey And Hard Plac-es – a collection of short liturgies on the Psalms (No.6)

• A Road To Roam – an in-house pilgrimage on liturgical space (No.7)

• Fencing In God’s People – on 3000 years of wall-building in Israel-Palestine (No.8)

• A Family Affair – on the Prodigal Son (No.9)

• Harvesting The World – on har-vest (No.10)

• God And Her Girls – on ignored women of the Bible (No.11)

• Spare Change And Gilt-Edged Grace – on money (No.12)

www.wildgoose.scot/product/wgrg-liturgy-booklet-bundle

A SEASONAL DOWNLOAD RESOURCE

Also available for those wishing to celebrate St Columba Day on 9th June, we have WGRG Liturgy Booklet (No.1) available in download form. Focusing on themes drawn from Columba’s life, this is a liturgy that has been subsequently and regu-larly used by congrega-tions and groups, since its original publication in 1997, on the 1400th anniversary of the saint’s death.

Check out the Wild Goose web shop site for Special Prices on some of these materials:

www.wildgoose.scot

visitors make their way to Iona and many are changed by their time on this small Hebridean island which has been a powerful spiritual centre over the centuries. The Iona Community believes that we are brought to Iona not to be changed into ‘religious’ people, but rather to be made more fully human. Our common life – including our services – is directed to that end.

This new edition of the Iona Abbey Worship Book has been exten-sively revised and rear-ranged. About 80% of the text is new material which has been devel-oped by members of the Iona Community since the previous edition.

www.wildgoose.scot/product/iona-abbey-worship-book-2017-bk


33DR. BELL’S surgery

From Achiltibuie to Auckland and from Nantucket to Nanjing, the acute insight and counter-intuitive liturgical analysis of the incompa-rably lugubrious DR. JOHN BELL has been met with widespread global acclaim and the occasional bowel infection. In this, his ongo-ing liturgical surgery, he dispenses his timeless and insightful wisdom about common dilemmas, mala-dies and ecclesial, theological constipation.

Dear Dr Bell,

At Christmas some friends and I spent a jolly hour or two playing a game I would like to commend to oth-ers. All you need is a kazoo for every participant.

After rolling a dice or tossing coins, the designated first performer picks up his or her kazoo and plays a Christmas carol tune beginning with the first letter of the alphabet – ‘A’. The others have to prove their recognition of the tune by joining in and harmonis-ing where possible.

We all had a jolly time, especially since my daughter and I had both sung in choirs and were confident in offering David Willcox’s descants to ‘Hark the Herald Angels Sing’ and ‘O Come, All Ye Faithful’ (which were the contributions for ‘H’ and ‘O’ respectively.)

However, we were all jolly stumped on three occa-sions. The first time it was ‘Q’.

Still, I saved the day when I suddenly brought to mind, from my French O Level days, ‘Quelle est cette odeur agréable’. Regrettably I could only favour the company with the first line.

But what about ‘X’ and ‘Z’? These proved impos-sibly difficult, although a friend of ours – a native of Germany – said that in Bach’s cantata ‘Wachet Auf’ (BWV140 BC A166) there is a Christmas text which, in English, is translated, ‘Zion hears the watchmen singing.’

I looked it up, sadly to discover that this was the first line of verse two, not of verse one. O bother!

So, to help me and other enthusiasts for this seasonal kazoo activity, can you suggest – for my eyes only – carols beginning with ‘X’ and ‘Z’ for next year. Yours xtra zestfully, Willhemina (Billy) Blawhard (Mrs)

Dear Willhelmina,

Looking through The Encyclopaedia of Christmas Songes and Canticles (1645 edition, ISBN no. 777 3124 8b) I discovered the following which may be of use, to the tune Dix (As with gladness, men of old):

Xenophobia none could seewhen the wise men bent their knee.(Had xeroxgraphia been aroundproof of this would have been found.)After these men’s gifts were givenXylophones were heard in heaven.

(Catalogue 420B item 7)

More especially I am sure you will be thrilled to know that the eminent ethno-musicologist and baroque specialist, Icelle Doughpp, recently took part in an archaeological dig in the St Thomas Church in Leipzig, where Bach was musicus. He and one of his postgraduate students, Eyein Hale, claim to have found a hitherto unseen cantata by Bach which also uses the Wachet Auf chorale.

Here is Isel’s translation in English of the first verse. It is quite amazing that whoever the poet was for the 1732 manuscript had such a global vision. To the tune Wachet Auf:

Zulu hearts and drums are beatingwhile zebras bray their praise in greetingthe advent of this blessed day.Zephyrs blow the whole world overespecially in the Straits of Dover(the French prefer Le Pas de Calais)

While some may zap their zitsand others comb out nits,all so zealous,the zouk in every zone is found;all Afric’s zipcodes thus resound.

I hope these unknown texts will bring you suc-cess in next year’s seasonal kazoonery,

Yours etc.


34

..........

Dear Dr Bell,

I have inherited a ‘traditional’ choir – robes, hats and handbags for the women etc., etc. They make quite a worthy but not very exciting sound.

Any clues as to how I might creatively excite or inspire them? Sincerely yours, Tom Wilde.

Dear Tom,

Why don’t you live up to your name? Appear one night dressed for the choir practice in noth-ing but leopard skin and say that you’d like to do a getting-to-know-you game. Ask everyone to put their books down and stand in a circle.

Then say that you are going to put out the light at which time everyone must take off their clothes and pile them in a bundle in the middle of the floor.

You will then kick the bundle in the air, and the first person fully-dressed can turn on the lights again. Then give people a minute to undo their shoe laces as you close any curtains in the room.

Apart from that, some of my friends advise itching powder discreetly dusted inside the choir robes, and substituting Fishermen’s Friends (Ex-tra Strength) for the peppermints usually passed round during the sermon.

Do let me know which method brings most suc-cess.

Yours etc.

..........

Dear Dr Bell,

I am writing to you from the USA, as it would be costly to me to have this letter published in an Ameri-can religious journal.

As a cradle Methodist, I am very worried about the political implications of the Charles Wesley hymn ‘Rejoice, the Lord is King.’ We sang it last Sunday and all went well until the closing couplet in the final verse:

We then shall hear the archangel’s voice:the trump of God shall sound, ‘Rejoice.’

What concerns me is the mention of our new President’s name which threatens to divide those of European descent in my congregation and totally enrage those African-American and Hispanic origin.

Any helpful suggestion would be appreciated. Yours truly, Wesley Wawsright

Dear Wesley,

From recent visits to the USA, I discover that there are other names which could easily be substituted for Trump – names such as Philanderer, Con-Merchant, Bankrupt, Bully, even K-K-Kiltie – this last partly resulting from a picture of his arrival in Scotland two years ago when he clambered down the steps of a small jet which had landed in Skye with one hand clutching his toupee and the other holding down his kilt, both of which were being buffetted by totally seasonal weather.

But as you will have undoubtedly noticed, none of these suggestions are monosyllabic.

So I’d like to propose a completely new line which might win the approval of most of your congregation:

We then shall hear the archangel’s voice:‘That chump and fraud was not my choice.’

Please claim copyright in your own name to pre-vent the President from being distracted from the duties of state by having to allege defamation of character in a Scottish court.

Yours etc.

Do you have any questions for the Doctor? Can he offer help and (in)appropriate remedies for your liturgical symptoms?

Do write to the Doctor: c/o GOOSEgander at the contact address on page 2.

While this reveals that Wesley was re-markably prescient about early 21st century US political developments, such unashamed bias in a hymn is surely un-acceptable and I’m not sure how to deal with it. Any helpful suggestion would be appreci-ated.


34

..........

Dear Dr Bell,

I have inherited a ‘traditional’ choir – robes, hats and handbags for the women etc., etc. They make quite a worthy but not very exciting sound.

Any clues as to how I might creatively excite or inspire them? Sincerely yours, Tom Wilde.

Dear Tom,

Why don’t you live up to your name? Appear one night dressed for the choir practice in noth-ing but leopard skin and say that you’d like to do a getting-to-know-you game. Ask everyone to put their books down and stand in a circle.

Then say that you are going to put out the light at which time everyone must take off their clothes and pile them in a bundle in the middle of the floor.

You will then kick the bundle in the air, and the first person fully-dressed can turn on the lights again. Then give people a minute to undo their shoe laces as you close any curtains in the room.

Apart from that, some of my friends advise itching powder discreetly dusted inside the choir robes, and substituting Fishermen’s Friends (Ex-tra Strength) for the peppermints usually passed round during the sermon.

Do let me know which method brings most suc-cess.

Yours etc.

..........

Dear Dr Bell,

I am writing to you from the USA, as it would be costly to me to have this letter published in an Ameri-can religious journal.

As a cradle Methodist, I am very worried about the political implications of the Charles Wesley hymn ‘Rejoice, the Lord is King.’ We sang it last Sunday and all went well until the closing couplet in the final verse:

We then shall hear the archangel’s voice:the trump of God shall sound, ‘Rejoice.’

What concerns me is the mention of our new President’s name which threatens to divide those of European descent in my congregation and totally enrage those African-American and Hispanic origin.

Any helpful suggestion would be appreciated. Yours truly, Wesley Wawsright

Dear Wesley,

From recent visits to the USA, I discover that there are other names which could easily be substituted for Trump – names such as Philanderer, Con-Merchant, Bankrupt, Bully, even K-K-Kiltie – this last partly resulting from a picture of his arrival in Scotland two years ago when he clambered down the steps of a small jet which had landed in Skye with one hand clutching his toupee and the other holding down his kilt, both of which were being buffetted by totally seasonal weather.

But as you will have undoubtedly noticed, none of these suggestions are monosyllabic.

So I’d like to propose a completely new line which might win the approval of most of your congregation:

We then shall hear the archangel’s voice:‘That chump and fraud was not my choice.’

Please claim copyright in your own name to pre-vent the President from being distracted from the duties of state by having to allege defamation of character in a Scottish court.

Yours etc.

Do you have any questions for the Doctor? Can he offer help and (in)appropriate remedies for your liturgical symptoms?

Do write to the Doctor: c/o GOOSEgander at the contact address on page 2.

While this reveals that Wesley was re-markably prescient about early 21st century US political developments, such unashamed bias in a hymn is surely un-acceptable and I’m not sure how to deal with it. Any helpful suggestion would be appreci-ated.


35

A selection of Wild Goose & weeWONDERBOX events from April to July 2017.

The full weeWONDERBOX programme can be found on the WGRG website at:

www.wildgoose.scot/wee-wonderbox/

[email protected]

Local contacts for events are shown in brackets, otherwise details can be had from the WGRG office:

0141 429 7281

[email protected]

www.wildgoose.scot

April 2017

24th-28th: SKIPTON, N Yorks, Scargill House

‘Nameless Women & Missing Men’. John L. Bell opens up sto-ries of little known Biblical char-acters, which might challenge presumptions, and encourage our discipleship.

(Scargill House, 01756 760500, [email protected])

30th: PRESTON, Central Methodist Church

‘Songs from the Iona Commu-nity’. John L. Bell leads worship at the Bicentenary Celebration Service.

(Sue Griffiths, 01772 774285, [email protected])

30th: PRESTON, Calder Vale Methodist Church

‘Songs for the Real Jesus’, a workshop including psalms, world music and WGRG songs, led by John L. Bell.

(Edith Gorst, 01995 602078, [email protected])

May 2017

12th: SHEFFIELD, Cathe-dral

7.30pm. John L. Bell talks on ‘The Tangibility of Jesus’ at the Godly Play Childhood Spirituality Conference.

(www.godlyplay.uk)

13th: SOUTHPORT, Ains-dale Methodist Church

2-5pm, ‘Keeping Faith in the Age of Consumerism’ - John L. Bell looks at how the Church can still be an important and

GANDER at the calendar

relevant part of the community. 7.30-9.30pm, John leads a Big Sing with songs from the Iona Community. Both events part of Ainsdale Methodist Church’s 150th anniversary.

(Cynthia May, [email protected])

17th-19th: RIDING MILL, Shepherds Dene Retreat House

‘Reclaiming the Bible’. In this retreat John L. Bell explores the varieties of text and how best to read them, deal with some of the ‘awkward bits’ which people tend to avoid, and try a few straightforward ways to explore the Bible together.

(Jane Easterby, Warden, 01434 682212, [email protected])

20th-21st: HADLEIGH, Suffolk, St. Mary’s Church

John L. Bell leads sessions on scripture in music & worship, including ‘Rediscovering the Bible’, ‘Why Do God’s People Sing?’, and ‘Psalms, Hymns & Spiritual Songs’.

(David Atkins, 01473 822535, [email protected])

27th: PERTH, St. Ninian’s Cathedral

John L. Bell (keynote speaker) and Jo Love will be at The Gathering for Scottish Episco-pal Diocese of St. Andrew’s, Dunkeld and Dunblane. Please register through the Diocese.

(http://standrews.anglican.org/the-gathering, 01738 632053)

June 2017

9th-11th: GLASGOW, The Ground, Iona Community Base [weeWONDERBOX]

‘ColumbaFest’... The first in what will be an annual festival weekend around the anniversary of Columba’s death.

The themes of the saint’s life such as worship, prayer, political wit-ness, social concern and faithful, incarnational discipleship will be explored through workshops, conversation, worship, music and creativity.

Contributors booked so far include Pádraig Ó Tuama of the Corrymeela Community, Alison Phipps & Rob Swinfen, the BERT Community from Glasgow, Ash-ton Lane, the In-Laws (Suzanne Adam & Steve Butler).

(More info: 0141 429 7281, [email protected]; www.wildgoose.scot/weewonderbox)

20th-22nd: BANGOR, PA, Kirkridge Retreat Centre

‘The Anatomy of Change’. In this retreat John L. Bell will look at change and resistance, iden-tifying ways in which we can


36 GANDER at the calendar (continued)

GOOSEGANDER & LITURGY BOOKLET SUBSCRIPTIONS

You can now get GOOSEGANDER in 2 ways! If you want the whole bhuna (ie. complete contents), you can subscribe (see ORDI-NARY/ ORDINARY+LITURGY/ SUPPORTING below) and you’ll two full hard-copy issue, by post.If you become a registered WGRG ONLINE SHOP customer, you can download an extracted version of GG. This contains the contents of the hard-copy version, minus the main feature articles. See: www.wildgoose.scotThere is no need to send this slip if you are already a subscriber.

So to subscribe to the hard-copy version of GG, choose from below: Yes, I’d like to subscribe to GOOSEgander @ 2017 rates. ORDINARY, £4.50, 2 issues of GG (hard copy), UK postage paid.* ORDINARY+LITURGY, £8.50, 2 issues of GG (hard copy), plus a copy of that year’s WGRG liturgy booklet (worth around £4.50), UK postage paid.* SUPPORTING, £40, 2 issues of GG (hard copy), plus a copy of that year’s WGRG liturgy booklet (worth around £4.50), and 10% off all purchases of WGRG books/CDs, (UK) postage paid.*

*These rates apply in the UK only. Overseas postage is additional. Overseas subscribers should contact WGRG office for the appropriate subscription rates. See contact details below.

I enclose a cheque for the above amount, payable to the Wild Goose Resource Group. (If also ordering WGRG mail order goods, please send TWO separate cheques. Thanks.)

NAME

ADDRESS

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Tick for further information: Ways to financially support the WGRG The Iona Community A free copy of GOOSEgander sent to a friend (please append their address)

WILD GOOSE RESOURCE GROUP, c/o Iona Community, 21 Carlton Court, Glasgow G5 9JP. T: 0141-429-7281; E: [email protected]; Web: www.wildgoose.scot;

32

understand and enable change to happen.

(Kirkridge Retreat Center, 610-588-1793, [email protected])

24th: KANATA, ON, Kanata United Church

‘Moving Forward in Song’ – a day led by John L. Bell, with sessions on how to positively cope with change, and ‘Songs That Matter’ which help enable a larger understanding of God’s presence in the world around us

(Kanata United Church, 613-592-5834, www.kuc.ca)

July 2017

15-21st: Abbey & MacLeod Centres, Iona

‘Change Without Decay’, a week with WGRG exploring how to create and manage changing practices in worship and training.

For many people in churches, change is a no-go area, a source of stress and the cause of major disagreement.Yet change is the central dynamic of the Christian faith: Jesus both changes people and in the resurrection moves from being a corpse to a living body.

Given that among the primary purposes of Jesus were to call people to repentance (which is a substantial turn-around) and ‘to make all things new’, it is important that people of faith do more than have a knee-jerk reaction to change. It should be

a central dynamic in our life.

This is what the WGRG will explore with participants from all over the world as it affects the worshipping life of a community.

The WGRG will draw on and explore what they have seen and enabled, such as the redesigning of space; solo performer ministries becoming shared endeavours; reluctant assemblies becoming oases of song.

(Application forms from WGRG, 0141 429 7281, [email protected])

GOOSEgander 1 Spring 2017 no.39 EXTRACTED …...GOOSEgander Spring 2017 4 Mairi Munro was a member...

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Transcript of GOOSEgander 1 Spring 2017 no.39 EXTRACTED …...GOOSEgander Spring 2017 4 Mairi Munro was a member...