Rules we can live by

“I am not afraid that the people called Methodists should ever cease
to exist either in Europe or America. But I am afraid lest they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power. And this undoubtedly will be the case unless they hold fast both the doctrine, spirit, and discipline with which they
first set out.” ~ John Wesley

Two weeks ago we met as a Synod and, as always, we closed proceedings with the reading of John Wesley’s 12 rules of a Helper. I am always struck by how they move and challenge me. I share them with you here …

Wesley laid out twelve rules for preachers who wished to serve as Methodist itinerants. Wesley’s name for his itinerants was “preachers” or “helpers.” Wesley’s twelve rules of a helper are still cherished as the guiding principles of a Methodist preacher:

  1. Be diligent. Never be unemployed. Never be triflingly employed. Never while away time, nor spend more time at any place than is strictly necessary.
  2. Be serious. Let your motto be, ‘Holiness to the Lord.’ Avoid all lightness, jesting, and foolish talking.
  3. Be guarded in your conversation and friendships lest you be led into temptation.
  4. Take no step towards marriage without solemn prayer to God and consulting with your colleagues.
  5. Believe evil of no one unless fully proved; take heed how you credit it. Put the best construction you can on everything. You know the judge is always supposed to be on the prisoner’s side.
  6. Speak evil of no one, else your word, especially, would eat as doth a canker; keep your thoughts within your own breast till you come to the person concerned.
  7. Tell everyone what you think wrong in him, lovingly and plainly, and as soon as may be, else it will fester in your own heart. Make all haste to cast the fire out of your bosom.
  8. Do not pretend to be of high station. A preacher of the Gospel is the servant of all.
  9. Be ashamed of nothing but sin; no, not of cleaning your own shoes when necessary.
  10. Be punctual. Do everything exactly at the time. And do not mend our rules, but keep them, and that for conscience’ sake.
  11. You have nothing to do but to save souls. Therefore spend and be spent in this work. And go always, not only to those who want you, but to those who want you most.
  12. Act in all things, not according to your own will, but as a child in the Gospel, and in union with your colleagues. As such, it is your part to employ your time as our rules direct: partly in preaching and visiting from house to house, partly in reading, meditation, and prayer. Above all, if you labour with us in our Lord’s vineyard, it is needful you should do that part of the work which the Conference shall advise, at those times and places which they shall judge most for His glory.“Observe, it is not your business to preach so many times, and to take care merely of this or that Society, but to save as many souls as you can, to bring as many sinners as you possibly can to repentance, and, with all your power, to build them up in that holiness without which they cannot see the Lord. And, remember, a Methodist preacher is to mind every point, great and small, in the Methodist discipline. Therefore you will need all the grace and sense you have, and to have all your wits about you.”

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Well, did any of the rules especially challenge you? If so I invite you live with it in the coming days — allowing it to shape your living.

Grace and gratitude for a rich heritage, Alan

Begin again slowly

Last week during Synod we joined people across the globe wearing black as a personal and public protest against gender-based violence and discrimination. Together we stand in solidarity with victims of violence and discrimination, demanding a fairer world for all.
Join in every Thursday.

 

Well I am about to get on my bicycle — literally speaking — as I begin my 3-month sabbatical. I will be back on 1 September which is “Spring Day” as well as the 17th anniversary of my ordination. It will be a great day to begin again…

You will know that my e-mail address is: ASlowWalk@… this encapsulates my desire more than my reality. During sabbatical I hope to live into it more fully and faithfully with slow walks and slow rides. The gift of slowness is to be present in the moment. It is to welcome ‘what-is’ without needing a ‘what-will-be’. In slowness interruptions cease to be interruptions — instead they are the holy moments of rich encounter that they really are.

This past week a person arrived unexpectedly in my office. I was so busy with my agenda that I nearly missed out on what he came to share with me. All he wanted to do was to sing me a song … The beautiful melody of life is playing all the time but only those who do not rush around hear it.

Simon and Garfunkel sung about it years ago… “Slow down you move too fast, you got to make the moment last…” I know you don’t have three months sabbatical but I do invite you to slow down and to do something deliberately slowly.

I would also like to encourage you to join a Warm Winter Worship group. Find the home group nearest to you and connect with others on Wednesday evenings over supper during June, July and August. When we gather we trust that we will meet God in the connections we have with each other, remembering that: everyone is wonder-full. Everyone has something wonder-full to share.

I feel that I am entitled to my share of lightheartedness and there is nothing wrong with enjoying one’s self simply, like a boy. ~ Leo Tolstoy in response to criticism for learning to ride a bicycle at age 67.

The bicycle is a curious vehicle. Its passenger is its engine. ~ John Howard

Whenever I see an adult on a bicycle, I have hope for the human race. ~ H.G. Wells

When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realized that the Lord doesn’t work that way so I stole one and asked Him to forgive me. ~ Emo Philips 🙂

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Below follows four resolutions passed at the 2013 Synod which will be go before Conference later this year:

Four of the 2013 Synod Resolutions

The Synod of the Cape of Good Hope District calls on Conference to [1] support the Palestinian Kairos Document’s call for divestment of Israel to end the occupation by Israel in Palestine [2] to instruct all Circuits and Societies within the MCSA to ensure that if taking part in “Holy Land tours” that the arrangements include realistic engagement with the Palestinian community.

The Cape of Good Hope District reaffirms the decision of the MCSA that “ministers do not assist people to gain firearm licenses” and that “all Methodist Property are to be Gun Free Zones”.

The Synod of the Cape of Good Hope District notes with horror the continued violence against gay and lesbian people because of their sexual orientation. The Synod calls on all members and leaders within the District to speak out against this specific form of violence whenever it occurs, so as not to give the false impression that the Christian faith in any way condones such acts.

The Synod of the Cape of Good Hope District requests Conference to determine whether the position of Chaplain of any political party is a “party political post and compromises the necessary independence of the church in its witness to the Gospel in society.”

Grace, Alan

Called to something smaller

This past week I have been in Belhar attending the 184th Synod of the Cape of Good Hope District.

Amongst other things, Synod is the body that reminds me of my calling as well as holding me accountable. While reflecting on our ordination vows (author: Revd Emeritus Professor William Loader FAHA, NSW, Australia https://billloader.com) we reflected on the following words from Methodist Church of Singapore’s Ordination Liturgy:

Called to Something Smaller

We are not ordaining you to ministry; that happened at your baptism.

We are not ordaining you to be a caring person; you are already called to that.

We are not ordaining you to serve the Church in committees, activities, organisation; that is already implied in your membership.

We are not ordaining you to become involved in social issues, ecology, race, politics, revolution, for that is laid upon every Christian.

We are ordaining you to something smaller and less spectacular: to read and interpret those sacred stories of our community, so that they speak a word to people today; to remember and practice those rituals and rites of meaning that in their poetry address human beings at the level where change operates; to foster in community through word and sacrament that encounter with truth which will set men and women free to minister as the body of Christ.

We are ordaining you to the ministry of the word and sacraments and pastoral care. God grant you grace not to betray but uphold it, not to deny but affirm it, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Below is a letter addressed to the Editor of the Cape Times in response to the article that appeared in the Cape Times on 22 May 2013:

Dear Editor: (Cape Times)
Your Wednesday, 22nd headline, Lesbian pastor vs church refers:
As a former leader of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa (MCSA) I grieve to see a great Christian denomination, with a strong record of witness for compassion and justice, brought to this. Had the matter been handled with more care and wisdom in the councils of the church, it would not today be in a secular court.
It is important, however, to emphasise that the MCSA is not united on this issue. A growing body of Methodist clergy and laity fully support Rev Ecclesia de Lange’s right – and the right of other gay and lesbian persons  to marry the person of their choice, and are working for change. Far from being in conflict with our Christian convictions, we regard this as a further necessary step in the Spirit’s work of breaking down barriers of prejudice that have stood too long. We are not without sympathy for conservative members in the church who struggle to come to terms with new insights into human sexuality, because old teachings and attitudes die hard. But those teachings and attitudes have inflicted such cruelty, pain and exclusion on gay and lesbian persons that they cannot be justified on the basis of a few Biblical proof-texts. The Charter of Compassion is right: for all religions, ‘any interpretation of scripture that breeds violence, hatred or disdain is illegitimate.’
I am confident that the MCSA will become an open and including church, honouring the love of gay and lesbian persons and blessing their unions. The journey to openness, however, just as with the struggle against racism, will not be easy. With that struggle the MCSA and other faith communities gave moral leadership in resisting injustice. On this issue we lag sadly behind secular institutions and the Constitution of this country. I can only hope that this court case will help, rather than hinder the road to true inclusiveness.
Rev Prof Peter Storey

Peace and grace to you, Alan

That stuff about love

Can anyone remember these?
They were collectable stickers from (I think?) the late 70’s and 80’s.

 

It is Wednesday morning and I am at the Carpenter’s Shop sitting around a table with a group of mostly young men between the ages of 20 and 30. There is one woman in the group and 3 or 4 older men. We open our time together by checking-in about the week that was.

I ask: “How was Mother’s Day?” “Like any other day”, someone replies. Only two out of the group of 20-odd people had any contact with their mothers. I took the gap to ask how many of them connect with their fathers and learnt that not one person had contact with their father – either because he had died or because they were estranged from him.

We then moved on to speak about love. I asked: “What happens when you fall in love with someone? Let’s make a list together…” At that, I noticed the corners of some mouths begin to stretch into a smile as their mind’s eye focused on a love moment in their recent or distant past.

Love is sharing… yes that is what love is.” Others agreed with the opening speaker – “Ya sharing … sharing your bodies…” This provoked some laughter and some less quotable talk. So I chipped in, “OK, love is sharing. Sharing what?”

Sharing time… yes when I am in love and I am meant to meet her at 8 o’clock I make sure I get there at 7 o’clock”. Followed by some more laughter as well as a couple of “Ya me too … you waste lots of time in love but it’s not really a waste if you understand?”

Love is sharing your money… ya you spoil them too much when you in love.” Everyone agreed. “Love is not cheap.” We went through a quick list: “I buy for her a cool drink on a hot day”, “new shoes” “or we hire a DVD to watch together”.

Love is sharing secrets…” added another. This seemed to resonate with everyone, “… when you love someone you not scared to tell them everything – you don’t hide anything … you tell the truth…” Someone interjected, “Ya, but you don’t tell the one girl about the other girl.” More laughter. “That is sex, not love. You can have sex with many but you can only love one.” another argued back.

This then led to a conversation about how men can “have many” without the woman knowing but woman cannot do so without the man knowing. It was a serious conversation based on “logic”. I found it a terribly disturbing understanding of masculinity and couldn’t help making the link between it and the huge violation (especially sexual violation) of women in South Africa.

And then the same person who started us out on this bumpy road of disturbance turned sharply onto a new path taking us all with him. “Hey pastor, ag I mean Alan, where in the Bible does it say that stuff about love… read it to us… I think it was Petros who said it.” “No you idiot it was Paulos” someone enjoyed correcting him. “Well read it anyway…” he pleaded.

I started to read from 1 Corinthians 13…”Love is patient, love is kind”. “Ya that is the one… read it… you “ous” listen to it… hey shut up and listen… it is telling about love…” So I continued to read: “Love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends…”

We finish our time together by holding each other’s hands – heads bowed – held by the silence. We ask God to help us to trust that we are loveable and to show us that we have love to share with others.

In love – by love and for love, Alan

The Silencing of Lady Justice

The Pain and Praise of our Birth…

“For it was you who formed my inward parts, you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know every well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.”
Psalm 139: 13-15

 

 No wonder there is a Jewish proverb that goes something like this:
“God could not be everywhere and therefore God made mothers.”

 
On Ascension Day I officiated at a wedding. The couple have been in love for a long time and finally decided to come out in the open and get married.

The ceremony took place at the World Economic Forum between Big Business and Government. To our surprise we walked right up to the entrance of the CTICC to where all the delegates were getting out of their cars. (Then again, others have recently managed to land a commercial aeroplane at a military base filled with wedding guests – so perhaps we should not be too surprised.) Then the cops moved us to the perimeter – after removing the “shower head” that was hovering over the beautiful bride’s (Government) head. Five SAPS vans, one Nyala and three Metro Police then followed us.

There were a number of corruption scandals who gathered to witness and celebrate the wedding.

Big Business and Government then exchanged vows: “I call on all the corruption scandals here present to witness that I Government do take thee Big Business to be my (un)lawful wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better and NOT for worse, for richer and NOT for poorer, in sickness (of others) and in health (of us) to love and to cherish, and forsaking all others (especially the poor) till death us do part (or until the money runs out).”

Lady Justice tried to voice her objection but was quickly silenced by the Secrecy Bill and the Key Point Legislation Act. All the scandals applauded when I gave the couple permission to kiss.

Ascension Day reminds us that God alone has ultimate power and calls us to hold the powers of this world to account and to mock their belief that they have absolute power. To call them out every time they ignore the vulnerable who they are called to serve. In 2012 R30 billion was stolen through corruption. We say “No to R1 – one vote”.

This is one marriage that should dissolve. Alan

No more hurting people. Peace.

This is 8 year old Martin Richard.
Martin was killed in the Boston Marathon bombing.
His poster reads: No more hurting people. Peace.
At the time his second grade class was studying non-violent
resistance through the lives of Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.
Bobby Constantino (who took the photo) came to speak to the class about his protest march modeled after James Meredith’s 1966
“March Against Fear”. Constantino invited the class to become ahimsakas — a Gandhian term for activists committed to
“doing no harm”.

Every six years Methodist ministers are given a three month sabbatical. A sabbatical is not so much to rest from work as it is to rest in order to work. Of course we all need to rest and that is what holidays are for. Yet a sabbatical is more than a holiday. It is really a wonderful gift that offers the opportunity for one to be renewed, re-charged and re-aligned. Re-aligned to one’s core calling.

I am often surprised when my car goes in for a service to be told that the wheels need to be re-aligned. I am surprised because I didn’t notice they were out of alignment. That’s just it. Our living can be out of alignment with our core purpose or calling and yet we may not even notice it. Quite often we have learnt to compensate for the defect and therefore keep it hidden for longer. The tyres do not escape damage though — with some areas being worn dangerously smooth. The same applies to our lives that become dangerously thin in the very places that should provide us with tread to live. So from June through August I am booking my life in for a “service” – sabbatical.

Stephen Covey – the bestselling author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – reminds us of the necessity of “Sharpening the Saw”. Covey tells the story of how a woodcutter became increasingly less productive in his work. So the woodcutter extended his working hours and increased his effort – but his production continued to decline. Why? Because he never stopped to sharpen the saw. So as I plan to sharpen the saw during sabbatical I hope you too will be deliberate to stop and sharpen the saw within your own life.

Sabbatical is not only a gift for the minister but also for the congregation. During my sabbatical you will be given the opportunity to hear the hearts of other preachers. This is so important as it reminds us that we all have a story of God’s grace and truth to share and that no single person has the complete truth. It has been said that a preacher only really has one sermon in them that they find different ways to share over and over again, which means that during my sabbatical you will be gifted with multiple opportunities to engage with truly different sermons. I promise you that you will hear new things and I trust that the change will sharpen the saw of this community.

I have nothing really planned for sabbatical (which is awesome) except that I do hope to take a few days to cycle to Knysna along Route 62. May there be enough oxygen in my lungs and air in my tyres.

In hope of resurrection, Alan

We, the people

Do you remember that day? That day when we stood in the longest of queues as if we were entering the holy of holies, knowing that what we were about to do was of sacramental significance — consecrated by the courage, blood and prayers of too many people to name.

On that day of new beginnings it was as if God said again: “Let there be light — and there was light.” We were separated from the darkness and given light to recognise each other as the gifts of God that we all are. Now as this light flickers vulnerably in the encroaching breeze of secrecy, I invite you to return to the Light-shining words of our Constitution’s Preamble:

We, the people of South Africa:
Recognise the injustices of our past;
Honour those who suffered for justice and freedom in our land;
Respect those who have worked to build and develop our country; and
Believe that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity.
We therefore, through our freely elected representatives, adopt this Constitution as the supreme law of the Republic so as to ­
Heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights;
Lay the foundations for a democratic and open society in which government is based on the will of the people and every citizen is equally protected by law;
Improve the quality of life of all citizens and free the potential of each person; and
Build a united and democratic South Africa able to take its rightful place as a sovereign state in the family of nations.

As with the liberation of the Hebrews of old, 27 April 1994 was a watershed day for our beloved country. We stood on dry land with the ocean of oppression behind us and the uncharted sea of promise before us. To the extent that we remember God’s deliverance in our past is to the extent that we will be set free to trust God’s promise of service delivery in our future.

May be never forget.

In hope, Alan.

Hoping against hope

On Wednesday morning I was introduced to a new group of participants attending the second semester at The Carpenters Shop. Over the next 10 weeks they hope to learn new skills that will help them find a job. A job is the Holy Grail all of them are seeking. A job and the money that comes with it so that: “I don’t have to steal”; “I don’t have to be part of a gang”; “I can support my family”; ”I can be a man”; “I won’t ever go back to living on the street”; “I can start over”.

I have never really understood St. Paul’s phrase: “hoping against hope” but if it means what I think it may mean then it resonates with this situation. The longing to have a future that is different from the past – “I want a new life” – was said with blunt clarity.

I felt their longing but I also felt the underlying doubt upon which their longing rested. I confess I shared this doubt of whether change was at all likely – after all, where are these jobs going to come from? I felt a despair for our future. To use Melanie Judge’s words that I quoted in last week’s sermon, there are just too many people who have been “actively locked out of livelihoods of dignity”. Locked out by things like a failing education system. This is the primary violence within society that is seldom ever recognised as violence. It results in rage. Suppressed rage. Expressed rage. And ultimately rage that will probably end up being jailed and beaten into submission … resulting in ever more rage.

During the session I had with the group I was peppered with questions: “Where was God when I was stabbed in my face?” “If God loves me then why doesn’t God protect me?” “If God cares for me then why is my life such a mess?” “God may love me but God is up there somewhere – and I am down here”. Each question revealing how locked out they feel. Even locked out from God’s goodness and mercy.

The Easter narratives tell of Jesus coming and standing among his disciples who were locked behind closed doors. With this we are invited to trust that Jesus will always find a way to break into our lives no matter what we are locked behind or locked out of.

He comes, breathing peace and not judgement. He comes focused more on our future than our failed past. He en-courage-s us to start over again believing that we can change.

Payment for receiving this gift is to make it our task. To do to others what Jesus has done for us. To stand among those locked out of livelihoods of dignity. To stand among them breathing peace while hoping against hope that change is possible.

I believe Lord. Help my unbelief,
Alan

Conversation at the Book Lounge:

Sanctuary: How an Inner-City Church spilled out onto a Sidewalk by Christa Kuljian

Thursday 25 April, at 6 p.m.

After years of sporadic media attention and posturing by politicians, Kuljian has made it her business to find out exactly what has been going on at the Central Methodist Church in downtown Johannesburg, where the Church acts as a gateway to the city – an Ellis Island for South Africa, the place where many migrants first go to get their bearings. How did a place of worship turn into a shelter for thousands of refugees? Where did they come from? Why are they still there? Seeking to answer such questions, Kuljian fluently combines many elements: interviews with members of the refugee community and residents of the Church, and key figures like Bishop Paul Verryn, who has often been at the centre of the storm; historical material on the church and its role in the city since the early years; and an understanding of urban dynamics, migrancy, and South African and southern African politics.

The result is a complex, open-eyed book that grapples with some of South Africa’s most urgent social problems as they are refracted through one appalling, frustrating, inspiring place.

Christa will be in conversation with Alan Storey at the Book Lounge.

Look and listen for Jesus on our streets

This plaque commemorates the first church radio broadcast in South Africa and took place in the CMM Sanctuary on 25 January 1925.

The plaque pictured above and which hangs in our “Time Tunnel”, is an amazing inspiration. I love it. It reminds us that the Methodist Church back in the day was at the cutting edge of technology for the sake of the gospel. It speaks of an imaginative people daring to do something which had never been done before – “to get the sound of the gospel out”. This is not only a challenge to this congregation but to the Methodist Church as a whole – as we easily get stuck in the way we do things.

Think back over the last 30 years. How has the way we worship on a Sunday changed? By and large what we do on a Sunday today we did in 1980. Yet in this time almost everything in the world has changed. Or if it has not changed, it has died.

Think about music for a moment, or at least the medium by which music comes to us. Vinyls have been replaced by tape cassettes and cassettes have been replaced by CDs and CDs have been replaced by MP3 players and MP3 players have been replaced by iPods, etc. All this has taken place in the last 30 years. Oh, people still listen to Beethoven and even Abba (Lord have mercy!) but the method people use to listen to the music has changed. It has changed so much that many teenagers of today would not know how to work a record player.

The other night some of us went onto Long Street to share Holy Communion. It was like going out with a vinyl into an iPod listening world – very few people knew what we were doing. Only a handful had any semblance of a record player to play our record and hear its song.

We do not need to change the music. The music of Abba Father’s Love will always be the top tune, but we need to be more imaginative and daring in how we let the tune go out of this place.

On 8 and 15 May we will go out on Long Street to look and listen (yes I know that is the name of a music store – quite appropriate) and learn where we are. What kind of neighbourhood do we live in and most importantly who are our neighbours?

We will look for signs of life and signs of death. We will be attentive to areas of pain and hope. We will look for Jesus on the streets and in the bars – remembering that the resurrected Jesus has wounds fresh and large – large enough for us to put our hands in his side. We will meet in the sanctuary at 7 p.m. and be finished by 9:30 p.m.

Grace, Alan

PS: Today’s service is being recorded by the SABC and will be broadcasted on SAFM Radio next Sunday at 11 a.m.

 

From a fix to a foot wash

So who will have their feet washed?

The only one willing to surrender is spaced-out and high –
he’s already annihilated his ego. From a fix to a foot wash
He lands down in our chair.
Relaxed but stiff – he can’t take his shoes off.
Shoelaces in knots!
How to release these feet from these pointy white shoes?
Wet shoelaces are a real struggle – slowly tug by tug
much wrestling with the shoe – his foot is released
Next defence – Sodden skeleton socks!
The stench as high as he is …
The socks have disintegrated into just an ankle and a toe, with no sole.
Strip them off.

Roll up the wet, oversized, sagging tracksuit pants
Now to the washing – the standard is high,
If you know love and attention, give love and attention
Hands on street feet –
Rough, calloused street feet –
White bunion on black skin street feet –
Swollen ankles street feet –
Dark areas between the toes street feet –
Dirty, sandy, mucky street feet –
Looking up to check if he’s still with us?
From half-closing eyes he moves to a spaced-out smile
What was that – the distant realm of heart?

One foot done and wrapped in a towel!
Now to wage war on that other locked-in foot.
Is this how it was unbinding Lazarus?
At least Jesus had a friend to welcome back when the job was done.
Who is this spaced-out, floppy, stiff person with one black-gloved hand
and animal fur and bright cloth beady stuff on the other?
Now to put warm, clean-ish feet back into wet skeleton socks!
Wide feet, wet socks, into pointy white shoes, onto dead feet.
The cheap imitation leather folds at the heel.
You have to help me here – push!

The Father calls to the slaves –
bring a pumice stone and healing foot balm
bring new dry shoelaces
bring the best seamless socks
For tonight my son is lost in a fix and he’s come to have his feet washed.

These foot-washing reflections are by Janet Muller