07 December 2009
By therealchrismarsh
In random
As things come to a close for this year, and indeed this decade, I should at least acknowledge some things that have happened, and what I am looking forward to…
- Had an eventful year of work – yes I was in work all year, despite the recession! That said, having grown in ministry and personhood, I have come to the end of the year having lost a vicar and an associate minister, and the weight of that on my work has been significant. But powerful.
- Music has been an interesting one – not much of note has appeared, but there has definitely been some interesting work going around. Watch out for my yearly roundup coming soon.
- As a performer, I experienced the highs and lows of running an open mic night in central London – no easy task, and the location was also a tricky one. I’ll be giving it another go in the new year, and will be making an extra effort to get performing more regularly around the city.
- Looking ahead; I’m so full of vision and ambition. I often have to calm myself and take stock of what I am currently faced with. Even so, I’m definitely looking ahead to the further possibilities that lie before me, and I want to do the absolute best I can with whatever I am faced with.
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28 October 2009
By therealchrismarsh
In church, music
Following a friend’s recommendation, I have been listening to “The Gospel According to Jazz”, by Bill Carter and the Presbybop Quartet. In places it’s a little overdramatic, and occasionaly the jazz can be a bit trite, but for jazz lovers it’s a great way to listen to the gospel in a new way.
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27 October 2009
By therealchrismarsh
In Uncategorized
I’m fairly sure I’ve not been fully well for about a month. I’m usually a very healthy person, so it’s annoying to have to deal with a relentless cold. I hope I can use these next days to recuperate and maybe even find a few little revelations through the chance to meditate of the Creator…
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02 October 2009
By therealchrismarsh
In Uncategorized
As an aspiring blogger, I’ve always been keen to try to make notes on things that might be inspiring, thought provoking, and helpful. I’m not sure I’ve really been managing that recently. Of course, it’s always far to easy to let your current situation overwhelm and dictate the way you do things.
I’ve been really struck recently by the use of the word ‘love’, and how it so often becomes a cover-all for things we don’t like, or some kind of self-justification for all the dreadful things we are actually doing – “because at least, deep down, we love each other and are doing our best!”
Tish, pshaw and nonsense. When Jesus told us to love each other just as He has loved us, what did that really mean? I mean, when you stop and think about it, that means that for Jesus, loving someone meant tipping over their tables, rejecting what they currently perceived, albeit wrongly, as their chosen method of making income. Loving someone meant looking them in the eye and saying “Get behind me, Satan!”, risking them taking on all kinds of fear and rejection. Loving us meant not falling in line to the assumptions of those around Him about who He might be and what He was going to do – it meant instead of rising up and leading a coup against the Roman oppression, He submitted to those very oppressing hands to be strung up and effectively murdered in a public display of ‘justice’.
To love does not mean buying everyone a giant, pink, fluffy Forever Friends card at Clintons.
To love is to risk rejection, pain, misunderstanding, confusion, and despair.
But we love because it’s worth it. And the benefits far outweigh the sufferances.
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22 August 2009
By therealchrismarsh
In Uncategorized
Or, as it appears to be called here, “Golden Bay”. Make no mistake, this is the place to go for a suntan. Or in our cases, a kind of painful salmon coloured blotchiness.
Actually Abi has done very well for herself soaking up the sun, but today we were both left feeling at least a little sore.
The Bay itself is outstanding. A relatively small enclave which, despite the difficulty to get onto a bus which wasn’t packed full, is not overpopulated. I made sure of hiring a beach umbrella, without which I would have found myself in a lot more discomfort later on. The sea was wonderful. I swam in it no less than four times, and enjoyed every moment, floating in the bouyant and blue waters, surrounded with high rolling rock faces and the sun falling down, gently warming the water to a beautiful temperature. It was the kind of sea swimming I have wanted to try forever.
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