The First Of Jan

Happy New Year Everyone. Here's a prayer for us...

How was your Christmas?

Nativity at House 12, designed by Mercy and Josiah Neal

On the day, it was a full day, but a lovely day.

I'd gone to the Sacred Heart Cathedral for midnight mass on Xmas Eve (at 8pm, but that's when they do it). The Gospel, Luke 2.1-20, became a simple but spellbinding live nativity as young people walked us through the story and created the stable scene. It was done carefully, sensitively, and narrated skilfully, with no hurry or fuss. I was so impressed and admiring of the catechists who'd worked with the young people to achieve this. With 'nativity plays' I'm convinced we should trust the power of simplicity more, allowing the Gospel to live and breathe without undue decoration. 

In his sermon, The Archbishop of Suva, Peter Loy Chong, reminded us that no-one would have these nativity narratives without the witness and commitment of real disciples, on fire to share faith. 'We only have these stories to tell, because those who gave them to us had first found life through Jesus'. I've thought about that a lot and am grateful to him.

Up at 6.00 Christmas Day to be with my 'regulars' - the Nanuku congregation at 8.00. Deaconess Ruth Prakash took the service, wearing cheerful, festive red and gold instead of her usual Deaconess's blue and white uniform - a little to the congregation's surprise, but truly celebratory! It's always great to benefit from her brightness and energy. Little by little my comprehension of Fijian-Hindi is improving and I'm much better at the bhajans now. The only English-speaking service option I could get to after that was again at the Sacred Heart at 10. (The Prots had started early!) Fr Donal; retired, Irish, been in Suva forever, brimming with enthusiasm, presided at Word and Table. 'GOD becomes a BABY!' he exclaimed, eyes alight, face flushed, as though this had struck him for the first time. 'It's - it's an ENORMOUS mystery! God's love brought right down to earth in a smelly old stable. For us. Children - you MUST come and see baby Jesus in the crib after Mass'. And many did.

Back home about 12 in time to deliver the remaining plates of mince pies still waiting for a home. Food moves my way too: delicious plates of chicken and fish and fruit and coconut milk brought as gifts. It's most definitely the  Pacific way to share food with neighbours and ensure that no-one misses out on the Christmas feasting. You feel so blessed and humbled. The fridge groans and shudders slightly more than normal... 

Then Crystal Valerie - who else?! - makes her appearance along with Mum and Dad, kindly bearing gifts - and more food. It was so kind of them to come - a fair way by taxi - and make a Xmas Day visit to House 12. 

So then, it was time to settle down and raid the fridge, right? Well no, because Yogesh, a frequent and faithful colleague in ministry because of his taxi service! - invited me to his place to meet his wife Shobna, son Nelson and other family members. So, chauffered each way by his immense kindness, I had a lovely time getting to know Yogesh's folks, and was fed royally. Thanks everyone. You're the best.

And all of a sudden it was about 8.00pm. Some present unwrapping followed and then a number of Skypes, What's Apping and texting from 9pm onwards. Good to see and speak to Nigel and Richard and cousin David among others as their Xmas day was beginning and mine was ending.

My Christmas Day was peaceful, full of  worship, friendship, food and festivity. It was also uneventful weather-wise. Not so for those in flood damaged areas of the UK, Brazil, Argentina etc. Nor for those tornado-struck in the US. 

When we're enjoying peace and pleasure, we can't help but ache for those experiencing quite the opposite. And so we pray...

God, in coming to us as a vulnerable new-born,

you heighten our longing to shelter and protect those who need it most.

We give thanks for those who have opened inns and stables, homes and halls this Christmas, 
so that neighbours; known and unknown, 
may be kept warm, dry, secure and reassured. 
We praise you that, through their example,

Your Gospel Lives.

Amen

Chennai and Cumbria

Carols in Nanuku settlement

It's a bit blurry, but you can see we've been doing house-to-house carols around Nanuku settlement. A warm welcome from our Church members and our neighbours - Hindu or Christian - who are phenomenally generous with snacks along the way!

 

We've sung this little blessing at each home - an adapted verse of  'We are marching in the light of God'.

 

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year too; Merry Christmas, Happy New Year too!

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year too; Merry Christmas, Happy New Year too!

May God bless you, now and evermore; may God bless you now and evermore!

May God bless you, now and evermore; may God bless you now and evermore!

 



A doddle to remember, whatever your natural language, and seems to have gone down well. We offer it in love for your carol singing too!

 

If you read nothing else this Christmas....

With thanks to Sally Lowe for sharing...

REFUGEE

We think of him as safe beneath the steeple,

Or cosy in a crib beside the font,

But he is with a million displaced people

On the long road of weariness and want.

For even as we sing our final carol

His family is up and on that road,

Fleeing the wrath of someone else’s quarrel,

Glancing behind and shouldering their load.

Whilst Herod rages still from his dark tower

Christ clings to Mary, fingers tightly curled,

The lambs are slaughtered by the men of power,

And death squads spread their curse across the world.

But every Herod dies, and comes alone

To stand before the Lamb upon the throne.

Malcolm Guite

Nothing in depth and theological. (Though when you think about it....)

Cute baby photos!

Salome brought Crystal Valerie - my namesake (yaca) to the PTC staff party.

We're nearly 6 months old, smiley, know our own mind, and like Xmas tree lights very much.

We also have an ample collection of flowery hats and headgear that would put the Duchess of Cambridge to shame.

Let's hear it for

December doings

Did you have time to flick through the graduation album on the previous post? It's full of cheeriness, so if you need a bit of that in December, I recommend it. And talking about cheerful sights....

 

After graduation I went to Hong Kong for 10 days for a break and met up with cousin David. First time for 15 months to see family in the flesh as opposed to through Skype (they look pasty and aren't eating enough fish...) and I'm grateful to David for lugging back a suitcase full of Christmas presents to post for me in the UK! We stayed in walking distance from the harbour and enjoyed the peak tram, the Po Lin monastery and the Ngong Ping cable car among other delights.
 

 

 

We also heeded wise words on the metro....  

 

The residential College closes officially from 16 Dec to 6 January. A number of families have already left. Some are fortunate enough to go back to home places for holidays if finances and Church permissions allow. Some stay. So we're a reduced but jolly crew. The few Faculty who are around take turns to be Acting Principal and it's my week of unbridled power at the moment. So far this has included a worrying amount of cheque signing - though I'm assured that as soon as the dosh comes in it needs to go out somewhere, and I can see that's true. It's pretty hand to mouth. Unexpected sparks up a pole fizzed and crackled last Sunday leaving some houses, including where I stay, without power and it's a pain to get it fixed at the weekend. One day without electricity isn't a massive deal. It just so happened though, that 40 plus people from the Nanuku Congregation were coming carol singing around the campus that evening with food and fellowship at House 12 (Ogden residence) afterwards. Mmmm, I thought. No light or power. That'll be interesting. I consulted the stewards. 'Oh - we'll just take our plates down to the sea wall and have a picnic - they've got light there!' Good plan. And actually, if you walk a little further down the sea front to Suva Park, it's got lights and trees agogo, (c/o the ever-present Vodafone). With carols from local choirs most nights. See below....

 

 

In the end, my resourceful neighbour persuaded the Powerwise men to do something clever with wires, and behold there was light at 6.00pm and a mass of carol singers descended on House 12, not by candlelight.

 

Distance learning continues to have a life of its own and the assignments still roll in having little respect for the holidays. Quite right too. Also the 're-do's' as we call them: resubmitted work, some as a result of genuine and appreciable struggles, and some  because people who should know better were just messing about. What are the chances of 2016 being the year we conquer poor academic practice and plagiarism? I'll let you know next December!

 

I'll be getting the latest BD courses on the shelf over Dec and Jan: Biblical Exegesis awaits editing and Academic Skills needs fresh work. But it can be fulfilling doing that sort of work minus the restrictions of the Semester timetable, and in such glorious surroundings. Christmas services and celebrations will be in the Dudley Circuit and at Nanuku congregations.

 

If you've been following the Climate change discussions COP21-Paris 2015 #COP21, so have we, as you might well imagine. Our students from Vanuatu, Tuvalu, Kiribati, the Solomon Islands etc live these realities. We pray for the 12 December agreement to be translated into committed action. Mr Samuel Manetoali, Minister of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meterology of the Solomon Islands has been much quoted.

“Climate change is a man-made problem and can be addressed, here in Paris. We are the last generation that will be remembered to guarantee humanity’s survival. We have one shot at getting it right. Let us not fail our people and the future of humanity.”

Not a bad Christmas message.

If we're in gmail contact, there'll be a Christmas e-card coming your way. Here it is for blog readers too, with my love. Grace and peace for now and the New Year.