Springtime

The river Arno running through the centre of Florence deserves its very own "Springwatch". The river changes endlessly and is now gently subsiding from the winter full flow. The large bricked walls give an easy indication that the level is lower, the grass is reappearing on either side. The canoe club by the Ponte Vecchio(perhaps the most expensive in Europe!) has gorgeous roses in full bloom and today I saw a duckling family (6 or perhaps 7) with a protective mother hissing away the crow.

The river hosts a surprising variety of wild life: mallards, grey herons and little egrets, hooded crow, pigeons (of course) 2 varieties of gull, kingfisher (the whizz of colour is incredible), sparrows, blackbirds, starlings, swallows, wagtails and a small yellow bird that I can't identify and several species of geese

The range of birds is lovely, but it is the mammal and reptile population that I particularly like: otters, geckos and terrapins. As for fish, we've seen plenty of fishermen and some sudden flaps in the water, but no evidence of actual fish.

Humans are not absent; beneath some of the bridges sleep Roma families, and as you walk by in the day you can spot bags of belongings stashed in openings and shelves, whislt their owners are presumbably working the streets.

Preghiera d’Intercessione per la festa dell’Ascensione

 

Gesù è liberato dai confini di spazio e tempo,

dal corpo umano e dai bisogni umani.

Cristo vive con noi adesso,

il Risorto, l' Asceso, il Signore di tutti.

 

Preghiamo per ogni persona che potrà conoscere la presenza del Dio liberatore nelle loro vite.

 

Dio di ogni spazio e tempo,

preghiamo per tutti quelli che lavorano per libertà:

per le persone che resistano a governi repressivi.

per quelli che promuovono la commercio giusto e libero tra paese poveri e ricchi,

per quelli che forniscono educazione e assistenza sanitaria per i bisognosi,

per quelli che predicano il vangelo del perdono e della nuova vita.

Le nostre preghiere sono ascoltate: grazie a Dio.

 

Dio presente e ad ogni ora.

preghiamo per tutti che vogliono liberarsi.

Dalla malattia,

da una vita difficile

dalla tristezza o ansia,

da paura o colpa.

Le nostre preghiere sono ascoltate: grazie a Dio.

 

Dio è dentro di noi e intorno a noi,

preghiamo per il dono del tuo Spirito Santo:

per rompere le barriere che ci dividono,

per liberarci dalle nostre paure,

per liberarci dell' essere noi stessi in Te,

per fortificarci con il tuo amore.

Le nostre preghiere sono ascoltate: grazie a Dio.

 

Sei con noi, Dio d'amore, in ogni situazione della vita,

ora e per sempre, nel nome di Gesù. Amen.

 

 

Tradotto dall'inglese: Alison Walker e Milo Papini.

Originale © Christine Odell "Companion to the Revised Common Lectionary vol. 1 Intercessions" (1998, Epworth Press)

 

Poster, perhaps

OK, so I can through the insert picture business, but nothing appears...

church publicity

There is very limited space for putting up a poster outside the church, so it needs to be eye-catching. I've tried doing this one, but perhaps there is just too much info? The church speaks italian, but there would be no problem accommodating english speakers, as long as they were content with translation, rather than actually hearing an english sermon or english prayers.
What do you think?

Hopefully I've managed to publish the poster, but I'm not sure...

Listen : Think : Act: Methodism and Migration - In Italy

Listen : Think : Act: Methodism and Migration - In Italy

I have not blogged here about the last few weeks, but instead took up John Cooper's invitation to expand my facebook updates into something a little more considered. Thanks John for the opportunity to blog "away from home". You can follow John's blog on the above link, and then I will post an update on my own blog. We are currently hosting our third group of Rom, 6 adults and two very small babies. The Methodist church here has therefore welcomed a total of 12 people.

Ash Wednesday and Festival of Religious Liberty

We spent a lovely Sunday night-Monday at www.casacares.it with great food, company and the traditional falò (bonfire) as a slightly in advance celebration of the granting of religious liberty to the Jews and the Waldensians (17 February 1848). It is a festival that seems to go unmarked by the majority of the country, but is significant as the religious freedom granted then opened the doors to the further freedom that is part of the country's consitution.

However, there continues to be widespread ignorance about the Protestant churches and faith. I think that Protestants are no longer seen as potential enemies of the state, but a sense of being separate clearly persists. On Saturday the Methodist Church hosts a conference on the theme of the expereince of religious minorities. I am wary in the UK when the Church starts to see itself as a religious minority, after all we exert an influence way beyond our membership, however here perhaps the term is correct.

It is also Ash Wednesday, althoug there is no service here. It has not been requested and I suspect that the practice of ashing would be seen as far too Catholic! One reaction to the experience of being a religious minority is to withdraw from practices that look too much like being quasi-catholic. Perhaps this combination of festival and fasting invites us to get back a sense of balance in our relationships with other churches, with the earth, with God.

Anglican-Methodist Unity

David Gamble (President of Methodist Conference) and Richard Vautrey (Vice-President) made interesting reading yesterday. The Methodist-Anglican Covenant has been going somewhere since 1 November 2003, but the direction has not been clear. David re-affirmed the Methodist Church commitment to the Covenant, fine. But I am still waiting to hear such an affirmation from the Anglican Church. Even at the time of discussion leading up to and after 1 November 2003, many Anglicans still assumed that unity = Methodists becoming Anglicans. It is my understanding that the Covenant does not take us in that direction.

However, Ruth Gledhill was wrong when she wrote: "In 2003, in the presence of the Queen, who is Supreme Governor of the Church of England, the leaders signed a covenant affirming each other’s orders and sacraments and committing themselves to full unity." (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article7023713.ece). As far as I recall, the Covenant says that we will in the future affirm each other's orders and sacraments, but at this point in time, I cannot celebrate Communion in an Anglican Church. I cannot, because the CoE does not recognise my ordination as being valid. On the other hand, the Methodist not only allows Anglican priests to celebrate communion, but when there is a joint Methodist-Anglican Church agreement, it is automatic that the Anglican priest receives full access to the Methodist structures, including voting rights. But this is not reciprocal.

Leaving aside the vexed question of the inequality inherent in the Anglican system, (and the way that bishops opposed to the ordination of women have been allowed to recruit new male priests who are also opposed, thus perpetrating this denial of the gospel), until Methodist orders of ministry (presbyterate and diaconal) are fully recognised by the CoE, the Covenant is as still as pondweed in stagnant water.

Meantime, there are more important things to do be doing. The work of the Kingdom is active, right where I am, where you are. Synods and Conferences can talk, it is the relationships we have that will make the difference.