Glorious Impossible

When I heard this at our Carol Service, I decided I had to search out the lyrics.... and spend some time reflecting on such an intriguing expression...so here are the lyrics from http://www.metrolyrics.com/glorious-impossible-lyrics-gaither-vocal-band.html where you can also listen to the Gaither Band ....I'm hoping to come back to this....

GLORIOUS IMPOSSIBLE : the Gaither Band

See the Virgin is delivered
In a cold and crowded stall;
Mirror of the Father's glory
Lies beside her in the straw.
He is Mercy's incarnation
Marvel at this miracle!
For the Virgin gently holds the
Glorious Impossible.

Love has come to walk on water,
Turn the water into wine,
Touch the leper, bless the children
Love both human and divine.
Praise the wisdom of the Father
Who has spoken through his Son.
Speaking still, He calls us to the
Glorious Impossible.

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Glorious Impossible

He was bruised for our transgressions
And he bears eternal scars.
He was raised for our salvation
And his righteousness is ours.
Praise, oh, praise him, praise the glory
Of this lavish grace so full.
Lift your souls now and receive the
Glorious Impossible!

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Glorious Impossible

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Glorious Impossible
Glorious Impossible

Praise, oh, praise him, praise the glory
Of this lavish grace so full.
Lift your souls now and receive the
Glorious Impossible

Glory Hallelujah
Glory Hallelujah
Glory Hallelujah
Glory Hallelujah
Glory Hallelujah
Glory Hallelujah
Glory Hallelujah

I've been surprised - and heartened- by the number of people in church this Christmas at All Saints....and so many who don't often turn up at other points of the year it seems - which raises the inevitable questions about how we might build on the explicit sense of the spiritual that becomes evident at these times, how we can demonstrate that our faith is actually a down-to-earth way reality that has a positive impact on our lives (rather than a set of escapist aspirations, ritualistic tranquilisers or intellectual ideas), how we make a connection with normal people.....

2010 will see the launch of More to Life, and the Community Youth Outreach Project ....but perhaps there should be some visible change in each of our individual Christian lives too...






graphic, with permission, Jon Birch, from http://asbojesus.wordpress.com/

Early Christmas thoughts

I was so struck by this poem that Alison Morgan used in her sermon on "The Coming Kingdom" tonight.....it seems to encapsulate the incarnation as the life of Jesus rather than just the birth, and brings home the mystery that God revealed in Christ, how He would save the world through weakness and sacrifice.

The Wicked Fairy At The Manger
by
U.A. Fanthorpe


My gift for the child:

No wife, kids, home;
No money sense. Unemployable.
Friends, yes. But the wrong sort –
The workshy, women, wimps,
Petty infringers of the law, persons
With notifiable diseases,
Poll tax collectors, tarts;
The bottom rung.
His end?
I think we’ll make it
Public, prolonged, painful.

Right, said the baby. That was roughly
What we had in mind.

So the idea is....

So, the idea is that this might be a shared blog, for everyone who is part of the All Saint's community. Why a blog? Well,the name is the clue, since in music syncopation is a slightly different way of doing things..... and the blog could give us a slightly different way of doing church life together. Preachers/leaders each week could be asked to post a few extra thoughts on the sermons/services, perhaps with extra questions or reflections that they couldn't include on Sunday due to time restrictions. And of course everyone else can then respond/comment. The blog would also give some space for the writers to comment on what God seems to be doing within our church life, and so be an extension of the listening process and 'answering the call'. It could also become a way of recording the pictures and words that God often seems to give around our service times, so that we can pray through them and allow God to give us understanding.

Initially at least the blog would be open to anyone to view and comment, and we can sign up folk from within our church family to be writers - we have a maximum of 100 spaces available. It might be best to start by inviting those who preach and lead, those who are in the staff team and a few others to be writers, and see how that works out.

Any thoughts?

Syncopation

Wikipedia says: "In music, syncopation includes a variety of rhythms which are in some way unexpected in that they deviate from the strict succession of regularly spaced strong and weak beats in a meter (pulse). These include a stress on a normally unstressed beat or a rest where one would normally be stressed. "If a part of the measure that is usually unstressed is accented, the rhythm is considered to be syncopated." More simply, syncopation is a general term for a disturbance or interruption of the regular flow of rhythm; a placement of rhythmic stresses or accents where they wouldn't normally occur"

........so here we are...... an interruption to the regular flow, slightly offbeat but in an harmonious way....and maybe a bit more interesting than what we have all learnt to expect.....

So, blog on syncopated saints!