The first image in a planned series entitled 'Big', exploring the scale of creation, from microscopic cells to the planets of space.
Honey bees are perhaps a quintessential example of interdependence within the ecosystem, carrying a disproportionate influence on the future of life in comparison to their diminutive size.
30% of the world's crops amongst 90% of all plants require cross-pollination to spread and thrive, for which the honey bee is the most important pollinator.
Bees earn their reputation as busy workers by pollinating billions of plants each year, including millions of agricultural crops. In fact, pollinators like bees play a key role in one out of every three bites of food we eat. Without them, many plants we rely on for food would die off. Equally many birds and other insects depend on bees as food.
The threat to their existence therefore brings a consequent threat for much of animal life and humans too.
Changes in the climate are perhaps the largest threat, with a late flowering of plants leaving bees struggling for food at the beginning of the season. Chemicals and pesticides used by humans to overcome some threats to agriculture are themselves a threat to bees and ongoing life and growth.
So, all respect to the honey bee, who is not alone in 'punching above their weight' in the great eco-system that is creation.

How do you see the world? 
 Is it the 2 dimensional image that is monotone and with little detail? Do we like this because it keeps things superficial and does not draw us in too much?
Is it the 3 dimensional layered image, which adds some perspective and allows us to add in the bits that are hidden, from our knowledge and experience?
Is it perhaps an image to which we add a 4th dimension? - To whom are the houses home? Who is driving the car, where has it come from and where is it going? Who is that elderly person on their way to the shops and what is their situation?
Who is my neighbour?

The dimensions of this image might spark thoughts about the identity of the neighbour - who lives next door or down the street, lives far away and passes by in the car on their way to who knows where, potters by on the way to the shops etc. - giving shape to the web of interdependency that we live within and are sustained by. Even at this local level the web is wide, but spreads to all those on whom we depend, or who depend on us, around the globe.
The big issues of the current time - migration, climate change etc. - emphasise how we all need to be aware of this web of interdependency and allow it to shape our decisions and way of life, rather than shrink away into a defensive nationalism that offers a false security.
What is it that prompts such a wide awareness in us and has the ability to counter the fearful conservatism and narrow-mindedness of so many currently in places of influence? It is nothing other than the Spirit of God who conceived the whole creation and every race of people. The Spirit of Jesus, who through life, death and resurrection demonstrates a love for all in this world and beyond.
There is a responsibility amongst those who have a sense of the unity of God’s creation to share this vision, this way of life, with others. It is not all about protest and political action, although these have an important place, but it is also about introducing others into a life where the Spirit of Christ is within, prompting and calling response.
I recall an initiative in the ecumenical parish I served in the 1990s where folk were encouraged to pray for their neighbours - not just those who lived next door, but those who passed by and those they encountered regularly. People were invited to simply note down something that identified their neighbour (elderly man with cap, young mum with three kids, or a name if they knew it etc.) as a prompt for prayer, drawing others into that relationship with God that they enjoyed themselves.
This takes witness to Jesus out of the institutional life of the church and into the everyday, into the life of the community, into the world where our dependency on God and our interdependency with people around the globe prompt action.
In a world situation where so often we can feel helpless, faced by such enormous issues, it is a knowledge of who is our neighbour, along with a care for them, that gives us our role and purpose.

This fine fellow was an attractive cause for some amusement at Baddesley Clinton (a National Trust property near us) a few years ago. He really does make one wonder how effective he is, as he is far from being scary for you or me..
But it may well be different for the crows, for whom he is the intended deterrent. Scarecrow is different, alien and, perhaps, enough to frighten the birds.
I then wonder about all those people who are 'scary' to us simply because they are different? We can be nervous of people of a different nationality, language, colour of skin. Those whose behaviour, shaped by a different culture, may concern us or appear threatening. It may be that anyone who is 'unknown', and this might be our neighbour, encourages a caution in us simply because we a nervous of difference. Yet, how often do we overcome our caution, discovering that difference does not mean scary or threatening in reality?
​Don't tell the crows, but it is good to realise that the scarecrow is indeed harmless and that the smile is genuine, even if he is a bit dishevelled and showing the marks of sleeping rough!

It is claimed, and I have no reason to dispute this, that more than 90% of all we consume arrives in the UK by sea. It is an astonishing figure and the beginning of an insight into the scale of global trade that takes place, largely unrecognised by us, the consumer. In addition, there is no real awareness of the human costs involved to make all this happen.
The scale of global trade to sustain our way of life is mind-blowing and humbling when one becomes aware of the human costs. Wages within the shipping industry kept to an absolute  minimum to both keep the industry afloat and the prices we pay low. With safety standards often compromised, none of this is comfortable for us to know, which is probably why we don't bother discovering more than we need to.

On a recent visit to the first church of which I have been minister (1982-8) I was rather surprised to discover collage panels, which had been created during a children's Easter activity day, were still on display! The panels, of which four are below, illustrate the verses of Sydney Carter's song 'Lord of the Dance', which expresses the belief that, through the experience of Jesus, God's life is present in every human experience - life and death.
This came at a time when I was working on the painting (left) based on the photo of two dancers at La Chavanneé in France a few years ago.
This also prompts reflection on our 'dance' with Christ.
I am intrigued by the fact that, while the dance is performed as a couple, each partner is engaged in different movements (not just mirrored). They are, however, in time and rhythm with the music and therefore find a physical harmony in the dance.
There is independence, but also inter-dependence and some intimacy, which say something about our relationship with the God known in Jesus. He provides the melody for our lives and we need to find an intimacy with and dependence on Jesus if we are to live within it.
I am seeking to express all these aspects in my painting  -  I leave you to judge whether or not I have achieved my aim! 

Having heard today of the death of Jean Vanier I feel I must acknowledge the influence of this gracious man on my life and ministry, recognising that this is also the case for thousands and more who over years have been touched by the L'Arche Community or read any of his books or reflections.
My own story began in the early 1990s when I spent a month of a sabbatical with the L'Arche Community in Liverpool. This had been sparked by a felt need to work with those in a residence for people with intellectual disabilities near the church in Runcorn, Cheshire, where I was minister.
The richness and depth of relationships both in L'Arche and in what became Stepping Stones at Bethesda, along with the need to establish and sustain them, were echoes of those first relationships Jean Vanier and Fr. Thomas Philippe built with Raphael Simi and Philippe Seux in 1963 in Troisly, France. Jean himself has said,
“These communities are schools of the heart which have transformed the lives of countless people across the world.” 
but I suspect that he himself would have been unaware of the full extent of his influence.
At the end of one Summer holiday in France Judy and I visited Troisly, where the first L'Arche Community was established and remains. Then, when I began work for the Free Churches Group nationally, I was invited to participate in L'Arche's Church Leaders' Consultative Group, meeting regularly with Community leaders to explore how L'Arche relates to and influences the wider Christian community.
This led to my participation in a UK L'Arche gathering, with hundreds of community members living for a week in St John's College in Durham. Here we celebrated Jean's birthday with lots of fun and laughter, a cake and a giant puppet of Jean. One cannot describe such an event, but some of my many photos (below) illustrate the relationships of support and trust and celebration that marked the event and are the life-blood of L'Arche.
The papier maché wild goose which 'flew' amongst the crowds on the green and in the cathedral, a symbol of the Holy Spirit moving amongst his people was perhaps the most significant image for me, for L'Arche is indeed a movement of the Spirit that brings change and life to the world.
And in the midst of this movement has been a simple man of faith, for whose life we thank God.

Pots- best china and everyday crockery
One of the things that I find attractive about the craft of pottery is that it is about making something special out of the basic ’stuff of the earth’. Also, that the 'something special’ is more often an item of basic practical everyday use, in contrast to the ’Sunday best’ china or the ornate porcelain vase that is worth thousands of pounds.
In the world of craft pottery every item bears the finger-marks of the maker. It is individual and it is special, while often being quite ordinary and for basic purpose. 
This prompts me to take more careful notice of the ‘ordinary’ in other areas of life, as it is very likely to hold aspects of the ’special’. People, in particular, may not stand out in a crowd for any reason, yet be ’special’ in so many ways, as created by the Divine Maker. Some everyday tasks will just be done in the course of things yet, if not done, would reveal an importance.

Photos 
So many of the images we see in magazines etc. have been very carefully planned and posed, while most of those that we capture on our phones are very much ‘of the moment’ and capture the ordinary aspects of life. Much of life easily passes us by, but caught by the camera our attention is drawn and the special is revealed.
We have two sets of wedding photos. The album created by a professional photographer carries the planned and posed while a collection of informal shots taken by a friend capture the really special moments that were probably not noticed at the time. It is this latter collection that is most special to us, as it captures something special about the day and those who were there.

Andi Ashworth writes in the Art House America blog of how her mother and she record the ordinary, everyday.  
Many of her diary pages contain only the fragment of a sentence — “sewed and listened to baseball game.” Other pages report cleaning the house, having friends over for dinner, taking kids to the doctor, canning peaches, meeting with clients, watering the yard, cooking, ironing, keeping grandchildren, paying bills, running errands, going to meetings, and visiting neighbors. By keeping track of her daily life, she gave a cheerful dignity to all the particulars.

 … the words on the page gave me eyes to see the significance of the smaller things that are always present.
Sure, there are high points, nameable moments of climax — but most of my daily life still takes place in the in-between. I live in grocery stores and farmer’s markets, at the stove and the kitchen sink. I pull weeds in the garden, sort the recycling, fold laundry, write e-mails, get the oil changed in the car, meet younger folks for coffee and long conversations, and sit for hours at my computer laboring over words and sentences.
Along with the aid of my journals, perhaps it’s been easier for me to see how much the smaller things matter in the creation of a whole.  

Paula Gooder -Everyday God - Spirit of the Ordinary
Ordinary Time is probably the soggiest season of all …
I remain passionately convinced that we need to look again at a spirituality of ordinariness because without a proper understanding of the importance of ordinariness, our lives become an impoverished waiting room, as we loiter between one big event and another.
What is important is the celebration of the ordinary in all its forms: in the lives of ordinary people; in a God who defies our best attempts to put him in a gilded palace; in a kingdom that is best likened to seeds, yeast and fishing nets, and in everyday decisions which, lived out with God have extraordinary consequences.

The Bright Field  -  RS Thomas
I have seen the sun break through 
to illuminate a small field
for a while, and gone my way
and forgotten it. But that was the pearl
of great price, the one field that had 
treasure in it. I realise now
that I must give all that I have
to possess it. Life is not hurrying
on to a receding future, nor hankering after
an imagined past. It is the turning
aside like Moses to the miracle
of the lit bush, to a brightness
that seemed as transitory as your youth
once, but is the eternity that awaits you.

I guess that most have enjoyed CS Lewis’ ‘The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe’, whether as book, film or play. Our childhood fascination with the ability to be transported from one world to another in an instant is fulfilled. Children playing with toys in an imaginary world are brought back to reality by tea or bed-time. Sometimes the transition is easy and at other times not – ‘Oh Mum, just let me finish the story ….’. Older ‘children’ delight in the likes of Dr Who – not just the time-travel and the not knowing where he might appear next, but also those almost unseen boundaries through which characters can step. Sometimes it happens in an instant, at others it involves light-years of spinning galaxies. The distance seems to matter little as the difference between two worlds remains.

The different worlds can seem so close, yet are so far apart.

One of the elements of these fictional creations that creates excitement is the uncertainty of what is to be found in the new situation. Is it a world of promise or danger? The children in CS Lewis’ creation discovered a land of wonder, but also of threat. It was a land of struggle and battle, but also a place where Aslan, the Christ figure, gave his life and gained life. Dr Who has become a little more predictable, in that there is always an enemy and always the ‘get out’ of another time-travel journey when the going gets tough! We sit on the edge of our seats in the meantime. For the child living in their imagination there may be the comfort of ‘imaginary friends’, but equally fearful elements can creep in and become quite real.

In ‘real life’ we find similar boundaries that are created between ability or incapacity. We move home and in a different situation may find our lives more fulfilled, or not. The element of risk or struggle is there too. Some occurrence in our lives may move us into the world of the less able or disabled. Accident or illness may cause a lack of mobility or faculty such as sight or clarity of thought. We move in an instant or over a period of time into a different world, from our perspective.

For all of us the transition between worlds that is caused by ageing cannot be avoided. I don’t imagine that it is easy for anyone, but for some it is a gradual process that can be taken step-by-step, while for others it comes quickly. The world we live in is shaped not so much by age, but by capability, physically and mentally.

Boundaries exist for all of us  -  driving, travel, language, thought, imagination, physical height or flexibility, mobility, stairs etc.  -  and as we get older most boundaries seem to close in. Some gradually, but others quite suddenly.

The occasion of moving into a Care Home is likely to happen quite suddenly or unexpectedly. It is usually governed by ‘events’ or ‘others’, but even if it is a rational and accepted decision our world changes drastically. ‘Our home’ is left behind for this new world of both prospect and uncertainty. We seek comfort, care and security, but in the strangeness of this new world we will likely feel very uncomfortable and insecure initially. We have travelled ‘through the wardrobe’ and, while we may not have entered a world of danger, it is a place of uncertainty with the necessity of it all blinding us to any hope or possibility that this new world might hold.

Of necessity, the world of a Care Home is usually one of routine. This and the lack of human resources restricts opportunity for individual interests or activity. The boundary between independence and dependence is clearer than it might perhaps be, with the dominant characteristics of a Care Home being dependence and care.

What is the Christian perspective on all this? We understand a life that is shaped by our physical and mental capabilities, but what of the spiritual life that is shaped, not by boundaries but by eternal life?  The Biblical testimony speaks of many in the Old Testament who’s worth at great age was recognised, even to the point of providing leadership and offering wisdom. The Gospel account offers examples of many who’s lives were not shaped by capability – physical and mental illness and disabilities are overcome, boundaries of culture, religion, social standing and political influence are broken through and over all is the lived-through experience of Jesus Christ – of life that promises more than death.
The reality for a Christian is of boundaries expanding infinitely, not closing in. This is the primary message that the Christian Church has to offer, but we struggle.

THE CHURCH

Although I would not want to push the analogy too far, I imagine that the Christian Church would see itself in the role of the wardrobe in The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. Here is the gateway to this other world, or rather this other world-view. As Christian communities we do seek to witness to a world where love, forgiveness and justice are the dominant values and to live it out within our church fellowships. The door, however, opens all too often onto that closed space where we meet for our worship and church activities.

What then for those who have been valued members of the Christian family but find themselves needing to be in a Care Home? For the most-part we accept the ‘dependent-care’ culture of the Care Home and make it the Church’s way of working so, while we do wish to have a caring role, we tend to omit the obligation we have to enable those in Care-Homes to fulfil their part within the life of a community.

A Christian who has grown up within and lived by a culture of love, giving and sacrifice finds themselves in a position of receiving and of care. What does this mean for their spiritual life? Do they not have something to contribute still? Their world has been shaped by capability, physical and mental, but what of the spiritual?

THE CHURCH IS THE WARDROBE

The challenge for the Church is to live the life it is witness to. To be the wardrobe that leads to Christ’s life of promise, rather than be a cupboard full of musty coats. To discover its presence beyond the ‘four walls’ and the traditional structures and practices. To enable those whose lives are naturally restricted by a different ‘four walls’ to live this same life that is spiritually free.

Recently, there has been much talk of boundaries broken through the energies of the human spirit, as we have witnessed the Olympics and Paralympics. Christians witness to a life that reaches its fulfilment through the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit of God.

(Originally written in relation to the Generations Project - enabling the Church in Care Homes - in Solihull, West Midlands. 2013)

17th March marked my retirement, with a last Sunday service in Solihull and people saying nice things. But how to even begin to reflect on 37 years of ministry?! Apart from the day-to-day details, I return again to the image of the Potter which is offered by both Isaiah and Jeremiah in their prophecies and which naturally appeals to me.
​This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ‘Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.’ So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.
Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said, ‘Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?’ declares the Lord. ‘Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel.
Jeremiah 18. 1-6
​On the one hand there is the experience of shaping a pot and, when things do not go quite right, being able to 'start again', remoulding and creating something fresh.  The experience of ministry may well be of things not going to plan, but the opportunity to re-shape something, to heal or re-build is something that comes from God.
At the outset I had no idea where my ministry would lead me, but now, looking back, I can see a shape, a pattern, a plan, as if I have been the clay in God's hands.
Pastoral ministry in Crosby, Liverpool, and ecumenical parish in Runcorn, Cheshire, Birmingham Churches Together, the Free Churches Group nationally and back to pastoral ministry in Solihull amalgamating three different congregations. Many are the times when  plans have not worked out (they were not of God) and it was 'back to the drawing board' of prayerful reflection. But far more are those time when it has been clear that God's hand has been in things. He is the Master Potter and I have only ever dabbled in faith!