I am watching a documentary about Bishop Akinola and various other bishops.  I get so sad when I watch programmes like this.  Akinola was doing a great job until the all-time classic came up.  Homosexuality.  What a mess he made of talking about this.  He had not met a single homosexual in his community, but he has called them satanists and deviant sinners.  When asked “isn’t it the role of the church to reach out to the marginalised in the community?”  he replied “I reach out to those who come to me” .  How contrary to the instruction of the Bible.  After this he lost his battle.  He was uncompassionate, faltered and didn’t know what to say.

This idiocy was followed by a very unhelpful English bishop saying that there is nothing wrong with homosexuality and that if we followed the Bible to the letter then we would be stoning people for adultery and shopping on a Sunday.  (er…No we wouldn’t…)

WHY ON EARTH DO CHURCH LEADERS, BISHOPS, NO LESS, NOT READ THEIR BIBLES???  This whole thing is driving me mad.  Is it just me or is it not ABUNDANTLY clear in the Bible what God thinks about homosexuality?  It says “Do not lie with a man as you would with a woman, for this is detestable”.  So no, God does not condone the practice of homosexuality.  However, this does not mean that He hates homosexuals.  God loves people and instructs us to do the same.  To “love thy neighbour as thyself”.  The church (yes I am part of that) are rubbish at engaging and accepting homosexuals because they are too embarrassed to know how to deal with the issue.  Please, please, please church, love, welcome and accept homosexuals, because you are ordered to love unconditionally.

There is a difference between those who struggle with homosexuality and those who practice it.  If someone struggles with the feelings but decides to remain celibate because of it, then that attitude is admirable, it is a real sacrifice to deny oneself love and companionship of that nature.  I wouldn’t have a problem with them in leadership because every leader has something that they struggle with.  However, I do not agree that a practicing homosexual should be in leadership in the church, just as I do not consider that a practicing liar, thief, adulterer or Buddhist monk should be either because it is not in alignment with the gospel.  What I don’t understand, is that if you have chosen to practice homosexuality, why would you choose to preach the Word of God anyway?   It seems to me that it is more of a political statement.

God’s standards for love are very very high for anyone.  If you are single you are called to be celibate.  If you are married you are called to be faithful.  If you are gay you are called to be celibate.  Each of those is equally hard and what annoys me most about this whole debate is that it is a HUGE distraction from the point of the church.  It almost makes me want to swear in frustration at the TV when I see these bishops arguing over whether bishops should be female, gay or both, when there are 50 000 people every day going to hell, children being abused, a global AIDS crisis and seering levels of depression in the minds of those who have no hope.  The church is supposed to offer LOVE and HOPE not condemnation and political outrage.

The message is that “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son, so that whosoever believes in Him may not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16).  WHOSOEVER.  So tell them.  It is no wonder that people run away from ‘religion’, the great faith destroyer.  Forget these religious debates, just preach the gospel.

You do sometimes wonder about the validity of degrees in this day and age….

This is my Dad…

You know you have run out of food and money when breakfast is lowered to a garlic pitta bread with peanut butter - YUK!!!  If it was normal pitta it would have been fine.  So I have had a cook-a-thon… I made up some fish fingers in a garlic pitta (almost acceptable with enough ketchup) for a speedy lunch whilst cooking a lentil lasagne (could be interesting!!) and a pasta bake to freeze for lunches or teas this week - I needed to use up some ageing ingredients so they didn’t go off.  I am about to attempt flapjacks.  Here’s to better eating this week on a budget.  My salad is growing slowly but surely, as is my chilli plant and my onions.  Credit crunch?  Studenthood?  We’ll see how it goes.

The pitta fiasco reminded me of a classic Rayfield tale, of when Mark was house sitting for a friend…  (Ladies and gentlemen, let this act as a valuable lesson to you all - if Mark Rayfield looks after your house, expect mischief). He removed the labels from all of his friend’s food tins in the cupboard (genius!)  The friend called him a few weeks later to announce that he was eating peaches on toast for lunch, as once again, the ’shake a can by your ear to discern its contest’ test had failed.  Oh I love that story!

…I felt a little sorry for the quakers this morning!!

I was describing my blog to someone and said that this was what happened when you had verbal diahorrea but were painfully shy.  So I am considering a new blog title.  Thoughts?

Well lately I have been quite the party animal (so I’d like to think!)  On Thursday night we went to watch Jeff Martinez play at Monty’s at a really nice music night called “Shush”.  A highly expensive bar but a really cool little venue with luxury toilets (for a pub) and some really good music.  On Friday night we went out for a curry with Luke and his family and then headed off to the Hogg’s Head for more live music - this time a mad blues guitarist called Dan, followed by The Last Taxi.  This too was a good night and gave me more ideas for a little project that I am working on at the moment.

Saturday was a really good day.  We dressed in our comfy clothes and headed over to the Sandys’ house in order to travel in convoy to the Malvern Hills.  Jo, Carl, Jon, Sarah, JT and I were in the party (to be joined later by Tim and Sadaf) and we did a really nice three hour walk across the Malverns.  The view from the top was stunning and it remained sunny until the walk down where we got rained on lots!  We had a pub lunch and then drove to Ledbury to mooch about before looking round the church having tea in a frightfully nice tea shop.  After this we went home and then to Luke’s parents’ for tea (nice to see them all twice in one weekend!)

slightly trippy ‘Jesus surf dude’ in Ledbury Church!

Jo and I in Herefordshire and Worcestershire!

Thought this fellow looked a bit grumpy…  Mind you, I would too if I’d had my head chopped off, turned to stone and stuck on a pillar!

JT cashed in some of my pink points (earned in our house by bravery and not getting ill) and bought me a pink ‘wooden’ spoon!!

Monty and I think that the weather sucks.