MetaCatholic

You can do anything with statistics. At the moment lots of countries seem to be counting medals, especially gold ones. I wondered what would happen if, say, you introduced population figures into the mix. In this exercise I’m using the medal table as presented by the BBC at the timing of this post. For population figures I’m using Wikipedia. (Ah, the myriad little ways we have on annoying Mr Haircut.)

So, if the top ten raw medals table were based on medals per head of population, the table for gold medals would look like this:

1. Australia
2. Netherlands
3. GB
4. S. Korea
5. Germany
6. Russia
7. Italy
8. USA
9. Japan
10. China

Before the troglodytes Antipodeans get too happy with a gold medal for every 1,782,859 people, I have to point out that if we included all countries, and not just those in the raw top ten table by numbers of medals, then Jamaica is the country to beat, with a gold medal for every 452,333 people. Of course, three of those were won by just one person, which goes to show how rubbish statistics are in the first place.

This clearly appealed to a number of drivers who seemed happy to put money in the bucket before driving off. Every time the lights went to red the jugglers went out into the middle of the road, bowed to the stopped traffic, and began juggling. When the pedestrian lights warned them, they stopped, bowed again, picked up their buckets and moved between the first couple of rows of cars, before heading for the central island. As an added irony this piece of playful vagabondary took place at the foot of the deadly seriousness of the Siegesäule.

I’m sure we can all surprise each other sometimes with the varied cultural and theological differences we have between us. However, while I was aware that there’s a strong teetotal tradition among some Protestants, I was genuinely surprised by the stupidity of the eisegesis Nick refers to today.

he presented some convoluted argument about new wine and old wine saying that Jesus didn’t drink old wine (i.e., fermented alcoholic wine) but he only drank (and produced at the wedding in Cana) new wine (i.e., grape juice). But none of that is new to me, I’ve heard it all before.

Well, it was certainly new to me. The best (read worst) I’d hear hitherto was that Paul’s injunction to take a little wine for your stomach didn’t mean drinking it, it meant to rub it on.

I need a drink after reading that.

Blogging is light this wekend because I’m at a diocesan conference. A great quote today from one guest speaker, Bishop Geralyn Wolf of Rhode Island:

Jesus did not say “I’m OK, you’re OK”, he said “I’m okay, but you need some work.”

My previous posts on the tragic death of Worcester bookshop manager Steve Jeynes have attracted a number of visitors. I note here a brief summary of today’s memorial service in Worcester Cathedral, especially for those who would like to have attended but couldn’t.

First, the Order of Service

1. Welcome
2. Hymn: At the name of Jesus
3. Opening Prayers
4. Memories of / tributes to Steve
5. Songs: Light of the world (Here I am to worship) & Faithful One, so unchanging
6. Readings: Isaiah 40:28-end, Philippians 2:1-5
7. Address
8. Songs: How lovely on the mountains & Give thanks to the Lord (Forever God is faithful)
9. Prayers ending with the Lord’s Prayer
10. Hymn: O Lord my God (How great thou art)
11. Blessing

A few comments

Among all the tributes there was one (planned) from one of Steve’s daughters, and a brave and unplanned one from his wife Joy, which received an ovation from the congregation by way of thanks and affirmation. The three main strands of the tributes (I think) were his open and unthreatening sharing of his deep faith, his family life, love and fun, and the passion he had for book-selling as mission and service.

The cathedral’s nave was full, and there were substantial numbers also in the side aisles. I would guess numbers were between 500-600, but that is only a guess. In his address Paul Swann commented that there may never have been such a gathering of so many doctrinally and temperamentally different Christians and Christian traditions in the same place in Worcester beforehand.I think he was right, and also right to draw attention to the fact as a significant tribute to the way Steve has seen his book-selling ministry, first (and for the longer period of time) in the independent Icthus bookshop, and latterly at SPCK.

The thanksgiving had a decided awkward moment. It was open for anyone to offer a short tribute, and a lady with mental health problems took the opportunity, but quickly veered off into a long (and sad) reflection of her own, her husband’s and various friends’ suicidal feelings and attempts. On the one hand, she, as a regular customer, was one of those people with serious problems Steve and his staff had always handled with gentleness and kindness, and that she was there to say thank you was its own very significant tribute to him. On the other hand, many people were clearly becoming quite embarrassed.

Nonetheless, it was probably good that someone, even in this strange way, made the congregation face up to the fact that Steve had died by his own hand. From a great deal of the service you wouldn’t necessarily have known that. There was an awkward disconnect between the many affirmations of his faith and his love of family, and the ending of his life. (Obviously I don’t know either what went on his mind, nor how temporarily unbalanced his judgement had become. Nor do I know what he may have told his family in any last message. Nor do I know what they had decided in consultation with Paul, exactly what they wanted and needed.) But it seems to me that we together needed to recognise that the pain and distress at losing the book-selling mission he felt called to seems to have loomed so large in his mind that he was unable to draw on the strength that was there for him in faith, family and friends. That sad and painful reality of suicide is exactly what we need to bring before God in our prayers as we entrust Steve to him, and thank God for his life.

God our strength and our redeemer:
you do not leave us in this life
nor abandon us in death.
Hear our prayer for those in despair,
when days are full of darkness
and the future empty of hope.
Renew in them your sustaining strength
for we believe that there is nothing in all creation
that can separate us from your love
in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.¹

1. Common Worship: Pastoral Services © 2000 The Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England – Funeral Prayers 46 Source [↩]

Today’s Worcester News features a front page story about Steve Jeynes’ death. I’m afraid I’ve been out all day so slow off the mark in linking to this story in which I and others are quoted paying tribute to Steve. (As always Dave Walker managed to be very quick off the mark.)

Both the front page of the paper edition, and the page as accessed today show this photo.

You might have thought that this was an old stock photo, from the SPCK name displayed prominently on the awning. Well, while I don’t know when the Worcester News took the photo, I can tell you that this could indeed be seen as recently as on a sunny day two weeks ago, after they’d made Steve, the last remaining original SPCK employee here, redundant. It’s also what, 9-10 months after all rights to use the SPCK name were withdrawn from the SSG. Somehow this adds insult to injury.

Steve’s action is a particularly tragic consequence of this whole sorry mess, but that it is a mess of SSG making seems underlined by this cavalier pretence still to be trading under a name they have no right to, and after having destroyed the business, while treating its loyal staff in ways which from Steve’s descriptions to me no business, never mind a so-called “Christian” business, should treat even the lowliest of casual labour. One of the things that increasingly distressed him was the inability to protect his staff from managerial whim, and dismissal by email. This is not a tragedy without a very specific context and a clear history of personal and personnel devastation.

And the one I backed from the start. Well done Spain, and well done Torres. And what a nice treat that not only does the best team there win the tournament, but they do it in normal time with cracking football.

Many people have been following (especially with the help of Dave Walker) the slowly unfurling disaster of the destruction of the former SPCK Bookshop chain. (See an earlier post of mine here)

Here in Worcester things have now taken a tragic turn. The local branch manager Steve Jeynes has now been found dead, apparently by his own hand. He was made redundant two weeks ago, after having survived many staff purges and highly dubious pressures to accept a new contract.

While it would be wrong to assign blame in any straightforward way, it does seem highly likely that the months of unremitting destructive pressure on the business, as well as the blow of redundancy, will have at least helped create the circumstances in which this became a possible outcome.

This afternoon a couple of people had laid bouquets in the shop’s doorways as the news began to spread. I don’t know if they will be allowed to remain. Please pray for Steve’s family, and, if your theology allows, for the peace and healing of his soul. Pray also for justice and truth to prevail for all those who are suffering financially and personally as a result (direct or indirect) of the whole sorry mess that was once this well-loved bookshop chain.

Hmm, so much for stereotypes of bronzed fit bodies hanging out on Bondi Beach. Australia has officially overtaken the USA as the world’s fattest nation. It could add a whole new dimension to he phrase beach bum.

If we are to believe the Sunday Telegraph (which is always a dubious proposition at the best of times)  then the Church of England’s bishops are seriously worried that a very large proportion of the clergy are of sub-standard quality.  (HT Church Times blog.) The actual figure will almost certainly turn out rather differently from this Telegraph massaging. Buried in the story is this:

A survey of diocesan bishops found that one-third believe that more than half of current clergy - as many as 6,000 - are unable to cope with the demands of the job.

That, of course, says nothing like the headline, even though it’s worrying enough. I do wonder how many clergy believe what percentage of bishops to be unable to cope with the demands of the job, but I dare to venture that more than a third of the clergy would think more than half of the current bishops to be inadequate.

Then again, this report has been produced by the Ministry Division, who generally seem to be a complete bunch of idiots who couldn’t organise the proverbial in a brewery, but have been put in charge of “strategy” for ministry and the selection of candidates. Whether under new management they will recover from the disastrous leadership of Carey’s crony Gordon Kuhrt remains to be seen. This report doesn’t suggest that they will.  On the other hand, they should certainly know about being sub-standard.

This has the air of one of those own-goal moments, on a par with John Reid declaring the Home Office not fit for purpose on being appointed to run it, or Gerald Ratner’s famous description of his products as crap.