benbell

Greenbelt

Off to Greenbelt this weekend.
DJing in Winged Ox Bar : Sunday – Sun-Set and later / Monday – Sun-Set and later

Looking forward to trying out my new idea of the ‘sun-set’ putting speakers outside the bar on the steps and playing some laid back tunes as a soundtrack to what will hopefully be a beautiful sunset. This is a great place and time to hook up with friends, talk about the day, drink and chill.

University Missions

good article on the Ship of Fools site

Howard Ingham spends a week with the Christian Union of Swansea University during their mission week and asks, what's the point of it all?

The old tactics – the shock of suffering, graphically explained, the horrors of the crucifixion, the fear of hell – these things don't have any effect any more. Virtually no one under the age of about 22 gives a monkey's about these things. Old-style missions don't wash any more. A fundamentally new way of relating to the young adults of now needs to be found by UCCF if they want to see people join them. No amount of surface-level image manipulation is going to change that.

i'm sure many of Howards comments don't just apply to University Missions but much of what is done under the banner of evangelism. It sounds so exhausting too.

Andy Gault - The Paintings

There is currently an exhibition of Andy’s Paintings at the Crypt Café, St Mary’s Church, Upper St, London N1
Open on Saturday’s 11am - 4pm and Thursdays 7.30 – 9.30pm

Andy says ….

I begin a painting with a rough idea of how I wish the piece to look. However I don’t work in a very controlling way with the paint, which sometimes means a painting will go in a new direction altogether (sometimes interesting and other time infuriating).

Many of these paintings are made up with a series of layers left to dry and then partially stripped off, I like the idea of birng able to see what went before.

There is no ‘meaning’ behind any painting. Some are dark and some are bright yellow. Read into that what you will.

Closing night Thursday 16th 7.30pm All the pictures will be sold by auction, starting at the cost of the canvas and paint.

I have added a photo album with a few images of Andy’s paintings

Islington Youthwork Aliance

As well as a conviction that serving the local community and caring for our environment is to be something on our regular agenda and not just something that pops up from time to time, there are a few other observations that have grown out of Soul in the City here in Islington.

I was amazed at how responsive the Borough Council, Police and other local organizations were when I approached them and told them what was planned for the Borough. Many people from these organizations put in a lot of effort to help us out.

Having talked to a few Church employed Youth Workers in the area, I have concluded that we all share similar frustrations when trying to engage with the Council and Police, they just don’t seem to be very interested in the voluntary sector, maybe they’re just too busy.

Anyway what is clear is that there is a big difference between our usual experience and our experience with Soul in the City.
A number of us have decided that we are going to create an organization of Christian Youthwork within the Borough and then approach the various local Power Holders together. This has come out of the Conclusion that if they were presented with the Borough picture – what Christian Youthwork is happening all across the borough – and not just individual projects then it is harder for them to ignore us.

This will also mean there is another way that the churches can work together, not a bad thing, in fact a tremendous blessing in our recent experience.

Elephant out on DVD

A Beautiful piece of film that engages the audience with the fragility and humility of a ‘big news’ story – the Columbine massacre in 1999.
The following of characters along the schools corridors is compelling and moving.
Reflecting on a film like this ……
This is a film that presents and projects the immense pain of an event such as this.
Do we have to have answers?

Chris Curtis wrote some interesting reflections after seeing it earlier in the year. click here to read

Big Brother

Labels used to describe three of the five big brother winners have been ‘Gay and Christian and Transsexual’. These are often used in headlines to communicate that there is difference about these people.
These are labels which cause prejudice to come to the surface in many parts of our society, even in seemingly progressive cities like ours (London). Is the fact that so many people voted for Brian, Cameron and Nadia, a huge shout of acceptance and support? I hope so, but this doesn’t seem to reflect mainstream media values and the common perception of what ‘Normal’ is.

P.S. If anyone does work out what normal is could they please let me know!

Soul in the City makes a huge difference to Islington

Off to Trafalgar Square this afternoon for the final event of SOULINTHECITY I have been in a privileged position of co-ordinating with Jessica Swift the Islington's Projects. The focus of Soul in the City has been to bring over 10,000 Christian Young People from all over the country (and world) to London to work alongside over 720 partner churches in serving their local communities.
Over the Past two weeks 22 churches in Islington and over 300 sitc delegates have run seven projects on the major estates in our Borough. Soul in the City in Islington has made a huge impact on the lives of Islington Residents and has been praised by council workers and Police.

Church members and Sitc Delegates have

Cleaned and painted stairways on the six Acres estate – the estate is being transformed / Painted 240 Garage Doors on the Andover Estate / Built benches for paradise park / Built new play equipment for the Martin Luther King playground / Cleared and graveled gardens on the Fairbridge estate in partnership with the tenants and residents association / Built communal bar-b-q’s, dug new pathways and landscaped communal areas on the Bemerton estate / Painted a mile of railings on the Bemerton Estate / Run a kids club on the Marquess estate / Painted the railings around the central park on the Dover court estate / Run mountain bike course in partnership with the police on the Dover court estate / Decorated St Mary’s Neighborhood Centre / run a Local football tornament / Cleared over 30 Gardens on the Scott and St Mary’s Path Estates / Run a Youth Café / Painted the 10ft high perimeter fence around the Almorah Community Centre on the Scott Estate / Held Community Bar-b-q’s on at each of the projects / held a celebration on Young Islington Talent at the Carling Academy in the N1 Centre.

Paul Shepherd hosted the project on the Bemerton Estate, his dream of having a 'Village Fete on the Bemerton Estate' came true (without all the crapness of an actual village fete) when on each Friday of the fortnight local people came out of their homes and joined together for a community Bar-b-q in the central square of the Estate. This is the first time an event like this has happened on the Estate that became famous a couple of summers ago for it's Rioting Young People and high anti social crime rate.

Well done and thank you to Paul and all the other Project hosts, churches and delegates who have truly transformed many parts of Islington through hard physical work and unconditional love.
To be part of this ALTERNATIVE WORSHIP these last two weeks have been Humbling, amazing, and subversive. Many of the apparently crazy values of the Kingdom of God have been established in the cold hard places. People still can't quite work out what it's all about! Let's care for the Mustard seeds as they grow.

I have added a Photo Album to celebrate this upside down, inside out, counter pretty much everything, act of grace.

Banksy Unveiling

Jumped on a 38 to clerkenwell to see the unveiling of banksy's latest piece - a twenty foot statue cemented (without permission!) on Clerkenwell Green. The plaque on the plinth read 'TRUST NO-ONE'.

"It's the most honest depiction of British justice currently on display in the capital," Banksy said. "I hope it stays there for good. "We are learning that the people we trust with our liberty cannot be trusted."

It is well worth popping down to Clerkenwell Green EC1 which was chosen for the monument as it was the site of Banksy's last arrest.

let's get started ...

Suck it and see, 1 months free trial, I’ll give it a go.
I have been enjoying reading many different blogs over the last couple of years and have been persuaded to give it a go myself. There are plenty things that evoke strong feeling within me both positive and other, and so I plan to use this blog to enthuse, commend and rant.