Our
service leaders are nothing if not adaptable!
This
month our president for the day, for 13th November, had been planning to dwell
on an ethics of identity. So in the
light of the announcement on 9th November of the name of the President-Elect,
who in January 2017 will become 45th President of the United States of America,
our leader adapted our service, whilst holding to the topic “Who
do they say I am?”
In the light of the news, in a gathering that focused on who we say others are, and what narratives we allow to be built up around us, which can lead to persecution and hardship for others, we contemplated the documentary references below. What do we allow to be said about others? Do we challenge stereotypes and falsehoods?
We were glad
to welcome four new faces on Sunday, some of whom we hope to see again at another
of our meetings for reverence.
The Bible, Good News Translation
Mark Chapter 8
27
Then Jesus and his disciples went away to the
villages near Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, "Tell me, who do
people say I am?"
28 "Some
say that you are John the Baptist," they answered; "others say that
you are Elijah, while others say that you are one of the prophets."
29 "What
about you?" he asked them. "Who do you say I am?" Peter
answered, "You are the Messiah."
30 Then
Jesus ordered them, "Do not tell anyone about me."
31 Then
Jesus began to teach his disciples: "The Son of Man must suffer much and
be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law. He
will be put to death, but three days later he will rise to life."
32
He made this very clear to them. So Peter took him aside and began to rebuke
him.
33
But Jesus turned around, looked at his disciples,
and rebuked Peter. "Get away from me, Satan," he said. "Your
thoughts don't come from God but from human nature!"
The
Apology by Plato
(Socrates’ apology to the men of Athens, as recorded by Plato)
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| <a href="http://worldartsme.com/">WorldArtsMe</a> |
“So let us take up from the beginning what the accusation is, from
which has arisen the slander against me. ..... What did the slanderers say to
slander me? Their sworn statement, just as though they were accusers, must be
read: “Socrates does injustice and is meddlesome, by investigating the things
under the earth and the heavenly things, and by making the weaker speech the
stronger, and by teaching others these same things.” ... ...You yourselves also used to see these things in the
comedy of Aristophanes: a certain Socrates was carried around there, claiming
that he was treading on air and spouting much other drivel about which I have
no expertise, either much or little. And I do not say this to dishonour this
sort of knowledge, if anyone is wise in such things; but in fact I, men of
Athens, have no share in these things.”