Dolwgan's Deliberations

Week of Christian Unity

2011-01-24T04:52:00.000-08:00

Was struck by a comment our visiting preacher made in his sermon yesterday regarding the idea of the Week for Christian Unity. In Welsh, the term used for the CTBI is 'Cytun' - which means 'Agree' or 'Agreeing Together' . The English version is 'Churches Together ...' . Doesn't the plural form of 'church' almost negate the concept of togetherness? Would it not be better for the umbrella organisation to be know as 'The Church Together in Britain and Ireland' or something of that ilk? After all, isn't the main idea all about the unity of Christians, rather than church institutions and 'buildings'?

Learning to be happy

2011-01-24T01:29:00.000-08:00

This week, the BBC Breakfast TV programme is running a challenge using ideas from 'Action for Happiness'. It involves a routine of 10 minutes of 'mindfulness' meditation (whatever that might be), writing a letter of gratitude to someone, and 3 random acts of kindness - all on a daily basis. Details can be found here, or via the programme's Facebook page.

Do others have similar routines for developing happiness in their lives - or is happiness the thing that we need to be looking for anyway?

what criteria on what to blog about and what not to?

2010-11-22T05:46:00.000-08:00

Following a post I made earlier this year, someone made the comment "what criteria do you use to decide on what to blog about and what not to?". So what is/are your criteria?

Well, where has he been?

2010-11-22T05:24:00.001-08:00

Have been lazy about this over recent months, but also find that I'm perhaps not quite as bothered as I used to be. Whether that has anything to do with my being unemployed catching up with me and quenching my motivation, or whether it has more to do with my increased 'workload' with Tools With A Mission, I'm not sure.

Spring sprung?!

2010-03-17T08:33:00.001-07:00

Was out at a meeting this morning, and when I drove back into the drive could hear a massive racket from the bush alongside the drive. When I turned the radio and then the engine off, I could hear it even better!! Could see a lot of movement from within the bush, and sat and watched a while. Over the next 30/40 secs, 3 or 4 robins and 6 or 8 sparrows hopped out onto some of the more exposed branches, all prattling away. Only as I opened the car door did they go in any way quiet, and only one flew away as I emerged from the car, closed the door and walked into the house!!

Spring has sprung - most definitely!!

Age of criminal responsibility

2010-03-13T00:40:00.000-08:00

The Children's Commissioner for England has suggested that the age of criminal responsibility ought to be raised from 10 to 12. In view of the move in society generally to reduce benchmark ages should we really be looking to move the age of criminal responsibility down (perhaps to 8) rather than up (to 12)?

I would, however, agree with the commissioner that the focus of any such change should be restorative as opposed to simply punitive.

Internet - a fundamental right?

2010-03-08T01:01:00.000-08:00

Following a survey of 27,000 people in 26 countries, the BBC World Service has come to the conclusion that 4 out of 5 people believe internet access to be a 'fundamental right'.

Just what does this say about our thinking about what is a right and what is a need? Surely the fact that huge numbers of the global population are still without even basic healthcare provision - let alone safe, clean (potable) water sources or basic education suggests that there is a serious mismatch of expectations and funding possibiloities?

By the way, I wonder whether the 27K interviewed were all from the educated classes of their respective nations?

Poverty

2010-01-26T02:17:00.000-08:00

13 years ago, Labour promised to halve the number of children living in poverty, and to eradicate child poverty by 2020. Today's news that the number of children living in severe poverty actually GREW in the four years before the recession (potentially the best of economic times) and suggestions that this figure will continue to grow, makes not only worrying news for the Government but for society as a whole.

Is concentrating on the children the best way forward or do we need to concentrate more on the families they live in?

Qualifications - just how valuable are they?

2010-01-20T06:01:00.000-08:00

Reading Cranmer's blog entitled Carol Vorderman is not quialified to teach Maths yesterday, it struck me - again - that qualifications can often be over-rated. In fact I added the following comment to the debate

It's time that the government - and society as a whole - stopped thinking that qualifications make for good teachers and medics, etc. Often, the best teachers are those who have struggled most to understand the subject they teach because they appreciate the problems that learners face. Rather than requiring teachers to have a particular level of academic achievement before being allowed to start teaching, perhaps the academic qualification should be introduced AFTER someone has proved that they have the aptitude to teach and enthuse pupils.

Tidying my study later yesterday, I came across an Education Guardian from 24th Nov '09, which had as it opening article "Keeping nursing students on course - How will universities train enough nurses to degree level when the drop-out rate for such courses is can be as high as 78%?".

As a teacher who trained in the 1970's I know of plenty of fellow students who did the requisite 1-year as a probationary teacher, but who then bailed out of the profession within a further year or two. Is this really sensible use of funds?

Tools with a Mission

2010-01-19T01:22:00.000-08:00

On a roll, now!!

Do you have any tools that are sitting unused in your shed or attic? Are you keen to clear your workshop of equipment you no longer use? Salvation is at hand!

Tools with a Mission (TWAM) is an Ipswich-based charity which collects and refurbishes unused tools, before sending them to two-thirds world countries - mostly in Africa at present - where they are used to help people earn their own living rather than relying on aid handouts. The work has been going for 25 years now, and the spread of collectors across the country is slowly growing.

A quick visit to their website - http://www.twam.co.uk - will give you some idea of their various activities, as well as providing a list of the current 'wanted tools'. There are collection/refurb centres in Coventry and Axminster - as well as a new one set to come on stream in South Wales as of February 2010. A quicvk call to the Ipswich office will let you know of your nearest collector - or how to become a collector yourself.

Welcome back!!

2010-01-19T01:14:00.000-08:00

Someone who drops in on this blog now and again recently pointed out that I hadn't posted anything for a while via a forum we both belong to. This and an existing forum thread on blogging got us on to the issue of why some people find it easy to blog and why some don't. As someone who generally prefers to think things through before saying them I seem to be among the latter group, whilst others seem to do their thinking on the virtual paper of a blog.

However, I also think that sometimes we can have so much going on in our lives that it can be hard to decide what to blog about and what not to - leaving one in a bit of a blank spot.

Ordination - a wider debate

2009-12-07T00:25:00.000-08:00

Following the election over the weekend of a second homosexual bishop in the USA - Canon Mary Glasspool to the post of suffragan bishop in Los Angeles - the whole issue of homosexuals in ordained ministry has been escalated yet again.

The Archbishop of Canterbury has responded by suggesting that

"The election of Mary Glasspool by the Diocese of Los Angeles as suffragan bishop-elect raises very serious questions not just for the Episcopal Church and its place in the Anglican Communion but for the Communion as a whole. The process of selection, however, is only part complete. The election has to be confirmed, or could be rejected, by diocesan bishops and diocesan standing committees. That decision will have very important implications. “The bishops of the Communion have collectively acknowledged that a period of gracious restraint in respect of actions which are contrary to the mind of the Communion is necessary if our bonds of mutual affection are to hold."

whilst Canon Glasspool has said - as quoted in an article in today's Independent -

"I am very excited about the future of the whole Episcopal Church, and I see the Diocese of Los Angeles leading the way into that future, ... . Any group of people who have been oppressed because of any one, isolated aspect of their persons yearns for justice and equal rights."

In view of the latest research into sexuality which, whilst not clarifying what triggers sexuality, makes it clear that there is no genetic link to homosexuality as opposed to heterosexuality - perhaps the argument against allowing homosexuals into the ordained ministry is weakened. However, I still believe that the Biblical references to relational complimentarity is an important one in the issue.

However, what with the joint bissues of the ordination of women and homosexuals, I wonder whether there is a dase for a renewed debate on the nature and Biblical validity of the ordained ministry - at least as far as we have understood it for the past centuries?

Personal statements.

2009-12-06T08:20:00.001-08:00

Personal statements in job applications!! Why are they so hard to do? I know exactly what I want to write - but find it so hard to find the best words that say what I want to say without appearing to be boastful or OTT!!

Welcome

2009-12-05T12:57:00.000-08:00

Hi there and welcome to this blog. The past couple of weeks have seen a number of virtual disappearances - of websites, forums and even a blog!! Some have been expected, others not.

As a result, I am feeling at a bit of a cyber-loss - though perhaps its someone telling me that I spent too much time in this virtual world of cyberspace.

Shan't be here all the time, but will drop in and leave passing thoughts.

Andy