Ground-breaking street theatre recalled

Up at eight, posting the Morning Prayer link to WhatsApp. Clare had already cooked porridge and eaten breakfast. Her back is improving daily now thankfully. I went to the Eucharist at St John's, eight of us were present to celebrate Christ's Ascension. I couldn't stop for coffee and a chat as I had to drive Clare to Splott for her booster vaccination. The roads were busy but we arrived there in good time, and by just after midday we were on our way home again. 

In the news, while I was cooking lunch, the Chancellor announced financial support measures to enable all households to cover the huge rise in energy costs. These benefit poorest households and elderly people most, though every household will get a grant of four hundred pounds towards their increased expenses. It will mitigate the effect of high inflation on household budgets but not eliminate it. Economically it makes sense. A dramatic decrease in everyone's disposable income will impact on consumer spending overall, and risk pushing the country into recession.

After lunch I recorded and edited the audio for next Thursday's Morning Prayer and reflection, then went out for a walk along the Taff. It was windy and there was an unusually fine drizzle at the same time, a bit like having one giant version of one of those mist sprays to moisten the eyes, not enough to dampen my raincoat. I make an effort to walk at a sustained brisk pace, and am disappointed when overtaken by others both young and ten years younger than I. This is what getting old means sad to say.

I watched an episode of 'Art that made us' about the Victorian era on iPlayer, one which I missed, and later watched the final episode in the series on contemporary arts. Both were excellent. The second one showed artists probing the realities of everyday life, posing questions about identity, social exclusion and justice. My only disappointment in the programme was the absence of any comment about the work of Banksy, a major street artist whose witty political satire and social comment touches on the lives and concerns of many who feel marginalised and ill treated by life in today's world.

Actor Michael Sheen recalled the innovative Port Talbot Passion play of 2012, 'The Gospel of Us' in which he played Jesus. It was an amazing piece of street theatre involving ten thousand people, most of them locals. i remember watching a two hour documentary edition of the three day event, but had forgotten that viewing took place in St Mike's a year later in a College event organised by a student in my tutor group. According to Sheen, it was a ground breaking piece of street theatre involving people as both audience and participants at the same time. Many of those present filmed the event on their mobile phones and posted footage on social media, extending the participation virtually perhaps for the first time on such a wide scale. How the world has changed since then!

The Gospel of us

When I was a student in St Mike's forty-five years ago the down-turn in vocations and church membership was already noticeable, and made some of us think about what needed to be done by us, as people called into ministry, to continue the offering of service to God and others in the face of the decline and implosion of the institutional church which backed us. I was all for non-stipendiary ministry, but the path which unfolded didn't me in that direction, until I retired after forty years as a full timer. 

What we thought might happen after ten years is now happening noticeably, and the Church in Wales is going through a major adjustment to its organisation as a result. Those coming into College to train are aware of this, so uncertainty about the future is a key contributor to low morale. But then this has always been a feature of College life in Spring Term, along with epidemics of 'flu and tummy bugs. It helps to realise this and focus resolve on enduring in as disciplined a way as possible. Or go down.

It was my turn to officiate at Morning Prayer and give an address in College chapel  today. I compared the testing experience of training in community with the desert and exile experiences of the People of God, maybe comparable with contemporary idea of pressure and discomfort in an army 'boot camp'. It's preparation for coping with the struggles and disappointments of ministry 'in the wild',  doing without the consolations of success and acclaim - as these cannot be relied upon.

I drafted, re-drafted and edited this several times over the past few weeks, and it was still too long when I delivered it. Did I make myself clear? I wondered. It seemed to speak to a handful of people, apart from that there was no feedback, but then it was intended to remind everyone how much we need to look back in hard times to when we were called to a life of faith and service, and see this period of training as equipment for the unique challenges facing the church today.

I chaired our Tutors meeting after breakfast, and then in the afternoon the College gathered in the Old Library for a showing of Michael Sheen's Passion Play, set in Port Talbot, called 'The Gospel of us'. It was arranged by my tutor group, including drinks and popcorn. I felt very proud of them, and so grateful for Phil's organisation and technical skills. The film, involving thousands of people as well as actors drawn from the locality was shot live on location over the Easter weekend two years ago. It's a powerful piece of theatre, interpreting the meaning of the life and death of a Christ like figure in the context of a community torn apart by a motorway and losing its identity. At the end almost everyone left in complete silence.

There was meant to be discussion about it over supper and afterwards, but I wonder how much there was. I didn't stay as I had to return home and then get out for my Chi Gung class. I was late again, but so grateful for the time I had. That was quite a demanding day.