Monday 16 March 2009

Barden Fell

Saturday, a group of us went for a hike on Barden Fell, near Skipton. Mix of sun and cloud produced some beautiful light effects. High stone bridge over broad shallow river, the kind where you could imagine a fly fisher’s line creating calligraphy in the air. Great noble ridges bathed in milky light. Dry slender leafless trees caught by rays through cloud. A landscape of wild rugged romance; ‘God’s own country’, the land of Wuthering Heights. That said, it was also baltically cold at the top.
Its hills and views are also a key part of Bradford’s charm, especially the descent from Wrose. A city full of panoramas of stone terraces and blackened wool mill chimneys.
Saturday night at HTI (Holy Trinity Idle), the ‘100 days’ celebration of the arrival of new vicar Robin Gamble. Bradford born and bred, a natural evangelist who set aside 100 days to listen - to God, the church, and the community. Seeking to strike a balance between cherishing the church’s history and each member of the congregation, and moving forward into a bold new future. The vision for the coming year, to be a beautiful community of people, free of power politics, who truly love each other. How does that sound?

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

sounds fanatastic - the church...

power politics creeps in so easily - distraction sometimes is the only option when action has disappeared !

like the 100 days thing - do we have an element on showmanship to this man - cant be a bad thing...

oh and the walk - evocative prose - so its not all curry houses round bradford then ?

r.

Billy said...

You should put some piccies up. Did you check out that meetup site?

I'm always suspicious of people who want to celebrate church history though - its not exactly steeped in love

Bruce said...

You're right rob there's more to Bradford than the curry house. Some decent fish and chip places for a start.

Billy I need to get either a digital camera or the blue tooth or whatever mechanism for transferring from phone. I'll look into it..

Billy said...

I notice you have been tagged on some facebook photos - you can copy them into your blog.

Looks like millstone grit. That used to be part of Scotland.

Anonymous said...

I'm always suspicious of people who want to celebrate church history though - its not exactly steeped in love

so your not a fan of the crusades or the inquisition or heretic burning etc ?

shame that - they make great films...

Billy said...

Apparently heretics are good on the BBQ

hairy john said...

will there be a post for easter - Mr Gulland - how has the 100 days been 4 u.

This easte I have been mainly listening to byzantine chant - just watched a video on you tube about orthodox monks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roRp4UQQbRk&feature=related

do you know anything about spiritual gluttony - its a term I have just come across in st john of the cross - I am sue I must suffe from it - must find out what it is first

hope you are well

Bruce said...

hairy john - is that you Rob?
I was in Germany over Easter helping staff an exhibition for our mission at /Mission Net European youth conference.
Hopefully a wee post about it will follow sometime soon..
hope you had a good easter, will check out the vid.

rob penman said...

hairy john

yessir thats me

sounds like quite an exciting easter - whereabouts in germany were you ? I must get my passport sorted out - its expired - at present Im landlocked by my ill attendence to paperwork. Is there a region of hell for the disorganised ?

been reading jenkins "anti catholicism - the last acceptable prejudice" - makes quite an interseting read - although it could make its point quicker - the hyenas of hindsight are very noisy creatures.

I mean look at billys comment reading church history "its not exactly steeped in love". Beauty I suppose is not in the eye of the beholder.

In the age of information : The great ironies appear - The exception disproves the rule and
we can all drown in the noise of our socialised antipathy.

Hell is not just for the disorganised - it seems...

Have been reading dante again recently.

Jenkins could do better to examine the psychology of anti-catholicism. But I suppose it psychology is no different from any other form of socialised hatred. In a world where words are so internally defined - is hating "god" or "the church" viewed as anymore significant than a distaste say for a particular brand of chocolate ? Is language assumed to be meaningless now ? Indeed can such contempt be heard as the echo of the eviscerated culture which fosters it...

I have been reading dante recently :

The naked spirits gnashed their teeth at these harsh words. They cursed God and their parents, the human race, the place and time of their seeding and their birth and then they gathered together wailing loudly on the evil shore which waits all men who do not fear God. The boatman, collected them together, and one by one like autumn leaves that are blown away until the branch is bare, they threw themselves from the river bank as they were beckoned. And thus they went away on the dark water.

the quote is from an dramatised online version of the inferno :

http://209.85.229.132/search?q=cache:A8Uu_bBPfHgJ:www.creativelewisham.org/film/documents/Dantecantoed.rtf+dante+cursed+parents+human+race+and+the+place&cd=6&hl=en&ct=clnk&lr=lang_en&client=safari

Have you ever read the whole of the commedia. I remember being shocked at how little blake you read in your english degree. I didnt really know there were any other poets - I knew there were some englishmen who wrote in verse - is that the same thing ?

happy easter anyway

r.

Bruce said...

Cheers Rob, still digesting.. and no I haven't read the commedia - what's that?