Skip to main content

Houston 2

Houston 2
I feel I have to qualify my narrow and short observations of Houston. The streets are wide and straddled by enormous skyscrapers whose reflection from the sun blinds you. With very little human activity on the streets and the whirr of the metro it is sort of futuristic without soul. So I go to Maces and then I find a tunnel. And lo and behold there is a whole section of Houston interconnected by a series of tunnels; it is a bit like what the American army found the Vietnamese had dug beneath them. It is possible to move from one sky scraper to another from one district to another via a series of air conditioned tunnels lined with places to eat. I know I sound a bit like a boy up form the country for the first time shouting ma ma they have electricity and toilets here. But the rub is you drive to work in your air conditioned car into the car park (which I don’t think is air conditioned) thru to the air conditioned office. You then take your break walking the interconnected tunnels choosing where to eat and shop, finish your day driving home the air conditioned car to the air conditioned home. Now here is the rub, rub. The pastor on Sunday was talking about creation Genesis 2 and Sabbath. (You can get the sermon on line) but is this was involved in creation they would concrete over the lot and build another Garden of Eden underneath. I don’t blame them two blocks in the sun here and my underpants a like a cloth for washing down the car with. The shiny clean people with the pressed shirts and skirts are below and the dirty poor are above, I have not been approached for money below because like all Malls here and at home they are private spaces and you can be easily ejected. So finally i take with me how can you have a theology of creation and caring for it when you’re so disconnected from it? And how do I need to change my lifestyle. (I am not sure we at home are any better)

Comments

  1. You've been reading 'Sex God'...Yes? See...I give you good books to read!
    xxx

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Response To Bishop North

A while back Bishop Phillip North spoke to New Wine and caused a bit of a reaction one of it was a Tweet to my millions of followers. In response I had a phone call from The Church Times asking for a quote because I serve in a poor parish, I declined and said I would put a more considered response on my blog, so here it is with a link to The Bishops full talk. https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2017/4-august/news/uk/there-s-a-future-for-the-church-if-evangelicals-put-the-poor-first-bishop-north-tells-new-wine 1.      One of the issues the church does not recognise is the exportation of people , talents and money from parishes like mine to middle class parishes which is draining and demanding on leadership. For 10 years I thought I was building a community, then it dawned on me I was building people up to go to other places. 2.      Bishop Phillip talks of abandonment of the poor: I think it’s more complicated than that. When ...

Tokens of Trust

Tokens of Trust by Rowan Williams I have been deeply jolted to the importance of the role of trust in my life and the cost when trust has been missing. Many years ago I spent a long time at the top of a cliff roped and secured being encouraged to abseil over the edge to the bottom a number of feet below. No matter how much my highly competent friend encouraged me to trust him and the equipment, I could not. During the same period of my life it was my job to service the fire service turntable ladders, which meant climbing 100 feet to the top of them. This I did many times never without a sense of anticipation, trusting the mechanics and workmanship that had been carried out. But it is with people where trust is cashed out or held back, reaping rewards or crippling relationships. I think the book has jolted me to understand my role as a professional truster  As a stipended priest I am called to model to, and with, my community my profession of trust. As I reflect upo...

LA 1

just arrive in LA. let me tell you the difficult bit of travel always seems to be getting from station to hotel on public transport. arriving at the hostel/hotel i discover i have lost a sandle i must have had them 5 years. i was trying to be cool and straping them the back of my rucksack. im thinking of lobying Birmingham city councuil to plant palm trees on the Tyburn Road they transform the landscape and we could all listen to Hotel California in the 67 bus. room is not ready yet the loby is trendy and has a young feeling abut it hope the room lives up to the entrance. now let me see i have two priorities 1 find a church 2 find where the womens voleyball is playing tomorrow better get a shower first