'Frozen' End of Term Assembly (Change/Transition)

Like many vicars, I have several end of year Leavers' Assemblies and church services to do at this time of year, for various local schools. This year I've put together an assembly addressing the perennial change and transition themes, using the popular film Frozen. Several people have asked to see it, so here are my notes. Feel free to use/adapt locally as you see fit!

The version here is primarily intended for KS2 pupils, though I'll also be doing a simpler adaptation for KS1. As I did it here, it was for a church school whose pupils could be relied on to already know the parable of the building on rock and sand - that might need more explanation in some contexts.

Various different versions of this as used in practice also incorporated hymns (eg One More Step), and children reading poems and prayers.

Frozen Assembly

1. Begin by playing 'For the First Time in Forever' (track 3 on soundtrack, youtube link here. )
I played this just up to the first chorus ('for the first time in forever'), and stopped it there just after Ana has sung 'Wow, I am so ready for this change!'.

2. I asked the children if 'Wow, I am so ready for this change!' was how they felt about moving on? After gathering responses, briefly discussed how we found some changes exciting, and some scary. There are lots of changes in the film Frozen - some good (like Elsa discovering how to control her powers), some bad (like the King and Queen dying). Most obviously, the weather changes dramatically when Elsa is scared and upset.

3. Jesus also told a story about the weather changing dramatically. Tell the story of the wise and foolish builders. So the Bible doesn't say that nothing bad will ever happen to us; storms will come in our lives, things will change in all sorts of ways, the important thing is whether we have strong foundations. When Jesus told that story, he said that if people had built their lives on what he taught, they would have strong foundations and would be sheltered and kept safe even in raging storms.

4. Ask the children what the film Frozen identifies as the most important foundation? I got the answer 'love' straight away the first time I tried this, but if not try asking what does Elsa come to realise is the key to controlling her gift? What does Ana need to save her? Then draw out that love is the thread that runs all through the film. It is because Ana has such a firm foundation in love for her sister that she keeps believing all through the story that Elsa is good, and can be saved and can work out how to save the country from the snow. Her love for Elsa means she saves her life rather than save herself, when she uses her last few seconds before freezing to save Elsa from Hans, rather than to run to Kristoff to try to save her own life. And then Elsa realises the power of love for herself, and is able to unfreeze Arundell and use her gift for everyone's enjoyment.

5. The Bible says that love is the most important foundation there is for life. Read (or paraphrase) 1 Corinthians 13 - if you have parents there for the end of term assembly you might refer to this being the best known and best loved passage in the Bible for weddings. Paul says that even faith in God is useless without love.

6. The best known song in Frozen is 'Let it Go'. (just mentioning this got a cheer!). When Elsa sings it, she is scared and fearful that now that people know who she really is, they will reject her. Because we know that God already knows everything about us, and loves us, we have a firm foundation for life. As we go through life, we can keep what is good about the past and leave behind what is not so good, and what we have grown out of as we go into the future. So in a moment we're going to sing Let it Go: and I invite you to clench your two hands in fists in front of you. Imagine that you are holding tight to everything that hasn't been so good about the past year. Maybe a time when someone said something mean to you. Maybe a time when you said or did something you're not very proud of. We'll keep the good from the year in our hearts, and take it with us into the future: but when we sing 'Let it Go', I invite you to fling out your arms and open your hands, and let go of all the things you want to leave behind from this year.

7. Sing 'Let it Go'! (track 5 on the soundtrack CD, or on youtube here.)

8. Conclude: So we have let go of anything we want to leave behind, and because we know God loves us and we have built firm foundations through our time in this school so far, we can embrace whatever the future holds with excitement, saying with Ana, 'Wow! I am so ready for this change!'.

(Play 'For the First time in Forever' again as they leave if you like).

(You could even include the snowman's song 'In Summer' in the middle if you want to make this longer, as an example of someone who has no idea what a longed-for change really means!)

What did a Seventeenth Century Anglican think of intersex and trans?

I came across an astonishing aside in a seventeenth century sermon recently. The author casually mentions intersex individuals, including one specific example of someone who has changed both gender and the sex of their marital partner.

He doesn't mention them to condemn them, but merely to underline a rhetorical point. There is not a hint of a suggestion that this is a problem - unusual, yes, but within the normal range of unusual events. Intersex, he says, happens 'pretty often', and is God-given.

The author - John Wallis DD - is speaking about the Athanasian creed, and specifically about the possibility of a virgin birth. He says that it is no less likely than the raising of Lazarus and other miracles.

Then he goes on:
"I was about to say (and it is not much amiss if I do) it is not much more than what (pretty often) happens amongst men, when God gives both sexes to the same person (such there are, and have been; and I think there is one yet living, who was first as a Woman married to a Man, and is since as a Man married to a Woman;) and what hinders them, but that God, if he please, may mingle the Effects of both these Sexes in the same Body? A little alteration in the structure of the vessels would do it."

Maybe this should go into the Pilling report as some theological background?

(Reference: 'An Explication and Vindication of the Athanasian Creed', by John Wallis DD, London, 1691. In Durham University library special collections, PG.Routh.36.B.16)

Why Easter Matters

What does the average vicar write in their parish magazine for Easter? Who knows. But this is what I wrote for our Belmont and Pittington 'Grapevine' this month:

Christ is risen, Alleluia!

We are now in the middle of Eastertide, the season of the year when we remember and celebrate Jesus' resurrection from the dead. Like Lent, Eastertide lasts for several weeks. Over these weeks, we remember Jesus' many resurrection appearances. Sometimes he appeared to an individual, sometimes to a small group, and sometimes to whole crowds of people. By the end of a few weeks after that first Easter, there were hundreds, even thousands, of witnesses to the astonishing fact that Jesus had been raised from the dead.

Jesus's death and resurrection is the central point of our faith. Without it, the church is nothing but a social club. With it, we have the most wonderful message of hope to share.

And the hope that we have in Jesus is one that our culture, our friends and neighbours, and we ourselves, need so deeply. We live in a culture which is desperately scared of illness, weakness and death. So many of our newspaper and TV reports are about what might give us cancer, what might kill or cure us. Our magazines are full of 'miracle' diets and health tips. The most controversial question facing our politicians and society is that of euthanasia - whether people should be allowed to help those who are too frail to kill themselves to do so without fear of punishment.

What do health, life, illness and death mean to us as Christians? Being a Christian does not make us immune from fear of pain or suffering, or from worry and grief when we or those around us are ill and dying. But Christianity does change our perspective on illness and death.

Because we follow a God who showed his love for us most profoundly by being born as a helpless, squalling infant, and by being prepared to die in the most horrible way imaginable for us, we are forced to confront our fears and to see weakness and death in a new light. They are still horrible, still fearsome, but we know that God can and does work through, and overcome, even the worst that can happen. And we know that death is not the end.

We know that God knows what the worst pain imaginable feels like. God knows what it is to suffer in Jesus. And because God is Father and Son and Spirit, we know that God also knows what it is to watch someone close to us suffer and die. Even more, because Jesus on the cross cried out just before his death 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' we know that God knows even the pain of feeling ourselves abandoned by God.

When we think of death, we can see it not as the end of all that is good, but as a movement into things that are even better. Instead of fearing the natural process of ageing and dying, we can relax into it, welcome it even, because we know that this life is not all that God has in store for us.

Because that tomb was empty on that first Easter morning, and the risen Jesus appeared to his friends and disciples, the Christian faith is that we too will one day be raised from death to life with God. Alleluia!

Prayers after (Same Sex) Marriage: A suggested order of service

 You've all seen Rev episode 2, haven't you? That's why I've written this...

A Suggested Draft Order for Prayer and Dedication after the Civil Marriage of a Same Sex Couple*

*NB: The Church of England has a recognised Order for this purpose when the couple concerned are a man and a woman, and that Order should be used in those circumstances. There is no analagous provision for couples of the same sex: instead, clergy are encouraged to make appropriate pastoral provision. This draft order draws heavily on the existing Order (copyright Archbishops Council), and makes some suggested adaptations, but it is not an official or authorised liturgy. It is suggested, however, that it may be of use as a basis for discussion with the couple concerned as to what would be appropriate pastoral provision in their particular circumstances.

Introduction

God is love, and those who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.

A hymn may be sung here, or after the next section.

The minister welcomes the couple and their family and friends, using these or similar words:

N and N, you stand in the presence of God having contracted a legal marriage earlier [today], to dedicate to God your life together. We pray with you that God may empower you to keep the vows you have made to one another.

Edited: Personally, I  might want to include the next bit, an adaptation of the Preface. However, as Peter O points out below, it could be construed as illegitimate under the present guidelines. Since the point of this draft is to offer a contribution that should be fully acceptable, I offer an alternative below. I don't commend this bit as above reproach, but am keeping it here for honesty, as its what I'd like to say - and frankly, I'd prefer to use this version at opposite-sex marriages....

[The Bible teaches us that marriage is a gift of God's grace, a holy mystery in which two people become one flesh. It is God's purpose that, as two people give themselves to each other in love throughout their lives, they shall be united in that love as Christ is united with the Church.

Marriage is given, that two people may comfort and help one another, living faithfully together in need and in plenty, in sorrow and in joy. It is given that with delight and tenderness they may know each other in love, and through the joy of their bodily union may strengthen the union of their hearts and lives.]

An alternative paragraph could be:
[We thank and praise God for bringing you together,
God is the creator of all joy and gladness,
pleasure and delight, love, peace and fellowship.
God loves all that God has made, and declares it to be good.
God's Holy Spirit is known by the fruit of love, joy and peace.
In Christ, God shows his love for us in that while we were still far off,
God met us in His Son and brought us home.]

Is it your wish today to affirm your desire to live as followers of Christ, and to come to him, the fountain of grace, that, strengthened by the prayers of the Church, you may be enabled to fulfil your marriage vows in love and faithfulness?

The couple reply: It is.

A hymn may be sung here.

Collect

Almighty God,

You have taught us through your Son

that love is the fulfillment of the Law.

Grant to these your servants

that, loving one another,

they may continue in your love until their lives' end.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord,

Amen.

Readings

At least one Bible reading should be used, and other readings, poems, may also be used here.

The Dedication

The couple face the minister, who says

N and N, you hve committed yourselves to each other in marriage

And your marriage is recognised by law.

The Church of Christ understands marriage to be a lifelong union

For better, for worse

For richer, for poorer,

in sickness and in health,

to love and to cherish

Til parted by death.

Is this your understanding of the covenant and promises that you have made?

The couple reply: It is.

Have you resolved to be faithful to one another,

forsaking all others,

so long as you both shall live?

The couple reply: We have.

The couple will already be wearing their wedding rings: it would be appropriate for them to keep them on their fingers, since they are already married, and for this prayer to be said over their hands:

Heavenly Father,

may these rings, we pray, be to N and N

symbols of unending love and faithfulness

and of the promises they have made to each other:

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

All: Amen.

The minister says to any family and friends present:

Will you, the family and friends of N and N

support and uphold them in their marriage

Now and in the years to come?

All: We will.

A hymn may be sung here

Prayers: these might well be said by a friend or family member, or even by the couple themselves.

Prayers in a church context should usually include the Lord's Prayer.

A hymn may be sung here.

Conclusion

A final Bible reading (in the manner of a dismissal gospel) or poem may be read here.

A blessing of the whole congregation would be usual here, but may be considered contentious in case it is misinterpreted as a blessing of the couple per se, which is contrary to the Bishop's guidance at this time. It may be advisable to use a form that makes the congregational nature of the blessing explicit, for example by using the inclusive 'us' form:

God the Holy Trinity make us strong in faith and love,

defend us on every side, and guide us in truth and peace;

and the blessing of God almighty,

the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,

be with us [you all] and remain with us [you all] always.

Amen.

If even this is considered inappropriate, I would suggest a form of the Peace:

We have celebrated the love of N and N

and we now celebrate God's love for us all.

Peace, in Christ, to all of you.

All: and also with you.

The exchange of the peace may follow, and form an informal end to the service; or the service could end on those words, and the minister and couple process out.

Champagne Easter

Who is going to be using champagne in the chalice this Easter?

A few years ago I published an article in the Church Times reflecting on how much more embedded the Christian feast of Christmas is in our culture compared to Easter, and suggesting some ways in which we might make Easter more celebratory in ways that chime with our culture.


At the end I made four suggestions, saying

"I want us to make the Easter story just as ubiquitous, just as loved, just as owned by so many as the Christmas story.

1. Let’s make more of Shrove Tuesday. It comes at a cold, dark, miserable time of year. Lent is still a widely recognised and owned cultural phenomenon, but the Church looks depressingly pious unless we balance fast with feast. In the parish of St. Gabriel’s, Heaton, where I was a curate, we built on the expertise and contacts developed through a summer holiday club week by introducing a Mardi Gras weekend. On the Saturday before Lent we held a Mardi Gras children’s activity day, and on the Sunday morning a Carnival Eucharist. Pancake parties are better than nothing, but in this age of foodies they may need to become a bit more sophisticated in some social contexts.

2. I first came across Easter trees in the Netherlands over a decade ago. A few bare twisted branches are decorated with blown and painted eggs, small birds, or anything you like. Ideally the branches are of pussy willow so they already have their catkins, but the decorative twigs you can buy now would also work well. This would make a good family or Sunday school activity for Easter weekend. Decorations could be devised which reinforce the story and are cheerfully bright and attractive (perhaps Mexican crosses and butterflies).

3. I have heard of a cathedral letting off fireworks from its roof at its dawn liturgy. This is a great idea. Fireworks are ideal imagery for Easter. They literally lift your gaze and heart, exploding into dramatic and exultant life. Dawn could be problematic with noise in many locations. Also, the core audience attracted by fireworks, families with youngish children, are unlikely to attend at 5am. But fireworks on the Saturday evening could be a winner.

4. Finally, our Easter morning Eucharist should be seriously distinctive. A note of extraordinary celebration needs to be struck, preferably at the heart of the Eucharistic liturgy. My suggestion is that on Easter day we use champagne as our communion wine. Champagne is part of our cultural shorthand for celebration. Its use chimes perfectly with the Easter message of the reckless extravagance of God’s love, and with imagery of the wedding feast."

Since then, I have heard of quite a few churches doing number 4, and have done it myself. People LOVE it! And the celebratory 'pop' of a champagne cork at the preparation of the table is brilliant. I highly recommend you try it this Easter.

Sex and Marriage

Christianity,  feminism, marriage and same sex marriage

Let me say something blatantly obvious. So obvious it shouldn't really need pointing out: but something I have not heard anyone say out loud in this whole marriage fiasco that the Church is getting itself into.

The controversial thing about same sex marriage - as distinct from same sex relationships, same sex civil partnerships, or even plain old same sex sex - is that if sex takes place within marriage, it isn't sinful. Not all marriages (or other relationships) involve sex, of course. But it is the sex that is controversial.

Those who take an unhealthy interest in other people's sexual sin have had a mantra - all sex outside of marriage is wrong. Marriage good, all other sex bad, is meant to be the rule. (Its a rule few people observe, but the point of this sort of rule is idealism rather than realism).

And that, of course, is why the idea of a couple of the same sex marrying each other, if you think gay relationships are always wrong, is a problem. Thats why the Church authorities - who argued vigorously against Civil Partnerships when they were first mooted - are now desperate for clergy in those partnerships to stay there, rather than get married.

If 'Marriage is good, all other sex bad', then anyone married and having sex (with their marital partner) is by definition not sinning. So if you want to continue to define gay sex as sinful, you have to argue it isn't really a marriage.

But why do we say that in the first place? In the story of Adam and Eve, they never went through any form of marriage. If it was so important, don't you think the Bible writers might have mentioned it? (At least, if you believe that the Bible contains all things necessary for salvation). There is an awful lot of sex in the Bible, much of it quite disordered. Giving a slave girl to your husband to bear children for you? Mmm, that Biblical ideal of marriage...

Marriage is a feminist issue.The thing is, sex is a powerful human urge, that can lead us to destructive and selfish behaviour, as well as forming powerful kin-bonds. For most of recorded history, the point of marriage law has been to regulate sex. It has been legislated for primarily to regulate the ownership of children and thus inheritance and property. Because women bear the children, and before DNA tests men couldn't be sure of their paternity, controlling women's sexual activity became an economic imperative for the landowning classes. Not to mention the fact that women were themselves considered a form of property. Those with little other property didn't want someone else making use of what was theirs.The fact is, much 'common sense' morality surrounding sex is an internalisation of these property interests.

And the ironic thing is, in the middle ages the Church was at the forefront of challenging this. The  Pope repeatedly clashed with heads of states, as both claimed the right to regulate marriage. Kings wanted to control it because of the dynastic interests and property rights involved. The Church radically claimed that this was about two people, and that they had to give their free consent. Further, the Church began to raise sex in importance, claiming that having sex was effectively giving yourself in marriage. It was a radical and controversial idea, that if a man had sex with a woman, they should get married (or even WERE married), even if they were of different social classes. The fact that consummation became part of the legal definition of marriage perhaps indicates that sex was not, in fact, a key part of many dynastic marriages. But it was important that marriages involved sex if marriages were about establishing legitimate heirs.

Marriage was a contract more than a relationship. Until relatively recently, it was possible to sue someone for 'breach of promise' through the British courts if they pulled out of an engagement. The assumption was that the other party reneging on an agreement to marry damaged the goods or brand you were selling. Partly, at least, that was because it was assumed you may well have had sex with your betrothed on the basis of the contract to marry.

Believe it or not, the Church was championing women's rights in the context of its days. He told you he wanted to marry you, and slept with you? You might be pregnant and become destitute? Right then, he must marry you. Even if your family had hoped to do better for themselves.

It is sad that a doctrine of marriage that once was designed to uphold the interests of the people involved against powerful other interests that saw them as pawns, is now being used to do the opposite.

I could say more. The medieval worldview saw everything in hierarchical terms. God at the top, ranks of angels precisely graded by status beneath, then men, women and children (in that order, and in their various degrees), then birds, animals, fish, plants, rocks. Everything had its place. In this worldview, it was 'natural' for men to subordinate women, just as it was 'natural' for humans to exploit the planet. If this is your understanding of how the world is, the worst thing about gay sex is men subordinating and being subordinate to other men, rather than exerting mastery over women.
(Lesbian sex is also seen as wrong, because women are not submitting to men, but its not as important because women aren't as important).

I've been married for 17 years, and I'm very happy to recommend marriage as the ideal form of human relationship. The trust, commitment, mutuality and fidelity of a good modern marriage are ideal conditions for human flourishing. It's for that very reason that I want as many people as possible to be able to avail themselves of it. But the marriage I want to recommend is not a property transaction. It's not about a dominant and a submissive partner (a view associated worldwide with higher levels of domestic abuse, according to research conducted by Dr. Susannah Cornwall). It's about mutual love, commitment, delight, tenderness, self-giving, and, yes, sex which is all of those things too. Against such things, there is no law.

The first line of every marriage service I conduct is:
'God is love, and those who live in love live in God.' I find it hard to see the sin in that. So opening up marriage to same sex couples is indeed a radical step, redefining what they are doing as God-given and a cause for rejoicing. It is clear that the Church as an institution is not quite ready for that, but it isn't getting any choice: gay people are getting legally married.

It's fascinating, as a historian, to see Church and State still arguing over who gets to define marriage. But marriage laws predate the church by many centuries. History says that the Church has only ever won its case by persuading the State that it has the moral high ground. I'd love to see the Church get back on its real high horse, campaigning vociferously and in every nation for the interests of two people in love to trump political unease or vested interests. Any chance?

My faith and George Herbert's poetry

I am currently writing a series of articles for the Guardian website, in a series called 'How to Believe'. In them, I am discussing my faith in conversation with George Herbert's poetry, which I have loved since I first encountered it in sixth form. As someone said on twitter, proof that God can work even through A level set texts.

The first three (of a series of six) are now online:

George Herbert: the man who converted me from atheism

How can we measure the immeasurable?

If God is love, then can God also be love, heat and passion?

Update (15.3.14): number 4, on prayer, is now at

Why do we pray? What is prayer?