THEM and US: a Confession

Them and Us - a Confession

Whenever we speak of “them” and us”

Lord, forgive us

Whenever we ignore speech about “them” and “us”

Lord, forgive us

Whenever we don’t condemn speech about “them” and “us”

Lord, forgive us

Whenever we stay silent in the face of speech about “them” and “us”

Lord, forgive us

Whenever we don’t speak on behalf of the silenced, in light of talk about “them” and “us”

Lord, forgive us

Whenever we don’t offer an alternate vision that re-imagines the mere idea of “them” and “us"

Lord, forgive us

#AdventThoughts

As with Lent 2016, I've created a whole host of #thoughts that will be appearing each day on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/40thoughtsUK/ - all of the #AdventThoughts can be seen below

Journey to the Inward Wild: A Hymnal For The Wild (Volume 2)

I'm really excited that yesterday my new collection of poetry was published by Proost.

It's available as a downloadable pdf from http://www.proost.co.uk/journey-inward-wild-hymnal-wild-vol2 in the UK

or

http://proost.us/journey-inward-wild-hymnal-wild-vol2 in the USA. 

Physical copies can be purchased from http://www.lulu.com/shop/tim-watson/journey-to-the-inward-wild-a-hymnal-for-the-wild-volume-2/paperback/product-22925189.html

I'm really excited about these poems and I'm grateful for Proost for putting the book out there.

Proost very kindly write,

This wonderful book contains 97 poems exploring different aspects of the this struggle for stillness.  Expect honesty, real-life language and experiences and the tension of wonder and brokenness.  Tim yet again finds a language for the deep things of life that many of us find it so hard to express. 

November always reminds me why I love the NHS

November is an amazing month for us as a family

It's an amazing month because of our two daughters

And it's an amazing month because of the NHS

Two daughters born in different years

Two daughters born in different hospitals

Both born in November

Both born with different needs

One whose birth was complicated,

Whose heart rate started to drop

As the umbilical cord tightened

Around our little one's, not yet born neck

One whose birth suddenly started to go wrong

One whose birthing suite suddenly filled

With NHS staff, from two, to four, to six

One who was born in mere moments

Thank God for the NHS

The second whose birth

Went really well

Until some hours after she was born

Temperature all wrong, blood tests not right

The second was swiftly moved

To SCBU (A cathedral of care and attention)

Lumbar punctured and monitored

And home within a week

Thank God for the NHS

Recently I tried launching an online poetry journal, we didn't have enough submissions to go forwards! Will try again!

#cmpfire2015 poem

Here's a poem that was originally written at #cmpfire2015. It has a swear at the end but seems to be resonating with a few folk so I thought it should be posted again


the disconnect between the ground
and the institutions grows wider the
way the church measures undermines
the mission of God being lived out the
buildings of Christendom drain and
fade haemorrhaging money the
environment collapses and the church
remains vague and out of touch the
signs of faith are lost in perpetual and
misguided hopes for bums on seats the
concern we have for money is shaped
by fear as we seek to preserve the past the
gifts God gives are squandered in an
unholy search for something more the
current generation of leaders will be called
to find ways of ministering freed from
stipend and rooted in simple lives the
hopes we hold will be found in silenced
voices lost to most ears and as we reframe
the frames and watch sparks in ashes fanning
the flames we will look to the gutter to see
the stars and wonder beyond knowing, if we’re fucked

what if them was us