25 years since the Challenger shuttle disaster

25 years ago the space shuttle Challenger exploded just after takeoff. Not only were 7 lives lost, but the confidence of America was shaken in a way that was second only, perhaps, to the events of 9/11.

I was training at theological college at the time, and remember watching the TV with some American friends who were also training. We used to delight in poking fun at President Reagan and his folkesy and sometimes confused style, but on the night of the disaster he made one of the best speeches.

He knew how to communicate in a warm and heartfelt way, which combined gravity with hope. He helped make sense of what had happened, not trying to apportion blame as so quickly happens today, but simply saying that these things happen when people take the risks of exploration.

If ever there was a need for a head of state to sum up the mood of a nation, then this was it. Speaking equally sincerely to the nation as a whole, the families of the crew who died, their NASA colleagues and children who had witnessed the disaster live on TV. I still find the speech very moving, particularly in the way it ends with those famous words about touching the face of God.

Watch the speech here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12298521

The end of optimistic modernism

My generation (the post-war baby-boomers) is probably the last to have lived in a time of optimistic scientific progress - what social commentators call the period of Modernism. In the 1950s and 60s we were fully expecting that nuclear power would soon produce free electricity for all; those who went to university were paid for by the state; retirement on a good pension was something to look forward to; the NHS would provide cradle-to-grave care regardless of ability to pay. We were all becoming better off financially, living longer, enjoying more opportunities for leisure.

But my children's generation has quite a different outlook. Energy production is pushed to the limit and has become much more expensive; the previous government's push for more young people to go to university has made the system fall apart by becoming too expensive; the retirement age is creeping up and guaranteed final salary pensions are a thing of the past; the NHS is itself in need of intensive care and we are all living longer but seem increasingly unhappy.

Has my generation been deceived by a lie that things could only get better? Has that made us greedy for more and expected it as a right? Maybe. Has there ever been a time in history when the next generation faces a future worse than the previous?

I suppose the idea of scientific progress is a relatively modern one - the idea that the appliance of science to everyday life will improve our standard of living year on year. Up until the mid-nineteenth century most people would simply have lived with the prospect of life continuing much the same generation after generation. Perhaps our quest for continual progress has reached a natural limit and can't go any further. It is very difficult, therefore, to leave behind a standard of living, or its expectation, that we have enjoyed and settle for something less.

It all seems rather gloomy, and rather than becoming easier life in general seems more of a struggle. But the human spirit does not give up easily when there is some encouragement around.

I have my grandfather's bible at home. He wrote on the inside cover: '15th March 1916', that is right in the middle of the First World War when he was in the trenches somewhere in France. He also wrote a reference to two verses: Isaiah 41:10 & 13 -

Fear not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.

Though life may be getting harder for many, let's not give in to despair when we can encourage one another with these words.

Heartbreak in New Zealand

After the joyful rescue of the miners in Chile it must have been all the more heartbreaking for the people of New Zealand to learn that no miners had survived the explosion in the Pike River Colliery. How can we make sense of the fact that while many people were attributing the successful Chilean rescue to the presence and power of God with those men, that same God seems to have ignored the miners in New Zealand?

It's a hard question and one that has been asked as long as there have been philosophers: why do good things and bad things happen apparently at random to both good and bad people?

In the bible Job's 'comforters' tried to explain the bad things that happened to him as a result of his unconfessed sin. But that answer didn't work. In the end Job had to simply accept that we don't know the reason why bad things sometimes happen to good people. At the same time he learned to trust that God might know more than he did.

A tragedy like the one in New Zealand is another example of what the apostle Paul talked about when he described 'creation groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time'. There is a sense in which these unexplained things cause us and the whole of creation to groan, in the expectation that a better day is coming - and it can't be soon enough.

Theologians use the expression 'now and not yet' to describe the coming of God's kingdom. In one sense it is here already with the coming of Jesus, but in another sense it is not here in its fulness. Now we live in an inbetween time in which we see glimpses of that kingdom: sometimes people are healed in response to prayer, or rescued, or converted. But at other times they are not. We simply have to learn to live with that tension.

In the meantime we can pray for the relatives and friends of those miners, that in some way they will know the consoling presence of God.

Groundbreaking Ceremony at Oasis Academy, Coulsdon

I've just got back from witnessing one of the best good news stories in Coulsdon: the groundbreaking ceremony for the new buildings at Oasis Academy, Coulsdon. I was asked to say a prayer at the burial of a time capsule. (It 's the second time I've been asked to do this is as many months.) It was only to be a temporary burial, as later the capsule will be placed under the floor of the new reception block. I joked by saying that most burials I officiate at stay down permanently.

Since the Academy opened just over 2 years ago the learning community there has been transformed. The first time I visited, just after the opening, I was struck by the atmosphere of quiet but energetic activity. The skill of the senior management, the care of the staff, the responsibility given to older students - this all makes for a community that is buzzing and positive. Local residents have noticed the change in behaviour at the nearby bus stops. Several of the students joined in our church 750th anniversary celebrations by helping at our Medieval Banquet, and by writing and collecting good news stories.

What particularly pleases me is to see a school that is not separate from the local community, but is wanting to be part of it. An increasing number of children from the local schools are applying for places, and I hope it will soon become the first choice for many Coulsdon parents.

The Academy has a strong Christian character, but an open admissions policy. That chimes very well with the mission that a parish church such as St John's has. It means that any children, whatever their background, can apply and then will be part of a transforming experience.

The new buildings are going to look fantastic. You can follow a virtual tour here: http://www.oasisacademycoulsdon.org/academy-life/galleries/view/item8857/

I was talking to one of the design engineers after the ceremony and he was really excited about the design of the new buildings in the use of space and light, energy and natural air-conditioning. The students who use these new premises will be very luck indeed. But actually they are even more fortunate to have such a motivated teaching staff.

If you are thinking about a secondary school place for your children, do consider Oasis Academy: Coulsdon.

'Candle in the Wind'

No - I'm not an Elton John fan, but I just thought of the song as I was reflecting on the Service of Thanksgiving we held last Sunday for bereaved people to remember those they have known and loved. As part of the service we invited them to light a candle in memory of those they had lost.

I have a sort of inbuilt evangelical prejudice against candles - perhaps more than a prejudice against the practice of votive candles that are thought to continue your prayers after you have left. But I suppose the thing about lighting a candle is that it can mean whatever you want it to mean, and that is why it is so popular for today's (confused) spirituality.

Lighting a candle in memory of someone might represent the light that they brought into the world for a time, or perhaps our own sense of thanksgiving for them. Perhaps the flame represents the bond of love, or maybe the fragility of the flame speaks of our own human frailty that may be snuffed out at any moment.

The act of lighting the candle seems important, as it allows grieving people to DO something and not just be consumed passively by the paralysing sadness that so often follows death.

So, I may not be an 'up the candle' churchman, but I was touched by the numbers of people who flocked forward to light a candle for their loved ones on Sunday. After they had gone we blew the candles out - health and safety...fire risks and all that - and I had a sense of all those remembered lives that mattered to people and, more importantly, mattered to God.

Good News from Chile

I've been transfixed by the live TV coverage from Chile of the miners' rescue today. It's been playing in the background on my PC. Who could not be moved by the emotions of those rescued and reunited with their families. As the men have been released from the rescue pod it's almost as if they are being reborn; in fact one said 'I have come back to life'.

It's been notable how many people have been talking about God today. The first words of the President of Chile were "We thank God..." At least one of the miners dropped to his knees in prayer as he was released into the sunlight.

The story of rescue and reunion is such a powerful one, and one that the Christian Gospel is founded on. Going back to the days of Israel's rescue from their slavery in Egypt to the message of release through faith in Christ from sin, guilt and the fear of death. The TV commentators were talking about the psychological impact of the ordeal and rescue on the men and their families, and wondering what would happen in the days to come - would they simply return to their old way of living, or would this experience really change their lives. Who can tell?

The Christian church through the ages has treasured the wonderful message of salvation and rescue. As people encounter God through faith in Jesus Christ their story has so often been of transformed lives set free to enjoy life in all its fullness.

I particularly enjoyed hearing the chaplain to the President of Chile. I didn't catch his name, but he is an Anglican minister - English, but fluent in Spanish. 24 Hour News means you can speak at great length as there is no time limit for a report, and this chaplain was really on fire with enthusiasm for what God is doing in Chile. Commenting on the miners' ordeal he said, "There were not 33 in the mine but 34, because the Lord Jesus was there with them." You don't often get that explicit on the BBC news.

All in a day's work

I didn't enjoy having to call the police this afternoon about a man called Anthony who was refusing to leave the churchyard after smashing a window in a neighbouring house and punching someone in the stomach. He was very drunk, but the sad thing was that he was visiting the grave of his daughter who had died in 1991 at the age of 2. He said that she'd been murdered. I agreed to let him stay for a couple of hours, and when i came back he was lying on the grave, asleep. But when he refused to move I had to call the police. It's so hard - you can't reason with people when they are drunk, or even comfort them. The police never turned up, but Anthony moved off eventually, wheeling himself rather uncertainly along the middle of the road, shouting at the passers by.

What can you do with someone's hurt and rage like that? I suppose it has been turned into prayer before now by the psalmists. I couldn't help Anthony, but I can hold him up in my prayers with the knowledge that Jesus knew how to get near to people who were cut off from others by illness, or by antisocial behaviour.