Lockdown has given us the impetus to do some serious recording. With a heavy live gigging schedule with both Silverthorn and Metanoia, Ruth and I talk about “finding the time to record” but in reality, you need an extended period of time to do it.
Read moreRepentance, Forgiveness and Public Life
There has been a lot of ink spent on Dominic Cummings in the last few days. One curious aspect of the debate is for his right leaning apologists to silence the voice of Christians by citing “forgiveness”. “You are a Christian. That’s not very forgiving”.
At the heart of the Christian Faith is repentance, or in Greek, metanoia. Turning your life around. Giving up the old ways and pledging to take a new, better path in the future. This is where forgiveness is transformative.
So what has this all got to do with Cummingsgate? Here we have someone who broke the social contract that we share with one another. We keep it because we are protecting not ourselves but others. And Cummings has highlighted that there are an elite among us for whom the rules do not apply. Their social contract is different. It is a contract that applies to others but not themselves. In this case, it is a social contract shaped by Cummings that was applied to the rest of us. And this is the rub. Rules created by the elite but not for the elite. And when exposed and challenged, this disingenuous cabal of the ruling classes close ranks to protect one of their own.
In tonight’s Yorkshire Evening Post there is a moving letter from a bereaved woman who has lost her brother. Her story is one of betrayal. A betrayal by the ruling classes who who have the brass balls to flat out lie through press briefings rather than hold their hands up and admit to making an error.
“All I wanted and needed from the government was an acknowledgement and apology that this trip was made with poor judgement.”
So yes, this is a point at which we need to examine the Christian values of forgiveness and repentance. We need to regard how they provide us with a lens through which we can examine the actions of those who govern us. For repentance, that life changing metanoia holds us all to account and shapes the future we walk into.
Please read Josette Ward’s letter in full at the YEP. It is a moving read.
Blessed Be Your Name | Music Video
Lockdown has taken away so much of our day to day life. Not least of which is music. We are usually live in front of an audience playing in rock bands Silverthorn and Metanoia at least once a week and losing that has been hard.
Read moreBecause He Lives | Music Video
We have all given up so much in the last couple of months. However, there is one thing I’ve managed to gain from all of this. The opportunity to begin recording some music. As all of our live gigs have disappeared we have been turning to Pro Tools.
When we were asked “Can I sing on Easter Day, I was supposed to be doing it in church” it got us thinking. How do you do it via the internet?
This is one of our young people singing into his phone with me and Ruth backing. Each of the parts done in one take so it feels a bit more…. live.
Hope you like it.