Pussy Riot and a concerning reaction by Patriarch Kirill

The article I'm referencing here may not be fully viewable for acouple of weeks due to the CT internet policy. As a subscriber I feel it's fair, for the purposes of discussion to make a little piece of Canon Bourdeaux's article a bit more open. I'm assuming that readers know the basics of this but if you don't try this. What struck me was the appearance in the same issue of the Church times of this article by Michael Bourdeaux in which the following quote appears and a column featuring the prayer that I will reproduce following it.

: Patriarch Kirill has reacted by sending a circular letter to all his churches in Moscow, to be read out after the liturgy. It was an "Appeal to the Procurator General", encouraging parishioners to sign in support, requesting the maximum sentence for the women: five years, for blasphemy and aggravated hooliganism, (Is this a return to the Cold War?)

And then there is this prayer from a traditional Eastern Orthodox source which seems to be an indictment of patriarch Kirill's response:

Lord Jesus Christ who didst command us to love our enemies, and those who defame and injure us, and to pray for them and forgive them, Who Thyself didst pray  for Thine enemies, who crucified Thee; grant us, we pray, the spirit of Christian reconciliation and meekness, that we may heartily forgive every injury and be roconciled with our enemies. Grant us to overcome the malevolence and offences of people with Christian meekness and true love of our neighbour ... And help us repay evil with goodness, and to remain safe from the temptations of the devil, and from all the perils which threaten us, in the form of visible and invisible enemies. Amen.

Perhaps we should pray that Kirill might find it in him to try to embody this prayer that speaks so well of his Tradition?

Play and power: the Jesus way

I've long felt that Walter Wink's take on this was broadly correct: it makes sense of a strong current in Jesus' and even Paul's teaching and examples. However, seeing Wink's article here was helpful in making a connection to the Play Ethic and all that stuff.How turning the other cheek defies oppression | Ekklesia: "This unmasking is not simply punitive, however; it offers the creditor a chance to see, perhaps for the first time in his life, what his practices cause-and to repent.
Jesus in effect is sponsoring clowning. In so doing he shows himself to be thoroughly Jewish. A later saying of the Talmud runs, 'If your neighbour calls you an ass, put a saddle on your back.'
The Powers That Be literally stand on their dignity. Nothing takes away their potency faster than deft lampooning. By refusing to be awed by their power, the powerless are emboldened to seize the initiative, even where structural change is not possible. This message, far from being a counsel of perfection unattainable in this life, is a practical, strategic measure for empowering the oppressed. It provides a hint of how to take on the entire system in a way that unmasks its essential cruelty and to burlesque its pretensions to justice, law, and order."
I seem to recall Harvey Cox's Feast of Fools makes a similar point somewhere ...

Anyway, the creativity in protest is definitely a Christian way by this, and to exercise moral imagination that seeks third ways, surprise and redefinings of situations seems encouraged. It certainly helps me to see something of the spirit of Christ in some of the actions and lifestyles of some of the 'alternative' people I have had the privilege to share time, space and good conversation with. Sometimes we need to take account of Christ's words "You are not far from the Kingdom of God" -though sometimes recognise that because we, the church, have not been/embodied Good News, to say so might not be heard as an encouragement!

Cyberaction: resist nuke power in earthquake zone

It's hard to believe but there is a proposal to build a nuclear power plant in Bulgaria in an earthquake-prone area. "The Belene project was planned in the early 1980s and from the start it was controversial because the nuclear plant would be situated in an earthquake zone. During the last large earthquake in 1977, over 120 people died only 14 kilometres from the Belene site. In 1984, Soviet scientists actually warned against building a nuclear plant at this location and in the 1990s the plan was scrapped."
We should recall the lasting effects of Chernobyl ... add your voice to opposing this by clicking on this link: FoE Europe - Anti-nuclear cyber action

Now that the Heathrow climate protest is over ...

...we ought to assess the media hype about ill-defined bad behaviour, which largely didn't happen.

"Protests like this have two peculiar vulnerabilities. One is that anyone can claim to speak on their behalf, either in person or online, whether or not they are involved. The other is that anyone can say anything about them without fear of being corrected, let alone sued: accusations can be levelled at the collective that could not be directed at any of its members. As long as the claims remain in the plural, they can be stretched as far as public credulity will allow."

Monbiot's helpful little article raises important questions.
Guardian Unlimited | Comment is free | Attack of the baby eaters:

Court clears anti-war saboteurs

I think that this is basically a jury in the UK recognising that some actions undertaken in Iraq could be illegal under international law and that, therefore, those who attempt to make it hard to carry out those actions are in the right. As one of those involved said; "It is a great relief - and a huge vote of confidence for anti-war protesters - that a jury were convinced that our actions were lawful."Court clears anti-war saboteurs | Special reports | Guardian Unlimited: