New Programme of events // Last blog

This will be the last post on this blog. From now on, please visit our webpages at:

http://www.hindestreet.org.uk

The new programme of events is available to download from there.

The all new 2011 programme is now available!

It kicks off on Sunday 23rd Jan at 4pm in the quiet room at Hinde Street Church, with a showing of the classic film The Mission. The film stars Jeremy Irons as a missionary venturing deep into South America and Robert de Niro as a slave trader. Alongside them the haunting and incredible soundtrack from Ennio Morricone. A truly classic film which shouldn't be missed.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091530/

Bible Study

Come to 16a Hinde Street tomorrow night (Tuesday, 2nd November) at 7.30pm for a bible study!

New Programme!

After a prolonged holiday, an exciting new programme of events is now available for October, November and December. You can pick up a copy in Hinde Street Church, email hindeyag@googlemail.com to ask for a copy, or download it here:

http://hindeyag.googlegroups.com/web/Hindeyag_MT2010_2.pdf?hl=en&gda=syYRDEoAAADbwsgYkJJvZjyC6RJ69bbZFpjZLKTnRMjBPbm3bFblEiV_-3jydD9X3MAsQxQYRl6mwwmmjY8lLEkm5GsdcWpf43A-aeCEILRGvirYlWsVyw

The programme kicks off on Tuesday October 5th, with a communal meal at 16a Hinde Street, hosted by Ruth. We'll be asking for a contribution to cover the cost of the food, but it shouldn't be much.

On Thursday 14th October we will join an event at All Hallows by the Tower, entitled "God in the City" where, in their own words "worship engages with contemporary life".

http://www.ahbtt.org.uk/worship/alt-hallows/

The events at AHbtT are always stimulating and the people there are very welcoming.

On 24th October we will have a simple bring and share supper in the quiet room at Hinde Street Church, before the evening service.

On Tuesday 2nd November we will join together for a bible study.

On Friday 12th November, we will go together to "Late Shift" at the National Portrait Gallery -

http://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/late-shift/november-events.php

On Sunday 28th November, HindeYAG will host a QuizAid - a Quiz which raises money for Christian Aid. All the church is invited, so we hope to prove our wits against them.

And on Sunday 12th December we will have a Christmas Party. After the excitement of last year's party, there is great anticipation about the 2010 addition!

Christmas Mayhem

Last Sunday night we celebrated Christmas early with mince pies and silly games.

Pictured below are the stunning models Ruth and Rachel, showing off the festive season's latest fashions.

Merry Christmas! Ho Ho Ho!

Party Time

The next event is our Christmas party, which will take place between 8-9pm on Sunday, after the evening service at Hinde Street. All are welcome.

Social Scenes in W1

Tuesday night saw hindeyag descend on the Giraffe restaurant in Marylebone.

A good time was had by all.

food and fellowship

Join us on Tuesday at 7.30pm for a meal out. We are meeting on the steps of Hinde Street Church. If you are certain to come please e-mail hindeyag@googlemail.com and we'll look out for you.

Methodist President...in conversation

A special report by John Cooper...

After Sunday’s evening service, enticed by promises (not from the hosts but that evenings steward) of Champagne and canapés, a contingent went to the Superintendents house. Initial disappointment at the lack of advertised snacks soon gave way to a relaxed session of discussion, question and anecdotes.

The questions were clear and, to be honest, showed that one or two had obviously read the presidential biography before his arrival. Starting off with an easy ‘what's good, bad and ready for change in the Methodist Church’ we were soon treated to an hour of relaxed sharing. Highlights included tales of what the President was advised not to talk about when on tour, and what he could expect to find in a shared tumble-drier.

Highlight of the evening was he discussion on two issues. The first was the future of the Methodist Church. Whilst a predictable question, what the answer showed was here was a leader willing to state his personal opinion on what lines couldn’t be crossed in the name of ecumenism. His enthusiasm for an all-inclusive, gospel driven church that didn’t just sit in the pews but actively encouraged others to take action was good to hear.

The second was of greater concern. One member asked how the President had found living in community. He explained how, inspired by John Vincent, he had his first placement leading a community. There he discovered the joy of shared living, the challenges of shared living and the true value of taking shared living – taking it further to community – and how the dividends to themselves and the church are certainly never to be seen as purely a financial return through actions and money.

As always, Sue and Daniel acted as great hosts and a great evening was had by all.

President Gamble

David Gamble, President of the Methodist Conference for this year is preaching at Hinde Street on Sunday at 6.30pm.

Afterwards we will join him and other folk from Hinde Street at Sue's home for further conversation.

David has his own blog, which he co-writes with the Vice-President of the Methodist Conference, Richard Vautrey. Richard himself will also be coming to Hinde Street later this month.

Artefacts of Faith

Our aim in exploring the British Museum was to look for objects which had a religious role, or were inspired by or intended to inspire faith and spiritual understanding. This helped spark some interesting conversations about our own beliefs and practices.

Our first stop was ancient Assyria, including wall carvings of the Siege of Lachish. Lachish was once an important Judean city, and is mentioned in several places in the Old Testatment. The siege of the city is actually referred to in 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles. To be standing in front of something with such a strong link to ancient scripture was quite toe-curling.

We then moved on to ancient Greece, where we split up to find some things for ourselves that resonated with us.

Rachel picked the Nereid Monument - (once a tomb), partly because of the large number of buildings around the world and throughout history which are built in the same basic style and shape - portico, columns and pointed roof. The Museum itself, and our own Hinde Street being two good examples.


Moving on, David the Second nominated this ferocious lion, guardian, protector and King of Beasts.


Stephen chose the battle between a man and a centaur from one of the Parthenon metopes. This could be understood as symbolising the struggle between good and evil, civilsation and barbarism - or on the night of the Question Time programme with the BNP leader on it, perhaps between human rights and fascism?


And I picked out this carving of a man at a feast, with a cup, a plate of food, and with his friends around him, laughing and sharing jokes, and his dog at his feet. For me this reminded me of Psalms of celebration which talked about cups overflowing, and also about counting our blessings that we can enjoy abundant life, and that we have a responsibility to help all people be fully alive as well.

Moving on we compared and contrasted a North American Totem Pole, this one for a chief of the Eagle-Beaver Clan of the Nisga'a Nation from the 19th Century (right) with an Anglo-Saxon Cross from England in the 7th Century (left). Was the purpose and impact of these objects essentially the same, to call down a blessing and to remind folk of important messages. The totem contains carvings of animals from legends of the clan's past. The cross is decorated with vine leaves, recalling the words of Christ about vines and branches.

Moving upstairs we visited the Medieval gallery. Here we saw the Royal Cup, an elephant ivory comb for delousing priests and a bronze censer cover. Whilst these pieces are incredibly delicate and beautiful, do they really teach us about what the people who used them believed? This got us thinking about what would a museum with objects from Hinde Street contain in 1,000 years time? I have a horrid feeling it might be the ugly disembodied winged cherub heads which sit above the stained glass windows...

Sacred artefacts

Join us on Thursday at the British Museum (pictured above) for a chance to explore some of the exhibits and artefacts which reveal something about faith.

From the ancient Assyrians (dating from Old Testament times) to native American totem poles, what does the spirituality of the world say to us at Hinde Street in 2009?

We'll meet at 6.30pm in the Great Court.

Fun in the sun

A hardy band gathered on Sunday afternoon at 4pm, braving the mist, drizzle, rain and damp, determined to have a good time. Their faith and perseverance was rewarded as after about ten minutes the skies cleared and we had a lovely sunny afternoon to have a bit of a kick around in Regent's Park.

As you can see from these pictures, football and pulling funny faces were the two games we had most fun doing.

The football 'match' was 16A vs ROTW. I'm gutted to report that 16A lost, with the final score approx 17-5 (I don't think anyone was counting!) It wasn't helped by the fact we were playing uphill.

Here is Matt with a tree, and two members of the 16A team, David and Ali.

The day was rounded off with some holy frisbee, as modeled by Ali (on the right). You can also see Stephen having a good time (on the left).

And finally, an action shot. Should we do this more often?

Next event: hindeyag sport

Join us next Sunday for games in Regent's Park.

There will be chance to run around and let off steam and generally have fun.

We'll meet on the steps of St Marylebone Parish Church on Marylebone Road (near the top of Marylebone High Street) at 4pm and have an hour or so of games before returning to Hinde Street for a special tea put on for students at Westminster and the evening service - Holy Communion with John Nyota.

Thinking about our faith and life in London

• Why did we come to London?
• Why do we stay living here?
• What do we like about it?
• What don't we like?
• How is our faith affected by living in London?
• How is living in London affected by our faith?
• Where do we get our spiritual nourishment and renewal from?

These were just some of the questions we discussed at the hindeyag conversation on Wednesday evening.

Most (if not all) of came or stay in London because of work - though some did say that London was a last resort.

We like the diversity and variety of things to do, that there is more choice and that it is quite easy to be anonymous.

We don't like the busyness or the loneliness, or that London can stimulate a quite a selfish attitude in people.

Our faith is affected through church, community and encountering people with different views.

We talked about our lives, our views and even ethical dilemmas that we face at work.

We also had a little bit of music from David II on the piano followed by some less serious conversation in the Angel-in-the-Fields.

What do you make of life in London?

Join us for our next hindeyag event on Wednesday 23 September from 7.30-9.00pm at Hinde Street Methodist Church.

We will be using the time to talk, discuss, debate and find out about each other, what we do, and what we think about our faith and our lives in London.

We'll be in the main chapel / sanctuary part of the church.

If you have any questions please leave a comment or e-mail hindeyag@googlemail.com

Squeezing the last out of the summer!

Much fun was had at the hindeyag picnic held yesterday.

Despite the autumnal chill in the air, it was still just about warm enough to enjoy what might have been the last of the British summer. The sun even came out for a few seconds!

Memorable moments surely have to include the Lemon Drizzle Cake, which was baked listening to Mozart and Ceri's vegan flapjack. We also had fun with Tamar and how she bonded so well with Christophe and so poorly with me!

YAG gets under way

Hi, welcome to hindeyag, the online home of the Hinde Street Young Adult Group.

All are invited to our first event, a picnic in Manchester Square Gardens. This will be on Sunday, 13 September from 4.00-6.00pm. Manchester Square Gardens is at the end of Hinde Street, in front of the Wallace Collection.

Please bring some food and drink to eat and share.

If the weather is bad, we will relocate to one of the Hinde Street communities.

If you are definitely planning on coming, please e-mail hindeyag@googlemail.com and we'll look out for you!