De La Mennais Brothers: Making Jesus Christ better known and loved by young people

The Switchfoot gig in Manchester last night was a truly wonderful experience of joy, of communion, of uplifting songs and so much more… They are one of those rare acts that are more than just writers and performers of songs. They have the tremendous gift of being able to write songs that you can adopt as your own and apply to your own life in a way that makes it feel as if it was especially written just for you. Jon Foreman, lead singer and principal songwriter, shared that he was once asked about how he writes songs… no easy answer, but on the spot he came up with something that he’d never thought before but summed it up well - he starts from a place of darkness and strives to take the song into the light. I LOVE this idea. I can really feel it in their songs and I suppose it’s one of the reasons that I have listened to their 10 (+ rising) albums so often over the years. Their songs really do help to lift the darkness. Here are three songs that do just that for me - darkness to light....

On my way in to see one of my all-time fave bands, Switchfoot (for the 2nd time / last time over 10 yrs. ago). Their music is uplifting, even when melancholic, while their lyrics cover the full range of human experience from the dark night of the soul and the search for meaning in the midst of suffering, to the joy and peace that comes from finding the love of God in those around us, in our friends and family. This song sums up very well what they are about.  #switchfoot #jonforeman #timforeman

On this day when we commemorate Pope St. John Paul II , here’s a quote of his that has stayed with me: “Duc in altum. Put out into the deep. These words invite us to remember the past with gratitude, to live the present with enthusiasm and to look forward to the future with confidence.” #jpII

Saw "The Death of Stalin" last night. Both laugh-out-loud hilarious and gasp-inducingly dark. The wonderful cast tear into their parts with gleeful relish, but special mention must go to Andrea Riseborough (always brilliant) who provides an essential and moving emotional anchor to the story and through whose eyes we observe the ridiculousness of the alpha (and not-so-alpha) male power struggles going on around her.  The attached interview with the director/writer Iannucci  is very interesting. I love this line which I can most certainly related to:  "Everyone thinks they’re a child in a world of adults and then you realise, actually, it’s lots of big children.”  

This man Terry Crews’ account absolutely nails what is at the heart of the whole question of sexual harassment + abuse and why the women who are coming forward now re Weinstein haven't done so before. It's all to do with power and control, establishing a power relationship that the victim is powerless to do anything about. The abuser knows this which it why they feel they can get away with it, even when, as is the case of this former-sportsman-turned-actor, it takes place at a very public function in full view of other people, including the victim's wife. The fact that the victim is also black gives it echoes of how black slaves were treated... "I own you, so I can do what I want with you... I will humiliate you in front of those you love so that you know your place and will stay in it." Oh, and it wasn't Weinstein but someone else. Here's a quote from the second article: " But perhaps most glaringly, Crews' story shines a light on the myth that s...