Formed.

This Summer marks the end of four years of 'ministeral formation' for me. I still have some of the degree to finish, but the 'vicar school' bit is done. I remember very clearly, on the drive home after being accepted on to the course, catching chorus lyrics in a song i'd not clocked previously on an album i was listening to a lot at that point. The album was Hard-Fi's Stars of CCTV, and the track: Unnecessary Trouble.

"There's just no need to cause unnecessary trouble, just make sure you cause trouble where it's necessary."

(I post this for the song, NOT the quality of the video)



This spoke to me of principles (of the moral variety, not the mortar board kind), faithfulness and boldness, and i found that helpful in my approach to training, particularly while working out if there was a distinction between 'a call' and 'my call'.

So training / formation begins and one of, if not the, first classes features discussion on David Nash's wooden boulder which made it's way to the sea over the course of several years. David revisted the area to try and find and photogragh where the boulder had got up to every few years. Each time the boulder had changed and moved on in its journey. This served as an illustration for our journeys, our changing thought, our influences and our spirituality.

From there many words have been written and wrestled with, and many concepts have been described, applied and grappled with - well, four years worth to be exact.

In March this year Kelly switched jobs, moving from the Arts Council to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. YSP is about to launch its new exhibition and as such it's a busy time; opening event, installation, briefing from the artist, and tonight there's a staff party with the artist (which i somehow get to be at).

This new exhibition is by David Nash, otherwise known as 'the boulder dude'. I thought it a fascinating coincidence that one of the very earliest parts of my training, as part of the foundation module, was about reflecting on the journey, and re-visitation, of the wandering boulder, and then at the end of the four years i get to meet the artist responsible. It frames the whole experience perfectly, and obviously gives cause to reflect on the course i've plotted myself inbetween times. When thinking about this moving wooden boulder another lyric came to mind which took me a little bit of effort to place. "This rock has got to roll", i eventually realised, is from the Fun Lovin Criminals track 'Couldn't Get It Right' on the Mimosa album.



The song is obviously about moving on, and it also speaks of having waited for a sign that never came. I find that that seems to have a resonnance with the position i currently find myself in, though i'm still waiting. A bit.

So, where to from here my little boulder friend? Let's see...

A sign of the times

Ash cloud in the sky
Oil in the oceans
Riots in the streets
Cameron / Clegg devotion

Strikes in the air
Arms in Korea
3 Lions in the chart
Deep budgetary fear

Islam V facebook
Job deprivation
Middle East conflict
Told in Revelation?

by Andy Amoss aged 30 and 5/6s

Does my narcissi-silly look big in this?

So sick was i of youtube videos not fitting fully on to the page of the former layout of my blog that i had to change it.

I loved how it used to look; i loved the colours, i loved the font and i loved the format, but sadly it was not flexible enough, so away with it! I shall miss it all, and it will take me some time to get used to this new set-up. But i want to assure you that this is the same narcissi-silly as before; the same lowbrow, inane, overly critical and cynical, self-loving stream of [fill the blank] that you have become accustomed to, just differently colour-schemed and bordered is all. Hope you like it.

Jesus wants our churches to be really, really good-looking.

Waiting for election things to settle a bit before blogging on that... that... circus.

In the meantime, here's a parody of the type of church lots of Christians hope for as we move more fully into the 21st Century. I think these fantasies are very ripe for it, and these dreams should be lampooned in order to expose and save us from them.

Enjoy.

(Er, when i say 'enjoy', what i mean is 'try not to vomit all over your keyboard')

"Sunday's Coming" Movie Trailer from North Point Media on Vimeo.

In support of Tottenham Hotspur

Being a Spurs fan is no mean feat. It can be torturous at times. We've played around in the realms of mediocrity for way too long and it's been a very frustrating place to be. We've won big games but then underperformed against teams we really should have beaten - and i'm not just talking about this season, i'm talking about for almost as long as i can remember. This has been the Tottenham way; the way of mediocrity, inconsistency and frustration - never quite being able to finish things off.

We have lived and supported in the shadow of a legendary Spurs team who were the first among our contemporaries to achieve great, great things, but this has only served to highlight how long ago the early sixties were. Since then we've had to be satisfied with a domestic cup every 10 years. And in recent times we've had to be satisfied with the league cup every 10 years. There have certainly been some fantastic results along the way and some great highs - lets mention beating Ars**al 5-1 as an example - but these have been exceptions rather then the rule.

What i saw happen last night, off the back of this whole season, was the greatest Spurs achievement of a generation. Not only did we finally prove we do have what it takes to 'cross the line', we crossed said line right into the most celebrated club competition in the world, and the foundation such a thing gives us to build on far outweighs any FA cup victory. This is about the whole of our club's development.

For all the pain, the disappointment, the sheer 'mid-tableness' of it all, it has been worth it for the way i feel right now, and for the opportunity that lies ahead of us.

Yes, there's still the 1st qualifying round of the Champion's League to get through, and let's not pretend that there's zero potential for us to be beaten by Burnley on Saturday. I should also acknowledge that Manchester Utd fans et al may well want to mock how excited Spurs fans are about what is essentially their bread and butter, but that makes it no less a fantastic level of success to have honestly attained, and that's to be celebrated by all.

Spurs fans, we've put up with a lot, but the light is shining now.

What a night, what a squad, what a season, what a ride! And it's the thrill of that ride that makes being a Spurs fan such a deeply authentic, visceral and unique thing.

Come On You Spurs!



**wipes tears**

Dear Tottenham Hotspur...

Um, about tonight...

Who will win?

So we face this crucial point in our history; everyone's talking about who'll win - or maybe it'll be a draw, and the outcome will have to be decided after the event. The die hards are already wearing their colours, while the neutrals and the bookies are having to make gentle and speculative manoeuvres as they work out who to get behind. It'll be a full house with all the seats taken, one way or another. There are no longer any 'safe-hands' in this contest, everyone is just as vulnerable as anyone else now, and all the while the tension is becoming too much for some, and others are simply unable to cope with the wait any longer.

However, the more i try and prepare myself for the moments that will decide all our fates, the more people seem to be saying to me 'Andy, quit wittering on about Spurs v City and the Champion's League place, don't you know there's a general election on this week!'

Miss the 80's much?

If you're suffering any seperation anxiety regards the 1980s, Hollywood is swinging to your rescue this Summer.

The A-Team



The Karate Kid (see any Will Smith in his boy?)



A Nightmare on Elm Street



Apologies for the way the whole image won't appear here. It looks like the whole of youtube has done away with its smallest screen sizing and what's left won't fit here. Any comments on how to rectify this would be most welcome.