The Friday Fix

  • ‘The Sound of Silence’ – Simon & Garfunkel

    Judith writes:

    I wrote this reflection using Simon & Garfunkel’s ‘Sound of Silence’ intertwined with the biblical references it invokes for me.

    Hello darkness, my old friend

    I’ve come to talk with you again

    If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light around me become night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you. (Psalm 139:11-12)

    Because a vision softly creeping

    Left its seeds while I was sleeping

    And the vision that was planted in my brain

    Still remains

    Within the sound of silence

    At that place he came to a cave and spent the night there. Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (1 Kings 19:9)

    In restless dreams I walked alone

    Narrow streets of cobblestone

    ‘Neath the halo of a street lamp

    I turned my collar to the cold and damp

    When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light

    That split the night

    And touched the sound of silence

    And in the naked light I saw

    Ten thousand people, maybe more

    People talking without speaking

    People hearing without listening

    People writing songs that voices never share

    And no one dared

    Disturb the sound of silence

    “You have seen many things, but you pay no attention;your ears are open, but you do not listen.” (Isaiah 42:20)

    “Fools,” said I, “You do not know

    Silence, like a cancer, grows

    Hear my words that I might teach you

    Take my arms that I might reach you

    On the heights, beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand;

    for my mouth will utter truth; wickedness is an abomination to my lips

    Take my instruction instead of silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold

    I walk in the way of righteousness, along the paths of justice (Proverbs 2,7,10 & 20)

    But my words, like silent raindrops fell

    And echoed in the wells, of silence

    And the people bowed and prayed

    To the neon god they made

    They have been quick to turn aside from the way that I commanded them; they have cast for themselves an image of a calf, and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’” (Exodus 32:4)

    And the sign flashed out its warning

    In the words that it was forming

    And the sign said, “The words of the prophets

    Are written on the subway walls

    Immediately the fingers of a human hand appeared and began writing on the plaster of the wall of the royal palace, next to the lampstand. (Daniel 5:5)

    And tenement halls”

    And whispered in the sounds of silence.

    Simon & Garfunkel’s website is https://simonandgarfunkel.com/

    Paul Simon’s website is http://www.paulsimon.com/

    Art Garfunkel’s website is https://www.artgarfunkel.com/

  • Bitter sweet Reflection

    Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com

    This is a Reflective Exercise from Marc Williamson, who has his own fab blog at https://www.remarcable.me.uk/.

    For this space, you’re going to need a few things to hand:

    2 marshmallows (or sweet sweets of your choice…)

    2 slices of lemon (or shots of lemon juice, or something equally bitter…)

    and perhaps a glass of water just to cleanse your palate in between!

    What follows is a reflective exercise I have tried to do every year for the last 18 years, either at the start of the school year or the calendar year. It’s a practice I came across as I was led in it by my fellow youth worker in my first youth work job in 2004, and I find it a helpful way to look back, and look forwards, and to ground myself again in what I know about God as I seek to live this life I’ve been given.

    In June 1997 The Verve released a song from their album “Urban Hymns” called “Bittersweet Symphony”. The lyrics are fascinating, and paint a picture of one understanding of life and how we seek to live it, ultimately recognising that life itself is a “Bittersweet Symphony”.

    That notion is going to be our starting point for our reflection

    “Cos it’s a bittersweet symphony this life.”

    It’s important that we don’t shy away from the things that we struggle with in life, and we are not saying that turning to God means our struggles are in any way unimportant, or a result of sin or a lack of faith. As we journey into this practice we are bringing all of ourselves to God, recognising what we enjoy and what we struggle with, celebrating his presence in the sweet and the bitter, and fully aware that to have life in all its fullness is to experience both the bitter, and the sweet in the confidence of the presence of God’s love.

    First up, I want you to think about the good things in life. I want you to imagine the perfect day, those happy moments in life.

    If that day or those moments were a colour, what colour would they be? Why? How does it make you feel? (Was the sky blue? Was the sunset orange? Was the person you were with wearing a purple shirt?)

    If that day or those moments were a smell, what smell would they be? Why? How does it make you feel? (Did you start the day with Bacon (always a good day!)? Were you at the beach with the smell of the sea? Perhaps you can remember the scent of the perfume of the person you were with?)

    If that day or those moments were a song, what song would they be? Why? How does it make you feel? (Perhaps it was a song that was on the radio? Perhaps it was that song you danced to all night? Or perhaps it’s just a song that reminds you of a person or a place?)

    As you think about those good times, I want you to pop a marshmallow into your mouth and enjoy the sweet… bring all those senses, memories and thoughts together and be grateful. In those moments it is perhaps easier for us to sing of the goodness of God (when we remember), to acknowledge his presence and the blessings in our life. 6: In this space, offer you own prayer of thanks for the goodness of God.

    Feel free to drink some water to cleanse your palate (though you might not want to!).

    Secondly, and this could be a difficult thing to do, I want you to think about the harder things in life. I want you to recall a moment of sadness or grief, or imagine the feeling of hurt or brokenness.

    If that day or those moments were a colour, what colour would they be? Why? How does it make you feel? (Perhaps your colour is similar but darker… Perhaps it’s black and empty of colour and light… perhaps it’s a colour you associate with caution, warning, or danger…)

    If that day or those moments were a smell, what smell would they be? Why? How does it make you feel? (Perhaps it’s a smell that turns your stomach… something you want to turn away from… something you trod in perhaps…)

    If that day or those moments were a song, what song would they be? Why? How does it make you feel? (Perhaps it was a song that was on the radio? Perhaps it was that song you danced to all night? Or perhaps it’s just a song that reminds you of a person or a place?)

    As you think about those harder times, I want you to pop a slice of lemon into your mouth and experience the bitter… bring all those senses, memories and thoughts together and allow yourself to feel. In those moments it is undoubtedly more difficult for us to sing of the goodness of God, or even to acknowledge his presence in our life. 10: In this space, offer you own prayer of anguish, offering your pain and sadness to God.

    Feel free to drink some water to cleanse your palate (though you might not want to!).

    We know the reality of the experiences of life. We can recall the good and the bad, and we can relate to the emotions and experiences within ourselves, and acknowledge the triggers that we might encounter daily. But I wonder:

    If the last year or 18 months were a colour, what colour would they be?

    If the last year or 18 months were a smell, what smell would they be?

    If the last year or 18 months were a song, what song would they be?

    We have our ideals, and we have our lived experiences. There aren’t many people who would have chosen to live the experiences we have over the last 18 months, and yet there will have been glimpses and glimmers in it all that’ll have brought sparks of joy or peace or hope. But there’s no doubt they have been difficult. There will have been those moments that tasted sweet, yet collectively and personally we will have had our fill of the bitter too.

    The reality is that there aren’t those cleanly defined moments of sweet and bitter. We can’t compartmentalise them into orders or sizes based on our preferences. As life happens both the bitter and the sweet combine, and we need to find ways to live through the bittersweet.

    That song that reminds us of the happy moments dancing with the person who is no longer with us; that smell that reminds us of a simpler time before our hurt; that vaccine that gives us our freedom, but came after the suffering and loss of so many; those daily moments where we can experience both joy and pain in the same instance. That is the bittersweet symphony of life, all those things coming together to give us our experience.

    And as followers of Jesus we are not exempt from the bitter: We experience the pain alongside the freedom, the joy alongside the mourning. Indeed Jesus promised us that it wouldn’t be all sweet. Yet there is a promise that we can cling to, a promise that Paul writes in Romans 8 from his understanding of who Christ is and what he has accomplished. And as I read this promise to you now, I want you to take your remaining marshmallow and lemon and put them into your mouth at the same time. Allow the words you see and hear, and the sensations as you taste, to guide your thoughts:

    “What shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

    As we journey together into this new year, into the unknown of today, let alone tomorrow and beyond, we cannot assure ourselves of only the sweet, nor will we experience only bitter. They will come together, in different amounts. But the promise we can choose to cling to is the constant presence of God’s love, from which NOTHING can separate us.

    In this space, offer your own prayers to God, acknowledging your justified fears of the bitterness that the future hold, and praying for eyes to see and appreciate the sweet it will also hold. Thank God for his ever-present love regardless of what comes our way. …

  • ‘BITTER SWEET SYMPHONY’ – THE Verve

    Marc writes:

    In June 1997, The Verve released a song from their album “Urban Hymns” called “Bitter Sweet Symphony”. The lyrics are fascinating, and paint a picture of one understanding of life and how we seek to live it, ultimately recognising that life itself is a “Bittersweet Symphony”.

    That notion is a starting point for this reflection

    “Cos it’s a bittersweet symphony this life.”

    It’s important that we don’t shy away from the things that we struggle with in life, and we are not saying that turning to God means our struggles are in any way unimportant, or a result of sin or a lack of faith. As we journey into this practice we are bringing all of ourselves to God, recognising what we enjoy and what we struggle with, celebrating his presence in the sweet and the bitter, and fully aware that to have life in all its fullness is to experience both the bitter, and the sweet in the confidence of the presence of God’s love.

    As life happens both the bitter and the sweet combine, and we need to find ways to live through the bittersweet. That song that reminds us of the happy moments dancing with the person who is no longer with us; that smell that reminds us of a simpler time before our hurt; that vaccine that gives us our freedom, but came after the suffering and loss of so many; those daily moments where we can experience both joy and pain in the same instance. That is the bittersweet symphony of life, all those things coming together to give us our experience.

    And as followers of Jesus we are not exempt from the bitter. We experience the pain alongside the freedom, the joy alongside the mourning. Indeed Jesus promised us that it wouldn’t be all sweet. Yet there is a promise that we can cling to, a promise that Paul writes in Romans 8 from his understanding of who Christ is and what he has accomplished.

    “What shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

    As we journey together into this new school year, and for the Methodists- the Connexional year; into the unknown of today, let alone tomorrow and beyond, we cannot assure ourselves of only the sweet, nor will we experience only bitter. They will come together, in different amounts. But the promise we can choose to cling to is the constant presence of God’s love, from which NOTHING can separate us. Thank God for his ever-present love regardless of what comes our way.

    (You can find a Reflective Exercise that Marc uses in the ‘Devotional Ideas’ of this blog called ‘Bittersweet Reflection’)

    The Verve split up in 2009 but lead singer, Richard Ashcroft, continues to make music. Visit his website at http://richardashcroft.com/

  • ‘All of This and Nothing’ – Dave Gahan & Soulsavers

    Gill writes:

    “Sometimes we just simply have to find a way. The moment we decide to fulfil something, we can do anything. And I’m sure the moment we start behaving as if we were in an emergency, we can avoid climate and ecological catastrophe. Humans are very adaptable: we can still fix this. But the opportunity to do so will not last for long. We must start today. We have no more excuses.” (Greta Thunberg speaking to the British Parliament on 23rd April 2019)

    I don’t know if I hear God in this song, but I definitely hear the cry of our planet. And considering that our earth was gifted to us by the Divine, then perhaps that’s what I hear – God speaking through God’s creation. Creaking, and groaning, and wailing – crying out for us to listen and act one last time. As Greta says, and the young Christians who are currently walking from Cornwall to the COP26 tell us – change is urgently needed.

    Sing your song
    Sing out for me
    Give it everything you’ve got
    Just one more time for me
    Move in from the dark

    Perhaps the call to act feels too unsurmountable. Perhaps we don’t know where to start. Perhaps we don’t know what to do. Perhaps we think that someone will come up with a plan in time to save us. Perhaps we think it’s all ‘stuff and nonsense.’ I guess all of these responses are a reaction to a problem that is so huge, and distant (though the recent ICCP report tells us it isn’t), that many of us escape in to denial, disbelief, anger and dissonance.

    The river seems too wide to cross but we can sense the incoming storms. We don’t know whether to batten down the hatches or to swim and hope for the best. If we swim out and the storm ceases, will we be ridiculed for acting like we did? If we stay put, the storm might be even worse than imagined – will our shelter be enough?

    The river’s wide
    Too wide to see
    There’s a storm outside my window
    Moving close to me
    Move in from the dark

    My personal faith is rooted in love. I can’t explain it any other way. I know some people struggle with the word ‘love’ because of their life experiences, and I know that love can hurt, excruiatingly so, at times. All I know is that I feel connected, concerned and consumed by love for those I share this planet with, stranger and friend alike. I feel called to try and take care of our common home in whatever way I can.

    That’s what I hear in this song. A call; a cry; a love that can’t be avoided.

    Our planet isn’t just something to kick around on. Our wellbeing and human flourishing is wholly tied up with it. If the Earth is sick, then so are we. It’s our life-source and we are tasked by the Creator to take care of it. It has everything that we need to live. It’s the dirt beneath our feet. It’s the sun that rises without fail.

    I know that I take so much of life for granted and many of my actions and choices are to the detriment of life on this planet. We’re all part of God’s amazing creation – the web of life that God has woven for us – whether we believe it or not. It’s time I behaved better and listened – that’s what I hear in this song.

    I’m all of this and nothing
    I’m the dirt beneath your feet
    I’m the sun that rises
    While you’re sleeping
    I’m all you need

    Dave Gahan is still the lead singer of Depeche Mode and you can find out more about them on their website http://www.depechemode.com/

    You can also follow Dave Gahan on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/DaveGahan

  • ‘Rewrite The Stars’ from The Greatest Showman (sung by Zac Ephron & Zendaya)

    Nel writes:

    ‘It feels impossible’

    The sung dialogue between Phillip and Anne in The Greatest Showman, as they swoop on a rope trapeze, is an ebbing and flowing of hope, doubt and possibility.

    Phillip sings of rewriting the stars; creating a new outcome; a redefined fate.

    Anne responds with all of the obstacles, hindrances and difficulties; although her heart too longs for a re-charted course.

    It feels impossible.

    I know I am sometimes like Anne.

    Full of doubt, fear, insecurity, disbelief and negativity.

    It feels impossible.

    And sometimes it is. And we may need to accept that fact and grace-fully reorientate ourselves. Showing ourselves and others mercy as we wisely recognise that a particular course of action is not for us. Acknowledging the rightness of impossibility.

    It feels impossible.

    But sometimes it isn’t. And we need to accept that fact and grace-fully realign ourselves. Showing ourselves and others mercy as we wisely accept that a particular course of action is entirely right for us. Acknowledging the divine power of possibility.

    Anne says that there are mountains and closed doors preventing the impossible from happening.

    God tells us that mountains can be cast into the sea and that He stands knocking at doors.

    And so, as we continue our ebbing and flowing conversations with God; the swaying back and forth of faith, fear, hope, trust, doubt ~ dipping and rising; soaring and dropping like a holy swinging trapeze.

    It feels impossible.

    Sometimes it is: so we leave the impossibles at the foot of the Cross.

    If feels impossible.

    Sometimes it isn’t: and we rise on Resurrection wings to new heights.

    Find out more about The Greatest Showman at https://family.20thcenturystudios.com/movies/the-greatest-showman

  • Songs and (Climate) Change

    Photo by Markus Spiske on Pexels.com

    We’re running low on Friday Fix reflections. Following the recent bleak IPCC Report and the upcoming COP26 Gathering, we wondered if songs about change and/or the environment might prompt some ideas for contributions. Perhaps a season of ‘protest’ songs might be in order?

    Anyhow – have a think and a shuffle through your record collection (physical or mental). Gill would love to receive a few reflections at thomasg@methodistchurch.org.uk. As always, don’t worry about format, editing and links to videos – we can do all of that.

    Looking forward to an influx of songs in the next couple of weeks!

  • The President Sang Amazing Grace – Joan Baez

    Lynne writes:

    On March 15 2018 I was (as I said in my Facebook post at the time) playing out late on a school night. Along with my dad (the main source of my musical education), my sister and my brother (who’d been roped in last minute because my mum was ill) I had the immense joy of seeing the legend Joan Baez in concert at the Birmingham Symphony Hall.

    What I was looking forward to the most was seeing this amazing woman sing ‘Diamonds and Rust’ live and, honestly, she didn’t disappoint in her delivery of that classic. But, as much as I love that song, it ended up not being my main memory of the night.

    A few weeks before the concert took place, on February 14, a gunman had opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, killing 17 peopleand injuring 17 others. This terrible, tragic event became the most deadly high school shooting in American history (how sad that there is even a list), surpassing Columbine (1999) in its number of victims. It came at a time of increased support for gun control (following other mass shootings in 2017) and it prompted several Parkland students to start the #NeverAgain movement, advocating for tighter regulations that prevent gun violence.

    In response to all this, Joan Baez sang the Bob Dylan song ‘The Times They Are A-Changing’ and dedicated it to those brave students, taking a stand against the NRA and turning their grief into action. I remember turning to my brother (who had been a very reluctant stand-in to take the spare ticket) and seeing tears streaming down his face, tears that mirrored my own as I reached out and took his hand.

    As we were reeling from the emotional impact of Dylan’s ever-relevant lyrics, Baez moved into singing the beautiful song that this post is actually about. Written by Zoe Mulford, ‘The President Sang Amazing Grace’ tells the story of the 2015 attack on the Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston, which claimed the lives of nine of the church-goers. The title refers to the reaction of then President, Barrack Obama, when he attended the memorial service for the victims:

    But no words could say what must be said
    For all the living and the dead
    So on that day and in that place
    The President sang Amazing Grace
    The President sang Amazing Grace

    As Joan Baez sang this beautiful song, I swear the whole audience held its breath. It felt like a profoundly spiritual moment – a shared acknowledgement that some things are just too awful to comprehend, some feelings too big to articulate. I’m not ashamed to say that, at this point, my brother and I were practically clinging to one another and sobbing like babies.

    This song has returned to me recently as I’ve been watching the news – in particular (but not only) the worrying events in Afghanistan, the tragic shooting that occurred in Plymouth and the aftermath of the awful earthquake in Haiti. I’ve watched the video, with some beautiful, hand-drawn animations that serve the song well, a number of times. The lyrics tell us that sometimes all we can do is share our pain with God, knowing that God is with us, that God not only understands but shares our grief and cries with us. We can lean on God and feel ourselves held.

    “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Matthew 5:4

    More about Joan Baez: http://www.joanbaez.com/

    More about songwriter Zoe Mulford and the story of the song: https://zoemulford.com/the-story-of-the-president-sang-amazing-grace

  • Dig Hard – Hope & Social

    Kristie writes:

    I only discovered this song as summer ended last year (another thankyou to Greenbelt), as I was anticipating the departure of my firstborn for university. The words resonated, I was missing her and she hadn’t even left. 

    Hey hey I’m thinking I’ll miss you 
    Hey hey I already do 

    She has three guinea pigs I was entrusted to care for, and each week after she’d gone, I found cleaning them out a bittersweet experience – doing something for her even tho she was no longer here, really feeling her absence, and also wishing she was here to be cleaning up the guinea poo herself! And so part of the ritual became playing this song whilst I did it, thinking about my sweetheart having the best days of her life.

    These days are now the best days of your life

    Don’t waste that worry honey, on other people’s fights

    Dig hard

    Be kind

    Live long

    And grow, grow, grow honey!


    The words summed up some of my wishes for her – to not waste her energy on that which is not hers to worry about, something I think some of us can be tempted by!

    And if the moment will cost me dearly 
    I’m digging deep for you

    And there was also a reminder to me – I think letting go can feel like it’s costing us dearly, and we do have to dig deep into our emotional reserves, but we grow as a result.

    Press you thumbs into my shoulders 
    And mark indelibly 
    So I can look whenever I’m lonely 
    And know you’re part of me 

    I know that there are indelible marks imprinted in my body and soul by my daughter and I’ve been grateful for them when I have found the separation hard. It’s been a tricky year to be apart, yet we’ve found new ways of relating (hurrah for video calling, and for being able to send all kind of loveliness through the post).

    And she’s back home now…

    Find out what Hope and Social are up to here: Hope And Social – The internet home of Hope and Social

  • How Beautiful Life Can Be – The Lathums

    Gill writes:

    Sometimes a song happens along that just captures your attention and your heart straight away.  Here is such a song for me.  It’s as contemporary as they come having only recently been released as a single – and the title is also to be the title for their debut album when it’s released later this year.

    I’m generally known to be a ‘glass half-full’, Pollyanna-type person – so it’s hardly surprising that I connected immediately with this song.  It exudes joy, positivity, light and warmth through both the melody and the words.  It deserves to be a summer hit because surely this song captures summer perfectly – buzzing bees, breathing and beauty.

    But for all the optimism, there’s a gentle acknowledgment that life has darker sides to it.  It recognises constraints through lines like ‘when one allows her to breathe’ and ‘let the children have the chance.’  The title itself encourages us to open our eyes wider to see ‘how beautiful life can be.’

    The lead singer and songwriter of the group, Alex Moore, wrote the song last year, at the height of the pandemic following a conversation with his Mum.  He says “I was just with my Mum just talking about stuff, and the words just kind of came out through the conversation, then I got a little melody for it. I just realised that things aren’t always as bad as they might seem, even though they seem terrible at the time. We always get through things, and life can actually be really beautiful.” (Far Out Magazine: 25/6/21)

    One of the coping strategies that is commonly used by those who are struggling with stress, anxiety and worry is guided imagery (or taking yourself to a ‘happy place.’)  The practice of closing your eyes, resting in a comfortable place or position, and imagining yourself in a place where you felt relaxed, happy and tranquil can have a calming and soothing reaction. The same can be found in prayer – particularly in practices like Centering Prayer and the Ignatian Daily Examen – which is why cultivating and nurturing prayer life is so important in faith-filled lives.

    Music can help transport us to such places too.  Listening to poetry and stories can do the same.  I wonder how many of you were taken to a back garden in the summer sun, visually following a bee as it flitted amongst flowers as soon as you heard the first lines on this song? 

    So, I invite you to sit back, turn the volume up and enjoy a summery, breezy slice of a song appreciating life for two and a half minutes.  It’s just how beautiful music can be.

    Find out more about The Lathums (and where they are touring at the moment) by visiting their site at https://www.thelathums.com/#/