Seeker

On 31 October 1517  Martin Luther , a German Roman Catholic priest and theologian, one of the key inspirators of the Protestant Reformation nailed his 95 thesis to the chapel door of the University in Wittenburg. In doing so he challenged the corrupt practices of the church of his day and called for debate on those issues. Some Protestant churches observe today as Reformation Day. The Church of England commemorates Martin Luther today. So, remembering him, if you enjoy organ music, listen to this magnificent work based on Luther's hymn, 'Ein Feste Burg ist Unser Gott' (a mighty fortress is our God). Luther's original words are based on Psalm 46. Here is Willem van Twillert playing Max Reger's Phantasie uber den Choral, 'Ein Feste Burg is unser Gott', Opus 27 on the organ of Grote of Magdalena Church, Goes, The Netherlands. I love the way the organist needs not one but TWO stop pullers to assist him!

Here's a quick round-up of comments that have caught my eye or ear in the last few days, in relation to the Occupy London Stock Exchange protest and the behaviour of the church.   3 days ago, after Giles Fraser's resignation as Canon Chancellor of St Paul's Cathedral (London) Dave Perry's post The Christian Church in an age of protest: no signals no hope? says (among much else worth reading) that Christianity is    in tune with popular outrage at the economic and social chaos which the elites of the global banking and financial systems have brought down upon the masses worldwide. For the church to offer no signals and no hope at a time like this is just unforgiveable. It empties the gospel of meaning and reduces it to something vacuous, facile and futile. 2 days ago, in Capitalism and the Church of England , Lay Anglicana's blog enjoys the irony of the fact that the address of the London Stock Exchange is Paternoster Square. (Pater Noster = Our Father, just in ...

Water Can Be Art (CC)   http://www.flickr.com/photos/jcarlosn/3933670165/in/photostream/ "Water can be art, or can be drink, it's up to you, but actually, we need water" is what Jose Carlos Norte has written about this image - an interesting comment about both water and art. I used this image on 14 October for my first #digidisciple post at The BIGBible Project . This was the first of a monthly series about women of the gospels. Here is what I wrote: Welcome to the first of a monthly series:  ‘Blogging Women of the Gospels’ . Not that any woman  in the Gospels had a weblog,  but their remarkable stories still resonate with lives in the digital age. I begin with an unnamed woman fetching water – what millions of women still spend hours working at each day, leaving little time for much else, as this  34 second video from Water Aid  highlights. As I turn on the tap and clean water fills my glass, it’s shocking that millions in today’s world don’t have...