U2 360 Tour Performance in Vancouver

Okay, so this is a little late, but I wanted to tell you about our experience at the U2 concert on October 28th. Diane is not really a fan, but she came because I was going, and because she knows that they are the biggest band in the world right now, and have held this recognition for some time. She also knew about their over-the-top production that they were bringing. The massive claw that arched over the stage was overwhelming when you first entered the seating area of BC Place. The purpose of this stage effect was to ensure that, even in a football stadium with 60,000 people present, no one would have a bad seat. The screen that was suspended above the band gave everybody a 360 degree view of the concert, and the speakers gave a 360 sound. Take a look at my cell phone photo of the stage.



Yeah, I didn't think of bringing a real camera. I also was concerned about the appropriateness of taking photos at a concert, so I just took an empty stage, and no photos of the concert itself.

It was really loud! Since I know the words to many of the songs (or at least some of the words), I wanted to sing along, but unless I totally knew all the words, I couldn't pick up the words I didn't know because it was just too loud to understand them. I slept well the night after the concert, but my head didn't stop ringing until 8 o'clock the next morning! I guess it is expected at a rock concert. When I listen to their albums in the car or at home, I can adjust the volume to an understandable level, and that's how I learned to enjoy their stuff.

Volume aside, it was a great concert. The weaving together of themes of justice and songs that picked up these themes was very well done. Songs like Beautiful Day, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, and One were a real experience of God's presence, not to mention a rendition of Amazing Grace.

This was the last concert of the tour, and it seemed like they (the band) just didn't want it to end. They came back to the call of the audience three times.

I kind of wonder how long U2 is going to keep going and how long they will keep reinventing themselves.

A Night at a Very Special Opera

Diane and I attended a very powerful performance of "Amahl and the Night Visitors" in English. Tonight it was at Sherbrooke Mennonite Church (Friday November 27th). There are still 5 performances left at various churches in Vancouver. Just go to www.operaappassionata.org - to learn about the opera, go to "Events;" to reserve tickets, go to "Tickets;" and to see when and where the next performances are, go to "Calendar."

I highly recommend it as a great event to help you enter this year's Christmas season. It presents some interesting new angles on how we might think about the Christmas story.

Do it! Don't delay. You will be blest.

Got It!

Thanks to the help of the Administrator of the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online (GAMEO), I got the information about the Reformed/Mennonite reconciliation. It was found in an article in the August 2, 2004 issue of the Canadian Mennonite. An excerpt of the article is quoted below.

"On June 26, 2004, Christians from the Zwinglian Reformed tradition and the Anabaptist church confessed sin that had separated them 500 years ago and extended forgiveness to one other.

Some 400 people from four continents participated in the Anabaptist-Reformed Reconciliation Conference. The settings were the Grossmünster, the church where in 1525 Ulrich Zwingli preached against the Anabaptists, and the nearby Limmat River, where in 1527 Zurich authorities ordered the drowning of Felix Manz, one of the earliest Anabaptist leaders. About a dozen Canadians were present.

In an afternoon worship service, Larry Miller, executive secretary of Mennonite World Conference, preached from Zwingli’s pulpit. In his sermon, “The new city,” he said that the best in the Reformed vision of the church was like the Old Testament city, “open to all citizens without exception.” It lifts Jesus as lord of all and calls the church to shape society.

The Anabaptist vision, said Miller, was typical of the New Testament “city set on a hill,” a community of disciples following Jesus in daily life, separated from the world while witnessing to it. Persecution, however, drove Anabaptists into separatist communities.

“After lighting the lamp, we hid it under the bushel where it neither illuminates good works nor provokes offerings of glory to God,” said Miller. He commended the Reformed Church for taking steps “towards fuller communion with former adversaries.”

Confessions and responses from each group were among the conference’s most moving moments. Reudi Reich, president of the Reformed church in the Canton of Zurich, read a statement of regret for the persecution of the early Anabaptists.

In response, Ernest Geiser, president of the Council of Elders of the Swiss Mennonite Church, said: “Descendents of the formerly persecuted Anabaptists among you today no longer see themselves as victims…. We accept your confession with a spirit of forgiveness.”

In the evening, people gathered on the bank of the Limmat near the spot where Felix Manz was drowned. A rowboat slipped silently along the river and in a dramatic move, the rowers snatched the cover from a new plaque on the wall.

The English translation of the inscription reads: “Here in the middle of the Limmat River from a fishing platform, Felix Manz and five other Anabaptists were drowned between 1527 and 1532 during the Reformation. The last Anabaptist executed in Zurich was Hans Landis in 1614.”

At the dedication of the plaque, Reich again asked forgiveness for the persecution inflicted on Anabaptists nearly five centuries ago. Thomas Gyger, president of the Swiss Mennonite Conference, noted that city authorities and the church in the 16th century were trying to maintain public order in the face of what they considered a serious threat. He expressed gratitude for the memorial and the steps towards reconciliation."

Lutherans Seek Forgiveness

Back in July, in Paraguay, at Mennonite World Conference 2009, speakers from almost all of the major church groups around the world brought their greetings. While we all have our unique approach to being Christian, I was marvelling at this strong statement of commitment to work together. Then the Lutheran Church representative came up. One could have missed what he had to say if one was engaged in a side conversation with a new (or old) friend from a completely different place on our planet that just sat down in the chair next to you. Let me just give the quote about this historical event as taken directly from the Mennonite World Conference website.

"Asunción, Paraguay—A moving gesture of reconciliation and strong preaching marked Assembly 15’s first full day, on Wednesday, July 15.

Ishmael Noko, general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), addressed the gathering with a “heavy heart,” he said, because of the “painful history” Lutherans and Mennonites share, especially the persecution – and execution – of Anabaptists in the 16th century.

“This history of condoning persecution," he said, "is a spiritual wound we [Lutherans] carry around in us." He further described the condemnations of Anabaptists, contained in the “anathemas” of the Augsburg Confession, as “the poison of a scorpion.” The Anabaptists did not strike back, he said; “we have it in us.”

“We were wrong, regrettably wrong,” he said. “Execution was not the only choice, even then.”

In recent years, Mennonites and Lutherans have been in dialogue about these matters, and Lutherans are seeking a “healthier” continuing dialogue now, said Noko, “as we address how we condemned you.” At their meeting in 2010, the LWF will be asked “to take action which will put us in a new position to the anathemas and express our deep repentance and regret.”

The assembled Mennonites reacted spontaneously to Noko’s words by standing and applauding.

MWC president Danisa Ndlovu also responded. “What we have heard will change our lives and perspectives,” he said.

“We are witnessing the breaking of walls,” he continued. “We are ready to receive the words we have heard.” The two men then embraced.

Ironically, these representatives of Anabaptists and Lutherans are both from Zimbabwe. Ishmael Noko's mother, in fact, was a Brethren in Christ woman who married a Lutheran. Said Larry Miller, MWC general secretary, "Divine providence has brought these [two men] together." End of quote.

Just to say a little more about the irony of who is carrying forward the reconciliation; these are two Zimbabweans, leading the healing process of disastrous times for European Christians. If the Mennonite Church had started in Africa, history may have taken an entirely different course, and this reconciliation may have never been necessary.

Well, this blog entry has been prompted by a praise item in the November 2009 edition of the Mennonite Church Canada Witness PrayerNet (to which you can subscribe - or may already). I quote, "We are grateful that God’s promises of reconciliation shine brightly in a damaged world! The Lutheran World Information (LWI) Council has unanimously adopted a statement asking forgiveness from Mennonites for a legacy of violent persecution. The statement expresses “deep regret and sorrow" for the past and asks forgiveness, “from God and from our Mennonite sisters and brothers.”

Praise the Lord for his hand of reconciliation! A similar process also took place with the Reformed Churches back in ... I'm still looking for when and where this happened, but it was only a few years ago.

More Than Gold - Prayer

I just spent an evening praying for More Than Gold (MTG). This is the Christian presence at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games. It was a call to prayer for the staff and executive committee of MTG. MTG is a very diverse expression of the Christian faith, and this was reflected in our prayer experience. The prayer time began with the standard cell group/Bible study type spontaneous prayers of praise and intercession. Then the leader urged us raise our hands (if we were good with that) and give up to God whatever came to our hearts and minds. Then she asked us to pray as the Koreans pray (she had recently been at a Korean gathering for MTR). This Korean style was not different than what I would consider Pentecostal/charismatic prayer where everybody prays out loud at once. We prayed like this for a bit, and when things started quieting down, one in the group said that people and churches of the more liturgical tradition will give their prayers to God, ending each prayer with something like, "We lift our prayer to you," and then the whole group saying, "Lord hear our prayer." We carried on in this style for some time. We ended with praying with and for the person next to us.

The diversity of prayer traditions reflected the diversity of the church traditions participating in MTR. Even more, it reflected the willingness of the people to participate in each other's preferred styles. This diversity of church tradition and prayer style also brings diversity of ministry. It is very cool that MTR is doing: chaplaincy (the more direct outreach and spiritual ministry), radical hospitality, and social justice initiatives. Go to the website www.morethangold.ca to discover everything there is to know about this initiative. This coming weekend there are 2 training events and an opportunity to serve. You will be surprised as to how these folks from so many different traditions are taking the love of Jesus as their motivation and working together as one - without focusing on differences, in fact, actually taking interest in each others' unique priorities that they bring.

Go for it. Go to the website and just keep clicking on stuff to go deeper into what it's all about and how you can participate.