Categories: uncategorized
Date: 04 June 2011 11:11:13
Ok, so I've just been doing a sermon / assignment on the Kingdom of God and have been looking at the way that this is all around us - sometimes in the most unexpected places. Whilst not including it in what I've written it made me reflect slightly differently on trip to London and the Southbank I made this week.
The Southbank Centre is celebrating the 60th anniversary of the festival of Britain.Outside the centre are various beach huts with different things inside them. One includes a mock up of a 1950's beach hut and has a recording telling the story of the 1953 floods which devistated the East of England. Within it there are signs of people being in relationship with each other (in families and beyond) and of people enjoying leisure and making the most of the word God created. At the same time there are descriptions of people helping each other in the face of tragedy. This I would argue is an example of where Gods will was done on earth as it was in heaven and so is an example of the kingdom of God.
There is also, in the Hayward Gallery, a Tracey Emin exibition. This contains a mixture of different mediums and is probably best described as moving and slightly disturbing. Now I love Emin mainly because of her text based textile work and so I was really pleased that the first part of the space was filled with a series of her blankets. The messages on them may be disturbing at times, but they also display hope and love. In the mist of the nonsense you find the signs of the kingdom, if you look closely. Alot of the film and pencil drawing work relates to her abortion and her feelings relating to that. It is facinating and sums up the side of the story which people don't often see. It does not elicit sympathy but it does display the reality during and after for the woman involved and acknowledges the baby. It certainly educated me and I would urge others to go in order to have the same education. The only drawback is that there was one too many vaginas on display for my liking. Now, the used tampons made sense and were moving but the endless pencil drawings of vaginas....no. That said the moving pen and ink which had a flick book type effect and showed a woman masturbating was very good and not at all pornographic. It in a simple way showed the wonder of the way our bodies are designed so that we might be able to give ourselves pleasure without the need for pornography or oppression. So, again, in this space I found something of the kingdom....all be it a rather disturbed and crumbled corner.
The centre also has a museum of 1951 which is free to enter. If you're around go and see - it's brilliant. There is a series of embroidered squares showing the century 1851 - 1951 and it is quite inspiring seeing what happened during that period. It contains the ingredients for our current life and expectations and again shows how in late Victorian and Edwardian times amazing things happened. Free education for all, women' s sufferage and so much more. It also showed the horror of war and what happens when we ignore that this is God's kingdom. This museum is the reminder we need.
In the evening I saw K.D. Lang in concert, supported by Little Miss Higgins. The support act spoke a little too much but was v. good. Her voice was excellent and she was accompanied by the most suberb blues/ blue grass guitarist. As for K.D. Lang's set it was exquisite. It was not suprising half way through the set her rendition of Cohen's Hallaluiah got standing ovation....it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end it was so brilliant. She was playing with the Sis sis boom bang and they were excellent, although one of them did look like he had gotten lost on the way to ZZ Top rehersals. For me this was an evening of heavenly music and again reflected what the kingdom is like....a place where people enjoy innocent pleasures and acknowledge the talents of others - as she was genuinely doing with her band.