I am reading web and blog reflections about this great man SO many of us have lost from our lives.
Last year, Yaconelli wrote in his latest book, Messy Spirituality,
"I just want to be remembered as a person who loved God, who served others more than he served himself, who was trying to grow in maturity and stability. I want to have more victories than defeats, yet here I am, almost 60, and I fail on a regular basis.
On the Greenbelt CD from this year 2003, he said this about his attitude:-
"If I were to die today, I would be nervous about what people would say at my funeral. I would be happy if they said things like 'He was a nice guy' or 'He was occasionally decent' or 'Mike wasn't as bad as a lot of people.' Unfortunately, eulogies are delivered by people who know the deceased. I know what the consensus would be. 'Mike was a mess.'"
That is the sort of guy he was ............ telling us all that we are acceptable to God ........ if he was ...... and he believed it!
He is .............
Friday, October 31, 2003
Big John was with me when I was last with Mike Yaconelli
He has allowed me to use this .........................
On Friday, October 31, 2003, at 12:41 AM, john noble wrote:
i feel kind of numb pip hearing this truely awful news.
trying to say something, but words wont do it pip.
a prayer.....
Heavenly Father
Thankyou, Lord for the Grace
That ushers us
Into your arms
Which lights up the dark path with a billion suns
And fills Your arena with a hundred million angels singing
For sending us your Ambassadors of Glory
The simple tellers of the story
Armed to the teeth with one weapon of devastation
The truth
Thankyou for giving me ears to hear things i really dont want to hear
Especially the silence
And a heart touched, moulded, ruined by making those ears listen
Tonight we live in a quieter place
Sadness awoken
Let us remember the words that came from that mouth
And flowed though that heart into the fingers on to the page
Let us act upon them
May we always hear
May You always be near
Amen
He has allowed me to use this .........................
On Friday, October 31, 2003, at 12:41 AM, john noble wrote:
i feel kind of numb pip hearing this truely awful news.
trying to say something, but words wont do it pip.
a prayer.....
Heavenly Father
Thankyou, Lord for the Grace
That ushers us
Into your arms
Which lights up the dark path with a billion suns
And fills Your arena with a hundred million angels singing
For sending us your Ambassadors of Glory
The simple tellers of the story
Armed to the teeth with one weapon of devastation
The truth
Thankyou for giving me ears to hear things i really dont want to hear
Especially the silence
And a heart touched, moulded, ruined by making those ears listen
Tonight we live in a quieter place
Sadness awoken
Let us remember the words that came from that mouth
And flowed though that heart into the fingers on to the page
Let us act upon them
May we always hear
May You always be near
Amen
Mike Yaconelli
I first knew of him due to his publications in the US.
He was also a games person like myself.
Then he came to Greenbelt, the festival which makes faith real and live in concrete.
He came to visit the Rolling Magazine and fit that space like hand in glove. Everyone loved him.
The Very Stinking Late Show, starting at 11pm and finishing at 1 0r 2 was also the place to be for this great man.
He was so funny. So powerful midst the humour.
So real..........................
Recently Joan and me have travelled in the car and listened to the essential c.d.'s bought at Greenbelt 2003. John Bell and yes, of course, Mike Yaconelli.
I know of his family, his church, his kissing, his passion, all through his open and honest speaking. I know his wife Karla first hand and through the talks. I want to be with her now to express those/these powerful feelings.
For so many years I have felt the person so close as we sat in the bar late night after GB. The pint of beer and the cigar cemented in place by passionate conversations. Sharing stuff, not heady debates of opinion.
I remember one evening, a few drinks into the evening .......... Mike started to weep. He was expressing his sense of freedom being here at Greenbelt. Being here with people who loved him and never judged him. A place far from home, where he felt at home.
The tears were his best communication of that.
We loved him then in is vulnerability.
We love him now in his ultimate vulnerability.
Lord have mercy
bhp
"work like you don't need the money
dance like no-one is watching
sing like no-one is listening
and
love like you have never been hurt"
www.pipwilson.com
I first knew of him due to his publications in the US.
He was also a games person like myself.
Then he came to Greenbelt, the festival which makes faith real and live in concrete.
He came to visit the Rolling Magazine and fit that space like hand in glove. Everyone loved him.
The Very Stinking Late Show, starting at 11pm and finishing at 1 0r 2 was also the place to be for this great man.
He was so funny. So powerful midst the humour.
So real..........................
Recently Joan and me have travelled in the car and listened to the essential c.d.'s bought at Greenbelt 2003. John Bell and yes, of course, Mike Yaconelli.
I know of his family, his church, his kissing, his passion, all through his open and honest speaking. I know his wife Karla first hand and through the talks. I want to be with her now to express those/these powerful feelings.
For so many years I have felt the person so close as we sat in the bar late night after GB. The pint of beer and the cigar cemented in place by passionate conversations. Sharing stuff, not heady debates of opinion.
I remember one evening, a few drinks into the evening .......... Mike started to weep. He was expressing his sense of freedom being here at Greenbelt. Being here with people who loved him and never judged him. A place far from home, where he felt at home.
The tears were his best communication of that.
We loved him then in is vulnerability.
We love him now in his ultimate vulnerability.
Lord have mercy
bhp
"work like you don't need the money
dance like no-one is watching
sing like no-one is listening
and
love like you have never been hurt"
www.pipwilson.com
Thursday, October 30, 2003
I have just heard that one of Greenbelt's finest friends and most popular
contributors, Mike Yaconelli, was killed in a car crash last night.
Mike first came to Greenbelt in the mid-eighties and kept coming back - he
has probably spoken to more people at the festival than anyone. We have
never had a more animated and entertaining speaker. Even this last August he
was still packing venues out, still inspiring people to know that they could
make a difference.
Like Karla, his wife, he loved the Festival and was a real kindred spirit,
part of our gang. He would do almost anything for us, particularly when we
had hard times. Many of us became firm friends and we will miss him hugely.
Think of him when you say your prayers, think of Karla and his kids and
grandchildren. We can be grateful that his bright spirit and mischievous
soul came our way.
Here is the message from the Youth Specialties website, the youth
organisation he founded and ran.
The Tragic Loss of Mike Yaconelli
Mike Yaconelli
El Cajon, CA, October 30, 2003 - Mike Yaconelli, owner and co-founder of
Youth Specialties, was involved in a fatal car accident late Wednesday
night, October 29, outside his hometown of Yreka, in northern California. He
passed away early Thursday morning, October 30. In addition to founding
Youth Specialties, an organization dedicated to equipping and training youth
workers through events and resources, Mike was the founder and general
editor of The Door (formerly The Wittenberg Door) and the author of numerous
books, including Dangerous Wonder and Messy Spirituality. Mike was also a
contributing columnist to Youthworker journal.
“Mike was the incarnation of his book titles, Dangerous Wonder and Messy
Spirituality. He lived a life of wonder and amazement at God’s grace. He
never claimed to be perfect; he just lived as he was—a man after God’s own
heart,” said Tic Long, president of events at Youth Specialties.
Mike’s life and work have inspired thousands of people, most notably youth
workers, through his writing and speaking. Mike exuded a passion for
following Christ and living out that faith in everyday life. Perhaps Mike’s
greatest contribution was his ability to encourage and inspire youth workers
for almost 30 years at the National Youth Workers Convention.
Mark Oestreicher, president of Youth Specialties, recently introduced Mike
at the National Youth Workers Convention this way: “I guess I could say he
is a wonderfully complex group of seeming contradictions. Many of you know
that Mike is extremely playful; and while many playful people are only that,
Mike is a deep well—a contemplative man with a mushy pastor's heart. Mike is
one of those rare people who truly lives in the upside-down kingdom of God;
he values mercy, change and truth (even when it's uncomfortable)…He's a
reluctant prophet, and reminds me of Jeremiah, but more fun. In my
imagination, they even look alike.”
contributors, Mike Yaconelli, was killed in a car crash last night.
Mike first came to Greenbelt in the mid-eighties and kept coming back - he
has probably spoken to more people at the festival than anyone. We have
never had a more animated and entertaining speaker. Even this last August he
was still packing venues out, still inspiring people to know that they could
make a difference.
Like Karla, his wife, he loved the Festival and was a real kindred spirit,
part of our gang. He would do almost anything for us, particularly when we
had hard times. Many of us became firm friends and we will miss him hugely.
Think of him when you say your prayers, think of Karla and his kids and
grandchildren. We can be grateful that his bright spirit and mischievous
soul came our way.
Here is the message from the Youth Specialties website, the youth
organisation he founded and ran.
The Tragic Loss of Mike Yaconelli
Mike Yaconelli
El Cajon, CA, October 30, 2003 - Mike Yaconelli, owner and co-founder of
Youth Specialties, was involved in a fatal car accident late Wednesday
night, October 29, outside his hometown of Yreka, in northern California. He
passed away early Thursday morning, October 30. In addition to founding
Youth Specialties, an organization dedicated to equipping and training youth
workers through events and resources, Mike was the founder and general
editor of The Door (formerly The Wittenberg Door) and the author of numerous
books, including Dangerous Wonder and Messy Spirituality. Mike was also a
contributing columnist to Youthworker journal.
“Mike was the incarnation of his book titles, Dangerous Wonder and Messy
Spirituality. He lived a life of wonder and amazement at God’s grace. He
never claimed to be perfect; he just lived as he was—a man after God’s own
heart,” said Tic Long, president of events at Youth Specialties.
Mike’s life and work have inspired thousands of people, most notably youth
workers, through his writing and speaking. Mike exuded a passion for
following Christ and living out that faith in everyday life. Perhaps Mike’s
greatest contribution was his ability to encourage and inspire youth workers
for almost 30 years at the National Youth Workers Convention.
Mark Oestreicher, president of Youth Specialties, recently introduced Mike
at the National Youth Workers Convention this way: “I guess I could say he
is a wonderfully complex group of seeming contradictions. Many of you know
that Mike is extremely playful; and while many playful people are only that,
Mike is a deep well—a contemplative man with a mushy pastor's heart. Mike is
one of those rare people who truly lives in the upside-down kingdom of God;
he values mercy, change and truth (even when it's uncomfortable)…He's a
reluctant prophet, and reminds me of Jeremiah, but more fun. In my
imagination, they even look alike.”
Wednesday, October 29, 2003
I prepare for ages before running/leading an open group work session.
Regular blogger students will have picked up some of the prep and process which I strive for.
I need to be tuned to the context. What the vibe and the attendance will be ...... and thats a laugh when you work with those who have special needs - a range of!...... Where are they at, and what is the next step that I can encourage and facilitate them to explore.
I usually have a hand built handout which feeds individual souls. That paper tool needs designing. Then, how to process it through to a positive end. I think about that and make notes to myself. Thinking of every angle and every possible scenario.
Feelings ...........right now ........ I have them. Sometimes erupting from every pore. Sometimes the feelings are under the surface and needing a pin to pick them out, ......... like I used to use on a pomegranate when I was a kid. Every little module needs to be dug out and examined before eating or understanding.
Such, the latter, is now.
A group moving around, sometimes hidden from me but engaging in the discussion. Some big story tellers who will roll away with length of permitted. Some fantastic personalities. Some great wisdom pouring out of such young lips. I think the big thing I am looking at now was my facilitation. I allowed the group to stay at the 'opinion level' rather than guiding the sharing to a level 4/experiential level.
I am pausing as I write this ..... pomegranate like. I think there was learning. No, I am sure. I believe that as individuals say something they are themselves learning. Their thoughts are not 'thought out' until they are 'spoke out'. Only when sharing in a group do they become reality. Otherwise it can stay undisclosed and undiscovered.
And the rest of us learn too.
So that is the aim, developmental stuff at the pace of they themselves. Hey hey. Feel a bit better now because I have searched the feelings and process.
In another module of life...............
I have been working on, mind and ears, the search for suitable music for a tv programme. As I listen on my laptop, as I type, there is some fantastic Norwegian jazz that is great moody stuff. That gives my my mind a holiday for a start.
“Maybe nothing is more important than that we keep track, you and I, of these stories of who we are and where we have come from and the people we have met along the way because it is precisely through these stories in all their particularity . . . that God makes himself known to each of us most powerfully and personally.”
Frederick Buechner (Telling Secrets , 1991)
YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL
Regular blogger students will have picked up some of the prep and process which I strive for.
I need to be tuned to the context. What the vibe and the attendance will be ...... and thats a laugh when you work with those who have special needs - a range of!...... Where are they at, and what is the next step that I can encourage and facilitate them to explore.
I usually have a hand built handout which feeds individual souls. That paper tool needs designing. Then, how to process it through to a positive end. I think about that and make notes to myself. Thinking of every angle and every possible scenario.
Feelings ...........right now ........ I have them. Sometimes erupting from every pore. Sometimes the feelings are under the surface and needing a pin to pick them out, ......... like I used to use on a pomegranate when I was a kid. Every little module needs to be dug out and examined before eating or understanding.
Such, the latter, is now.
A group moving around, sometimes hidden from me but engaging in the discussion. Some big story tellers who will roll away with length of permitted. Some fantastic personalities. Some great wisdom pouring out of such young lips. I think the big thing I am looking at now was my facilitation. I allowed the group to stay at the 'opinion level' rather than guiding the sharing to a level 4/experiential level.
I am pausing as I write this ..... pomegranate like. I think there was learning. No, I am sure. I believe that as individuals say something they are themselves learning. Their thoughts are not 'thought out' until they are 'spoke out'. Only when sharing in a group do they become reality. Otherwise it can stay undisclosed and undiscovered.
And the rest of us learn too.
So that is the aim, developmental stuff at the pace of they themselves. Hey hey. Feel a bit better now because I have searched the feelings and process.
In another module of life...............
I have been working on, mind and ears, the search for suitable music for a tv programme. As I listen on my laptop, as I type, there is some fantastic Norwegian jazz that is great moody stuff. That gives my my mind a holiday for a start.
“Maybe nothing is more important than that we keep track, you and I, of these stories of who we are and where we have come from and the people we have met along the way because it is precisely through these stories in all their particularity . . . that God makes himself known to each of us most powerfully and personally.”
Frederick Buechner (Telling Secrets , 1991)
YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL
Tuesday, October 28, 2003
Thinking ,as you do ……… never had a poem done for me/about me before.
This one done by an angel.
If you don’t understand it ….. me neither. I think art is like that. A song, a painting, a dance, a poem ……
There to be discovered ………………………. I understand some and that I like it …………………..
bhp
SUGAR HOOPED WEEKS
People seem to forget
Or
Chose to erase
Those
Those sugar battered priceless days
That you
So excitedly give
Pumped with familiar phrases
Which would
Exhilarate if they felt
Whilst others would scorn
My sweet
You
Sit and wonder
Why their fuck off phrases
Continue
To meet
And dampen the torment
The fear
That maybe you
My friend
Maybe you once felt
I once did wonder
If I could give
If I could touch
That trembling hand
That unheard heart
That let alone
I do
And in them
And these
Sugar hooped weeks
You
My friend
Beneath the spangled words I taketh
Are
Simply beautiful too!
By Charlie Lockwood
October 2003
Nothing ever comes without some kind of fight, we've got to kick the darkness untill it bleeds daylight.
Bono U2
This one done by an angel.
If you don’t understand it ….. me neither. I think art is like that. A song, a painting, a dance, a poem ……
There to be discovered ………………………. I understand some and that I like it …………………..
bhp
SUGAR HOOPED WEEKS
People seem to forget
Or
Chose to erase
Those
Those sugar battered priceless days
That you
So excitedly give
Pumped with familiar phrases
Which would
Exhilarate if they felt
Whilst others would scorn
My sweet
You
Sit and wonder
Why their fuck off phrases
Continue
To meet
And dampen the torment
The fear
That maybe you
My friend
Maybe you once felt
I once did wonder
If I could give
If I could touch
That trembling hand
That unheard heart
That let alone
I do
And in them
And these
Sugar hooped weeks
You
My friend
Beneath the spangled words I taketh
Are
Simply beautiful too!
By Charlie Lockwood
October 2003
Nothing ever comes without some kind of fight, we've got to kick the darkness untill it bleeds daylight.
Bono U2
"That moment has consistently been a high point in U2 shows. It's fantastic how the audience respond to it. Finding new ways of creating that huge red scene is always one of the treats of designing a new show."
-- Willie Williams, on the opening of "Streets" live
I am excited about the forthcoming U2 album ........ hey hey
-- Willie Williams, on the opening of "Streets" live
I am excited about the forthcoming U2 album ........ hey hey
Music is big in my life
my soul
Listening to Annie Lenox by chance not design
She is singing to God who she does not believe in
Just typed a handwritten poem.
Never before have I had a poem written for me
about me
it is deep
shall publish it on Pearls
(Have you seen the Pearls of Wilson page on my website? The colour the design all done by a creative human. Beautiful. See the new designed pages too. The reading list will be updated soon ....... kindly typed by Richard and a fine design by Charlie. Some people think I do it ..... what a laugh. I create games and structured experiences not stuff on computers. I cannot even use word or power-point and am so SO frustrated)
Sorry about the weakness blast.
I love the Sheilas.
Looking forward to Gilles Peterson live from Brighton on Wednesday.
I am rambling so....................
The glory of God is a person fully alive
my soul
Listening to Annie Lenox by chance not design
She is singing to God who she does not believe in
Just typed a handwritten poem.
Never before have I had a poem written for me
about me
it is deep
shall publish it on Pearls
(Have you seen the Pearls of Wilson page on my website? The colour the design all done by a creative human. Beautiful. See the new designed pages too. The reading list will be updated soon ....... kindly typed by Richard and a fine design by Charlie. Some people think I do it ..... what a laugh. I create games and structured experiences not stuff on computers. I cannot even use word or power-point and am so SO frustrated)
Sorry about the weakness blast.
I love the Sheilas.
Looking forward to Gilles Peterson live from Brighton on Wednesday.
I am rambling so....................
The glory of God is a person fully alive
Monday, October 27, 2003
I am web surfing still. Found this about a rodent and me!!
I did invent the rolling magazine but this Germen to English via Google gets it almost right.
"Rolling of magazines ? that stands for an innovative Christian dte rodent meeting.
The idea originates from England. Pip Wilson, which has directors/conductors of the Rome Ford YMCA, it for Greenbelt, which conceives largest Christian music festival in Europe.
The program is a multicolored mixture (magazines) and runs fast off (Rolling). Young people between 13 and 25 years meet, know each other already or meet for the first time. They dance, play and come themselves with one another into the discussion - over God, the world and. The different elements come impact on impact, to the Abtanzen to current hits follow again a calmer phase, which energizes for thinking. Place for boredom is not there."
I did invent the rolling magazine but this Germen to English via Google gets it almost right.
"Rolling of magazines ? that stands for an innovative Christian dte rodent meeting.
The idea originates from England. Pip Wilson, which has directors/conductors of the Rome Ford YMCA, it for Greenbelt, which conceives largest Christian music festival in Europe.
The program is a multicolored mixture (magazines) and runs fast off (Rolling). Young people between 13 and 25 years meet, know each other already or meet for the first time. They dance, play and come themselves with one another into the discussion - over God, the world and. The different elements come impact on impact, to the Abtanzen to current hits follow again a calmer phase, which energizes for thinking. Place for boredom is not there."
Found this on the world wide web and it has been translated electronically from German I think. It is about the Prague festival.
"Between the speeches we sang the Festival song, which Judy Bailey for us had written, took part in fun with Erik and Pip Wilson and had much fun thereby."
For Swiss delegation
Christoph Goeldi
"Between the speeches we sang the Festival song, which Judy Bailey for us had written, took part in fun with Erik and Pip Wilson and had much fun thereby."
For Swiss delegation
Christoph Goeldi
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