After the presentation on Finding Life in Ministry at last week’s Nourish—a refreshment day for pastors and partners with the Baptist Union of Victoria—a number of people requested copies of some of the resources quoted.  Happy to provide them.

First, Jürgen Moltmann on the contemporary ‘distress of time’ and the advent of ‘homo accelerandus’:

“He has a great many encounters, but does not really experience anything, since although he wants to see everything, he internalizes nothing and reflects upon nothing.  He has a great many contacts but no relationships, since he is unable to linger because he is always ‘in a hurry’.  He devours ‘fast food’, preferably while standing, because he is no longer able to enjoy anything; after all, a person needs time for enjoyment, and time is precisely what he does not have.”

(Taken from Moltmann’s introductory chapter in Moltmann, Wolterstorff and Charry, A Passion for God’s Reign: Theology, Christian Learning and the Christian Self. Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 1998, page 39)

Edward J. Vasicek’s ‘The Workaholics 23rd Psalm’

The Lord is my Supervisor, I shall not rest.                         

He makes me cut down the green pastures;                        

He leads me to jog alongside rapid waters;                         

He wears out my soul.                                                          

He leads me to conferences for my schedule’s sake.         

Even though I walk through the valley of relaxation,               

I fear no chance of rest;                                                        

for my feelings of guilt, they haunt me;

they whip and they drive me.                                            

You, Lord, prepare a worktable before me                              

in the presence of my colleagues.                                      

You have filled my mind with worry;                                     

My work load overflows.                                                   

Surely busyness and pressure shall follow me                     

All the days of my life;                                                            

and I will run to and fro in the house of the Lord forever.

(Adapted for the Christian Counselors Newsletter, Melbourne, October 1992)

Toki Miyashina’s version of Psalm 23

The Lord is my pace setter,

I shall not rush;

He makes me stop and rest for quiet intervals.

He provides me with images of stillness,

which restore my serenity.

He leads me in the way of efficiency,

through calmness of mind;

and his guidance is peace.

Even though I have a great many things

to accomplish each day

I will not fret,

for his peace is here,

his timelessness,

his all-importance will keep me in balance.

He prepares refreshment and renewal

in the midst of activity

by anointing my mind with his oil of tranquility;

My cup of joyous energy overflows.

Truly harmony and effectiveness shall be the fruits

of my hours;

and I shall walk in the pace of my Lord

and dwell in his house

forever.

Finally, the Celtic prayer for which I’m afraid I have no reference.  If anyone can help I’d be grateful.

May we rest this night in the stillness of your being.

O Radiant Dawn,

splendour of eternal light,

come and shine on us

that we may sleep in the warmth of your radiance.

O Emmanuel,

God with us,

we will lie down with you

and you will lie down with us.

If you are interested in further reading on the subject, there’s an article here, Slow Time in a Fast World: A Spirituality of Rest. 

And some books worth reading:

Robert J. Banks, The Tyranny of Time: When 24 Hours Is Not Enough.         Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1983.

Stephen Bertman, Hyperculture: The Human Cost of Speed. Westport: Praeger, 1998.

Marva J. Dawn, Keeping the Sabbath Wholly: Ceasing, Resting, Embracing,

Feasting. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989.

Thomas Hylland Erikson, Tyranny of the Moment: Fast and Slow Time in the Information Age. London: Pluto Press, 2001.

Carl Honoré, In Praise of Slow: How a Worldwide Movement Is Challenging the

Cult of Speed. London: Orion Books, 2004.

Jay Griffiths, Pip Pip: A Sideways Look at Time. London: Flamingo (HarperCollins), 1999.