Just finished watching “Trouble in Amish Paradise” a BBC2 documentary about two families on the edge of the Amish religious establishment. An interesting insight into hermeneutics, culture, instituitionalism and all that jazz – Foucault could have a field day. (apologies for agricultural pun..)
Well worth a watch (available on iplayer for only two more days..)

From the BBC Site:

An extraordinary insight into the secretive world of the Old Order Amish of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
When two radical Amish men, Ephraim and Jesse Stoltzfus, start to question some of the most fundamental aspects of their Amish culture, they face excommunication from their church and total rejection by their friends and family.

In August this year, Greenbelt Festival hosted a conversation for anyone interested in exploring the possibility of doing something like Greenbelt in Scotland. So a second meeting took place in Perth in November to take things a step further.

So ‘The PROJECT‘ was born… an interim process of small, viral, organic events during 2009 & 2010, building to the possibility of a larger event in 2011.

These small events would allow us to flesh out what a bigger event might look like; to more immediately model the kind of thing a larger event would contain; and to build a community of folk who’d be able to make a larger event happen.

It was clear at both meetings that any future event in Scotland should have its own identity, should grow out of Scottish culture and concerns, and not merely attempt to imitate Greenbelt. Although initially inspired by the spirit that Greenbelt (and other events) manifests, ‘The PROJECT‘ should develop a distinct Scottish nature, responding to the specific conditions, context and needs of this place and time.

More Info on The Project Wiki and Facebook Group

that week someone who i didn’t really know very well asked to meet me for coffee to chat. they knew nothing of the experience i was having. but one of the things they said has stuck with me since -

you don’t fit and that’s your gift

it reminds me of a marshall macluhan quote – the role of the artist is to create an anti-environment as a means of perception and adjustment.

(from the gift of not fitting in by jonny baker, italics mine)

Theology is always a network; more precisely it is a network of many theological concepts. In this manner, a particular theology is seen as a name given to a particular configuration of these concepts. However, this network is in motion; the network always changes. Even the most systematic theology changes over time. This phenomenon is common in computer networks: Systems dislocate and reorganize: link. This is the same effect in the theological network where concepts move to have the optimal connection. For instance, Luther’s reformation reconfigured theology so that the concept of salvation was detached from any kind of deed—sola fide!

[From the church and postmodern culture: conversation: Theological Networks]

One thing i find fascinating about living in another country is finding out more and more that the little stars in the swiss cultural sky join up into slightly different constellations than they do back in NI / Glasgow.. There’s crazy little societal connections between things (patriotism and the economy, church and state, alp horns and cheese.. ) on so many levels, and just as you think you’ve got your head around the general swing of things here, then another wee factor appears that modifies your oh-so-perfect conceptualisation of how you think the inner workings of the great big cuckoo clock of Switzerland ticks..

which is actually more an Austrian thing..