One Hundred And One Things

Why do I want to do this?

I still haven't settled on a 'favourite' translation of the Bible. I tend to use the New International Version, but that's really only because I happen to have a copy of it. I'd like to make an informed decision about which translation to use.


How will I know I've done it?

I'll have read the same book of the Bible three times, in different translations. Any translation counts. I am including the books in the Apocrypha, though I doubt that I'll fix on any of them when it comes to it.


I'll record this at stapsreads.

What's this about?

Back on my last list, I had the following goal: Articulate my opinions re. Apostles’, Nicene and Athanasian creeds, Thirty-Nine Articles [pdf] and UCCF Doctrinal Basis. I got about five clauses into the Apostles' Creed. This goal is to complete the work I began there.


Why do I want to do this?

The creeds, we're told, summarise what I'm supposed to believe as a Christian. The Thirty-Nine Articles add to this, marking out what makes the Church of England distinctive, though unless I get ordained or similar I probably won't be asked to put my name to them. However, had I ever made it onto the committee of the Christian Union (you laugh, but it might have happened, had Symphony Orchestra not rehearsed on Tuesday nights), I would have been asked to sign the [Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship] Doctrinal Basis. I want to explore just how comfortable I am with all these things I'm meant to believe.


How will I know I've done it?

I'll have articulated my interpretation of and feelings about each clause of the five summaries of belief.


This can be tracked by following the credo tag at el_staplador.

What's this about? Why do I want to do it?

A while back it occurred to me that, if one searched the whole history of church/religious music, one could find probably 90% of the verses of the Bible. I'm curious to see how difficult that would be. I think that trying to find the whole Bible in song is probably a little overambitious for 1001 days, but I'm pretty sure that I can do 1001 verses. The only snag is... I don't yet have anywhere to put them.


How will I know when it's done?

I will have set up some form of repository, and on this I will have identified and/or linked to pieces of music that together set 1001 verses of the Bible. (Yes, the Apocrypha counts, though I doubt that it would seriously inconvenience me if it didn't.)


I'll record this on the yet-to-be-set-up repository, to which I'll link here.

1001 verses at the musicalbible:

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15 / 16 / 17 / 18 / 19 / 20 / 21 / 22 / 23 / 24 / 25 / 26 / 27 / 28 / 29 / 30 / 31 / 32 / 33 / 34 / 35 / 36 / 37 / 38 / 39 / 40 / 41 / 42 / 43 / 44 / 45 / 46 / 47 / 48 / 49 / 50 / 51 / 52 / 53 / 54 / 55 / 56 / 57 / 58 / 59 / 60 / 61 / 62 / 63 / 64 / 65 / 66 / 67 / 68 / 69 / 70 / 71 / 72 / 73 / 74 / 75 / 76 / 77 / 78 / 79 / 80 / 81 / 82 / 83 / 84 / 85 / 86 / 87 / 88 / 89 / 90 / 91 / 92 / 93 / 94 / 95 / 96 / 97 / 98 / 99 / 100 / 101 / 102 / 103 / 104 / 105 / 106 / 107 / 108 / 109 / 110 / 111 / 112 / 113 / 114 / 115

What's this about?

These Three Remain was my 2007 NaNoWriMo effort, and was partly a response to the Great Christian Union Cockup of 2005-7, and partly an expression of frustration with Dear Bob. There are various drafts extant, in various states of completion.


Why do I want to do this?

I think that, given a little more hard work, this could be the best thing I've ever written. I don't want it to languish unfinished on my hard drive forever.


How will I know when it's done?

I'll have a complete novel that I wouldn't be ashamed to submit to a publisher. You never know, I might even submit it to a publisher.


Progress will be tracked in occasional posts in this journal, letting you know how I'm getting on with it.

What's this about?

I'm a committed member of my church choir, singing (in a typical week, in termtime) two services on Sunday and a practice on Thursday. Our repertoire covers most of the standards of the [Anglican] English choral tradition, not to mention a few things that no other church choir in the country is known to have touched, swinging happily between about 1550 and 2010. Occasionally there's an opportunity to sing a few solo lines or a solo verse. I'd like to take up such opportunities.


Why do I want to do this?

Singing is an important part of my life in both sacred and secular contexts. I'm not a great singer - but I'm not actually a bad one; I'm just very underconfident (it comes of living all your life with people who sing your own part better than you do). I want to force myself out of my comfort zone.


How will I know when it's done?

I will have sung a stretch of music at least four bars long, either alone or in an ensemble small enough that my voice can be clearly distinguished and attributed to me, in the course of worship, four times.


I'll record this in this journal, probably on this post.

What's this about?

The term retreat, says old friend Wikipedia, has several related meanings, all of which have in common the notion of safety or temporarily removing oneself from one's usual environment in order to become immersed in a particular subject matter. A retreat can be taken for reasons related to spirituality, stress, health, lifestyle, or social or ecological concerns. In particular, I'm thinking of the spiritual sort of retreat: getting away from my everyday life, spending some time in prayer, perhaps with other people, perhaps alone, on an organised retreat.


Why do I want to do this?

The photograph above shows Buckfast Abbey Church; I took it on a snowy day in 2005, when I was on retreat with the Methodist and Anglican Society of Exeter University. It was a fantastic experience, a relaxed weekend with friends coupled with a serious spirituality. The thing is, I haven't been on retreat since. The other thing is, I was on the committee at the time, and had taken on responsibility for catering for the whole group - so it wasn't quite as stress-free as I'd have liked.

I want to go on retreat again. Five years is a long time to go without doing something I know is worthwhile. I'd also like to leave the stress to someone else.


How will I know when it's done?

I'll have spent at least seven hours at a religious retreat organised by somebody else.


I'll record this in a post on this journal.