Publication Day – USA and Canada

September 28, 2016 / andreaskevington / Leave a comment

Publication day – it’s officially here! Today’s the day these two books, The Bible Story Retold, and Prayers and Verses, are launched in the USA and Canada.

I would like to thank the many wise and kind friends who have helped me complete both of these books – they grew out of the life of a community, and I hope they will nourish communities in their turn.Thank you to all who have talked through ideas, lent me books, answered historical questions, entered into discussion on many subjects, and shared tea and prayer with me. I appreciate it so much – as I also appreciate the long-distance, virtual community we are developing online.

I hope these books will be of use, both as individual texts and together .

I hope they will help youngsters, families, and churches share the wonderful stories of a people discovering the love of God. I hope they will be a blessing to many.

Here is a little snippet from Prayers and Verses

In all my thinking and speaking and doing

this day,

Help me be loving,

help me be peaceful,

help me be kind.

Sunday Retold – the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin

September 9, 2016October 14, 2016 / andreaskevington / Leave a comment

I am trying something new – Sunday Retold. I hope it blesses your weekend.

Andrea Skevington

Welcome to Sunday Retold – stories and prayers based on the set readings for the week. I hope it may be of help to you.

Many churches around the world listen to the same readings together, following the patterns in the Lectionary. Quite often, there is something in The Bible Retold, or Prayers and Verses, that fits. Sunday Retold is an occasional series where I shall try to share those things with you.
If you are part of a community which follows these readings, they may be of use to you in your preparation for Sunday. You may find something for All-Age Worship, or work with youngsters or not so youngsters, or in some other way. If you are not, I hope you will find something to think about, something to help, just the same.

Please feel free to use these extracts, and please say where you got them from!

View original post 624 more words

Sunday Retold – the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin

September 8, 2016October 7, 2016 / andreaskevington / 1 Comment

Welcome to Sunday Retold – stories and prayers based on the set readings for the week. I hope it may be of help to you.

Please feel free to use these extracts, and please say where you got them from!

Our English Coasts – Holman Hunt

Angus Dei – Francisco de Zurbaran

This Sunday, 11th September, the Gospel reading is Luke 15:1-10, The Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin.
In The Bible Retold I tell Matthew’s version of the Lost Sheep, which is here:

“A farmer owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away. She gets lost. What will the farmer do? He’ll leave the 99 grazing peacefully on the hillside, and go off to search for the missing one. He’ll look for her in bushes and behind rocks, and he’ll keep on looking until he finds his lost sheep. Then he’ll pick her up, put her over his shoulders, and carry her safely home. He’ll be very happy to have found the one lost sheep.”

And here is the retelling of the Lost Coin from Luke. Both the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin are part of the crescendo towards the great story of the Lost Son in Luke. All three of these stories have a double audience – those who are seen as Lost, and those who are seen as Righteous.

The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law were not the only ones to be listening to Jesus. He smiled when he saw groups of tax collectors, and others who were considered bad, coming forward.
The Pharisees drew their prayer shawls closer around them.
“You see how he welcomes these people – he even eats with them!” They shuddered in disgust. So Jesus wove stores for them, stories that would fill their minds and hearts.
“Suppose a woman has ten silver coins, then loses one. What will she do? She’ll light a lamp and sweep the house, turning everything upside down until she finds it. Then she’ll call out to her friends, ‘I’ve found it – come and celebrate with me!’ That’s how it is with God. Every time someone turns away from wrong, and comes to God, the angels celebrate!”

Stores have the capacity to reach us in a way that argument does not. They can engage our sympathies and our imagination, our hearts, and help us to respond differently. Here, you can imagine the “outsiders”, those who were “lost”, listening with delight as they are described as valuable, precious, worthy of celebration. You can also imagine those who thought of themselves as safe perhaps beginning to see what Jesus was about, seeking out those they rejected -if they were not too offended to see!
How good to know that we are precious, and sought out by God, and rejoiced over. Perhaps knowing this might help us to see people we might normally overlook differently, as equally precious, and sought out, and rejoiced over.

And something to reflect on from Prayers and Verses

This is what God says:

“I myself will look for my people and take care of them
in the same way as shepherds take care of their sheep.

“I will bring them back from all the places where they were
scattered on that dark, disastrous day.

“I will lead them to the mountains and the streams
of their own land, so they may make their home
amid the green pastures.

“I shall be their God, their Good Shepherd;
they will be my people, my flock.”

From Ezekiel 34

Some more to think about:

You might like to look at the pictures above. What do you see in them?
You could ask God to help you see, and respond, to the stories and images.
Are you part of the flock, or do you feel a little lost?
Is this flock safe?
Where would you like to be?
How do you respond to the bound lamb?

You can find the story of The Good Shepherd here.

Prayers and Verses – 3 The burning bush

September 7, 2016September 7, 2016 / andreaskevington / Leave a comment

Publication Day for The Bible Story Retold, and Prayers and Verses, is coming up in the USA and Canada! The date, 28th September.
They are available for pre-order now.

Some links to Amazon are below – of course, if you have local bookshops, they will order it in for you if it’s not in stock.

Canada Bible Retold here

Canada Prayers and Verses here

USA Bible Retold here

USA Prayers and Verses here

Here is a little bit from both books, to give you a taste! I hope you enjoy them.

Andrea Skevington

prayers and verses cover UK publication date – Friday 17th June 2016

bible retold cover

It’s nearly here! the official publication date for Prayers and Verses!
I thought I would share something from Chapter Three of both books – Prayers and Verses and The Bible Retold.
The story of Moses, and how people escaped from slavery, is absolutely central to our understanding of the story of the Bible as a whole. It is truly remarkable. Written records usually tell the story of the victor, of the rich and powerful. This ancient narrative tells the story of the slaves, the powerless, the people pushed to the edges. It says that God is listening to them, and is sending someone to bring them out of slavery, into freedom.

Prayers for those who labour under heavy loads, who bear much sorrow, are included at the opening of the chapter in the prayer book. The Hebrew scriptures are full…

View original post 470 more words

It’s coming! Publication day – USA and Canada – Bible Retold, Prayers and Verses

September 2, 2016 / andreaskevington / 1 Comment

bible retold cover

prayers and verses cover

For our friends in the USA and Canada, these two titles are out on September 28th, and are available for pre-order now!

Over the next few days and weeks I’ll share some extracts from both books, but here is a little snippet to begin with.

From The Bible Story Retold:

THE SMALL, AND THE HIDDEN

“God’s kingdom is like the yeast a woman used in baking. She took a little pinch, and mixed it into a great mound of flour. And the yeast worked its way right through the flour, making well-risen dough, and making all the bread good.” The crowds smiled at the thought of the warm smell of baking.

“Imagine buried treasure – just under the ground in a field. That’s what the kingdom of heaven is like. One day, someone was working in the field when they spotted something glinting in the sun. They dug away until they uncovered it all – gold, silver, precious stones. Then, they and sat back on their heels and laughed with joy. It was a fortune! Quickly, they buried it again and went away. They sold everything they had and bought that one field.
“Or think of a trader looking out for fine pearls. At last, he found the one he had been searching for. It was large, and smooth, and glowed with all the colours of the rainbow. It was the best pearl he had ever seen. He went and sold everything he had, and came back with a heavy purse of gold to buy it.”

From Prayers and Verses:

Help me to be patient as I wait for your kingdom
and your righteousness:
as patient as a farmer who trusts that the rains
will come in their season
and that the land will produce its harvest.
Keep my hopes high.
Help me to pray to you and to praise you.

I wait eagerly for the Lord’s help
and in his word I trust.
I wait for the Lord
more eagerly than watchmen wait for the dawn.

Psalm 130:5–6

The Kingdom of God is very near.
from Luke 10:9

Some links to Amazon are below – of course, if you have local bookshops, they will order it in for you if it’s not in stock.

Canada Bible Retold here

Canada Prayers and Verses here

USA Bible Retold here

USA Prayers and Verses here

The Well

August 4, 2016 / andreaskevington / Leave a comment

Photographer unknown

The grounds of Otley Hall, Suffok, under snow-clouds

This is one of those strange poems that seemed to emerge from somewhere unexpected, unknown. I had been thinking about the way it’s so hard to look at things without getting in the way, and changing them in the looking. How when we look at things our own shadow falls on them, and they are different as a result. This poem came, in the mysterious way they sometimes do.

It starts where I intended to start, with how we see, but then it seems to have its own ideas about where to go next. We move on to light and water, a move which surprised me as I was writing it, but decided to go with it and see what happened. Always best to do that, I find….and then, we were soon hauling up life-giving water from dark and unexpected places, finding coolness and goodness and satisfaction that quenches our thirsts, even when we least expect it.
Sometimes, we don’t need to understand. Sometimes, we need to cast a bucket into the deep.

You can listen to the poem here

The Well

You look down, and notice the darkness,
what seems like a deep emptiness.
And perhaps, at first, that is all you see.
Look harder. There is a faint flash
of sky, reflected, glimmering darkly
as your shadow falls across it.

If you could stand back a little,
stand back and let your shadow
fall elsewhere, for a while,
you would notice how the sun
is alive in the darkness. Bouncing
and scattering brightness over moss
that covers the wall of the well,
living for such moments of light.

Yes, it seems dark to you,
and indeed, dark it is, but why not
cast down a bucket anyway?
Keeping hold of the rope as it
grows slack and weightless in
the depth of the fall.

It will splash, and bob awhile, and slip
heavily under the water you do not see,
and you will feel the tension in the rope changing.

Haul up the bucket, slopping and dripping
and running over those green plants,
and drink deep of the cool, clear water,
shining at last in the bright midday light.

And you will find that you carry the
sweet taste of that water with you,
like honey on your tongue, your lips.
It could last your whole life. Be
your whole life. Drink now. Drink again.

It was only after writing the poem that I realised I was drawing on the imagery of this story, of water and wells and thirst and shadows., a snippet of which follows:

From The Bible Story Retold
You can listen to the story here

It was hot when the woman went to get water from the well, near her home town of Sychar in Samaria. As she drew near, she saw a Jewish man sitting there, in the shade. She hesitated a moment, nervous of this stranger. For the Jews and Samaritans had been enemies for centuries, since the time of the exile. “But,” she thought, “I must have water,” and she carried on walking to the well.

The man was Jesus. He had left Jerusalem and was making his way back to Galilee. His disciples were buying food, leaving him to rest from the burning sun. He looked up at the woman.
“Will you give me a drink?” he asked, with a thirsty smile. Jews and Samaritans never ate or drank together: it was against all the laws and customs.
“You, a Jew, are asking me, a Samaritan for a drink?” She was so startled she nearly dropped her water jug.
“If you knew who I was, you’d ask me, and I would give you real, life-giving water!”
“How can you get water? You have nothing to hold it in!”
“If you drink from the well, you’ll be thirsty again. If you drink the water I offer, it will become like a clear spring within you, bubbling over with eternal life!”
“Sir, I would like that water!” she replied.

bible retold cover

Barns

July 28, 2016September 6, 2016 / andreaskevington / Leave a comment

Middle Littleton Tithe Barn, National Trust

barleyfield

Lectionary reading for Sunday, 31st July – Luke 12:13-21

The fields are golden now, and the recent heat has ripened the grain. The barley is being harvested, the wheat waits a little longer. It is good to see food grown and treated with care. Full barns help through the winter, as they have for generations.

So, now, as harvest is happening, as barns are being filled, as heavy machines trundle through the Suffolk lanes, the Church calendar gives us this story to consider – a warning against greed.
This story is a profound challenge to those of us now with full cupboards, stuffed wardrobes, too many shoes. It is unique to Luke, where it is followed by “do not worry….”, reminding us that the ravens have no barns, and yet are fed. The two together form a call to a simplicity of life, and a reliance on God, that is at odds not only with our society, but with our instinct.

Let’s go back to the beginning of the story. Jesus is asked to intervene in a quarrel between two brothers – and, characteristically, does not. It is interesting to note how many times Jesus is invited to act as judge, and declines. Instead, he often shines a light on the motives of the one asking him to do so, the one who is sure he is right. In this case, the motive seems to be greed. Greed needs to be guarded against, to be actively resisted. Jesus seeks to turn on its head our notion that life is measured in the abundance of possessions, that life consists of stuff. We often talk as if this were a new, modern phenomena, this way of looking at life. Clearly, it is not.

Clearly, though, it is a danger we are facing this day, now, as we are besieged from the outside by the call of so many things, and experience within ourselves the desire for them, as well as the tendency to judge and measure and compare our things with the things of others. I am not sure we have a contemporary word which quite expresses the old idea of”covet” – the last of the ten commandments prohibits it, even so.

From The Bible Story Retold

One day, when Jesus was speaking to the crowds, someone stood up and said “Teacher, tell my brother to share our inheritance – to divide up the family land fairly!” Jesus said “Who made me an umpire in your squabbling match?” Then, he said to the crowd, “Watch out for greed – it can sneak up on you. Your life is about much more than what you own.

“Once there was a rich man, whose fields were full of ripe, golden grain, ready to harvest. When it was gathered in, there was so much grain that his barns were creaking and straining with the weight of it. He couldn’t store any more. This troubled the farmer – for he wanted to keep it all. ‘I know!’ he said to himself with a smile. ‘I’ll tear down these barns and build big new ones, then I’ll live the high life! I’ll fill my belly and drink my wine and have a good time!’

But God didn’t see it like that. ‘You fool! You are going to die tonight – then what will happen to all your fine things? They won’t be any use to you then!’” Jesus looked at the people gathered around him. “That’s how it is for anyone who stores up things for themselves, leaving no room for God!”

The distribution of the harvest is an essential matter of social justice. We remember the story of Ruth, the provision of gleaning rights for the poor and the foreigner. We remember the bias towards the hungry we encounter in the Hebrew Scriptures. Full barns can be a blessing for the whole community.

Jesus reminds his listeners of the purposes of plenty, and of the life-corroding effects of greed. It is not easy – but wherever we are, we can begin. We can begin to hold things lightly, to remember that all belongs to God, that where we have, we can give, and bless, and meet the needs of those who have less. We can begin to pass on something, one thing. We can come to know the lightness and freedom of this generous, open way of living.

To give is an act of resistance against our own capacity for greed. Giving, sharing, and working for justice, are powerful. They can transform all involved. Perhaps, as we enact this different way of living, we can begin to see how it can make room for God – God who is love – generous, gift-giving, open-handed love.

I wrote the following prayer in response to the feeding of the five thousand, where the crowds were fed far from shops and barns. It seems to follow on from this story, too.

From Prayers and Verses

Lord Jesus, who broke bread beside the lake and all were fed,
thank you for feeding us.
Lord Jesus, who asked his disciples to pass food to the crowds,
may we do the same.
Lord Jesus, who saw to it that all the spare food was gathered,
may we let no good thing go to waste.
Lord Jesus, who gave thanks,
we thank you now.

If you would like to use the reading and the prayer, please do so, mentioning the source.

Prayers and Verses – how this book can work together with The Bible Story Retold

The Good Samaritan

July 8, 2016September 6, 2016 / andreaskevington / Leave a comment

The Good Samaritan Vincent van Gogh

So, this week, we are surrounded by political and economic uncertainty after the UK’s Brexit vote. In a national climate of increasing distrust, and anger, and division, many churches will be given this reading to consider on Sunday – the parable of the good Samaritan. It is strong medicine – at least, I find it so. It challenges me deeply, differently each time. Reading it again, now, its force comes home anew.

From The Bible Story Retold

WHO IS MY NEIGHBOUR? (Luke 10:25-37)

The teacher of the Law stood up, narrowing his eyes in the bright sun. He had heard people talk about Jesus, now he wanted to test him out.

He pitched his opening question: “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

But Jesus offered the question back to him, giving him the chance to show his knowledge. “What is written in the Law? How do you interpret it?” The teacher’s answer was to quote the scriptures word-for-word: “’Love the Lord your God with all your soul, strength and mind’, and ‘Love your neighbour as you love yourself’.”

Jesus smiled. “It’s a good answer. If you do all that, then you’ll have eternal life!” “But….” the teacher of the Law added in a loud voice, “but who is my neighbour?” Jesus answered him with a story.

“Once, a man was travelling from Jerusalem to Jericho.” The crowd could imagine this journey – the road’s steep rocky sides, its twists and turns, its dust and heat. “As he made his way along, a band of robbers crashed down the rocky slope onto the road – they had him surrounded. The man gasped, horrified, but there was nowhere for him to run. They stripped off his clothes and beat him to the ground. They left him lying in the dust, half-dead, while they went to gloat over their takings.

“So there he was, lying helpless in the heat of the sun, when a priest came by. The priest did not stop, he gave the man a wide berth, crossing quickly to the other side. A priest can not touch blood, or a body – that would make him “unclean” by Law, unable to work in the Temple, wouldn’t it?” Jesus nodded towards the teacher of the Law, then carried on. “Next came another religious man: a Levite. He, too, saw the man lying bleeding, and still. He, too, walked by on the other side, lifting his robes a little to avoid touching the blood on the road, and peering anxiously into the rocky shadows.

“Then, in the distance, came the steady clop of a donkey’s hooves. The donkey carried a third man, but this time, he had nothing to do with the Temple. He was a Samaritan.” Again he turned to the teacher, who was looking smug now. Samaritans didn’t keep to the law – so he wouldn’t know the right thing to do. “The Samaritan saw the broken figure lying bleeding on the road, and his heart was filled with pity. He leaped down, cleaned and soothed his wounds with wine and oil, and tore strips of cloth to make bandages. He slipped his arms under the man and heaved him onto his donkey, leading him gently to an inn. He sat with him all night, giving him sips of water and wine. The next day, he spoke to the innkeeper. ‘Here are some silver coins. Look after him, and if you spend more, I’ll pay you on my return.’

For a third time Jesus looked at the teacher of the Law and asked him “Now, you answer my question. Which one was a neighbour to the injured man?”

The teacher of the Law shifted uncomfortably. “The one who was kind to him.” He answered quietly. Jesus replied, “So go, and do likewise!”

It seems that the teacher of the law was opening a theoretical debate about what constitutes rightness in God’s eyes. It doesn’t seem to have that much to do with God, or people, even though he correctly identified the commands to love as the highest ones. Perhaps his question, “who is my neighbour”, was an attempt to place a limit on the breadth of the command to love. Perhaps this person is one I should love, but I can overlook another.

As was his custom, Jesus does not respond in kind, in debate, which can often stimulate the mind and bypass the heart. Instead, he tells a powerful story. Stories can change us. They can reframe the way we see things, they can stir up powerful responses – outrage, pity, compassion, love.

And love is the aim, the way, the goal. The teacher of the law was right about that. Here, it trumps other laws – those who seek to maintain their personal holiness and safety while leaving a bleeding man in the road are seen in sharp focus.

It is a foreigner who loves, and is commended. So often, groups praise the good deeds of those who are the same as them, in nationality, or creed, or other ways, and overlook goodness where it is found elsewhere. Jesus does not do that. Jesus, in word and deed, shows us what love looks like, and it is resourceful, and strong, and relentless even in the face of death. It overrides boundaries and borders. Jesus commends the goodness of one outside the Jewish tradition, and asks the expert in Jewish law to learn from him, to be more like him. The teacher of the law seems to be open to the lesson, too.

If some in our national debate are speaking words that divide people from their neighbours, we can remember that each of us can seek to live differently, demanding as that is. It is a humbling thing. There is no room for pride in the face of such a call to love – it is so often beyond our own resources. But, what seems quite astonishing to me is how little it can take to make a difference. I am sure we can all remember people, known or unknown to us, whose gestures of love and solidarity, whose practical kindness, whose simple acknowledgement helped us when we were in trouble. We can pray for open-hearted courage, we can pray for eyes to see the needs of those we walk past as we go about day by day. If we dare, we can ask God to move us to pity. But if that seem too much for us today, we can remember that the smallest gift of lovingkindness bears the hallmark of God.

How good it is when we remember that each human being has dignity, infinite worth, and so offer to all our respect and compassion. We can look for good in others, wherever they are from and whatever our differences. We can seek to overstep boundaries, and reach out a hand, remembering that love is from God.
Another way is possible.

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 1 John 4:7

From Prayers and Verses

Lord Jesus,
Make me as kind to others as I would want to be to you.
Make me as generous to others as I would want to be to you.
May I take time to help them as I would want to take time to help you.
May I take trouble to help them as I would want to take trouble to help you.
May I look into the faces of those I meet and see your face.

BASED ON MATTHEW 25:37–40

Prayers and Verses – how this book can work together with The Bible Story Retold

New Book News!

June 27, 2016June 28, 2016 / andreaskevington / 5 Comments

We arrived back from a few days away to find that, as usual, some post had built up behind the door. One of the envelopes was quite fat, and it contained a contract for a new book with BRF! Good news! It’s a book on the I Am sayings of Jesus, with an emphasis on how we can respond, and embed these deep truths in our lives.

This book idea began when I was writing a series of meditations for BRF’s Quiet Spaces and found there were too many ideas, too much to say, to compress into that concentrated format. I am so grateful they were open to the idea of reading more. I have till next May to write it, so it will be a while before it is available, but I shall keep you posted on this blog, and hopefully post a few snippets for you to try for yourselves.

I would also like to say thank you to the dear friends who have encouraged me, and especially the St John’s Church Advent Retreat, who patiently listened and tried out various ideas I had been developing, and helped no end with their thoughtful and generous response.

That was not the only post, though. There was also a parcel containing this:

Recently published, it’s the first time I have held Prayers and Verses in my hands, and it is a beautiful piece of work from Lion. It’s always a strange thing, to see your words printed on a white page, to see the way what you hoped for – something where the different verses and prayers seem to interact with each other and enrich each other – might be happening on the page. Below you will see it with its companion volume, The Bible Story Retold.

And here is a spread from the book – I hope you will excuse the slightly variable focus!
In the UK we are facing a time of huge uncertainty, and I thought I would share with you these few prayers and verses. They are reflecting on the time of Exile in the Jewish story, which seems to be a relevant theme for many, whatever their nationality.

Thank you for taking the time to read this little bit of good news. May there be more good to come for you, too.

Prayers and Verses – 3 The burning bush

June 16, 2016July 2, 2020 / andreaskevington / 1 Comment

UK publication date – Friday 17th June 2016

bible retold cover

Prayers for those who labour under heavy loads, who bear much sorrow, are included at the opening of the chapter in the prayer book. The Hebrew scriptures are full of reminders to be compassionate, to remember the hardship, and to let it soften your heart towards others that suffer – strangers in a strange land. That is why the story is recalled again and again, because it has the capacity to centre us once more on love, on justice, on humility. It builds our faith that God does listen, and then respond. The faithfulness of God is spoken of again and again. And the turning point of the story is when Moses is stopped in his tracks by the burning bush, and the experience of God he has there. At a time when he must have felt he had blown all his chances, and had let down his people, this prince of Egypt encountered God when he was simply living out his own life on the edges, as a humble shepherd. This encounter changed everything, as encounters with God tend to do.

To go alongside this snippet of story, I have chosen an extract from Prayers and Verses which will, I hope, encourage us to open our eyes to the possibility of God being present with us as we go about our daily lives.

Then, one day, as the sheep grazed on the slopes of Mount Sinai, Moses saw something: it was bright flames leaping up from within a bush. He began walking towards the burning bush, curious, because he saw that although it was crackling with flames, the bush was not being burned up. And then a voice called from within the flames.
“Moses, Moses!”
“Yes?”
“Don’t come any closer. Take off your shoes, for you are on holy ground!” Moses obeyed the voice.
“I am the God of your forefathers: the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob…”

Moses hid his face, afraid to look on God.

“… and I have heard the cries of my people. I have seen their suffering, and felt their pain. I want to pull them out from under their slave masters’ whips and bring them to a good, gentle land: a land of plenty. You are the man I have chosen to send to Pharaoh. You will rescue my people form Egypt.”

Grant us a heart wide open to all this beauty; and save our souls from being so blind that we pass unseeing when even the common thornbush is aﬂame with your glory, O God our creator, who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
WALTER RAUSCHENBUSCH (1861–1918)

Dear Lord, Help us to see you today in all the ordinary things when we walk, and talk, and play; help us to know that the whole earth is full of your glory, and that the ground is holy. Amen
The world is charged with the grandeur of God. It will ﬂame out, like shining from shook foil.
GERARD MANLEY HOPKINS (1844–89)

	gcook52 on A reel about The Little Christ…
	andreaskevington on A reel about The Little Christ…
	gcook52 on A reel about The Little Christ…
	andreaskevington on A reel about The Little Christ…
	gcook52 on A reel about The Little Christ…