It's all about the next person I meet

Over the past year I have been challenged to consider, and reconsider, the role of an ordained minister in the church. I suppose it is something that we should constantly challenge ourselves to reconsider again and again, but this year for me has been especially challenging as I have thought particularly about Jesus and how he interacted with people.

The church is a strange organisation, and I use the word organisation in a very fluid fashion, because many people would not recognise it as one organisation but rather many ‘different organisations’. But if we all believe in Jesus Christ, and if we all hail from the same roots then in many respects we are all one organisation albeit with many different faces. How much does this matter when one is sitting holding the hand of an elderly patient who is terminally ill, or the young parents who just lost their only child, or when faced with families who have just lost loved ones in an accident; in truth it matters little. What matters is that the church reaches out to each individual to give them love, compassion, and in the end hope.

Humanity as we know is flawed in many ways; and each of us presents ourselves to others as we are, all the good, and all the bad, and all we expect from the other is that they do the same. So any organisation built upon a flawed foundation will itself contain flaws; so in many ways so too are our larger organised churches. They have become so large that on a day-to-day basis their aims are often to sustain their immense size, which will mean ensuring that they can cover the salaries of their many employees as well as those who are paid as ordained ministers. On top of this is a huge amount of money that goes towards maintenance of buildings, and let’s not even mention pension pots. So one can almost understand that the big picture for a large organised, and perhaps, ancient church is about sustaining its size and paying its way. But how does this sit alongside the mission of Christ, the calling of Christ to us all who believe, that call to reach out to all people so that they too may also come to know Christ, and through Christ to know the Father.

All clergy when training as such will spend a huge amount of time reading about the theological concepts of mission. Much of this study will be based upon the theology of mission which in truth is the academic thought behind what mission should be, could be, or would best suit the church to be. My experience of time spent studying mission at theological college is somewhat negative to say the least. We had many books thrust at us that told us how we could do mission, then there were many other books that told us why the first books were wrong. But in the main the vast majority of the material spoke about the big church, and when I say big church I me large congregations. Now I have to accept that in my 50 years I have in the main spend most of my life as a member of a church congregation that has tended to be on the smaller side. When I say smaller side I mean somewhere in the region of 50 to 80 people. Though I have been to many churches where the average congregation can be far less than this, and I can say without a shadow of a doubt that at each service I felt the Holy Spirit with us. Now there are so many pressures to grow the church; I do recall the current Bishop of Shrewsbury, Mark Reynolds, addressing a group of new curates reminding everyone that if the average congregation numbers stay the same then the church has actually grown. He was talking about time. We often restrict ourselves to the here and now and forget that God does not work by our time constraints.

By now you’re wondering whether I actually care about the numbers of people who attend church on a Sunday; well the answer is yes. The answer is yes, yes because the more people that attend means that we are reaching out and spreading the word of Christ as Christ commanded his disciples to do. Yes, also because the more people that attend our churches means the more support they can give to one another particularly during the difficult times. As a point of clarification when I say churches I do not mean buildings, I mean churches made up of the people, all God’s people. Because God’s people can meet anywhere as church as they did in those early days. But when I say yes I also say yes with caution, you would expect that from a lawyer wouldn’t you? Why caution? Because the object is not about large numbers of people, it never has been, and never should be! For me as a priest the most important thing for me to do will be to deal with the next person that needs my help.

It is all about the next person I meet. If our churches become so big that we can no longer cater for each individuals needs then there is a massive problem, and that was the issue the mission books never ever dealt with. What matters is the one, not the many, because on a day-to-day basis the many are usually coping well but one by one each will find the need for help and support, that is when as representatives of Christ we must reach out. When Jesus spoke about the 99 sheep he was reminding us that the one mattered, the one that was not there. In this parable the one was a sinner, but he still spoke about going after the one, I am quite sure that the parable still stands if one has to leave the 99 sheep to go after the one good sheep who is in distress.

A minister once said to me when moving into a new church sometimes you had to upset the apple cart, and if some people leave but that allowed opportunity for a lot more to join then in reality you had a result. No, no, no, no, what on earth was he thinking? This is like driving part of your flock out into the road without care, it makes no sense; it is based upon a perverse rationality of mission by numbers. I am not blind, I understand the politic within the church and the problems the church family can suffer. I also know that which can stop a church from developing its own mission when it feels the Holy Spirit calling it to reach out into its own community. There will be people within the church family who for many reason hold out against change, but they are still part of the church family. Therefore, they must be looked after, respected and nurtured. Space must be found for everyone, those who been with the church for a long time and those who aspire to join the church, because let us not forget the church has no walls therefore we cannot be hemmed in. Of course changes do take place things do move on, and occasionally some people do feel the need to move on. The church family, especially those called to be leaders and clergy, must never give up on them, the family must always reach out and say that, “we are here we love you and you will always be welcome”.

A church is not made up of a congregation! Is made up by single persons, each with their own stories to tell, their joys, their pains, their gifts and their needs. If Christ loves them then so do I.

Luke 15 Parable of the Lost Sheep, Parable of the Lost Coin, Parable of the Prodigal Son

Spiritual life v. Flesh

Reading St Paul’s letter to the Galatians this morning really made me stop to consider what it is to be human. Paul speaks about “gratify the desires of the flesh”, which we often consider to be based on physical desires; but as we read Paul goes much further. He actually lists a whole plethora of human emotions, and desires which seem to make up everything we are as humans.
Is Paul right? Or does he go too far?

Well he gives to us a solution; accepting the Holy Spirit, and living by the guidance that the Spirit gives to us on a daily basis. For it is by the Sprits love that we gain strength, and that strength will then allow us to deal with the temptations of this life. We do not have to live boring lives, we just need to think of everyone else, and try our best to live life loving everyone else. Lets face it that’s a challenge in itself.

Of course there is love in the flesh, the love we share with a spouse, which is the love that takes us to a whole different place. It is not a forbidden love but one of great intimacy to be shared and cared for. But we can so often miss-understand that intimacy and want to find it with others in the form of sexual relations. But it isn’t there, what we find is nothing, we may think it great at the time but it is a barren field yields nothing of life’s true wonders. The wonders we can only discover in love.

Read for yourself St Paul’s words to the Galatians:

Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another. Galatians (5:16 – end)

Life Journey

We are all so very aware that Jesus was crucified upon the cross on Golgotha; and that He was extraordinary by human standards, for Jesus was fully human, and at the same time fully God. Well now there’s a huge concept to start this mailing, and actually I am going to let you work that one out for yourself, because it is far too great for my tiny brain to calculate, especially after a migraine.

One thing we have to deal with however is that God became incarnate in Jesus, and then allowed us to execute Him. Why? To a larger degree we know the answer, Love. Love, a short word and yet perhaps a word that encapsulates the greatest concept known to humankind.

But along with that great gift of Love from our parent God, our creator, came a challenge. The challenge is to follow Christ’s path, by walking in the footprints Jesus left for us. Easy you say; it is easy to follow a path someone has already cleared for us, well I do hope you find it easy. Perhaps if it were a path someone had cut for us through a jungle then it may be clear or a path across a field that someone uses a heavy roller to compress the grass so that we can follow it without deviation. Perhaps that sort of path may be easy to follow, and for you my sister or brother perhaps Jesus’ footprints are easy to follow through this life; alas the path I am on is worse that the UK roads are at present, there are so many holes and trip hazards.

So I could ask of God; ‘why did you make such a path for me to struggle along’, but when I reflect, I realise God’s original path was straight, even and flat. What I am faced with are potholes, and bumps of my own making. These deviations from the original path are those created by my own confusion. Perhaps I am a little like St Thomas I let doubt get in my way. I am blessed in my faith, I have always had a belief in God and it has never wavered, I have questioned it, but it had remained strong. But doubt in myself as being worthy has always been with me, and so when I read about St Thomas’ wanting to see Jesus himself I wonder whether it is more to do with jealousy that everyone else saw Jesus and he, Thomas, had not? It’s a human thing.

The following prayer is great for all journeying people, please join me on this journey; together we can support one another ...
Lord, we give praise and thanks to You

for You redeemed us with the

precious blood of Christ,

A lamb without blemish or defect.

Help us to live this day in

Your footsteps.

Amen

(Walk with Me: Holy See)

(John 20:24-29)

Rehabilitation: Taking time out with God

            Like most clergy I have a number of roles, one is chaplaincy. I also write as someone who in common language is ‘disabled’, though I prefer differently-abled as I have never found the perfect specimen of the ‘able bodied person yet.

            Rehabilitation comes after trauma; the trauma can be an accident such as a fall which leads to massive tissue damage, or sometimes bone fractures that need either operations to repair or time in plaster casts allowing ‘nature’ to take its course. I say nature always knowing that God created us and made us so that at times we can repair ourselves. But of course there are times when we cannot, so it is worth remembering that in the book of Genesis it says that God created us ‘Good’ not perfect. Other trauma can be due to massive infection that causes people to stop their normal activities for a period of time, which means they need help to get going again. There are other illnesses that also attack our nervous system our muscles and even our own defence system which stops us being active in our normal way.

            Rehabilitation is part of the long road to help people by physiotherapy to regain, some, or all of their previous abilities. But along with physiotherapy comes many other therapies such as speech therapy for example for people post stroke, there is occupational health who help people to regain safety instincts around their own home when making a cup of tea, bathing or moving from room to room. There may also be an intervention from psychology where someone wants to talk about the changes in their lives and how it has affected them. Someone may need social services to help with moving to a new home, or assistance with money issues, or even family problems.  Of course there is the chaplaincy for all spiritual matters, and prayer being our most important gift to share together; as well as just a chat if someone just wants a different face to talk to. A good chaplaincy will always cater for all faiths and none. Let us not forget the Nurses and Doctors who are always there to offer advice and assistance for medical issues. There will be many other people who come and go offering great and valuable support and care.

            The sad truth is not everyone gets back to their starting place. This can be that age has crept up on us and it takes an accident or illness to stop a person for a time, then suddenly the body is not capable of getting back to where it was before the accident. There are also those injuries and illnesses that have such a traumatic effect on the body that the person cannot recover no matter how good the medical intervention. It can sometimes seem random when a person has had major life threatening trauma recovers to a near prefect self. Then another person has something that seems minor and ends up with life changing disabilities. As a chaplain my role is not to try and explain or even comfort, for experience has taught me that you cannot comfort someone who has lost all independence. My role is to be there, and when I can represent the face of Christ. This may seem a rather presumptuous claim, but often the chaplain in the dog collar bearing Christ’s cross will be the one who reminds people of the Goodnews. Of course some reject this outright, though I say confidently that this would be less than two or three percent of all people I have met ignore me completely. Of the rest, the majority believe in ‘a’ God. Now I do not whip out my Bible and start to preach and attempt to convert, no, I smile and chat. I only have the God conversation when the patient wants it, and often they will. This is how I read Jesus in the Bible, he got on with life, led by example, and when everyone was ready spoke about the Father.

Chaplain Major Jeffrey (Chad) Leach,OSP

International Chaplains Association of the Celtic Cross Foundation in Ministry

Medical Outreach Division

Associate Minister; Wednesfield St Gregory the Great

The evil of Self

I guess we all struggle at times with being a Christian in a world full of life’s temptations. Our hearts are so often torn between what we know God wants us to do and what we would like to do, because those things we would like to do give to us some form of worldly pleasure, and instant gratification.

But we know that the treasures in this world are not real; money, belongings, wealth, fame, they are all based upon the weakness of our hearts. But worse these treasures are all part of the evil of selfishness. As I read this prayer over and reflect upon my own words I keep thinking about the children of PC Dave Phillips; the photograph of that beautiful family must be etched into the minds of so many of us up and down the country now. We ask why, how? It make so little sense that this young man who pulled on a uniform to protect us should be killed in such a terrible and selfish way, and so we understand the evil of selfishness once more. Those who killed this young man, and did so much harm to this family did so because of self, the evil of self.

Alas Dave Phillips was not the only one killed because of evil, we think of those killed recently at the Umpqua Community College, those lead to die at sea trying to reach Europe all for profit or revenge or just notoriety. In the end it is all self, evil.

As a canon lawyer I read the Gospels often as Jesus’ commands, sometimes they do conflict, but St Matthew does record for us the time Jesus sat upon a hill and spoke to a gathered crowd, the way he spoke was clear and for me he commanded:

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the meek: for they shall possess the land.

Blessed are they who mourn: for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill.

Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

This for me is Jesus’ command for selflessness, for becoming a society dedicated to the other, loving one another, being Samaritans. Is this possible here and now? I guess not, but does that stop you and me; I can only answer for myself and I will try every day to live up to Christ’s call. I will falter for I am only a man, and a poor one at that, but I will try, and surely if we all tried together then together we would make a difference.

Say this prayer with me, and together we can overcome our weaknesses, and attain the true treasure God has in store for us; the Glory which is God.

Lord,
we struggle with our broken and divided hearts.
Bless us with your peace
as we strive to look and act in honesty
about ourselves.
Strengthen in us the glimpse
of the glory you hold in store for us.
Let that be the attractive force
which stirs our hearts
and not the attraction of sin.
Give us true wisdom
in our search for your justice.
Amen
(Walk with Me: Holy See)

For David Phillips, may he Rest in Peace, Amen

God Ever Present. Made in His Image

Sometimes I look around and feel a sense of despair when I consider what we humans have done to God’s creation. We only have to watch the many nature programmes on TV to understand the impact of industrialisation and humanities greed for stripping the earth of its natural riches. The book of Genesis tells us that when God had finished the creation it was good; alas it took humans to spoil it. However there is more than enough of the original creation left to allow one to look around with a sense of awe as one studies God’s creation. So as I look around and realise that God is in everything, which means also that everything is in God. Two weeks ago I was in the English Lake District for a short holiday, we had taken our dog who decided that at 5AM she needed the toilet, so as I was outside holding her lead I looked skywards; there, right there, was the wonder of God in creation. For with little background light the whole of the night sky was laid bare in front of my eyes, what a wondrous and breath-taking sight! Now we have not managed to mess that up yet.

It is true that we can also see God in other people, not just a few, but in all. Now that is a challenge, we often see faces on the news of murderers and others who have done great evil. How can God, and His beloved Son Jesus, be in there also? Well we are all created in God’s image; not a physical image, but the image of the spirit, that part of us that can think, love and make decisions. It is alas sometimes the terrible decisions that bring us down, but God does not control that part of us otherwise we would be just puppets to His will. He has given us the ability to make a choice, and becoming evil is a choice. I do believe that Christ is there for each of us, and loves each of us. But it is we that reject Jesus, and reject Him time and again; yet Jesus never gives up on us, and remains in each of us, until that time when we are prepared to accept God’s grace, and return that love.

The idea of ever present God is a challenge when things are difficult, I know, and how can an ever present God stand by and see so much pain and suffering? God suffers with us I am sure; He knew the pain of rejection and physical torture and death on a cross. He sees every day the pain we go through as we mourn the loss of those who have gone before. Can all of this be fixed by a wave of His wondrous hand? Well I am sure it could. But what would we become, would we think the same, act the same having never experienced ‘freedom’ from an ‘almighty power’? I do not think so, and so we labour on in this life finding our own way to understanding so that we may be prepared for our relationship with the one in whose image we were made.

Thomas Merton sums this up far better than I could ever do:
“There is not a flower that opens, not a seed that falls into the ground, and not an ear of wheat that nods on the end of its stalk in the wind that does not preach and proclaim the greatness and the mercy of God to the whole world.
There is not an act of kindness or generosity, not an act of sacrifice done, or a word of peace and gentleness spoken, not a child’s prayer uttered, that does not sing hymns to God before His throne, and in the eyes of men, and before their faces”. (Thomas Merton: The Seven Story Mountain)

Serving God means serving each other

How can we give ourselves to God’s service, fully, without thought for ourselves and our wants? How do we stand before God and say we were true servants, true in heart, always serving Him by serving each other? How can we be the people of God when injustice stares us in the face day by day?

In the west we have become very used to a certain life style, we have become used to comfort and as time passes we find that we are given more and more comfort for our money; and so as time goes by we expect more and more comfort. As a child I remember the metal window frames in my bedroom, they were wonderful in summer for they allowed in lots of fresh air even when the windows were closed. But in the winter, even with thick heavy curtains, the biting wind would find me under my bed covers. Today the vast majority have double glazing which keeps away draughts, of course now we are told we now need triple grazing which is environmentally friendly and saves us money, all a far cry from my council house bedroom.

This week Birmingham Train station, in the UK, has its grand opening, those that have been involved seemed so proud to speak about the £600 million pounds spent to upgrade the station, to make it a much more comfortable experience for its customers. In sport the Rugby world cup tickets are selling for over £500 to well in excess of £2,000. Also in sport we read that Chelsea football club in London are considering spending £100m on two footballers. Whilst writing this missive I had a quick look using Google at what the rich have been spending their money on well one young lady spent a staggering £1.3,m. ($2,m) collecting Birkin bags (by Hermes). She was had a Gold iPhone 24-Karat which cost £1,286.($2,200). Then I read about another celebrity couple who reportedly paid £493,000 ($767,000) on four gold-plated toilets; of course the couple are supposed to be worth between themselves in the region of $155 million.

Now I do not know if any of these fine people believe in God, or Christ, but if they do I would have to ask them how they manage to live the lives they do and balance this against the Gospel. Because to be gifted with such great wealth and to do so little with it is, well, it is such a great shame. I know that these people do do great things for charity, I am not ignorant of that fact at all, I would also argue that perhaps their money making brand is the fact they are who they are; and by raising money they can give more to charity. But let us never forget Christ said to the young man; to follow me you must sell everything. So such waste is perhaps more than we can bear in a world that suffers so much poverty.

But this brings me very much to this particular essays point, one I cannot, and must not sidestep. How can any of us avoid that which is taking place in the east of Western Europe. We are seeing not migrants; people who have chosen to leave their countries of birth for somewhere they feel may be better. Not better because it will give them greater wealth, they are not walking west to live the dream; they are walking west to escape the nightmare. We are witnessing something much more terrible, we are seeing refugees, people displaced through fear of death. What they want is safety. All they are asking for is safety, a roof, some food, clothing, and medical care. They are the person on the other side of the road, beaten and in distress.

How are we responding? With razor wire and new fences that say you are not welcome, you are not our problem, you do not matter, we do not care. Now if I know just one thing about the Goodnews of Christ is this; He cared, loved, and was always welcoming. We have no choice here, no choice, No choice!

We must act, our little island of Britain will never sink, and it will never become overcrowded like the small minded would have us think. If we care, then we must care!! We have no Choice. Those who are in the East are not them; they are us, we are the same, created by one God, saved by one God.

So now if our sisters and brothers from the east are lying beaten and in distress we have to decide who are we to be. Do we walk on by and say yes to the razor wire? Or, do we do as we were called to do and stop and give love and support; be the Samaritan.

I appeal to you be the Samaritan!

British Red Cross Appeal: http://www.redcross.org.uk/

It's 'Us', not 'Them'!

All too often when we speak about migrants and refugees we begin to use the plural; ‘Them’. Them seems to be a summation of the issue, it rolls up the problem neatly into a well-ordered little bundle that can be labelled them in reference to ethnicity, religion, or origin and so many other ways humankind finds of differentiating between its own species. Often we do this instinctively from learning, and for the majority mean no harm; but the moment we do think of those in need as them then we have a problem for we begin to dehumanise the situation; we begin to dehumanise ‘them’. For at that moment they can just become a problem to solve, a numbers game, and those separate and very precious life stories that each person has are lost.

The truth is, the them is actually us, for we are them. In any other circumstance we could quite easily finds ourselves the ones in need, the faces in the crowd. Just imagine that all of your life story, everything that you are, have been, have achieved should in the matter of a minute suddenly account for nothing. You just become a number, a lost soul in a sea of lost souls – them wondering around wanting someone to listen. But those who seem to have power, those who are organised the together ones, the ‘us’ ones, they are so busy dashing around throwing blankets out taking names, they do not give you the time of day. Then when you say you have skills that could help they say you can’t for different reasons, but you know it’s because you’re not one of ‘us’.

We are no different we are all the same made in God’s own image. If we think we are then we are no better than those who supported apartheid in South Africa. Or the Nazis, or just about anyone who thinks they are better than others, and goodness knows the world is rife with it. But the real problem are those desperately trying to save their lives, is that such a crime?

Light your candles, pray your prayers for those who are reaching out to us their sisters and brothers, and take action. Write and lobby your politicians and remind ‘them’ that the refugees are all ‘Us’!!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-24583286

Light a Candle for our Dying Sisters and Brothers ... they need our help!!!

How do we start to even imagine the desperation of our sisters and brothers from across the oceans, from across the continents, who seek to get themselves and their children away from wars, and away from those that would do them great harm? How do we respond? How do we truly respond? The truth is we respond badly, we cannot deny this because the death toll speaks for itself. We respond so often by just looking away or by tutting at the TV when we see so many people crowded into boats screaming for help and shouting at those trying to save them. Perhaps we even fall for the line that some politicians spin that it is their own fault for getting themselves into that predicament in the first place particularly those dashing to get onto trains and Lorries heading for Great Britain. Yet we choose to forget sometimes the great evil that they have faced and now run away from. Of course no can be allowed to threaten a driver with a violence that is not right at all. But the truth is the world is looking in the opposite direction when hundreds and thousands of people are dying day by day in boats and on land as they try so desperately to just find a life that they can lead in safety. Not even a life of great wealth not necessarily a life with the TV in a big house; just a life of safety is all they want.

This must stop these are our sisters and our brothers we cannot look away! We can no longer think that it is somebody else's problem! It is not it is ours. Yours and mine.

This morning as I watched the TV it reported that thousands of people had died in boats that had sunk or that they had been crammed into, and then that seventy one bodies have been discovered in a lorry in Austria. These were people being smuggled through the continent. Yet the biggest story seemed to be the stock markets and how much money two men who were investing in stocks and shares had made or lost this week;  there was of course the other big story about how one cooks beef burgers. We have it so badly wrong; so very very badly wrong. This is our problem. It is our problem, I cannot restate that enough. We must remind our MP’s constantly, we must lobby them all of the time that these people are us! There is no difference, the only differences is where they were born. They may have a different language, a different colour to their skin, but why should this separate them from us; this is just a convenience, a convenience for us, for humankind which has always been a opportunity that we have exploited so that some can get richer while others get poorer, some live and while some others will die. Well this must end.

Today I light a candle it may seem a small gesture but I light it in prayer and prayer is never small gesture! I light it for each one of those that have died because they are my brothers and my sisters, they are my father's and my mother's, they are my sons and my daughters; though I will never know them in this life I love them truly! And live with a heart that is breaking, and therefore I will keep this light burning and it will burn always, always until we get it right. We may only get it right when we learn to be true human’s true humanity.

When Christ was on the cross when he was there dying, he turned to one of the prisoners being crucified with him, though this man had failed in life Christ said today you will be with me in Paradise for that man was his brother. If Christ can reach out if he can do that, so can I, so can you. And so can our governments and it is up to you and me to force our government to take action now, not tomorrow, now. We must save lives today.  

Let us also all light a candle say a prayer, or just stop and think for a moment, about those who need us right now. Let us all lobby our MPs and our governments and let us the people save the people, let us stand tall and rescue ourselves, because we never know when we too may be in a situation when we are the ones at sea.

Human Rights, Jesus Style

The UK general election surprised many pundits as we ended up with a majority government, many say that it does not matter who gets in really, but does it? Shortly after the election I was sitting in my study reading an Oxford undergrads paper on human rights, and I must say she has done a very good job of it. Next read some case law involving the Human Rights Act, not quite so gripping as the former reading material. Some of you very sensibly are asking; why, what is wrong with this man, has he nothing better to do with his time? Well no actually this is what I do, so get used to it.

            Many of my friends know that I that I am a keen student of law, more sad facts, and also a disability advisor and campaigner. So human rights sit at the very heart of everything I am and do. As a Christian I know all people are equal and have the same rights as each other regardless of where we are born, our skin colour and the many differences God has gifted us with. Of course this also includes our religion and indeed denomination within that religion. Yet we still seemingly have to create laws to establish that very basic fact of equality. Abraham Lincoln in the 1860’s when dealing with a war, and ensuring that at the end of the war slavery would be no more, had to turn to law. At Gettysburg after such terrible loss of life he said of the United States “… a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal”. We must note that women’s full equality in law had yet to come. But Lincoln was a true politician, perhaps even one of the first of his kind. He understood before so many the importance of the role of politics in the everyday life of citizens; and he knew that the outworking of politics was by law, and in law; and that it was in law that all people could achieve true equality.

            How does this fit with the UK’s recent general election? Well the current Government promised before gaining power that if it was returned it would sweep away the Human Rights Act and replace it with something different. Many of us who are either academic lawyers or practice law worry about this. Even though it was not mooted in the Queens speech the threat is still there, so fortunately for the present nothing is happening, however we watch with concern. Particularly those of us who are also ‘disabled’ for we have lost much over the past five years, to lose some legal protections is something very much to worry about.

           

Jesus saw through all of this, He recognised the importance of equality, that imbalance could

Ability, different ability, differently-abled and disability

It is now three years since I realised that I was ‘disabled’, i.e. physically when I tried to run for a bus I just stopped still, completely. It sounds funny, and I guess it was, at first. But up until that point I had been a very active person cycling, running and walking. My main love being walking, of which I aimed to do at least 25 miles per week, OK a little excessive I know! And so I always took full ‘mobility’ for granted.

Until a fluke accident I had never contemplated ‘disability’ or as I would much rather describe it; ‘becoming differently abled’. But here I am, now having to mobilise with two walking sticks. Though this I can only do for a for short distances as standing is so very painful, and so using an electric wheelchair (no not an electric chair) and a mobility scooter are my preferred modes of getting around.

On a matter of discipleship and carrying the Gospel to the people, I think that the good folk of north Wolverhampton perhaps see something many others would not, a priest in black shirt and ‘Dog Collar’ tootling around on his mobility scooter sharing many a good day with the people he meets. I do think it a great shame that we do not see many priests out and about in their clerical wear, for some reason it does not seem vogue anymore to dress like a ‘vicar’, or is it too ‘Roman’. All nonsense, it is like the stole, the yoke a priest and deacon bears from the time of ordination, it becomes a symbol that we are the Church right there in the midst of the people. Oops, getting off track … back to disability …

                But what is ‘disability’? Well it is only when we really think about it, I mean; ‘Really’ think about it do we realise that it is a ‘dis’ word. Dis means less than, and when coupled with ‘ability’ it means less then abled. OK we may say that sounds reasonable as a definition; but No there is so much more to a person than whatever it is that has created an impairment of sight, mobility, hearing or any other functionality. So for example when I am in my wheelchair out with my wife why do people insist on talking across me and asking my wife, ‘would he like coffee or tea?’, ‘is he ready to come through and see the doctor?’, help me I think, it my back that has stopped working not everything else. Anyway, there is no such thing as the perfect human being, let’s face it even Jesus cannot claim that; because He was also of God and it would be cheating a little in this context anyway, so theologians hold on to your ink. But if we are to take Genesis as read then God created us, and we were ‘Good’ – not perfect, but good. We are in His image but that is the Spirit the glorious self that loves, has faith in God and hopes for a better tomorrow. But today we live in bodies that are good and so are likely at times to change, to break, to age to wear out. Not only may they change but some of us may be born in a way that some would describe as ‘different’.

                What is this difference? Difference is that which humans ascribe to that which falls outside of the average, or perhaps we might use a mathematical term and say the ‘mean average’. The mean average would be made up of the majority of people, and those who are ‘different’ would fall outside of this mean average. Well of course this is a man-made construct and allows for total nastiness towards those who do not fit into this ‘average’ and this is where we as a race get ‘mean’ from.

Unfortunately we end up using the term disability because it is the word used in law. But this should not stop us using it with great care. But it is society that decides if a person is disabled, because it is society in the form of our churches, shops, schools, theatres, sports stadia, etc. that create the facilities for people to get in and out and around. Also to use the facilities fully, or at least experience as much as can be within ‘real’ physical constraints. Now I say real. Two years ago my wife and I made it to the top of the Acropolis in Athens with the help of some wonderful guides; now if that can happen, well go figure.

So many of our places of worship need to stop and think long and hard. I am a husband and father, and son and brother, I am a priest; and oh by the way did I mention I am also mobility impaired. The last bit does not define me at all I only mention it in case I come to visit your church because sometimes  we do have to move things around a little, that’s fine.

Church; People, Buildings or what?

We hear the word church all so often, it rolls off the tongue with little thought to the true meaning, especially within the ‘church’ setting’. I have always had it in mind that church with a capital ‘C’ is the people, the worshiping community, those that follow Christ and share the Gospel.

Church with a small ‘c’ is the building, the place the Church (the people) come to meet to share in prayer and praise. In the Acts of the Apostles and also in many of the letters in the New Testament we read about people meeting in each other’s homes. Well it is likely that those who were Roman would have had much more space than most have in our humble homes to accommodate large numbers, if large numbers did actually come together. But over the centuries as the Christian faith grew and the need for larger spaces became inevitable, church buildings were erected, like the synagogues of the Jewish people, for people to meet and worship together.

Now as time passed some of these structures have become extremely elaborate and adorned in great wealth; not quite the Christian message, and certainly not the humble path the wondering Jewish teacher named Jesus had in mind I am sure, particularly in a world where so many are starving to death. Of course today we have inherited these buildings and in many cases have to try and maintain them with little finance coming in.

So we have to ask, what is the priority the building or the people? The church; or the Church? Do these often ancient and beautiful buildings serve the purpose for which they were once built? Or are they now relics of an age when the rich were truly masters of the poor and demonstrated their wealth in these great monuments that they hoped would become their lasting marks upon the world. Is it time that we followed in the steps of St Francis of Assisi and turned away from worldly wealth and turned to heavenly wealth? Maybe Pope Francis himself has seen this mismatch in the failure of the church as a worldwide body to serve and look after the poor, because it has become so heavily laden by the weight of the worldly good it possesses.

As a Priest my Church is the next person I meet in sisterly and brotherly love and friendship, it is the person who I will kneel by because they need my prayers; it is the person homeless and just needs me to buy them a warm drink and a sandwich.

Assisted Suicide

Some of you will be aware of the proposed law change to assisted suicide. It is for everyone a most distressing issue and I pray about it constantly and share these thoughts with you with great care and consideration for all people touched by this terrible issue.

 

I write as a husband and father as well as being a disabled man who lives in constant pain; I write also as a priest dedicated to God's service and the Gospel. I also write this as one who journeys very often with people who are also in great pain and discomfort, some who are facing their own deaths. I also write as a campaigner for disability rights and as an academic lawyer. All of this I try to balance constantly when praying upon this delicate and distressing issue. I ask you also to read this in prayer …

 

So as you can see this issue is close to my heart. When someone says to me 'I want to shut my eyes and just let all of the pain, all of this disease, go away', I know, I understand. I feel their sense of despair their want of peace, often a want not just to be pain or disease free but actually to be in the presence of God; because they are ready. Yet so many people will then say to me; ‘but isn’t it a sin father to want to die’? Is it? To look on God’s face, to see behind the darkened mirror, well as a Christian I too want to see God. Last year as I lay waiting to die with my family all around me, peace prevailed; all was well, I was ready to go. But then I recovered, and I was thrust back into a life of disability, pain and stress; but I have a strong loving family who would do anything for me, and never judge me in my weakened state. So is it a sin to want to die, well I guess we cannot help what we want, and wanting peace and wanting God seem logical.

 

Now I have lost friends to suicide, the shock of each one comes over me as I write this now. And each one was such a waste. Is it a waste to take a human life prematurely through suicide under any condition? If not how do we begin to untangle what is not a waste and what is? When is a person no longer worth fighting for? Because if society has a law that allows suicide then it has decided that a certain group is no longer worth that support.

 

But as a campaigner for disability rights I worry that life may be cheapened, by a change in the law, perhaps not immediately but in time as people begin to say 'well others take their lives when they get like this'. The point is, I believe, is that we are forgetting to be a caring society, and that many of our true issues are down to 'self'. Perhaps more money invested in better care and medical research would have stopped the need for this? But when so few hold so much what chance do we have unless we shout louder, No, Stop! These are people. Everyone counts, everyone has a story to tell, a life lived, everyone has human rights and it is our duty as Christians to stand for those rights. The right here that is most important is not the right to die, but the right to live with dignity and it is this that society is failing on.

It is also something we fail as a church to follow. Our church is not our building we all know this, so why do so many older people tell me that they never see any one from their church family? Forget grand mission statement for growth if we cannot even look after our own church grandparents. We the church are part of society, we are part of the vote on assisted suicide, see below, but we cannot be moralistic unless we are truly God's family.

 

From the Church of England Media Centre

 

https://www.churchofengland.org/media-centre/news/2015/07/churchgoers-urged-to-voice-concerns-over-assisted-suicide-bill.aspx

 

Churchgoers urged to voice concerns over assisted suicide Bill

16 July 2015

For immediate release

Churchgoers encouraged to contact MPs over assisted suicide Bill

Churchgoers are being encouraged to contact their MPs to highlight the risks involved in proposed legislation to legalise assisted suicide.

James Newcome, Bishop of Carlisle, has asked that parishioners either make an appointment to see their MP or write them a letter expressing their concerns about a Private Member's Bill to be debated in the House of Commons on Friday September 11.

The Bill is expected to seek to grant physician assisted suicide for mentally competent, terminally ill adults, who have six months or less to live.

Bishop James, the Church of England's lead bishop on health care, said the proposed legislation, if passed into law, would have a detrimental effect both on individuals and on the nature of society.

He said: "Our concern about this proposed legislation is rooted in our practical care for the most vulnerable in our society. In our communities and through healthcare chaplaincy, the Church of England cares daily for the elderly, the ill, the dying and their families.

"If this Bill is passed we will have crossed a line that will make the future very uncertain and dangerous for a significant proportion of the most vulnerable people, including the elderly and those living with disabilities.

"This is a key moment for all of us as we decide what sort of society we want to live in and what future we want for our children and grandchildren, one in which all are valued and cared for, or one in which some lives are viewed as not worth living.

"I ask those who are happy to do so, to contact their MPs, either by making an appointment to see them in person at their constituency surgery, or by letter, to make it clear that they oppose this Bill."

To hear a full interview with James Newcome on the Assisted Dying Bill listen here:  https://soundcloud.com/the-church-of-england/assisted-suicide-01

End

Notes

Contact details for MPs can be found on the Parliament website. Entering a postcode will give details of who your MP is and how to contact him/her: http://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/mps/

Blog by Rev Dr Brendan McCarthy, national adviser to the Church of England on medical ethics
http://cofecomms.tumblr.com/post/124147858482/caring-for-the-vulnerable-in-a-compassionate

More information on the Church of England's view on assisted suicide  https://www.churchofengland.org/our-views/medical-ethics-health-social-care-policy/assisted-suicide.aspx

A Church in Trouble

I am by nature an optimist, which is as well as only for months after ordination, when I was 47 years old, I received an injury which eventually lead to a major change in my ability to walk, it also left me in constant pain. Anyway to add insult to injury, (pardon the pun) having been forced to retire on medical grounds, I found myself celebrating my 50 birthday then within a month I had the first of eight strokes. All changing me a little each time. But I remain upbeat at 51 years of age even though I cannot longer follow my great passions of walking and cycling. So you would think there was little that could get me down.

Well there is. This total dysfunctionality within God’s church, this ability to fall out over everything instead of loving and praying for each other. Why do we have to fear what the other person or persons will do next? We all have to acknowledge that we are each destroying God’s plan, we all have to understand that unless we stand by each other regardless of whether we agree with each other Satan wins. This is not to say that we compromise what we believe, but surely in love standing shoulder by shoulder we will find the truth. I am differently abled to the person I once was, or if you prefer in common parlance; I am ‘disabled’; now there are those in my own church the Church of England who would hold that I am like this because I am a great sinner, well yes I am. But I am also a human created in God’s image and God created us all to be ‘Good’ – not perfect.

Entrenched type Conflict has no place in God’s church, so shame on those who do not see and understand this. We have to move forwards together, instead of this petty childish behaviour that we see when some complain that yes I knew the law then I entered a same sex marriage but now it’s unfair that I cannot minister so I am leaving, don’t go! Stay! We love you, We need you! You must stay and be heard it may be that the Holy Spirit is speaking through you. Or maybe the Holy Spirit is speaking through the Bishop and in time you may hear, but if you leave how will this get sorted, but we still love you. And what about the silly complaints about what a woman bishop might do; or some saying it’s not fair that a woman bishop cannot do this or that. Heaven help us, literally.

I either walk using two sticks, or on a bad day have to use a wheel chair, now I cannot recall seeing a bishop recently in a wheelchair, with a guide-dog, or even an NSM bishop. I see a lot on the front of the Church Times running around playing cricket, and inside in fine robes meeting royalty. But I am not running around complaining, no, I am staying and praying for God to lead us through this unholy mess. But let us not forget He does answer us through each other, synod, PCC’s etc. the fact we do not like the response is part of our growth in faith should we choose to live and learn by that response. Amen