Eternal Echoes

The effect of sanctions...

Many members of the Comfort Zone Community are affected by Sanctions, week after week we help folk with food, clothing emergency fuel payments and more, what we do is a drop in the ocean. We seek to respond as often as we can, and what we do is appreciated, but sometimes we are reminded of the utter desperation that being sanctioned, being hungry and being cold brings on...

How many of us honestly go to bed hungry, cold and desperate?

How many of us know that the next meal, the next place of warmth, the next welcome will be days away?

I suspect that the answer is not many who are reading this, because you have the luxury of access to the internet! But if you didn't, or if you are reading this from a library or on a friends phone you might, and if you are you will recognise what it feels like to have your hand tied by a system that seems to be out to get you!

Today one of our community is in prison, another is awaiting sentencing; why because one stole £12.00 of food to eat, and the other stole a jacket...

Now I don't know whether the jacket was to be worn or sold on the street, but either way it was about survival; this is the effect of sanctions, people are hungry, people don't know where the money to pay their next energy bill will come from...

This is life in 21st Century Britain...

...and frankly I think it is unjust and inhumane....

...stealing is not right, but perhaps what is being stolen is more than food or clothes, but human dignity!

Image: Journey (mine)

 

 

do we not bleed?

I am writing yet another blog post about the treatment of vulnerable people, every week I meet people who have been affected by cut backs and Government Sanctions, people who are struggling to eat, a man who asks us for candles because he cannot afford electricity and we cannot afford to help everyone with everything. This week a young couple asked if they could have an extra food bag, they were struggling to make ends meet with the effects of Sanctions and because her Disability Living Allowance had been stopped, they had applied to the Local Council for help but were turned down because they had money coming in on Friday, it was Monday! It was Monday and she needs to eat when she takes her medication, so we give out candles, we give out extra food bags, we give out clothes and whatever we can to help people.

We are often acused, by our critics, of being a soft touch, accused of believing lies and being taken in, and perhaps we are now and then, but I would rather be taken for a ride on the odd occasion than turn away people in genuine need, people just like me who bleed if they are cut...

People like J&C who have been living in a tent for the past few months, unable to find housing, unable due to a mix up to claim benefits, and falling through every crack imaginable. Every morning they pack up their "home" and carry it around the streets for fear of it being stolen. Every evening they set up camp again where they can, they are in their 50's, they are not unwilling to work, they have worked, life has dealt them a cruel blow. I call them my friends, and yes they bleed...

People like S who has been mis-diagnosed and even refused treatment at a health centre, told to come when it is less busy. People like M, discharged by an overwhelmed Mental Health Service, unable to cope and now homeless, hungry and confused. People, so many people apparently tossed aside, classed as unimportant, unwanted, undesirable! And yes, they bleed...

This last week I saw the system reach a new low in the same way for a second time, T came to Comfort Zone, he could hardly walk, we heard his story, made him a cup of tea and tried to help him. His leg was badly swollen and was becoming more swollen as the evening progressed, we made the decision to call for an ambulance, details were taken, and when it came to his address he reported as homeless. At that point the conversation with the Emergency Services changed, they wanted more and more details, a date of birth, a proof of ID, the reason we were helping T. We waited for an hour and a half, no ambulance came. Two volunteers took T to hospital, he could not walk, on arrival they ( 2 women) asked for help to get T into the A&E department, none came. The next morning T came to thank us for our help. He had been discharged at 1am, with a set of crutches and some anti inflamatories, he had nowhere to go... and YES HE BLEEDS...

I am absolutely exasparated that people can be treated so appallingly in one of the richest countries in the world. I am appallled that people are written off, consigned to the rubbish tip, disregarded and de-humanised. How can we not look into the eyes of out fellow human beings and see just that a human being. A human being created in Gods image just as we are, a human being with needs and fears, with joys and sorrows, a human being who bleedslike we do, like I do...

I am challenged yet again to consider my own lifestyle, to ask what more I can do, to recognise what common humanity means, and to speak out and keep speaking out. We cannot, we must not write anyone off. Richard Rhor reminds us in his book "Dancing Standing Still" that;

"Jesus does ask of us strong moral decisions, but they mostly have to do with changing ourselves, not trying to change other people."

and

"Who wouldn't like it if all in the world showed a sense of basic social order and concern? And yet Jesus says in effect, "But that's not what I am here to talk about, I am not here so that polite society can continue to be polite."

Jesus does not ask us to be polite, he challenges us to have eyes to see, to see others, and to see ourselves, to see our common value, our common humanity, our common potential, our common worth...

And yes if you prick us we bleed, but we also heal...

 Paintings mine

Related articles

Dear Mr Cameron, it is about more than statistics....

All this...

mercy, justice, love...

mercy and justice,

bread for the hungry,

comfort for the opressed,

a share in the richess 

of the worlds resources

for all,

+

mercy and justice,

freedom for the captives

law that grants truth

to see the value of EVERY soul

the ache of hearts,

the tears that fall

+

mercy and justice

sight for the blind,

blinded by wealth,

blinded by pleasure,

blinded by desire,

blinded, may they see

+

mercy and justice

no-one excluded, may

mercy and justice

grow in compsassion

from love...

+

My dear children, let’s not just talk about love; let’s practice real love. This is the only way we’ll know we’re living truly, living in God’s reality. It’s also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves.

(1 John 3)

This is how we’ve come to understand and experience love: Christ sacrificed his life for us. This is why we ought to live sacrificially, and not just be out for ourselves. If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God’s love? It disappears. And you made it disappear.

(1 John 4)

Image; Bread by Koder

sometimes our greatest concerns should preach to us, when we fuss over bread baskets in the vestry maybe we should hear Jesus whisper "feed my sheep".... ( just reflecting on some of the conversations I have had today)

justice...

let me feel justice

as your heartbeat

for the world,

that I might walk

step by step in time

with the rhythm

of eternity, drawing

from it the courage 

to stand up and be counted,

help me to understand that

true justice is not about 

revenge or retaliation

but an act of love and grace

that will not be held back,

teach me the deepest truth

that your justice sets me free

and names me worthy, and

even in my darkest days

you draw me into the light,

you fill me with your light,

I long to be your light,

your voice,

your love,

teach me to act justly,

to love mercy

to walk humbly with you...

 

Rhythms of grace

Image mine

Crying out for justice (sermon for Women's World Day of Prayer- Luke 18: 1-8 and Habakkuk from Ch 1&3)

Malaysia is a beautiful country, comprising of the mainland peninsular, Malaysian Borneo and a number of smaller and islands. It ranges from cooler mountains to tropical beaches, vast and advanced cities to smaller villages almost untouched by the years.

 

I am not reading to you from a tourist brochure, I was born in Singapore and brought up in Kuala Lumper; I was woken every morning by the sound of the Imam calling the faithful to prayer. I was aware through the people my father worked with that prayer was a vitally important part of the nations identity- obedience to Allah was the Malaysians duty.

 

Malaysia is also a cosmopolitan country, I attended the Garden School, an international school, and one of my class mates was the Sultans daughter! People of all races and faith mixed there but faith was never mentioned. And I honestly cannot remember seeing a church, though there must have been some. Today Malaysia celebrates its cosmopolitan nature, it is advance technologically and is on the surface a wealthy, successful, forward thinking country.

 

It is only since becoming a Christian as an adult that I became aware of the oppression and injustice and violence that we have just heard about through the voices of the women of Malaysia.

 

Oppression of faith- it is illegal to convert from Islam to Christianity.

 

It is illegal for Christians to proselytise, even talking about faith can be dangerous, and if misinterpreted and misrepresented could result in a fine or prison sentence.

 

Women are not treated as equals and; a few years ago a former Prime ministers daughter spoke out: She described Muslim women as second-class citizens who were held back by discrimination.

 

Malaysia led by Mahathir Mohamod was in the forefront of the international campaign to end white minority rule in South Africa.

But his daughter Marina has described Muslim women in Malaysia as subject to a form of apartheid - second-class citizens held back by discriminatory rules.

While she was speaking for Muslim women (who we must recognise are the majority) discrimination and abuse affect all women, violence and rape against women are treated lightly as offences- the judgement that they must have done something to deserve such treatment is evidence of systemic corruption.

The customary Malaysian greeting;  Selamat Datang – peace and welcome – is likely to turn sour in the moth of the speaker or the ears of the hearer when the ideal of peace and harmony is so undermined by corruption and greed, and sadly distorted when voices for truth and justice are silenced.

Their questions from this service should echo in our ears:

Do we take the risk and engage, or do we remain silent? Should we stay neutral?

They answer their own question:

We have come to understand that God calls us to be righteous citizens of our country. So we do have a role to play by speaking out against all forms of injustice’.  (rpt)

We have a role to play- these are brave words and they should challenge us! For they see their role not simply as needing to speak out once, but continually, raising their voices not only in protest but also in prayer.

Theirs is an ongoing call to cry out to the authorities in Malaysia, to the world (through events like this) and to God in intercession and complaint! The readings they have given us are full of faith and endurance and longing. They also contain a promise, and an assurance that God is not deaf to their plight, and that s/he will act!

Listen again to the words from Habakkuk 3: (The Message)

O God, I've heard what our ancestors say about you, 
   and I'm stopped in my tracks, down on my knees.
Do among us what you did among them. 
   Work among us as you worked among them.
And as you bring judgment, as you surely must, 
   remember mercy. (2)

Though the fig tree does not bud 
   and there are no grapes on the vines, 
though the olive crop fails 
   and the fields produce no food, 
though there are no sheep in the pen 
   and no cattle in the stalls, 
yet I will rejoice in the LORD, 
   I will be joyful in God my Saviour.

The Sovereign LORD is my strength; 
   he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, 
   he enables me to tread on the heights. (17-19)

I will persist, the prayer of Habakkuk echoes in the prayers of the women of Malaysia, it echoes in their prayers, and as it does so it should challenge us! Will we speak out against injustice, will we speak out for them, pray for them; will we speak out about injustices that surround us, bankers being given huge bonuses whilst jobs in the public sector are being cut! Will we speak out for our youth when so many are loosing hope of ever being employed, will we speak out against potty decisions- such as broke councils spending £30,000 pounds on Commerative Jubilee mugs for Primary School Children, people in need being denied disability living allowance, abuse of our land, pollution and for the rights of the unborn, and that is just scratching the surface…

Will we speak out? Is it worth speaking out? The women of Malaysia say that it is. They offer us the story of the persistent widow as an example, encouraging us to bring our petitions before God- because God is not like the unjust judge who finally dragged himself out of bed just to rid himself of the widow. God is just and holy, and knows when the time is right:

Do you hear what that judge, corrupt as he is, is saying? So what makes you think God won't step in and work justice for his chosen people, who continue to cry out for help? Won't he stick up for them? I assure you, he will. He will not drag his feet. 

He will not drag his feet; he knows what we need….

But then the challenge, the challenge shown to us through the persistence of the widow, whose cries were heard, whose case for justice was vindicated;

How much of that kind of persistent faith will the Son of Man find on the earth when he returns?"

How persistent are we in our cry for justice, in our care and compassion for the poor and the outcast? Have we heard and understood God’s heartbeat, are we in time and in tune with it? Do we want to be? Believe me I too am challenged by these questions, but we ignore them at our peril:

I am sure you have heard it said that a society can be judged on the way it treats its most vulnerable members.

And remember though Habakkuk cried “How long O lord”

God’s response was this:

“Look at the nations and watch— 
   and be utterly amazed. 
For I am going to do something in your days 
   that you would not believe, 
   even if you were told. 

God’s ways are not our ways, her/his thoughts are not our thoughts, and yet through prayer and persistence we can learn his ways, we can begin to understand her/his heart, as we draw close, as we persist, as we speak out s/he promises us gifts of wisdom and strength. And this we can know, s/he is with us always!

 

Time out from tinsel....

This morning  I as looked out across my garden it seemed that winter had arrived, bare branches reached skywards  where only a few months ago there were flowers and green shrubs. Now the leaves have fallen, and the bare branches of many of the shrubs have been pruned back.The scene in monochrome, even the vegetable beds are waiting for the new season, the soil has been dug and the beds prepared but they are bare, open to the winter rains and frosts...

Yesterday I re-potted a couple of my orchids, even these indoor plants have entered into a time of waiting, their stalks have been pruned back, their colourful exotic flowers are gone for this year, and I have moved them to a place where they will receive just the right amount of warmth and light for the waiting time....

There seems to be little life in the garden, and the orchids look like dead sticks, but all is not what it seems, new life is simply waiting to burst forth when the time is right, but for now this bit of creation has entered into the waiting time.

In contrast to the quiet and stillness of my garden are  the local shops where even in the village Christmas has arrived with full force, adverts in the local Co-op tempt us not to wait until Christmas Day to begin feasting, while in a neighbouring village the lights have been on for weeks now. If I turn on the television I am bombarded with adverts, the radio offers the same constant feed of consumerism, preparation is all about consumption.

No wonder we are weary, we have lost the ability to truly rest, and have forsaken the wonder of waiting, replacing anticipation with headlong rush of activity adding stress to a season that sends bank accounts and relationships spiraling into disaster. How tragic that parents are judged not by the love, care and concern that they have for their children but by the size of the parcel they are able to provide. I speak to mothers who sacrifice bedtime stories and cuddles for part-time jobs simply in order to buy that latest toy for a child whose head has been filled desire for a toy that has been advertised solidly from September onwards. I speak to families stressed out by not being able to buy the approval of relatives and friends. I hear it from my own children as living on student loans they struggle to resist the perils of the season!

I want to stand in the centre of our towns and shopping centres with a big placard  that simply reads STOP! I wonder if I did, how many people would take the time to come and see just what I was up to, and why I wanted to break into the frenetic activity I find around me. I want to invite people to take time out from tinsel, and to give themselves a breathing space. In that space I pray that some form or perspective might begin to dawn...

I am aware that I am repeating myself. I have said so much of this before, and at the risk of sounding like a broken record I will continue to say it. We need to STOP! Advent is not about chocolate filled calenders it is a season of repentance and fasting just as Lent is, it is also a season of preparation, one that calls us not to look to the babe in the manger but rather to the risen Christ WHO WILL COME AGAIN. Last Sunday's gospel reading brought with it the challenge not to get caught up in dissipation and drunkenness but challenged us instead to look beyond the cares and desires of this world.

Do I struggle with all of this? Oh yes, I was brought up to believe that Christmas was all about presents and feasting. I feel guilty if I don't enter into the spirit of the season, but through my struggle I want to encounter the Spirit who made the season a cause for celebration, the Spirit who opened the virgins womb and made the incarnation a reality. That same Spirit is the one who brought life to the lifeless body of Jesus and raised the babe of Bethlehem restoring him to heavens glory. It is that Spirit, the Holy Spirit whose fire I want to fill my life in and through the coming celebrations, and because of that I need the season of Advent, not so that I can prepare through purchases filling my life with clutter. Rather I need to be emptied, I need time out from tinsel, for although it is particularly noticeable at Christmas time, glitter and tinsel beckon to us through out the year in one way or another.

So I am taking time out, to seek the one who calls to us; he sees that we are weary and burdened, and he invites us aside. He offers us rest, and if we chose the road to radical recovery, and long, no yearn to live a life free from consumerism's grip and look instead for contentment, he promises to walk with us and work with us.

We can choose to take permanent time out from tinsel, and in doing do we might just find that we really have something to celebrate!

The Risen Christ, by John Young

Returning to Gods embrace...

What does it mean to be real, to be open , to acknowledge at one and the same time our inner brokenness whilst embracing our spirituality and seek a route towards wholeness?

These are questions I grapple with, I cannot tell my faith story from a standpoint of strength because I fail on a daily basis, I do not have a high standard yard stick which I feel I must clear on a daily basis in order to be a success, I mean I fail at the little things, in attitude and through forgetfulness... sometimes I fail at the bigger stuff too

Do I fail because I am weak?  Well yes, but this weakness is not peculiar to me it is part of my inner being, where love and selfishness vie with one another, where greed and generosity jostle for position, where demands sometimes overrule mercy and grace...it is part of my humanity and when we are in a place where we can be real and open, it is a part of our humanity that we voice these struggles. If we fail to do so we wear masks!

We all wear masks at different times, sometimes out of necessity for a given situation, sometimes out of fear, fear of being seen for who we are, and for fear of the other... The other; he who expresses his journey in a way that is unfamiliar to me, she who questions my path and my motivation... she who challenges my assumptions and questions my creeds. To drop the mask would necessitate a revealing of self...

Jesus both revealed self and accepted the other, he was not riddled with flaws as I am, but certainly opened himself to criticism, abut his friendships, his cleanliness and his eating habits! He received the clean and the unclean alike, touching both (often to the horror of the former)...

How weak as I am can I pattern my life after his?

First I must accept his embrace:

"The Father interrupted the sons strategy for return....The int eruption ... performed a transformation. After failure in the distant country the son reconstructed his identity as a "son not worthy to be called a son". By the sheer joy of his fathers embrace, without a word his identity starts to be changed again. The son made his confession but right at the point where his strategy dictate that he inform his father about the new identity he has constructed for himself.... the father interrupts him again. The confession made to the father who embraced him has taken his identity in relation to the father out of his hands and placed it into the hands of the father. With a command to the slaves, the father reconstructed the prodigals identity. He ordered a robe the best one- put on him, a ring placed on his finger, as the prodigal was transformed before our eyes he called him son of mine. First he symbolically remade the "son who is not worthy to be called a son" into the "son he could be proud" of, then he named him "son of mine". The secret, the father would not let his son, his lost and dead son out of his hearts embrace."- Volf Exclusion and Embrace

God does not let us out of His embrace, She treasurers our very being in Her heart, He waits for us patiently, arms and heart ready to receive... despite our frailty, our weakness and our brokenness we are received, we need no masks, we have no need to construct a new identity for ourselves (it will be rejected anyway).

Once we have received the embrace of God, truly received it we will be changed, and we will find ourselves able to love and accept others...

The problem is we leave home often, sometimes without realising it, we wander away and when we meet others in need of embrace we reject them because they are other... at that moment what is sorely needed is for us to return home and receive the embrace of the Father, the kiss of the Mother.

As children grow, they come to believe that they no longer need touch, no longer need to be embraced.... they are wrong, just as we are when we leave home and stray away from the loving arms of God...

Go peaceful, in gentleness, through the violence of these days,

Give freely show tenderness in all your ways...

Through darkness in troubled times, let holiness be your aim,

Seek wisdom, let faithfulness burn like a flame...

Be righteous, speak truthfully, in a world of greed and lies,

Show kindness, see everyone through heavens eyes.

God speed you, God lead you, and keep you wrapped around his heart,

May you be known by love...

.... may you be known by love.... - Paul Field

Black and white vs. grey...

Read this thought provoking post from Sky Lowe-McCracken...

We do not have the death penalty here in the UK I am very grateful for that, but we do have to deal with ethical questions and moral dilemmas... abortion and euthanasia have both hit the news recently. It is easy to make black and white statements, easy to draw lines not to be crossed until we are faced with crossing them, or watching a loved one suffer...

A friend gave birth to her 4th child, a baby boy, he looked perfect, but in fact there was no part of his body formed properly, his internal organs would fail, he was blind and deaf, he could barely eat, the prognosis was grim, he would not live for more than a few weeks, his parents made a brave choice, they brought him home and loved him, they cared for him and he died peacefully in his mothers arms at 4 days old...

Pregnant with her 5th child she accepted tests to scan for the same condition in this baby... she decided that she would have an abortion if the gene were detected, for if it was the case the child would not live... this baby was healthy... he is now 18. I cannot condemn or criticise her for her decision to abort if the worst was confirmed, this was a grey area...

When Chris was in intensive care we made a similar decision, as he suffered set back after set back and we were told to expect the worst, we took the decision that should he deteriorate more that only pain relief and no further medical intervention should be taken... his tiny body had been shocked and prodded enough... he pulled through and we did not see our worst fears confirmed. But I did sit with parents where this was the case, little Neal died in his mothers arms following surgery.. he was 3 months old... I had sat with her as she held him for the first time, she would only hold him once more, the tubes removed his last touch was his mothers arms not a ventilator or a needle... was she wrong, should she have decided otherwise

It is easy to be black and white when you have never been faced with grey... but how often is that really the case?

There is a huge difference though between refusing further intervention and taking a decision to end a life, reports from the continent make me ask seriously if a line needs to be drawn, when do pain and suffering make life so intollerable that we can make a pronouncement on the life of another human being... when will maddness step in, how will these things be regulated.... when are we showing compassion and when are we simply playing God.

What does it mean to be human, and is there ever an end to hope?

Hard questions, grey areas... Lord grant us your compassion, your wisdom and your peace as we walk thorgh the hard stuff...

Christian aid- the challenge .... and two stories of hope...

I have just been to our youth led Christian Aid Service, it was both challenging and disturbing for many different reasons....

The first I guess was a distraction for me because Joanne had a migraine, but pushed on through and played anyway , even after a long weekend of concerts.... she is passionate about justice in a way only 17 yr olds can be!

The challenge came through the scriptures which we were to discuss, I am amazed how easy it is to use spiritually sounding words with no real understanding, how we can put a little money into the  collection with no real impact upon or change to our lifestyle.

I am disturbed by our complacency, and also our priorities... one of our elderly members was more disturbed by what the teenagers were wearing than by what was being presented! I wonder at our commitment to justice and truth when we are more concerned with individuality than community... for how can we care for anyone or anything when we live in a bubble of self.

I do not simply want to put a few pounds into an envelope this year, rather I want to be different, I want my lifestyle to reflect my love for the whole world... if it is to truly do this I must live more simply, and I must recognise community and the need for interdependence not only on a local but on a global scale.

At present I am scratching the surface, we buy fair-trade, we re-cycle, we use low energy lighting and economical appliances, we try to turn lights off, and try to walk short distances instead of driving... but I can do more, I want to do more...

Stories of hope...

I heard two testimonies today one this morning- concerning tractors in Romania, one of our smaller chapels supports farmers and an orphanage in Romania, a tractors head gasket had blown they called for help. the Chapel folk prayed.... the money was given, a new head-gasket was purchased and is now on its way to Roumania... they raised too much money and the surplus has gone to the orphanage, the Chapel is now committed to raising enough funds for a New Tractor to replace the old one... God answered  prayer, and renewed a vision, and brought about healing in relationships in our small Chapel for where there was a rift healing has started!

The second testimony concerned a lost broach, it was special to its owner and was lost in the extensive gardens of a retreat house on a quiet day... she prayed and others prayed and miraculously the broach was found.... testimony to God's care in the minute detail, his care and love for us.

It could be said that the second testimony was unimportant, perhaps the broach could have been sold... to raise money for the poor, but perhaps it was God saying I care.... for our God is in the business of restoration!

Stop the traffik

STOP THE TRAFFIK is a major global coalition of organisations, networks and community groups whose goal is to demand freedom for every human caught in trafficking around the world, with a particular focus on children and young people. Officially launched at the European Parliament in Brussels on March 21st by singer Daniel Bedingfield and STOP THE TRAFFIK Chair Steve Chalke, it will culminate on March 25th 2007, the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade.

Check out the web-site