Wooton Bassett - a true community

Did you watch the documentary about Wooton Bassett on Monday night? It was a really moving programme and I was in tears watching the family of a young man have to watch as his coffin was driven through the town. However, this isn't a discussion about the rights or wrongs of war - this is about community.

The documentary talked of Wooton Bassett being a true community. Members of the town said in this busy world, they still made time to stop, to remember together, to support each other. Friend and stranger was welcomed alike into the community. It was a community that drew others into itself. One man said that they could never look at the High Street in the same way again - that would forever be the place where the community gathered.

There was a lot of truth spoken. Communities should be places that share together. That laugh together. That cry together. That recognise the true priorities in life and stop when they need to in order to gather together. Church community should be the same. We should build a community that can share the good times and the bad times together. A community where people naturally will go, and where friend and stranger will be welcomed alike. We should be a community, just by our very presence and the way we are, draws people into it.

This followed on from the sermon I heard on Sunday. The reading was Jesus appearing to the disciples in the Upper Room. And the sermon focussed on the Upper Room. The place where the disciples gathered. A place forever of memories - good and bad. Doubt and faith. Heartache and elation. We so often argue that our church buildings aren't important - the church is the people. And of course that is correct. However, we do a disservice to our buildings if we see them purely as a space, devoid of any meaning, where we simply collect together. The place is important in building the community. My church has been there for 176 years. For some it is a place of celebration. For others a place of sorrow. For some, over the years, it has been both. Our buildings, while sometimes expensive, sometimes unpractical, are places of memories. And we need to be a community that openly shares the bad times as well as the good, because it is when we are truly community that we will draw others in. It is when we are comfortable with the place where we are, that we will be happy with inviting others in. And as people are drawn in, then the message of the love and grace of Jesus Christ, in good times and bad, will be apparent. And it is then that we will truly be community.

It's a whole other world out there...

'It's like a different world.' This was my first thought as I pulled into the car park for our recent work fundraising event. My Peugeot 206 estate looked quite lowly next to the rows of Porsche, Jaguar, Ferrari and Bentleys already parked. My opinion wasn't changed as they started bidding during the auction later in the day. Some of them were happy bidding £5,000 for things they probably didn't even need. It was wealth on a scale I hadn't seen.

Yet on Sunday it paled into insignificance as the Sunday Times released their rich list showing that the richest people in Britain have once again got richer - even in this age of austerity. Are we really all in this together we may wonder. It seems obscene that as people lose jobs and homes, while some struggle to have one meal, let alone three a day, that people can still see their wealth rise by billions of pounds in some cases. This would make those who attend my fundraising event look poor.

However, before I get too far up my high horse I was brought back down to earth. To the 1 billion people in our world who have to survive on less than $1 a day I am richer than they can ever dream of being. Because I have a roof over my head, food on my table, a job, a car to drive, friends and family who care about me, clean drinking water straight from a tap, a health service that looks after me even if I couldn't afford it (we must fight to protect this) I am one of the richest in the world.

This is where the church needs to be active. This Christian Aid (http://www.caweek.org/week) please act to ensure that poverty is a thing of the past. Please act to ensure that ALL people have the same basic human rights that we all enjoy. Please act.

A sad day

I was saddened to read today that the United Nations celebrated the assassination of Osama bin Laden. Yet in the United Nations there is the sculpture entitled 'Let us beat swords into ploughshares.' The reference found in Isaiah and Micah promising a time of peace. Of all the people promoting peace not death it should be the UN. God, please bring forth peacemakers.

A young dinosaur???

This post threatens to herald my arrival as an out of touch dinosaur when I am still only 30! However, I am finding myself increasingly concerned, frustrated and maddened by the reliance our society places on technology rather than people. I booked 6 tickets to go to the Twickenham Rugby 7's in a couple of weeks. Despite not actually receiving my tickets yet, when I phoned up to add a couple more tickets I was told that I wouldn't be able to move my existing booking so all 8 of us could sit together as their computer system wouldn't allow it. My only option would be to try and sell my existing tickets through their sister company (for a small fee) and then buy 8 new tickets. When re-entering Britain from a recent trip to Greece I had the option of going through the electronic passport control rather than to one of the people sitting there - I chose, despite never finding friendly passport control officer, that I still wanted that human contact. The funny bit was that my 70 year old Dad wanted to use the electronic system to keep up with modern times. I worry that machines can never have the flexibility that a person has. I hate it that supermarkets now have self service checkouts and slowly are eradicating another aspect of personal contact people have.

Technology is very useful (the irony that I am using a blog to complain about the use of modern technology has not been lost on me!), I very rarely go out without my mobile phone. But the reliance we now have on it is worrying. Our communities are gradually being lost as we try and make times like shopping more efficient by removing the human aspect with online shopping and now self service checkouts. Our town centres are becoming less uniques as we demand the same shops as everywhere else.

I have found myself realising the usefulness of technology. As a Spurs fan I know that increased technology would have ensured we beat Chelsea at the weekend. However, I don't want football to become another mechanical event. Human error is part of the game - we accept it from players when they miss shots or goalies fumble the ball, so why is the ref any different?

For the sake of our society and our local communities we need to fight to keep technology in its place. It should be used to make life easier and better, but it should never be allowed to take over our lives as it is doing at the moment. As I lay in bed on Sunday thinking this over this song ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMnhsr1IJQs&fmt=18 ) from Kate Rusby came onto the radio. It sums up my thoughts totally. We must defend all that is precious to us - both new and old ideas together.

Ecumenical Angst

I am a big believer in ecumenism and am sure that we can do more together than we can apart. Thatcham has always been a town where the churches work well together. However, in the space of a couple of days I have twice had my faith in ecumenism rocked.

As a town we are going through a number of changes with ministers from various churches leaving and some new ones starting (not always quite enough to replace those leaving). This has led to a re-evaluation of what the churches in Thatcham do ecumenically. Some of this re-evaluation has been productive - trying to get a focus back on mission and not just repeating the events we have done for the last however many years. However, some of it has seen denominations retreating back into their comfortable shells. It has been mainly the larger churches who have felt that they are happy for other churches to help out with activities that they are doing, but are now reluctant to get involved in anything else. They seem to be suggesting that their mission is more important, or that ours lacks value or worth. I hope this isn't just sour grapes as I belong to a smaller church that now finds itself somewhat on the sidelines. I believe that the mission of the Church should be varied, celebrating the gifts of the many and being of benefit and value to the whole community. This broad mission can often only be possible when churches work together so we can unite similar gifts of people across all churches. Sadly, it is moving now to being the position that only events that have a clear preaching of the gospel is of any worth.

What has angered me more is speaking to a couple of youngsters I know who attend a different church. When they found out that I had just got back from a Scout St George's Day parade which happens to be held in the local Catholic Church (although presided over by an Anglican vicar), the younger boy (aged 7) told me that I should never go into a Catholic Church as they don't believe what normal Christians believe. Now there are a number of beliefs that many Catholics hold that I would disagree with, but I also accept that I don't hold a monopoly upon the truth either. And for a church to indoctrinate children into thinking that all Catholics are bad I find horrific. However old we are, faith should always be approached in dialogue. We must always be open to new ideas and we must bring the children of our churches up to be people open to new ideas, new ways of seeing God. This did remind me of Jesus' warning about trying to take a speck out of someone else's eye...

I am still an ecumenist. I still believe that we can do more together than we can apart. I don't want to see the end to denominations as I believe they often offer something slightly different, they give rise to a slightly different expression of God. But at the moment my ecumenism is a bit more of a struggle than it has been in previous years. Still, must keep on...

Time to wait

I'm not very good at waiting. Unfortunately, I've had to spend the last week waiting for the result from the Connexional Candidates Selection Committee. I still have one day to go. There have been many times over the last week when I have tried willing the week away - 'If only it was Wednesday', 'I just want to know so I can start to plan the next stage in my life.' It makes it hard when people, who are so supportive and well meaning, ask if I've heard anything yet. Every time it acts as a reminder that I'm still waiting.

During Lent some of us from Church have been reading through 'The Promise of Easter' by Fleur Dorrell. Today's reading was Psalm 130 and I read:

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,

and in his word I hope;

my soul waits for the Lord

more than those who watch for the morning,

more than those who watch for the morning.

I certainly feel as though I am waiting with greater expectation than the watchmen waiting for the morning. However, it made me think that it is often when we have to wait that we can realise the hope from God. Waiting isn't a wasted time. It is a time to stop and to reflect. This last year has been a busy time getting everything ready for Candidating for the Methodist ministry. Taking time to stop has been difficult. And so there has been plenty of time to stop over the last week and remind myself where my hope comes from. As the Psalmist writes later in the same Psalm God's love is a steadfast love, it is on him that we should hope and depend. If I do make it as a minister, this week has taught me that taking time to stop, to wait on God and to reflect is vital. But it doesn't always make waiting any easier.

One more day to go...

Father/Son bonding

I had a couple of days off work last week to recover from the Connexional Candidates Selection Committee. Dad decided that it would be good to take my mind off how well/badly I did at the selection committee by helping him dismantle an old shed in the back garden.

Dad and I do enjoy spending time with each other - we have a similar sense of humour and enjoy the same kinds of things. It is also worth noting that we aren't famous for our practical skills. However, he is still miles ahead of me. It was really good to remember that the older generation still have a lot to teach us. So often it is me showing him how to use his mobile/work something out on the computer that I forget there is so much I still have to learn from him.

We had plenty of laughs along the way and it did succeed in taking my mind off things. Happy Days!