Gold Rush

What will you remember about this summer? Did you capture a torch bearer on camera? Were you lucky enough to watch history being made by Usain Bolt? Or did you weep with joy at the medal won by the Chambers brothers? This summer has been a delight of torches, trophies and gold post boxes, as up and down the country we’ve been celebrating with our Olympic and Paralympic athletes, sharing a brief moment of their glory.   In the 5 years that I’ve lived in London, this summer has certainly been the most memorable. There’s been a sense of community and celebration, strangers talking in the streets, a shared pride of our islands achieving great athletic feats. But this fantastic sense of well being can’t just be medal fever. Earlier on this year, we got to know our neighbours as we spread bunting out across the length and breadth of our street, decorated pillars and posts in red white and blue, baked beautiful cup cakes and brought out our gazebos to share a meal in the street together.   And in great spirits, we celebrated the Queen’s Jubilee. This year has been a momentous occasion for bringing people together, sharing good stories and being neighbourly. We’re seeing a movement of good things happening in our neighbourhoods. It was only a year ago that the UK watched on as the scenes of deliberate and angry attacks on major cities unfolded. But The Games have re-introduced us to positive role models, people to proud of, to cheer on and to celebrate with. People who have faced challenges in their lives - and overcome the odds. 

I’ve had the huge privilege over the last few months of getting to know a few people from different organisations, coming together under the banner of ‘Serve.’ Serve is a group of organisations, committed to supporting churches passionately as they transform their communities.  It is about celebrating what the church is doing, inspiring others to action, sharing the good news stories with the government and media. 

I’ve often been inspired and moved by stories shared by colleagues working overseas. The work of partners alongside the local church, releasing potential. It really changes lives: people start to see their natural resources; to see how to lift themselves out of poverty and become independent. And there’s spiritual transformation too: because the church is at the centre of the process and people start to experience God’s heart for the last and the least. 

Bill Hybels said ‘the local church is the hope of the world.’ And hope is what we need, when the stories spread across the papers tell us that 13 million people in the UK are living on the breadline. Hope can come in the form of the local church, a visit from a neighbour, a hot meal or debt counselling. It’s a real privilege to be involved in Serve at this time, working with churches and organisations and people who are passionate about transforming lives. Feeding the hungry. Sheltering the homeless. Loving the unlovable. 

 
This is where the church is. And this is where it should be.

Mo Farah’s Gold post box in Teddington. Mo trained at St Mary’s college, Teddington and worked in the sport shop on Broad Street.

 

Just sing

Just in case you haven't noticed, there's a bit of a knees up going on this weekend.  In pretty much every town and city up and down the UK.  And if you haven't heard the theme tune to this rock n roll party, have a little look-see here.

 

I'm loving the celebrations that are unfolding, for lots of reasons.... 1) there are unending supplies of strawberries in the supermarkets, 2) there are several bunting-tastic houses in my locality, boasting more flimsy plastic flags than you can shake ... err.. a stick at... and 3) I believe life is good if it involves neighbours swapping cup cake recipes.  So, baking bonanza on Monday for our street party... Come join the fun.

Happy Jubilee.

Day 4: Eau de beans

On day 4 of the rice and beans challenge, I now smell of the food I've been eating. I am craving anything sweet. Butter icing, condensed milk, fifteens. Bananas taste amazing (I know because I have eaten 3 this week: which is a big R&B rule contravention, but I am following a slightly flexible version of the rules as otherwise I would almost certainly be in a hypo glycaemic coma).

So now that I'm more than half way through, there is light at the end of the tunnel. I think there's also a salad there too.  What's been difficult is having the same taste, the same substance and very little variety of food.  It genuinely makes be thankful different food groups such as meat, veggies and complex carbohydrates. I found it difficult to concentrate at work for the first day, but have grown more used to having less to eat, but I don't know how I would have managed to do a full day's labour with this amount of energy.  I'm conscious of how much I consume on an ordinary basis, and it makes me think I could definitely cut down on unnecessary things.

And with that in mind, I want to pray for West Africa.  Alernet reports that there will be another food crisis this year in the Sahel, putting 10 million lives at risk. But if we act now, the effects could be dramatically reduced. So Father God, please help us to learn the lessons from past disasters. Please help aid agencies respond, with the help of governments, to put in place the right mechanisms to prevent disaster. The erratic rains mean that crops may fail but there are things that can be done to help cultivate drought resistent crops.  Let's pray for good cooperation between governments and humanitarian agencies to help to provide a plan of action, to save lives and prevent disaster. Amen. 

Please consider making a donation to Tearfund who have long term partners in West Africa.

Day 3: They will be filled

There's a book I've started reading, and I've got to the end of the first chapter, and I'm stuck.  The challenge that I can't move past at the moment is this:  It's asking the question, what are you passionate about? What are the changes you long to see happen in the world?

The book is called 'Follow me to Freedom' and it's written by Shane Claiborne, author of  'The Irresistible Revolution' and John M Perkins.  On my third day of the rice and best fest, there's a verse that is turning over in my mind.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.  Matt 5:6

And that is something of an encouragement, in the sense that there is hope. When you've been praying for change, investing in people, and their situations, really interceding, when there's nothing more than you can do, there is still hope. And it's the right thing to do, to keep on praying. Not to give up, but that there will eventually be signs of renewal.
But we've got to be part of that change.  Be the change you want to see. Love this little flim and brilliant resources on this website, to help us be part of the change we want to see in the world  wecan.be

Lord, you've shown us what we need to do. Not to follow empty rituals and present unecesssary gifts. But to do what's just and fair, to be compassionate to everyone, and to stay in step with God.  [paraphrase of Micah 6: 6-8]

Day 2: hunger pangs and headaches

It's an encouragement to know that there are 72 people doing the rice and beans challenge in work; and by way if supporting each other and resisting the temptations of food, we have been assigned to a separate area on the staff canteen. It was all going smoothly until I caught a sniff of the alternative option; the aroma of a hamburger wafting through the air. However I had the lovely encouraging company of Helen and Keren to help overcome. As we reflected on our meagre meals, we became thankful for what we had.

As I've been unwell for a few days running up to this, I'm also very thankful for medicine. How easily I can select a packet of paracetamol off the shelf of the pharmacy. But for all those who don't have such luxuries, life is unnecessarily hard. Today, I pray for communities around the world, where illnesses such as diarrhoea are life threatening. Where if mum or dad gets ill, it means no money for food. I pray that their lives are changed by simple things like having access to water, and having basic sanitation. Because these things aren't luxuries, they are essential to life. Lord I pray for life in its fullest sense for these most vulnerable communities. Amen.

Day 1: 27 million

Day 1: Encouraged; uplifted; tempted by takeway menu through the letterbox; smiling inwardly at my power to resist; still slightly hungry.

Now, more than ever, I'm convinced of the power of prayer.   This morning at church we met together for our owb rice and beans lunch, and we just had a good ol' family time, everyone mucked in, we had a laugh about what it would be like in our homes eating rice and beans for 5 days. And we prayed, because as Mark Melluish said, sometimes praying is the only thing you can do.

We were also reminded about another aspect of poverty.  London is gearing up to get ready for being the stage of the world and for a few short weeks, people will visit to see the greatest athletes and events.  But behind the scenes, money is changing hands to traffik women and children into the UK, in time for the Olympics.  Back in Lord Wilberforce's day, there were about 11 million slaves. That was 200 years ago.  Today, there are 27 million slaves. Slavery is alive. It's ugly, it's hidden, it's wrong.  It's the result of poverty, it's the result of people not having enough and wanting a better life for their children. It's the result of not having a choice.  Not having a voice to speak up for what's right.

Now is the time to do something about that.

Here's one thing you can do.  Let's make a noise about modern day slavery. We need to tell politicians to do something, and the media, and businesses. And to let people know that this needs to stop, we need to get everyone involved.  One of the ways you can do that is by downloading this song from itunes/Amazon/Play. Don't do it until Monday or it won't count in the charts.

 

Father God, tonight I want to cry out for the millions of people who are held captive, enslaved, forced into a trade that is harmful and soul destroying.  Lord, would you help me use whatever I have to make a difference where I am.  I want to pray for the families who are left behind. I want to pray that they realise they do have  choice.  I pray that they would choose life.  Amen.

For more on the anti-traffik campaign, go to www.notforsalecampaign.org.

One Voice

This week, I'm preparing to take part in Tearfund's rice and beans challenge.  It's fairly simple: for 5 days, I'm going to live on a diet of rice and beans, with a bit of porridge for breakfast.  Not the usual Friday night curry portions - oh no.  And.. no tea or coffee, just water to drink.   Half of the world is living in desperate poverty, in fact, living on less than $2 a day, and I want to be part of generation that does something about this injustice.  I have a few friends joining in as well, and we're kicking it all off with a lunch on Sunday, consisting of various bean stew options.  But I also want to be part of a movement that prays for the least, the last and the lost.  I believe prayer, as John Wesley once said, is where the action is.  So, we don't just pray, we pray together, and we act.

It's T-6 days, and so I'm warning as many people that this is happening. I think the word warning is appropriate - I'm not sure how nice a person I am without caffeine...)

As I've been preparing for this challenge, one of the things I've been reflecting on is why we pray together.
The celestial prayer room is not a market place, where we have to shout louder just for God to hear us or negotiate a deal.  Even when we can't articulate those things, he still knows what we need. Romans 8:26.   I've been reading through Romans and one verse really stood out for me.  It follows the chapter where Paul writes to remind us that different people have different ways of doing things.

Paul writes about the need to get on with each other.  Don't let difference of opinions cause division.  But work for peace with each other.  And encourage one another, live in harmony.  Join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 15:5-6.

And so, I think that for me sums up why it's good to pray together.  Whether we meet in a room, or whether we join together around the world, we are coming together with One Voice.  So let's pray.

www.tearfund.org/onevoice

Green is in

So far, 2012 is off to a good start with a New Years day lunch with lovely friends, an awesome bike ride in the rain, and only one escapee price tag on display for the majority of the day. Excellent.  I hope the trend continues.

And so in the dying embers of this momentous day, I'm trying to fit in a review of the year just past, of  challenges faced and lessons learned.  And being slightly envious already of friends who have thought up genius resolutions for the year - both clever - and fun.  Realistically, there's not enough time for all that; even armed with an archive of periodicals, it would be hard to do justice to all the world's events.  Some will undoutedly haved impacted us more than others.  Here's a little Google-glimpse.



Next - the duty of the resolution.  No other word in the English language pains me so much.  I may literally drag my feet into the next month before I make up my mind on anything.  However, I have decided that green is good.  Buying less is more. The year of the triathalon might finally be here. Photography, literature and cracking a sudoku in under 10 minutes - whilst all worthwhile, must recognise their less significant place in 2012. Maybe this year should begin with bended knee - if 2012 is to bring a tide of change to our cities, to our world economies to help the global poor; our international relations to help the refugee.  We should start with prayer. That's a good resolution to start with.