Are Pumpkins the only thing we grow at Halloween?

Some of us in communities around the country, and a number of us within the life of the Church, have been celebrating Harvest time over these past weeks.  Gathering in the harvest reminds us of the bountiful provision that many of us have, encourages us to give thanks for this and challenges us to remember those who do not have enough in such a way that we take action to help.

The gathering of a harvest is an end product following the sowing or planting of something, together with the nurture that is lavished on the seeds or plants which enables growth and fruitfulness.    At this time of year there are a lot of pumpkins around.  I am going to astound you with a bit of knowledge. Here we go!   To grow pumpkins you have to plant pumpkin seeds.  Yes I know that is astonishing, but honestly it is true.  I have it on good authority that if you plant apple seeds you will not get pumpkins.  I know that if you plant grains of wheat then it is wheat that you get not pumpkins.  Be aware of what you plant.

This lesson that we reap what we sow is found in the Bible.  In Galatians 6:7 it says just that - we will reap what we sow or harvest what we plant.  That’s a great lesson for agriculture and horticulture and the like, but the interesting thing is that the Galatians passage is not talking about agriculture and horticulture.  It is talking about things we sow into our lives which can produce good fruit or harvest or bad fruit or harvest.  You see if you plant pumpkin seeds in your life don’t be surprised if you grow pumpkins!

Maybe what works in the world of agriculture and horticulture also works in our personal lives and indeed society.  It would be possible to look at various societies and see the way that good or bad things come out of them because of the building blocks, or seeds, that lay at the basis of society.  There are societies that seem to be compassionate and others that seem to encourage territorial conflict and even ethnic cleansing.  It might be partly because of the kind of things that are planted and nurtured in the minds, lives, and actions of their citizens.  If, for instance, from an early age children are brought up to hate certain groups or types of people then we should not be surprised at violence against and between such groups.  If so we should be cautious of sowing the seeds that encourage the darker things of life, physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.

That I think is where the difficulty with Halloween lies.  It is not the dressing up.  It is not the games.  It is not even the pumpkins!!!!  But it is a seeming fascination with darker things when there could be games and dressing up and food (including pumpkins) which encouraged light rather than darkness.  Of course with shops having an eye to profit there is unlikely to be much discerning from them about what might affect society in a positive rather than negative way (after all look at the sales of cheap alcohol that cause problems up and down the country).

Is British society going to be irretrievably harmed by the “celebration” of Halloween?  Are children that dress up going to be traumatised?  Let’s face it that is unlikely.  However, taking the longer and wider view maybe we plant seeds into society that are not entirely good for it and which might produce fruit that is not good. 

I am pleased that in churches up and down the country there will be “Light Parties” which will seek to emphasise the positive and enable children and parents to enjoy something wholesome.  I am grateful to those in my own churches who are putting in work to ensure that we run a Light Party on 31^st October.  After all there are some really good positive things to celebrate.  These seeds are good seeds and as they are nurtured they can bring a really good harvest for society.  I hope parents might think of ways in which they can encourage the positive at this time of year. Halloween (or All Hallows Eve) coming just before All Saints Day (1^st November) and All Souls Day (2^nd November) lends itself to focusing on a deep appreciation of those who have gone before us.  That is of special significance within the life of the Church but then isn’t that something precious in many families and communities as well.  Parents, grandparents, the innovators and inventors of history, those who have built our communities might all prove to be a good positive focus for us rather than that which is dark, even if it disguises itself as a bit of harmless fun.

Let’s be careful what we sow at this time of year.  After all it might be more than just pumpkins that we grow!

Something Smells Around Here

Phone hacking, Libor rate fixing, PPI, FIFA, and now Diesel emissions with defeat devices which fool those carrying out environmental tests.  The latter seems to have embroiled Volkswagen in bad publicity and possible court action of an immense scale, but let us be honest (which is in contrast to aforementioned scandals) there will not be many of us that will be surprised if the emissions scandal spreads to something more industry wide!

What is it about big companies or industries that seem to encourage, on occasions, a corrupt, dishonest approach which can spread like a cancer throughout their structures?  Is it the pressure to compete and win through profits? Is it that large structures are much more difficult to police and regulate?  Is it that we live in a world which in many ways has lost its moral, ethical and spiritual compass?  Maybe it is all of those or maybe none.  However, I tend to think that in an age of relativism (particularly in the West) there can be a tendency to define my behaviour as good because I can spot someone who is worse than me.  Is there an element of "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely” (Acton 1834–1902) about things.

I do feel that in so many ways now the West (and our own country included) struggles because it takes its course and direction from what it sees around it.  To chart one’s course by objects that move can be a very dangerous business.  Yet I feel this is what we do.  In fact one of the frightening things is that one cannot help but get the impressions that some individuals, organisations and indeed companies base their behaviour on whether they can get away with what the other lot did in their pursuit of survival, profit and dominance.

In contrast the Bible and the Christian faith presents a standard that finds its bearings centred on the God who is both loving and holy.  To seek to base our lives and behaviour on him is very different indeed to casting a glance at the next person just making sure we are a little better than them.

We should always be concerned about the sort of scandals mentioned above, but in relation to the emissions scandal, at this Harvest Thanksgiving time within the life of the Church, we should remember we are called to care for God’s earth.  We should then be willing to challenge those who put profit before people and who think that dishonesty is OK as long as you are not found out.

Amos was an Old Testament prophet in the Bible who stood against injustice in society and who saw around him corruption, greed and dishonesty.  It was contrary to the way that that God had laid down for people to live their lives and for society to function.  Amos 8 says,

⁴ Hear this, you who trample the needy
    and do away with the poor of the land,

⁵ saying, ‘When will the New Moon be over
    that we may sell grain,
and the Sabbath be ended
    that we may market wheat?’–
skimping on the measure,
    boosting the price
    and cheating with dishonest scales,
⁶ buying the poor with silver
    and the needy for a pair of sandals,
    selling even the sweepings with the wheat.

⁷ The Lord has sworn by himself, the Pride of Jacob: ‘I will never forget anything they have done.

Being big, being powerful, being rich, is not an excuse to cheat people or society.  The scandal over Diesel emissions is clearly not the first international scandal, nor will it be the last, but within the Church we have a particular responsibility to make a stand against dishonest behaviour and trickery of others and I suggest within society we need to do the same.

"No Entry" Sign for Refugees needs Taking Down

I am saddened by the way that Britain is responding (or not responding) to the current refugee crisis.  I am also saddened by the approach of too many members of the Press and too many of those in Government.  For months there have been voices seeking to persuade us that those trying to enter Europe are migrants.  Words and phrases such as swarm or invasion have been bandied around and members of the public have been encouraged to regard people escaping dire circumstances as people on the make.

What part of our mind thinks that people risking overcrowded boasts that capsize with the bodies of young and old washed up on beaches, or airtight lorries crammed full of human beings is likely to be a ploy to exploit our Benefits system?  It almost defies belief that people try to advance this kind of argument.  Of course there are people that are poor and have a tough time in Britain, but as a society we are so well off and so safe compared to some of the countries where these refugees are coming from.

Enough is enough. David Cameron and others in Government are wrong to keep putting the barriers up.  Yes there are policies and principles to consider in the longer term, but right now it is a time for compassion and action.  What we are seeing unfolding before us is absolutely heartbreaking.  We have a responsibility in this world to care for the weak and oppressed; to stand up for the children; to protect the vulnerable.  Take down that big "No Entry" sign that has been put up for domestic convenience.  We are seen as a safe haven and an opportunity for a better life away from fear and persecution. Prime Minister you should be taking the lead in demonstrating compassion and a desire for justice.  In many ways we are reaping the harvest of problems we have caused in these countries and now we want to wash our hands of the problem.  What hypocrisy!  Step up to the mark.  Lead us in a different direction.  The language has to change from migrants to refugees and there needs to be brave action.

As a Christian I am deeply challenged because I see Jesus as a refugee.  When his family fled to Egypt in the face of a vicious slaughter of youngsters from King Herod's men to ensure there was no threat to his throne Jesus was most fortunate that he did not encounter the UK Border Agency during his escape.  The likelihood is that if he had he would have been turned back.

I follow Jesus the Refugee and in the worried, agony etched, tormented face of the refugees we see in the media (or maybe in real life) I see the face of Jesus and his family.  So I say that just as there was a country that welcomed Jesus as a refugee fleeing from horror, so we should welcome those who flee for their lives in fear of what is behind and in hope for what might be ahead.   But I also say that whether or not you are a Christian or a person of any faith, the right response as fellow human beings to those people desperate to save themselves and their children is a response of generous, welcoming hospitality.

Take down the "No Entry" sign!

We all have our demons

These notes form part of a sermon preached at the United Church Dorchester, Dorset, on the evening of 21^st June 2015 based on the passage Luke 8:26-39, where Jesus heals a man possessed by many evil spirits.

We all have our demons – or so it is said.

Indeed some people go looking for them – Charlie Charlie is popular at present and is a variation on the Ouija board where supposedly a Mexican spirit is summoned and talked with using two pencils which point to yes or no.

Of course demons in the Western World are not so fashionable now – or at least not in the Church.  We should be careful lest we lag behind a world that recognises that if there are spiritual or supernatural forces behind the world then it should be no surprise that they act as if they were, well, forces!  So while I am sure there are all sorts of occasions when people in extreme states are such because of perhaps mental illness, emotional damage or another health problem we should not be too quick to dismiss a spiritual underlying cause for some conditions, whether that is an inability to forgive which finds its outworking in a physical condition, a resistance to God’s will which results in headaches or stress; or oppression by dark spiritual forces which results in messed up lives.

Why would I believe such stuff of demons and Devil?

First because before I became a Christian at around the age of 16 I used to dabble in these kinds of things and from my experience I would say that they can be real, unhealthy, and dangerous.  Second because I have seen people struggle with what seem to be dark spiritual forces and been called in to minister in homes and lives where things are happening that cause great concern and are outside normal human explanation.  Third because the Bible talks of these things.  I do not believe that the 1^st Century mind simply didn’t understand the clever things we do now and blamed everything on the Devil. Sure there is a danger of blaming everything on the Devil – and a danger of blaming nothing on him!

So I do not have any difficulty personally in seeing this passage as I find it.  In some way the man has been possessed (I think a rare but possible condition) and it has driven him crazy.  Nakedness and broken chains are indications of this.  Mark’s version (Chapter 5) tells us he screamed and cut himself.  He is hanging about the place of the dead.  We might reflect on whether we hang about the places of death and whether we get used to the idea that death frames the context for who we are and what we are about.

This man has his demons.

What holds you?

Is there something that seems to be your demon (whether or not literally)?

And in terms of this passage where is the true authority and power?  It is of course in and through Jesus.

Let me develop the way that Jesus demonstrates that authority and power through the Word of and about Jesus.

The Promise of the Word

Before our passage are these verses.

²² One day Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Let us go over to the other side of the lake.’ So they got into a boat and set out. ²³ As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.

²⁴ The disciples went and woke him, saying, ‘Master, Master, we’re going to drown!’

He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. ²⁵ ‘Where is your faith?’ he asked his disciples.

In fear and amazement they asked one another, ‘Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.’

²⁶ They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes,

Jesus said ‘Let us go over to the other side of the lake.’ 

On the way across there is a great squall such that the boat was swamped and they were in great danger.  Disciples feared they were going to drown.  And Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and waters which subside and there is calm.

The disciples feared for their lives – understandably.  But they had missed something.  They had missed the Promise of Jesus.  He said “Let us go over to the other side of the Lake”.  If that’ is where Jesus says they are going then that is where they are going and, come hell or high water (and possibly both are involved), they are still going over.

The promise of God in our lives is something to hold onto.

Where do we find the general promises of God?  In Scripture.  Through the Bible we know that God loves us (John 3:16); that he wants to guide us (Proverbs 3:6); that he will be with us (Matthew 28); and so much more.

Then sometimes we sense a particular and specific promise from God towards us.  There have been times for instance when Christians have prophesied God’s promises over me.  I wonder if we have sometimes sensed or heard the specific promises of God in our lives.  Maybe whispered in our ear; maybe through another believer; maybe as a result of a set of circumstances.

We need to hold on to those promises, both the general and specific.  There is a Salvation Army hymn called “Standing on the promises of Christ my King”.  One verse reads,

Standing on the promises that cannot fail,
When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,
By the living Word of God I shall prevail,
Standing on the promises of God.

The Power of the Word

²⁹ For Jesus had commanded the impure spirit to come out of the man.

When Jesus meets this situation he deals with it not by brute force (nothing had managed to hold the man even chains – he had burst them).  Instead he deals with it by the word.

The word of Jesus is such that the demons within the man “Legion” recognise who Jesus is – “Jesus, Son of the Most High God?” and they have to obey.  Even before the crucifixion, even before the resurrection, even before the ascension, the forces of darkness recognise the name of Jesus, and they bow!

I do not know if darkness threatens to overwhelm you.

I do not know whether there is something within your life that is burdensome and which makes you fearful.

I do not know whether there is something within the deepest places of your mind and heart that makes life feel hellish every day.

But this I do know, that whatever that thing is its knee must bow before Jesus.

Whatever Goliath faces us and strikes fear into us is as nothing against God’s David of Jesus.

What is the word of Jesus tonight for us?

Where is that powerful word – maybe from the Bible or maybe whispered in our ear?  The power of the divine word means that whatever it is that holds us is cast aside by the word of Jesus?

If there be such a thing seeking to bind or oppress us speak the powerful name of Jesus into that situation.  Whether it be a person that oppresses or bullies us; whether it be a financial situation that seems to be spiraling out of control; whether it be a family situation that we do not seem to be able to resolve; whether infirmity has us in its grip and the pain is great and the hope has gone, invite Jesus to be the power that can break the chains that hold us.

The power of the Word of Christ and the prayer offered in the name of Christ is such a powerful way of standing against these things that threaten to overwhelm us. “The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and he gave them permission.”  Jesus is the one who gives permission.  What power there is in Jesus.  As the chorus says “There is power in the name of Jesus!”

The Proclamation of the Word

³⁸ The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, ³⁹ ‘Return home and tell how much God has done for you.’ So the man went away and told all over the town how much Jesus had done for him.

There is a proclamation of what Jesus has done.  This is good news.  Jesus is Good News.  Like the man who had found new healed life in Jesus and who told people about what Jesus had done for him so we are to proclaim what Jesus has done for us.

The Works of God are powerful and it is a privilege to share them with others.  Perhaps God is asking you to do that in the particular and specific way, maybe through the ministry of preaching.  If so please talk to someone and prayerfully explore that.  However, even if we do not have that specific call to a preaching ministry we still have an obligation to share good news of Jesus.

I read this quotation recently,

“Every Christian occupies some kind of pulpit and preaches some kind of sermon every day.”

Where is our pulpit and what is our sermon?

Lazy Language

Now I am hardly the World’s brightest and I am not the most cultured.  In fact my East End of London upbringing means that I easily drop my “H”s and on occasions sound like I am a Barrow Boy or have been working on the Market for a number of years.

However, there are some words and phrases which make me cringe, particularly when they are used often.  “Basically”, what I mean is that “at the end of the day” “it is what it is”, but “here’s the thing”, “if it’s meant to be then it’s meant to be” because “everything happens for a reason”, “going forward”.  The last of these is beginning to become a favourite among a wide range of professionals, particularly when they are doing presentations or speaking to groups.  What on earth does it mean????  This phrase and so many others are time fillers, spaces to think, words for when we run out of words and anything useful to say.  I have just managed to create a sentence out of those phrases which contains plenty of words but says absolutely nothing!  It is a sign of laziness most of the time. 

I put swearing in the same sort of camp.  Yes I understand that swearing can be an involuntary response to something surprising or shocking.  However, it is not uncommon to hear swear words peppering conversations used routinely.  As far as I am concerned that both shows a limited vocabulary and is pretty lazy.

The current craze for text speak (or maybe txt spk) simply adds to the problem.  It is likely that this will lead to increased illiteracy at some level or another.

Is anyone going to take any notice of this?  No I shouldn't expect so.  I make the point though because words can be so creative, so special, and so expressive.  To sink into lazy language is just a bit of a disappointment.  As wordsmiths go I am not likely to set the World on fire but I do believe in a small way I can craft words into something special that can inspire, motivate and communicate.

In the Bible Ephesians 4:29 says “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen”.  That seems to me to be wise advice whether or not one is a person of faith.  It takes its place alongside Colossians 4:6a “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt”.

Lazy or wanting to exercise ourselves in speaking and writing that really does mean something?

Charity at a Cost?

A very sad story in the news is about the death of Olive Cooke who was a War Widow and who had sold poppies for 76 years.  The story can be found via many news outlets but this is how it reads in The Mirror online.

There seems to be concern that one of the stresses of Olive's life was the persistent approaches from charities. No doubt various enquiries and the Inquest will consider whether these approaches contributed to Olive's death.  This sad story of a woman who seems to have lived a life dedicated to helping others prompted me to think of the persistent approaches we have had in our own household from various charities and the connections we have with others.  

Being a Minister within the Methodist Church it could be argued that I work for a charity so I am not anti charity by any means.  However I have been disappointed at some of the charities that are very close to my heart changing their fundraising tactics in a way that I believe alienates some of their core supporters and which discourages others from supporting them in the first place.  I imagine charities change their fundraising tactics because they find the tactics work and they raise more money, but at what cost?  Maybe the cost is at making some members of the public resolve never to support that particular charity.

Let me give two examples of the way that charities have discouraged me from support.  The first concerns a Charity which purports to have a Christian ethos, although in their local centres or shops one would be hard pushed to find anyone that would confess to being a Christian or even have much of a clue about the mainstream church they are supposedly connected to.  This charity had a very strong supporter base within a particular denomination but many years ago decided it would start cold calling for volunteer collectors completely undermining the system of grass roots volunteers that already existed.  I suppose more money came in, but I am pretty sure more goodwill went out. The second example involves another very well known charity whose representatives kept calling asking for an increase in regular giving.  Despite repeated warnings that if they persisted we would cease support completely as we already support a number of charities (and work for one)  and have our charitable giving worked out - guess what?  They kept calling!

Of course the work of charities is important.  Of course it can be very hard for them to raise money.  Of course they should keep searching for creative ideas for fundraising in order to support the work of charities.  However, this does not mean that persistent calls, sometimes from organisations that represent the charity without being the charity itself, are wise or appropriate.  Sometimes the kind of approach is more akin to tackling a call centre than it is to speaking with a charity that has compassion.  It would appear to me that some of those who contact the public on behalf of charities actually do use call centre tactics, working with a script that is written for them, perhaps having little knowledge or understanding of the charity itself.  And that is without the huge number of letters that come through the post as well.

Am I arguing that charities should not phone or write to people?  No, not for a moment,  I am arguing though for compassion, courtesy and common sense to be at the heart of the way charities approach people.  Is that too much to ask? I think for Olive Cooke it was the least she could have expected.

Election 2015 Aftermath: Listen Carefully

I have seen a number of people declaring things along the lines of "What an awful day this is!". 

Maybe they are right; maybe they are wrong.  But underlying that are one or two points.  The first is that we are where we are because people have voted in a particular way.  The second is that those people include ordinary - sometimes poorer - people who have voted for the party of Government and not just rich people who have voted for them.

I suspect a malaise of politicians, and possibly the Church, is that long ago in quarters of politics and the Church (and of course that does not mean every part) we ceased to listen to ordinary people and moved more to a position of telling these people what they should think and how they should act - a kind of intellectual condescension - and once that happens we find that all sorts of things might happen in elections, including for instance that, although there may not be a great surge of UKIP in Parliament, the percentage of those voting in that direction seems to grow.  Listening to and engagement with those who have concerns - even about unreasonable things - is in my view one thing that has been lacking.  But listening and engagement probably works better than political haranguing about whatever liberal stance grabs the power politicians of the day.  Perhaps we can begin to listen more rather than just tell people off when they don't have the same view as us.

Make your Mark

We are on the eve of the General Election.  I hope we will all make our mark by voting. Edmund Burke (12 January 1729 - 9 July 1797) was an Irish political philosopher among other things.  He is known for these words “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”  In those days “men” would have meant men and women of course.

When people step back or turn away from responsibilities more often than not the gap that is created is filled by something else.  That something else can be very unsavoury.  I suggest then we have a responsibility to get out there and vote.

How should we vote?

1.  We should vote for someone with integrity that we feel will represent us and the constituency we are a part of.  First and foremost a local MP is your MP and my MP.  Yes it is relevant to take account of party politics and the potential for national Government, but always remember, whether they carry this through or not, an MP’s first allegiance is to his or her constituency.   It is the people of the constituency that choose the MP and the people of the constituency that can vote them out.  An MP who thinks they owe more to their Party than their Constituents may find that they end up being an MP for a relatively short period of time.

2.  We should vote for the good of others and not just ourselves.  This is sometimes very difficult particularly if we happen to be in a situation where we are poor or hungry and cannot see an easy present or future.  To only focus on ourselves though is to encourage individualism and selfishness.  To consider others means we are seeking to build a good community and fair society.

3.  We should vote remembering that “There is a higher throne” (a song by Keith and Kristyn Getty).  In others words MPs, politicians and Government are not the final authority.  There is much in the Bible about God working through the Authorities and Governing Bodies of the World.  There is also much which indicates that such bodies and individuals need to be challenged when they enact Laws or encourage behaviour which is contrary to those things that God reveals to us as healthy and wholesome, and which are designed to nurture our lives and build good communities.

It is relatively easy to write these things and much harder to come to a decision about what they mean in practice, but even in the midst of those challenges I hope we will still vote and make our mark!

What a load of rubbish!

Yesterday was interesting.  It was spent largely trying to help clear out a house before it is handed back to the Landlord and Landlady.  I found myself ferrying rubbish bags and other larger items to the large industrial style wheelie bin which was part of the housing complex.  There I dutifully put the rubbish into the bin.  After several such journeys I was slightly thrown when I saw some of the rubbish I had disposed of piled up on my route to the bin.  “I’m sure I’ve already thrown that away” I thought to myself.  I then saw a gentleman carrying another armful of previously disposed of rubbish and dumping it on the floor.  Some papers swirled around and blew away and the heavy stuff lay forlorn on the concrete.

“I am sorry” I said.  “Is there a problem?”  The gentleman informed me in no uncertain terms that there was indeed a problem.  I had been placing rubbish in the bin belonging to his section of flats and the one I should have been placing it in was a good 30 metres away around another corner.  I expressed my apologies and said he really didn’t need to empty the bin because I would be very happy to remove the rubbish from the incorrect bin to place in the correct one and that he had only needed to alert me.  In all honesty I can’t say that this made his day, or that he was any happier.  I guess he must have an ongoing problem with people filling his rubbish bin with their rubbish.  I might feel exactly the same in his position.

Anyway, it got me thinking just a little.  In life it is not entirely unusual for us to find that rubbish can mount up within us.  Maybe something bad from the past hangs around our lives and constantly upsets us.  Perhaps life seems to have been particularly hard and left a trail of destruction in our lives which never quite seems to be sorted out and cleared up.  In spiritual terms we might say that there can be a tendency for the rubbish of sin to clog up our lives and what on earth does one do with sin?  I guess sometimes we try to dump it somewhere out of sight in the hope that it will be out of mind – almost!  Perhaps we push it to the deepest darkest parts of our mind.  Things we have done or not done, hurts we have caused, the piercing nasty thoughts or the pointed deliberate actions.  Many people will know what I am talking about for they have carried the rubbish around within for a long time.  And then when we try to get rid of it, like a boomerang, or like the rubbish I tried to through away yesterday, it seems to keep appearing before our very eyes again.

My problem yesterday with the material rubbish I was trying to dispose of was that it was going in the wrong place.  Maybe that is what happens with our lives too in relation to the deep hurts we have received or sin we have committed.  Perhaps we try to deal with it our way, but it needs dealing with God’s way.  God’s way is of course through Jesus.  It was he that died on a cross and as he did so he was in some way (and there are many theories of how) dealing with that sin and taking it into a rubbish dump where it could be got rid of forever.

If today you read this and think no-one can deal with the rubbish of your life then please hear this.  Jesus can and he will.  It would be a very good idea to talk to him about it, to offer any rubbish within our lives, and to let the expert spiritual refuse collector do his job.

The Power of Place

St Paul's Methodist Church, Basildon,
where I  bought and cemented a brick in
the wall (cost me £1.00) as a child

Over the Christmas season I enjoyed spending some time back in Basildon, Essex (my old stamping ground).  It was good to share with family who still live there.

St Nicholas Church, scene of the play
"Murder in the Cathedral"

During the few days I was there I tried to go out for a few mile walk each day.  As I trod the familiar streets and pathways a wealth of memories came flooding into my mind.  These included the Junior School that I went to and Sports Day where I took part in the “Camel Race”, the Comprehensive School in which we were an experimental year and so did Domestic Science and Needlework as well as Woodwork and Metalwork, being asked to play in the School Football team, Cross Country lessons at school which consisted of running out of school and having a sandwich with friends at home before running back to school having made sure our kit looked dirty!   Then there was the walk up the hill to St Nicholas Church where one night in the dark we went to see “Murder in the Cathedral”, a drama by T S Eliot that portrays the murder of Archbishop Thomas

Janet Duke Junior School

Becket in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170.  Coming out afterwards as teenager into the darkened graveyard was enough to scare the wits out of me.  As it was a friend and I managed to scare a few girls instead!  There was the morning paper round and cold snowy mornings which had to be dealt with, Christmas tips from customers, names from the past and the church I grew up in.  Memories of Sunday School, Boys Brigade, Youth Groups, friends, activities……

The street where I lived and where
my Mother still lives.

It is not that these memories were particularly unusual (although many were special) or that it would have been impossible to remember them on any other day.  However, the reality was it was the places that evoked the memories.  The power of place!

That gives us quite a challenge in terms of the memories we try to encourage in a faith setting, whether that be in a church building or when Christians have organised special events out in the community.  The encounter with these places and occasions can create powerful marks in people’s minds.  We often talk about planting seeds in the Church and perhaps mean by that how what we share with people may grow in their life until they become people of faith.  That is certainly one way of looking at it.  But maybe it could also mean the seeds of place being important and reminding people of important aspects of life, particularly faith.  To turn that round I seem to have met too many people that have found encounters within churches unhelpful.  The power of the place is such that memories are evoked that cause people to reject the Church and perhaps God.

"The Chess Men" at the bottom of my street.
A kind of contemporary art form come playground

Maybe there is very great importance placed on Christians to invite God to make holy ground for people to tread on so that, at some point in the future, the power of place means that they are drawn to reflect on faith and God.