On Saturday 15th September I had the privilege of speaking at the induction of Rev Vicky and Rev Barry Thompson. They are an amazing couple willing to follow the call of God wherever it might take them.
Why I spoke out
Earlier this week we made the decision to engage in the debate around the Sexual Orientation Regulations, in the light of the protest outside the House of Lords on Tuesday night (9th January). It is important to explain to you what we did and why we did it.
When consultation on the proposed legislation took place earlier in 2006, we welcomed the SORs as an attempt to ensure goods and services are delivered inclusively and in non-discriminatory ways.
We released a statement to the press on Monday, voicing our concern at the aggressive and virulent approach that some parts of the Church appeared to be taking on the issue. I appeared on various news programmes and websites the following day, including BBC News 24 and News at Ten, and also went down to observe the rally outside Parliament, and to talk to some of the people down there. Since then, other Christian leaders have spoken out to agree with our views.
This is why we did what we did:
The SORs are designed to outlaw discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation in the delivery of goods, facilities and services. Our engagement with this issue sits firmly within our stated aims and objectives, which are:
To empower and inspire individual Christians and local churches to develop their role at the hub of their community.
To challenge and change the public perception of the Church by engaging with media and government.
To encourage unity and partnership, to meet the needs of local communities.
The tone and context of our engagement reflects the ongoing position of Faithworks. We seek to be distinctively Christian, and enable our members to engage positively with their communities.
We celebrate the different contributions and views of the whole Christian church to the issue of human sexuality. We believe that our approach to the SORs and to Equality & Diversity legislation, which focuses on human dignity and unconditional service, allows for distinctive Christian views of sexuality while encouraging unconditional love and service. This is the Jesus model.
Christians are called to follow Jesus’ example, and he says remarkably little about sexuality in scripture. Rather, he treats all people he comes across with love and acceptance, and does not refuse his service to anyone, even if he does not agree with their lifestyle.
We encourage our members, and all those of Christian faith, to follow Jesus’ example, and to serve all people, regardless of their lifestyle, by expressing welcome and recognising the dignity of every human being. We believe that a strong sense of Christian identity and purpose enables the Church to provide goods and services in a non-discriminatory way, without that identity being diminished.
The Faithworks Charter expresses our commitment to the equal value of all people, setting out 15 high quality standards for the delivery of public services, including non-discriminatory delivery.
Having seen the rally outside parliament for ourselves, we are concerned that the tone of the debate has become aggressive and virulent, creating an unattractive witness. We call on the Church to reposition itself in a more confident and compassionate way. This is an opportunity to demonstrate positive Christian faith in action, rather than to build a fortress mentality.
The Church is not called to judge the world but to serve all people with a clear commitment to the values and example of Christ.
Christians making a difference!
The life I touch for good or ill will touch another life, and that in turn another, until who knows where the trembling stops or in what far place my touch will be felt.
Frederick Buechner
On Tuesday 7th November the fourth annual Faithworks awards ceremony took place. The venue was the Members' Dining Room of the House of Commons and it was a deeply moving and humbling experience. We presented three awards from a shortlist of 18, from an applications pool of 263 different projects! As well as that we presented an award to Robina Rafferty MBE, the former Chief Executive of Housing Justice to mark her mammoth contribution to the arenas of housing and social justice.
Two of the three project awards were sponsored by Spring Harvest and one was sponsored by Congregational and General Insurance. The winners were the Beachy Head Chaplaincy Team, Open Door - Tyneside and Barnabas Workshops, South Ilford.
More information on the projects and the ceremony are available from the Faithworks website, but I just wanted to reflect here on how deeply humbling the whole process of assessing the applicants was. It reminded me that Faithworks is a movement on the ground made up of thousands and thousands of fantastic people and projects who are relentlessly committed to serving their communities for Christ. They are daily making a difference in the lives of other people and they are doing so without applause, without a lot funding and without the recognition that they often deserve!
One of the things that I said at the ceremony was this:
For the thousands of volunteers and employees of these projects faith is not just an idea. It is not a philosophical football to be kicked around the playing field of life. It is not a business or trading commodity to be clipped and changed and marginalised. Christian faith is the reason they get out of bed in the morning. It is the reason they keep going. Their passion springs from their conviction, like light springs from the sun. They do cannot do what they do if they are not motivated by their faith. When funding runs out, when they hit brick walls of opposition or confusion. When their motivation is question and their methodology attacked, they still keep going. That is because they are passionate about God and passionate about people.In fact, they are passionate about love. We love because God is love. We serve because God serves.
Pope Benedict XVI's first encyclical was entitled Deus Caritas est - God is Love. That is clearly demonstrated in the countless acts of kindness carried out unnoticed across the world by people in love with God.
Churches and Christian projects are working out our own contribution to civil society every day. Whilst others are debating whether or not God is on the agenda in Britain, we know that he is not only on the agenda, he is at the heart of it, making a difference through us. We are moving beyond what are often narrowing views of morality to understand that Christian faith is robust and strong and able to work with others. We are learning how to work with statutory bodies, government and the third sector including other faiths. We are learning about servant heartedness, growing in confidence of our own identity and more ready to both engage with others and embrace those who are different. We are building a better world, but we are not the only answer, we are part of the answer. As passionate, if broken followers of Christ, we are also passionate and committed to excellence and to innovation.
Christian faith works – don’t just take my word for it, ask the hundreds of thousands of people who benefit from it and its adherents every day.
The early church was described as a group of people who turned the world upside down – we still are – or perhaps we are seeking to turn it right way up! What do you think?