The rest we take between two deep breaths

Hello Everyone,

Wow! Thanks so much for the encouraging emails and texts and other messages you guys have been sending - such a blessing to know so many people are willing to take the time to send an emal or an SMS or a card and stuff - bless you all.

I got two very special things today. One was a letter from my mum! She NEVER writes - because she is getting older and struggling with writing and things like that. I was so touched and really, really appreciated her sending me a letter. The other was a beautiful card from Debbie (my wife for those of you who don't know!) which has a quote on the front from Etty Hillesum. It says:

Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest we take between two breaths.

Dandelion_blowing_in_wind_1

How great is that! We so often rush through things and miss the beauty and the wonder of the moment God gives us. Buddhists call it the ability to 'be present in the moment'. Christians talk about centred-living or simplicity. Whatever we call it, it is the ability to really be present, to listen and feel and see and hear and experience the sheer and unadulterated truth of the moment in which we find ourselves. I've tried to do that today and in doing so have prayed the same thing for each of you. This morning, I lay awake from around 3am - 6am. At first I thought it was just because I was sore and couldn't sleep, then I realised it might be because God wanted me to do something with that time - to listen to him, to rest in the darkness of my room and be physically and spiritually still. So I decided to use an Ignatian spiritual discipline and simply pray the Jesus prayer in my head and heart. Over and over again, I simply mentioned the name of Jesus - and each time I felt myself sinking more and more into God's glorious love and grace.

The darkness became a blanket of safety and security and peace. The warmth of Debbie next to me became a tangible reminder of the promise of God's warmth and presence and love. The scent of my pillow began to remind me of the sweetness and intimacy with which God has wooed and loved me through the years. I heard the children getting up and down in the night, or one of my sons talking in his sleep and they reminded me of my dependency on God - for every breath, every thought, every second of my life. I heard the noise of deer in the car park outside and was reminded that God has set my feet on high places. I heard owls calling to one another and remembered that even in the watches of the night the Holy Spirit speaks and carresses and loves God's people. I started to pray for each of you - asking our Father to caress you through the challenges and concerns of today. I prayed that each moment of stillness today would become a moment of holiness - a thin place for you. I asked God to take the challenges and the strains and the difficulties of this day and wrap them in his soft and gentle love so that you might feel the impact of today - but not be hurt by it. Instead, I prayed that you would sense Him in your footsteps, feel Him in your shadow, hear him in the laughter or the cries around you. I prayed that whatever you did, you would know the unsurpassed pleasure of the God who loves us enough to hold us - and ocassionally let us fall, so that we might become stronger and clearer and deeper in our love for Him.

Then I got the card and the letter! How amazing is that? God is so much aware of all that we face and all that we need. I knew that these days of silence would be moments of blessing - but I had no idea just how much He wanted to renew my intimacy and connection with Him. He doesn't need to do that - He doesn't need me! Yet He chooses to draw me in, to protect and nurture and strengthen me - wow!

Wrote this prayer for you all today - God bless.

Father,

There are people I love today who will face unchartered waters.

Be the hand that holds their vessels strong and safe in the midst of crashing waves and howling winds.

Be the light that safely guides them through this storm. Like a North Star shining through the clouds, let the light of Your love and grace shine through the clouds that try to hide Your presence. Pierce the darkness of despair, the fog of fear and the haze of hopelessness. Shine Your light onto the paths in front of Your peoples' feet - guiding each step toward Your path, Your way, Your safety.

Be the breeze that blows upon Your people today Lord. A breeze that blows away the cobwebs of regret and scatters the drizzle of despair. Let Your breath whisper to Your people through the singing of a bird and the chatter of children.

May they hear words of hope and strength, words that remind them of a brighter and clearer tomorrow. As the storms cease and the waves subside, be the quiet lapping at their boat.

Let their vision be clearer.

Let the storm have cleared the skies to leave new visions and vistas for Your people to see.

Let the waves give way to a fresher, brighter and bigger horizon than they ever thought possible.

In the quiet after the storm may Your people see you once again - in their boat, where You have always been.

May Your presence and Your gaze drive away lingering anxieties and fear and may they hear you whisper their name - as only a Father can whisper the name of their child.

As You whipser their name, in that one word let them know that You understand and care and love them enough to never, ever walk away.

Remind them that is always enough that You are there - and that You will never be any where else.

Amen

Do not be afraid

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:

1. To empower and inspire individual Christians and local churches to develop their role at the hub of their community.

2. To challenge and change the public perception of the Church by engaging with media and government.

3. 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. 

Be Careful of Our Language and Our Motivation

There is a huge hullabaloo over the sexual orientation regulations at the moment, and I think Christians need to be very careful about what we say, how we say it and the motivation that causes us to speak in the first place. Faithworks position is quite different from a number of other Christian organisations and we have today issued a press release warning of the dangers of the current position of many on the right wing of this discussion. The link to the full press release is www.faithworks.info/pressreleases and I would encourage you to take a look and let us know what you think. Whatever happened to grace, love, compassion and honesty? Sometimes we are guilty of double standards - this might be one of those times.

That was the week that was!

I thought it might be quite helpful to set out a few of the things that I have been up to in the last few days... I'd love to hear your thoughts on some of the things that I have been up to and hear about what you've been doing. Are we working on the same agenda? How can I best serve those of you who are part of the Faithworks Movement? What are the key challenges you are facing right now? Get in touch!

Wednesday 11th October:  I faced the agonizing choice of being part of the groups choosing winners for the Faithworks Awards this year from almost 300 applicants.  I met with those who had assessed the 18 shortlisted projects and reached our conclusions.  These projects are doing fantastic work and the choices were so hard.  I was really broken-hearted that we did not have an award for every one!  The three winners will each receive £5000 plus consultancy support and the awards have been sponsored by Congregational Insurance and Spring Harvest. These groups have been fantastic partners and the awards are only possible because of their investment.  We are now trying to work out how to support all of those who were shortlisted.

Sunday 15th October: On Sunday it was MICAH SUNDAY and I am on the Board of Directors of the MICAH CHALLENGE UK (for more information see www.micahchallenge.org.uk).  Christians around the world were standing up to challenge the failure of governments to take the Millennium Development Goals seriously enough. We were also praying around the world - and we officially created a new world record - over 23 MILLION people took part on the act of solidarity and prayer world wide!!  Things are really picking up in the UK around this initiative too.

Tuesday 17th October:  I spent the day in Birmingham as part of the National Steering Group for REDEEMING OUR COMMUNITIES (check out www.citylinks.org.uk for more information) which is a great initiative aimed at supporting the police forces in the UK and reducing crime.
I also responded to an article by Polly Toynbee, which appeared in the Guardian yesterday. Polly is arguing that Britain needs to be a secular state and that faith has no part to play in public life.  As you can see from my blog posting earlier this week, I responded by saying that faith and Christian faith has a very important part to play in the life of any community and defended the countless acts of compassion and kindness carried out by Christians across the UK every hour.

Wednesday 18th October:  I facilitated a discussion with some colleagues from other organisations as part of the STOP THE TRAFFIK campaign - for more information on this campaign see www.stopthetraffik.org. We were looking at the key changes to policy that we could work toward in the UK to put an end to help put an end to the evil of human trafficking.

Friday 20th October:  I spoke at a special event in Reading for the families of Children with special needs and disabilities.  It was a fantastic evening where God reminded all of us of the importance of every human being.  We also explored some of the deep challenges faced by the families of children with special needs.

Saturday 21st October: All day spent in Birmingham at TRUMPET CALL V which is a massive prayer event. It was also the launch of a great initiative called HOPE 2008, of which I am proud to be a part (check it out at www.hope08.com).  This promises to be an exciting venture that challenges every church in the UK to do something to engage in their communities.  Trumpet Call is supported by the WORLD PRAYER CENTRE.  I had a chance to catch up with its leader, Ian Cole and the National Director, Jane Holloway, to explore how we can strengthen the prayer life and prayer support of the Faithworks Movement.

SOME KEY QUESTIONS I HAVE
As I continue with the blog, I want to put some questions to you, to gain some of your input - YOU are the Faithworks Movement and as I lead I want to be directed by the things that affect you in your unstinting service to your local community.  Here are some questions to get you started!

• How do you think we remain distinctly Christian whilst working in such a diverse context?

• What are the three most important questions you have about Christians engaging in the community?

• If Faithworks were to produce just three resources in the next twelve months, what would you like them to be?

• How do you think we should relate to other faith groups in the UK and what is the moat Christlike approach in your view?

• How can I best pray for you and serve you?

• Have you read BUILDING A BETTER WORLD - if so have you joined the debate at www.buildingabetterworld.typepad.com?

Let me know what you think!  I look forward to hearing from you......