Man on the radio talking about baptism
Bishop on the telephone
Chap in the studio
All wanting a baptism that works
Words need to be right or it doesn't work
Well that's what they say
Elsewhere
Two thousand years ago
Two thousand miles away
There are two men standing in a river
No worry about words
Or Accessibility
Or Indices of Multiple Deprivation
Or Cultural attitudes
Just the call to 'Come'
Come and repent
Come and renounce evil
Turn away from our sins
Choose God not the Devil
But that was then and so today
Here and now
They are
Words that are rejected
And in their rejection there's rejoicing
But not from God
But back to the river
It's not about the words used
It's about the Word made flesh
It's not about the christening gown
Nor the cake the Grandmother's made
Nor the party that's waiting
Nor being popular with those outside the door
It is so simple really:
It's all about repentance - turning from sin
(Never been popular)
It's all about belief
(Not that popular - nothing new here either!)
It's all about submission
(Can we say that?)
It's all about obedience
(Which is good if others obeying I guess)
About joining
Joining in - signing up - being part
(Discipleship comes later)
Receiving the Holy Spirit
(Equipped, enables, released to be who we were made to be)
Showing posts with label Action. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Action. Show all posts
Sunday, 12 January 2014
Sunday, 27 October 2013
Mental illness is not a passport ...
To be mad!
It was with these words that I was pulled us short during a conversation with someone who has been diagnosed with, and locked up, a mental health issue.
We were talking about a mutual acquaintance who also has troubles, trials and issues as a result if their mental health situation and they, like many suffer from the ebb and flow of the well-being and stable tides. I made the comment that they were often visibly 'not in a good place' and received a broadside as I was told that whilst mental state was something that wavered it was not the aforementioned passport to madness and neither was it something that granted the right to behave badly or be treaded badly either!
Intrigued I asked them to continue, and goodness me - they did!
'There are days when it just goes wrong and you need people to understand that you need a bit if slack - a smile and bit of encouragement. This says, 'You're human and you're valued, lived, respected and most of all - valid. After all, who wants to be an 'in valid'? There are days when it takes all your energy to leave the house but if you don't then the next day gets harder and the day after harder still until they break down the door and take you to the morgue!'
They went on to tell me how, in their opinion, Mental illness is not permission to behave badly and those who do yet don't have to (for some apparently choose to make it what they choose along with the forced) do others who are mentally ill a great disservice.
If you break a leg then you have to get it mended. If when the break is healed you continue to limp then you limp - that's a fact of life. The same goes for broken minds,
Some days the leg will hurt and you'll limp more - could be you've done too much the day before I ruts cold or damp or so etching - it's the same with a broken mind!
But some people like to make the limp more pronounced and other try hard to look normal. So e will be victims and others will be sufferers, but not even they know which they are sometimes and so we treat the limpets with respect, give them love, support and care.
But not indulgence and that's the problem because the system is over stretched and useless at times and people just see the limp and not the person the broken limb (leg, brain, heart, etc.) is attached to. They become a client or a bloody nuisance - a scrounged or a naughty child who lives to their own desires and dances to their own tunes and uses the limp as the excuse if challenged. But we have control, not always complete but we we do have it most of the time, and so we should live in that reality - not the fiction some choose to pretend is real, not the fiction that the attitudes of those without limps would have you believe consists of 'Pulling yourself together or cheering up,' would bring.
Mental health is like having legs. Some walk without a limp, some with a slight limp, others have days when it is worse and they can hardly walk - some need sticks or wheelchairs every day. The question is:
Do you know that person you see limping?
Do you know their story?
Do you know their needs?
Do you call yourself a Christian?
If you do and you've said 'No' to the first three questions then you need to ask yourself what being a Christian is - because you don't only have a choice as to how you behave and act but you also have commandments and instructions to guide you:
'If anyone has the means to bring relief and sees someone in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in the? How can they call themselves Christian?
Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.'
I was going to post this on World Mental Health day but reasons: pastoral and personal meant it was better left for another time. Please think about the words and he call within it it to challenge who, how and what is true about you.
Please pray for those with limps and for those who care for them.
Please pray for churches with open doors, arms and hearts.
Please act for justice and support for those who continue with their limps today.
Pax
It was with these words that I was pulled us short during a conversation with someone who has been diagnosed with, and locked up, a mental health issue.
We were talking about a mutual acquaintance who also has troubles, trials and issues as a result if their mental health situation and they, like many suffer from the ebb and flow of the well-being and stable tides. I made the comment that they were often visibly 'not in a good place' and received a broadside as I was told that whilst mental state was something that wavered it was not the aforementioned passport to madness and neither was it something that granted the right to behave badly or be treaded badly either!
Intrigued I asked them to continue, and goodness me - they did!
'There are days when it just goes wrong and you need people to understand that you need a bit if slack - a smile and bit of encouragement. This says, 'You're human and you're valued, lived, respected and most of all - valid. After all, who wants to be an 'in valid'? There are days when it takes all your energy to leave the house but if you don't then the next day gets harder and the day after harder still until they break down the door and take you to the morgue!'
They went on to tell me how, in their opinion, Mental illness is not permission to behave badly and those who do yet don't have to (for some apparently choose to make it what they choose along with the forced) do others who are mentally ill a great disservice.
If you break a leg then you have to get it mended. If when the break is healed you continue to limp then you limp - that's a fact of life. The same goes for broken minds,
Some days the leg will hurt and you'll limp more - could be you've done too much the day before I ruts cold or damp or so etching - it's the same with a broken mind!
But some people like to make the limp more pronounced and other try hard to look normal. So e will be victims and others will be sufferers, but not even they know which they are sometimes and so we treat the limpets with respect, give them love, support and care.
But not indulgence and that's the problem because the system is over stretched and useless at times and people just see the limp and not the person the broken limb (leg, brain, heart, etc.) is attached to. They become a client or a bloody nuisance - a scrounged or a naughty child who lives to their own desires and dances to their own tunes and uses the limp as the excuse if challenged. But we have control, not always complete but we we do have it most of the time, and so we should live in that reality - not the fiction some choose to pretend is real, not the fiction that the attitudes of those without limps would have you believe consists of 'Pulling yourself together or cheering up,' would bring.
Mental health is like having legs. Some walk without a limp, some with a slight limp, others have days when it is worse and they can hardly walk - some need sticks or wheelchairs every day. The question is:
Do you know that person you see limping?
Do you know their story?
Do you know their needs?
Do you call yourself a Christian?
If you do and you've said 'No' to the first three questions then you need to ask yourself what being a Christian is - because you don't only have a choice as to how you behave and act but you also have commandments and instructions to guide you:
'If anyone has the means to bring relief and sees someone in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in the? How can they call themselves Christian?
Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.'
1 John 3:17-18
I was going to post this on World Mental Health day but reasons: pastoral and personal meant it was better left for another time. Please think about the words and he call within it it to challenge who, how and what is true about you.
Please pray for those with limps and for those who care for them.
Please pray for churches with open doors, arms and hearts.
Please act for justice and support for those who continue with their limps today.
Pax
Thursday, 29 August 2013
Aren't you Vicars supposed to just do religion?
That was yesterday's challenging question!
As we discussed the issue of Syria and the options open to this government as part of a proper response this little gem appeared. Dialogue continued and another question appeared, this one asking, 'Why we had to do anything at all?' And that question, for me at least, answered the first question rather nicely.
You see the reality is that we are not supposed to just 'do' religion but are called to live out our faith and turn it into something that not only changes us but those around us and beyond. In my big black book I find many passages that inform and enable; many bits that challenge me to change who or what I am and to get down and not only make a difference but 'be' the difference!
In chapter two of the book of James (vv.14-17) we find this:
'What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds?
Can such faith save them?
Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?
In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.'
The idea that we Vicars are just 'supposed to do religion' is as ludicrous as having the view that a chef's calling is 'just cooking' or an artist's role is 'daubing'! There's no point creating culinary delights if no one eats them, and in the eating engages with others and builds relationships and is changed. Art done and locked away is dead art - for it is in the seeing and being touched by it, the being moved and changed by it, that the real value of the art is made real.
Religion is a sterile, limited and dreadful thing: It serves only to condemn sinners for breaking regulations, rules and restrictions that no one could keep on their own, or in their own strength. It puts on services and nods at God but goes no further. It offers much as a philosophy or set of beliefs but like culinary delights uneaten or or art unseen, the potential only becomes realised when it is taken into ourselves and allowed to change us.
My role is to open the eyes and hearts of others to the possibilities that God makes available and to help those who can see it make that real. This is part of what we are seeing in fine detail at the moment with Syria but it was there in the needs of the mentally ill, the long-term sick, the jobless, the homeless, the (far too many) NEETs*, the addicted and many other categories of concern that exist in our communities and outside our own doors.
The needs are great and yet in a society which sets the standards that enable the police to police by consent we have the opportunity to define and maintain what is to be considered 'right'. In a society that was once the envy of the world with its National Health Service, welfare system and Legal Aid, we have to realise that we get what we permit the governments (National, County and local) to give us.
But where there are needs, religion that is faith acts to meet them.
Where there are wrongs, religion that is faith seeks to right them.
Where there is sorrow, pain and death, religion seeks to bring love, comfort and healing.
Just do religion? How very dare they suggest that - I deal in change not decay (what about you?)
*Not in Education, Employment or Training - the 16-18 year olds who are merely 'lost'!
As we discussed the issue of Syria and the options open to this government as part of a proper response this little gem appeared. Dialogue continued and another question appeared, this one asking, 'Why we had to do anything at all?' And that question, for me at least, answered the first question rather nicely.
You see the reality is that we are not supposed to just 'do' religion but are called to live out our faith and turn it into something that not only changes us but those around us and beyond. In my big black book I find many passages that inform and enable; many bits that challenge me to change who or what I am and to get down and not only make a difference but 'be' the difference!
In chapter two of the book of James (vv.14-17) we find this:
'What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds?
Can such faith save them?
Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?
In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.'
The idea that we Vicars are just 'supposed to do religion' is as ludicrous as having the view that a chef's calling is 'just cooking' or an artist's role is 'daubing'! There's no point creating culinary delights if no one eats them, and in the eating engages with others and builds relationships and is changed. Art done and locked away is dead art - for it is in the seeing and being touched by it, the being moved and changed by it, that the real value of the art is made real.
Religion is a sterile, limited and dreadful thing: It serves only to condemn sinners for breaking regulations, rules and restrictions that no one could keep on their own, or in their own strength. It puts on services and nods at God but goes no further. It offers much as a philosophy or set of beliefs but like culinary delights uneaten or or art unseen, the potential only becomes realised when it is taken into ourselves and allowed to change us.
My role is to open the eyes and hearts of others to the possibilities that God makes available and to help those who can see it make that real. This is part of what we are seeing in fine detail at the moment with Syria but it was there in the needs of the mentally ill, the long-term sick, the jobless, the homeless, the (far too many) NEETs*, the addicted and many other categories of concern that exist in our communities and outside our own doors.
The needs are great and yet in a society which sets the standards that enable the police to police by consent we have the opportunity to define and maintain what is to be considered 'right'. In a society that was once the envy of the world with its National Health Service, welfare system and Legal Aid, we have to realise that we get what we permit the governments (National, County and local) to give us.
But where there are needs, religion that is faith acts to meet them.
Where there are wrongs, religion that is faith seeks to right them.
Where there is sorrow, pain and death, religion seeks to bring love, comfort and healing.
Just do religion? How very dare they suggest that - I deal in change not decay (what about you?)
*Not in Education, Employment or Training - the 16-18 year olds who are merely 'lost'!
Wednesday, 17 July 2013
Discipleship - the answer to the Church's prayers?
An interesting discussion relating to how the salvation of the Church is to be found in 'discipleship' has challenged me because whilst I don't disagree with what the words might mean - I do struggle with the attitude that looks at people doing because they have to rather than them doing because they have the desire - and that this desire comes about through an emerging spiritual identity and consistent, prayerful and holistic spirituality.
A recent conversation with a number of clergy colleagues brought into the clear a consensus view that the numbers of those who came and were happy merely to attend church on a fairly regular basis but were put off by being asked to become involved. As one person put it, 'No matter what we do, we can't get them to do anything - they are content to just come and be served!'
And so I walk a tightrope that sees me working to help people find their identity with, and in, God through Christ and to come to that place of initial stillness that leads them into a place of increasingly secure, and enabling, Christian spirituality which cements the forgiveness and acceptance of the cross and, in combination with teaching, and unfolding of the words within, leads them to a place whereby their baptismal (and other) calling can be made real: and from here the life, and Church, enabling that is being a true disciple can be manifest.
Discipleship is a lifestyle choice and act, not something that can be imposed or demanded and it is our role to sow the seeds and nurture them in those we are called to pastor - this is our mission and our joy, for surely it is the Missio Dei - to engender in self, and others, the heartbeat of Christ and the becoming like Him in heart, mind and (of course) action.
Pax
A recent conversation with a number of clergy colleagues brought into the clear a consensus view that the numbers of those who came and were happy merely to attend church on a fairly regular basis but were put off by being asked to become involved. As one person put it, 'No matter what we do, we can't get them to do anything - they are content to just come and be served!'
And so I walk a tightrope that sees me working to help people find their identity with, and in, God through Christ and to come to that place of initial stillness that leads them into a place of increasingly secure, and enabling, Christian spirituality which cements the forgiveness and acceptance of the cross and, in combination with teaching, and unfolding of the words within, leads them to a place whereby their baptismal (and other) calling can be made real: and from here the life, and Church, enabling that is being a true disciple can be manifest.
Discipleship is a lifestyle choice and act, not something that can be imposed or demanded and it is our role to sow the seeds and nurture them in those we are called to pastor - this is our mission and our joy, for surely it is the Missio Dei - to engender in self, and others, the heartbeat of Christ and the becoming like Him in heart, mind and (of course) action.
Pax
Saturday, 29 December 2012
Clearing the air (3) - Homelessness
Another of the issues that cause me grief is that of homelessness.
A few years back (2006) the town in which I find myself serving had one of the local characters freeze to death in a bus shelter as he endured a night in the cold conditions. At that time some of those in the town decided that they would set about 'doing something' and yet here we are, almost seven years on from his death (January 7th) and nothing has changed.
One of the town's key officials at the time told me that, 'There are no problems surrounding homelessness in the town.' This was a true statement for when homeless people arrived they were given the fare to one of two places away from here to find a hostel. The opinion was that if we 'didn't encourage them to stay, then we didn't have a problem!'
Last year we had a homeless man whose tent had been burgled and his possessions taken. Now I don't know about you but I can't imagine being reduced to living under a canvas shelter only to find your stuff has been nicked - talk about being at the furthest end of the food chain!
Anyway, at first I tried to set him up with a proper tent, food and other stuff, but this was met with opposition from some of the locals in the place I tried to site him for the night (I needed to get him somewhere safe for one night so I could see what could be done to provide a more stable and safe environment). In fact, not only did they call the police but they told them that there were two vagrants (me being the other) who had dared to set up camp in their nice little village!
The upshot of this was that I got him moved and the church let him stay in a building until such time as he could be housed - and he was, for after some seven weeks, the day before Christmas Eve last year, the man got a flat (where he remains) of his own!
So this is how it is:
1. Many of those who find themselves homeless are in that state becuase of circumstances that are not always of their own making,
2. Many of those who are homeless also suffer from mental illness and are in need of more than a handout, they need help and support to establish them, safely, within the community,
3. Many of those who are homeless have actually been members of the armed forces of this land and are often where they are because of life outside of the forces, and
4. If we took the trouble to listen to the stories they have to tell, we would find that the majority of those who are homeless are no different from you or I (in fact one, an former pupil at a prestigious public school and former legal type had suffered a major breakdown and was was in fact probably much better off, and better educated, than many of us before his tragedy).
So here's the bottom line on this topic - I will not stand by and see people treated badly from now on. Where I find homelessness and nothing being done (whether it be church, council or community) or worse still, steps being taken to act against them - I will shout and make sure everyone who has ears hears, and will keep doing so until something happens.
What about you?
And for those who are homeless and have served - a little reminder (and spur?) for the rest of us:
A few years back (2006) the town in which I find myself serving had one of the local characters freeze to death in a bus shelter as he endured a night in the cold conditions. At that time some of those in the town decided that they would set about 'doing something' and yet here we are, almost seven years on from his death (January 7th) and nothing has changed.
One of the town's key officials at the time told me that, 'There are no problems surrounding homelessness in the town.' This was a true statement for when homeless people arrived they were given the fare to one of two places away from here to find a hostel. The opinion was that if we 'didn't encourage them to stay, then we didn't have a problem!'
Last year we had a homeless man whose tent had been burgled and his possessions taken. Now I don't know about you but I can't imagine being reduced to living under a canvas shelter only to find your stuff has been nicked - talk about being at the furthest end of the food chain!
Anyway, at first I tried to set him up with a proper tent, food and other stuff, but this was met with opposition from some of the locals in the place I tried to site him for the night (I needed to get him somewhere safe for one night so I could see what could be done to provide a more stable and safe environment). In fact, not only did they call the police but they told them that there were two vagrants (me being the other) who had dared to set up camp in their nice little village!
The upshot of this was that I got him moved and the church let him stay in a building until such time as he could be housed - and he was, for after some seven weeks, the day before Christmas Eve last year, the man got a flat (where he remains) of his own!
So this is how it is:
1. Many of those who find themselves homeless are in that state becuase of circumstances that are not always of their own making,
2. Many of those who are homeless also suffer from mental illness and are in need of more than a handout, they need help and support to establish them, safely, within the community,
3. Many of those who are homeless have actually been members of the armed forces of this land and are often where they are because of life outside of the forces, and
4. If we took the trouble to listen to the stories they have to tell, we would find that the majority of those who are homeless are no different from you or I (in fact one, an former pupil at a prestigious public school and former legal type had suffered a major breakdown and was was in fact probably much better off, and better educated, than many of us before his tragedy).
So here's the bottom line on this topic - I will not stand by and see people treated badly from now on. Where I find homelessness and nothing being done (whether it be church, council or community) or worse still, steps being taken to act against them - I will shout and make sure everyone who has ears hears, and will keep doing so until something happens.
What about you?
And for those who are homeless and have served - a little reminder (and spur?) for the rest of us:
Friday, 28 December 2012
Clearing the air (2a) - they're shooting the horses!
Following on from the 'shoot horses' theme I see in today's news that there has been as drop of almost 25% in the number of older people using day care centres in England over the past three years. This figure comes from Age UK who say that the numbers of those availing themselves of lunch clubs and other day care provision is due in the main to financial pressure on councils.
The report highlights the potential for the elderly to find themselves "'Living out their last years in loneliness'. Meanwhile, the government says that councils received sufficient funding to protect services and that there was no justifiable reason for such services* to be cut.
It seems to me that removing services from the elderly is a simple exercise for these are one group who rarely have a consistent or effective voice. Something is closed and all that happens is that the people who used the services are confined to home and their voice is unheard. It is an easy win for those who are seeking to cut costs as the people affected just appear to vanish and, because there is little outcry, the deed goes relatively unnoticed.
Age UK say that during the previous financial year, council spending on old people's services had dropped by £500m - no doubt diverted to more important services! The reality is that the critical and high-dependancy needs are being met but those who are able to potter on are now being left to their own devices and this, regardless of the financial situation, has to be wrong.
Where I am we offer free tea, coffee, cake and biscuits two mornings a week and have an afternoon club for the older people around us and whilst this is something, it's not enough ('but where do we find those who are willing to come and open the doors and do the stuff?' cries a voice somewhere in the recesses of my mind)).
If you read this (and so apparently will) can I ask you to take an hour from your busy life and check on what is on offer where you live? See what your church, council and other organisations are doings and if the answer is 'nothing' then start making noises - get the councils, the churches and others off their backsides and help to reverse this diminishing provision trend; not because of some charitable thing, but because it is the right thing to be doing.
Happy Friday
*day centres, lunch clubs, exercise classes, hairdressing, podiatry, social activities and respite care all come into this category.
Thursday, 27 December 2012
Clearing the air (2) - they shoot horses don't they?
Another of the issues that has caused me great problems this year is the fact that those who now form part of the 'older' generation of our land appear to be regarded as merely spent and expendable. After all, they have little to offer in terms of revenue generation and are another burden that demands time, money and attention from both the state and their own families.
But of course this isn't true and if you start to think about it logically, many of those who are the older generation have many years of work (and paying of taxes and National Insurance) behind them. Not only that but there are many who have paid out for the nation in another way, that of having served it in some form of military (or other) service!
So let's look at what the older people have on their CVs and consider how we should be regarding it:
Eighty (and over) - b. 1933 - 1900
There's the second world war - growing up in a time of depression and many other hardships that were faced by this group. They know the value of family (and are often the glue of their families) and generally worked hard to pay their way. These are the people who paid financially and with their own lives and the lives of those they loved to make the sixties the libertarian and relaxed age that it was. They paid in and now it is surely their turn to reap the respect and care of the nation.
The Seventies - b. 1943 - 1934
Still wars, but not to the same scale as those before them. Still knew the value of stuff and still exist as the focus of the families and communities in which they live. Paid more in many ways as the NHS and other social care and concern provisions became available for everyone in a real and established manner. Accepted that paying NI and taxes meant a lifetime of care both medically, in social housing and in old age.
The Sixties - b. 1953 - 1944
'Sixty is the new forty' (or so I'm told) and this group are now looking at paying, and working, for longer before they get their go onto the provision roundabout, that is if we still have a social health service and anything that looks like 'old age care' by the time the youngest of this group actuallty reaches seventy. Many of these will have paid and worked all their lives (but not all as Thatcher's job cuts and the various trough, trough and recovery have played their part) for something others wish to deprive them of. Trendy and living on credit is a greater reality for this bunch but they've still (in the main) played their part.
What do they have in common?
Unlike horses and other beasts of burden (which used to be shot but now find themselves in 'sanctuaries') these people have worked and contributed to the well-being of our society. they have produced children, been in gainful employment and paid their taxes and National Insurance to provide for those before them.
The State told them that they were entitled to 'cradle to grave' care and support, but no one told them that the grave might just be enticed that little nearer to reduce costs; neither did they realise that services and places of care would mean that we would end up with a 'can't pay - can't live' society (such as that I saw many years ago in a certain Western nation where there was wealth and health and poverty and early demise on the menu).
The Bible tells us that 'we don't muzzle the ox that treads the grain' (Deuteronomy 25) - meaning that when you do the work you should also benefit from it. Well those in the three groups above have done (and in many cases are still doing) that and they have a right to expect the best in care, provision and support. In fact, I would argue that legally, having paid in to the system, if services are withdrawn there must be a case for reimbursement of the financial components for them as they have paid money for something that isn't on offer (it's called 'fraud' when it doesn't relate to the government!).
One of the things that defines a nation is the way that it cares for the poor and needy; well if some of my visits to places around the country are anything to go by, we are to be judged as wanting. If some of the stories I hear (and have seen for myself) are anything other than isolated exceptions then there is a cynical streak that seeks to save money on the lives that actions designate as 'worthless' because of the age of the person.
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ."
We need to care for the older people of our nation - it is their right and our duty!
If it isn't being done then we need to start doing some 'correcting' (the right way) - don't we?
But of course this isn't true and if you start to think about it logically, many of those who are the older generation have many years of work (and paying of taxes and National Insurance) behind them. Not only that but there are many who have paid out for the nation in another way, that of having served it in some form of military (or other) service!
So let's look at what the older people have on their CVs and consider how we should be regarding it:
Eighty (and over) - b. 1933 - 1900
There's the second world war - growing up in a time of depression and many other hardships that were faced by this group. They know the value of family (and are often the glue of their families) and generally worked hard to pay their way. These are the people who paid financially and with their own lives and the lives of those they loved to make the sixties the libertarian and relaxed age that it was. They paid in and now it is surely their turn to reap the respect and care of the nation.
The Seventies - b. 1943 - 1934
Still wars, but not to the same scale as those before them. Still knew the value of stuff and still exist as the focus of the families and communities in which they live. Paid more in many ways as the NHS and other social care and concern provisions became available for everyone in a real and established manner. Accepted that paying NI and taxes meant a lifetime of care both medically, in social housing and in old age.
The Sixties - b. 1953 - 1944
'Sixty is the new forty' (or so I'm told) and this group are now looking at paying, and working, for longer before they get their go onto the provision roundabout, that is if we still have a social health service and anything that looks like 'old age care' by the time the youngest of this group actuallty reaches seventy. Many of these will have paid and worked all their lives (but not all as Thatcher's job cuts and the various trough, trough and recovery have played their part) for something others wish to deprive them of. Trendy and living on credit is a greater reality for this bunch but they've still (in the main) played their part.
What do they have in common?
Unlike horses and other beasts of burden (which used to be shot but now find themselves in 'sanctuaries') these people have worked and contributed to the well-being of our society. they have produced children, been in gainful employment and paid their taxes and National Insurance to provide for those before them.
The State told them that they were entitled to 'cradle to grave' care and support, but no one told them that the grave might just be enticed that little nearer to reduce costs; neither did they realise that services and places of care would mean that we would end up with a 'can't pay - can't live' society (such as that I saw many years ago in a certain Western nation where there was wealth and health and poverty and early demise on the menu).
The Bible tells us that 'we don't muzzle the ox that treads the grain' (Deuteronomy 25) - meaning that when you do the work you should also benefit from it. Well those in the three groups above have done (and in many cases are still doing) that and they have a right to expect the best in care, provision and support. In fact, I would argue that legally, having paid in to the system, if services are withdrawn there must be a case for reimbursement of the financial components for them as they have paid money for something that isn't on offer (it's called 'fraud' when it doesn't relate to the government!).
One of the things that defines a nation is the way that it cares for the poor and needy; well if some of my visits to places around the country are anything to go by, we are to be judged as wanting. If some of the stories I hear (and have seen for myself) are anything other than isolated exceptions then there is a cynical streak that seeks to save money on the lives that actions designate as 'worthless' because of the age of the person.
Be warned - 2013 is the year when I will shout loud and make a stand for the older folk around me and where services are not forthcoming then I will be making this known; where charities fail to uphold their end of the bargain (a bargain which the giving of others has made possible) I will waste no time in pointing to it.
1 Timothy (chapter five) talks about providing for our relatives (and members of our households too) and it says that those who fail to do this have denied their faith and are 'worse than unbelievers' - sadly in a land where unbelief is applauded and financial probity is championed as a reason for poorer standards in old-age care, these words are appearing truer every day - another reason that we need to make this land a place where faith is applauded and reason, truth, love, justice and mercy are valued.
I close with the words of the apostle Paul as found in Galatians (six) - my words:
"Brothers and sisters, if you find someone acting wrongly, those of you with faith in God (and living by His Holy Spirit) should correct them gently. But take care that you are not tempted to do that wrongly yourselves.1 Timothy (chapter five) talks about providing for our relatives (and members of our households too) and it says that those who fail to do this have denied their faith and are 'worse than unbelievers' - sadly in a land where unbelief is applauded and financial probity is championed as a reason for poorer standards in old-age care, these words are appearing truer every day - another reason that we need to make this land a place where faith is applauded and reason, truth, love, justice and mercy are valued.
I close with the words of the apostle Paul as found in Galatians (six) - my words:
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ."
We need to care for the older people of our nation - it is their right and our duty!
If it isn't being done then we need to start doing some 'correcting' (the right way) - don't we?
Monday, 17 December 2012
Advent Caption Calendar (9) - Action Jesus
It made Bradley Wiggins popular but few knew how he learned to ride!
And Jane Torvill enjoyed it too!
Jesus - How do you imagine yours?
Thursday, 13 December 2012
Advent Caption Calendar (8) - Action Jesus
Here's a depiction of Jesus that's definitely going downhill:
Amazed how many people asked why He didn't have skis!
Amazed how many people asked why He didn't have skis!
Tuesday, 11 December 2012
Monday, 10 December 2012
Advent Caption Calendar (6) - Action Jesus
This one caused quite a bit of discussion when I showed it to a group of people recently.
Jesus - how do you see Him?
Jesus - how do you see Him?
Saturday, 8 December 2012
Advent Caption Calendar (5) - Action Jesus
Thought we'd leave the children for a day or two and take a look at a different aspect of Jesus as seen, and made into a physical presents (sic!), by some clever person. (Even when I don't like some of the things on offer I wish I had the skills to actually craft them).
How's about this for a challenge (at so many levels):
Enjoy
How's about this for a challenge (at so many levels):
Enjoy
Friday, 7 December 2012
Advent Caption Calendar (4) - Action Jesus
Not sure what happened to yesterday's - it was scheduled to go off but instead has vanished (divine intervention?). So here is number four in a series of (well, wait and see) images of Jesus for your consideration.
Pax
Pax
Friday, 23 December 2011
Weird & Wacky Christmas Stuff - 23
By now some people will have perhaps picked up that I like things with clocks on (although some will be asking, "Why? He's always late!"
In fact I'm not late, I always make my appointments on a fluid basis where possible because there are always people to be engaged with on the way to almost everywhere (funerals and other services are always the exception).
So here's one of those rather nice gifts that is hust a little weird unless you:
a. Like clocks
b. Like films
c. Like a. and b.
d. Just like things that are a little different from the norm.
Well this, for me at least, fits the bill:
In fact I'm not late, I always make my appointments on a fluid basis where possible because there are always people to be engaged with on the way to almost everywhere (funerals and other services are always the exception).
So here's one of those rather nice gifts that is hust a little weird unless you:
a. Like clocks
b. Like films
c. Like a. and b.
d. Just like things that are a little different from the norm.
Well this, for me at least, fits the bill:
Thursday, 22 December 2011
Church - where crisis and failure take on flesh
Government and statutory bodies legislate over homelessness but it is, more often than not, Church that engages with the reality of it.
Public opinion pontificates about the state of society, the demise of values and standards and the breakdown of the family but is, more often than not, the Church that finds itself engaged in and with the places where the rhetoric becomes flesh.
When the tutting classes are unfolding their newspapers and talking cobblers about the homeless getting what they deserve and how there is always work to be found if someone really wants it, the Church, once again, is to be found dealing with the realities.
In a week where temperatures have soared such that we will see less homeless people die over the Christmas period (something that demonstrates how little 'those people' care for the sensitivities of nice people) we ill still be living in the reality that across the UK there ar still around a quarter of a million homeless people and although many of those will 'bed hop' or find some form of accommodation (albeit perhaps very temporary) there will still be something around five thousand people sleeping on the streets of our capital city!
The figures this week speak of a life expectancy of 43 for homeless women and 47 for homeless men.
Now I am sure some reading this will point to alcohol, drugs and other 'brought upon themselves' conditions fort such an early demise, but there are other influences and factors behind the obvious and if we were to but take just a little time to understand them we would find that the underserving homeless are often anything but.
As we pray in our churches this Christmas Eve perhaps we might care to think of those who are homeless. Those who are on the streets because of:
+ Abuse - mental, physical and sexual
+ Mental Illness - Homeless people present double the symptoms of mental illness than those who are 'homed'
+ Military Service - the Military Covenant is to become law, but for the many (almost 25% of London's homeless as an example) medals, combat experience and having served their nation makes no difference at all - in fact it is a major factor for where they are now!
+ Folly - There are people on our streets who have made the wrong choices (haven't we all at some time?) but in each one of these people the image of the invisible God is made visible and in each of them is the potential to show God's grace and effect, potentially, restoration - we just need to be wise about it?
And so, this Christmas as we speak of a Saviour born in poor circumstances, sleeping in a stable, let's remember those for whom a stable would be luxury.
Pax
Public opinion pontificates about the state of society, the demise of values and standards and the breakdown of the family but is, more often than not, the Church that finds itself engaged in and with the places where the rhetoric becomes flesh.
When the tutting classes are unfolding their newspapers and talking cobblers about the homeless getting what they deserve and how there is always work to be found if someone really wants it, the Church, once again, is to be found dealing with the realities.
In a week where temperatures have soared such that we will see less homeless people die over the Christmas period (something that demonstrates how little 'those people' care for the sensitivities of nice people) we ill still be living in the reality that across the UK there ar still around a quarter of a million homeless people and although many of those will 'bed hop' or find some form of accommodation (albeit perhaps very temporary) there will still be something around five thousand people sleeping on the streets of our capital city!
The figures this week speak of a life expectancy of 43 for homeless women and 47 for homeless men.
Now I am sure some reading this will point to alcohol, drugs and other 'brought upon themselves' conditions fort such an early demise, but there are other influences and factors behind the obvious and if we were to but take just a little time to understand them we would find that the underserving homeless are often anything but.
As we pray in our churches this Christmas Eve perhaps we might care to think of those who are homeless. Those who are on the streets because of:
+ Abuse - mental, physical and sexual
+ Mental Illness - Homeless people present double the symptoms of mental illness than those who are 'homed'
+ Military Service - the Military Covenant is to become law, but for the many (almost 25% of London's homeless as an example) medals, combat experience and having served their nation makes no difference at all - in fact it is a major factor for where they are now!
+ Folly - There are people on our streets who have made the wrong choices (haven't we all at some time?) but in each one of these people the image of the invisible God is made visible and in each of them is the potential to show God's grace and effect, potentially, restoration - we just need to be wise about it?
And so, this Christmas as we speak of a Saviour born in poor circumstances, sleeping in a stable, let's remember those for whom a stable would be luxury.
Pax
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