Bl**dy Bankers - deserve all they get

So went a conversation this morning as the news that almost 20,000 Barclays staff were to lose their jobs over the coming months - around half coming from the UK - hit the news.

I take a look at the news ticker and what do I see:

• Barclays cuts 14,000 jobs this year 
• Morrisons sales fall 8.2% 

So it's definitely not a rosy morning (actually it's raining as I type this) is it?

But of the 'bankers' - the reality is that when people want to lash out at the fat cats in the banking world, those people who drove the world's economies onto the rocks (with loads of help from the rest of the world who never stop to ask where profits, dividends and cheap prices on what should be more costly goods have their roots and realities) are cheering the wrong things. Those who lose their jobs will be the ordinary folk who live up your street and sit next to you on the train and shop at Aldi and Lidl rather than Fortnums and Horrids, drive flashy cars and live exorbitant lifestyles (thanks in some way - to us).

Not the most rational thought around!

Worse still those who claim to be Christian and are cheering are taking pleasure from the distress of others. The Bible tells us that love is what Christians are supposed to be about. That said, we do a great job of masking it behind our outrages and righteous indignation and our petty hatreds.

In 1 Corinthians 13 (RVV) the Apostle Paul tells us that:

Love never gives up, regardless.

Love is concerned with caring more for others than it does for ourselves.

Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have but takes joy in what it does!

Love doesn’t strut, posture, boast, brag or pose.

Love doesn’t force itself on others but respects private space and the dignity of of others.

Love isn’t concerned with a 'me first' culture or mindset but prefers and serves others.

Love doesn’t fly off the handle, or get the punch in first, even when we think it is justified.

Love doesn’t keep score of the sins of others but is concerned with our own sins first.

Love takes no pleasure when others are reduced to tears, pulled down or humiliated.

Love takes pleasure in truth, in all its aspects, regardless of how that might make us look or feel.

Love puts up with stuff because, all things considered, look at the model Jesus left us!

Love trusts God and always looks for the best in others.

Love is forward looking, it doesn't keep a record of what has been, only of what can be and it keeps on looking even when experience might lead others to stop.

So - pray and seek to help those who might just be losing their jobs (regardless of where they work).

Pax

Walking a fine line

One of the many important challenges of the pastoral role is that of 'protecting the flock'! No simple task for there are many wolves out there waiting to devour the sheep, many shepherds who are looking to steer the faithful away from the truth and loads of well meaning people who have simply got the wrong end of the stick or been sucked into error.

The potential for people to slip into error is great for that which, at first glance, appears to be sound can easily turn out not to be. The sadness is that many who follow, error more often than not, genuinely believe they are following the truth and this is where the problems begin, Problems because of the options before us when this happens:

i. Sigh and walk away having said nothing - AKA 'keeping the peace'

ii. Engage with them, find out more, and issue a caution - AKA 'making trouble for yourself'

iii. Teach and preach orthodoxy and hope people spot the errors themselves - AKA 'Living in hope'

Option i  is the oft preferred method of choice because silence is golden and peace, however uneasy, reigns. This has been my option of choice at times because it's simple and avoids all that nasty conflict. But while it removes the frustration of dealing with people who refuse to even consider that they might be wrong it leaves them on the wrong track. Now as much as the 'leave them to their own ends' approach is compelling, The Bible tosses a spanner into the works in so many places (which we will cover shortly).

Option ii is fraught with problems because those who hold a different position will beat their breasts and complain to any who will listen (and there's always many of them) about you being negative. They will go on about how you oppose the things of God and are quenching the Spirit and, best of all, proclaim (loudly) how you, as an accuser of the brethren, are the very spawn of satan. It is this that 'encourages' so many of us to adopt the first option. After all, as a survivor of such an engagement last year put it: 'They aren't going to listen, their idiot friends make your life hell, what's the point, best leave them to it!'

I love option iii because it is the thinking shepherd's approach. You look at what's going on and then you see where it deviates from that which is right and then you teach that which is right in the hope that those under your care will, like the Alien toys in Toy Story emit a loud 'Oooooh!' as the penny drops - job done. Well that's the idea - but whilst some will make the connections, many require the explicit approach of option ii. if you're really going to do the job properly.

Attempting to counter error is fraught with bumps, potholes and rubble designed to knock you off your bike. The minute you engage with any suspected error the same old responses appear. It's like playing Sonic as you pass through familiar levels in pursuit of that final goal.

Next instalment will take a look at the response you get and some biblical responses (which will be great because there are so many unbiblical to choose from)

Here's a thought from 2 Tim 4.2 to be going on with:

'Tell everyone God’s message. Be ready at all times to do whatever is needed.
Tell people what they need to do, tell them when they are doing wrong, and encourage them. 
 Do this with great patience and careful teaching.'

Happy Wednesday

It's World Diabetes Day

I don't know about you but where I am, the most common ailment that I encounter these days is diabetes and today, the anniversary of Frederick Banting's (one of those who developed insulin) birthday is the day set aside to bring the disease into the spotlight.

This year is the last in a five year cycle that dedicated to education and prevention and so mark the drawing to a close of that particular campaign.

But what do we know about the illness?

The shock statistics (for me at least) are the estimation that more than one in 20 people in the UK has diabetes (diagnosed or undiagnosed). That means that something around 6% (or higher) has this condition and it is predicted that around 5,000,000 (that's five million) people will be suffering from it by 2025!

The frightening statistic is that which says around 850,000 people in the UK have undiagnosed diabetes.

SO WHAT DO WE DO?

First and foremost read this (it's the key statistics and figures on UK Diabetes)

Then read this and if you think some of them apply to you - talk to your doctor;

Type 2 diabetes: Develops slowly over a period of time - often only picked by optician's visit (that's the puff of air on the eye!) or a general medical examination. The main symptoms of undiagnosed diabetes include:

• passing urine more often than usual, especially at night
• increased thirst
• extreme tiredness
• unexplained weight loss
• genital itching or regular episodes of thrush
• slow healing of cuts and wounds
• blurred vision

Asking someone who works in this area what the greatest prevention was - their answer was:

Watch your weight for type 2 and being overweight go hand in hand!

Please take a moment to have a think about this disease and your own health - being aware of it might stop you offering those you know who suffer from it biscuits and sweets!!!

Please pray for those who suffer from it and for those who work to find a cure to this debilitating and life-shortening illness.

Faith: 'Not as clear cut as you might think!'

had a most interesting conversation this morning, the pinnacle of which was the statement: 'Christianity is not as clear cut as you might think!' which provided me with plenty of food for thought. After all, I've always known that, as has any thinking and open Christian, so why the surprise? Probably because the issue under discussion was one that actually I considered to be pretty clear cut!

The conversation centred along the lines that the defining Bible passage for everything was the 'golden rule' - that we treat others as you'd we'd to be treated and this was the basis upon which every attitude and act was judged. That we just loved our neighbour as ourselves and
made real the words of Matthew Chapter seven's account of the sermon on the mount as we refrained from judging and accepted whatever others did, approving and affirming rather than rebuking or denying.

Apparently the key to removing what some consider to be 'sin' is to remove the label sin from it. What we need to do is accept that people are different and the 'one size fits all' approach of Christianity is flawed and doomed to fail from the start. Better to accept that we're all different and concentrate on the things we can agree on and agree to accept the things (perhaps ignore is a better term) we can't.

The Church is an evolving body of people and they are realising that what we believed in centuries past is no longer relevant or valid. People are apparently realising that these days 'we are not called to live and act' as they did before and 'happiness' is the universal indicator of the rectitude of such thinking.

Having heard what they had to say, I have to be honest and say that I thought their views to be flawed and not merely self-indulgent and approving but actually, if Christian is what we are as a breed, a terminal disease!

There are many good things to be found in this world and many that are obviously bad - or are they? After all, I hear more and more people proposing that we should act illegally to deal with people who act wrongly - so the old statement 'two wrongs don't make a right' has now obviously itself become wrong.

One of the joys of being Christian is that we have, or at least should have, doors, arms and hearts that are open to everybody - for Church is an 'inclusive' entity. The problem for many comes with the reality that it is not a 'permissive' entity.

So this morning, whilst I heard what was said I really couldn't agree with it because what was being demanded was that I put aside my views in favour of theirs in the name of some misplaced understanding of love. I was being told that the only way to be loving was to ignore those things I considered wrong in the name of unity and 'being kind'.

The stumbling block for me came with the parting shot in that the other party considered that what they were asking for was exactly what Jesus would have done.

Obviously not only a different theology on display here but a different Jesus too!

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.' 

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

Mental Health? We've all got it!

The reality is that mental health is something that everyone possesses and whilst many might consider theirs to be sound, the reality is that squalls can appear on the most tranquil of waters at the most unexpected times. Some years back I watched a science programme which billed Uganda's LakeVictoria as the stormiest place on the globe with Italy taking the most consistently good prize - and I don't know it that's right or not, but the same goes for people - some are known for their storms whilst others for their constancy or tranquility. That said I've experienced sunny days on the shores of Victoria (bilharzia and nasty snappy things too) and had raging storms in Italy. Climatic squalls and brainsqualls can affect us all and with some they pass and others they remain to act as limitation, debilitation and curse.

It seems to me that here are a number of taboos in our society today but that which tops the league is to be found in the area of mental illness and even though it cannot be caught, it is treated as contagious and those who suffer from it are often treated much like mediaeval lepers. What I find is that those who should seek to keep the faith with the mentally ill and tolerate the excesses that the illness brings, rarely do.

I know that sufferers can be embarrassing - but so can we at times and we don't have the excuse of  any illness, and yet we seek understanding and continuing love, don't we?

I know that those who are shackled by mental health issues live lives that often exist in solitary confinement - trapped in walls made of brick, perceptions and responses (theirs and ours).

I know that those who care for those with mental illness are sufferers too! They live in the perennial fear that the next crisis might be the last the focus of their love might have. They find themselves shut in as they fight to keep their loved one stable, supported and, often, alive.

A man I worked with years ago, speaking of his psychosis said that he, 'Lived a death sentenced waiting to be carried out!' Sadly for him, that sentence was never commuted and he eventually took his life. The 'Black Dog' made so famous by Winston Churchill, eventually delivered a fatal bite.

So I'm writing this as a bit of a plea, asking that we - theist or atheist - take a moment to think of those we know who have issues with their own mental wellbeing or perhaps those for whom they care; asking the questions:

How do we care for those who care for people with illness (physical or mental), and do we deal equally between the two?

How do we regard the two? Are they regarded equally or do we have prejudices and blind spots?

We are called to love and provide places of security for the weak, the marginalised, the oppressed, the acted against and disenfranchised. All things that can be found residing in one blanket term:

 Mentally ill.

What are we doing to help others become as well as we might like to think we are?

What are we doing for those with mental health issues to help them, and those who care for them,  to help them live in a supportive and caring place?

Pax

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'!

What if Church did its Customer Services like ...

Vodafone?

Last week we took delivery of a new phone only to discover that it wasn't working and so I rang and having been put through to a techie I explained that it had a problem (appeared to be a NAND gate issue apparently). The result was that I was told that a new device would be dispatched at some rate of knots to resolve this issue.

We waited a couple of days and I rang Customer Services who assured me that it had left and was with the delivery people, so I smiled and waited - and it never came. But the weekend did and so we waited until today (when a silver 'returns bag' arrived - so I dispatched the duff handset as per instructions) and rang again.

'The order has been cancelled,' was the response I received when I contacted someone to find out what was going on, 'Because you sent it back in the seven day 'cooling off' period!'

So I explained that I hadn't sent it off because I'd rejected it (shh, it's alright phone, we does love you really) but because it was broken. 'Well you can't have another one until you return it,' they said.

So I pleaded miserably (and I can be a really miserable pleader) that we needed one and were just a little upset at this fourth account (and assessment) of the situation I was in. I told them I wanted someone from Customer Services to call me back - they (of course) never did - to resolve this issue.

A little later I contacted Vodafone using their chat system and received pleas of impotence, a complete runaround and when asked to have the issue escalated was told that that took two to three days! Now who runs customer services like that? I told them that this was unacceptable in today's current culture and was passed up to someone who portrayed themselves as a line manager. He was a total waste of space and was stealing oxygen from people who could have made better use of it.

His Customer-facing approach was this: 'There is no negotiation - there are no options, you have to do it our way!' I demanded that he escalate the issue but all I got were his protestations of impotency and limited options (I have the whole chat message saved and will have to publish it one day - it's a gleaming example of everything that really shouldn't be found in a customer support environment).

Eventually I wished him Namaste and left feeling that my future with Vodafone was indeed dim and limited. Four scenarios with no service, little feeling of being cared for and a sense of diminished worth (was the customer really king once?) - not a great advert' for the company at all.

The automated telephone system was even less help and yet amazingly, dialling the wrong option, I chanced across a Scottish voice that was warm, friendly and helpful. They went off and looked and called me back and explained the problems that had resulted in my problems and it's Tony rather than the bunch of impotency that exists somewhere at the end of the wire some five hours East of me that will probably keep me with them!

And it struck me that this was a great parallel with some of the encounters that people have had with the Church. There are those encounters where we meet the 'I have no options' people who are limited and limiting - who bring about such niggardly and sterile encounters that make the Church look so bad.

The people who, like those who produced the four differing scenarios (plus a really dodgy attempt and portraying the same option three different ways in a hope I would think I had been cared for or listened to and accept one of them) in the hope that it would make me go away! You know them I'm sure. They're the people who mirror those often found in a Church setting; those people who are happy to agree to differ as long as they can have it their own way.

The people who are skilled at making issues disappear by pretending that they have and rejoice in the ability to be absent when the situations they've helped cause need to be addressed. This is a real problem in any customer-facing environment this is, for you move the issue on to someone else and whilst you're living in peace with all, they have to fight the issue and the reaction to having been duped!

What I needed was someone to own the problem and give me the information I needed regarding it and its resolution.

Someone who would tell me the truth (even if I didn't want to hear it) and would lead me along the path to resolution.

Someone who would listen and dialogue rather than stick their fingers in their ears and pretend they were offering something along the lines of support.

You know what?

If Vodafone, or the Church, did that it would have so many people wanting to be in relationship with it - and that's the lesson to be learned from this engagement today for me:

It's no good telling people you care when you patently don't.

It's no good having people to talk to if they don't actually listen.

It's no good listening if you're not prepared to escalate the issue up the chain (w in Church it's called 'prayer' in Vodafone it appears to be called 'wishful  thinking')

How's the Customer Services where you worship?

(If you answer 'poor' then I think you might need to look in the mirror and have a word with that member of the team before you engage with the others ;-))

Namaste

Church of Wonga

Now as much as I don't agree with payday loans, they are of course better than the alternative, which is two large geezers knocking on your door to 'enquire' why Mr X hasn't had his money yet!

Just as payday loans were applauded for removing some of the the poor from the vagaries of the 'loan shark' (and we still have them and people 'helping' those around us get further into debt) the reality is that Justin is on the right track with his championing of Credit Unions and low-rate payday loans, helping to replace white goods without increasing the burden of debt and more.

One of those I spoke to on Friday said that 'the Church' ought to stick to i's own business and keep out of the financial world - after all, they said, 'You don't see banks opening churches now, do you?'

What a thought - perhaps Errol Damelin, Founder of Wonga, ought to draw up battle lines and open the Church of Wonga - Motto: 'Why not count on tomorrow to pay for today?'

I have to say that I think he looks the part - so why not? After all, money is the focus of many of those I meet and so a church that looked towards the accruing, spending and general worship of the stuff would be popular - and you could always take out a loan for the repayments (errr, I mean, offering!)

The reality is that Damelin and his organisation are meeting an obvious need - that's what business does.

What Justin is doing is trying to meet that same need, but in a better way, and this has to be good for everyone - well everyone except those who make money out of lending it that is) - and this has to be applauded and acted upon (Church is often poor at the former and invisible in the second of these).

For my money (and prayers), Justin has chosen his battlefield well - he just needs the CofE to be more circumspect in its investments now. Still, he looks good in the shirt!

He, and the CofE, will look even better when he's taken it off ;-)

The poor have names

I love it when one of those throwaway quotes that occur in a conversations suddenly develop talons which pierce you with the immensity of their apparent simplicity and seek to drown you in the depths of what would be, from many, a shallowness.

This was my experience this morning as I chatted to Justin's new advisor on evangelism and witness (a through nice bloke called Chris) and as he chatted about his role and reasons for being, family and stuff, I, once more, got the feeling that I'm looking forward to becoming a Justinian :-)

But that aside, let's get back to that thought: 'The poor have names.'

I struggle that the Church often appears to see 'the poor' in much that same way as it sees mission - namely as something we need to address in other places and different cultures. When they are considered, they are often considered as a class of folk rather than as individuals and whilst there are times when this is necessary, for we can't call for justice for John, Bob, Mary, Betty and All the poor by name - because we would surely miss some and there's not enough time left to right wrongs by the time we a done. BUT when we are on the streets in the communities we are called to serve, there is no excuse for us not to know their names. When we pass through the streets of our town and see the Big Issue seller or the chap who sits in the same place begging, we have no excuse not to know their names and to engage with them in an effort to serve and support them as Christ would have us do.

One of the (many) things I am known for 'going on about' (I prefer 'having a passion for') is that when we see someone begging we give them something perhaps more costly than money in our society - time! We stop and engage with the person and find out who they are and why they are there and what they really need. We give them the dignity of personhood and being worthy of our precious time - for money is the cheap and easy option.

Money says, 'I will pay you to away! I'm not really interested in who you are and why you're here - just stop bothering me!' Money turns the poor before us into potential kidnappers as we pay the ransom to have us set free from their company; but what, we mus ask ourselves, would Jesus do?

The poor have names and needs and hopes and hurts and pain and a need of the overwhelming love of God, and this is found in the hearts of those who call themselves Christian. Unless the Church can bring itself to learn the names of 'the poor' we condemn them to the marginalisation of poverty and share with them a poverty of Spirit that condemns us both (and denies the image of Jesus, the Christ, in us).

Pax

Motivating our children: a recollection

Thought you might like this recollection of an encounter with a Local Education Authority's 'Careers Advice' person form the sixties:

"The interview took place in one of the classrooms with the 'Career's man' sitting behind the desk smoking his pipe (the reason the boys gave him the nickname, 'Maigret'). After having been told to sit, I was asked what I wanted to do. My answer to this was that I wanted to be an electrical engineer.

The Career's man looked at my school reports for a few minutes and then, not even looking at me, told me he knew of a local builder who was looking for someone to work with him and that this, having 'read' my reports was the 'career' I was obviously best suited to. When I protested he shot me down by telling me that my maths wasn't good enough to be and that if I persisted in 'demanding' a job in that area the careers service would refuse to assist me with such folly.

Suffice to say that my response saw me in the Deputy headmaster's study getting the cane and having to write a letter of apology for my ingratitude and rudeness!

A few weeks later the process was revisited and as I walked in to the classroom my career's advisor (laughing) greeted me with, "Aha, the electrical engineer.  Come to your senses yet boy?'

I responded that indeed I had and, with a bit of a smirk, explained that I had already had three interviews and practical assessments and was about to go for my final interviews for apprenticeships in various areas of science and technology. I thanked him for his 'most enlightening and motivational help and wished him farewell.' As I stood up he told me to sit as he needed to enter the details of the companies and interview dates for his records.

As I made my exit I turned and said, 'Why not put down the name of the building firm and save us both time?'   I think the sight of his red face will live with me for ever.

When I compared notes with some of the other boys I found that they had fared no better than I at the first meeting with the man (who later became head of the County Careers Service) and a couple of stories I can remember went like this:

Wanted to be: Aeronautical Engineer
Suggestion: General airport work
Ended Up: Fully certified Engines and Airframes engineer (living in the US)


Wanted to be: Footballer
Suggestion: Woodsman or forestry worker
Ended Up: After footballing apprenticeship went on to become PE Teacher.


The account of the career advice given then, and now, and the battle with the Hounslow school all conspire to challenge me to challenge others. Motivating our children with regard to their future employment is an area I have never thought of as being something Church should be engaged with but if we don't see past community history and demographics, if we don't see past low-attainment family histories to encourage the next generations to fulfil their potential, who will? IMD is a pointer to the areas that need input not a death knell!

Pax

Care: Mental, Social and others - CHAMPIONS

I would just like to set the record straight regarding what I feel about those who provide care for those who suffer from various needs of the mental, social, housing, medical and benefits kind. For those who devote their lives to addressing the needs of those with problems I have nothing but respect and admiration. I chance across many who are committed to their role and see them struggle against decreasing budgets, diminishing staff numbers, increased workloads and restrictions that would make a saint swear like an East End docker and they deserve, no demand, applause and respect by the bucket load.

BUT (has to be a but) to reflect on 2013's experience to date:

I have seen first hand those people who make decisions long before they've engaged with their client and the reason for this has nothing to do with proper or effective care. The reason is merely a desire to make the problem go away. The reason for this is the fact that they are no longer doing what they joined up to do (and most of the social workers did join to make a difference) but are merely pumping out the clients in an effort to keep their own heads above water. The need to rationalise their own jobs means that many who are client-facing are no longer proving care but merely attempting to contain things.

I happened across a case where someone was presenting serious mental health issues but when one of the family called their local unit for help they were told that they'd been 're-diagnosed' and so they were no longer on the unit's list. 'But they are a danger to others and themselves,' pleaded the family member. 'In that case here's the other team's duty crisis number,' said the voice on the other end. The number duly given, they hung up. Worse than useless as the number they were given turned out to have been changed last year! By the time they found someone from the 'right' team the person with problems had been picked up by the police (who could do nothing but bring them home to be a problem to the family and not the community - not a knock at the police, they had no power to do anything else as the local team wouldn't come out!).

I found a child who had been removed and placed for adoption before conditions such as getting support and undertaking training had even been started. 'Best for the child'? I hope so because it looked like it was simpler for the caseworker and the team involved from where I stood. Another example of what might well be poor outcomes coming about because it required less effort and energy from those who are supposed to be supportive and caring.

Another case meant I found myself coming into contact with involved someone about to be made homeless with their partner and children. There were health issues and yet when they went to their local housing people they were told that they were at the very bottom of the pile because one of the couple had some income from a part-time job. The answer? They were made 'redundant' by the person they did five hours for and now at least they are moving up the list. Not so the person who left the army and was told that they 'were someone else's problem as they'd lived in married quarters in the SW and so were that council's problem!' Of course the rules regarding priority (mental and other health issues, released from prison, left the armed forces) are rarely considered because of the 'yes/no' game that many play to mitigate their workload and protect a non-existent social housing stock (yes - it's great selling houses to people but the money should have built new social housing stock!!!).

A plea to my clergy colleagues regarding the creation of 'Champions' in their congregations:

Build up a group of local 'champions'. People who can become experts (or at least be informed) regarding the various areas of need, which I suggest are, as a minimum:

1. Mental Health - one of the greatest and least addressed needs that face us.
2. Housing - Not just homelessness, because many who are housed will soon be homeless unless they find champions.
3. Debt - Debt coaching courses and support are essential parts of the pastoral care role of Church and yet, amazingly, few are equipped to come alongside and engage with it!
4. Family Issues - Yes, I know we do this as pastoral care but we need to know the law and the ways of protecting people at risk and we need to do it intelligently.
5. Old Age - one of the areas where provision is being withdrawn and where, even though people think the 'old' are always complaining, little is said as services disappear.
6. Addiction - and not just drugs and alcohol. It's amazing how sex and gambling often fall below the radar and how compulsive spending and other issues just don't feature at all.
7. Relationship and Reconciliation - can cover so many areas from providing a neutral place for engagement through to training and counselling
8. Health Issues - and this can include preparation for death, palliative and bereavement issues (including how to fund a funeral when the bereaved have no money!).

Eight areas which I reckon takes at least ten to twelve people to engage with if a church is going to offer support to the community outside (and within) its walls. It needs coordinators and someone who will keep the minister in the loop without making them the sole point  of contact.

When I have broached this with some clergy the response has been, 'Well that's what CAb and others are there for!" And indeed they are but I have to ask whether or not we have given up our pastoral birthright for a mess of 'other agencies' potage and I fear that the answer is 'Yes!'.

So feel feel to disagree (or add areas that you feel I've missed) but if you've read this then take it back to the church or team and see who and what you have to meet the needs for as money becomes even more tight the services will feel even more of the squeeze and clients less of the care and support.

Pax

Clearing the air (4) - Mental Health

I've saved this for (almost) last as it is one of the most contentious issues I get to deal with on a regular basis. But, as one of those who have a history of mental health issues so accurately put it: 'The mad will always be with us and they will be our friends, colleagues, family and . . well, probably . . us!'

The spectrum of mental health issues is wide and generally misunderstood. If you don't believe me find someone with depression and ask them how many people have told them to 'cheer up'; find those who have different issues and you'll find that they've been told to 'pull themselves together' (or better still, to 'ignore it and get on with life').

I am privileged to be in a place where a great many of those around me have mental health related needs and rather than limit the ministry of, or from, the Church I find that their experiences (and troubles) are nothing but beneficial. That said, around me I see centres closing and services 're-aligned' such that they are in effect removed and this is something that the Church must stand against and also take up the challenge and stand in the gap.

I have sat in the corner of a room whilst the 'caring professional' before seeks merely (or so it seems) to find that caveat which excuses them from offering care. An example of this being a series of questions aimed at a man suffering from depression which, as the interview went on, descended into questions about smoking and alcohol. When the answer to the question, 'Have you ever drunk chemical-based cider?' was in the affirmative the 'professional' stopped the assessment and, handing over a leaflet for the local drink and drug support agency, told their would be client that they couldn't help and terminated the assessment.

I later asked the same person why this was the case and they said that any indication of alcohol abuse meant that they could 'pass on' the person to a different agency (even though this person is obviously suffering from the effects of quite bad depressive illness).

To make things even more interesting, as their symptoms increased and the illness deepened, the same person found that they were no longer eating or sleeping, to which one of the GPs merely proscribe a three month supply of sleeping pills and told them to come back in a couple of months!

Now I understand what it is to have a heavy workload and know that the cuts means that care and post-care support services are overstretched, underfunded and hard to find,

BUT

i. I am no longer prepared to walk away when I hit the brick wall that the mental health 'professionals' put up when they wish to neither be accountable or discuss the situation (and I always have a letter from the patient asking for disclosure and dialogue),

ii. I am not prepared to see those who need support services left to their own devices, but will move heaven and earth to create a safe space and find ways of providing what the system doesn't where I am,

iii. Mental illness cannot be 'caught' (as one moronic minister once said) and it does not create a bar to being a fully functioning member of the Church (except of course where behaviour and stuff does - and even then there are ways of making it work) - We have within our walls (Church universal) people with damaged bodies, missing limbs, cerebrally controlled limitations and, of course, mental illness. It is just another illness and just as I don't give sugar to diabetics or ask those with the effects of Polio  remaining in their bodies to 'run over to the shops', there are considerations when dealing with the mentally ill (have, are or perhaps will be) and this is to realise that it is merely just another illness with its limitations and considerations accordingly.

So, 2013 is knocking at the door - so are those with mental health issues; one you can't stop and the other you surely can't ignore. Can you?

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:

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.

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.

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.
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?

Clearing the air (1) - the disabled are a burden

Having a chilled day and thought I'd pin a few colours to the mast over the few days between now and New Year. I have done it with 'Happy Holidays' and now I feel the need to respond to people like Geoffrey Clark, a man who was standing as a candidate for UKIP's National Executive Committee, until he opened his mouth and put his foot squarely in it by calling for the compulsory abortion of all foetuses that have been identified as having the potential to be born with Down's syndrome or spina bifida.

As if it might make things better the man supported his opinion by stating that the reason for the views he held were merely 'financial' for he was concerned that such children would be 'a burden on the state and the family'. Mind you, the man's amazingly sad utterances didn't stop with children born with health issues for he also (apparently) thinks that the state should re-assess the care given to over eighties as it was 'extraordinarily costly'.

Now whilst I am happy for the man to hold his views, and happier still that he voices them, because that is what democracy does - for it gives minorities and people with different views a voice and the right for it to be heard - it also demands the right to dialogue with the views and to engage in rejoinders. So here's mine:

I write this as someone who has, for as long as I remember,  been 'pro-life'. This is a position that has attracted a fair amount of conflict in the past as I have been engaged by those who wish to demote babies into 'just a mass of cells' and render them to be an abstract 'foetus' as they support what is often little more than social engineering! [I invite those who support the aborting (not 'termination') of a child because it interferes with holidays and changes careers, lifestyle and financial circumstances.

Over the years there have been many who have accused me of being able to have my views based on their premise that: 'it's alright for you because you haven't got a handicapped child'.

Well, this is probably a food time to 'fess up and explain that I have not only held my views for a long time, but that I held them long before I became the father of a severely handicapped child who was with us for just under ten years. Ten years that taught me a great deal about the value and place of the handicapped among us and only confirmed my original views regarding the value of live and the contribution that some of the most damaged can make to the lives of the most able.

There are times when tough choices regarding life and death are forced upon us, and when these appear, the Church needs to be present to offer pastoral and moral support. There are times when the continuance of an obviously non-viable pregnancy that threatens also to take the life of an otherwise healthy woman come knocking at our doors. At some stage we may well find ourselves engaging with others who have the spectre of an abortion somewhere in their life story. What do we do when this is our reality?

I would consider that the first word to think of is always 'Love' regardless of the reasons or outcomes before or behind them.

I have decided that 2013 will be a year when I seek to turn those with 'righteous anger' away from it into a place of 'righteous love'.

The second thing to think of is the fact that in Exodus chapter Twenty we are told that we must never take life 'feloniously' - by which I mean, 'do not murder' - but where life must be taken (and it seems that there are times when the word 'must' is very much a reality, but reliance upon man's laws and the assumption that they overrule the requirements of God's is a flawed, and dangerous, state of affairs.

The third thing to remember is that God calls us to protect the weak, the vulnerable, the widow and the stranger in our midst and that we should do this courageously and without counting the cost. Too often we bring discussions regarding life down to one issue, 'quality of life', but what is really meant here is more often than not one of two things:

What will it cost - financially, emotionally, practically

or

What can they contribute - financially, emotionally, practically

I have seen a cerebrally palsied child, unable to speak, feed or toilet themselves communicate and contribute so much to the life of those around them.

I have seen the very best of people, sometimes in what appears to be the very worst of people, brought out by their encounter with frailty and helplessness.

To  consider only the difficulties that children with major disability and handicap will bring to us in terms of negative numbers - be they financial, emotional or time - is to see past our own humanity and reduce us to nothing more than components. It is to remove the heart and soul from our society  something which (with apologies to those humanists and secularists this might offend) is becoming more commonplace and more acceptable as our netion distances itself from being a people of faith.

So Mr. Clark (and those who might support your views) all I can say is that I am grateful that there isn't a 'Geoffrey Clark test' for those children who are yet unborn, and am glad that it wasn't on offer when you were as them, for each of us regardless of flaws and disability have within us that image of the invisible God that we need to treasure and that ennobles us and makes us and our society all the richer (regardless of financial cost).

Pax