The church is in a process of focussing its attention more closely on issues of wealth and poverty. People are standing on the steps of the Cathedral and asking the question “what would Jesus do”. This is the new song from Chickenfoot’s second album. Sammy Hagar reads three and a half letters that were sent to his charitable foundation asking for help. It has become the soundtrack of my life for the last two weeks.
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Nov22011
#OccupyInequality
The situation at St Paul’s cathedral in the UK has brought the issue of financial ethics to the forefront of The Church’s thinking. If I’m honest, I didn’t know anyone in the church for whom it wasn’t already. Global finance is a topic that is too big for one person to fix by themselves and I am a bear of little brain but I will continue to engage with the issues as they arise. One of my friends posted some of their difficulties with the protest on Facebook.
I think my issue with the protests is that, in the UK, we have free healthcare, education, social security and endless affordable distractions and comforts.
If a banker can make a million by skimming off a thousandth of a percent off the business – is that really a bigger sin than one of us choosing to buy cheap imported goods without asking about worker welfare?
A dozen men cream off a tiny proportion off the bottom of a balance sheet vs a million britons promoting child labour in the third world and putting a thousand local breadwinners on the dole by shutting the mills and factories?
Apologies to him for posting it here but he has made me think! All afternoon! My gut reaction was to say – well… yes.
Then I started to think about all of these issues and the global situation. I believe resolutely that my lifestyle should not be at the expense of someone living in another country. I do not want goods available on the high street at the expense of the poorest in society! However, I think that reading the protester’s cause as about the “bankers” misrepresents them. Their website sums up their position with no mention of bankers at all.
Our global system is unsustainable. It is undemocratic and unjust, driven by profit in the interest of the few.
The protesters are bringing attention to the global financial system and the way in which it operates. This is the system that allows a big corporation to produce goods using child labour and sell them on the high street to an unsuspecting public. This is where the bottom of the balance sheet it. This is the place where the cream is found.
Please watch the TED talk above about inequality. The economy in the UK works relatively to other economies. However, it also works relatively between the people within it. #OccupyInequality
Sep152011
Global Warming
I don’t know if you’re looking for resources for a harvest festival service. Unfortunately mine was a couple of weeks ago. In this clip David Mitchell says something incredibly obvious. It is almost so obvious it doesn’t need saying. Never the less he has said it anyway. Good for him!
Aug132011
Rioting on Sunday Morning
It seems only two minutes since I found myself standing before the congregation as a “community leader” to talk about the headline news from Norway. And yet, here I find myself once more. It is a strange place to be as people look to me to try and make sense of the world around them. The church can sometimes just stick its head in the sand on a Sunday morning and carry on regardless. “Riots you say? What riots”? I find myself unable to do that. Perhaps it is a failing of mine and I should add it to the ever-growing list. No matter where I turn I can’t escape the incarnational God who gets his hands dirty. I can’t skirt around the God who told us to pray “Your kingdom come, your will be done on Earth as in Heaven”.
You may have noticed that I have been strangely silent on the blog this week. Mostly this has been because I have felt a bit numb. Living in the UK and watching it descend into chaos is all too reminiscent of The Dark Night. Fortunately we live in a part of the city that hasn’t seen any unrest. West Yorkshire police dealt with any flickers of trouble around Leeds and Huddersfield brilliantly and we did not see the same level of unrest as others. However, the whole country seems to be gripped by fear. I spoke to my brother earlier in the week about the football match we are going to this afternoon. He was wanting to call it off. The mood in our community is troubled.
Some how tomorrow I will stand up and try to help our community make sense of all of this. I will try to encourage them to be part of the future. To start to bring that kingdom to our communities.
I have put together some simple prayers that we will use. Then we will pray the prayer from the CofE website in solidarity with our nation wide community.
Father in heaven,
In our homes.
Your kingdom come, your will be done.
In our families
Your kingdom come, your will be done.
In our communities
Your kingdom come, your will be done.
In our cities
Your kingdom come, your will be done.
On our streets
Your kingdom come, your will be done.
In our parks
Your kingdom come, your will be done.
In our schools
Your kingdom come, your will be done.
In our police forces
Your kingdom come, your will be done.
In our town hall
Your kingdom come, your will be done.
In our government
Your kingdom come, your will be done.
Gracious God,
We pray for peace in our communities this day.
We commit to you all who work for peace and an end to tensions,
And those who work to uphold law and justice.
We pray for an end to fear,
For comfort and support to those who suffer.
For calm in our streets and cities,
That people may go about their lives in safety and peace.
In your mercy, hear our prayers,
now and always.Amen