A while ago during worship, we were given a range of photos to choose from and spend time with. I picked up this image of a small boy, smiling into the camera with his arm outstretched towards it. For some reason, this image really touched me and I remember being in tears just looking at it. I took the photo home and stuck it on the wall in my study, so I can see it every time I sit and have my quiet time. I called the little boy “Emmanuel”, which means “God is with us”.

The news at the moment is full of carnage and death. We hear the reports from Gaza and Israel and see the images of the blackened aeroplane crash site in Ukraine. These stories have knocked Syria and the Central African Republic out of the headlines, but atrocities there and in other places around the world continue each and every day. It is impossible to comprehend how it must be to live in these situations and it is easy to feel powerless or wonder where God is in all of this. Lyse Doucet, the chief international correspondent for the BBC has been covering the conflicts in Syria and in Gaza. She explained “The BBC has a duty to be impartial and report on all sides. However, I think it is ok to be on the side of the children, on the side of humanity.”

We are not powerless in these situations. Someone once said to me “In my work, sometimes I don’t feel like I am making a big difference, but I am making a difference”. We need to look at what we can do, and use that to make a difference. Do you enjoy baking? Sell some cupcakes and give the money to one of the organisations that is supporting the people fleeing from their homes or which is providing humanitarian aid. Do you write a good letter? Contact your local MP, or write to the Prime Minister, or the Ambassador of the relevant country. Our leaders will not know that we care about the suffering unless we tell them. Do you find it easy to pray? Perhaps there will be an image or a story that touches you. Focus in one human story and pray regularly for the people concerned. There is a quote which says “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” We might not feel as though we are doing much, but the situation will not change if we do nothing at all.  The biggest thing we can do is to not forget these children, these people and their suffering. The photo of Emmanuel greets me every time I sit to pray. If we forget our sisters and brothers who are suffering, we lose part of our humanity too.

God bless

Cecilia

A young woman rushed up to me in the Health Zone at Pride and said “It is so good that you are here.” She started to talk about the Church’s attitude to LGBT folk and then began to cry.  I had an email from Jim, from Liberty Church Blackpool, who brought their 10 foot high Big Jesus to walk in the parade. He wrote: “We lost count of how many times people said ‘Thank you’. Big Jesus speaks to people, affirming, healing, restoring etc.” Charlotte N wrote on Twitter “Yesterday at the Pride Vigil a man told me calmly 'I know I'm going to hell because I'm gay'.” At the same vigil, another man said to me “It was so great to see the gay Jesus at Pride”.

Hope and Light, Light and Hope. This Pride we really made a difference. We didn’t do it by preaching or lecturing, by asking people to change who they were. We did it by being fully ourselves. We offered people a different image of who God is, who Jesus is. The Messy Church crew worked with 35 different families in the Family Zone, creating a rainbow collage with them that says “God loves all families”. We created a space at the candle lit vigil for people to be moved and touched by the stories of our LGBT asylum seeker friends in Rainbow Home. The Holy Spirit was able to weave through the crowd, offering healing and peace. We were able to do all these things because we were prepared to really get out in the world and meet people where they were. We didn’t wait for them to find us. We did what Jesus did, we walked along the streets, we went to where the people gathered and we told them the good news that they needed and wanted to hear. “God made you. God loves you.”

It has been a long process to gain the trust of our community. It has been done by working on personal relationships, by actually showing up and being willing to work at shared aims, by being authentic and generous in our interactions. For a while, I was the person who was “the face” of Northern Lights MCC. This Pride, there were so many of us engaged and involved in the different Pride activities. Christianity is a “team sport”. We are so much better when we are all using our different gifts together. This is what it means to be “the church for our community”. It isn’t just one of us, it is all of us. Some of us feel comfortable being out and about in the community, some of us serve better within the church walls, once people have chosen us to be their faith community. Each of us has our part to play in building a bit of heaven on earth. This year at Pride, there was a bit of heaven on the parade, at the stall, on the main stage in the Family zone and at the vigil. Happy Pride everyone!

God bless

Cecilia

On Monday this week, The Church of England Synod voted to allow women to be considered for the role of Bishop. Other churches in the Anglican Communion have had female bishops for a while. In MCC, our first female Bishop or Elder was Reverend Freda Smith. It was my great privilege to celebrate Communion with Freda and other retired Elders at our General Conference in Chicago last year. Freda was the person who went through our denominational bylaws at General Conference in 1973, line by line, proposing amendments that would allow the inclusion of women in all roles, not only men. Whilst women were active in ministry and many were ordained, our bylaws or constitution were still written as though everyone was male. Although we work hard to be an inclusive church, there are still people who struggle with women in positions of leadership and insults aimed at our female clergy, Elders and Moderator sometimes have a sexist tone to them. It is easy to be judgemental about other denominations, but we also have to be vigilant that we don’t become complacent about prejudice and discrimination in our own setting.

One of the things that has been interesting in the media coverage about events in The Church of England is the vocabulary: phrases such as “top jobs” and being “promoted” have been used. The words “vocation” and “calling” appeared much less frequently, perhaps because they are harder to describe. For women in any situation to be barred from a specific job or position because of their gender is not acceptable. What, for me, is doubly frustrating is when women are barred from answering God’s call on their lives because of their gender. As you may know, MCC as a denomination believes in “the priesthood of all believers” – that is, every single person is gifted and called to serve God and God’s people in ministry. I passionately believe this and hope that everyone in Northern Lights MCC feels that they can find their place, if they want to be active in ministry.  There is so much for us all to gain, when, as we say in our Core Values “we are each doing what we are passionate about”. When someone is blocked from answering God’s call on their lives because of sexism, racism, disability dicrimination or homo/transphobia, that seems to be an affront to God, as well to the individual concerned. The battle against sexism within The Church of England will continue for a good while yet. The women who do become Bishops will be subject to intense scrutiny, well beyond that experienced by their male counterparts. However, the church as a whole will be strengthened by their presence and God’s work on earth will be enhanced. Praise God!

God bless

Cecilia

What is your identity? How do you define who you are? We may have several identities, depending on where we are and who we are with. We may behave differently at home compared with how we are at work, with friends or with family. It is interesting sometimes to find out how others see us. I enjoy picking ringtones on my phone to match my friends. My best friend Sue is musical and plays a lot of folk music, so I chose a ringtone called “Madrigal” for her. She apparently has “Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside” as her ringtone for me. This tiny revelation of how she sees me pleases me somewhat. A slightly jaunty, very English song with overtones of cheekiness – but that is just what I choose to read into her choice. More likely, it is because I am “beside myself with glee” at living so close to the beach.

As we approach Pride, our twin identity of queer and Christian once again becomes very significant. I choose the word “queer” very specifically here. Within our congregation, we have a range of sexual identities. Not everyone is LGBT. However, everyone who defines themselves as part of Northern Lights MCC is “queer”, that is, they sit outside the norms of society in some way or another. No-one worships with us by accident. Most people work hard to find us, usually because they want to find a place where they can be fully themselves. That might be to do with sexuality; it might be because they have felt rejected by other faith communities. It may be that our open way of discussing theology sits better with them. As other Christian churches continue to struggle with issues of identity, MCC stands proudly as an international Christian denomination, giving support and shelter to those who find themselves dancing to a different drum.  

We have a wonderful opportunity at Pride to celebrate the healthy intersection of sexuality and spirituality. Our presence there gives other people permission to look at these areas of their own lives. So many of us know what it feels like to try and block out our sexuality or our spirituality, because of what we have been taught. Many of us know the pain of hearing hurtful messages about those in our family that we love. Coming out, whether as a person of faith, as LGBT or as supportive of LGBT folk, can be a challenge and has risks. At Pride, we do it all at once, and in doing so, we have the chance to really change and potentially save lives.  There will be people watching the parade, who can’t step forward and join it, for whatever reason. Yet our presence will let them know God loves them. “Jesus loves me, this I know” is a good ringtone to have.

God bless

Cecilia