Across the street from me lives a family – Mam, Dad, two daughters and one son. I have watched the children grow up in the years that I have lived here. This summer, the son turned 18 and his father showed me the car that they had bought him for his birthday surprise. He was waiting until all the family were back in the house, and then he was going to park it in the driveway and surprise his son with the keys. I know how hard both parents work and how much it must have taken them to save to buy this car. The joy on the dad’s face as he told me all it about spoke volumes about his love for his son. It was a delight to see the young man rush out of the house, family close on his heels, to see his present parked in the driveway. As they all left for his party, he took countless photos of the car on his phone and the following morning, was washing and polishing it.

Many of us have an image of God as a loving father, or mother. For those us who are not parents, or perhaps have had a difficult time with our own parents, it might be hard to understand this image. Moments like the one with my neighbour and his son remind me of what the pure love of a parent for their child can be like. A parent longs to protect their child, teaches them well in order to prepare them for life, gives them space to grow and risk, and yet also lets them know that they are safe and loved. A good parent does not stifle their child to protect them from life, but equips the child to deal with all that life might offer it.  A daughter of friends of mine is moving to another city and will be far away from home for the first time. She wrote to her moms, “Now it's time for me to spread these beautiful wings that you've helped me grow. Know that I'm not flying away, but showing off all our hard work to the rest of the world”.

How would it be if we were to say the same to God? How would it be for us to assume that God actually wants the best for us out of life, will be there for us all the time, letting us make our mistakes and learn from them, in order for us to grow? Believing in God does not make life perfect, any more than a loving parent can protect their child from all the things that can happen in life. However, our faith can be a source of strength for us in challenging times and a joy for us when things go well.  This week I invite you to remember moments in your life when someone has believed in you and helped you to grow, just as a loving parent would do. Take time to thank God for this person and consider how you might do the same for someone else.

God bless

Cecilia

One of the phrases which is used by Metropolitan Community Churches as a denomination is “the holy integration of sexuality and spirituality”. What a powerful phrase! Our sexuality is part of how we express ourselves in the world. It is more than just who we are attracted to sexually. It is always pleasing to me when I see photos of our LGBT siblings around the world that the body language, hair styles and clothing are often familiar, even though we don’t speak the same language or have much else in common. In the same way, it is fantastic when I discover someone who finds God in the ways that speak to my soul too. Over the years, I have broadened out a great deal in how I worship and experience God. There would have been no dancing in church or speaking in tongues when I was a devout Catholic! It is wonderful though, to connect with folk who, like me, find God in the silence, in nature, in mystery. These moments of belonging, of recognising self and God in one another, help us to accept and affirm who we are.

In her recent ‘coming out’ interviews, Vicky Beeching talked about the fracture that she experienced between her faith and her sexuality. The wonderful power of the phrase “the holy integration of sexuality and spirituality” is that it encapsulates the divine energy that is experienced when we encounter wholeness, rather than fracture. As we blend and meld these aspects of ourselves, we grow more fully into the person God created us to be. When we are able to worship God freely and passionately, we are fed spiritually and move towards wholeness. When we are able to love and embrace ourselves fully before God, freely and passionately, our worship is uplifting and unselfconscious, unburdened by guilt, shame or deception.  It may be a rather unBritish thing to do, but sometimes when I am out in the open air, looking out to sea or standing in the middle of a wood, looking up at the canopy of leaves above me, I just want stretch my arms up and out and shout “Yes!” Yes to life, Yes to God, Yes to who I am in that moment. We need those moments of “Yes!” to see us through those times when life is hard, or harsh or just plain tedious.

The fruit of the Spirit described by Paul in Galatians include joy, peace and love. When we enjoy that holy integration of all that we are, then the power of the Holy Spirit becomes manifest through these fruit. This week, I invite you to notice when you are feeling the most whole and holy, and even risk a very unBritish “Yes!” offered up to God.

God bless

Cecilia

Our worship theme for August and September at Northern Lights MCC is ‘Fruit of the Spirit’, exploring the list offered to us by Paul, in his letter to the Galatians. Paul was big on lists. He listed the different gifts of the Holy Spirit, he listed the qualities of love and all those who would not inherit the kingdom of God. I can imagine Paul creating lists of the towns and countries he needed to visit, the things he needed to pack before each trip, perhaps even lists of people he needed to write to. Paul was passionate and driven. Maybe his list writing was a way of helping him to focus his attention and prioritise, rather than having a million thoughts all at once.

It is endlessly fascinating to me how we humans work. We go about the everyday process of living in such a multitude of different ways. Someone once asked for a meeting with me. He had a reputation for being a bit disorganised but as he settled into his chair, he said “I have made a list of things I wanted to talk with you about today.” He unfolded a piece of paper on which was drawn a large flower. In each petal, he had written a topic for discussion. This beautiful, elegant and simple drawing was his way of organising his thoughts whilst still allowing his creativity to shine through. It still makes me smile as I think about it. We had a very productive meeting and got through all the petals on the flower.

Living in community means learning from each other and appreciating our differences. It may drive us crazy the way that other people do things sometimes, but if the job gets done well, then that is what matters. We may actually learn that our way is not always the best or most efficient way, and taking time to find out why people do things the way that they do is often a good way for us to learn. If we have listened carefully to them, it is also more likely that people will listen to our suggestions about doing things differently, when they feel as though they are understood and appreciated. There is a technique called “walking around the statue.” If we only stand in front of a statue, we only get to see it from one perspective. We need to walk all the way around it to appreciate all the detail and the fullness of the sculptor’s work. In the same way, if we are willing to listen to the experience and opinions of others who have a different perspective on a situation or problem, we can increase our own knowledge and understanding. This week, perhaps we could each sit with someone who moves through the world in a different way from us, and see if we can learn a new way of being human.

God bless

Cecilia

Last week in my Pastor’s Posting (God is with us - and them), I wrote about what we could do by using our personal strengths and gifts to make a difference to those in Gaza and elsewhere, whose lives are being ripped apart by war. Since then, I have been trying to take some of my own advice. In one of the news reports from Gaza, they visited a school being used by the UN to house those escaping from the Israeli bombardments. The journalist interviewed a mother holding a new born baby. She told the reporter “We waited eight years for this child and then she was born here, in this school.” I know many people who have really longed for a child, and I was deeply struck by this woman’s story. Later that week, the school that the woman and her newborn were living in was shelled. I have kept that woman and her baby in my prayers each day. I don’t know whether she survived the shelling and I will probably never know. By remembering her every day, I am at least refusing to forget her suffering and the many around the world who are suffering today. I don’t know if my prayer will make a difference. I do know it makes a difference to how I view the world and it shakes me out of apathy, complacency or feelings of powerlessness. If I ever get to meet that woman, at least I could say I did something and I did not forget her.

The other thing that I have done is email my MP. If you don’t know who your MP is, you can find out via this link:  http://findyourmp.parliament.uk/and put in your postcode. I wrote that I was deeply concerned about the suffering of the people in Gaza and in Syria. I asked my MP to lobby the Government to increase aid to those fleeing the violence and explicitly said that I approved of the taxes I pay being used to provide support for these civilians. I did not take a view about who was right or wrong in the conflicts, I asked for help for those who are suffering as a consequence. You might not think that writing to your MP will make a difference, however at the City of Sanctuary event I attended recently, one of the speakers talked about this. As you may recall, the UK Government had a policy of not accepting refugees from Syria, preferring to send aid to those providing shelter in neighbouring countries to the conflict. 640 Members of Parliament were contacted by members of their constituencies (out of a total of 650) asking that the UK would be open to these Syrian refugees. The weight of public opinion, expressed this way, caused the Government to change its policy and now Syrian families are finding safety and sanctuary in this country. It is the strength of one action, joining with another, and another which starts to make a difference and change things, bringing hope and light to those who need it most.

God bless

Cecilia