The church and swine flu

I can't help feeling that the church has capitulated to the no-risk health and safety brigade in its recommendation to suspend the sharing of the chalice at communion. Although we followed the advice of the archbishops yesterday I felt I was doing so out of obedience rather than conviction. The thing is that it's all to do with risk rather than evidence. What actually is the risk of sharing the chalice I wonder? Is there any evidence that during the outbreak of Hong Kong flu in 1969 any church members contracted the virus as a result of taking communion? For 22 years, since I was ordained, I have been helping to consume the wine left over after communion and have never been ill as a result.

It would be difficult to ignore the recommendation of the archbishops, but I really wonder if it is not an over-reaction. The problem with eliminating risk is that it becomes the opposite of faith. Not that we want to play with people's health, but where is faith if there is no risk? What about the risk the disciple Peter took when he got out of the boat to walk towards Jesus on the water? That was faith. Or the risks that the apostle Paul took continually to take the Good News round Asia Minor and Greece? That was faith. Can you imagine what would happen today? Peter would have to be issued with a life-jacket in case he sank, and Paul would have had to fill in a risk assessment form before taking his associates with him on his journeys.

I suppose there is a difference in taking a risk myself, and putting others in the place of risk, but that brings me back to my first point: what is the evidence for swine flu being transmitted by a common chalice? If there is no evidence, then it seems to me there is also no, or very little, risk. And furthermore, this type of flu is mostly very mild anyway.

At the risk of sounding like Jeremy Clarkson, or The Daily Mail, I feel this is just another example of the over-regulation that threatens the spirit of adventure and invention that is part of the human character.

How will I face the end of the world?

I've just had a couple of men from the Jehovah's Witnesses call at the door. This is the first time since we've been here - nearly 6 years - that I've been door-knocked by this group. They are still banging on about the end of the world, and how to be saved (or safe) when it happens. They also have a preoccupation with knowing God's personal name - 'Jehovah' - but don't seem to understand that this anglicised name from the Hebrew, 'Yahweh', only appears in the King James' bible. They seem to think that it is the highest privilege to know God by his 'personal' name, but I would rather go with what Jesus said: "When you pray, say 'Our FATHER...'" Because I love God and know that he loves me, and because that love is mixed with respect, I would no more call God by his personal name - even if I knew it - than I would call my human father by his first name.

'Father' is so much more significant, because it is all about a loving relationship, whereas calling someone by their personal name may only denote acquaintance. (I wish I'd thought of that on the doorstep!!). Calling God 'Father' is the highest privilege as it implies we are in his family, children of the King of kings, and brothers and sisters with all his children. Not only that, but we are brothers and sisters of Jesus himself. The writer to the Hebrews says that Jesus is 'not ashamed to call us his family'.

Over the years I've learnt that you can't score points off the JWs - they are too indoctrinated with a particular way of thinking (and so are a few Christians!). I pray that they will come to know God in that personal and familiar way as Father as they encounter him through his Son Jesus.

A day of rest from church politics

I've just spent the last hour catching up with the latest arguments about the Anglican Communion (see http://fulcrum-anglican.org.uk/page.cfm?ID=437 and Bishop Nick's blog). It's difficult sometimes to know when to fight or ignore; whether to resist what seems to be in error, or just get on with the work of sharing the Good News. My inclination is to get on the with work and resist being painted into a corner of identification with this group or that group. Some groups in the church are concerned, it seems, exclusively with truth, and others with grace. All I know is that Jesus was described in the prologue to John's Gospel as 'full of grace AND truth'.

Well, for today at least, I'm going to put this all to one side and enjoy some time in the garden with God the Creator, and give thanks for the potatos, peas, beans, cabbages and raspberries that we have already been enjoying, and the many other fruit and veg still to come. I'm looking forward to my first crop of aubergines that are coming on nicely in the greenhouse. Together with the tomatos, courgettes, onion and garlic we should be able to make our own ratatouille. Now that's a treat in store!

"The kingdom of God is near"

The Flower Festival

Last week was far too hot to do any blogging - I just didn't have the energy to think creatively and write wittily. In the church we have welcomed our new curate, Linda, ordained deacon at Southwark Cathedral, we have had a wonderful Flower Festival all weekend, and on Saturday we had a Prayer Tent on the field for the Old Coulsdon Village Fair. The idea was to take prayer out of the church building and show that God is concerned for people wherever or whoever they are. We prayed with people about members of their families who were ill, and with one person about an unpleasant spiritual 'presence' in her house. I've never met anyone who has not wantied to be prayed for. Even if they don't believe, at least they think it can't do any harm.

The Prayer Tent

Nearby was a tent with the local 'spiritual healing' group. This is not a Christian group and their approach to healing is about finding the power within yourself to heal. I had a long conversation with one of their members a year or so ago, and I don't know if anyone has actually been healed by their efforts. I wondered whether we should have a sort of 'Elijah versus the prophets of Baal' competition to see whose prayers were more effective, but thought better of it. For one thing I think the health and safety officers would not have appreciated fire from heaven coming down and consuming people: that wasn't in the risk assessment document!

Cream teas in the church

Two bible readings set for yesterday, from Mark 6 and Luke 10, were accounts of Jesus sending his disciples out with his authority to proclaim the kingdom of God, through personal contact, through prayer for people, through healing and preaching. In a small way I hope we were doing the same with the Prayer Tent.

Good news...if you can understand it

Having spent a little time with the disabled boy that I'm preparing for baptism and wondering how to tell him about Jesus, I realised that it will have to be by revelation from the Lord himself. And this makes sense because, as Christians, we say that our faith is a revealed rather than a deductive faith - that's to say what we know of God is through what he reveals, rather than what we deduce.



There is a place for logical argument and persuasion, but also a place for direct supernatural encounter. I have heard stories of people - though I have not actually met them - who claim that they encountered Jesus supernaturally through a dream. St Paul - the ultimate thinking theologian - knew about dreams and visions, and I see no reason why God shouldn't make himself known in that way if there is no other.



So that's my prayer for this boy - that Jesus would make himself known in a way that goes beyond rational and intellectual explanation, however simple.

Good news...if you can understand it?

To prepare myself to prepare a fifteen year old boy with a mental age of three or four for baptism I looked for a few simple booklets on sharing the faith. Surprisingly I could only find two on the market: 'Journey into Life' by Norman Warren, which has been around ever since I can remember, and 'Why Jesus?' by Nicky Gumbel. I know there is a more recent edition of 'Journey...' but as I re-read the 1988 version I found myself less in sympathy with its approach than I used to be. Basically it uses the traditional evangelical evangelistic argument: God created a perfect world, man sinned, we are all sinful and can't save ourselves so Jesus came to die for our sins and we need to trust him. I agree with each point separately, but I don't think it's the only way of presenting the gospel.

Nicy Gumbel's book is compelling if you are familiar with such names as Cicero and Dostoevsky. I guess it appeals to well-educated middle class people who are sympathetic to Nicy Gumbel's background as a barrister. Again, the arguments he uses are fine, but I keep thinking about people on our local housing estates and, without wanting to be patronising, I wonder how many of them have heard of Cicero and Dostoevsky.

I looked in vain on the internet for a simple evangelistic booklet costing under £1 that puts across the Good News to the sort of person that might read The Sun or Daily Mirror. If there is one, I'd like to find it. If not, perhaps I'll produce my own.

To return to the boy I'm preparing for baptism: he deserves to be taken seriously, but the way I would usually share the gospel with people just isn't appropriate in this case. It challenges me to identify what is really at the heart of the good news; how can I express it in a way that he will understand. Intellectually he will probably grasp very little, but perhaps my just being there talking with him and his mum will communicate something of God's love, because that's what is as the heart: God loves us, Jesus shows us what God is like, and he gives us new life that gets better and better.

It's far harder to make things simple than to make them complicated; that's why I like the challenge of talking with children and preaching to a mixed congregation. I think every preacher should be forced to preach to children. I believe that if you can preach effectively from the epistles to children it shows you truly understand what they are saying.

So, watch this space for futher developments.

Community Cohesion and Schools

I've just spent another hour in a school governors' committee meeting talking about 'Community Cohesion'. This is how the Department for Childrens, Schools and Families defines Community Cohesion:

‘Working towards a society in which there is a common vision and sense of belonging by all communities, a society in which the diversity of people’s backgrounds and circumstances is appreciated and valued; a society in which similar life opportunities are available to all; a society in which strong and positive relationships exist and continue to be developed in the workplace, in school and in the wider community.’

I am a little cynical about this as it seems to me that schools are being used by the government to promote a particular social policy, albeit one with laudable aims. Schools are having to come up with more and more policies, take part in increasing assessment, demonstrate widening circles of consultation with stakeholders - and, if they have time, teach our children.

Having said that, I am in favour of the aims of community cohesion because they run parallel with those of the kingdom of God, as demonstrated in the life and teaching of Jesus. He valued people from all sorts of backgrounds and cultures; he modelled something good about strong and positive relationships; and he invited everyone to be part of his kingdom, though some refused and made excuses. At the same time, though, he made it clear that membership of that kingdom brings very clear challenges to lifestyle and belief.

I will be helping to draw together our church school's policies on equality - gender equality, disability, racism and community cohesion - into one Equality Policy, not because I think the government is right to require schools to do so, but because as a church school we want to reflect values that are in line with the kingdom of God. This may raise some uncomfortable questions about what we are doing in the church to promote the values of the kingdom of God, but I hope that discomfort may prove to be creative.