Progress in Fiji

Latest news from Figi is encouraging , where it is almost a crime to be a Methodist:

The Fijian government has dropped most of the charges against leaders of the Methodist Church in Fiji. Fijian Methodists have made contact with the Methodist Church in Britain to thank people for their prayers and support.

All members of the Fiji Methodist Church Standing Committee were charged with attending an unauthorized meeting held in April 2009 and were held for questioning by police in July last year. Now all but four of them have had their charges dropped due to ‘insufficient evidence’.......

The Church is hopeful that these new developments herald a change of heart and a return to conversation instead of confrontation. It is hoped that further steps towards the normal functioning of Church governance will be achieved through talks.

Charges, however, remain outstanding against the General Secretary of the Church, Revd Tuikilakila Waqairatu, the current President, Revd Ame Tuague, and two former Presidents of the Church, Revd Manasa Lasaro and Revd Tomasi Kanailagi. Revd Tomasi was a senator in the previous government.

Losing faith that people of faith can live peaceably together

I was reading in the Jewish Chronicle an interesting account of the meeting between Pope Benedist anda selection of faith leaders during the recent papal visit.

Lord Sacks, the chief rabbi, came out with an interesting explanation for the secularisation now engulfing Europe:

Lord Sacks - whose greetings were followed by Muslim representative Dr Khaled Azzam - used the occasion to emphasise that faith "has a major role in strengthening civil society".

Secularisation had begun in Europe because people had lost faith in people of faith living peaceably together, he said: "We must never go down the road again".

British history shows that Jews and Christians, for example, have been able to live together in peace for centuries. There have been some outbursts of antisemitism but most British cities have benefited from a Jewish community.A similar pattern was present thoughout most of Europe.

Protestants and Catholics fought vicious wars over faith but gradually learnt to accept one another's right to worship as they felt led.

I was recently reading A history of the Arab peoples by Albert Hourani and he makes the point over many years substantial Christian and Jewish communities have been able to live at peace within predominantly Muslim societies.

I'm not arguing for a syncretism but I feel that there is nuch wisdom in the chief rabbi's words.

How many times have we been told by non-believers that religion is the cause of too many wars?

When did  Europe lose faith in people of faith living peaceably together?

Do we need to put it right? If so, how?

Beware of this charity

Just in case you get stopped in the streets or are asked to loan Methodist premises to the charity "Soldiers off the street" read Harry's Place first.

Update 09/10/10: I had a phone call yesterday afternoon from someone purporting to represent this charity. Two comments subsequently appeared one saying "I'm glad not all methodists are not small minded like you". a position that probably has wide spread support across the Connexion.

The caller claimed they are taking legal action against Harry's Place, and pointed out that by linking to that post I too would be subject to legal challenge. Harry's Place tell me they know nothing of this legal action.

The caller was anxious to point out that the charity was established by former members of the British National Party, and are no longer in membership. I am happy to clarify this point.

Earlier this week I had a lovely note from the charity ActionAid. I had queried whether they had any involvement with the film "No Pressure". They assured me they had no involvement and disassociated themselves from the film.

Just because an organisation is a registered charity it does not mean that its work and motivation are not open to scrutiny and challenge.

If readers wish to support an organisation that has been established by former members of the BNP that is their right.

Each year I make a substantial donation to the Annual Poppy Day appeal, I also give to Help for Heroes. I don't need to funnel my support for Britain's servicemen and women through the hands of former members of the BNP. Other readers are free to take different approach.

Not an easy weekend......

It has not been the most easy of weekends. Number two has flown the nest off to another ancient institution of tertiary education. The house felt really empty last night. Much of the weekend was spent rushing round sorting out last minute things. Then there was the six hour drive after church on Sunday. On top of that the church's bank has let us down big time by bouncing a cheque on a technicality, so the rest of the weekend was spent trying to put that right.

Faith and politics: lessons from America

Mike Ion, a Labour Party colleague from Shropshire has written a very challenging article in Prospect. Mike writes in the light of the hugely sucessuful visit of Pope Benedict, and says "the visit of Benedict XVI may well end up prompting those who espouse a so-called “progressive” political agenda to debate just how to reconcile faith with our modern, pluralistic democracy".

This is an issue which is no stranger to this blog. Taking forward a progressive political agenda on the basis of a Christian faith is not always easy - especially when there are strong currents within Christian thought which place our political agenda on the right. But then there are some issues which are on "the right" but I know that many people on "the left" have a sympathetic view. Sometimes I think trying to push people into a corner and tell them that if they believe x that makes them a left or right.

I remember  a supporter of Esperanto issuing a press release denouncing me as being at one with Hitler and Stalin and having views that led to concentration camps simply because I wouldn't sign a European Parliament resolution calling for Esperanto to become the official language of the EU. Up until then I was actually interested in  the idea of Esperanto, seeing if it could go some way to repairing the damage of Genesis 11:1-11. I'd even been reading a "teach yourself book". But after my public dressing down that was one Progressive idea I took no further.

Similarly I'm never happy to hear the countryside lobbying using Hitlers vegetarianism and banning of foxhunting as a reason to continue the sport.

Mike raises the issue of abortion in the US election campaign. I don't think that abortion is simply a left-right issue. Nor do I believe that support for the right of the State of Israel to defend itself is an issue for the right. When I was a child in Hackney the word "Zionism" conjured up a prototype socialist state underpinned by an agricultural system based on the communitarian values of the kibbutz movement. I suspect that in times to come abortion will come to be seen as representing a certain type of extreme liberalism which will not sit easily with the left.

Anyway, Mike has made an interesting case and concludes:

This, then, is the challenge for those in Britain (and elsewhere) who describe themselves as progressive politicians. They too must become more “fair-minded”—more willing to engage with people of faith, so that they might recognise the overlapping values shared by both religious and secular people when it comes to the moral and material direction of modern Britain.Mike 
 
Mike is keen for comments and you can make them on the Prospect item itself, on his own blog, or on twitter.

European Parliamentary Prayer Breakfast - 40th Anniversary

Today in Strasbourg Members of the European Parliament will gather to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the prayer breakfast. This has met monthly in Strabourg and should not be confused with the annual event in Brussels.

As a former Chair I was invited but work commitments prevent me attending. However I sent this short message:

May God bless you all in Strasbourg as you comm orate 40 years of praying for the work of the European Parliament and the peoples and causes that it represents.

When I was elected in 1994 I was astonished that Fred Catherwood suggested that I led the prayer breakfast. I was so unprepared and out of my depth. When he explained that it was "ecumenical" my hair stood on end. That didn't fit my view of Protestant witness.

However I felt that God used that time to remind me that He is Lord and sometimes we find ourselves doing unexpected things. I think the 1994-1999 parliament was something of a transitional period for the prayer breakfast. The original founders had left and the new influx from the rest of our common European homeland were still to join. Sometimes simply maintaining a witness is all that the Lord requires. 

I would like to especially place on record my love and respect for Stephen  and Janina. Both gave me and my wife Claire a new insight into Catholicism that I found inspirational.

I absolutely loved our monthly gatherings in the salon blue. It was a time of calmness in a busy week.

Two meetings really stand out. I remember Alan McCartney giving a wonderful introduction to Psalm 121. Until then I had hardly read that piece. Alan opened up a new vision and sometimes I go to that passage and think of his inspiring witness.

It was also good to sit and pray with someone who would be a traditional political foe of my own party. Another of the fascinating aspects of the prayer breakfast.

The second occasion was the day after the election of  Mr Gil-Robles as the President of the Parliament. Much to the surprise of his new staff he insisted that his first appointment on his first full day in office was to join the prayer breakfast as usual. I remember the look of real humility on his face as we gathered round, laid hands on him, and prayed that the Lord would bless his Presidency.

I was really disappointed that I was unable to continue being part of the prayer breakfast and part of the Parliament. However I have been thrilled to hear that it is now going from strength to strength.

My prayer today is that we continue to ask for the revival that Europe so desperately needs. There are changes we need that no amount of legislation will ever achieve.

I give thanks for the man from Macedonia who asked the Apostle Paul to come and witness to us. Acts 16 shows that there was just a handful of believers but they had a certainty and a boldness. In our dark times we may feel alone and few but small numbers can still be a great witness.

Your witness continues to bless the Parliament and  blesses the people of Europe.

I can't take the Lib Dems seriously

I know that they are now part of a government and that following a referendum on electoral "reform" they may be there permanently, but I just can't take the Liberal Democrats seriously.

Many Methodists voted for the Lib Dems. Some told me that they did so to "keep the Tories out". Instead the Lib Dems did their best to put the Tories in office.

There was a lingering hope that a Lib Dem presence may actually contribute to mitigating the right wing of the Conservative Party. Somehow the signs from the Lib Dem conference are not encouraging.

And at the moment I have one very personal beef. In 2001 I stood as a parliamentary candidate in a Lib Dem held seat. The campaign was particularly unpleasant. More than once I was told that people wouldn't be voting for me because I was "a Jew from Birmingham". I really don't know where that came from but somehow that line was doing the rounds.

But that's by the way. Later this week I will sign a very big cheque to pay the tuition fees for one of my children as they take a place at a university. Now in 2001 I was told by several people that they were going to vote Lib Dem because the Lib Dems pledged to abolish university tuition fees.

The Lib Dems have conned a hell of a lot of people. They have shown just how dangerous it is to vote for a centre party with no underlying philosophy. I prefer my Tories to wear blue rosettes, that way everyone knows where we stand.

Pope Benedict in Bearwood and the Blessed J H Newman

There probably aren't many bloggers who can say that "I had than Pope Benedict at the bottom of my garden yesterday" but that is exactly what I can say!

Benedict started a "popemobile" ride through Birmingham from the Kings'Head in Bearwood, about 300 yards from where I sit now. I gather from eye witnesses that those lining the route were the curious rather than the faithful, many of whom - our Catholic friends among them - had been at Coften park since 5 am yesterday morning.

Benedict was in Birmingham to "beatify" John Henry Newman, a convert to Catholicism, apparently a first step to becoming a saint. I must say that I find this bit of our Catholic friends' theology a little suspect, especially when they claim they can pray for "miracles" through the Blessed J H Newman. I think praying through our Lord Jesus is a more effective and more scriptural channel.

One miracle that would have been worth prayer was the support of the Cardinal Newman Secondary School here in Bearwood, but this just didn't happen. Just like many Methodists the Catholics looked to the middle class suburbs and the school closed a few years back.

However much I disagree with much of what the Blessed J H Newman did, I owe him a great debt of gratitude. His Apologia Pro Vita Sua remains for me one of the great testimonies of a man prepared to stand alone for his beliefs and to argue his corner. I read it as a young evangelical convert and was overwhelmed by the power of his argument and the courage with which he stated his case.

Newman doesn't need to have the trappings of sainthood to stand out as a man well worth reading today in our choppy waters of faith.

Michael, our preacher yesterday morning, speaking just as Benedict was traveling through Birmingham,  reminded us that a Newman hymn had made its way into the Methodist Hymn and Psalms (231). He says nothing with which a Methodist can find issue:

Praise to the Holiest in the height,
And in the depth be praise;
In all His words most wonderful,
Most sure in all His ways.

O loving wisdom of our God!
When all was sin and shame,
A second Adam to the fight
And to the rescue came.

O wisest love! that flesh and blood,
Which did in Adam fail,
Should strive afresh against the foe,
Should strive and should prevail.

And that a higher gift than grace
Should flesh and blood refine,
God’s Presence and His very Self,
And Essence all divine.

O generous love! that He, who smote,
In Man for man the foe,
The double agony in Man
For man should undergo.

And in the garden secretly,
And on the Cross on high,
Should teach His brethren, and inspire
To suffer and to die.

Praise to the Holiest in the height,
And in the depth be praise;
In all His words most wonderful,
Most sure in all His ways.

Halal meat and the Mail on Sunday (you read it here first)

Amazing how slow the national press can be.

Shock! Horror! Today's  Mail on Sunday has an "investigation" story  which has found that a large proportion of the meat sold to consumers in the UK is Halal.

The Mail makes the hysterical claim  that Animal welfare campaigners have long called for a ban on the traditional Islamic way of preparing meat - which involves killing animals by drawing a knife across their throats, without stunning them first - saying it is cruel and causes unnecessary pain.

During the last fifteen or so years I have stood on slaughter house lines and seen thousands of birds killed to Halal standards. From the evidence I have, it is a lie to say that the birds are not stunned first.

I first mentioned this issue after attending a meeting of the  European Parliament's Agricultural Committee in November 2008. Some members were questioning the welfare standards of Halal produced meat.

I mentioned there one of my slaughterhouse visits and said  "The meat is Halal (there are prayers on the blade and the back up slaughterman is Islamic trained) and the birds are stunned before slaughter".  Although I did accept that different traditions of Islam had differing practices.

Earlier in 2008 I made the point now being made by the Mail but without the lurid headlines when I said virtually all the chicken meat sold in Britian's big supermarkets like Asda, Tesco, and Sainsburys and through chains like MacDonalds and KFC is Halal though not labeled as Halal and has been for nearly twenty years!

Most modern slaughterhouse regulations come very close to meeting the exacting standards set out in the Old Testament. "Ritual slaughter" for Halal meat often means little more having an Islamic prayer on the blade or as at Sun Valley in Hereford in the 1990s a prayer broadcast on a landline from a remote mosque over the slaughter area.

The company explained to me that there was a big market from British chicken meat among Britain's growing Muslim population but also in the many export markets. For them ensuring all their produce was Halal compliant made commercial sense, and they are part of the multi-national Cargill agri business

This raises a few questions.

Firstly does it matter if our meat is Halal compliant? The answer I feel is no. Eating a Halal chicken burger won't damage our faith.

Secondly, must we insist that Halal slaughtering meets accepted EU standards? Yes and there is no reason why it should not. 

Thirdly, why has the Mail dug up what is a very old story? Sadly for the same reasons that seasoned anti-Semites used to campaign against  Kosher meat production. They are trying to paint a minority in a poor light.

Voting for a Labour leader

One of my little jobs over the weekend will be to make my final decision and cast my vote for the leader of the Labour Party.

I must admit that this year I am finding it amazingly difficult. In every other leadership election I have felt that there was, for me, an obvious choice. Not so this time.

I'm sure four of the five candidates are "competent". They won't be a disaster as Leader of the Opposition, they may not be bad if they could be APPOINTED Prime Minister. But I stress appointed.

My concerns surround their ability to actually be elected. None of them has that little bit extra that took most previous Labour leaders to office. They seem ideal courtiers rather than battlefield leaders.

I may be wrong. I hope I'm wrong. I want to see the party prosper and back into office. Just a few months of coalition government already means there is much to put right.

And I take comfort from the fact that Labour's least charismatic leader in history, Clem Attlee, achieved most as Prime Minister.

Peter and the Pope

Like many people I'm not quite certain what to make of Peter Tatchell. He is variously described as a "human rights" activist and a "gay rights activist". He was a Labour Party candidate at a by-election in the early 80s and was on the nasty end of the UK's "free press". He also tried to make a "citizen's arrest" on Robert Mugabe and ended up being badly beaten. We have one or two friends in common who speak very highly of him.

Last week I was a little surprised to see him mentioned in an official  Methodist Church press release. I did not know Peter  Tatchell was  a Methodist. I've queried this with the officials at Church House but have yet to receive a reply.

Peter is busy running a campaign called "Protest the Pope"  . Our own Methodist President is excited by the prospect of meeting "His Holiness" at Edinburgh Castle. Peter's campaign  claims that among its motivations is that  they accuse The Pope  of "failing to address the many cases of abuse of children within its own organisation."

Meanwhile the Daily Mail is running a completely scurrilous article about Peter Tatchell (remember, held up as a role model in a recent Methodist press release) in which he is quoted as saying in 1997: "The positive nature of some child-adult sexual relationships is not confined to non-Western cultures. Several of my friends – gay and straight, male and female – had sex with adults from the ages of nine to 13. None feel they were abused. All say it was their conscious choice and gave them great joy.

‘While it may be impossible to condone paedophilia, it is time society acknowledged the truth that not all sex involving children is unwanted, abusive and harmful.’ 

This morning we prayed that Benedict's visit to Birmingham should pass without incident. Apparently he is going past our house on the Hagley Road, though I don't think it will be on the number 9 or 126. However I remain concerned that our friends at Church House haven't really thought through the implications of mentioning Peter as a role model.

If the Daily Mail have misquoted Peter - and let's face it the Daily Mail get many things wrong - then we should put the record straight. However if Peter really did say that children aged nine to 13 were abused and it gave them "great joy", we really should think again about who we quote in Methodist Church press releases.

First you burn books......

The first translations of the Bible into vernacular English were siezed by the authorities and burned by the public executioner. Soon after, those proclaiming the truth found in those English words were seized and burn alive.

There is a sequence of events here that seems to obey a certain law of history. Burning books leads to burning people, and it didn't start with Nazi Germany, though that remains the most hideous modern example.

The "pastor" of a small church in Florida has touched a raw nerve with his plans to burn copies of the Koran to mark the attack on the World Trade Centre.

My grandfather served in the British Army in India. I remember once, I must have been about ten, giggling as I read out an account from the Salvation Army's War Cry, as it described penitent sinners making their way to the "mercy seat". It seemed all so other worldly and far away from the crisp new world of 1950s Britain.

He very firmly pointed out that other people's religious practices may seem funny, unnecessary, sometimes even offensive but it was always best to stand back and never cause offence. He then gave me some idea of the balancing act the British had to perform in India where every town and village was a mixture of faiths. 

For reasons that Christians, with our hopefully well thumbed and eventually disintegrating Bibles, cannot really understand, Muslims see the very paper on which the words of the Koran are printed as being sacred. To desecrate those pages is offensive to their prophet and their identity. I gather Muslims can't understand why Christians print verses from the Bible on leaflets we push through doors, this to them seems sacrilegious to the word of God.

So my feeling is that there is absolutely no reason why anyone should intentionally seek to cause offence.

No one is bullying me to say these things. No one is paying me. I just think that causing offence, establishing stumbling blocks is just effort and energy going to earth. In the UK the pastor would be charged with "behaviour likely to cause a breach of the peace" and by now would be in custody. I don't accept that he has an absolute right of freedom of expression in this matter. Rights bring responsibility.

There are many parts of the Muslim world where Christian communities live in peace with their dominant neighbours. There are others where Christians are extremely vulnerable and suffer unbelievable persecution. Those communities, far more than us here in the West with our human rights, know how important it is to cling to the cross. I don't if they have time to indulge in many of the sad little discussions that so easily divide us within British Methodism.

How would we react if an Imman announced that he would be burning a pile of Bibles in retaliation? I think we should always make the "first you burn the books" point, but I can't see Christians taking to the street in the same way that we see in Muslim countries.

The difference is stark and simple: our scripture appears on paper in our own language. It is only paper. The sacredness of the Word comes when we write it on our hearts and have a relationship with God through Jesus. Unless we understand that, we do not understand why Jesus died to give us eternal life. In the meantime a Bible is simply a few sheets of paper with some words printed on it. If it is not read and acted upon, that is what it remains.

God bless you

To those celebrating Eid, may God bless you.

Happy new year

A happy new year to all our Jewish friends

A little local difficulty - update

Just a note to say thank you to those who read about our lillte local difficulty. I had several very supportive emails which proved to be a great encouragement. Earlier this evening I popped into our church and found an extremely helpful cheque. Sudden;ly things don't seem so daunting. Thanks to everyone!

Professioanlly I also witnessed something truly amazing this week. I work full time in a secular occupation and feel so frustrated that I cannot share. So many wonderful gospel themes came together in a single episode that reminded me that the truly miraculous can be expressed in science, technology and humanity. We really do have a great God

A little local problem

At the end of July I mentioned that we were about to start some work on our church of which I am the property steward by acclamation.

Well we managed to get the roof put in and insert some new celestory windows. It cost a lot and I'm waiting for some cash to come from circuit to pay the balance but I'm delighted to be able to report that the various leaks have now been stopped.

Alas we've discovered some additional problems - dry rot in a load bearing beam. I got the quote for remedial work last night and I felt at the end of my tether. There is no way we can afford it if we are to meet our other commitments.

We are very much on Methodism's frontline as the denomination retreats from the inner city to the comfort of the suburbs.

We proclaim the Gospel in one of the poorest communities in the country. Our neighbours come from every corner of the world, many have never heard the Good News as they are followers of Islam. Basically we are left to fend for ourselves though fortunately now have a brilliant Minister to support us. Somehow we need to raise about £6000 from a congregation that can only afford to give about £14,000 a year.

I took the quote to church this morning feeling very low. I wasn't certain what to do or say. In the event I shared the problem with the congregation. I didn't bring the quote home. I just left  in front of the Lord's Table, at the foot of our Cross. This will be a week of prayer and supplication.

If you have £6,000 you want the Lord to use in one of the most difficult corners of the UK simply make a cheque out to "City Road Methodist Church" and post it to The Treasurer, CRMC, 118 City Road, Birmingham, B16 0NL.

UPDATE : Popped in to see Ian this afternoon (he hasn't been well) and he mentioned that Heziekiah did a similar thing. Mrs MP's scheduled Bible study this evening bought up 2 Kings 19:14 which reads:
¹⁴ Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD.

Well it turned out OK for Heziekiah so it will turn out OK for us. We shall see

Back in harness

Well August is well and truly over so we are now back in action. We had great A level and GCSE results which I can't detail as I will get into trouble around the kitchen table.

I had a couple of to all to brief times away from the daily grind. We had a really great time in Devon and enjoyed some stunning weather. It was a good opportunity to catch up with our friends at Ridgeway Methodist Church in Plympton and also with Terry our former Minsiter at City Road.

On Sunday Mrs MP and I went to The George at Stamford. We got a special deal on bed and breakfast so it didn't cost an arm and a leg. We were joined by Pam and Deryck our long time friends.

We went to evening service at Stamford Methodist Church. I must admit we weren't too certain about the welcome, the five or six people present seemed a little reserved. Nor were we certain about the choice of hymns. We were even less certain about the use of the Church of South India communion liturgy. But the sermon, from a supenumery minister was brilliant and well worth the visit. It has certainly set me up for the new connexuional year.

Meanwhile on the home front I've been busy commissioning and supervising the most extensive building programme at City Road in thirty years. I've also done a rough cast of the church books (our financial year runs 1 September to 31 August) and we seem to have increased our collection and cut our costs.

Things are pulling round after ten years of disastorous decline and we know that God has much for us to do. If anyone feels moved to donate several thousand pounds to our work, please get in touch. Better still if you are moving to Birmingham and want a real challenge come and break bread with us.