Last post and the August break

It is my habit to take a break in August and this year my summer activities have been brought forward so this is my last post until September. If you want a nudge when I recommence. link up to the posts by the email facility on the side bar.

This last few months have been horrendous and regular readers may have noticed that posts have become less frequent.

I have to keep reminding myself that this blog is a hobby. I don't receive any income from it and am not employed by the church.

Nor am I paid to manage complex building programmes. Nor have I got any experience or expertise to draw on. My entire life for the last year has been dominated by a belief that God has called me and my colleagues to keep the roof on City Road Methodist Church. By the grace of God we are succeeding.

Two years ago we said farewell to the sort of Minister who is only able to work with people who will say "yes minister". The result was a failing church. Membership had fallen, we had British Gas demanding  an £8,000 back payment, a quinquennial surveyors report had noted the poor quality of maintenance, we were spending £4,000 a year heating a building used once a week by 25 people,  and we were often in arrears with our assessment.

Two years later and we have sorted out the issue with British Gas, we are undertaking a good quality scheme to replace the roof, the congregation is growing slowly, heating costs have been cut to less than £1,200 a year and we are still (occasionally) a bit slow with the assessment. We are still not out of the woods and I must make an especial thanks to our circuit, those individuals who have donated some quite extraordinary sums (keep them coming I've got to find another £6,000) and Methodist Chapel Aid who have granted a very helpful loan.

So those projects seem to have taken every waking hour. I never ever thought that I'd spent a large period of my Christian life sorting out a 100 year old building. But that is where God called me and that is where I am now.

The roof project will be complete within the week and I am hoping to get back to something approaching a normal life. I'm certainly looking forward to getting in some more work. I find my professional life very satisfying but feel that this gap in orders has been an opportunity to do something special.

God bless you all, back in September.

It's The Sun wot lost it

Thanks to John Cooper for bringing this wonderful link to my attention. It deserves mass circulation.

The massacre in Norway always was going to be a nasty story, but jumping to conclusions and ladling hate is not the way to manage it.

and a good time was had by all

We had the City Road Methodist Church Garden Party in our back garden today. We had many guests including some friends from the past, and our neighbouring churches at Sandon Road and Ladywood. Here's a gallery of the days proceedings.

We put the bunting up

The penny drops, even on the right

The rich run a global system that allows them to accumulate capital and pay the lowest possible price for labour. The freedom that results applies only to them. The many simply have to work harder, in conditions that grow ever more insecure, to enrich the few. Democratic politics, which purports to enrich the many, is actually in the pocket of those bankers, media barons and other moguls who run and own everything. 

Who wrote the above? Charles Moore in this morning's Daily Telegraph! An interesting read. The penny is beginning to drop, even on the right.

How to start a blog - the basic technicalities

Readers may be interested in this article if they are considering joining the blogsphere.

Humbled. Sorry. Regrets. But no one knew what was going on

If like me you have spent your life working in public relations, and been a politician to boot, today has been the Olympic Games, FA Cup Final, the Grand National, a Test Match and the Six Nations rolled into one.

I have spent much of today watching the live feed of the various hearings in the House of Commons.

What amazed me as we saw the sad procession of newspaper people and policemen is that they all said they were "humbled", "sorry", had "regrets" but all admitted that they didn't really know what was going on.

For my clients I seem to spend hours meeting  various due diligence and governance requirements. And then I see that the higher echelons of the Metropolitan Police and one of the world's biggest media outfits claim that they run on the basis that criminality and unethical behaviour can go unchecked.

Lots of claims to integrity. Lots of apologies. But clearly not people to be trusted with running large and complex organisations. 

If Cameron falls will it be erosion or the silver bullet?

During the last few weeks I have been watching the developing crisis around the News of the World hacking scandal with growing unease. I'm fairly certain that we haven't yet heard the worse of the allegations, though how that could be more serious than hacking a missing teenager's mobile phone I'm not certain.

Even so new stuff is coming out all the time. Who expected the revelation that the Metropolitan Police Commissioner would have accepted a freebie worth £12,000? On its own it would have been serious but the links with the hacking investigation proved lethal for the Commissioner's career.

We now have a stand off between a media group that has already shown it can act like like a feral beast, a police force that feels and fears that it will be made a scapegoat, and a political elite that is puzzled by what to do next.

Bear in mind that the media group has plenty of ammunition. They know who was bribed, they know who was compromised by hospitality and bribes. Newspapers often have a handy store of information about individuals which they don't always print or follow up.  In future weeks that material will be used tactically against individuals. This is not new.

The police have had a kicking from the politicians. Two senior officers have gone. Once again policemen have a memory. Sometimes they forget, later they recall. One rule that says Cameron can employ former NOTW journalists, another that says Scotland Yard can't. That doesn't look right.

A second issue that needs to be looked at is the enhanced role of the Mayor of London in supervising the Met. Until Boris was elected that power resided exclusively with the Home Secretary. With two commissioners lost in three years and a major scandal underway we need to ask whether Johnson's role has been helpful. 

Cameron has already had to shorten his trip to Africa. That's a move usually reserved for a major catastrophe such as a natural disaster or a terrorist attack. Likewise with the extraordinary decision to extend the sitting of the House of Commons for a day, again a sign that things have gone serious;y wrong.

For Cameron there will be two possible man-traps. Scenario one is that the war of words, the arrests, the accusations gradually erode his authority within the Conservative Party and with his coalition partners.

It has been interesting to see that virtually no Tory MPs are prepared to be wheeled out to defend him. The Cabinet is ominously quiet and fellow Old Etonian Boris Johnson didn't rush to Cameron's defence when offered the opportunity. Such erosion takes its toll and this may bubble to the surface by the time of the party conferences in the early autumn. There are many Tories who are unhappy with the coalition. So far they have kept quiet but circumstances are changing fast.

Then there are the Lib Dems. Many of my Tory contacts speak with pleasure at the delight of Lib Dems to having Ministerial red boxes and chauffeured limousines. It is just about conceivable that they may make a dash for the moral high ground with Vince Cable as leader and seek to re-establish themselves as a seperate party able to do a deal with Labour.

That is the erosion route. There may however be a "silver bullet", just as there has been on several times over the last fortnight. One did for the NOTW, one did for Stephenson. Is there one waiting for Carmeron?

No Prime Minister has ever looked forward to the recess than David Carmeron does tonight. General election in the autumn? It would actually suit a lot of MPs who now face loosing their seats by the impending boundary review. Might be worth asking Ladbrokes for the odds.   

New blog

For those who are interested I have just launched a new business blog.

The first post is about.....blogging.

It will be linked with my Twitter feed and LinkedIn profile.

No religion, no politics!

Where is this hacking scandal going to end?

"Blo ----dy hell!" was my response when I read that the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police had resigned.

Last week I met with several politicians, media and business people during a visit to London. There was an overwhelming feeling that this saga still has a long way to go with more revelations on the way.

My sense as a press officer is that once the Murdochs had apologised, the parliamentary recess had been reached and one or two cases had gone sub-judice then the story would die and the pressure lifted. Calmer waters lay ahead. This doesn't appear to be the case, at least as things stand this evening.

There are several areas that will now be explored further.

Firstly there will be more to come about the relationship between the Met and the press. Good relations between an organisation like the Met and the press are desirable but what has happened in recent months seems to have gone well over the top.

Secondly, we have to ask whether NOTW executives seeking employment elsewhere had used the same "news gathering" tactics in their new fields of employment. This lands the question well on the doorstep of the Prime Minister and former Leader of the Opposition.

Thirdly we have to understand more about the reach of organisations such as News Corporation. For example, the BBC's Robert Peston has been a frequent commentator on Murdoch's affairs in recent weeks. Yet we read in this morning's Mail on Sunday that he was a Murdoch guest just days before the hacking scandal was blown out of the water by the Milly Dowler revelations. The other people at this sumptuous party will also raise eyebrows in the light of subsequent events.

So there we have it. A growing scandal that is ensnaring the police, politicians (don't be surprised if within the next few days we have a very high profile resignation), the major public broadcaster, countless "celebrities" and even a walk on part for the Church of England.

As Christians we have very definite responsibilities to pray for those in authority. I wonder how many congregations, both within and without the Methodist Church, have prayed about the scandal today?

A weakened political structure, a justified loss of confidence in the police, a mistrust of the media and a disgust with those who enter and serve in public life, is a recipe for chaos. It is time for prayer.

Prediction being justified (Update 21:30) Just see what Stephenson is saying about Cameron:


"The reasons for not having told them are two fold. Firstly, I repeat my earlier comments of having at the time no reason for considering the contractual relationship to be a matter of concern. Unlike Mr Coulson, Mr Wallis had not resigned from News of the World or, to the best of my knowledge been in any way associated with the original phone hacking investigation.
"Secondly, once Mr Wallis's name did become associated with Operation Weeting, I did not want to compromise the Prime Minister in any way by revealing or discussing a potential suspect who clearly had a close relationship with Mr Coulson. I am aware of the many political exchanges in relation to Mr Coulson's previous employment — I believe it would have been extraordinarily clumsy of me to have exposed the Prime Minister, or by association the Home Secretary, to any accusation, however unfair, as a consequence of them being in possession of operational information in this regard. Similarly, the Mayor. Because of the individuals involved, their positions and relationships, these were I believe unique circumstances.

Picnic in the park in the rain

Congratulations to the Warley Woods Community Trust  who went ahead with today's Picnic in the Park despite the weather forecast. This year we were organised and arrived with chairs, picnic and liquid refreshments - alas we had to eat out meal under one of the meadow oaks.

Nevertheless it was a great community event, we saw lots of old friends, and enjoyed the music and  side shows. A great time organised by great people. Thanks

Breaking the rules

I really didn't feel like preaching this morning. I returned from a week in London to find that someone had thieved the lead flashings off the church roof (they used the scaffolding that had been erected to repair the tiles) and that the main hall had been flooded during Friday night and Saturday morning. We've also got a difficult family illness to contend with.

Unusually sleep deserted me on Saturday night and I was feeling a bit miserable when I arrived to proclaim the Good News.

As we were cleaning the church, it is in an absolute mess, a woman arrived called Jenny who was distributing leaflets for the The Midnight Oil Summit Revival meetings to be held in West Bromwich over Friday August 5 and  Saturday August 6. As we were talking she gave me a testimony of how the meetings came about and that fitted 100% with the points I was going to make from  Matthew 13  (the parable of the sower). I suggested she came back after she had visited the other churches in the area.

Well she returned about 40 minutes later and as I started my sermon I felt very strongly that I should ask her to repeat the testimony. Which she did. And she added several other points which clearly encouraged the congregation. I was a little worried because we Methodists have learnt to be wary of asking complete strangers make a contribution. But this turned out to be absolutely right. When she finished speaking we all felt really uplifted. I abandoned the prepared sermon, which in any case didn't feel right, and a member of the congregation suggested a reading and we then sang two hymns.

I know I broke the rules but I think the Holy Spirit was at work We had arrived grim faced feeling the pressure of the building work. We all left smiling. Just what we needed.

Defend our forests

Remember all the fuss earlier this year when the government found that its plans to sell-off our forests were not acceptable to the public? Well they set up a "review" just to test the waters and see what they could get away with selling. This review closes on 31 July so you have less than a fortnight to express your views. Go to http://www.defra.gov.uk/forestrypanel/

Methodist Preacher on Twitter

Over the last few weeks I have been reviewing my status on Twitter. Methodist Preacher tweets can be found here. Tweets relating to my professional work will in future be found here. This will eventually support a new blog.  Regular readers are welcome to link to either or both.

Chapman Brothers aim to shock...... and challenge

Yesterday afternoon I received an unexpected invitation to the first night of  Jake and Dinos Chapman's new exhibition at The White Cube. My friend and I could only manage the  Masons Yard part of the exhibition and that was shocking enough for one evening.

The Chapman's are, of course, no strangers to controversy and this morning's reviews  (and here)  reflect this.

The exhibition in Mason's Yard starts with a fairly pedestrian room of cubist cardboard models about 18 inches high at waist height.. To be honest they looked like something that an average playground in a Methodist Church could put together over a few weeks. That, I now realise that was the intention, though everyone else in that part of the exhibition appeared to be taking it terribly seriously and the word "playgroup" crossed no one else's lips in my hearing.

Then  we were ushered into the basement and here the shock begins. The hall houses some giant metal representations of the cubist art from upstairs. However the room is littered with slightly larger than life mannequins dress as Gestapo officers. Their uniforms were immaculate, except for one, but the swastika on the armband was replaced by a smiley face. I found it slightly the wrong side of offensive.

The mannequins were clearly amused by what they saw, even the one that was being sodomised by his colleagues.If that was offensive enough in the next room was another mannequin dressed as a member of the Klu Klux Klan, clearly aroused whilst watching the crucifixion of a mear kat.

I came away feeling that it was a rather clumsy attempt to associate a skepticism about modern art with the thinking of the Nazis. A position which seems extreme and unnecessary. It isn't an outing for the chapel's over sixties group. (If I were to recommend a good two to three hour exhibition for a chapel outing in London I'd recommend either the  The Foundling Hospital  or the Wallace Collection).

After leaving the exhibition I went over the the newly restored St Pancras Hotel for a PR company's reception. I remember this building as somewhere that had seen better days and by the 80s was a scruffy office block. However it has been brilliantly restored and every train and architectural buff in the land needs to see it to believe just how beautiful a building can be. Having worked in the ceramics industry I almost swooned when I saw the vast expanse of carefully restored Minton tiling. An interesting evening!

Sarbanes Oxley will do for Murdoch

It has been an interesting time to be in London. I've had a series of meetings at Westminster and spoken to several contacts in the national media. The overwhelming feeling is that the hacking scandal has even further to go. There will be revelations even more nastier than those that have already come to light.

As a press officer of many years standing I can assure you that the way in which the British tabloid press operates can often be intimidatory. My colleagues in the European Parliament were often amazed at what they saw as low professional standards and ethics. Tony Benn once asked who needed a Gestapo when the establishment have got The Sun.

However when the history of this period is written I have a suspicion that the major determinant in the decision to close the NOTW and withdraw the BSkyB bid may well turn out to be down to  Sarbanes Oxley. Many British companies have objected to this legislation but the simple principle means that any company trading shares in the US stock market has to abide by certain US standards of corporate governance.

For all our pride in all  British institutions, the Americans established during the 1990s that corporate governance standards had to be based on more than a gentlement's agreement, a handshake and the old boys network. Hence Sarbanes Oxley.

Once the Murdoch family realised that events in Britain were likely to subject to legal intervention by the US authroirites on the basis of Sarbanes Oxley, all bets were off.

Perhaps we now need to learn from the US experience and consider a British version?

Utterly, utterly shocked - a church that needs your prayers

There is a Methodist Church  where newly arrived Black people were asked to sit in some designated rows at the back. When they saw fellow white worshipers in the street the Black people were ignored. Matters came to a head when a steward - a lovely man - asked a Black man to help take the collection.

The other white stewards called a meeting and insisted that no Black person be allowed to take any part in leadership. Several Black people then left and to this day worship elsewhere if they worship at all. There is a suggestion that some of the white Methodists  may have been active in racist politics.

When did this happen? In the late 1960s.

Where did this happen? In my own church.

Why hasn't anything been said before? Because we didn't know.

How did we find out? A student from Queens did some systematic pastoral visiting and gradually uncovered the story over the last three months.

What are we going to do about it? Paul our Minister started the process this morning when he acknowledged it had happened and apologised. We believe there are about 40 elderly people out there who over 43 years later are still hurting from this racist abuse. A programme of visits is being organised by a circuit lay minister.

We always knew there was a dark shadow over the church. None of us could put our finger on it. Some thought it was a flirtation with freemasonry, others ascribed "spirits" of disappointment and so on, but we didn't know.

We also knew there was some sensitivity about race - we are a rare mixed race congregation - but no one  ever said that this had happened. Now a lot of things fall into place. We are beginning to understand why certain divisions appeared but no one helped us address these issues by explicitly saying what went on. There was a spirit of negativity which seemed beyond anyone's comprehension

Having lost many of our Black congregation - mainly newly arrived migrants from the West Indies - many of the white congregation simply joined the "white flight", leaving the area and the church. Within five or six years ofter the incident over the collection the church was on the verge of closure. Then something wonderful happened which I have described elsewhere.

When David the student from Queens first told me his findings my jaw dropped. I feel as if I want to cry. I'm broken hearted that our church is  perceived by people in those terms.  

I remember all the effort we've put in. But for nearly half a century we had been carrying this burden of which we were completely unaware.  I need as a white person to understand why at no point in my 27 year's membership I hadn't stumbled on this horrible truth. I've since discussed it other people who were in the church in the 1980s and 1990s. They too are utterly shocked that the racism was so overt and obvious.

We know that it isn't acceptable now. But it wasn't acceptable then. This was out and out racism on Methodist premises amongst a Methodist congregation with Methodist people as both perpetrators and victims.

In recent weeks we have been undertaking essential repairs to our roof, treating dry rot and removing tons of rubbish that had accumulated over many years. We have developed an "empty room" policy. If a room is not used we want the rubbish out.

That is how we feel about this terrible blot on our reputation. It has made us more determined to physically clean the building. We probably will be issuing a statement acknowledging that this happened and offering an unreserved apology.

We are not going to burden anyone by asking for their forgiveness, nor are we asking anyone to forget. Far from it, we need to understand that Methodism and the Christianity of which it is part is not immune from the various evil spirits, including racism.

Every single white person involved in these incidents have long since left the church, the area or died. I just hope that this was just one incident and was not repeated in other Methodist churches.

However they have left behind a terrible legacy of which we have only just become aware. We now need to take this forward. We need to pray for healing. We need your prayers.

Thank you for reading this.

The night we were bombed

The shaft of light in the middle of this picture is a reminder that for a few hours in 1943 the future of our church was in the balance. A German raid had left a trail of damage through Rotten Park, two houses fifty yards down City Road had been blown up.

A bomb came through our roof, left a hole and then landed on the church floor where some brave soul defused it. The roof was repaired and the incident forgotten. That was until last Thursday when the roofers found a round hole in the pitch and horsehair felt that had been used to cover the rafters in 1903. Underneath in the woodwork was the hole that has been unnoticed -for many years. Next week the hole will be covered up and the incident again forgotten.

Thank you and goodbye

As a journalist I always mourn the loss of a title, even though I am delighted that Murdoch has got his  comeuppance.  Earlier today a Methodist friend pointed out that this blog often relied on "The Screws" for my Sunday afternoon posts. Any link to the News of the World got a rush of "out clicks". My reasoning - any excuse by the respectable  to read the latest gossip.

I was really disappointed when they put up the pay wall which meant that neither me, nor my readers could buy into the Screws copy. Anyway this is an exercise in Methodist blogging nostalgia. And the urban legend is true that if you google "Nazi sex Methodist" you will land here - thanks to a quote from the News of the World!

Not for the faith hearted 11 October 2009
Am I my nephew's keeper? 4 October 2009
7000 in care children "lost" 20 July 2009
The "porn again" churchgoer 15 February 2009
Why the UK has a chlamydia rate that is now out of control  8 February 2009
Is Osborne his brother's keeper? 14 December 2008
Another story about MEPs' expenses 11 May 2008
Leave Amy alone! 27 April 2008
Former Smethwick MP's son  exposed in tabloid Nazi sex sting 30 March 2008
Time to stop this circus 24 February 2008

Face to face with the NOTW - after the "clean up"

The Shropshire Star carries a piece this evening about the News of the World's behaviour in the aftermath of a  tragic double murder near Oswestry. This happened after the supposed "clean up". I'm sorry to see anyone lose their job but I won't be sorry to know that there is one less organisation prepared to go the lengths described here. The article concludes:


So when you hear David Wooding bleating plaintively on TV and radio about how the NotW had cleaned up its act and that current colleagues are carrying the can for a previous morally bankrupt regime, take not one jot of notice.

Reprehensible behaviour such as hacking into abducted teenager Milly Dowling’s mobile phone, the families of 7/7 terrorist murder victims, and, it is now alleged, also those of dead soldiers is driven and supported by organisational culture.

And it is an organisation’s leadership that sets and defines its culture. This is particularly true of newsrooms. The culture at the News of the World and further up the organisational structure at News International was one of “results at all costs, whatever it takes” – journalistically, financially, ethically and morally.

I would remind David Wooding that the ethically questionable subterfuge, and harassment my own family endured at the hands of NotW journalists – or their appointed agents – was a mere 15 months ago . . . under the watch of an editor he calls “decent”.

Read more: http://www.shropshirestar.com/news/2011/07/08/my-encounter-with-the-news-of-the-world/#ixzz1RcnZBL91

The missionary shape of the congregation

Last week I took about two tons of paperwork from the church up to the tip. As I was tossing booklets, gift envelopes,  and old prayer books into the re-cycling bin my eye alighted on a document entitled "The Missionary Shape of the Congregation".

What made me pick it up was the statement on the back cover:

"One of the encouraging features of the Methodist Church in Britain today is that a growing number of people are sharing in its worship week by week. In 1983 on a typical Sunday the number of people in Methodist churches was 432,559; by 1986 this figure had risen to 446,710. The proportion of churches reporting growing congregations rose during the same period from 43% to 47% while 30% of the churches were reporting increases of 10% or more."

During the late 70s and early 80s - within the living memory of many in the church today - there was a small but general rise in congregations across all denominations as the impact of the "charismatic revival" and the Billy Graham rallies of that period had an impact. Methodism was one of those denominations - the other was the newly formed URC - who fought hardest to reject both those influences. Nevertheless Methodist numbers rose, albeit slightly by 3.27% over a three year period.

Just how important is Methodist heritage?

This story from The Butts in Walsall interested me. A long abandoned Methodist church building is now the subject of a row with accusations that the local council should have done more to protect the empty building.

When will people understand that when a place of worship has completed its mission that is it? Finis. Time to pull  it down. Derelict and empty church buildings do nothing for a local community. Insisting that the exterior is retained and turning them into wine bars and apartments is a futile gesture in the direction of nostalgia.

The Methodist church acknowledges it's past - but looks with an appetite to our future.

Jews and Methodists repair rifts - Jewish Chronicle

This morning's Jewish Chronicle carries favourable coverage of Monday evening's fringe event.

My comment earlier this week is here

I note with interest that this event was not covered by any other Methodist bloggers, which I think a great shame given the significance of the occasion.

I also note how little coverage and enthusiasm there appears to have been for the anti-Israeli fringe  meeting held on Tuesday evening. But then it isn't a good idea to invite a speaker who praises suicide bombers as "martyrs"!

Praise God - the Screws is closing!

I was halfway through this post when the news was announced that the News of the World is to close. Praise God! Decency has won out. But don't be surprised if Murdoch opens a replacement paper soon. There's still a decent profit to be turned out of indecency. I will temper my joy with just a hope that those innocent News International employees will soon find gainful employment.

As a press officer for nearly half a century I have seen the British media at its best and at its worse. I've seen it in the gutter and, on occasions, have been there myself. I've also seen good journalism make very positive changes, despite the fact that they would often be accused of "muck racking" as they researched the story. Naturally I've taken a keen interest in the phone hacking story.

When the Spirit moves, so will the spirits

One of the unexpected turn of events this week came when I went to Methodist Conference on Monday with very low expectations. Much to my surprise I  came away knowing that the Holy Spirit was  there too. I then found myself  writing  on this blog and even engaging in  an early skirmish of  "spiritual warfare" to come within Methodism.

Just recently we began the biggest building project on our local church for a generation. One or two people warned me that as the building was knocked about the "spirits" would be disturbed. I thought they were talking charismatic nonsense. I was wrong. They were right. At our church council meeting on Tuesday  we were told of a nasty shadow that had hung over the church since the late 1960s. The spirits had indeed been disturbed.

When I wrote about my experience of Methodist Conference on Tuesday I marveled at what was clearly happening. When the history of Methodism is written the 2010 and 2011 conferences will be understood as pivotal points.

Mark Wakelin new president designate

According to the twitter feed Mark Wakelin and Michael King have been elected President and Vice President of Methodist Conference from 2012. [Update: official announcement]

About 18 months ago I attended a district event where Mark presented a challenging Bible study on Judges 6:11-16.  We looked at Gideon and saw a person and people very much like us. They were few and fearful, tired, depressed and even angry.

Mark pointed out that they were asking the very questions that we ask of ourselves  - are we at a dead end? Is there a God? If there is, does God believe in us? He pointed that others have faced similar feelings - Moses felt inadequate as he stood by the burning bush (Exodus 3) , Jeremiah complained that he was only a youth (Jeremiah 1:7).

God's response was to be with us. "I saw the Lord" (Isaiah 6:1). The argument was that with God nothing is impossible. He sees us as precious and He believes in us. During the discussion we challenged the assumption that we "are only Methodists", that God does provide the finance, the gifts and relationships.

I was going through a tough time then, as was my church, and Mark's study was a real encouragement. So I look forward to 2012 being a  second year of spiritual growth across the connexion.

Otto von Hapsburg - a good friend

One of the more unexpected turns in my life was to end up on first name terms with the Crown Prince of the Holy Roman Empire. Otto von Hapsburg, who died on Monday was, like me, a Member of the European Parliament. Just occasionally the system of sitting people in alphabetical order for meetings meant that we sat alongside each others as "H"s.

We were both diligent attenders at the Friday morning sessions in Strasburg where agriculture and rural affairs were the staple diet and occasionally even crossed swords in debate. He and I vied for the title of the best annual attendance, which normally ended in a tie at 100%. On the one year that I lost my title bid due to an operation just two MEPs  (apart from immediate Labour colleagues) rang me to find out how I was - Otto and Ian Paisley!

I will not try here to write an obituary, but  simply remember him as a colleague. What really impressed me about Otto was that despite his title and - I assumed - wealth, he was prepared to put himself forward to election. He and his son had some fairly definite and democratic views about royalty which I found impressive and refreshing.

He loved, and was never cross about the constant retelling, of the urban myth that he once went into the television room in Strasbourg, was told that they were watching the Austria-Hungary world cup match and asked who were they playing.

Wonderful Methodist fringe event at Southport synagogue

Congratulations and thanks are in order to the Jewish British Board of Deputies and our own Methodist external relations department who came up with the idea of a Jewish cultural evening and seder meal as a fringe event to our own Methodist Conference.

The local synagogue  in Southport pulled out all the stops and made us feel very welcome. I was, incidentally, very touched by the personal invitation  from members of the Jewish community despite not being a conference delegate.

There were about 120 delegates present making it one of the biggest fringe events ever held at a Methodist Conference in living memory. Rabbi Saunders - please G-d let us have Ministers like him -  introduced us to the fabric and layout of the synagogue. Much of what he said resonated with members of a denomination which started worshiping in fields and barns.

The Rabbi then led us into the community hall where there was an exhibition on the Jewish Way of Life (by the way this will be open again this evening for delegates who didn't make it last night). We then sat down for a splendid meal as the Rabbi explained each element of the meal, and described how they mixed worship and education with food, much like a good Alpha course!

An afternoon at Methodist Conference 2011

Since becoming a Methodist in 1983 I've often visited the annual Methodist Conference as it has made its way each July around various locations across England and Wales.

I usually turn up because I was attending a "fringe event", or on one occasion launching a book, and have never been a delegate to conference. Over those years I have built up a very negative picture of conference and the wider Methodist Connexion. This was confirmed last year when I watched the Conference on the live web link and felt disgusted with many of the speeches and outcomes.

So when I arrived yesterday I steeled myself for an afternoon of discomfort.

My first problem was finding somewhere to sit. On previous occasions, as a visitor, I had been very firmly sent to a seating area that prevented  physical contact with delegates. However yesterday I was able to walk into the main hall and a helpful steward went out of her way to find me a seat with the international delegates- more about that later.

The Faith and Order Committee works in mysterious ways its wonders to perform

Last year's Methodist Conference plumbed many depths in allowing the Connexion's anti-Semites to have their head. Centrepiece was the tatty  copy and paste "report" purporting to promote "Justice" in Palestine and Israel. (They couldn't even accurately quote the publicly available Balfour Declaration!).  It will be to the eternal shame of all present that the report with all its lies and distortions was passed without any serious opposition.

One of the issues raised in the "report"  last year will re-emerge today, following afternoon team, in the Faith and Order Report. It will be interesting to see whether anyone has the backbone to ask any serious questions.

The Faith and Order Committee were asked to investigate Zionism. The report was quite explicit saying  "From time to time, the Methodist Conference has undertaken critical study in order to determine whether certain beliefs are acceptably held by Methodist members. The two areas of Zionism and Christian Zionism require exploration." (Para 3.15)

A church consigned to the future - not to history

Carol our preacher this morning gave us a wonderfully simple and encouraging sermon. Just what we needed as we come to the end of a difficult and exhausting period of work on our building.

The truth is that the building came close to being condemned and it has only been the dedication of a few - and the encouragement of Paul our minister - that has enabled us to remain open.

Others would have consigned the church to history - now we look forward to a future. Pictures of progress here:

Vice President continues focus on Methodism's core mission

Delighted to hear Ruth Pickles the new Vice President of Methodist Conference follow Leo Osborn's earlier message in focusing on British Methodism's core values. She urged Methodists to embark on a journey of risk taking and  vulnerability.

Ruth Pickles reminded Methodists that at its best “the Methodist Church has been at the forefront of helping ordinary people to develop into extra-ordinary people. Miners, fishermen, shop assistants, housewives… learnt how to read, to speak in public, to get engaged in community affairs, trades unions, politics.... all through membership of the chapel and their class meetings. Knowing God’s love, they felt valued as individuals; their learning needs were recognised and addressed.”

Both speeches were free of the posturing of recent Presidential and Vice Presidential  messages and indicate that the next twelve months could be a welcome period of refreshment and renewal for British Methodism.

Nice dose of realism from new Methodist President

The opening remarks by the new President of the Methodist Conference seem to reek of realism. This is something we desperately need. Instead of reciting the defensive "there are signs of life" mantra that seems to come up every year, the Reverend Lionel Osborn was openly realistic. He suggested that the focus of our Methodist family should be on creating local churches looking out to welcome the community.

His address this afternoon was significant for  the absence of political* posturing about issues such as the environment  and the Middle East that has been the hallmark of recent Presidential mutterings and about which we can do little, except posture.

“Whilst I am concerned about what is happening at the front door of the church I’m equally concerned about what is happening at the back door: those who slip away due to our pastoral neglect or remain but feel disappointed or uncared for,” he said, adding that churches can build a bridge between themselves and the community in small as well as great ways.

I have been hearing good things about Mr Osborn and I look forward to a very productive relationship between him and the General Secretary and others in the top team.


*I'm not for one moment suggesting that Christians should not have political views, but if they want to do anything about them they should do as I do and pay a subscription to a political party and get involved!

One of the nicer frustrations of the Methodist plan

Non Methodists never quite grasp the significance of "the plan". Produced as a grid it predates the invention of the excell spreadsheet by about 200 years and dominates the lives of the circuit for the three or four months it is in operation.

I looked at the lectionary this morning (I send it by SMS to the congregation at City Road each Saturday morning) and then doubled checked to see if I had made a mistake and WAS planned for tomorrow. For some reason I have never been planned to preach when Mathew 11 is in the lectionary. Perhaps God thinks it better that I hear rather than speak on those Sundays.

Twitters at Methodist Conference

If you want to keep up with the Twitter speak at Methodist Conference - or want to make an external comment on the proceedings -  the hashtag is #methconf. Apparently there have been issues that contributions using that hashtag are not appearing (including one of mine) but efforts are being made to fix it.

Down the mine

On the way back this afternoon we called in at the National Coal Mining Museum for England (I think there is also one in Wales).

It really is a good day out. I've been down a working mine a couple of times before as was expected of politicians running for office in a mining area. However it was interesting to be with someone who had the time to explain all the history. Admission is free, but they are happy to accept a donation.

One pleasing aspect was the positive representation of the role of Methodism in the mining communities in the pit head museum.