What is Wrong with the Cass Report - and What is Right

 Dr Hillary Cass published her report into the way gender dysphoria services in the Uk have been mpoorly managed.  Much of what I read makes sense, but as appears typical to me, the passivity of NHS culture continues.

What do I mean?  The established culture I observe in mental health services is that there is little to no limit put on requests for services.  It is if the resource is, (or should be) limitless.  People make requests, and with very little screening, their requestings result in their names being placed on waiting lists.  The ides is that NHS services are good for you, so being on a waiting list is good.  Also there is the honourable idea that as citizens, all have a right to these services.  The waiting list is an inevitable and regrettable consequence.  There is also the unspoken belief that from a service perspective not having a long waiting list means that your service is vulnerable and possibly dispensable; next in line for cuts. 

Waiting lists occur when expenditure exceeds income (to use a financial metaphor).  Over the months, the debt grows steadily.  Eventually the overdraft limit is reached.  At this point the waiting list is at risk of dematerialising into a 'non-service'.  Even today I spoke to a mother who told me that her son was on a two year waiting list to be assessed for autism.  The letter she received states this as a matter of fact.  I have seen this methodology also used in the housing department when families are told that they are on a waiting list for a move to a council house in Cornwall.  What they have not been told is that this waiting list may be longer than the life they have left in them.  They are left with the belief that one day (not sure when) they will be moving away from this 'god forsaken place' to some wonderful existence elsewhere.  Consequently they never really put down roots or settle where they are.

In contrast I have worked for Social Services, where the answer is generally "NO" (oh, and by the way, what was the question?) This is an opposite philosophy when interventions are seen to have negative side effects, as well as positive ones.  Involvement is based on 'minimum necessary intervention', and very high demands on scarce resource is managed through this tough gatekeeping.  This system is also dishonest but in other ways.  Instead of being open about the scarcity of resources, the message is that the system is fine, it's just that you are not eligible. 

This is my view of the context of the Cass Report.

What was not said was that since the report 'Future in Mind' was published in 2015, there has been an emphasis on 'self referral' in Mental Health services.  This fits with the idea of freeing up barriers to accessing services, and emphasising people's rights to request NHS services.  Self referral was featured on the Tavistock Clinic Gender Identity Service (GIDS) website.  My understanding is that clinics were mainly based in London, but that there was another clinic in Leeds.  Future in mind also did away with the 'tiered' prioritisation model.  I guessed this was after hearing from articulate middle class parents distressed that they situations did not make them eligible to see a psychiatrist of psychologist.  The new idea was that all service could do a 'bit of this, and a bit of that.  It blurred the boundaries, and the flood gates were opened. 

The adult Gender Identity Service (GIS) based at the Tavistock has on its website an candid estimate of waiting time.  It says it has 15,086 people waiting, and that they see about 34 new people per month, with people waiting from Dec 2018 being next in the queue. They report receiving 406 referrals last month.  

This is the 'passivity' I am speaking of.  This message is 'it's not our fault, what can we do?  Give us more money and we can see more people.'

The Cass report rightly says that children referred to GIDS (the children's service) should have been directed to local mental health, and social services first, for more general care and assessments needed.  Often their gender dysphoria was a bit-part player in their overall distress, and local services saw the opportunity to 'off-load' work where they could, and especially if it was encouraged by the service itself.  Just like valium for depression, puberty blockers became the solution.  

Back at the ranch, local CAMHS services were playing the same game with long, unwieldy waiting list, and a their own culture of passivity, and disregard to the effects of long waiting times ("not my problem gov.")

In 1995, the New Labour government, in response to focus groups with patients and their representative, actually made significant changes to the status quo within the NHS.  At first they thought is was just money, but soon discovered that the money changed very little.  In child mental health, the Health Advisory Service published a report called  'Together We Stand' which addressed how the needs of the whole community could be mean wholistically.  They created the new mental health role called the  Primary Mental Health Team, which was designed to address the problem of waiting lists and inequality of access to services.  From the moment the Team came into existence it became subject to attacked from powerful professional groups within CAMHS itself.  The Primary Mental Health Team was designed to strengthen the interphase between universal services and the specialist CAMHS service.  This aim was  to ensure that only situations that merited specialist (and expensive) support was delt with by CAMHS.  Outsiders might assume that this would be what CAMHS might value, but no, CAMHS saw the limits placed by these boundaries as a threat to the status of the service in the wider community.  When the Primary Mental Health Team was allowed to work, with strong political backing, and with the strength provided by accountability to a multi-agency context, waiting time dropped to a maximum of 3 months (from 18 months to 2 years).  With the eyes of partner agencies on the work of the team, unacceptable practices became a taboo.  Indeed, the Primary Mental Health Team was able to do the same for other services, keeping us all focused on the only thing we shared- the children.  I am reminded that it is said that countries spend more money and time spying on their friends, rather than their enemies.  We kept each other in check.  As we worked together we could not wait say, 3 months for our partner agency to be getting its act together.  Generally all work was done within one month.

How will things change?  For me the only way is for citizens to take control again.  They must move away from 'poor NHS, covid heros, there is nothing you can do since covid came.'  The solutions are various, but one of them is to put the 'service' back into NHS, and see the patient's calling more of the shots.  And this is not through 'self-referral'.

Heaven is a Place on Earth

Flammarion Engraving

What is Heaven? 

Before I was conceived, I existed only as a cell in my mother's ovary, and then as an egg.  These were formed when my mother was herself a fetus in her own mother's womb. She began as a ball of dividing cells and one cell was assigned to be a possible 'me'.  A physical part of me was also being 'born' at the same time that she was. 

When did I come into existence?  

When I die do I return to this pre-birth state?  A state of nothingness; no memory?  Is this the circle of life: returning to whence I came? And does it matter? 

There are a number of challenges to this for me.  The first is to note that I can actually contemplate, and wonder about existence.  Am I entirely dependent on my physical being?  Are people being kept alive in a vegetative state for years 'living'?  When the flame of life is extinguished, is that the end? Complete finality?  

I note that during my lifetime I have developed a relationship with a 'Creator'.  I share this with many others.  Much the same as it is with any relationship this is based on undenyable experience. It will not 'go away'. The relationship speaks to me that there is more.  I am more than just a physical entity.

It is also undeniable that from the beginning of human existence, there has always been a concept that life on earth is not 'it'.  The Ancient Egyptians made this clear to us.  Even today, the jury is still out on the existence of more.., also here in the West.   

In our contemporary western world, the prevailing view appears to be that life on this earth is final.  This is it, so it is worth not dying just yet, (unless you are really not having a good time where assisted suicide seems to be an option).  For the rich West, we channel vast resources into simply staying alive.  

There is also a growing belief that the world will not survive much longer in its present state. Humanity will die out, or return to some primitive form, with the main bulk of the population being wiped out through war or disaster.

Reading the Wikipedia entry on Heaven helps present a diverse history of different understandings of  Heaven across the world, and across time.  

The english word 'Heaven', like the word for 'God', comes from norse mythology.  What are the important distinctions and concepts?  Words from different cultures do not translate well, and require an understanding of the philosophical milieu from which they emanate.

This is my attempt at explaining Heaven.

1) Heaven is the place where the Creator is.  (Is there anywhere where the Creator isn't? What about Hell?)

2) Heaven is a place where people go when they die.  (This throws up other questions.  All people? What about animals?  Vegetables and Trees? Again, what about Hell?)

My take from reading around this subject is that there are three main concepts of heaven.

The first and oldest is that heaven is a spiritual soup where the 'life force' is held and redistributed into all living things.  A final state of harmony exists after a long journey, but this will be similar to nothingness. (A pleasant nothingness however.) In this model, God is the creator.  God is 'good', but health/wellbeing and disfunction/harm and pain are striving to find balance, or harmony.  God is good, but bad is included as a subsection of good.  

The second is that this life is Part I of our experience of life.  Those who survive and to go on to Part II can be understood as on a continuum from 'all people' (universalism) to a select group, either self-selected (God doesn't send anyone to Hell, but sometimes we choose to go ourselves), to the 'chosen', who fit a defined prescription (with different combinations in between).  This can depend on my actions and decisions taken in this life, including 'repentactance', and living for, or submitting my will to, 'the Creator'.  This model includes the possibility of a 'bad' Part II - or 'Hell' (being separated from the Creator). 

The Third is one which has always had some traction across time (including with the famous 'Sadducees', or Jewish philosophers who did not believe in Heaven).  This is that we live one life.  As the flame is extinguished, so are we, and that is it.  Here Heaven can only be what we create here on earth, and the alternative, a living Hell. 

The three things that stand against a nihilist future heaven are 'Faith, Hope and Trust'.  I have faith that my relationship with the Creator, and 'our' relationship with the Creator, is real and enduring.  I am created for a purpose, and this is the reason for existence.  I have hope that life is worth it, even through pain and injustice, because the presence of a 'Good' Creator which makes all things bearable.  I trust that the message put in our hearts in true, and that through whatever happens, we are not alone.

Like life itself, this is a flame that burns despite everything else going on roundabout.

 

On Etiquette

James Gillray 1805.  Overbearing male suiters,
shocked when a wealthy widow
gets up to ring the bell! (Wikipedia)

These are my thoughts stimulated by listening to the BBC World Service programme called 'The Forum'.

Etiquette- largely arbitrary and slowly evolving rules 'of engagement between people'.  Or how to 'get along'.  This is particularly important for people who live crammed together in cities.  We talk about people being 'Urbaine'; those who know how to live 'cheek by jowl' with their neighbour.

The word comes from the french for 'labels', 'signs' or 'notices'.  It is most likely that modern european etiquette was defined first the Spanish court, adopting the french word, as if it was aping the wonders of the French court. 

In every age there is evidence that the popular view is that things 'ain't what they used to be', in other words there is always perceived to be a drop downwards in standards, which in actual fact cannot be true, because otherwise we would by now be in the basement. 

A lot of the way we do things will be subconscious, and absorbed from the adult world as we grow up.  Some of it will make sense, some not.  Etiquette has also been laiden with the stuff of power and inequality.  Across the world there is etiquette for women, and for men, for children and for adults, for the workers, and for the rich.  Some might be perceived as harmless, such as bowing or curtsying to the King. (when will I ever need to do this?) Others reinforce the status quo.  "This is your position and you stay in it."

Much etiquette is of course trivial.  In a french restaurant you are supposed not to eat the bread brought before the meal.  You need to be patient.  The bread is not for filling up, and will not be replaced.  No one tells you this because it's so trivial, but if you want to see a waiter's disapproval, stuff your face as soon as the bread arrives.

Etiquette as we grow old is interesting.  As a child you know that one day you will be in that position of power where you can eat chocolate bars for breakfast. When the time arrives, sadly so does the inclination.  However as we grow much older, our status may reduce, and etiquette moves more into patronising platitudes, and concern and worry.

Etiquette is most visible in other cultures, were the contrast offered  to the 'outsider' provided acuity to the definition.  However, an interpreter is likely to be needed, because initial assumptions are often wrong.   Apparently in China there are few platitudinous greetings, such as Hello, or Good Morning.  To the European, an encounter with their Chinese colleague may feel abrupt.  But the chinese may instead ask, how is your family? This is the greeting, just as we ask 'How are you?' and do not expect a long explanation.  Some cultures distain please and thank you, as unnecessary insecurities. 

American are often foxed by the 'how are you?' question, until they realise we don't really mean it.

Is etiquette only a challenge in cross-cultural situations?  I remember seeing a car crash outside my student house in Bristol.  An  African-Caribbean man's car was smashed into by a white women at a junction.  They both got out.  The Caribbean man remonstrated 'what has you done?' The white woman look terrified.  The Caribbean man burst out laughing.  There was no malice or threat in his approach. It was a cross cultural encounter.  

So are cross-cultural encounters to be avoided?  At our peril.  This is where the 'cutting edge' of culture exists; where culture is challenged, reflected on and refined.  Without it we risk continuing to adopt illogical and counterproductive ways of living.  

I recall meeting a Christian social worker from a Caribbean heritage and we discussed all the aspects of western christianity that are 'cultural' and perhaps not core to the faith.  It was very refreshing. We were able to focus on what is essential, and what is etiquette, tradition and ritual.

We joke in our house when we have meals with people from different cultures that there is only one rule, and that is that there are no rules (relating to table manners).  I guess my meaning is similar to Augustines (misquoted) saying 'Love God and do as you please.'  I am assuming that our friends actually care about us.  Indeed on the programme we heard about teinei (丁寧).  This roughly translates to 'Politeness'.  You could call it 'after you' etiquette, where you think about the needs of others constantly.  All cultures require this, and, in the UK and US this is can be seen as similar to the concept of 'random acts of kindness', where strangers notice the needs of others, and take proactive steps to help their situations to be 'blessed'.  We could call this 'micro-philanthropy'.

Happy Easter

Credit: feministing website

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.  Zechariah 9:9

Happy Easter to my reader...s

Lent - Day Fourty

Potato Eaters by Vincent Van Gogh,
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

 They will be called the Holy People, the Redeemed of the Lord; and you will be called Sought After, the City No Longer Deserted. Isaiah 62 verse 12

Listen to 'In Our time' to hear about Van Gogh's life.  I was interested to hear that when he painted 'The Potato Eaters', dark pictures were in fashion.  In was the French Impressionists who brough in bright colours, and Van Gogh famously took up their mantle.  This verse speaks of redemption.  Apparently Van Gogh went as a missionary to work with the Flemish miners in Belgium.  They were not much interested, as their lives were tough, and they really focused on just getting by.  The Potato famine that hit Ireland also hit Belgium with 40,000-50,000 deaths.  Van Gogh was born in 1859, and was in his twenties when working with these people.  He became disillusioned and large lost any semblance of the zeal he once held.  In my mind, this verse is for Van Gogh, and these people.  Anyone who feels down cast and hopeless.  There is hope, and the gospel is what it is all about.

Quote from Watchman Nee - 

"Our old history ends with the Cross; our new history begins with the resurrection."

Question: Have I ever felt my expectations dampened?  What do I do about it?

Prayer:  Your goodness lifts me up and fills me with hope for the future.

Lent - Day Thirty Nine - Good Friday

Entry of the Bride by Martin Van Meytens.
Schonbrunn, Vienna

"The Lord has made proclamation to the ends of the earth: 

Say to Daughter Zion, See, your Saviour comes! See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him." Isaiah 62 verse 11

12 To me, 'Good' and 'God' are closely aligned.  In Western  history the two have often conflated. In Middlemarch Eliot compares the 'Good' priest and the 'God' priest, and the 'Good' certainly wins out.

(In the East God is 'good' and 'bad with less polarised definitions.)

Van Meytens's picture illustrates how things should have been for Jesus.  There is an echo with the events of Palm Sunday.  But today (Good Friday) things are pretty much the opposite.  We believe that Good emanates from God, but the source of goodness is our focus, and exists even in the heart of 'darkness'.  

A quote from Watchman Nee- 

“Good is not always God's will, but God's will is always good.”

Question: Where do I see good happening around me?

Prayer:  May your kingdom come, and your will be done.

Lent - Day Thirty Eight

La Grande Parade by Fernand Leger.
Musee National, Biot, France

"Pass through, pass through the gates! Prepare the way for the people.  Build up, build up the highway! Remove the stones. Raise a banner for the nations." Isaiah 62 verse 10

If we cannot 'persuade' people into the kingdom of God, we can make the way straightforward.  How do we do this?  Firstly we shine with holiness, our birthright from our baptism. The presence of God in us is what sets us on fire.  This is the light, warmth and attraction.  How do we make the way straightforward?  We love and accept all people as they are, even the 'horrors' such as the man who threw corrosive substances over children.  We raise a banner declaring God's greatness and Jesus' saving power.  Every time we meet we are prepared for the new faces.  We expect people to be attracted to Jesus, just as they were in bible times.

Quote from Watchman Nee - 

“The Christian life from start to finish is based upon this principle of utter dependence upon the Lord Jesus.”

Question: Am I prepared to love the people the people I meet today, just as Jesus does?

Prayer: Be the joy in my heart and may all who meet me know where I stand.

Lent - Day Thirty Seven

Mount Watchman, Zion National Park USA
Credit: jessleephoto.com

"I have posted watchmen on your walls, Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest, and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth." Isaiah 62 verses 6-7

This is the verse that has created an international movement of people interceding through day and night for the wellbeing of the world.  

The history of the world is like a football match where my side walks confidently onto the pitch only to go down a goal in the first minute.  At half time things are looking pretty bad.  But our coach gives us a rallying call, and then, as 'player-manager', comes onto the pitch themselves.  The team is galvanised, and although badly fowled, with our captains help we come back from the dead. Despair is transformed into victory.  

Quote from Watchman Nee -

“The Spirit is both a builder and a dweller. He cannot dwell where he has not built; He builds to dwell and dwells in only what he has built.”

Question: Am I on the wall?

Prayer: I will praise your name from the rooftops.

Lent - Day Thirty Six

Pinterest

"No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate. But you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the Lord will take delight in you, and your land will be married. As a young man marries a young woman, so will your Builder marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you." Isaiah 62 verses 4-5

Hephzibah - my delight is in her, wife of King Hezekiah.

Beulah - The Lord's country.

What do people say of the church in England?  deserted, desolate?  

Probably other things.  Irrelevant, out dated, misdirected.

This prophecy says this will change.  How?  Just as a young couple only have eyes for each other.  We will not care what others think.  It will become almost irrelevant.  The Creator is uniting with those who are besotted.  The Creator rejoices, and nothing else matters.

Question:  Do I retain my first love?

Prayer: In baptism I have made a covenant to only love and adore you.

Lent - Thirty Five

Slade Crown by Dane Shue Art
Credit: daneshueart.com

"The nations will see your vindication, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will bestow.  You will be a crown of splendour in the Lord’s hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God." Isaiah 62 verses 2-3

These are verses for the downtrodden, the oppressed and the forgotten.  Who are these people today?  They could be travelers in the UK.  Roma on the continent.  The non-violent Palestinians in Gaza, Kurds without the prospect of a homeland.  There are a multitude of people who have been oppressed from the beginning to time, surviving on the edge.  

Here it is the people of Israel who will be redeemed.  They will be the crowning beauty of there Creator.  And we are invited to be part of this.  I was given a name before I was truly conscious.  In our society the parent given the name.  Here the Creator will bless us with a name which we will treasure.

Question: What is my new name?

Prayer: I hold onto the hope you have put within me.  May I be a worthy diadem.

Palm Sunday

 

Beverly Hills Palm Trees
From Jan Birch Photography (Etsy)

Explore with the Lord

Lent - Day Thirty Four

Credit : Smithsonian Magazine

 For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her vindication shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch. Isaiah 62 verse 1

Sensitive soul that I am, i do not like to push my views and beliefs onto others.  I am of the opinion that it is as sensible to persuade someone into the kingdom of heaven, as it is to hold a gun to their head.  

But I also believe that it is never right to keep silent.  Stick up for what right. To stay silent is to be complicit.  Racism and injustice thrive in a climate of fear and timidity.  I speak up for those I love and care about.  I wish to be like a flaming torch, burning through the night.

Question: Where do these beams of light penetrate?  

Prayer:  As I look to you, point to where the light of your presence should fall.

Lent - Day Thirty Three

RHS Bridgewater, Salford

"For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations." Isaiah 61 verse 11

How does your garden grow?  We need the right things to all be in place, and 'hey-presto' the miracle of life occurs.  What do we do?  We weed, we tend the soil, we water, we plant the seed, we protect the small shoots from being eaten or trodden on.  The sun brings warmth and light, and the seed grows into a mighty bush, so strong that bird shelter in it over night and eat its fruit.

Righteousness and Praise are like the new shoots of hope and life.  We need these in our lives every day.  Without them life is not worth living. 

Question: Do I know that my devotion to the Lord is part of this plan to save the world?

Prayer:  Let us praise God every time we see the righteous.

Lent - Day Thirty Two

Credit: croftmill.co.uk

"I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels." Isaiah 61 verse 10

All across the globe we find that people use their attire to signify status, wealth and authority.  The bridegroom and the bride  take pride in what they wear.  It shows the significance of what they are doing.  In the same way the poor often cannot afford fashionable labels.  Their clothes are faded and patched up.  

Our Creator gives us clothes, just as in the creation story, Adam and Eve were helped by God to cover their shame.  The bridegroom is given status (but remember, only as a senior servant), and the bride is given beauty and wealth. 

Question: What do I think about these clothes I have been given?

Prayer:  I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God.

Lent - Day Thirty One

Section from Descendants III,
Paheli|Sapinda, Paragongallary.co.uk

"Their descendants will be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the Lord has blessed.” Isaiah 61 verse 20

We all want to be on the winning team.  "God is on our side."  Let us avoid this.  It's very deceptive, and fits with an arrogant assumption that although I know that what I believe is not perfect, it probably more balanced, and better than anyone else's position.  

So why do I follow Jesus?  I know that by staying close to the Creator of all things, visible and invisible, I am certainly blessed.  This relationship is extraordinary, and once you have discovered the way back to your Creator, you can really never give it up.

Question: Am I aware of what it would be like not to receive this blessing?

Prayer: Thank you for the blessings you give me everyday.

Lent - Thirtieth Day

The Israelites and the Ark of the Covenant
credit: finartamerica.com

“For I, the Lord, love justice; I hate robbery and wrongdoing. In my faithfulness I will reward my people and make an everlasting covenant with them."  Isaiah 61 verse 8

It is a wonderful thing when justice is served.  But it is also a complete waste.  If people loved God, they could do as they pleased, and justice would be preserved. (to paraphrase St Augustine rather crudely). 

The same is true in any good (or Godly) relationship.  No need for justice, because we live by grace. This is the relationship we have with our Creator.  The faithfulness we experience gives us complete security.  We do not have a glimmer of doubt, even when evidence may come to contradict.  Our saviour will never let us down.  

Question: Do I know deep within me that I am loved by my Creator forever?

Prayer: Thank you for the secure, pure, perfect love that is mine forever.

Lent - Twenty Ninth Day

The Inheritance Painting
by Andrea Deschambeault, Saatchi Art

"Instead of your shame you will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace you will rejoice in your inheritance.  And so you will inherit a double portion in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours." Isaiah 61 verse 7

Shame is a terrible emotion.  It is closely associated with failure, impotence and disgrace. 

I have this mental image of what evil does.  It takes the beautiful work of the Creator and pushes it face first in the quagmire. It sits back and laughs.  How many wasted hours do we spend in shame.  Unhappy with our lot; our looks, our abilities, our powers.  What a waste.

The prophet says our shame will be replaced with a double portion of blessing, which will pour out of its bag and be scattered everywhere.  Inheritance is the most powerful of privileges, and ours is one which will bring a smile everytime we remember it.  It will bring us joy, and that is fine, because it is a gift.

Question: Do I count my blessings everyday?

Prayer: May I know how privileged I am and offer you constant praise.

Fifth Sunday in Lent

 

Travelers climbing a mountain path
by Hokusai

Be Peaceful with the Lord

Lent - Twenty Eighth Day

High Priest, by Eva Reynolds
Credit: evareynaldsfinearts.com 

"And you will be called priests of the Lord, you will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast." Isaiah 61 verse 6

A Priest, as in 'an elder':  experienced, a leader, stable, authoritative.   

Minister to our Creator: someone who ministers or serves, a senior servant.  

With a mature relationship with our Creator comes serious responsibility.  This relationship is not passive. The closer your get to the King, the more you are delegated to do the work of royalty.  It's the same in any royal family- jobs are delegated out, and you go with the authority given to you. 

With success comes wealth, and in God's kingdom, the wealth is its people.

Question: Am I aware of my role as priest and minster?

Prayer: We are your army of leaders and at the same time, servants.

     

Lent - Twenty Seventh Day

The Red Vineyard by Vincent Van Gough,
Pushkin Museum of fine arts, Russia.

"Strangers will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards." Isaiah 61 verse 5

Again, what is our view of 'Strangers' and 'foreigners'?  The fact that people still want to come and live in the UK is a wonderful thing.  It speaks of our privilege.  All people are involved in the work of the Creator.  All people are called, there is no discrimination.  No 'australian-style points based system'

Question:  Do I see that the strangers and foreigners may actually be the ones sent to 'save us'?

Prayer: May we as a community have a global perspective and share our wealth.

Lent - Twenty Sixth Day

Credit: Rebecca Lilith Bathory on BBC Culture website

"They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations." Isaiah 61 verse 4

Renewal is the opposite of degeneration.  We see our world appearing exhausted.   Plastic contamination, smashed up mountains, even now exploitation on the moon!

Also what about our tired societies?  Stressed schools, unhealthy health services and rumours of wars.  In Russia young men fear conscription into the army, and now the West is told we need to militarise also.  War seems inevitable, like litter. 

But here are words of hope.  The one who is ultimately in control of everything says all the destruction we see about us can be restored.  All is not lost.  

Question:  Do I believe that the Creator is in control?  Where is the evidence?

Prayer: We thank you for the hope you have put within us.

Lent - Twenty Fifth Day

"The Rocks", by Vincent Van Gough,
Museum of Fine Art, Houston

"...and provide for those who grieve in Zion—  to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendour."  Isaiah 60 verse 3

These words are a proclamation of hope.  Our church has a centre in a Leicester housing estate called "The Oaks".  Most people will not realise that this is a reference to an ancient Jewish text (recorded above).  In their estate there is something growing that is intended to display the glory of the Creator to all.

Question:  Do you see a forest of oaks about you? 

Prayer:   These are the things you are worthy of; a crown, joy and praise, and you choose to share them with us.