I am on quarter days leave in Manchester. Manchester for some reason feels like home to me. I trained here, served my first appointment here and a lot of my closest friends are in reach of here, so I am always glad to come back. I feel connected to the place.
Today I have been reflecting on togetherness and the power of being together. It is easy to feel outside. I am staying at a hotel which belongs to Lancashire County Cricket Club. I was surrounded at breakfast by people talking about cricket. I know nothing about cricket. I was outside, excluded. Eating toast in what felt like a private club.
My first stop today was the excellent People's History Museum. A wonderful exhibition on General Elections trying to get people to see we have a collective responsibility to vote and make a difference and to challenge apathy. There are too many people who say "shan't bother voting, it won't make any difference." I looked at images of Peterloo and the suffragette movement and was deeply moved. The democratic process needs us to remember we together can make a change and it is a privilege when people have fought for it and some places still haven't got it.
I then sat on the grass by Cheethams school. I watched people enjoying being together. The sun brought people out and it was lovely to see.
At lunchtime I went for communion in the cathedral which was lovely. There were only four of us there plus the priest and verger but we shared the peace as strangers but somehow, for a few seconds, it brought us together powerfully.
This afternoon I called en route to Ashton, on the Etihad Stadium complex, home of my team City. It is good to have a common cause to cheer (or lament over!) City supporters know pain. We don't want Mr Van Gaal and his chums to finish above us but it is looking likely. Sticking to a cause, supporting in adversity can bring you closer together.
My friend and I had a long discussion about Pellegrini and Yaya Toure in the pub tonight!
Returning to Ashton this afternoon was interesting. A Circuit that taught me lots about togetherness and working out community together. The town looked very rundown and in need of some tlc. I hope there are people working together how to improve things. It was good for me to meet with a close friend of some 18 years over dinner. We meet when I come up and it is Like we have never been apart. Relationships are a privilege and a reminder we are meant to be in community. This week I hsve been single for two years and I thank God for my friends - more of who I will connect with over the next two days.
What about togetherness spiritually? Jesus bond people together as a team and encouraged them to be together with a common purpose. The disciples post crucifixion huddled together supporting each other. Eventually together they formed a church using their gifts in appropriate ways. The exhibition at the museum this morning challenged me that together we can make a difference. We are made to be together. I recall a wonderful book by the American commentator Jim Wallis, in which he says to people moaning on their own about stuff to get on with it together - "maybe we are the ones we have been waiting for." We can make a difference together - a friendship; a cause; a vote; a church. I reflect as I write this Question Time is on the hotel bar television - an example of shouting the other down. Sometimes togetherness is so hard...
Despite that I thank God tonight for being part of friendships and community. Together we can make a difference if we can be bothered! After three hours with my friend I feel better. The same can be true as we face life.
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