Gabby Hinsliff writing recently in the Guardian commented that about where things are around us: “the country still contains many more people quietly working to put things back together than it does nihilists trying to smash them apart.”
I sat and received worship on my Sunday off yesterday at Ripon Cathedral. The Dean always looks very pleased when he sees me sitting in the congregation! He found me in the peace and beamed widely! He preached a belter yesterday about the Israelites complaining in the desert but more seriously after condemning all the violence of the last few days he asked the question what do these people hurling bricks and setting shops and more seriously hotels asylum seekers in them want? After the service I was joined at coffee by a lady up here on holiday in her caravan. She told me “these people have a point. We have people on benefits in our village.” How have we got to this? A situation where anyone not like us is a threat to us. Imagine being one of those asylum seekers in that hotel in Rotherham with people outside shouting “Yorkshire” at you. Very frightening.
I’ve been wanting to get to Southport for many weeks to complete the marking of the 25th anniversary of my ordination in the town. Last night we managed to get there. It was good to find Leyland Road Methodist Church where my ordination service was and Southport Theatre on the promenade (back then the Floral Hall) where I was received into full connexion. Then to try and see the sea - which was out there somewhere - and yes - that is Blackpool Tower lit up blurred in the distance!
More powerful than a pilgrimage to mark my anniversary and remember was a walk very late last night to the flowers and toys and teddies laid in memory of the three little girls who were killed at a dance class last Monday. What struck me was there were a lot of people there and everyone stood or walked round the flowers and other things there in silence. It was very powerful to be there even just ten minutes.
Marie-Anne, the Methodist Superintendent in Southport was interviewed the other day by the BBC. She said there was a "strong community feeling that we're bigger than all of this and we will build a better world for our young people as they grow up". She said she had seen "so many acts of kindness" take place since the attack and churches across the town were "committing ourselves to work for peace and reconciliation in our communities". "Southport has really pulled together," she said. "Every act of kindness is saying we are against this hate, these acts of violence."
What has been heartening in every community that has been attacked by the violence of a minority has the next morning been flooded with people coming together to clean up and in days following has seen different faiths coming together to celebrate community and solidarity. It’s good to hear strong words from government but we also need all of us to condemn bigotry and narrowness and misinformation and speaking of people without knowing what it means to walk in their shoes. I’m sitting writing this in the market square. Two people VERY worse for wear are discussing the state of the world. He says “wtf is the world coming to? If you want to embrace it you can.” She says they are about to fall out and calls him a horrible person. I may move :) He’s going on about which people in the world he detests. How have we suddenly gone back to the dark ages?
I read this on a Church of Scotland website earlier:
“At the moment we are a nation which is not at peace with itself and yes we need to listen and take note of those things which trouble people and yes that does include immigration and feelings of being excluded. And equally on all sides we will get nowhere if we demonise people whoever they are. I think there is a huge task of re-building community and healing to happen in many places across the land. At the heart of this task must be a hunger and thirst for righteousness and justice.
Let’s be clear this is not an easy task and there will be no quick fix, but even in the darkness of the last few days there has been hope as people stand together and say enough, this is not the country we want to be.
For us who come to Jesus, for us who believe in Jesus, my prayer is that sustained by the Bread of Life we will be those who seek to bring light and love into our daily engagements and actions, and that when we can speak up, we speak in a way to build bridges and not walls – always hope rather than hate. We commit ourselves to work with everyone who hungers and thirsts for righteousness, for love and peace – we join our voices with everyone who says enough, enough of hate and division. This is not who we are, this is not who we want to be.”
I couldn’t put it better myself. We need a commitment to community and we need to ask for forgiveness. It was rather poignant the service in the service in the cathedral yesterday was sung by the choir of Holy Trinity in Southport. The motet they sang asked God for a new beginning: O sweet, O merciful. O Jesus, Son of Mary, have mercy on me. Amen.
The way forward it seems to me begins with mercy from above then a commitment this last week isn’t who we are.
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