Asking the Right Question

A brilliant service last Sunday afternoon, in the local school hall. It was a 'civic celebration', suggested by our new Lord Mayor, who is one of our local councillors. The idea was both to celebrate the many good things about our local community, with the people that make them possible; and to 'launch' the Lord Mayor's year of office. Although, by her own admission, she doesn't 'do God' she felt strongly she would like to receive the blessing of her own community. It was a bit of a risk really: would anyone come? We reckoned at best 100, but it was getting on for double that! All kinds of people turned up: headteachers, representatives of various community groups, church members and - crucially - leaders of  local Muslims and Jews. The President of the Liverpool Muslim Society and a local Rabbi both took part, and there was a secular reading too, celebrating the power of literature. And the New Testament.

A great atmosphere. We gave thanks for our common life; we listened to children sing; we heard the Lord Mayor's words of appreciation; we committed ourselves to the common good, to all that builds community. There was much talk of 'one humanity'. The highlight for me came at the end, when the afore-mentioned Muslim and Rabbi, who had never met, warmly embraced and said 'this is how it should be - we are one'. Incidentally, before the event, a member of the Hebrew congregation and a Muslim went shopping together to provide food and drink for everyone. On the way, each explained to the other respectively about kosher and halal! Joy!

The challenge for me was putting together a 'service' which was at once non-religious (for agnostics, atheists, secularists) and faith-full for those of different religious creeds. I think we got it about right: we even had a prayer tree, for people to offer prayers, hopes, aspirations. Feed-back from the whole event was good.

A few weeks ago, I was talking to a retired bishop. He told me he was often asked, when a parish priest, what was his vision for his church and parish. With hindsight, he said, it was the wrong question. Should be 'What is your vision of God?'  I have had cause many times in the past few days to recall those words, as I have struggled to consider ways forward for our churches here. Lose sight of the God who has called you and you so easily turn inwards.

I told the story in church last Sunday of Antoinette Tuff. Last August, in America, a gunman broke into the school where she worked as a book-keeper, and threatened to kill her, the staff and children. As a Christian, she had recently been learning about being 'anchored in God' and she recalled this teaching as she prayed fervently for God to turn this situation around. She managed to talk the gunman into surrendering himself before any harm was done, sharing something of her own struggles in life and how God had shown mercy to her. As is the way of things these days, she has now become an 'author and inspirational speaker', given a new identity on the strength of one amazing incident! She has written of how 'asking the right question' is so important. Instead of 'what shall I do next?', how about 'God, what  are you doing now?'

The Guardian's comment on this whole incident is worth a read
 http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/25/antoinette-tuff-heroism-missing-from-politics