Is politics still about people?

As politicians and the media argue about who should take part in a TV debate, I find myself wondering what matters I’d like to put across if any of them roll up at my front door looking for my vote… 

I want to vote for a politician that with tell the truth, be humble enough to admit mistakes and who loves people more than power.

I want to vote for a party and believes in a system that looks beyond four year terms and sees its responsibility extending to future generations.

I want to see the young, the old and the vulnerable given priority when it comes to a duty of care.

How can I trust in a government and a plethora of tax payer funded institutions, that have routinely been found to withhold and manipulate the truth, whilst turning a blind eye to outrageous behaviour that heaps coals on the fires of the suffering of vulnerable people.

I want to vote for a politician that holds to virtues of truth, of grace, of mercy, of justice, of integrity, of kindness, of self control, of self sacrifice and dare I say, of love.

Is it too much to ask? Are there any such people left with a hunger for what is right, rather than what they will get out of it?

I'm not interested in your empty promises, your policies that shift around like the sand on the shore. I'm not interested in your spin, your posturing, your temporary allegiances nor the cut of your suit or your persuasive  words on a TV debate. I want to know what I see of your soul when I look in your eyes, what motivates you to play with the freedoms of people, to make choices that can cause immense good or immense pain & loss.

When you ask me what I would like to see, let it begin with a sense of deep sorrow from the seat of power itself, for the selfishness, greed, selective blindness  and manipulation of the truth at the expense of those most vulnerable in our community. Then let it continue with a renewed commitment to do what is right and just, to love people more than the pursuit of wealth, to look to the needs of others, to govern from a heart of service not privilege and power.

Have you ever thought of leading by example? Just a thought, before you post your propaganda through my door.

Additional Tribal Gatherings At Zac's Place

Deliberately different to most 'church' gatherings, but in a similar vein to our long running Tuesday night Tribal Gatherings, Zac's Place - A Church For Ragamuffins, will also provide opportunity for Jesus followers to gather, to share stories, prayers, readings, songs, art and struggles in a unique environment on the first Sunday of each month from 3rd Feb.

It will be similar, in as much that group participation is encouraged, (but not compulsory) and a little more structure to Tuesdays  - but it's not about a couple of people entertaining a congregation, more about a corporate adventure rather than any heroic individual pursuit.  It continues to be about a community of people working out together what it is to live under the rule of Christ. So come along and feel free to bring something to the table - either to eat or to share in words, or just be in the company of like minded pilgrims and feed on the fellowship, conversation and honesty that marks our gatherings.

For this first gathering we'll be looking at what Jesus meant when he said; "Blessed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven." (Matthew 5 v 3) - using Bill Taylor- Beales painting based on the words, as inspiration.
Psalm 31 will also feature - so have a read of it, at this link first and see what it stirs up.

Zac's Place - A Church For Ragamuffins

Sunday 3 Feb and each first Sunday of the month, from 4pm 

Tuesday Night Tribal Gatherings continue each week from 7.30pm

Map:

Zac's Place, George Street, Swansea, SA1 4HH.

Zac's Place - A Safe Haven

Newsletter Extract .....

"Swansea has a great many services for homeless and vulnerable people. Unfortunately, not everyone is able to access statutory and voluntary services. Some are excluded because of their past or current behaviour, social or financial reasons but some exclude themselves, choosing not to accept such help or support. It is on these occasions that the care offered by Zac’s Place comes into its own.

Every weekday morning at 8 am the doors to Zac’s Place open to provide an essential outreach service to those who are sleeping rough with tea, housing advice and respite from the weather. At least twice a year Zac’s Place accommodates the so called “Homeless Health Days” run in conjunction with Swansea School of Medicine when homeless people can have a health check, flu vaccinations and foot care. Every Thursday evening is the coffee bar providing an opportunity to sit in the warm, have a hot drink and enjoy the fellowship of others.

For some people Zac’s Place is the only safe haven in their lives. Here they find help, the love and support of others and, importantly, acceptance of who they are and the life that they are leading. It may not seem much, but for many, it is a lifeline."

Janet Keauffling, Nurse for the Homeless and Vulnerable Adults - based at Cyrenians Community Centre, High Street, Swansea.

BBC Documentary - Swansea: Living On The Streets - PART 2

The second part of the series of programmes is available on BBC iPlayer for the next fourteen days. In it there's some familiar faces and also you get to see a glimpse of where Zac's Place fits in along with the other agencies working alongside those in housing crisis - Caer Las, The Wallich and Cyrenians. You can find the programme HERE

BBC Documentary - Swansea: Living On The Streets

Some familiar faces and places feature on a current BBC 1 Wales, factual series "Swansea: Living On The Street".

(Photo: BBC Website) Filmed over the past few months, the makers built up relationships with those on the streets and those providing support, these programmes should be well worth watching. I was really impressed with the attitude of the programme makers and I do hope that the programmes stimulate some thoughtful discussion, shatters some stereotypical attitudes and encourages a pro-active response. All the programmes will be available, (UK Only), on BBC iPlayer and you can find all the links HERE

Prayers for the hurting

‎.... Prayers for those, just a few short miles away, bereft of hope in these hours, for those whose wounds and scars will run as deep and dark as the very mines that swallowed their loved ones - when well meaning words and media lenses are hollow and invasive; may they have those who will just sit with them, walk with them, cry with them and carry them ......

News Item

News from the margins ...

Here's a couple of news items from this week - not necessarily connected, but they could quite easily be......

The first is at this link from the Swansea Evening Post website today - a feature on a legendary minister to the margins some years back Maverick Preacher Leon.

The second - a Sky News item with two guys commenting on the recent riots in London and beyond ....

Oh yes, you know it's been a good night down the chapel when there's soup up the walls and blood on the pavement.

Usual chaos at Zac's reigns in glorious technicolour - mainly soup, blood occasionally, sweet tea certainly and plenty of home cooking. It's certainly been a lively few weeks at both the soup kitchen and at our Tribal Gatherings- it's been a while since I saw a complete bowl of soup emptied over someone's head! Oh yes, you know it's been a good night down the chapel when there's soup up the walls and blood on the pavement. Was good to be back in the prison a couple of times, to take some meetings with the lads there, not only for a quieter life, (although there was pretty much a home crowd on one of the wings!).

There's a couple of Zac's related media features I've done in recent days too which I'll put the links for. Last Friday I did a phone interview for a podcast put out by bunch of similar thinkers in Nottingham - you can here the resulting podcast from this link here - mainly chatting about how Zac's Place came about and what I've learned along the way.

The second is a video clip snippet from an interview for Fresh Expressions, when they sent their man down to meet us about a month ago - expect interviews with some of our regulars to feature on a DVD of theirs next year ... Here's a video preview of one of my contributions talking about God on the margins

For all it's odd moments of chaos, it's still a place of special connection, learning and earthy spirituality.

It's when life is messy, confusing and questioning the 'God with us' of Christmas past, present and future rolls up his sleeves and puts his boots on.

Twenty years ago I could never have imagined just how many times I would have had to lead people through a long and difficult road to the point of 'goodbye' as departed loved ones are buried. I have learned that to be entrusted with that responsibility is indeed a significant place to be - they are places of immense pain and trauma, sometimes anger, conflict and guilt - and sometimes there are glimpses of hope and sense of peace that goes beyond explanation.

In the past few days I was asked to assist in leading people in a memorial event, for the local drugs project, for those who have died from overdoses, today something similar in the city centre, with many from the 'street community', as we planted a rose bush at his 'pitch' . Directly following that I met with the family of another from our community, who spent somewhere in the region of 25 years sleeping rough, who's funeral takes place in a few days.

To remember those we love and miss continues to be important, whatever the circumstances; to take people by the hand and lead them through the darkest of days is not only a responsibility and a duty, but can also be a very sacred time - sometimes even the most delicate of connections and the most fragile moments of faith are the most tangible and significant. It's when life is messy, confusing and questioning the 'God with us' of Christmas past, present and future rolls up his sleeves and puts his boots on.

City of Angels

Saw this on my friends' Kev & Linsey's blog, who are themselves committed to serving the urban poor. This snap shot from Skid Row in LA is representative of many cities . . .

Finland - The Long Walk Home

The recent return visit to Finland for the God's Squad Euro Run was always going to be special - seven nations, eight languages - one purpose. One lasting memory will a long walk in silence through the forest to a wigwam arrangement where we gathered around a fire a shared communion together. One of those times when stuff happens and it's very difficult to explain.

Check out the God's Squad blog for more images and comment.
(Thanks Dale for the pic)

Klong Toey, Bangkok via Melbourne, Newcastle & Launceston

My recent visit to Australia which included God’s Squad’s 35th anniversary celebrations in Melbourne and other engagements in New South Wales and Tasmania, with John Smith and Sammy Horner, saw me take the opportunity to return home via a slum community in Bangkok.

The several hour stopover at Bangkok airport gave me enough time to go through immigration and get a cab into the city of bizarre extremes and visit friends in Klong Toey - a slum community of many thousands on port authority land over looked by huge commercial blocks. I have visited the area twice before. Thousands upon thousands of people live in semi-ordered community of shacks and some more permanent dwellings on and over the mud flats of the Port Authority. Flooding is therefore common and as I saw first hand so is the risk of fire.

The reason for my return visit was to see the good folk of UNOH (Urban Neighbours of Hope), whose pioneering work in their home of Melbourne saw them move to Klong Toey some years ago to live and serve amid the community there. Amid the sights, the stench of open sewers, the aroma of spicy thai food being cooked on every corner, there is also the fragrance of Christ permeating through these narrow walkways partially covered by tin roofs and linked with precarious bridges across the river.

The river itself boasts of life itself - to my amazement fish survive amid the sewage and below the film of slime. The dogs are everywhere but are silent and the radiance of the Thai smile beams from faces working away from dark spaces inside their small home.

I don’t recall any other place where people smile so freely - I was keen to reciprocate as I was acutely aware that after my first visit Rod’s young Thai friends warned him after I had left that I was probably a drug dealer. Before I met with Rod this time I was more aware of the quizzical stares as this white, bearded, long haired, tattooed ‘farang’ entered their neighbourhood. I hoped that my broad smile would speak the words I could not.

Rod had moved to a different unit since my last visit and his place was also home to several others - including a young couple and their baby daughter and a haven to others who had been victims of hostile gang behaviour. The work of the Community Centre thrives - Ash was in NZ, but Anji was busy sorting jewellery made by local ladies which UNOH sells overseas and therefore provides a salary for several families. Not wanting to keep them from work, I had a coffee from their street stall - Starbucks coffee beans no less, (which also provides another wage), I left Rod to continue packing boxes of ‘Free Burma’ T-shirts - printed locally and for sale in Oz at a UNOH event.

I wandered back through the narrow passage ways seeing hard working smiling faces on my way back towards the chaos of the city streets -huge Mercedes billboards providing shelter for those with no home, buses crammed full, tuk-tuks loaded with produce, small motorcycles everywhere, policeman bribing who they can and further on towards the lights westerners empty journey for temporal intimacy finds solace of the young and pretty.
As I journey back to the vast new airport in a cab, bartering with the driver for a fare, once again the land of smiling faces, amid desperate poverty and bizarre extremes leaves a lasting impression.

To learn more about the work of UNOH please visit: http://www.unoh.org and the handicrafts can be found here http://www.allyearround.com.au/unoh/