Bradford and Leeds week - the East End Park community

After Saturday off it came to my final day in Yorkshire, and it was great to be able to meet up with Andrew Grinnell. It was through a lot of what he said at Roots last year that my thoughts came together about this, well, desire to serve the poor I guess. His Forgotten 5% presentations about the work of NEO Salvation Army centres in particular (an area of ministry for which he has overall control), demonstrated the stark need of many areas and pulled at my desires and many of the things I had been thinking about during my time in south London.

We met for a chat and a coffee and then headed back to his local area, East End Park, which apparently is in the bottom 7% of areas in the UK as measured by the Indices of Multiple Depravation. If it's that high I wouldn’t like to see those places below it. Row after row of back-to-back housing, which, to give a picture, unless you're at the end of the terrace then you're surrounded by three houses. Furthermore, I'm pretty sure you could fit about least three of these houses in my back garden. Windows boarded up, metal grids on most windows and doors, unswept streets and nowhere for anyone to play except for where a few houses had been knocked down.

One girl we passed was a friend of Andrew’s daughter and was sitting outside playing with a few friends. He told me how his daughter was shocked going round her house and discovering she had no toys, and set about trying to get her some. The starkest thing for me was seeing one boy walking through a field on his own, wearing, on Easter Sunday, his school uniform. Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but if someone has to wear their school uniform in the middle of the holidays then just how little must that family have?

We spoke about the possibility of me going there myself next year, and it seemed like it wasn’t necessarily the best option, but still a possibility. If nothing else it was good to have an idea of just how stark poverty can be in the UK. As Andrew said to me it’s nothing when compared to Africa, but when you see the relative luxury we have in many parts of the UK, it really does beggar belief how places like this can exist. I really pray that Andrew and the other Christians living in the community can bring the light of God into such a dark place and that He will be glorified on that estate.

Bradford and Leeds week - Holme Christian Community (Good Friday)

Good Friday night quite a few people from the surrounding area crowded into HCC for worship and to be reminded of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. Worship was slightly strange as although there were two singers and a flautist, we all sang along to a worship music CD. This was all fine, but was particularly interesting when we got to the instrumentals...

At one point the pastor produced a wooden cross and some broken pieces of porcelain and the members of the congregation were asked to each stick a piece on (it was covered in grouting in case you’re wondering), symbolising our brokenness being paid for on the cross. He tried to bribe us into going to the Easter Sunday 6AM service by saying we could see what it turned into – I wasn’t able to go but Caroline did and said he didn’t bring it! Hopefully he took it to the breakfast! Either way, the idea was to spray it gold, presumably to demonstrate how God takes our brokenness on the cross, and through that sacrifice God is glorified and we are made beautiful in His eyes. Or maybe I’m just reading too much into it.

Caroline gave the sermon, which had two main points. The first was that we all share the one Christ, we all serve him, he died for all of us who believe. As the curtain was torn in two when Christ died, this symbolised us having access to God, something previously reserved for the holiest of Priests. Secondly, it illustrated the upside-down kingdom, where the first is last and the last is first. Christ came to serve and not to be served. He turned the ideas of the world on it’s head. I guess this is what is meant by the fact the cross is foolishness to many. The cross, therefore, turns darkness to light, death to life and punishment to freedom. And we are offered that, such light, such life, such freedom.

Bradford and Leeds week - Caleb

Good Friday’s outing was to a cafe which runs every Friday and is for people at various stages of giving up drink and/or drugs. Throughout the week Caleb offers community rehabilitation to a group of people that are signed up, helping them through the trials they come across. Using the 12.5 steps project (like the 12 steps process used by AA but with a forgiving others section in it), they take step after step towards being free from addiction. Chatting to the guys there, it was refreshing to see just how normal so many of them are, how they were easy to chat to, friendly and not in my mind any kind of second class citizen. Quite a few of the volunteers there had been through the system themselves and were now wanting to give something back. The woman who showed me round said she’d been free of heroin and alcohol for quite a while now, but that coming along still and volunteering were really important as it is often the boredom and lack of anything to replace the previous routine that leads to lapses. It was just so good to see how many people really enjoyed coming along, and how many people want to help out those who’d been through the same as they had.

It was made even better by the fact I won a game of dominoes, plus a bit of Easter card making was great for me to give something to Caroline and Craig as part of a thank you for having me. It was also great to see guys who might often feel they don’t have much to give their kids and relatives something, being able to create something of their own in the hope of showing a bit of love to their dearest. Have a read through some of the testimonies - it'll make you day.

Bradford and Leeds week - St. Christopher's (Maundy Thursday)

Maundy Thursday evening there was a service at one of the churches on the estate, the Anglican church St Christopher’s. We started off with a meal, lamb stew (we were thinking about Passover so it was the obvious choice...), which allowed me to meet some of the locals, and a very pleasant bunch too. We heard a few Bible readings amongst this, and then were invited to take a piece of paper and write down a list of things we wanted to get rid of in our life. Going outside, we got into groups and constructed a cross out of two sticks and some nails, nailed our lists to the cross and put them on a bonfire in the Church garden. Moving inside we had a time of worship (which included half way through a song the room being filled with a piercingly high and loud noise, followed by the whole room in silence staring at the girl sitting near the sound desk and one woman just saying “which one did you press, which one?”).

This was a really great time just to sit and reflect on the things I want to get rid of in my life. However my list always seems to be the same, full of things I say I want to get rid of but clearly never really try. I say I want to be punctual, decisive, spending more time with God praying and studying the Bible, but I don’t actually do it. If I want to be a dying Christian and take up my cross, I’ve just got to get on with it. If I hold on to these things then Christ won’t take them away. I need to cling to Christ and the cross, not to my past.

Bradford and Leeds week - RETAS

My second journey after the interview was to RETAS (Refugee Education Training Advisory Service), based in the Harehills area of Leeds. RETAS work with asylum seekers and refugees, and in the short time I was there I certainly felt as though I learnt a lot. 'Asylum seeker' is a term given to someone who comes to the UK because they are wanting to stay here to escape something back home. They are given a certain amount of time in which to prove their case and justify why they should stay and thus become a kind of quasi-citizen in the form of a refugee. Refugees are given the legal status of a citizen when they are allowed to stay on the basis that if they returned home they would be persecuted in some form – i.e. they are seeking refuge from harm. However, in the meantime asylum seekers have fewer rights and find it hard to get by, not matter how hard they try and how willing they are. Even for refugees this can be hard and in part is due to myths and negative persceptions held by potential employers.

Some of the volunteers from the centre

I was shown round by and chatted with Duncan, who was one of the original Transformers (i.e. on the inaugural Transform year – he can’t turn into a car or plane or anything like that). It was great to see the passion he had and hear about how lives had been changed through their work. Whilst they’re not explicit about their faith, the majority of workers are Christians and they offer to pray when appropriate, and so their Christian ethos really shines through and makes a difference. They offer computer training, language classes, and training in other areas that are of help, as well as helping clients to find jobs. I’m sure it’s something that, even if I don't do it for a placement, I would want to keep in touch with and recommend to others, to see some of the most vulnerable people in the UK have their lives changed.

Bradford and Leeds week - West Yorkshire Community Chaplaincy Project

After my interview on Thursday I was taken around Leeds to see a few possible placements. The West Yorkshire Community Chaplaincy Project (WYCCP) is a multi-faith charity that works with individuals leaving HMP Leeds (which accepts all adult male prisoners from West Yorkshire) in Armley, with the aim of reducing re-offending rates, and was our first port of call. They provide prison leavers with support and advice, for example with debt and finance (many leave with nothing), and are general helped to integrate back into society.

If you think about it, there are some guys that may have been in prison for years and years, and even those who’ve been in a couple of years may feel very out of touch and as though they’ve lost a lot of time. Helping them to fit back into society, encouraging them and enabling them to feel more confident about their prospects are all important things and so it was great to hear about this ministry and all it does.

Bradford and Leeds week - Transform (the interview)

Arriving at Leeds station Thursday lunchtime I was picked up and taken to Fred Shed, where a variety of Christian organisations are based. After a little wait I had my interview for the Transform programme. The programme consists of training on Monday (including theology, team time and practical training too), a 15-hour placement, a 5-hour place, a part-time job and a mentor.

It’s been quite a while since I had an interview, in fact I’ve only had four in my life. My first was a Marks and Spencer telephone interview, which I failed (how am I supposed to know what you do if someone comes in with a faulty item and has no receipt – surely that’s what training is for?!?). Then there was my Wilkinson interview which basically consisted of “do you want the job?” and checking I didn’t have a criminal record. So the only two proper interviews I’ve had were for Bank of England and HM Treasury, which both went well, but I was still a bit apprehensive as it’d been a while, but figured I’d just be honest and hope I didn’t put my foot in it. The first question was something along the lines of “how do you feel you have developed over last year”, and after about 5 minutes (at least) of chatting I decided I’d better stop...

The whole interview was generally pretty relaxed, as they’re ‘on your side’ as it were. Their aim is to assess whether it is the right thing for you, and if that’s the case then it’s probably the right thing for them, as it means you’ll make the best use of their funding. This made it fairly easy just to be open and honest and it was really encouraging just to chat through ideas and expectations, and to be able to ask them a few questions too.

One question that was very thought-provoking was when I was asked whether I found it easier to relate to people on the margins than the middle classes. Thinking about it I guess I do. I suppose I find a lot of people, including Christians, are very closed and ask very questions about the things around them, let alone of themselves and what they believe. People you might describe as 'marginalised' seem altogether more raw, open, honest, and have a vulnerability about them once you get to know them beyond their sometimes strong front. There is a depth, a story, which I think I can appreciate more, a sense in which I can see a way out for this person, that even if they don't know exactly what they're doing wrong, they know something needs to change. Contrast this with the middle-class independence and individualism which always says "I am right", "there's nothing wrong with me", "as long as I keep myself to myself that's all that matters", an attitude that really just wants me to bang my head against the wall. I think that's a question that I'm going to keep exploring for some time yet.

On Friday night I got an answer phone message to say that I’d been accepted, so it’s now just up for me to decide for certain whether to do it, which looks likely, and then to sort out the location and placements. It's all looking pretty exciting.

What is information?

Found this interesting video on this blog.

There are even more distinctions that can be made. Data on its own is nothing, but when transformed to mean something creates information. This information must be considered and interpreted for it to become knowledge. But even knowledge is useless unless we are able to to put it into action, to understand how to use and implement it. That is true wisdom, and that is what we need.

Bradford and Leeds week - erm... Newark

OK, so it's not exactly Bradford and Leeds (in fact it's over an hour and a half away on the train), but it's in 'the North' (as it is so helpfully signposted on motorways) so I thought I'd take the chance to go and have a look. The Salvation Army in Newark is led by more relatives, Uncle Tim and Auntie Jo (Justice), and they have been there about six years now (I think). In that time they've seen the corps grow, and they have a real focus on the things that are important. Jo herself said that they've tried to ensure that the focus is always on the Word and on God rather than anything periphery, which can often be the case in the Salvation Army, just as in any other church.

Tim showed me around the centre of town first of all, close to where their current hall is located. A rural market town, I was impressed by the town square, surrounded by trendy coffee bars and independent sandwich shops, with the market stalls in action and the spire of the Anglican church towering over. Apparently lots of civil war stuff happened here too, but that was before my time...

Currently, whilst their hall is the base for weekday things, their Sunday meetings happen round the corner in a local school hall. They also have a charity shop in an estate a little way out on an apparently-deserted parade of shops, but it brings in a healthy stream of income so someone must be going there!

I came down because Tim had asked me about what I was doing next year and whether I had any plans. Having spoken to Jo about my ideas and dreams at Christmas time they must have wondered whether I wanted to come to Newark to help put some of those things into practice and to learn about working in a church and its surrounding community. There were so many positive things that they spoke about and the hopes and ambitions they had were really enthusing and inspiring.

They should soon be taking over a community centre (pictured above) in an estate outside the centre. which would provide another base, and could accommodate kids clubs, a luncheon club, youth work and many other activities. This would be particularly useful, not only to expand their influence on the communities in Newark, but also because they have recently sold their hall and are planning on building a new one. Moving out to a new bit of land on the outskirts in a place called Balderton, plans are in place for a brand new steel structure building with meeting hall and plenty of facilities for day-to-day activities.

Finally, I was struck by their outlined plans for the next four years, under the banner of 'Going for Gold' (tying into the 2012 theme). I won't type the whole thing up, but their key aims were to be praying, welcoming, saving, nurturing, participating and Kingdom-focused.

It was great to pray with them when I left. I don't know exactly where I'm going these next few months and years and neither do they. We can make our best plans, we need them and there's nothing wrong with them, but if they are not God's plans then they are worthless and will be fruitless. So it is my prayer that both myself and them will seek God and do his will. God bless them in all the work they are doing for Him.

*****

As you can probably tell, I've taken to putting pictures in my blog posts, which hopefully makes them a bit more exciting. So I thought I'd try and find a picture of the hall, or where the new one would be built, but having spent ages looking all I could come up with is a screenshot of Google Maps. Enjoy...

Bradford and Leeds week - Holme Christian Community

Following on from my trip to CAP, I went along to Holme Christian Community (HCC), which is just down the road from where I'm staying and from the Salvation Army. HCC has an impressively varied programme of activities, with something for pretty much anyone in the community. In addition to their City Lights ministry, there's a cafe, a play centre, 'The Edge' youth club, a handyman service, training, an over-55s 'youth club', a financial advice centre, a management consultancy and an employment agency, and then you've got the church services and all that comes with that.

I was able to have a look around and get some ideas for what I could do if I moved to the area. HCC is particularly appealing because of the variety of the things they do. My annoyance with most churches is that they only really cater for under-18s and over-60s, with perhaps something for middle-aged women if you're lucky. But HCC is trying to impact everyone in their community, and that's a really great thing. It's great to see the difference they are making and to imagine the lives that have been and are being changed by God's power at work in them.

Bradford and Leeds week - Christians Against Poverty

After a day off on Monday, I arose early (well, some time before 9) and went to meet someone from Christians Against Poverty (CAP).  CAP was started in 1996 by John Kirkby with £10 and a lot of faith. John had not long before come to faith, riddled by debt himself, and set out trying to use the skills he had been given during his time working in financial services to see people like himself set free from the bondage of debt and sin. The organisation doesn't hide its faith-base, as their name indicates, and they offer to pray for their clients on the first meeting, plus as a local church supports each centre there is always much support for each person. Many people who come to CAP have contemplated suicide in the past and have nowhere else to turn. They help so many people out of debt and impact so many lives. What I love though is the statistic that on average five people a week become Christians as a result of their work. Five lives changed immeasurably for eternity! Probably more than they bargained for but far greater than they could have ever imagined. Praise God!

Looking around I noticed their list of core values, which make for encouraging reading. As much as I realise it's probably weird to take pictures in an office I couldn't resist (and as I've found them on the internet I assume they're not secret...). It's great to see a company with an ethos so rooted in the Bible. Not only that, but they have such great faith too, with the money required each month looking like it'll fall short, on for it to come through following times of prayer and fasting. This ministry is clearly dedicated to seeking what God wants to happen. Get hold of the book - it's free from the website.

It has been on my heart for quite a while now to see people's material needs met alongside telling them the good news, and to find ways of doing that. CAP is just one expression of that and one that I would like to be involved in at some point in the future, and at the very least is something I draw great inspiration from. May many lives be changed by all that these people do in God's strength.

*****

p.s. If you're going to try and take a covert picture of a building because you're worried that the guys sitting in the dustbin lorry might think you look a bit weird, you may have to persevere.

Bradford and Leeds week - 'City Lights'

On Sunday evening I headed to Holme Christian Community (HCC) where I got on the yellow bus, which we took down to the centre of Bradford, an outreach that is known as 'City Lights'. There we met around 90 homeless or otherwise-marginalised individuals and they were given coffee and a hot meal. It also provided a great opportunity to speak to the guys being served and find out how they were doing.

Having some small talk with a few people, my first in-depth conversation was with a gentleman who must have been in his 50s or 60s.  He started by saying we were angels, doing an amazing thing, and how he thought Christianity was a great thing, that God had clearly sent us to do His work. He also said he thought that people coming over from other countries should leave England as it is, that Christianity is the religion of this country and that's that. It was interesting to find out he was a Muslim and he came over from Southern Asia when he was younger. It was even more interesting when I tried to explore what he meant by all these terms and phrases. He seemed to think that not only was Christ real but that He was God, and yet when I questioned whether that made him a Christian he didn't seem to think so. We kept chatting, and I really just tried to encourage him to think about it more, tried to get across that Christianity wasn't a religion so much as a matter of putting your faith in someone and following them. I'm not entirely sure how able he was to take it all in anyway, not through substance abuse or anything like that, but he just seemed like a very nice and simple man. Just how do you explain to people that not all these 'religions' are the same, and it's not just about being nice?! But if nothing else, it was very amusing just to hear Mr. Khan every few seconds saying "God Bless you" before exclaiming "gorgeous!" every time he took a mouthful of his meal.

There was another guy I spoke to, extremely friendly, willing to chat, and I got the impression well known to people around. He said he worked at the university (similarly Mr. Khan said he had lectured - not sure how true either of these claims were), and was very interested in things to do with electrolytes, ACT, and synchronicity. I didn't really have a clue what he was talking about, but it was something to do with metaphysics I guess. When pushed he described himself as a universalist, believing that there was a God and that Jesus was "a top bloke, no doubt about it, a top bloke". I said that if I do move to Bradford in September it'd be great to continue the conversation further.

Finally, one other guy and I chatted for a fair while, and I asked him whether he had a faith, with him replying that he was a Catholic when he grew up (it seems to me that everyone was a Catholic when they grew up - or maybe that's just the homeless population).  He described how his father used to beat his mum and that really meant it was impossible for him to believe. I told Him how God was just and didn't think what his Dad did was right either, and explained how we all do wrong and need a saviour, but that God has provided that saviour Himself. He seemed fairly interested and though his mates wanted to go and drink he didn't seem in a hurry, but when I pushed the point, he said himself that he just didn't feel like he hadn't done anything wrong. I guess that's how a lot of people feel. I tried to explain that all of us have done wrong, and so it wasn't just me pointing the finger at him, and I think he may have started to get it, so it's my prayer that his eyes will be opened in days to come.

It was generally just great to see the ministry that is provided, a valuable ministry I am sure, both in terms of physical nourishment and in terms of building relationships and telling people the good news. It reminded me of the urgency of telling people this news as some people just haven't heard it before. They've heard about Christianity, God, or some particular denomination, but never what it's actually all about. It's my prayer that this ministry will help to break down those barriers and let these people know how they can be set free for everlasting life.

Bradford and Leeds week - Bradford Holmewood Salvation Army

Having spent Sunday morning relaxing (I'd had a whole week of Bible talks so I gave myself the morning off!), I spent an enjoyable time at Bradford Holmewood Salvation Army, which my aunt Caroline heads up, supported by my uncle Craig and 18-month year old cousin Edie, amongst others! It comes under the banner of NEO (New Expressions Of...) Salvation Army, which you can find out more about here.

Nice and chilled out on sofas, Caroline gave a talk about how we respond to Jesus in our everyday lives - are we like those praising Him on Palm Sunday, or like those denying Him later in the week or condemning Him on Good Friday? We also sung a few songs and watched a short video clip, in addition to creating a palm leaf, writing our praise on it and sticking it to the cross. It was really great to be there.

There's a lot of good stuff going on during the week at 'The Sally Bash', as it's known to the locals. Lots of youth clubs, kids clubs, and activities for the over-60s, despite having quite a small membership it is having a great impact on the community.  When they arrived there was only a small gathering on a Thursday night, in addition to a reasonable community programme. In the three years since arriving they've seen the community programme expand and many different ministries are currently in place, plus the main meeting has moved to a Sunday afternoon, with Bible studies and many other things coming through. It's my prayer that their ministry will be blessed, that it'll be guided by God and be everything that he wishes it to be, that the community will be amazingly impacted by them and the other Churches nearby, to the glory of God.

Bradford and Leeds week - looking to next year

Straight from New Word Alive (see my other, ongoing posts), I arrived in Bradford late on Saturday and am here until Easter Sunday thinking and praying about what I'll be doing next year. One option I have is to do a course called Transform. This is run by a group of Christians, originally based in Leeds but since expanding to include Bradford. It consists of training on Mondays (theology and practical guidance such as time management), a 5-hour placement, a 15-hour placement and a part-time job.

My interview for it is on Thursday and in addition during this week I'm taking the chance to look at different places I could do some of my placements if I do the year.

I'm also looking into an organisation called Christians Against Poverty (CAP). CAP are a debt counselling service that also offer money management courses, and whilst centrally run from their offices in Bradford most of their direct work with the people in need is done in centres around the UK that are run by and partnered with local churches. They are an explicitly Christian group, partly given their name but also through the offering of prayer on their first meeting. There's no hidden agenda, nor any need for the service users to be Christian, it's just, well, if you have faith in Christ then it'd be a bit harsh to just help someone with their earthly debts and not tell them how they can sort out their spiritual debts and be set free!

CAP offer their own internship scheme, called Reach, which sees you working Monday to Thursday with on-the-job training, and then Fridays are set aside for management-based training. There are five streams (Client, Communications, Evangelism and Discipleship, IT, and Partnership) and each offers a different challenge and opportunity to help make a difference to many people's lives. Whatever happens, it's just great to find out more about the work they do.

I'll give some updates throughout the week about how things are getting on.

Those wacky Christian Unions....

Found my way onto Michael Ots' website today and had a look at what he had to say (he spoke at the Bath University Christian Union (CU) 'iDentity' week of talks in November 2008). The Lancaster University CU got a feature on their university campus TV channel, with Michael Ots getting an interview on it, alongside a clip of him giving one of the talks in their FREE week. Was great to see them doing a plug for their CU and also that the TV channel let them.

Still not sure how it looks when Christians use the word 'wacky' though. Especially considering they were referring to a film night! Oh well, at least they weren't wearing strange hats.

Great to see the work of other CUs around the country, and the commitment of people like Michael who spend their lives telling others of the good news of Jesus Christ.

New Word Alive 2009 - Serving the Church, Reaching the World

It’s been a really good week at New Word Alive (NWA), in a far-off corner of Wales, with hundreds of other Christians hearing from God’s word and being challenged about the need to put it into practice.

The Bible studies focused on 1 Corinthians 1-7, looking at how we live our lives both as churches and as individuals: putting the gospel first, not lifting up leaders instead of Christ, seeking holiness in our lives as temples of God (in particular having the best approach to relationships), and understanding the effect of personal ungodliness on the wider church and the implications for dealing with it.

Meanwhile, in the evenings, in addition to sung worship lead by Stuart Townend and Phatfish (see above), we looked at some key parables from Luke’s gospel: the sower; the good Samaritan; the banquet; the lost son; the rich man and Lazarus; and the ten minas. In my view there seemed to be a strong emphasis on the outworking of our faith (sometimes labelled 'social action'), particularly directed to 'the poor', which perhaps isn't expected of a 'conservative evangelical' conference, but it was handled Biblically and challenged a lot of people.

There was also a great variety of seminars with something for everyone, and also a very excitable Roger Carswell! Adrian Warnock led a session about blogging so I thought I'd go along, and there were some useful tips, plus it was good to hear about other people's approaches to forming and maintaining a blog (see Adrian's blog for more thoughts on NWA).

The speaking was overall very powerful and challenging and definitely worth the trip, plus I was greatly enthused by the sense that evangelicals were seeking to unite and to focus on the cross rather than surrounding issues. It was also great to spend time with friends (including some stupidly late nights) and I even found some time to do a little bit of work!

Over the next few weeks I'll write up a few things I've learnt from the week, so stay tuned if you want to find out more.