“We believe in inclusive church – a church which celebrates and affirms every person and does not discriminate.
We will continue to challenge the church where it continues to discriminate against people on grounds of disability, economic power, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, learning disability, mental health, neurodiversity, or sexuality.
We believe in a Church which welcomes and serves all people in the name of Jesus Christ; which is scripturally faithful; which seeks to proclaim the Gospel afresh for each generation; and which, in the power of the Holy Spirit, allows all people to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Jesus Christ.”
This is both descriptive and aspirational for us. We believe that this describes us because we want to celebrate and affirm every single person as someone who is created and loved by God.
Yet there is always more we can do, and will do. For example, we discovered that the British Dyslexia Association recommends that visuals on screens should be high contrast but not black and white, so our slides on screens are now predominantly cream background with black text in an accessible font (definitely not yellow on blue in comic sans!).
Recently some of our members were at Spring Harvest in Minehead. In one of the venues they attended an artist was painting during the sessions, and this intrigued them.
What was it going to be?
As the image matured in the artist’s hands it became clear that it was a group of people, but there was an intriguing space in the middle that she hadn’t filled in.
Was she going to paint Jesus there?
As the painting was finally finished the artist revealed the words on the top of the painting: Everyone is welcome.
It became clear that the space in the middle was so that everyone could sit and put themselves into the picture.
Wonderfully, and generously, the painting was bought by some of our members and brought back to our church. We’ll be putting it where everyone can participate and be a part of the picture.
It’s a lovely painting, made even more beautiful by the interactive message of inclusion.
On my bookshelf I have a book that has sentimental value. It was my grandfather’s book, and he has written his name in it. The book is ‘Yap’ by Jan Stewer. I would be amazed if any of you have read it. The Jan Stewer books are about a Devonian chap (the eponymous Jan) and his misadventures with the ‘modern’ world. It’s written in the Devon vernacular and I think you have to either read it aloud in that accent or give your internal monologue a Devonian accent to be able to understand it. Let me share with you a snippet: Jan is watching a game of golf… watching someone line up for a shot off the tee:
Then he started itchin’ his veet as if he was squaishin’ a black-biddle. Next he beginned to wriggle his body, like a chap with a flay in the middle of his back where he can’t scratch ‘n. Then all-to-once, he up with his stick and he fitched thik poor li’l ball sitch a clout, and hat ‘n so-fur as he cude see ‘en. Wonder to me he did’n knack the inzide right out aw’n.
Jan Stewer, Yap
See what I mean about how you read it? It’s not easy to work out what he means sometimes.
I was reminded of this recently when I visited someone who had phoned up out of the blue and asked for some help. They had asked me if I was spiritual. Of course I said yes. But both they and I had misunderstood. It later transpired that what they wanted was a spiritualist. Instead of a medium they got a large! I told them that the best a medium could do is talk with the dead, whereas I talk with God, and I told them how they could do that too. It turned into a good conversation once we had worked out what each other meant.
It’s very easy for us to assume that someone else knows what we mean, simply because we do. If you have a background in church you will be used to all sorts of jargon and unusual words (especially in some of the ‘higher’ churches). If you don’t, it’s all a mystery.
Once we had worked out what was needed I prayed for the person and their family, praying that they would know God’s peace, strength, hope and love. I gave them a couple of holding crosses, explaining that when Jesus died on the cross he defeated all the forces of evil, so it’s a strong symbol of God. It’s also something tangible to hold if you’re scared. I also gave them a copy of Mark’s gospel in The Message version so they could understand more about who Jesus is and what he said and did. I tried to explain things in unchurchy language and it was not easy. I hope that it made enough sense that we’ll have some more conversations.
The age old saying goes: “You can’t understand someone until you have walked a mile in their shoes” (or variations on that theme). I get what it’s saying, but I don’t think it’s right. It’s not enough. Walking a mile in someone’s shoes is about us experiencing life as they do, but only to do it for a mile makes it temporary. And I assume that once I have walked the mile I can put my own shoes back on. They can’t, and it’s permanent for them.
I reflect on the horrific experiences that friends of mine have shared with me and realise that I can’t claim to be able to walk for a mile in their shoes. I have never experienced what it is like to receive the abuse, discrimination and be the subject of the hate crimes that they have been through. Even for me to suggest that I could try to walk in their shoes seems patronising and woefully inadequate.
I find myself challenged and inspired by these friends in equal measure. Challenged to consider my own actions and behaviour and inspired to do more, to be more… but more what? I can’t experience how it feels to be called hideous names, but I can be outraged about it. I can’t know how someone feels if another person crosses the street to avoid meeting them, but I can be broken-hearted by it. It feels beyond patronising for me to suggest that ‘I know how you feel’ when blatantly I don’t.
I have started to wonder about what Paul wrote to the church in Rome: “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.” (Romans 12:15) What if I extend that to things like: “Scream with those who scream; rage with those who rage…” That feels a bit more empathetic, but it still doesn’t feel enough. So I read the wider context of that verse:
“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.Do not be conceited.”
Romans 12:14-16
Hmm… so the empathy Paul is after comes in the context of likely persecution and the potential for division on the basis of status in the church. That complicates it a bit because it reveals how dangerous it was for the early Christians (especially in Rome) – and that was a shared sense of danger. I don’t experience that sense of danger in the same way as my friends, so what can I do? I want to be there for them, I want to help, I want to show them that they are not alone and that they matter. And it seems that the Christians might have been a bit class-conscious and were not being as inclusive as they should, particularly ignoring the underprivileged. But as a middle-aged white cis-gendered heterosexual male human living in England I am one of the most privileged people on this planet. There’s not a lot of danger for me and a lot of potential ways in which I might exclude others.
So then I notice that Paul urged the Christians to ‘live in harmony with one another’. Harmony is the opposite of discord. It doesn’t require everyone to sing the same notes, but to complement and augment each other as we sing the same song. If they are singing a soulful lament, there’s no harmony if you are singing a bouncy pop song. And you have to be there with them to be in harmony, you have to be present with them. To be in harmony you have to listen to the tune the other person is singing. You have to find ways of weaving your music into their music, being responsive to one another and allowing your singing to be shaped by their singing so that the voices blend. Replace ‘song’ with ‘life’ and you get the idea. That’s how we rejoice when they rejoice, mourn when they mourn, scream when they scream and rage when they rage.
And then if we read the whole of Romans chapter 12 we see that Paul seems to be urging the believers to intentionally be aware of themselves and their potential impact on God (‘living sacrifices’) and on other people. If we remember that it’s written to a group of Christians not an isolated individual we see that it’s an extremely collaborative thing, this church business. We collectively need to think about our impact on God and on other people, and to do the latter there is a lot of ‘one anothering’ to be done.
A while ago in our church we looked at the ‘One anothers’ in the New Testament and discovered that all of them are aspects of love – ways of putting love into action:
Love one another in the way that Jesus loves: bear with one another; encourage one another; build each other up; serve one another; forgive one another; honour one another; be devoted to one another; live in harmony with one another; offer hospitality to one another; live in fellowship with one another… and more.
That requires us to have an intention to faithfully put one another above ourselves, to be there for one another, to listen, to seek to understand, and to stand with one another. To give [of ourselves] and not count the cost.
I’m still working on this but I hope it’s becoming less patronising than a short walk in the wrong shoes. Perhaps it’s a step in the right direction.
Each week on our church Facebook page I am putting an image with a Bible verse that relates to the season of Advent and Christmas. Last week, this was the one I put up. I’ll put up this week’s in a couple of days. Bless you
This is the sixth and final value that our church has recently adopted. The process by which we discerned and distilled the values was using an exercise I call ‘The Ideal Church Exhibition’. Groups, made up of diverse people from across the church, worked together to draw ‘The Ideal Church’ – where the only limit is our imagination. Behind what was drawn are values, so we looked for consistent themes across the different drawings and then looked to express those values in words.
There were drawings of people enjoying themselves.
There were drawings of people expressing themselves artistically.
The drawings that showed the imagination of those who drew them.
So ‘playfully creative’ became a value. If I am honest I wasn’t expecting it, but I love it.
Like Jesus: enjoying and appreciating life in all its fullness, using our God-given talents to express ourselves and to communicate his truth, and looking imaginatively with the eyes of faith to discern and follow God’s will.
God has given us life, and he longs for us to enjoy it. I know that life can be tough, but my experience has been that it is sometimes those who have the toughest circumstances that have the broadest smile. I think of my time spent with a church in a Harare township and those people LOVED life! What I have seen and realised is that if you have never had video games, computers, TV and mobile phones and if all you have is some dirt to play in then you use that dirt imaginatively. It can become a football pitch, a crocodile-filled river, a place to fly over…
If you’re going through one of life’s dark valleys at the moment then I understand that this may feel difficult for you, and I would hate for you to feel guilt because of what I have written, that’s not my intention. If emotional illness or mental ill health is clouding your ability to see the light, then I pray that you will have people around you who will come and simply be with you. Perhaps in them you may see a glimpse of the playfully creative Jesus who loves you without limit.
What are your talents and gifts? Don’t be shy, admit them to yourself. You may not be a world-renowned artist, a famous actor or even a fair-to-middling illusionist. But there are things you are better at than other people. You are certainly the world best at being you. But you may be an encourager, a supporter, an esteem-builder, an imaginer, a story-teller, a joke-teller… what are you good at? You can take those things and offer them to God as an act of worship as you perform them – if you like, taking what he’s given you and celebrating it with him.
You may be able to use the unique blend of gifts and talents that are yours to help others see God in you.
Martin Luther (the Reformation chap, not Martin Luther King) is reported to have said, “If you’re not allowed to laugh in heaven, I don’t want to go there.” Well, my hope is that we can get in lots of practice together as church now.
The next value we have adopted is a church is that we are called to be people focused.
Like Jesus: caring for and loving people of all ages, from the youngest to the oldest; through our words and actions embodying and bringing the transforming love of God to our local community in Mutley, to Plymouth, the UK and the wider world.
Again, the crucial two words here are ‘Like Jesus’. As his followers we want to emulate his example and follow his teaching. There are countless examples in the gospels (well, okay, you could count them but I can’t be bothered and there are lots) of Jesus being people focused. In fact you could easily say that his coming into the world is because God is people focused.
In preparing for this Sunday’s sermon on this theme, I reflected that the two words ‘caring’ and ‘loving’ are indivisible. They aren’t so much two sides of the same coin as two ends of a kayak paddle. If you don’t have one you end up going around in circles.
Caring is often seen as a practical thing, whereas loving is a more emotional thing. But we care because we love. As I have mentioned before, this is not a mushy romantic love, or even the love you have for family members. It’s a dogged decision to seek the best for another person because of their innate value. That’s the sort of love God has for us. And we express it in practical ways as we care for others.
Caring for someone should involve us in praying for them, which is immensely practical, and in offering practical support and help.
But whom do we care for and love? To use another water-based image, consider ripples that are spreading outwards from dropping a stone into a pond.
At the start of the book of Acts Luke tells us of what Jesus said before he ascended into heaven. He told his friends that they would be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth. They were in Jerusalem (local). Which was in Judea (nearby). To the north was Samaria (further afield). And then there’s the rest of the world (the rest). Ripples flowing outwards from the immense splash they would make when the Spirit of God empowered them.
For us, our Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth is: our local community in Mutley, to Plymouth, the UK and the wider world.
What’s yours? How might a people focused Jesus want you to care for and love people in those different arenas?
nukelearfishing 