……for the Civic Service!

Reproduced with kind thanks to my Chaplian Rev Alan Jewell, Team Rector St Nicholas Halewood.

Jesus and Politics

(Written for the Mayor of Knowsley’s Civic Sunday at St Nicholas’, Halewood, 28th June 2009.)

I believe that when hairdressers are being trained, they are told never to discuss religion or politics with their customers. I don’t know if this is true, but it makes me wonder what it’s like when Desmond Tutu goes to the barbers…

“Going anywhere nice for your holidays, Archbishop? Got any plans for Christmas?”

Desmond Tutu is, of course, more than happy to discuss religion and politics. He once said:

“When people say the Bible and politics don’t mix, I don’t know which Bible they are referring to. It’s not the one I’ve been reading.”

I suppose the problem is with bad religion and bad politics – the sort of religion that supported apartheid in South Africa, segregation in the United States, and Nazism and anti-Semitism in Europe.

More recently, we have had the uncomfortable sight of the British National Party claiming to be “the only political party standing up for” Christian faith and culture. I’m not generally in favour of a blasphemy law (I tend to think that God does not need us to defend him in court), but the BNP came close to converting me with their election poster featuring an image of Christ crucified, a quotation from scripture (“If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you;” John 15:20) and tagline, “What would Jesus do?” – the implication being that Jesus would vote BNP to defend Christianity in this country! I’m not convinced that the BNP would welcome Jesus the Jew as one of their supporters!

So, what kind of politics emerges from the Bible that Desmond Tutu reads? Some ideas from the bible readings set for Sunday 28th June:

In 2 Corinthians 8, we read that the mother church in Jerusalem is in financial need - again. Paul writes to the Christians in Corinth to encourage them to make a gift to help their sisters and brothers in Jerusalem. He reminds them of the example of Jesus who, though we was rich, became poor, so that we might become rich, at least spiritually. Other churches, Paul says, have given generously, sacrificially, but the church in Corinth seems reluctant. Paul wants them to see that it is not right for them to have plenty – more than enough – while their sisters and brothers in Jerusalem are struggling. He points out that in the Old Testament story of God giving his people the manna in the desert – the bread from heaven – each had just enough bread to eat every day: no-one had too much and no-one had too little. That’s how it should be amongst us, he says: no one should have too much; no one too little. Amongst Christians there should be a level of equality, not vast inequality between rich and poor.

So there’s a Christian, biblical principle – there should be a degree of fairness and equality in the distribution of wealth – but how to turn that into politics? Some would see this as a socialist ethic: “from each according to their ability, to each according to their need” – to use a phrase popularised by a certain Karl Marx. (Historian Arnold Toynbee described communism as a Christian heresy; others have pointed out that Marxism and communism had their roots in Judaeo-Christian soil.)

Others would argue that the scripture points in favour of capitalism: if the Christians in Corinth hadn’t created wealth, they would not have generated a surplus from which to help meet the needs of their poorer sisters and brothers in Jerusalem. They would say this wealth needs to be created in order to trickle down to those less able to generate wealth.

Getting from a biblical or spiritual principle to a political application isn’t always straightforward: hence Tony Benn’s assertion that the Labour Party owed more to Methodism than it did to Marxism; and Margaret Thatcher’s use, on becoming Prime Minister, of the Prayer of St Francis. Both Benn and Thatcher claimed to draw inspiration from Christian teaching, but their applications were diametrically opposed in political terms.

Because of this, I have never felt that there could be a Christian political party – although we were given the opportunity of voting for The Christian Party in the recent European elections. There are plenty of Christians whom I love and respect, but whose political views I do not share. We may draw our inspiration from the same source, but we differ over how to apply those principles.

Nevertheless, it is a biblical principle that there should be a measure of equality: God has provided enough manna to feed us all. Why then do some of God’s children live with obscene wealth and others die in obscene poverty? According to UNICEF, nearly 10 million children under five years of age die each year from causes related to poverty. Peter Singer, in his book “The Life You Can Save”, points out that one billion people in the world have less to live on each day than we would spend on a bottle of water2. He argues that world poverty could be ended relatively easily, if those who had the wealth were prepared to give a modest proportion of it to help those who have none. If you have clean water coming out of a tap that you could drink, but you choose to buy bottled water, you have more money than you need – while there are people in the world who have no access to clean water. Singer is not a Christian, but his argument seems to me to be eminently biblical!

In Mark 5:21-43, we see Jesus healing two people – a woman suffering from haemorrhages and a child who has died. If we are familiar with the Gospel accounts, we are not surprised by these stories. We might be aware that, in Jesus’ own day, religious leaders had little to do with women and children, whereas Jesus’ own ministry valued and honoured both women and children. But we might miss the fact that his contact with both of these people – the woman with the haemorrhages and the child – compromised Jesus’ religious purity, according to the religious culture of his day. A woman who was bleeding was considered ritually unclean: to touch her was to become unclean yourself. (In the gospel we read that she touches him, rather than he laying hands on her, but Jesus affirms her as well and healed and tells her that she may go in peace.) Similarly, a corpse is ritually unclean and it makes you unclean to touch a dead person. Jesus takes the dead child by the hand and speaks to her, “Little girl, get up!”

A woman and a child – both are dangerous to Jesus’ religious purity. But that doesn’t stop Jesus reaching out to them, literally and spiritually, taking them by the hand and affirming them as God’s children.

From this we discern a biblical principle: the priority Jesus gives to those whom religion and society would exclude or marginalise. What would Jesus do? Reach out to those who are excluded, marginalised. How then should a Christian behave? What should the church do?

And how to apply this principle in the political realm? Again, that requires each of us to make a judgement, informed by biblical thinking and supported by prayer; but it is clear that when we vote and act, we are required to think what our voting and acting will do for those excluded and marginalised by our society.

It’s fair to say that today, those who seek and hold elected office are not exactly held in high esteem. In fact, the expenses scandal means that MPs have done the impossible and replaced bankers as the people we all love to hate. (It looks as though BBC executives might be next!) The biggest problem is when voters, or those who should be voters, say, “a plague on all their houses” and opt out. As we know, this simply opens the door to extremists. In my experience, local politicians are good people, committed to serving their communities – to making the world (or at least their part of it) a better place. We need those we elect to be clear about their principles. Those who seek to serve would do well to listen to the biblical principles of commitment to social justice and to the needs of those excluded and marginalised by society.

May God bless us – all of us – as we seek to love and serve Him in loving and serving the communities in which live.

Alan Jewell

A busy day today starting with a visit to the Merseyside Primary Games where I joined other Merseyside Mayors in signing a pledge in support of the 2012 Olympics and Para Olympics with Lord Seb Coe then on to Listening Ear’s AGM in Halewood.

Listening Ear is one of my chosen charities this year so I was delighted to be able to spend some time with them today, albeit a bit rushed!

Representatives from Knowsley Council joined war veterans to raise a flag to commemorate Armed Forces Day.

Cllr Smithson, Mayor of Knowsley, Knowsley Council’s Chief Executive Sheena Ramsey, and local councillors gathered outside Huyton’s One-Stop-Shop where they watched as local war veterans helped raise the flag on the Huyton flagpole.

The flag will remain at full mast until after 27 June, which is the official Armed Forces Day. The occasion recognises the courageous men and women who make up the Armed Forces community throughout the past, present and future.

Mayor of Knowsley, Cllr Smithson - who himself is a veteran of the first Gulf War- says “It was an honour to be part of the Armed Forces Day commemorations and to stand alongside those men who so bravely fought in the war. It is important that we recognise the sacrifice men and women have made for our country not only in the past, but those who continue to fight today and will do in the future.”

An excellent evening in Preston watching the Beating the Retreat on Saturday, part of the Armed Services Day celebrations which are taking place this week.

Like many political anoraks I’ve been wading through some of the details of the MP’s expenses that have been officially published this week.

Not that they reveal too much of course seeing as most of the details on the claims/receipts are blacked out!!

 Naturally I thought I would look at my own MP’s to see out of curiousity as much as anything else just what he had claimed.

I was very surprised what I found though! Reading the section on Incidental Expenses for 2007/08 the first claim of the 210 pages in this section lists seven (yes 7!!) different mobile phone bills which come to a total of £632.32 (unless I made an error and will have to repay some of this!!).

Similar amounts for numerous mobile phone bills are made throught the year.

As they say it’s good to talk………………..

Now I’m not making any specific point here and certainly not using this for politcal mischieve or gain, I dare say many many other MP’s from all parties have claimed for spurious things and what appears on the surface to be excessive amounts for which there could be good reasons for, I guess it is for the public to make their own judgement abouth their own MP and whether or not he or she was “playing” the system.

But I am concerned though about Mr O’Hara’s plumbing arrangements! In November 2007 a claim of £3539 was made for plumbing services but then on page 62 for August 2007 there is also a claim for plumbing services for £3395 and again on page 96 also during August 2007 another claim for plumbing services was made for £3395……….maybe the way the receipts/claims have been scanned/uploaded to the site makes this look as though it has been paid twice though?

I’ve lost count of the number of computers/laptops that have been bought!! And then there are the light bulbs and tv remote controls…..essential tools for any MP’s parliamentary duties!!

If like me you are really bored and there is nothing on TV (actually it’s a lot better then Big Brother which I can safely say I have NOT watched at all this year!!) then the full details can be seen here http://mpsallowances.parliament.uk/mpslordsandoffices/hocallowances/allowances-by-mp/edward-ohara/

If you wanted to ask him about these claims yourself you could always look at page 132 though for a number to call………………

Had a fantastic night at the Community Foundation Network’s Spirit of Merseyside Awards at the Anglican Cathedral last night, Stick’n'Step won the Children & Young People’s Award and St Mary’s Day Care Centre in Halewood won the Health & Well-being Award.

Then to cap off a great night Stick’n'Step also won the Project of the Year Award, what a night!!

Started with a visit to the Register Office in Prescot for the 3 weekly British Citizenship ceremony where new citizens are officially welcomed to the UK having completed the Home Office tests and criteria. These are always very family orientated events and now we broadcast them live via the Council’s website so family and friends who are unable to attend can watch the event!

 Then it was on to Knowsley Hall for the annual Liverpool John Moores University Good Citizenship awards sponsored by Arriva North West and hosted by Lord David Alton. This was an especially rewarding and uplifting event hearing the many wonderful stories about the children from Knowsley schools who had been nominated for awards, every one of them very special in their own unique way. More about the Roscoe Foundation can be found here http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/roscoe/

The following post has been reproduced with the kind permission of Rev Alan Jewell, you can read his very enlightening blog here - http://blog.halewoodparish.org/

 The New Mayor of Knowsley - and his Chaplain!

On Friday 15th May, Councillor Dave Smithson became Mayor of Knowsley. Dave is a resident of Halewood and well-known to us as a local Councillor, and as someone whose involvement in the community includes taking an active role as part of the steering group for Halewood CultureFest.
The Mayor is the Borough’s ‘first citizen’ and in formal terms has precedence at any gathering in Knowsley (except where Her Majesty the Queen, or a representative of the Queen is present). The Mayor’s role is to represent the Borough and to work for the well-being of all who live and work in Knowsley. For the past year Dave has been Deputy Mayor to Councillor Michael Foulkes and on a number of occasions Dave has stepped in when the Mayor himself was not available. Dave is being supported in his role by his wife, Councillor Sarah Smithson, who will be Mayoress for the year.
One of the ways in which the Mayor uses his year in office is by nominating certain charities for his support. In Halewood, we were very pleased to learn that Dave has chosen Listening Ear and the Butterflies project. (His other named charity is Lyndale Cancer Support, based in Huyton.) When it comes to raising money for his chosen charities, Dave has a hard act to follow: Councillor Foulkes raised some £42,000 during his mayoral year!
I am very pleased to say that Dave has asked me to be Mayor’s Chaplain for the year. This is an honorary post, and I do indeed feel honoured to have been asked! My first duty was to say Grace before dinner at the ‘Mayor Making Evening’. As someone who spends quite a lot of time speaking in public and saying prayers, you might have thought I would have taken this in my stride: those who know me better will understand how nerve-wracking I found it! Although it was a formal occasion - with the Octagon room at the Huyton Suite packed with luminaries from Knowsley, and guests from Stadt Moers and Montana, Bulgaria - I managed to hold onto the microphone without dropping it and even got a laugh before saying grace. (Not sure if the Mayor’s Chaplain is supposed to get laughs: maybe there’s a protocol handbook I should get hold of?) Grace over, Rose and I enjoyed a very good meal, good company and a delightful evening. (Maybe being Mayor’s Chaplain won’t be so bad after all?!)
The next event I have in my diary is the Mayor’s Civic Service. This will take place at St Nicholas’ at 11:00AM on Sunday 28th June. I am thrilled that we are able to host this event for the Mayor and guests. Look out for more details nearer the time.
I don’t know what other duties I will have to perform during the year, but I have been promised that at least some of it will be fun!
I believe that Dave’s election as Mayor of Knowsley is a positive one for Halewood, not least in making sure that Halewood is on the Knowsley map and in ensuring that here in Halewood we have some sense of what it means to be a part of Knowsley Borough. Without straying into party politics, I can say that I have been impressed with Dave in the contact I have had with him. Equally, we have appreciated having Harry Birch as our Town Mayor in this past year, and look forward to another good year with Councillor Sue Moretta in that role.
At a time when those who seek elected office are held in lower esteem than ever, and when more people than ever seem disenchanted with the whole business of politics, I have to say that my experience of those who represent us and work for us at a local level, in Halewood and Knowsley, is that these are people who are committed to their community, to making a contribution and to serving others.
We pray for our Town and Borough Councils and all who serve our community.

 …..the rest of the family were pretty chuffed too!!