www.MethodistPreacher.com

New horizons

2012-02-02T20:13:00.000Z

I'm undertaking a new professional assignment at present and feel it inappropriate to continue with this ever controversial blog. So for the time being blogging is suspended.

A "me" in my bonnet

2012-01-08T20:53:00.001Z

I have a bee in my bonnet. It is about Daniel Iverson's wonderful worship tune "Spirit of the Living God" which is number 295 in the Methodist hymnbook "Hymns and Psalms".

Given the awfulness of some of the editorial work on "Hymns and Psalms" we should be thankful that this sole example of 20th century worship music made it into the collection. However there is something that I now find a irksome if sung as per hymnbook. It makes "me" the centre of the hymn with no less than seven mentions.

From now on I'm going to ask congregations to sing it through as three separate verses.

First verse will be as per hymn book.

Second verse will be a prayer for one another "Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on you....Break you, melt you, mould you, fill you.."

The third verse will be for the congregation as a body of believers "Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on us....Break us, melt us, mould us, fill us".

Who knows? This may be the prayer for a new pentecost.

The questions the Methodist Recorder won't answer about its future

2012-01-06T17:09:00.003Z

During November of last year there was a lively debate on the UK Methodists Facebook page about the Methodist Recorder. A little research led to a post about its unrepresentative board and finances. A few days later a detailed look at their website revealed just how out of touch the Recorder management are with modern web based communication. Despite the detailed post - sent to the Recorder - the website is still in the same disgraceful state.

In early December I sent the Editor of the Recorder a letter outlining some of the anxieties that many Methodists have about our denominational newspaper's future. Normally a commercial organisation would be anxious to assure staff and customers of their solvency. My letter would have offered such an opportunity. But I forgot. In British Methodism our betters always know better. I had absolutely no right to dare to ask such questions.

My letter remains unpublished in the Recorder. Just a few years ago that would have been the end of the matter. Internal Methodist debate could so easily be stifled. Not any more. Here is my letter, now easy to find on the web but unchallenged by the Methodist Recorder management:

18 November 2011

Dear Editor,

This week’s edition of the Methodist Recorder saw a short article about the closure of The Baptist Times opposite a display advertisement inviting readers to celebrate the Recorder’s 150 year anniversary.

Methodists reading the story about the demise of the The Baptist Times will doubtless ask whether our own denomination newspaper will soon face the same fate. This will be a heavy blow. The Recorder plays an important part in the life and witness of the denomination, even if there are quibbles about content and speed. Whilst the Recorder is run by an entirely independent company, every Methodist is a stakeholder.

According to the Recorder’s website it enjoys a circulation of 22,000 and a readership of 100,000. Those figures were posted at least six years ago. As the newspaper withdrew from the independent Audit Bureau of Circulation in 1991 we have to accept that the Recorder has – unlike the rest of the printed media - maintained its circulation. However, every Methodist knows that the claimed readership of 100,000 is just plain daft.

Like the Baptist Times the Recorder has seen advertising revenues fall. Major advertisers such as Action for Children (previously the National Children’s Home) withdrew long ago. Where there used to be two of three pages of “situations vacant” there is now barely one. Even the number of churches advertising Sunday services has steadily declined. In fact the biggest advertiser in the Methodist Recorder is the Methodist Recorder itself!

Meanwhile there are legitimate questions about the long term financial stability of the Methodist Recorder and its pension fund. Much has been made in the past of the fact that the Recorder owns its own freehold premises in central London. This ceased to be the case in January of this year when the building was mortgaged to the staff’s pension fund. Even the most benign pension fund managers will be obliged, at some point, to insist that its property is used to its full potential, I gather they have a legal obligation to do so. How long before the Recorder is homeless? With respect I don’t recall the Recorder even covering this significant story about its own future.

The way in which each of us receives news is changing rapidly. There is now a far greater reliance on the internet. Sadly the Recorder just hasn’t been able to reflect these changes. Worse still – let me say this as gently as possible – the paper’s website is an embarrassment. There are out of date telephone numbers on every page, dead pages, many broken links, and an entry for Action for Children sends readers to a commercial dentist in Nottingham! The whole thing is a shambles and does no justice to the newspaper or the wider denomination.

However there are things happening both in the wider Christian church and our own denomination that can point to a new future. The connexional team has embraced new technology and social media. They are now providing up to date news as it becomes available. These stories are then repeated on blogs, facebook pages, twitter and other social media.

We no longer have to wait two or three weeks for the Recorder to get round to carrying the story and then another fortnight to read comments on the letter’s page.

My estimate is that at least 2,000 Methodists, many of them in the “lost generation” are active on the various Methodist social media channels. The big communications story of the 2010 Methodist Conference was the success of the twitter feed. But it wasn’t led or sponsored by our own newspaper!

The websites of other denominations manage to provide a news service, sometimes on a subscription basis, and still maintain a printed edition. It can be certain that they are struggling and the closure of The Baptist Times shows that they are not always successful. But at least they are trying to come to grips with a new age.

By all means celebrate 150 years of publication. However it is all about looking back to a cosy and predictable past. Now tell us honestly and hopefully with enthusiasm about the independent Methodist news service that will be available in the years ahead.

Yours,

My Son and The Cat

2011-12-16T09:52:00.000Z

This afternoon we will celebrate the life of my firend Andrew. When he was a small boy his father Bob wrote a poem. I have been asked to read it at the service:

My Son and The Cat

My Son
Produces noise gathers dirt
Finds trouble eats sweets
Chases the dog
Likes games hates bed
Loathes soap loves ice cream
Keeps clear of The Cat

My Son
Has pockets crammed
With so many joys
It would bring envy
To a scrap man's eyes

My Son
Is a fireman a dustman
A policeman a sherriff
An engine driver
A spaceman a cowboy
Abuilder of bridges
A tamer of tigers
Who keeps clear of The Cat

My Son
Lives in caves climbs mountains
Visits the moon slays dragons
Rides magic carpets to fairyland
Kills more Indians than Custer
But keeps clear of The Cat

My Son
Is a ball of joy
Every inch a boy
But he can't make a pact
With our old ginger Cat.

Rest in peace

2011-12-11T17:25:00.001Z

One of the happiest posts ever on this blog was way back in May 2007 when I recounted a fantastic weekend as we celebrated the wedding of a close friend. This week I return to the same village, same church and same churchyard to attend the burial of the friend who was the groom at that wedding. After the pain and suffering of recent months may Andrew now rest in peace.

Blog suspended

2011-12-05T16:57:00.002Z

A whole range of issues have arisen that makes it difficult to post at present. Back soon.

No wonder more patients die at weekend

2011-11-28T09:18:00.000Z

This mornings news that patients are 10% more likely to die at a weekend in an NHS hospital came as no surprise to me.

Last week a close elderly relative was admitted as an emergency to a large acute hospital. On Friday morning I found her in a six bed bay with five men. I complained.

On Saturday morning I found her in a for bedded bay for women, but it was only intended to hold four. Her bed had been squeezed in between two other beds. There were issues about privacy as the curtains obviously didn't go round the beds. There were also issues about nursing care. The nurse told me that "all" my relative had to do was to press the buzzer if she needed anything. There was no buzzer for patients five and six in a four bedded bay.

I wanted to take the opportunity to get an update on my relative's medical condition. I eventually found a very tired looking 25 year old who was midway through a 12 hour shift. He hadn't seen my relative and explained that he was solely responsible for 250 patients.

So I had to complain all over again and ask the matron to find another bed, which she did. But when worried about an elderly relative who has had a nasty turn I'm not really in the right frame of mind to have to complain simply to protect dignity and ensure nursing care. This morning I'm going on another round trip of 70 miles as much to check-up on care as to comfort and support my relative.

After this episode is over I may make a formal complaint.

Old comrades

2011-11-25T10:18:00.002Z

Earlier this week I had the pleasure of attending the official launch of John Kotz's book Vintage Red that I reviewed a few weeks back .

The event was held in the art deco splendour of the council chamber at Hackney Town Hall. Rodney Bickerstaffe was there plus various old friends from my youth.

John was on form and gave an impassioned explanation of how the Labour Party managed to win elections in working class areas such as Hackney on an 80% turnout. His argument was that for all the gimmicks such as postal voting and longer polling hours the best way to get them to vote is to give people something to vote for.

So that's me together with former councillor Eddie Millen, John Kotz himself and veteran Communist party stalwart Monty Goldman.

Hackney Town Hall Council Chamber hasn't changed much since I was last there in 1971 - except that above the Mayor's chair there is now a portrait of our unelected head of state.

UPDATE Luke Akehurst, who I am reliably informed is an excellent local councillor representing Chatham ward on Hackney council has also posted a review on his blog. This may also be an opportunity to thank Luke for taking us on a guided tour of the "rogues gallery" of former mayors to see familiar faces and and relive some great memories.

How Islamaphobic myths are circulated

2011-11-24T15:26:00.004Z

All it takes to generate a racist myth is a tiny grain of truth, a willingness to lie and the internet.

I have an elderly acquaintance who enjoys forwarding the latest jokes that appear in his in-box. Sometimes they are a bit risque. They are normally harmless fun. I don't forward them further but I must admit that I fell off my seat when I read the one about the military man who hadn't made love since 1955.

Last week however he forwarded me something a little more sinister. It was accompanied by the picture here of a poppy posted on the doors of a mosque in Posrtmouth.

The message read:

"One is seriously wondering who's country we live in!!!

"In May 2010 Tohseef Shah spray painted a British War Memorial with "islam will dominate osama is coming" he was fined £50 & walked free from court.

In November 2010, Emdadur Choudhury burned a Poppy during the 2mins silence. He too was given a fine, £50 and walked free from court.

Today, 2 men have been sentenced to 12 months in prison for spray painting a Poppy on a mosque. Pass this on if you think it’s a bloody disgrace"

I was curious about this story. I could find no reference to a Tohseef Shah on the internet. However one Emdadur Choudhury had been fined for burning poppies.

But I was curious about the story from Portsmouth. Personally I take great exception to anyone reducing the poppy to a piece of graffiti but I suspect that will be lost on the people who did it.

But two one year sentences for graffiti?

For the last week I've been watching and waiting for this story to appear in the mainstream media. Its the sort of story that sections of the media absolutely love. But nothing has appeared to corroborate it. Because it is a lie.

There was however some trouble outside the Portsmouth mosque during which Blaise Silvestor was arrested for violence. But there's no corroboration for the claim that two men have been jailed for spay painting a poppy. But this story will just get passed on and believed.

Gambling back on the church agenda

2011-11-23T11:08:00.002Z

The issue of problem gambling makes a welcome return to the agenda of the British Methodist Church. The church is to join with other Christian groups in making representations to the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee.

Sadly little has been said by Methodism about gambling in recent years. The 2011 Methodist Conference received a report entitled Of equal value: poverty and equality in the United Kingdom. Not one of the 18,000 words referred to the poverty faced by Britain's 350,000 problem gamblers and their families.

However this changes today. James North, public issues policy adviser for the Methodist Church in Britain, comments: “The figures speak for themselves: problem gambling is on the rise. But the government seems determined to liberalise gambling laws. It is vital that the government understands the challenge posed by this worrying increase in harmful gambling and takes action to reverse it. We are also deeply concerned about their plans to cut the funding for the Gambling Prevalence Survey. This is the only comprehensive study of gambling in the UK and is essential if we are to prevent and treat problem gambling.”

Britain is the only country in Western Europe to allow children to gamble. The Gambling Act gives the secretary of state the power to put an age limit on some or all of the machines that children are allowed to play and the churches will suggest that now is the time for this power to be used.

The escalating levels of problem gambling were entirely predictable and this blog is one of the few Methodist spaces where the issue has been raised over the last five years.

Some Christian individuals - including some in the Methodist Church - mistakenly thought that by supporting the "liberalisation" of gambling coupled with a commitment by the gambling industry to "social responsibility" all would be well.

The Methodist Church in particular went to extraordinary lengths to collaborate with this fantasy. We even patted ourselves on the back for our efforts. But let us not dwell on the past. Let us hope that the Methodist Church again proclaims our compassion and concern for problem gamblers.

Caring for the elderly - where have we gone wrong?

2011-11-23T09:31:00.000Z

Today's report into the care of the elderly should be a real wake up call. About half of those surveyed reported themselves happy with the care provided. But

"the inquiry also revealed many examples of older people’s human rights being breached, including physical or financial abuse, disregarding their privacy and dignity, failing to support them with eating or drinking, treating them as if they were invisible, and paying little attention to what they want. Some were surprised that they had any choice at all as they thought they had little say in how their care was arranged.

"For example, evidence given to the Commission included a woman being left stuck on the toilet in her bathroom, as the care worker said she was too busy completing the list of care tasks to help her; and people with dementia not being prompted to eat or their food ‘hidden’ in the fridge, so they go hungry; and a woman who asked for help with her washing up and to be assisted to walk out into her garden but was given help washing herself instead."

In the 1970s I worked for two very different local authority social service departments - East Sussex and Birmingham. I also served on the social services committee of Sandwell Borough Council. During that period I heard of several complaints about the care of children and young people and those with mental health problems but very few about the care of the elderly.

The mainstay of support in the community were home helps, meals on wheels, and district nurses. In the main these were directly provided by employees contracted to the local authority or the NHS. Sometimes meals on wheels were provided by voluntary organisations such as the WRVS. Residential care was provided through local authority homes with employees again directly contracted to the local authority.

Just occasionally there would be an accusation that an employee had stolen from a client. But with the notable exception of one home in Birmingham (co-incidentally in the former Primitive Methodist ministerial training college in Quinton) I never heard of any suggestion of physical or systemic abuse.

Basically the system in operation in the 1970s actually worked mainly because it was supervised by engaged and elected local councillors who carried out their own inspections and investigated any allegations.

The modern system of outsourcing, arms length bodies and distant local government "scrutiny committees" over various private contractors is a recipe for tick box care, poor management and low wages and demotivated carers. We need to learn the lessons of the past and ditch the idea that effective care must always be provided through the "free market".

When the going gets tough

2011-11-15T10:02:00.000Z

Whole pile of things at the moment making life very difficult. I shared my despair about one situation with the congregation on Sunday. My health is fine but when a close friend is suffering our hearts go out to them and those around them. Sometimes we would like to have an answer but the words fail as we try to respond.

One of our members prayed overnight and sent me the following text from Lamentations 3:31-33 -

³¹For men are not cast off by the Lord for ever.
³² Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love.
³³ For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men.

Wilfred Owen: Disabled

2011-11-13T00:01:00.000Z

He sat in a wheeled chair, waiting for dark,
And shivered in his ghastly suit of grey,
Legless, sewn short at elbow. Through the park
Voices of boys rang saddening like a hymn,
Voices of play and pleasure after day,
Till gathering sleep had mothered them from him.

                       *            *            *
About this time Town used to swing so gay
When glow-lamps budded in the light blue trees,
And girls glanced lovelier as the air grew dim, -
In the old times, before he threw away his knees.
Now he will never feel again how slim
Girls' waists are, or how warm their subtle hands;
All of them touch him like some queer disease.

                       *            *            *
There was an artist silly for his face,
For it was younger than his youth, last year.
Now, he is old; his back will never brace;
He's lost his colour very far from here,
Poured it down shell-holes till the veins ran dry,
And half his lifetime lapsed in the hot race
And leap of purple spurted from his thigh.

                       *            *            *
One time he liked a blood-smear down his leg,
After the matches, carried shoulder-high.
It was after football, when he'd drunk a peg,
He thought he'd better join. - He wonders why.
Someone had said he'd look a god in kilts,
That's why; and may be, too, to please his Meg;
Aye, that was it, to please the giddy jilts
He asked to join. He didn't have to beg;
Smiling they wrote his lie; aged nineteen years.
Germans he scarcely thought of; all their guilt,
And Austria's, did not move him. And no fears
Of Fear came yet. He thought of jewelled hilts
For daggers in plaid socks; of smart salutes;
And care of arms; and leave; and pay arrears;
Esprit de corps; and hints for young recruits.
And soon, he was drafted out with drums and cheers.

                       *            *            *
Some cheered him home, but not as crowds cheer Goal.
Only a solemn man who brought him fruits
Thanked him; and then inquired about his soul.

                       *            *            *
Now, he will spend a few sick years in institutes,
And do what things the rules consider wise,
And take whatever pity they may dole.
To-night he noticed how the women's eyes
Passed from him to the strong men that were whole.
How cold and late it is! Why don't they come
And put him into bed? Why don't they come?

The 360 assessment tool will soon be available for ministers and church leaders

2011-11-11T18:49:00.002Z

A 360 feedback tool is now being prepared for ministers and church leaders. A Birmingham based management consultancy is working on the project.

360 is a method of gathering feedback from subordinates, peers, and supervisors. It also includes a self-assessment and, in some cases, feedback from external sources such as customers and suppliers or other interested stakeholders. It is widely used in industry.

I have been invited to contribute to the early research. My role this morning was to be one of many church leaders who are being asked to look at the various attributes that are needed by a minister. I was a little staggered to find myself confronted with about 200 cards all of which describe different aspects of ministerial leadership. It is good for lay people to remember that the job of minister is a little more complicated than we sometimes appreciate.

It took about three hours to go through the process - with welcome tea breaks - and I must admit to feeling quite drained when I left.

I've seen 360 used in the NHS, and even contributed to two assessments. Those who undertake it say that it is a very useful way of helping them understand how they are perceived by others. This could be an important extra facility to help ministers and leaders adapt to a changing environment. Methodist ministers will find it extremely useful as they do have the opportunity of a fresh start every five to seven years.

The consultancy are keen to hear from ministers and church leaders to help them in their research so anyone who can spare an afternoon or morning would be very welcome. In the first instance contact me through Facebook or on the address on the side bar of the blog.

We will remember them

2011-11-11T09:20:00.000Z

Drop the NHS Bill - sign the petition

2011-11-08T23:08:00.000Z

Just had a note from my colleagues in the Labour Party:

Put the NHS first

The Government is planning the biggest re-organisation of the NHS since it began in 1948.

It is unnecessary, unwanted, wasteful and damaging – and threatens to end the NHS as we know it. Only last year, the Government promised people they wouldn’t do it. Many thousands of people have already called on the Government to stop.

But they are ploughing on, ignoring public and professional opinion, out of touch with Britain. We need to make the Government listen before it's too late.

Sign the petition and say “I call on the Government to drop the Health and Social Care Bill”

The smears begin in earnest - now is not the time to be a bishop or an actress

2011-11-06T18:55:00.004Z

Just over a fortnight ago a Conservative MP, Louise Mensch made herself look very silly on television when she attacked the #occupyLSX demonstrators who had set up camp outside St Paul's Cathedral in London. The basis of her complaint? That the anti-capitalist demonstrators had queued for a cup of coffee at the nearby Starbucks. Apparently to buy coffee from a capitalist firm in a capitalist economy is the height of hypocrisy, even if there is no alternative.

Well that was not a spontaneous remark. At that point the protest was to be portrayed as an eccentric outbreak of middle class hypocrisy hence her other references to expensive mobile phones and tents.

Then came the "empty tent" story. The Daily Telegraph used a heat sensor camera to argue that the tents were empty at night. The following day the protesters hired the same camera and came to the opposite conclusion.

Over the last few days various senior churchmen have come and gone. The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have made cautiously sympathetic and legal action by the Church of England has been put on hold.

Now the smears will get nasty.

Firstly there are the attacks on the occupiers themselves.

The Daily Express opened up using a 91 year old veteran who believed that his regiment's Remembrance Sunday service and parade would be jeopodised by the protest. The Express article finished by saying "The Daily Express’s “Boot Them Out” crusade demands that the squatters be removed before Remembrance Sunday".

Meanwhile the Daily Mail has gone into overdrive. They had the veteran, inappropriate graffiti (the letters "666") on the Cathedral (though it looks like a corrugated iron building, rather than the Cathedral walls) and now they have picked up a story from behind the Sunday Times paywall that cleaners have to deal with "human waste" as protesters are accused of using the Cathedral lobby as a toilet.

As I predicted on these pages last week not all those "protesting" were the real thing. The Sun has sent its own undercover reporter in and doubtless there will be more from both The Sun and other papers. Incidentally The Sun reporter says she was invited to the "love tent" from which she had to make her "excuses and leave". More of that over the next few weeks.

But the Church of England, especially St Paul's itself is faring no better. Senior clergy haven't (yet) carried out the threatened eviction demanded by some sections of the popular press so they are now "fair game". First up was the Daily Telegraph with its sponsored-choirboys-and-seats-for-the-rich. That was certainly designed to get the non-conformist blood boiling.

Today the Mail of Sunday runs a story that St Paul's is financed by 80 wealthy City assets strippers who have thrown thousands out the work. Surprise, surprise. They'll be exposing the Pope as a Catholic next.

So in future weeks the stories will get more lurid and more unpleasant. The protesters have made a strategic mistake in allowing some among them to wear masks. This will make press and police infiltration easier. Stand by for splits, violence and internal dissent. The protesters will almost certainly be caned for whatever they do on Remembrance Sunday and during any subsequent big event. Watch out for stories about the "love tent" discovered by The Sun, expect a rape or indecent assault allegation.

Meanwhile the big wigs in the Church of England, especially those with any connection to St Paul's, will find their private lives trawled for financial, moral or sexual hypocrisy. Especially sex. Now is not the time to be a bishop, especially if you have a close friend who is an actress, or even an actor for that matter in these more enlightened times.

One thing is certain. Even if you have misgivings about the protest, the establishment is certainly rattled.

Planning for Remembrance Sunday 2011

2011-11-05T09:06:00.003Z

Next Sunday the 13 November I shall be leading the Remembrance Sunday service at City Road Methodist Church Birmingham. The service will start at 10.50 am in order that we will join the 11.00 two minute silence. Uniforms and decorations are welcome and I shall be wearing mine.

Over the years I have collected some resources in this blog that may be of assistance to anyone leading a Remembrance Sunday service.

These include:

The Preachers Toolkit - list of useful information which I found when researching my first Remembrance Sunday service. This can be supplemented by material from the Methodist Church's own site here.

Women at War - sometimes we forget the contribution and participation that women make during war time. I tried to remedy this one year by reading a section from Lucilla Andrew's book No Time To Love. I found it quite moving especially as I had the honour of meeting Lucilla.

Searching the Commonwealth War Graves site - this is very simple, can be absorbing but brings home to a congregation the impact that both wars had on every local community. It would be possible to get the youth organisations or other members of the congregation to tell the story of local people with local addresses. The CWG records for the Second World War list UK civilian casualties, especially interesting in large towns and cities which suffered air attacks. I used the stories to write a press release that brought in non-church goers.

War poetry - every library now has a collection of the poetry of the First World War. These are now available online and can make a moving and challenging - and often secular - contribution to the service. My favourite is not about the dead, but the living, Wilfred Owen's Disabled is s reminder of those who returned broken in mind and spirit. Beware - it isn't too kind on the role of Christians!

Another favourite must always be Studdart Kennedy aka "Woodbine Willy". I wrote in more detail about him here, much of what he says and its impact go well beyond the war and may in the future be used to illuminate how 20th century people changed their perception of God.

Finally, if anyone has any additional ideas please feel free to add them in the comment box. I no from previous years that these resources are heavily used during the next week and original ideas are always welcome.

Sometimes we are challenged why we still commemorate Remembrance Sunday (and I have more than a passing sympathy for that tradition in Methodism that prefers to wear a white poppy). Here I explain why I wear a poppy.

God bless you and have a good service.

NB some of the links given in posts were put together several years ago. If any are broken my apologies and would you alert me. Thanks

A good way to handle bad news

2011-11-04T17:26:00.002Z

Tonight's Birmingham Evening Mail

Reading my evening paper on the bus I came across this exemplary piece of communications work from the Methodist Church.

Earlier this year many of us here in the Midlands were shocked to be told that a respected local preacher had used his position to abuse teenage boys. It is a nasty story that I won't repeat in detail. Tragically several young people and their families have suffered greatly.

Sadly the tendency for many religious organisations is to pretend that such abuse never happens and when it is discovered they try to hush it up. On this occasion the Methodist Church have came up trumps. We set up a full inquiry led by a former President, learnt what lessons we could and have now issued a full apology that was carried in today's local newspapers. That is the right and good way to handle bad news.

I discovered a fuller story when my Methodist Recorder arrived this evening. I do hope that the report is placed online because there are clearly lessons that we need to learn again. Some of these lessons are reported more fully in tonight's Northern Echo. It may also be useful when confronted by those who complain about "health and safety culture" and CRB checks.

Sadly this may not be the last occasion that the church's name is associated with child abuse. I noticed in the annual report and accounts of the Methodist Insurance Company (pages 14, 31 and 35) that they have had to make special provision worth over £5,000,000 for insurance claims going back over fifty years in our children's homes.

Some claims have been settled, some are in the process of being settled but we are warned that some may not have yet been reported. These cases represent the tip of a spiritual iceberg that probably did much damage to people who will never see the Methodist Church as a place of safety.

Old phone numbers, broken links, wrong cover price - the Methodist Recorder "online"

2011-11-02T15:17:00.018Z

Today's Methodist Recorder website front page.

Wrong cover price on the front page
Disconnected telephone numbers on every page
An online bookshop that doesn't exist
Ghost pages from the main menu
Ridiculous claims about readership
Out of date information for readers
A "links page" where most of the links are not working
(including one to Action for Children that lands on a commercial dentist's page)
This is the Methodist Recorder "online" as the print edition celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2011.

Earlier this week I ran a short article about the directors, shareholders and management of the Methodist Recorder. I reproduced publicly available information from Companies House.

Co-incidentally the Methodist Church media team published a podcast interview with John Aldridge, Chair of the Methodist Recorder board, who I know to be a decent bloke with printer's ink where the rest of us have blood. The interview is worth listening to, however when John started talking about websites and twitter he seemed less sure of himself. He described the website as "OK" but admitted that it needed some improvement.

This led one or two readers on here and on the excellent UK Methodist Facebook page to post a few comments. Now I regard the Recorder as a family friend - it even carried a story and picture about my wedding - so I was a bit upset with the comments that were made about the Methodist Recorder website.

These included:

"The WORST web site I have ever seen..... are they on this planet? A high school student could create something better!"

"Gosh, you're right! I would've expected a much more impressive website than that!"

"I gasped, loudly, on opening the recorder's page. I'm so disappointed. I had to google to see if it really was the only Methodist Recorder Website."

Dave Faulkner gave his forthright views last week and they make interesting reading. "It is primitive. It has been the same for years. It might just have been acceptable in the 1990s, but that website is now an embarrassment."

So are these negative comments justified? And is it necessary to make them? The second question first. The Methodist Recorder in both print form and online are often the only connection Methodists have to the wider movement beyond their church. So whatever the Recorder says about being "independent" its an important part of the Methodist family and to a large extent represents us to the world. It is especially important for young people who - as John Aldridge rightly said in his podcast interview - get their news and information in new and changing ways.

So are the comments about the Recorder website justified?

This morning I took a slightly more detailed look by following the front page navigation buttons.

Front page: first impression is that this was put together in the very early days of the web. The design is at least ten years old, certainly I'm aware that it hasn't changed in any way since I started blogging in 2007. Significantly it says the cover price is £1.60 when it went up to £1.95 (I think) in January. Clearly no one is taking responsibility for "weeding" and updating. Navigation to other pages is via stylized radio buttons, again indicating a very early design. Significantly there is no news on the front page. Something that newspaper people should immediately realise is not a good way to sell a newspaper!

Prominently displayed on every page is the telephone number 020 7251 8414 and a fax number 020 7608 3490 but more about that later when I actually dial them.

News page latest headlines: four short stories plucked from the current week's edition. Today it is up to date but not always. There are ten links along the bottom of the page: not one works. Navigation has to be through my browser rather than through the site.

Page three A look at the life and history of the Methodist Church: This looks promising, listing Methodist heritage sites. First listed, Wesley's Chapel in London. Oh, link broken. Of the remaining nine links a further two are broken. But that's seven out of eleven that work. These are not links to outside sites, they are internal links. So what is the quality of the information? Let's go to the Black Country page, the area of Methodism I know best. The stories are OK, but the information is hopelessly out of date. For example the admission charges quoted for the Black Country Museum and Sandwell Valley Farm are clearly out of date possibly by several years. Why not just put a link through to their sites rather than reproduce information that needs constant updating?

Page four The history of the Recorder: good article, but what other newspaper makes its history a major feature on its website? It also confirms what a lot of us think: in 1998 the Recorder went "live" on the internet and this gives us a clue about how long the website has been around in its present form.

Page five Guidelines for submission: another OK page.

Page six Details of our regular articles and features: Not certain if this page is entirely up to date. We are assured however that "As a totally independent and self-financing paper, we are never compromised in bringing you the real facts”. The page is illustrated by a "rogues gallery" of twelve people who have contributed in recent months. None are named, all are white, ten are men, and (let me put this politely) all except one are obviously middle aged or older.

Page seven Puzzled by Methodist Conference? Here’s how we can help. It doesn’t help at all. It goes to a ghost page.

Page eight How to subscribe and how much it costs: Having been inspired by the rest of the site I decide that the one thing I want to do is to take out a subscription. So I obediently click through to the subscriptions page. But it doesn’t tell me how much it costs.

So I dial 020 7251 8414 the number provided on every page. Now I promise I am not making this up. I get a redirection message telling me to ring another number 020 7793 0033. I get through to someone who can't immediately give me the price of an annual subscription because subscriptions run on a July-July basis and therefore change all the time. Ann isn't in today but he would get her to ring me back. Thoroughly embarrassed for the Recorder staff I offer my apologies and decide to stick with the newspaper boy. I wonder how long the phone number has been changed and why on earth no one bothered to change it on the website?

Page nine: Books, Music, Videos by Post - a reader service from the Recorder: Another potentially useful page, what have they got in stock? First I'm redirected to a "new page" and then I land on another Page not found message. Another ghost page! Surely they have noticed that no one is buying from their online bookstore? And anyway, who buys videos these days?

Page ten Advertising rates and mechanical data: The first thing I notice is that the promised advertising rates are nowhere to be seen. There is a note about collaboration with other religious newspapers but it leaves me none the wiser. As a potential customer I have to email them to get an email back. I note the circulation stands at 22,000 with the ridiculous claim that on average each copy is read by up to five people, giving a readership of 100,000!

At the top of the page is the now redundant telephone number. Perhaps I'll try the fax machine? So I dial 020 7608 3490. That number, also on every page of the website, is "unrecognised, please check and try again". In the past I've managed advertising budgets worth thousands of pounds. Would I really advertise with the Recorder on the basis of this site and this page?

Page eleven Links to other Methodist and Christian sites: Now this surely must be a useful feature and one where an organisation like the Recorder could offer a genuine reader service. The page has four sections including an introduction.

The introduction points out that it doesn't list individual Methodist churches but promises “A list of local churches with sites is available at the Methodist Church site" I click through the offered link and the page is not found.

So I scroll down to the next section. This lists, complete with logos, 17 Methodist organisations. Only two work, 15 don’t. The one for NCH Action for Children sends readers to a commercial dental site!

The third section could be quite important. If a Minister or student googles “University Methodist Societies” this page comes up at number three on the results page. Fifteen societies are listed. Not one of the links work.

The third section, listing other Christian sites fares better with only two broken links out of 13. But the majority of the "links" on the link page don't link.

My conclusion is that the Methodist Recorder website is an embarrassment as Dave Faulkner says. Just the fact that they list an out of date telephone number, give the wrong cover price and have broken links from their main menu tells us everything we need to know about the future of the Methodist Recorder. It won’t last another five years, never mind another 150.

How long will it take for the Recorder to correct the cover price and telephone numbers? They have been sent a link to this post.

The gerontocracy that runs the Methodist Recorder

2011-10-31T15:35:00.009Z

The Methodist Recorder is celebrating its 150th anniversary. How much does the average Methodist know about the "world's leading Methodist newspaper"?

It has a cover price of £1.95 (though its website still states it as £1.60) - costing regular subscribers over £100 per year. It claims a circulation of 22,000 and an "estimated" readership of 100,000 each week. The Recorder withdrew from the certification scheme of the Audit Bureau of Circulation in 1991.

Update: see more recent post to read about the Recorder "online"

It is led by a seven strong board, six of whom are non-executive directors, only one non-executive is a woman and no directors are from British Methodism's diverse ethnic minority membership.

The non-executive directors are Steven Wild, Michael Taylor, Ann Pardoe, John Newton, Christopher Hughes-Smith, and John Aldridge. Three are in their 80s, two in their 70s and one in his late 50s. Their average age is 75 years 6 months. There is only one executive director and she reduces the average age to 71. This means the board has fve men to two women. All live in England south of Nottinghamshire.*

The company's publicly available abbreviated return reports (31/12/2010) total assets valued at £570, 491. The abbreviated accounts do not provide an accessible profit and loss account, but comply with the appropriate provisions of the 2006 Companies Act. In 2005 the company reported total assets of £633, 954.

In January of this year all the company's assets, which included the freehold and leasehold of the newspaper's premises in Golden Lane, London, were mortgaged to the Methodist Newspaper Retirement Benefit Scheme.

There are one hundred issued shares with a nominal value of £25. The 89 shareholders currently listed with one share each are: David Blatherwick, Peter Blatherwick, Stuart Burgess, Ronald Gibbins, Anthony Reddie, Donald Sampson, Ann Sherperdson, S Wild, Mary Ludlow, John Atkinson, Michael Bray, Gladys Dawson, David Ensor, Douglas Hopwood, Alma Hunt, Elizabeth Hulbert, Brian Greet, Kenneth Wilson, R Pile, Colin Smith, Peter Sutcliffe, Martin Turner, Eunice Irvine, Paul Harrington, Robert Hinton, Avril Bottoms, D Brown, Ronald Charlton, J Reddall, Keith Garner, C Smith, Michael Taylor, R Arnold, Doreen Hare, Ian Haile, Martin Wellings, F Smith, William Burt, Peter Howdle, Paul Flowers, Paul Hulme, Nicola Jones, Frances Young, Michael Hill, Stephen Parish, Leslie Griffiths, Ivan Weekes, Rob Hufton, Colin Morris, John Aldridge, Lucy Rogers, Barry Weetman, John Newton, Stuart Bell, Ann Pardoe, David Wigley, John Gray, Trevor Bell, J Bridge, Brian Thornton, Paul Kinvig, John Maclure, Moira Sleight, Kenneth Greet, David Holland, Arthur Simmons, Martin Forward, Timothy Macquiban, John Dale, Ian Rigby, Bryan Coates, Margaret Jarvis, John Withinshaw, Margaret Daniels, Martin Hunt, D Rutter, Neil Richardson, John Singleton, Stephen Plant, Janet Sinclair, M D Atkins, Judy Jarvis, Tom Stuckey, T E J Styche, Rosemary Wells, L P M Sleight, David Hart.*

Methodist Newspaper is a private company limited by shares and was incorporated 13 March 1863

* Source annual return submitted 04/04/2011

UPDATE: A fascinating interview with John Aldridge, Chair of the Methodist Recorder board, has just been released by the Methodist Church media team. When it comes to new forms of communications John says the right things but then says the Recorder website - the one that says the cover price in £1.60 - is "OK", which it clearly isn't. He also confirms what a lot have thought for some time, that the finances for the future of the Recorder are dependent on the property portfolio, which he doesn't mention has now been mortgaged to its pension fund! The Recorder really could be a vibrant communications hub if it took new media seriously. http://www.methodist.org.uk/index.cfm?fuseaction=opentogod.webradio

The Methodist Church in Britain | Methodist Web Radio

www.methodist.org.uk

The Methodist Church of Great Britain

Christians want Chancellor to close the gap between rich and poor

2011-10-31T12:52:00.000Z

Representatives from a range of Christian denominations and charities, including the Methodist Church, have handed over a letter to the Chancellor today asking the Government to tackle tax avoidance in order to close the gap between rich and poor. More details here.

Bourgeois theology and structures will not challenge the rich and powerful

2011-10-30T15:03:00.001Z

Some are expressing shock and horror that the bourgeois Church of England are about to seek legal remedies for the eviction of the protesters presently camped in front of St Paul’s Cathedral. What started as a protest against world capitalism has become a sad little battle within the Church of England.

But why the shock and surprise? Was anyone really thinking that the established church would line itself up against the rich and powerful?

The Church of England, alongside many other Christian denominations is part of the bourgeois elite and seeks to control spiritual life on behalf of those that have the power.

In its foundation document, the 39 Articles, the Church of England specifically rejects any political programme which seeks to redistribute wealth (see Article 38 “The Riches and Goods of Christians are not common as touching the right, title, and possession of the same, as some Anabaptists do falsely boast…). No western Christian denomination, including the Methodist Church has ever challenged that position.

Bourgeois structures and theology completely smother our church and our faith. Our Bible colleges and Ministerial training programmes are all about ensuring that the radical message of Jesus is confined to personal salvation at best or New Age mysticism at worse. At the moment we have a license to be radical about “global warming” but that is conditional that it doesn’t really challenge the status quo and remains a legitimising way to stifle the economic aspirations of countries such as China and India..

Bourgeois theology ignores Jesus’s proclamation that He had come to preach the acceptable year of the Lord, no one bothers to learn the lessons of Jubilee from Leviticus and Deuteronomy, the primitive communism of Pentecost is forgotten in the rush to spiritualise Whitsun, and no one tells us why the first Christian martyr was Stephen.

As for Mary’s reaction on hearing that she was to bear Jesus, we are left to assume she is exalting motherhood and apple pie. And when Jesus own brother James writes an epistle far more radical than anything written by Marx we are told by the patronising and ill informed theologians that it should be “read in context”.

As for the Sermon on the Mount, well when Jesus says “blessed are you who are the poor”, He really means “the poor in spirit”, and is all about depression and middle class anxiety. The bourgeois are very selective in which parts of the Bible we should accept at face value.

We now have a whole generation of Christians who have never read “The Ragged Trousered Philantropists” or anything by Conrad Noel. Many active Christians today have only ever been taught or exposed to bourgeois theology.

That’s why we don’t understand where the Church of England and other churches really stand on the present crisis of capitalism. There they stand, with the rich and the powerful. At the end of the day they can do no other. We need to put our faith in Jesus and Scripture, not in the Church.

Impressions from the occupy #LSX at St Paul's Cathedral

2011-10-29T19:22:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I spent an hour outside St Paul's Cathedral in London having a nose around the "Occupy #LSX" encampment.

Over the last week I've had a number of concerns about how this demonstration will continue, how it will end, and what it will achieve. I've been particularly concerned by private reports that the sister demonstration in the US, "Occupy Wall Street", has developed some anti Semitic characteristics. Melanie Phillips and Labour MP John Mann have given voice to this more sinister aspect of the "Occupy" movement in recent days. During my brief visit yesterday I saw and heard nothing to suggest a similar development outside St Paul's, but would not discount it as a possible mutation.

Why do I use the word "mutation"? Because I get a sense that this demonstration could go in several directions. Just walking around and seeing the various posters in the area shows that the demonstration has attracted every sort of campaigning group imaginable. Various types of Christianity were visible, especially those supportive of the poor, but there were plenty of other causes being promoted - veganism, various shades of the New Age, the Socialist Worker Party, greens, Kurdish independence, and even a plea to stop Scientologists getting tax breaks. Many of the posters ranged from the coherent to the down right looney. How far they represent those actually camping was difficult to say.

What didn't seem to be present was a coherent programme of ideas or a realistic manifesto to address the central reason for the demonstration,which I assume is the replacement of capitalism with something more stable, just and humane. But I may have somewhere got it wrong. Were they accepting capitalism but merely wanted it to be tweaked and managed differently?

Sadly I didn't have the time to dialogue with many actual demonstrators so when I returned home I interrogated the website Occupy London especially the "Initial statement" . This I must admit didn't really help me any further.

Clearly there are some who believe that this demonstration is on a par to those which the CIA used to orchestrate in former Soviet republics, you may remember the socalled orange and purple "revolutions". Others clearly thought this was a British version of Tahir Square, there's even a poster proclaiming the area in front of St Pauls as such.

Let us be honest here. Those demonstrating during the "Arab spring" took far greater risks than those camped outside St Paul's in a country which normally respects the rule of law. We need to take care that in making the comparison we are not belittling those Arab demonstrators, particularly those who paid with their lives. Incidentally those demonstrators succeeded because they had the support of a mass movement and had very specific demands. I'm not certain that these conditions currently exist in the UK, people are not gathering in their thousands to support the St Pauls demonstration.

Another Methodist blogger hit the nail on its head after his own visit. Peter Phillips said he felt it was a bit like the Christian festival Greenbelt. Sadly I suspect he may be right. People having a good time, lots of fun, and when consciences are clear, everyone going home back to the mundane. O doubt if that's how it felt in the real Tahir Square

So I'm back to where I started in politics. Over the next few days we shall see the farce of the Church of England trying to sort out its misfortune at having had this demonstration dumped on its doorstep - there were other sites in that area once Paternoster Square was closed but I suspect the front of the Cathedral was chosen by the demonstrators as a soft option. If they couldn't confront capitalism they could make things difficult for a few hopeless clerics. And incidentally please don't assume that any other denomination, including us Methodists, would have acted differently if having a similar problem on our own doorstep.

Then there will be the farce of a forced eviction. A few people will get hurt, hopefully no one will get killed. I wouldn't rule out some dirty tricks such as the English Defence League turning up. I have seen with my own eyes a demonstration smashed up by apparently roving thugs. Certainly the coverage in the popular press has been unrelentingly hostile and on occasions scurrilous. And don't underestimate splits and arguments. Remember that several of the demonstrators will almost certainly be serving police officers.

So we will face the prospect of a whole bunch of young people walking away, thoroughly disillusioned, convinced that little can be done to effect real change.

So I think back to the days when I was one of the few elected politicians who actually took on capitalis, and paid with my livelihood.. I opposed the Labour Party's re writing of our Clause IV. I still believe that a mixed economy with various forms of common ownership such as mutuals, co-ops and nationalised strategic industries are still the best way forward. These can only be achieved by arguing the politics, winning the argument and getting elected. Against such a long term strategy the occupy LSX is little more than a passing stunt. I just hope that it raises consciousness, not dulls it.

Leslie Griffiths says his farewell

2011-10-27T19:25:00.002+01:00

I'm putting Leslie Griffiths remarkable letter in today's Methodist Recorder online. If you click it will enlarge into a readable document. I certainly don't agree with Leslie's decision, nor his hankering after an Anglican "conditional ordination" but some of his language strikes a chord.

When he was President of Methodist Conference, the present General Secretary of the Methodist Church, Martyn Atkins, referred to the large number of people he met during his presidential year now serving in other churches, who had started their spiritual journey as Methodists. At last year's conference our current President, Leo Osborn, made a telling comment: "I’m equally concerned about what is happening at the back door: those who slip away due to our pastoral neglect or remain but feel disappointed or uncared for". Good point. When I studied marketing we were always told that the unhappy or lost customer could tell us things about our business we needed to know.

Leslie has laid out for all to see how he feels. I suspect that the Methodist Recorder has many such letters, all of which remain unpublished. This one from a former President, a member of the House of Lords and a regular contributor just could not be ignored.

Sadly Leslie says what a lot of those who "slip away" actually feel. Just some of his points:

"I mourn for a church that can raise itself to such heights of false pride and contumely.....I have experienced (or been made aware of) vilification, character assassination, suspicion, jealousy, and downright mean mindedness of fellow Methodists...We have belittled ourselves with our littleness.....once I'm retired I shall no longer want to be "in Connexion" with the Methodist Conference.....I've had enough of the back-biting, sly, venomous and debilitating comments I have suffered over the last few years."

His letter ends with the dire warning that Methodism will itself be buried. But Leslie also makes another important point: the strength of the "unconditional love and patience" from his own congregation at Wesley's Chapel, that he had found in "virtually all the churches and circuits I've served."

He then makes the most important point of all: "there's a chasm between our people and those who lead them."

Here am I serving God through the Methodist Church in one of the UK's poorest and least regarded communities, but I find many echoes of Leslie's complaints in my own experience beyond my immediate circuit.

Several times I've offered, for example, to serve on various Connexional working groups. I have met the "littleness" to which Leslie refers preventing the Connexion making use of my experience and skills that are clearly in such short supply. Over the years I've had jaw dropping letters from little people with little grievances holding little jobs who would be an embarrassment to the Church if anyone in the outside world cared to be interested in our collective self abuse.

But what keeps me in the Methodist Church is what actually happens on the ground. I mentioned an example earlier today from the other end of the country. Here in Birmingham without the support of our members and circuit, a much needed church in an impoverished community would have simply faded away. Go beyond the circuit and we see little support. When I've taken up some serious issues (not blogged about here) I've been astonished at the inability of the Methodist "leadership" to actually do the right and just thing. This I have learnt is not a matter of individuals but a systemic institutional problem that simply debilitates. We are strong at righting the wrongs of the Middle East but paralysed by our local difficulties.

Somehow we need to address Leslie's point about the chasm between the Methodist people and those who imagine they lead..

Cancer ward

2011-10-27T08:58:00.000+01:00

I have to be careful how I write this post, but I want to share something.

Earlier this week I visited a cancer ward. It was with apprehension. Whilst I was there I met two very special people, who were not the reason for my visit and neither of whom I had met previously.

One was a woman in her forties with cancer, the other was her mother. They had every reason to be absolutely miserable. Both however spoke very animatedly, and positively, about their church and the support they received from the Reverend Smith down in Cornwall.

They made it clear that their faith in God was a major part in their lives and was especially important during their present trials. Their impact was considerable, especially on two people I love very much. They were able to witness from a point of suffering and anguish which gave an authenticity to the message which others just cannot give.

I'm not comfortable with a campaign currently being run by the Methodist Recorder called "proud to be a Methodist", but as I listened to this mother and daughter, and heard of their Methodist church, that's exactly how I felt: proud to be a Methodist.

British government "deeply concerned" by Fiji restrictions

2011-10-21T14:26:00.001+01:00

Following earlier publicity about the restrictions placed on Methodists in Fiji I contacted my Member of Parliament John Spellar.

John took up the issue with the Foreign Secretary and has now sent me a response written by Jeremy Browne, Minister of State. It reveals that the Fiji High Commissioner has been called in and made aware of British concerns, something that hasn't apparently been reported elsewhere.

The relevant sections of the letter read:

"The British government is deeply concerned by reports of restrictions being placed upon Methodists in Fiji that impinge upon their rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and freedom of association. On 12 October I raised these concerns with the Fijian High Commissioner to the UK, expressing my dismay at these developments and noting that this latest action by the authorities in Fiji can only serve to increase their isolation from the international community.

"Our High Commission in Suva, Fiji, is maintaining close contact with the Methodist Church and will continue to lobby the interim government in Fiji to remove the restrictions.

"The British government is working closely with international partners, such as Australia, New Zealand, the EU and the US, to promote the restoration of democracy and human rights, including freedom of religion, to Fiji.

Cameo role

2011-10-20T10:13:00.000+01:00

Amazingly busy time sorting out insurances, gas companies and future business contracts so little time to report or contribute here. However my friends - some of whom read this blog - may be interested in one of the legacies of a recent assignment. I was working at a London teaching hospital and we needed a "patient". Getting a real patient can be a hassle as we have to fill in lots of forms. Sometimes its easier to get a member of the comms team to step in. In fact when I worked for NCH I posed as an abusive parent in one publicity shot. On another occasion in Birmingham I was strapped on a stretcher and airlifted in a helicopter - terrified me. Anyway, here is my latest cameo role. Back in a few days.

The church annual accounts are done, well, er, sort of

2011-10-17T20:30:00.000+01:00

Regular readers will know that I've been a bit "off the boil" lately. It seems that I have spent every minute of the waking day over the last three weeks trying to sort out the church books ready for auditing. After spending hours on the book I don't feel I have enough time to set the world and the connexion right. Tonight I have finally accepted that I am not going to find that missing 90 pence. I'm handing the books over to our auditor who has a forensic mathematical mind and I'm certain he'll find the error. Just imagine there are 4,500 other poor souls going through this process during the autumn months as we prepare for the circuit returns.

The Palestine Solidarity Campaign attracts anti-Semites

2011-10-15T10:45:00.007+01:00

Does the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which attracts many Methodists, also attract anti-Semites? Should PSC meetings be held on Methodist premises?

Over the last week this blog has carried the news that a member of the audience made unacceptable comments about Jews and the Holocaust at an ill-advised PSC meeting held at the Rivercourt Methodist Church. The meeting clearly violated the spirit of Methodist Standing Orders 920 and 921. Astonishingly it was allowed to go ahead following consultation with connexional officers, a decision defended by the secretary of the faith and order committee.

Meanwhile the PSC has been peddling very fast to distance itself from the comments, even emailing another Methodist blogger with their side of the story. This is in addition to the full statement which I was obviously prepared to published in the interests of fairness on this blog .

That the outburst was anti-Semitic is accepted by all, including the PSC. There is however a quibble about whether is was said inside or outside the meeting, though there is no argument that the person had attended the meeting. The PSC ask whether they are supposed to vet attendees for their views or their opinions. That is a good question and one that the Connexional team should have addressed before agreeing to the meeting.

Regular readers of Harry's Place, the Jewish community blog will be in no doubt that the PSC and their new recruit Stephen Sizer have some very dubious associates (the engage site provides a helpful summary of recent PSC stories).

Joseph W yesterday explained in detail how a speaker at a PSC meeting - not held on Methodist premises - promoted anti-Semitism towards British Jews, even identifying a particular Jewish community in London. She promoted the usual anti-Semitic lie of divided loyalites. Readers can see the full grisly speech on YouTube and judge for yourself. Not only can you hear the speech, but you can hear the applause. Presumably the PSC couldn't vet the audience for their anti-Semitic opinions and applause, but it was they who chose the platform speaker, one Laura Stewart.

Ms Stewart appears to have form. Let Harry's Place explain, and it really is worth following the links if you want to understand why many Jews are apprehensive about the activities of the PSC, including it seems Tony Greenstein who is well known to the PSC's friendly Methodist blogger. Follow the links from Harry's Place:

Last month, whilst defending Gilad Atzmon, Laura Stuart emailed Tony Greenstein this video, entitled What Famous Men Say About the Jews (all negative), uploaded by a user called “Aryan000005“.

This blog is read by our connexional hierarchy - they even send me letters about it from time to time - but after today, if they are so unwise as to give the go ahead for another PSC meeting on Methodist premises, they should at least ensure that Laura Stewart is not among the speakers.

They should also suggest that the PSC do take responsibility for ensuring that known anti-Semites, such as the Jane Green who desecrated Rivercourt Methodist Church, should be denied admission.

Well done Methodist comms team

2011-10-14T21:42:00.001+01:00

The Methodist Church communications team have scooped a prestigious first prize tonight at a Christian media awards bash for their viral video Tell Show Be. Full story here. Well done!

TELL.SHOW.BE. - English from Tell.Show.Be on Vimeo.

At 9.00 BST tomorrow we will all be Welsh

2011-10-14T18:46:00.001+01:00

After last week's pathetic display by the English rugby team we will all be hoping that our friends in Wales will keep the home nations' hopes alive tomorrow morning.

I'm due at the church at 10.00 am, I think I may be a little late.......

Metal thefts - letter in the Recorder

2011-10-14T07:58:00.001+01:00

This week's Methodist Recorder carries a letter from Methodist Preacher on the growing problem of metal thefts:

The Recorder’s welcome coverage of metal thefts from churches (MR 6 October 2011) highlights a crime that is beyond the power of any victim to resolve.

Methodist Insurance and English Heritage may offer advice which may or may not prevent individual thefts but the problem is much more deep seated. For example suggestions that church metal is specially marked is naive given the process of which metal theft is part.

Here in the West Midlands we are at the centre of the metal recycling industry.

It has many admirable qualities: it provides a free collection service of large metal items; gives people some work and income; and ensures that waste metal is reused. All benefits that Methodists should welcome.

However it is the epitome of the free market. I’ve had a nose round the scrap yards and talked to some of the collectors.

Metal collection is completely unregulated. Entry to the trade is easy - all you do is go round collecting metal. This can be done with a lorry but I have seen some desperate migrants from Eastern Europe collecting on foot and using carrier bags. It is impossible to tell who the collectors are. Their vehicles are unmarked and they are highly mobile. There is no way of telling whether their collections have been acquired legally or illegally, or a mixture of the two.

The loads are taken to the many scrap yards now to be found throughout the country. No questions are asked, though I gather there are furious rows about the value of each delivery. Weight is everything, its source, form or even the content of the metal is irrelevant. No records are kept of who supplies which piece of metal. Payments are cash in hand with all the implications of lost tax revenue.

Within hours of arrival at the yard the metal is simply loaded into a giant container and a few days later is on the high seas en route to the Far East. The detailed sorting and reclamation work is undertaken on arrival. Few of the more skilled recycling jobs are created here in the Black Country.

The only way the collection of stolen metal can be stopped is by regulating the entire trade. This is urgently needed. It isn’t just churches which are suffering. Power cables are especially vulnerable and many a commuter has found their journey to work disrupted by stolen signalling equipment. Entire communities have been without power or telephones when essential utility kit has been taken for scrap.

A licensing system would be self funding, ensure that tax is paid and go some way to preventing the disruption and damage caused by illegal collections. It would also protect the reputations of entirely legitimate businesses.

The impetus for such regulation has to come from the insurance industry and organisations such as English Heritage. The sooner this happens, the better.

Anti-Semitic views WERE expressed in Methodist Church - official

2011-10-12T17:24:00.003+01:00

The Palestine Solidarity Campaign has admitted that anti-Semitic views were expressed by people attending a meeting on Methodist church premises in West London earlier this month. Their full statement has been published here.

A woman supporter of the PSC was recorded saying that a "few hundred thousand" Jews died in the Holocaust when "they had their foreskins chopped off". She also told Jews present "You are using the fu*king Holocaust to kill the Palestinians." According to those present she made the comments in the church and then repeated them outside where they were recorded.

It has since emerged that Methodist Connexional officials at the highest level actually gave the go ahead for this meeting to take place, despite the PSC holding views that are directly contrary to Methodist Conference policy supporting the right of Israel to live within secure borders. The PSC logo, on display in the Methodist Church during the meeting, clearly envisages the destruction of Israel.

The Reverend Doctor Peter Phillips, secretary of the powerful Methodist Church Faith and Order Committee claimed on this blog "Nothing in the meeting itself contravened SO 921 and the minister was present to ensure this. As far as I understand it, the minister discussed the meeting and all measures which might be necessary beforehand with our Inter Faith relations officer." Dr Phillips has criticised this blog for suggesting the content of the meeting should have been discussed by Connexional officials saying "Might be good not to jump for the negative assumption that consultation has not happened prior to the event being held".

It beggars belief that Connexional officers saw this as a legitimate meeting to be held on Methodist premises and then have their agreement endorsed by the Secretary of the Faith and Order Committee. The relevant standing order makes it clear that political meetings should be held in very specific circumstances including a provision that such a meeting should not have a detrimental effect on the peace and unity of the church and its witness. Meetings should also be held within the context of specifically Christian theology and ethics.

Standing Order 921 says:

921 Political Matters. (1) Managing trustees may not sponsor meetings in support of political parties, nor may such meetings be held in the name of any otherMethodist body. Nonetheless managing trustees may permit occasional use of Methodist property for political meetings by non-Methodist bodies and may sponsor meetings designed to promote informed discussion of public issues in the context of Christian theology and ethics. Before agreeing to such use, the managing trustees shall consider, in the light of any advice which the Connexional Team may issue from time to time, the extent, if any, to which the granting of such permission would have a detrimental effect on the peace and unity of the Church and its witness.

How the pictures get on the front page

2011-10-11T19:47:00.000+01:00

Ever been on a "peaceful" demonstration, only to find the headlines and front pages dominated by violent images which distorted what you were trying to achieve? This short documentary looks at how photographers in one conflict area actively influence the news agenda. We need to learn to be more critical of the images provided in our newspapers and on our televisions. Hat tip: Harry's Place.

Why did I miss that extra half hour in bed?

2011-10-08T11:24:00.000+01:00

Getting up early enough on a Saturday to see England played off the field by a none too good French rugby side is not my idea of a good start to the weekend! Grump, grump!

Anti-Semitism openly expressed at meeting in Methodist church

2011-10-07T11:38:00.007+01:00

A pro-Palestinian meeting at a Methodist church in Hammersmith turned into an opportunity for the anti-Semites to express their bigoted views. A Jewish Chronicle blog report says

One was recorded as saying when asked about the Holocaust "I don't know, I wasn't there" in response to our question "Were there gas chambers in the concentration camps?" We also recorded her saying "a few hundred thousand" Jews died in the Holocaust. "How did they die?" we asked. "They had their foreskins chopped off ...."

We also recorded her saying "You are using the fuc*ing Holocaust to kill the Palestinians."

When the Methodist Church took the decision to throw our reputation in with the Palestine Solidarity Campaign we ran the risk that we would be reduced to being tarred with the same brush as some very undesirable elements. It is time we understood that a large motivation for the anti-Israel activity comes from old fashioned anti-Semitism both within Christianity and Islam.

I would advise every Methodist to read this article and try to understand why Methodism's antagonistic policy towards Israel and the new "friends" we have recruited are causing distress and dismay to our Jewish neighbours.

I can't support Jonathan's suggestion that individuals lobby the Minister by calling her on her mobile phone. However I do think someone at Connexional Headquarters should look again at standing order 921 and point out that meetings with anti-Semitic content clearly violate Conference policy. A google search for "Ravenscourt Methodist Church" does suggest a very eccentric lettings policy and they have previous form.

UPDATE: A fuller report of this meeting appears here
UPDATE: The PSC has admitted these comments were made

QE2 and our local health centres

2011-10-06T18:11:00.001+01:00

The FT calls it "shock and awe" as the Bank of England, unelected guardians of our economic well being, launch a second tranche of "quantitative easing" (hence QE2) in a desperate attempt to improve market confidence and pump more money into the economy.

For those unsure of how quantitative easing works The Guardian has published a simple guide. The basic rule is that the Bank of England buys assets from commercial banks, giving them more money to lend to businesses. At least that's the theory. In effect the Bank of England is printing money and the bankers are profiteering. It will take some time for the real impact to trickle down into the economy. As a tactic in 2009 it may have had some traction as a one off. In 2011 it begins to look desperate.

Everyone I meet in business at the moment tells me how slow things are. Unemployment is rising. Businesses are closing. We are all feeling the pinch. The economy certainly needs a boost but QE2 seems to be the only feeble official response.

Meanwhile, my local newspaper tells me that Sandwell Primary Care Trust is to shelve plans for six urgently needed health centres. This follows the coalition government pulling the plug on a far reaching programme to improve local schools. It seems the Bank of England can print money to profit the commercial banks, but it can't print money to build public assets.

In Sandwell, as elsewhere in the West Midlands we now have horrendous levels of unemployment. People are sitting at home running out of money to spend in the shops whilst their time and talents are wasted. Electricians, plumbers, brickies, carpenters, heating engineers are all there ready to work. It is possible to replace money, but it is impossible to replace time. John Wesley was fond of telling early Methodists about the folly of wasting time.

So why not do the obvious? Let's use the money the Bank of England is printing to build those health centres and schools. Take people off the dole, give them a living wage and let them spend in local shops. That will liven up the real economy. It will by pass the commercial banks and go straight into local shops and stimulate demand. Lots of customers have a greater and more positive impact on a business than extra loans to stave off bankruptcy. Its time to get rid of monetarism and become a little more Keynesian. Sadly we have a government at the moment that is bigoted against anything that smacks of public spending.

Ice rink plan for Lightwoods Park

2011-10-06T10:30:00.000+01:00

There are plans to bring the ice rink normally located at Centenary Square in Birmingham up to Lightwoods Park this Winterval. Full details are on the Bearwood blog.

Now this is my back yard so I will make a few comments:

1) There will be parking issues - but these can be sorted;

2) There will be noise issues - but these can be managed;

3) There will be litter - but this can be cleaned up;

4) It will bring people into Bearwood and this will benefit local businesses and jobs;

5) It will provide local children with an opportunity to enjoy skating - a link up with local schools will be really helpful;

6) It will give local churches and charities the opportunity to sing Christmas carols and raise funds;

7) It will provide another focus for the community - it would be great if we could have a special Bearwood community evening with fireworks and a hog roast;

7) Everyone's a winner - let's hope it comes off!

They shall not pass: the legacy of Cable Street

2011-10-05T08:00:00.003+01:00

History says that World War 2 started on Sunday 3 September 1939. The truth is that the battle against fascism had started several years before as working class people stood up for dignity and solidarity.

This week we commemorate the 75th anniversary of the "Battle of Cable Street". This broke out when the fascists tried to march through an area of Stepney in East London heavily populated by Jewish and Irish immigrants. The working class movement of London gathered under the Republican slogan from the Spanish Civil War No pasaran – “They shall not pass”. And they didn't.

In the 1960s I went with some veterans from that famous day and saw some of the sites. Cable Street by then was already changing and the area has changed more since as the City gradually encroaches on what is now valuable real estate.

However, fascism with the ugly twin sisters of anti-Semitism and Islamaphobia still lurks awaiting its chance to find a scapegoat for the continual crisis that is capitalism. We need to remember that when soft capitalism fails, such as the current coalition government, there is a mailed fist ready to hit the working class and defend the rich and powerful. They will find a scapegoat and a solution that suits them.

Good articles in today's Daily Mirror, the BBC website and a special perspective from the Community Security Trust.

Attention Warley Woods community force voters

2011-10-04T14:28:00.001+01:00

Not time to blog at present but a quick note to anyone who loves Warley Woods. If you register with the Nat West Community Force site you can help them distribute small packages of money some of which may come to the Warley Woods Community Trust and help repair the fountain and buy a new mower. It takes about 45 seconds to register and vote.

Once you have registered you get three votes. Use one to help Warley Woods in the Birmingham area. Then cross over to North Wales and cast a second vote for a scout group urgently in need of cash to sort out their hut which they share with the local guides. Two good causes. Back 'em both!

The Labour Party and our Methodist roots

2011-10-03T07:53:00.001+01:00

Former Prime Minister Harold Wilson famously said that the British Labour Party owed more to Methodism than to Marx. I was unable to get up to last week's conference in Liverpool so can't give a first hand report. In fact when I used to attend I often made a passing impression of being the life and soul of the party.

However the right wing Daily Telegraph has carried a "colour piece" in which it accuses Labour of not being able to enjoy itself because "a Labour shindig is a contradiction in terms. Not for nothing is a clumsy dancer accused of having two Left feet. This is the party of Marx and Methodism not Margot Fonteyn (or even Madonna.)"

Well I was inclined to dismiss this as right wing sour grapes. But then I caught that final act of sanctification for all Labour Party conferences - the singing of "The Red Flag" at the end of proceedings on the last day.

Here we have proof that the Labour Party has finally freed itself from our Methodist roots. We often beat ourselves up about our shrinking and elderly congregations but even the smallest chapel in our circuit could have made a better job of singing "The Red Flag" than this lot!

Letting us down on and off the field

2011-10-02T09:08:00.001+01:00

Yesterday's English performance against Scotland was hardly the highlight of the rugby world cup.

It seems that the problems lay in a little too much off the field activity. The latest allegations only confirm what many of us feel - that this squad are not entirely focused on providing a world class commitment.

What it means to be a discipleship movement shaped for mission

2011-10-01T00:01:00.001+01:00

The General Secretary of the Methodist Church, Martyn Atkins has been putting some more flesh on the bones of his aspiration for Methodism to be a discipleship movement shaped for mission. Martyn clearly has a firm vision that the Methodist Church still has much to give. This is the first of a series of podcasts which will promote this view. A welcome development. Also available in sound only.

Have you done your poo test?

2011-09-30T13:52:00.009+01:00

This blog has never been afraid of pushing at the boundaries and taking on taboo subjects. Today I've decided to break a real live taboo and write about the bowel cancer screening programme currently underway amongst NHS patients over the age of 60.

Let me start by declaring an interest: I am two thirds of the way through harvesting the samples at the moment. The process is disgusting, but I'll describe how I am doing it later. I received my test kit about four months ago and have just been putting it off and putting it off. I didn't take the test when it was sent to me first time round in 2008.

A couple of days ago I "googled" the subject. It was something that no one else talked about and I was hoping to find some helpful hints on collecting the samples. However I was horrified to find that men are more likely than women to suffer bowel cancer but considerably less likely to take the free test. Overall nearly half the test packs are not used by the recipients, representing a massive waste of money and missed opportunity.

All the evidence is that the earlier bowel cancer is detected the more likely it is to be treatable. Already the programme has detected 7000 cancers and led to 40,000 polyps being removed, preventing thousands more cases

The bowel cancer screening process has been running for several years. Everyone over 60 now receives a simple test kit every two years. The recipient has to supply six tiny samples from three separate bowel movements. The samples are then posted to one of five regional test centres where they undergo a faecal occult blood test.

What put me off taking the test was collecting the samples. It all seemed a bit messy. I suspect that is the same with many other men. It means being close to waste matter in a way that we haven't been since nappy changing days.

Actually now that I'm underway it isn't as complicated nor as messy as I thought.

The first thing is to collect the movement. I'm using a plastic packaging tray that last week held the Sunday joint. After this secondary use it will be cleaned and recycled as normal.

Then its a matter of taking the two samples required from each of the three movements. One from the first part to emerge and then one from the body of the movement. Just get on with it. Tiny cardboard sticks are provided for the purpose. Once the smear is located in the test pack and the flap replaced the remaining matter is flushed away together with the poo sticks.

Then it's wash the tray and then the wash hands as normal. Each pair of samples needs to be dated. It all comes on one flat cardboard package which is already bar coded with the recipient's name and details. No forms to fill it. Over the weekend I will collect the final samples and aim to post it in the plastic envelope provided on Monday morning. It hasn't turned out to be an messy as I thought - we are taking a smear not a great dollop.

Hopefully everything is normal, but it is better that I know fairly early than wait until more obvious symptoms appear, by which time it may be too late.

So just a message to my fellow over-sixties - of whom we have an abundance in Methodism - make sure you take your poo test. Don't be embarrassed, just do it!

If you read this on facebook feel free to share it. You may encourage a "friend" to save his or her life.

A big welcome to 5772

2011-09-28T18:44:00.004+01:00

As the sun sets, I wish my Jewish visitors a happy and peaceful new year.

Methodists everywhere continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

Methodists and job losses in the defence industry

2011-09-28T11:53:00.001+01:00

What should Methodists think about the arms trade?

My friend John on Facebook rather than his blog (where I hope he posts soon) has expressed concern at the recent statement by local Methodists in Brough following job losses among staff at weapons manufacturer BAE. Another friend, Robert, recently wrote an impassioned post about the arms fair in London that led to some challenging exchanges.

I must say that I share John's surprise to see the local statement on the national Methodist website.

Our local church issued a similar statement after the deaths during the riots in Birmingham and it was not accorded a similar status, despite being supplied to the website owners. This suggests - by accident I hope - a greater concern at national level for job losses in an Anglo-Saxon community than the deaths of three Asian born men in the inner city.

Nevertheless the statement does show a local church responding to a problem that affects its own members and the community in which it serves in this case the massive job losses amongst those employed in the defence industry.

When I was younger there was no problem for me with the arms trade. I was against war, a committed pacifist and therefore the use of force and the production of arms was wrong. Previously I have described the process and events by which I moved from that position.

Once you accept that force is an option then you have to accept that armaments are needed. Romantic ideas of poorly equipped guerrilla movements overthrowing superior force are great as fairy tales but when confronting someone with a gun the most effective response is a bigger gun. And so begins the arms race.

The first responsibility of any state is that it should be able to protect its population. This means that it must be able to make or procure weapons. Making weapons has always been at the cutting edge of technology whether it was making swords or computer controlled drones. So there is a legitimate market in weapons.

It is our lot here in the UK to have developed a technical base which is able to produce some of the most sought after weaponry in the world. That same technical base can produce some of the most advanced medical equipment. That is the wonder of living in an advanced industrial society.

So should we somehow say that making weapons is so wrong that we are not prepared to support our own industries? That somehow we are not appalled that thousands of highly skilled jobs are being lost? That sizable investments are going to be lost?

I think this is a discussion worth having. I find it difficult. My tentative conclusion is that making the weapons is not the issue, its the destination and the deployment. That owes more to creating an ethical foreign policy than opposing the arms trade/defence industries.

Methodists in a previous generation would have joined this discussion with great gusto. Sadly I don't believe that is the case today.

Oh the joy of being the church treasurer.....

2011-09-28T10:20:00.000+01:00

As the Connexional financial year ended on 30 August I'm now making up the annual accounts. So far the trial balance is £1417.83 out. Help!

Our harvest hope

2011-09-26T07:53:00.001+01:00

Yesterday I led a harvest thanksgiving service at a local United Reformed Church. I had carefully organised my sermon to focus on the wonder of God's provision in Exodus 16 and the concern of Jesus at the shortage of workers for the harvest in Matthew 9.

But I started by talking about farming and began to stray a bit "off message". Having been brought up in Hackney and lived most of my adult life in Smethwick - neither noted for their modern day farms - I suppose a lot of people would think I have little to say about agriculture. My forebears were resolutely industrial and we can find no evidence that anyone from our family has worked the land since at least 1800.

I know that these days we are supposed to bore our congregations with dire warnings of climate change. Or even - quite rightly - point out that not everyone in our world shares in the harvest.

Nevertheless my five years as a member of the European Parliament's Agriculture Committee really opened my eyes to the wonders of what humans can do with God's provision. I visited many farms in the UK, but also in Sweden, Finland, Germany, Holland, Slovakia, Belgium, France, Greece, Spain, Israel and Taiwan.

These farms varied from high tech farms owned by multi-nationals through to tiny family run organic farms with a lot of variation in between.

As I made my way round these farms I noticed the sheer ingenuity that turned the creation into a source of food.

When I was a child the United Nations used to warn that two-thirds of the world's population were starving. Across Europe, the Indian Sub Continent and much of Asia there were massive refugee problems. There still are problems, but not on such a great scale.

We often beat ourselves up wondering where the world is going. However modern agriculture and the global markets have delivered good cheap food in abundance. And for that we should be grateful.

There is still much to do. We need to make the global players more responsive to need. We need to encourage balanced diets. We need to support and promote fair trade. But we still need to give thanks.

Methodism's new hymn book

2011-09-24T16:22:00.000+01:00

When it comes to music....well, let's say that I failed at "O" level. (Though I don't regret taking the course because it introduced me to the Brandeburg Concerto No 5 and Claire du Lune)

So I haven't said too much about the new Methodist Hymn Book "Singing the Faith".

However Fat Prophet in Walsall has something to say (he's an organist so makes some very practical points) as does Minister Dave Faulkner.

There is an alternative to financial meltdown

2011-09-23T16:45:00.001+01:00

Yesterday shares fell on the world's stock markets. Today has been "jittery" with the FTSE 100 falling below the 5000 mark. We hear that millions of people who have money invested in pension funds and ISAs have lost out.

But there are some companies that seem completely unaffected. Search the columns of shares and it is impossible to find them. How did John Lewis fare on the markets today? What about The Co-operative Group or Scott Bader the multi national chemical company? Why aren't these companies contributing to the stock market woes?

The answer is that they are various forms of co-operatives or mutual enterprises. They are not dependent for their reputation on panicky external investors but on their own resources. The employees of John Lewis and Scott Bader are the shareholders. They are able to take out what they put in. The Co-operative Group is owned by us, its customers.

During the banking crisis it was no accident that one of the safest banks to emerge was the Co-operative Bank (which is, incidentally, now led by a Methodist minister).

The priorities of a mutual enterprise or co-operative are very different from those listed on the stock exchange. More co-operatives, more mutuality, would lead to a far more stable economy.

John Restakis, author of Humanising the Economy, recently said:

"In the history of bad ideas with huge consequences, the idea of the free market is one of the worst"

and

"a co-operative economy is not only capable of outperforming a capitalist system economically, both for individuals and for enterprises, but even more so for social outcomes".

Warley Woods is England's favourite park - official

2011-09-23T08:39:00.000+01:00

Congratulations to the Warley Woods Community Trust. The 100 acre woods have just been voted England's favourite Green Flag park.

It is such a privilege to live opposite such beautiful parkland right here in the heart of the industrial West Midlands. We are particularly blessed as our house overlooks that part of the woods officially designated ancient woodland, which means that it has been woodland continuously since 1600. It consists mainly of oaks that were coppiced and used in the Birmingham leather trade around Digbeth.

The rest of the park was landscaped by Repton to enhance a country house and provides some stunning views. Behind our house is Lightwoods Park so we are actually surrounded by greenery. Sometimes it is worth counting our blessings.

Sad news from the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe

2011-09-22T16:03:00.000+01:00

The Methodist Church in Zimbabwe has split following allegations of ballot rigging in the vote for Bishop.

The Zimbabwean reports:

The United Methodist Church in Zimbabwe has split, with a rival faction rechristened The Methodist Revival Church.

The split was catalysed by a massive vote rigging scandal that secured a bishop-for-life status for the incumbent Bishop Eben Nhiwatiwa in July last year. There have been howls of protest from outraged parishioners ever since, leading to the latest split.

The new church was launched in Harare on Sunday, attended by thousands of parishioners.

The MRC is led by the newly enthroned Bishop, Phillip Mupindu and reverends Ngonidzashe Mukarakate, John Chinyerere, woyoungoziwa Murauro and Gift Mudambo.

Mupindo was handed a spanking new Range Rover at the launch.

Confessional politics

2011-09-22T00:01:00.007+01:00

When I served as a Member of the European Parliament I occasionally asked myself whether I was "Christian politician" or a "Christian in politics"? The reason I asked that is because when you are a Christian politician many people are very keen to tell you what you "ought" to do and believe.

This crossed my mind as I read the extraordinary and unpleasant blog post of Conservative MP Nadine Dorries about Liberal Democrat MP Tim Farron.

Nadine is colourful and tenacious. Her own words explain why. Last month she tried to amend the law on abortion. Her amendment will best be remembered for David Cameron's tasteless and sexist joke at her expense.

But her references to Tim Farron beggars belief. He decided not to support her amendment. Nadine Dorries saw this as part of a career driven personality problem. She seems to assume that MPs of faith should have supported her amendments on the basis of faith.

She says: "I'm sorry to have to do this to Tim, but he is not being entirely truthful, either to himself or the faith he professes to have......Tim disappeared into the night...... I spoke to Tim because he’s a Christian and a member of Christians in Parliament. I asked for his support.......We do conviction politics a little more seriously over on our side of the House......Tim Farron, puts being President/ potential leader of the Lib Dems before his faith.......his faith may simply be a vehicle of convenience......Some with a stronger faith than Tim may say he’s been blinded by ambition and sold his soul to the devil."

Although I write a public blog and preach I'm aware that my faith is an intensely personal thing. In politics it isn't always easy to reconcile what you believe with what is possible. It is often impossible to reconcile what others believe you should do as a Christian with what you actually have to do.

Once certain Christians knew I was both an MEP and a Christian I found a queue a mile long wanting to tell me how I should vote. Some were welcome, the Evangelical Alliance for example, were excellent in their support and briefings.

Others seemed to assume they had the right to tell me what I should think about abortion, homosexuality, Europe as "the beast", and countless other subjects. Few actually engaged in discussion, which actually is helpful. It always seemed to be "You are a Christian, you should do this: ......." And if I didn't do "this" but decided to support "that"....well, I clearly wasn't a Christian. I do know that on the morning I lost my seat there literally was a cheer in the office of one "Christian" organisation.

So I actually find Nadine's comments quite offensive. If she has a problem with a fellow Christian MP she should at least have begun with a Matthew 18 meeting. If she believes that all members of the "Christians in Parliament" group should have voted in a particular way, she should then take it up with them. When I chaired the equivalent body in the European Parliament none of us would have dreamed of telling each other how to vote.

To publish such an awful post under the heading "Tim Farron - outed", which in itself has inappropriate connotations is clearly wrong. And just what are non-believers to make of this spat? "See how they love one another" ?

Paying for Thatcher's legacy

2011-09-21T00:01:00.001+01:00

Almost exactly to the day 44 years ago I picked up a half filled suitcase, got on a bus and went off to university. I left behind a maisonette on a council estate in Hackney.

Yesterday I took one of my children back to start the new term in London. With a few friends they were going to live in a former council maisonette on a council estate just three miles from the home I left in 1967.

Between them they are to pay £24,000 for a twelve month contract.

The "right to buy" has been the biggest con trick the Tory government of the 1980s pulled on working class people. Sadly some people, even on the left, think it was a wonderful gesture to encourage working class owner occupation.

That maisonette would have been bought for between £15 and £30,000. It is now in the hands of a property company who let it out on a commercial basis. Comparable properties are now being sold for nearly £250,000. It is nothing to do with owner occupation and every thing to do with property speculation. Nor has it anything to do with providing the low cost family housing needed in central London.

The local council was forced to sell a valuable community asset at a knock down price, a family has been denied a home close to where the work is, a group of students are being exploited. And the universities ducked the need to provide affordable student accomodation.

Thatcher has a lot to answer for.

The Palestinian state

2011-09-20T00:01:00.004+01:00

Efforts will be made later this week to change the status of the territories under control of the Palestinian Authority. This has already led to some interesting exchanges. Hopes that the UN will formally recognise a new Palestinian state will be dashed if the US and UK use their Security Council veto.

The Palestinian Authority will go to the United Nations and request UN membership and international recognition of an independent state of Palestine based on the 1967 cease fire lines which many in Israel believe are indefensible in their present form.

The United States of America have announced that they will use their veto against any motion of this kind at the Security Council, meaning that the PA will most likely then turn to the General Assembly to ask for its status to be upgraded from ‘UN Observer’ to a ‘Non-Member State.’ This will require a two-thirds majority to pass but it is felt that there is a strong possibility that this will be achieved.

Nothing will change on the ground and this is a symbolic measure designed to isolate Israel. However there is a risk that it will raise unrealistic expectations that could lead to increased levels of violence at the expense of both peoples.

Eventually there will be some form of Palestinian state. Israel and other parties are committed to a "two state solution" with security for both states within mutually agreed and respected borders.

However the recognition of a Palestinian state at this time in a non-starter.

Firstly which Palestine is to be recognised? The government based on Judea and Samaria or the one based in Gaza? It would be foolish to recognise a state which clearly does not have authority over its claimed national territory. Especially as the state based in Gaza makes it quite clear that it supports the elimination of Israel and the extermination of its people.

Secondly, there needs to be a clear definition of the borders of the new state. The current lines are little more than cease fire lines and have never reflected the reality on the ground. There is still a great deal of talking to do, part of which must be a resolution of the dispute over Jerusalem - claimed by both the Israelis and the Palestinians, the securing of access between Gaza and the West Bank, and the protection of the Jewish population in the area of the Palestinian Authority.

Thirdly, the declaration of a Palestinian state will be a violation of previous UN resolutions and the Oslo accord which prohibit unilateral action by either party.

Negotiations between Israel and Palestine should restart in earnest. Attacks against Israel itself and Jews settled in Samaria and Judea should be stopped by the Palestinians themselves. Areas of agreement should be identified at an early stage, with the more complex issues explored in depth. The Oslo accord, which I personally had the opportunity in seeing in great detail when speaking with both Israeli and Palestinian politicians in the 1990s show that progress can be made.

It is time for negotiations not megaphones.

I do hope that our own church leadership tread with extreme care if asked to comment on this issue. As a denomination we have focused solely on "the occupation" and there is no mandate from conference to support the establishment of a Palestinian state at this time. Any statement about this week's events will be a purely personal expression of opinion and should only be issued in the name of the President or Secretary of Conference.

Did Wesley really say that?

2011-09-19T07:33:00.003+01:00

Methodists are fond of quoting John Wesley - especially in sermons and on the social media.

But an American church historian is expressing concern that we are often putting words into the mouth of our venerable founder.

In 1996, the General Conference chose these “Wesleyan words” as its motto: “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; and in all things, charity.”

“It’s a nice saying,” said Dr. Heitzenrater. “But it’s not Wesley.”

Similarly, United Methodists can find the “Rule of Life” attributed to Wesley in the lyrics of a hymn (Worship & Song, No. 3117): “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever can.” An earlier edition of Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations credited those words to Wesley, Cokesbury stores once sold a paperweight with a short version of the quotation, and many United Methodist pastors cite this as a favorite quote on their Facebook pages. But, Dr. Heitzenrater says there’s no evidence that Wesley wrote those words.

But be reassured, Dr Heitzenrater does say that Wesley said the following popular quotes:

1. The best of it all is, God is with us.
2. I am always in haste, but never in a hurry.
3. I look on all the world as my parish.
4. Beware you be not swallowed up in books!
5. Read the most useful books, and that regularly and constantly. Steadily spend all morning in this employ, or, at least five hours in four-and-twenty.
6. A Christian abhors sloth as much as drunkenness.
7. The more labour the more blessing.
8. Fervor for opinions is not Christian zeal.
9. Can anything but love beget love?
10. Do a little at a time that you may do the more.
11. I have often repented of judging too severely, but very seldom of being too merciful.

Our hearts and prayers go out to miners' families

2011-09-16T18:26:00.000+01:00

It has just been announced that the fourth missing miner at the Gleison Colliery in South Wales has been found dead.

During the day it feels as if the whole nation was willing good news only to have those hopes so cruelly dashed.

British Methodism has a long and proud history of working with mining communities and we all know how hard this will be for the families, friends and colleagues of the four men.

Our hearts and prayers go out to all who have been touched by this tragedy. May they rest in peace.

Cross post on Harry's Place

2011-09-16T12:45:00.002+01:00

Nice to have a cross post on Harry's Place, the left of centre Jewish community blog.

They shoot donkeys don't they?

2011-09-16T00:01:00.000+01:00

Anyone who has been to the Middle East will know just how important the humble donkey is to the economic welfare of many rural people. It was a donkey that took Mary to Bethlehem and a donkey upon which Our Lord rode into Jerusalem to embrace the cross.

We hear little in the Methodist Church about the Arab Spring and the events in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Syria, despite a surge of interest last year about the alleged misbehaviour of Jews in the Holy Land.

In this video we see the raw power of the despotic regime in Syria depriving a village of its livelihood. The content may cause offence to some viewers. It is worth reminding ourselves that there are some big issues in the Middle East about which we are strangely silent. If this is what they do to animals what do they do to people?

Who really wants peace in the Holy Land?

2011-09-15T00:01:00.003+01:00

"the key hindrance to security and a lasting peace for all in the region is the Occupation of Palestinian territory by the State of Israel, now in its fifth decade." Report to Methodist Conference 2010 "Justice for Palestine and Israel" par 2:1.

PLO ambassador says Palestinian state should be free of Jews

2011-09-14T16:32:00.000+01:00

"The Palestine Liberation Organization's ambassador to the United States said Tuesday that any future Palestinian state it seeks with help from the United Nations and the United States should be free of Jews" according to USA Today . Now haven't we heard that said about somewhere else?

Vintage Red by John Kotz: book review

2011-09-14T00:01:00.008+01:00

When I heard that John had published his memoirs I immediately bought a copy. I expected lots of nostalgia from my Hackney childhood and my first faltering steps into politics. I enjoyed reading about my adopted Labour Party family but was thrilled to find that one member of my real family even had a cameo part, more about that later.

John provides lots of nostalgia for me personally, but some magnificent and important lessons for the wider Labour and progressive movement.

John's story starts in the overcrowded and inadequate housing of 1930s Hackney, then the centre of one of the biggest Jewish communities in the world. He recalls overhearing the conversations around the kitchen table of the persecution of Jews in Germany and the Spanish Civil War. For him that decade culminated in his evacuation from London.

He returned in time for VE Day and the momentous 1945 General Election. His description of the Labour and trades union movement is mouth watering to modern day activists. Youth clubs, friendly societies, the co-op, trades unions and political activity worked together to bind and build a community with active, articulate and engaged young citizens. These young people worked alongside those who had been present at the birth of the Labour Party and they wanted to continue building a democratic socialist society.

This they did, as far as they were able, in Hackney, a rather despised, unfashionable working class borough in east London. They became active in the Labour League of Youth and then became borough councillors. People like Martin Ottolangui, Eddie Millen, Wally Wayman, Bob Masters, Lou and Sally Sherman, Stanley Davis to name but a few, and of course John Kotz himself, were giants. These were in the days when councillors were unpaid and many paid a price in terms of employment and promotion for their political activities.

The Labour Party of 1950s Hackney set about repairing the war damage and providing affordable rentable accommodation for all. They expanded facilities such as libraries and public baths. They valued cultural activities that children and young people could learn and enjoy. John is rightly proud of the directly provided meals-on-wheels service that became a template for other progressive boroughs. It included Kosher meals for the elderly Jewish population, so Hackney was practicing diversity long before it entered the political mainstream.

John's story is a case study in how to use local councils to build municipal socialism. John also tells at first hand of the bitter industrial disputes which erupted in London and the attempt by Oswald Mosley to relaunch his racist policies, thwarted by a united and decisive Labour movement.

But John is honest about the things which disappointed him. As leader of Hackney Council at the end of the national local government dispute of 1979 he was shocked to find that local unions remained on strike because they expected Hackney to settle above the national agreement. He clearly felt betrayed as Hackney had been in the forefront of those authorities arguing for a better national settlement and thereby supported the strike.

Then there was the ultra-lefts of the 1980s. Many came from middle class backgrounds and had only recently arrived in Hackney. Most had little experience of running local government in working class areas. Some went on to become hard right Blairites. They almost run the borough into bankruptcy with the collapse of the very services that had been built by a previous generation of Labour councillors.

John charts the embrace of Tory policies during the Blair years and shows just how far Labour now has to go to win electorally and regain the trust of our people. His final chapter is entitled "Still an optimist". At the age of 80 he says "I still have faith that ordinary people when faced with the problems of capitalist economics, world poverty, wars and the need to deal with the problems of climate change, will seek a better way for everyone to live a fruitful and peaceful life"

But I must mention the one paragraph featuring a member of my family. In 1968 there was an earthquake in Hackney when the Tories briefly took control of the council. Let John take up the story:

"When Labour was in control of Hackney, we used to fly the red flag on May Day to celebrate International Workers Day. When the Tories won control, one of the first resolutions they passed was to destroy the council's red flag. The Tories searched every room, desk, and cupboard in the town hall for the flag, but never found it. In the subsequent council election of 1971, we won back every seat. At the count, after it was clear Labour had won, a town hall porter came to me with a brown paper parcel and said "Councillor Kotz, I think you may be needing this." It was the red flag.

The town hall porter? He was Uncle Mick married to my mother's sister Marion. An example of working class solidarity.

I would urge anyone involved in Labour politics to read this book. Every page has a lesson for today about building the world for tomorrow.

Vintage red: the story of a municipal socialist John Kotz, Manifesto Press Price £9.95 ISBN 978-1-907464-06-5

Update: Nice review in the Morning Star

Smethwick to be recreated as a parliamentary constituency

2011-09-12T18:37:00.001+01:00

Smethwick may once again have a seat in its own name in the House of Commons. The boundary proposals published today will recreate the old seat augmented by the inclusion of West Bromwich central ward (see proposal 35).

Smethwick first had an MP in its own name in 1918. The main battle was between the Labour candidate, who won, and Cristobel Pankhurst of the Women's Party who was subsequently given a "coupon" by the Tories and in effect became their candidate. In the 1920s the Labour MP was a defector from the Conservative Party, Oswald Moseley. The 1945 election saw it hold the record for the shortest lived parliamentary career of all times. The winning Labour candidate was killed less than 24 hours after being declared elected.

In 1964 things turned ugly and the Tories won on a vicious racist campaign. Prime Minister Harold Wilson urged MPs to treat the newly elected Tory as "parliamentary leper". Then came Andrew Faulds who was most famous for his portrayal of Jet Morgan in BBC radio's Journey to the Centre of the Earth. The seat was abolished in 1974 when it merged first with Warley East and then with Warley.

Interesting days ahead. I think John Spellar MP is odds on to be the Labour candidate, though he will have to move his constituency office which is located in the Old Warley Ward. That's off to be part of Birmingham Harborne (see proposal 4).

Don't mess with bloggers!

2011-09-12T15:28:00.002+01:00

I love this story from New York where a PR firm tried to take advantage of a group of bloggers.

Love thy neighbour - it can be very hard

2011-09-12T08:40:00.003+01:00

Loving our neighbours is a fairly important theme of the teachings of Jesus. In fact he sums up the whole of the Judaic law with just two sentences, one of which is about neighbours and harks back to the injunctions in Leviticus 19 . In Mark 12:31 Jesus makes is clear that loving our neighbours is as important as loving God! But I notice that few of our hymns celebrate our neighbours.

That may be because it is harder to love our neighbours than love our God. With God we have a certain amount of latitude. I would not be the first to say that we can make God in our own image. However with our neighbours it is a different matter. There they are, certainly not transcendent, in all their humanity and the evidence suggests that they are not all than lovable. Above all they are just like us and sometimes we find it hard to even love ourselves.

The HSBC bank has recently released a fascinating survey on what we Brits think of our neighbours. Alas it is hardly out of the pages of the Bible - Old or New Testament! I have a feeling that much could be found in similar surveys in most other countries and cultures.

Here is the UK the survey found that one in six (16%) of people have complained to their neighbours directly about a grievance, one in ten (10%) have complained about one of their neighbours to other neighbours and more than one in twenty (6%) have gone so far as to call the police to complain about them.

Top gripes include:

Being noisy early in the morning or late at night (28%)
Playing loud music or learning musical instruments (23%)
Stealing parking place on road (20%)
Being nosey / interfering (19%)
Poor upkeep on their gardens / house exterior (18%)
Being noisy in their garden (18%)
Having parties (16%)
Noisy children / trampolines / balls coming over fence (15%)
Pets (14%)
Always wanting to speak to me when I'd rather not (11%)

There's a wealth of sermon material here! But I wonder if the average churchgoer is the one complaining or the one causing the nuisance? I doubt if it is that clear cut.

Ten years on and America is hard to find*

2011-09-11T00:01:00.002+01:00

It was shortly after two in the afternoon that I switched on the office TV to watch Tony Blair's speech at the TUC conference in Brighton. Just as it was about to begin there came a newsflash that there had been a dramatic air crash in New York. Soon after came live coverage of a second crash. Then we knew it was a terrorist attack.

As the afternoon unfolded my little office gradually became crowded as colleagues gathered to watch the unfolding drama. As we were an acute hospital I went down to the A&E department to warn them that something terrible was happening in America and wondered if a co-ordinated attack could be launched on London which would have knock on effects for emergency services throughout the country. Our turn was to come a few years later.

Immediately there was a massive outpouring of sympathy for the Americans. At the time I was writing my book about Francis Asbury and was in daily contact with libraries and academics in the US. I just wanted them to know how upset we were. That evening I joined my friend Ian, often a contributor to the comments box on here, at the Old Comrades Jazz Club. The mood was sombre and the music chosen to reflect the occasion. We were is a state of shock and I know that younger people will recall this as their "Where were you when you heard Kennedy was shot?" moment. It will be remembered for many years.

There were several things that discomforted me in the ensuing hours and weeks. I didn't feel that the US President George Bush was up to the occasion. His first reaction was to tell the world that the US would find "the folks" responsible. The disappearance of Vice President Dick Cheney is the stuff of legends. In times of crisis leaders take responsibility and risks. This did not seem to be the way the Bush White House were handling things.

Many Americans will say that they are a "Christian country". Some believe it to be the most Christian country on earth. So this attack became a case study in how Christian people would respond to aggression.

Within days America - aided and abetted by some of our own politicians - began an orgy of hate speech that matched anything the jihadists were saying. Americans seem to live in a perpetual Superman movie with a belief that there is always someone wanting to take over the world. Once it was communists, then it was new agers, on September 11 it became Islam. The discourse of American public life seems to have been set by Hollywood drama rather than by the Christ many Americans claim as Lord and Saviour.

Bringing the perpetrators to book would take careful police and intelligence work. This was discarded into a lust for revenge and collective punishment. The wars on Iraq and Afghanistan did little to bring Osama Bin Laden to justice. The same outcome could have been achieved in other more surgical ways. In different circumstances the regime of Saddam Hussein could now be meeting the same end as that of Ghaddafii and Mubarak, with America seen as a model rather than an ogre. But then, well, Saddam would have held on to the oil for a few years longer. 9/11 seems to have been the excuse to go into Iraq to protect business interests rather than keep New York safe.

This was all made worse by the US government's appalling treatment of suspects. The bizarre legal status of detainees at Guantanamo and the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib made a mockery of any idea that the US was a bastion of the rule of law. These wars and abuses did little to promote the US as a role model for countries and peoples seeking democracy, freedom and civil rights.

The tragedy was that much of this was seen to be done in the name of Christianity. Bush in one unguarded moment even referred to the wars as a "crusade", the equivalent of a holy war.

After 9/11 the Americans had the entire world on their side. The warped logic of Osama Bin Laden was there for all to see and he was isolated. Within months that sympathy was blown apart and lost.

The Christian response would have been to pray carefully for the perpetrators and then seek justice. This may have been a little slower but it may have actually saved many lives, both US, British, Iraqis and Afghans. It would have been free of the hate that characterised US public life. It certainly would have celebrated the rule of law by demonstrating that Western Judeo-Christian values can triumph when under great pressure.

History will view these last ten years as a decade of wasted opportunity and a time when Christianity demonstrated its powerlessness in the United States. Just where were the Christians in the aftermath of 9/11?

* with apologies to Fr Daniel Berrigan SJ.

"Abortion is always an evil, to be avoided" - the Methodist view (though keep it quiet)

2011-09-08T08:52:00.001+01:00

It can't come as a surprise to hear that MPs have rejected a move to make women seeking abortion have independent counselling.

The MP proposing the move wanted to strip non-statutory abortion providers from fulfilling the role of counsellors. This would be handed over to counsellors independent of those providers. It is worth noting that the provision of abortion is one area that has proved a boon to the private health sector. There's a lot of money to be made for very little risk.

The position of the British Methodist Church is quite clear, though I'm not certain that we would automatically have supported the proposed change in the law about counselling. I'm not aware that we have made any statements over the last few days (and haven't had time to check as business has been a bit brisk).

Anyway this is where we stand:

....abortion is always an evil, to be avoided if at all possible by offering care to single mothers during pregnancy, and the adoption of their children if, at full term, the mother cannot offer a home. However, the Statement also holds that there will be circumstances where the termination of pregnancy may be the lesser of evils. These include situations where the embryo is grievously handicapped, the pregnancy is the result of rape or the health, mental or physical, of the mother is at risk.

At what stage does an unborn fetus become a person?

The result of the coming together of human sperm and ovum is obviously human. The appearance of the ‘primitive streak' (the beginning of the neurological system) after some fourteen days is an important stage. However for many weeks after this event, natural abortion will continue to bring about the termination of over 50% of embryos.

Fertilisation, implantation and subsequent development are parts of a continuous process. It is simply not possible to identify the single moment when a new human person begins. The right of the embryo to full respect clearly increases throughout a pregnancy.

Should there be a time-limit for abortion?

It would be strongly preferable that, through advances in medical science and social welfare, all abortions should become unnecessary. But termination as early as possible in the course of the pregnancy may be the lesser of evils. If abortion were made a criminal offence again, there would be increased risks of ill-health and death as a result of botched ‘back-street' abortions. Late abortions should be very rare exceptions. To refuse to countenance abortion in any circumstances is to condemn some women and their babies to gross suffering and a cruel death in the name of an absolutism which nature itself does not observe.

Counselling and pastoral care should be available to the mother and, where the father is known, to the father. The mother should be told clearly of the alternatives to termination.

Beware of core funding by subsidy

2011-09-07T14:26:00.002+01:00

It is interesting to read a short item on the Methodist Ecumenical News blog about Christian Community Projects in a time of cuts. Like many Christians I am a little wary of taking money from public finances because it normally comes with strings, some of which may not be helpful.

It is helpful though to know that there is a recognition of problems ahead.

Many churches, not just Methodists, have built up a portfolio of publicly funded projects on their premises. When this is over and above the work of the church there is no problem if the funding is cut, except of course for the recipients of the project.

But there are many churches who will face a real problem in coming years, if not months.

I hear too many stories of churches which are effectively funded by the public. I won't go into details but I am aware that they are dependent for running costs on external funding. Sometimes this may be a little wider than the public purse, with lettings to several outside businesses and organisations all of which bring cash but may even cause reputational and spiritual problems. One Methodist Church in West London boasts on its website that it hosts yoga classes!

The problem with external funding - over and above the reputation and spiritual issues - is that a congregation can become too dependent on the income. Basically in order to be viable every church and its members needs to understand that there is no cache of money or income stream which will ensure its long term survival.

Project funding and rental income give members the wrong idea. They assume that the church will always be there. They have no care to ensure that core funding comes out of the collection plate, for which they themselves are responsible.

The result is that when the funding stops the reality is all too obvious for all to see. Complacent financial management and miserly giving combine to demonstrate the real bankruptcy of the church.

If the collection plate can't sustain a church's core costs then that church is not sustainable. It is time every circuit in the land understood that. In future weeks we will see chickens come home to roost. The bonanza of the last decade is over. Expect to see an acceleration in church closures.

New encouragement to evangelise

2011-09-06T16:51:00.001+01:00

I gather from Peter Phillip's blog that there is a new evangelism website from the Methodist Church - a very welcome initiative.

I must admit that I haven't been able to find it on the official website or any announcement but a short 110 second introductory video is already available.

It looks good and I look forward to seeing the rest of the resources when they become available.

TELL.SHOW.BE. - English from Tell.Show.Be on Vimeo.

Worship in schools

2011-09-06T08:30:00.002+01:00

Today's report from the BBC that two thirds of parents report their children are not having a daily act of worship in their schools is hardly a surprise.

One of our children went to a very successful local comprehensive and the headteacher refused point blank to allow any religious activity on the premises. This was despite protests from some parents and comments from Ofsted.

She was, of course, breaking the law, the 1944 Education Act I recall requires schools to hold a daily act of worship.

Perhaps the most pertinent point I make is that the requirement comes from legislation dating back to 1944 - a well meaning but disastrous act which, incidentally, consigned me to a secondary modern education - and things have changed considerably since 1944.

Even in 1960s East London the workings of the Act were being tested to breaking point. Our school was spread over five sites and the logistics of moving people around for "assembly" meant they happened on a rotational basis and certainly not every day.

Then there was the issue of exactly what form the worship should take. A large proportion of pupils, in my form a majority, were Jews. This meant that we would only sing hymns which omitted Jesus and rarely used the New Testament. During Christmas and Easter periods the local rabbi would come in and the Jews would have a separate assembly. This wasn't exactly bringing the community together.

The quality of the worship, often led by people we knew to be atheists, was hardly inspiring. I still shudder at the interpretation put on the story of the talents during a "Christian" assembly by a deputy head teacher who hated both his work and his charges. On that day I found it particularly difficult to concentrate - the day before I'd been given four strokes for insolence by the man talking about Jesus.

As a parent I did attend worship at the Roman Catholic primary school that my children attended and found it inspiring and well thought out, but this seems to have been an exception - and several of the teachers were Methodists!

About 15 years ago I found that local schools in my constituency - I was in politics then - would ask me to come and speak at assemblies. These were great opportunities to meet potential young voters but also provided material for local newspapers. I sat through several "acts of worship". By and large they were dire.

My worst experience in the constituency was when a headteacher held up a "picture of Jesus" and pointed out how handsome he was with his blonde hair and blue eyes! Other teachers looked distinctly uncomfortable as they led an act of worship for which they had no appetite. Lots of them droned on about environmental issues - no wonder young people are cynical of climate change warnings. The theology was distinctly "iffy". There was one that was superb - but that was a one-off led by a local vicar who came in once a term.

I discussed school assemblies with one of the local chief education officers. As it happens she was a very old childhood friend who attended the same church as me, but by then was an atheist herself. She could see the value of assemblies but found the requirement for worship offensive and divisive. I rarely meet anyone in education who sees any value in school worship.

So I'm left wondering what the point of a daily act of worship is? It can be divisive. It can be counter productive. It can be damaging when led by people who themselves do not even believe in God.

Now I have no problem with schools teaching religious studies. I can't see how anyone can function in contemporary civic society without have a basic grasp of Biblical history and concepts. That is a perfectly legitimate function of a good education system. But an act of worship led by someone who doesn't believe? I think it best left to the local headteacher in consultation with parents and governors. Time to review the 1944 requirements.

Fiji Methodists need practical support

2011-09-05T16:01:00.002+01:00

During my week away I missed this story that requires a little more action on our part. I've just written to my MP asking for the Foreign Office to intervene. I am wondering if anyone else would be interested in a vigil outside the Fijian high commission at Hyde Park Gate? It isn't much fun being picketed, even by a bunch of tea swilling, hymn singing, British Methodists!

Our own church press release lays bare the persecution. This could get very nasty.

The Fijian government has banned all Methodist Church meetings except for Sunday worship in an unprecedented crackdown on religious freedom. This includes house groups, women’s prayer fellowship, choir practice, mid-week communion and youth fellowship, as well as the Church’s governance meetings.

Having withdrawn the permit for the Church’s annual Conference the evening before the event was due to start, the interim government has now notified the Church in a letter from the Fiji Military Council that all other meetings of the Methodist Church are forbidden. All Methodist ministers are also forbidden from leaving the country for any meeting.

The Church is responding with prayer and fasting. A planned press conference had to be cancelled last week because of the fear of further arrests. The Methodist Church is the largest faith group in Fiji and the only group to receive this treatment by the Government.

Some unexpected new neighbours

2011-09-05T09:38:00.000+01:00

On our return from holiday we were surprised to see a row of caravans at the bottom of our garden. I did wonder if I had had too much sun and was seeing a mirage harking back to my week at Bovisand!

But once I turned on my computer I found the local social media full of the news that this was a group of travellers.

I'd like to say that I just shrugged my shoulders and thought "live and let live" but I did feel a sense of outrage and insecurity. Whatever we would like to say, strangers living a very different lifestyle do raise anxieties.

So I was challenged by this article in today's Daily Telegraph.

Jewish leaders have thrown their support behind the Dale Farm illegal campsite, claiming that the planned eviction has echoes of anti-Semitism.

All night prayer meetings here in Birmingham

2011-09-04T13:37:00.001+01:00

Apparently the days of the all night prayer meetings did not die with the absorption of the Prims into the present connexion.

This morning we had a wonderful sermon from Adjit a trainee deacon at a nearby Catholic Church. He focused on the power of prayer. He bore witness to some of the great things that he has seen as a result of prayer meetings especially in healing. As he is a doctor, his references to healing were all the more powerful.

There was one little detail that especially encouraged us: Apparently each weekday a group of Catholics from India meet in a Birmingham church for prayer. They start at 10.00 pm and continue until 5.00 am the following day. That's 35 hours of prayer a week. Numbers vary from 5 to 20.

Perhaps as Methodists we should remember the importance those who created Methodism attached to overnight prayer meetings? Our Catholic friends from India may be showing us the way.

Let us go for it - time to LIVE the gospel

2011-09-03T17:43:00.001+01:00

We were all hoping for a quiet and peaceful summer break. No chance. August was just a few days old when our major English cities were rocked by riots.

Our little church in City Road, Birmingham turned out to be at the centre of one of the most terrible and notable events - the deaths of three young men run down by a car as they sought to protect family businesses on nearby Dudley Road. For a few hours the community held its breath as if waiting for catastrophe. We thank God for the courage and calmness of a bereaved father who made it clear that the victim's families were not seeking revenge. In just a few moments every single stereotype about our Muslim neighbour's concept of justice and retribution was challenged and changed.

We are a small church in one of the poorest corners of urban Britain but it was left to us to represent God's love and British Methodism at this most dangerous of times. We issued an immediate statement expressing our shock at the killings but our admiration for the families' response. We placed a floral tribute on the makeshift shrine on Dudley Road. Paul our Minister (above) led us to join the peace rally held in the park opposite our buildings. We offered our facilities to the rally organisers should they have needed a back up.

In the face of so much violence and aggression, and at a time of incredible tension, we as a church instinctively responded in a positive way. There was no need to wait for a lead from Connexional headquarters, no need to hold a committee meeting, we just got on with it. Much to our astonishment our seemingly puny response made the front page of the Methodist Recorder, even using photographs taken by me. How much we would have preferred such a public mention to be in happier circumstances.

Over the last few years I and others have felt utter despair for the future of our church in particular and Methodism in general.. The denomination's dysfunctional structures and appointments seem to militate against maintaining a Methodist presence in areas such as Rotton Park and Winson Green. There are those who think that Methodism should simply pack up and leave the inner city. But our church is part of a diverse hard working community that is battered on an hourly basis by poverty, violence, drug dealing, pimps, and all the negatives that make urban life uncomfortable for many Christians. Didn't John Wesley say that we should not simply go where we are needed, but go where we are needed most?

However we can now see that our seemingly mad vision of replacing the roof on a 100 year old building was inspired by God. We know that some came close to mocking us. We know that many of us face really very heavy and very personal spiritual attacks. But the events of August 2011 have shown that our community is crying out to hear and experience the Gospel.

A British Methodist speaks to a French newspaper about the riots

2011-08-16T14:11:00.000+01:00

Regular readers will know that the area around our church has been convulsed by riots in recent weeks. On Friday I went to place a floral tribute at the site of the death of three local young Asian men in Dudley Road. I was approached by a French journalist. This what I said Back in September and please keep praying!

Dudley Road deaths: Methodist statement

2011-08-12T09:56:00.002+01:00

City Road Methodist Church is located a few hundred yards from the site of one of the most horrific incidents of this week's rioting - the killing of three men protecting the shops on Dudley Road from looters.

The stewards have placed the following message on the church notice board.

We would like to express our profound shock at the deaths of Haroon Jahan, Shazad Ali and Abdul Musavir on Dudley Road this week.

We extend our sympathies to their families, and our respect for the measured way in which the families and communities have responded to this tragedy.

We continue to join with all men and women of goodwill in praying for the peace of our community.

Last post and the August break

2011-07-25T19:58:00.002+01:00

It is my habit to take a break in August and this year my summer activities have been brought forward so this is my last post until September. If you want a nudge when I recommence. link up to the posts by the email facility on the side bar.

This last few months have been horrendous and regular readers may have noticed that posts have become less frequent.

I have to keep reminding myself that this blog is a hobby. I don't receive any income from it and am not employed by the church.

Nor am I paid to manage complex building programmes. Nor have I got any experience or expertise to draw on. My entire life for the last year has been dominated by a belief that God has called me and my colleagues to keep the roof on City Road Methodist Church. By the grace of God we are succeeding.

Two years ago we said farewell to the sort of Minister who is only able to work with people who will say "yes minister". The result was a failing church. Membership had fallen, we had British Gas demanding an £8,000 back payment, a quinquennial surveyors report had noted the poor quality of maintenance, we were spending £4,000 a year heating a building used once a week by 25 people, and we were often in arrears with our assessment.

Two years later and we have sorted out the issue with British Gas, we are undertaking a good quality scheme to replace the roof, the congregation is growing slowly, heating costs have been cut to less than £1,200 a year and we are still (occasionally) a bit slow with the assessment. We are still not out of the woods and I must make an especial thanks to our circuit, those individuals who have donated some quite extraordinary sums (keep them coming I've got to find another £6,000) and Methodist Chapel Aid who have granted a very helpful loan.

So those projects seem to have taken every waking hour. I never ever thought that I'd spent a large period of my Christian life sorting out a 100 year old building. But that is where God called me and that is where I am now.

The roof project will be complete within the week and I am hoping to get back to something approaching a normal life. I'm certainly looking forward to getting in some more work. I find my professional life very satisfying but feel that this gap in orders has been an opportunity to do something special.

God bless you all, back in September.

It's The Sun wot lost it

2011-07-25T15:10:00.001+01:00

Thanks to John Cooper for bringing this wonderful link to my attention. It deserves mass circulation.

The massacre in Norway always was going to be a nasty story, but jumping to conclusions and ladling hate is not the way to manage it.

and a good time was had by all

2011-07-24T21:33:00.001+01:00

We had the City Road Methodist Church Garden Party in our back garden today. We had many guests including some friends from the past, and our neighbouring churches at Sandon Road and Ladywood. Here's a gallery of the days proceedings.

We put the bunting up

Some familiar faces enjoy the shade

Guests from Ladywood

And from Sandon Road

The Reverend Phil who used to go to our church but now proclaiming the Good News in Luton, together with our present minister and super, the Rev Dr Paul

Sign posting the event

A thoughtful moment!

Methodist bloggers united! Methodist Preacher right with The Radical Methodist, left.

For one little person it was all too much!

The penny drops, even on the right

2011-07-23T07:53:00.000+01:00

The rich run a global system that allows them to accumulate capital and pay the lowest possible price for labour. The freedom that results applies only to them. The many simply have to work harder, in conditions that grow ever more insecure, to enrich the few. Democratic politics, which purports to enrich the many, is actually in the pocket of those bankers, media barons and other moguls who run and own everything.

Who wrote the above? Charles Moore in this morning's Daily Telegraph! An interesting read. The penny is beginning to drop, even on the right.

How to start a blog - the basic technicalities

2011-07-20T12:49:00.002+01:00

Readers may be interested in this article if they are considering joining the blogsphere.

Humbled. Sorry. Regrets. But no one knew what was going on

2011-07-19T19:38:00.000+01:00

If like me you have spent your life working in public relations, and been a politician to boot, today has been the Olympic Games, FA Cup Final, the Grand National, a Test Match and the Six Nations rolled into one.

I have spent much of today watching the live feed of the various hearings in the House of Commons.

What amazed me as we saw the sad procession of newspaper people and policemen is that they all said they were "humbled", "sorry", had "regrets" but all admitted that they didn't really know what was going on.

For my clients I seem to spend hours meeting various due diligence and governance requirements. And then I see that the higher echelons of the Metropolitan Police and one of the world's biggest media outfits claim that they run on the basis that criminality and unethical behaviour can go unchecked.

Lots of claims to integrity. Lots of apologies. But clearly not people to be trusted with running large and complex organisations.

If Cameron falls will it be erosion or the silver bullet?

2011-07-18T18:31:00.000+01:00

During the last few weeks I have been watching the developing crisis around the News of the World hacking scandal with growing unease. I'm fairly certain that we haven't yet heard the worse of the allegations, though how that could be more serious than hacking a missing teenager's mobile phone I'm not certain.

Even so new stuff is coming out all the time. Who expected the revelation that the Metropolitan Police Commissioner would have accepted a freebie worth £12,000? On its own it would have been serious but the links with the hacking investigation proved lethal for the Commissioner's career.

We now have a stand off between a media group that has already shown it can act like like a feral beast, a police force that feels and fears that it will be made a scapegoat, and a political elite that is puzzled by what to do next.

Bear in mind that the media group has plenty of ammunition. They know who was bribed, they know who was compromised by hospitality and bribes. Newspapers often have a handy store of information about individuals which they don't always print or follow up. In future weeks that material will be used tactically against individuals. This is not new.

The police have had a kicking from the politicians. Two senior officers have gone. Once again policemen have a memory. Sometimes they forget, later they recall. One rule that says Cameron can employ former NOTW journalists, another that says Scotland Yard can't. That doesn't look right.

A second issue that needs to be looked at is the enhanced role of the Mayor of London in supervising the Met. Until Boris was elected that power resided exclusively with the Home Secretary. With two commissioners lost in three years and a major scandal underway we need to ask whether Johnson's role has been helpful.

Cameron has already had to shorten his trip to Africa. That's a move usually reserved for a major catastrophe such as a natural disaster or a terrorist attack. Likewise with the extraordinary decision to extend the sitting of the House of Commons for a day, again a sign that things have gone serious;y wrong.

For Cameron there will be two possible man-traps. Scenario one is that the war of words, the arrests, the accusations gradually erode his authority within the Conservative Party and with his coalition partners.

It has been interesting to see that virtually no Tory MPs are prepared to be wheeled out to defend him. The Cabinet is ominously quiet and fellow Old Etonian Boris Johnson didn't rush to Cameron's defence when offered the opportunity. Such erosion takes its toll and this may bubble to the surface by the time of the party conferences in the early autumn. There are many Tories who are unhappy with the coalition. So far they have kept quiet but circumstances are changing fast.

Then there are the Lib Dems. Many of my Tory contacts speak with pleasure at the delight of Lib Dems to having Ministerial red boxes and chauffeured limousines. It is just about conceivable that they may make a dash for the moral high ground with Vince Cable as leader and seek to re-establish themselves as a seperate party able to do a deal with Labour.

That is the erosion route. There may however be a "silver bullet", just as there has been on several times over the last fortnight. One did for the NOTW, one did for Stephenson. Is there one waiting for Carmeron?

No Prime Minister has ever looked forward to the recess than David Carmeron does tonight. General election in the autumn? It would actually suit a lot of MPs who now face loosing their seats by the impending boundary review. Might be worth asking Ladbrokes for the odds.

New blog

2011-07-18T16:15:00.000+01:00

For those who are interested I have just launched a new business blog.

The first post is about.....blogging.

It will be linked with my Twitter feed and LinkedIn profile.

No religion, no politics!

Where is this hacking scandal going to end?

2011-07-17T20:35:00.001+01:00

"Blo ----dy hell!" was my response when I read that the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police had resigned.

Last week I met with several politicians, media and business people during a visit to London. There was an overwhelming feeling that this saga still has a long way to go with more revelations on the way.

My sense as a press officer is that once the Murdochs had apologised, the parliamentary recess had been reached and one or two cases had gone sub-judice then the story would die and the pressure lifted. Calmer waters lay ahead. This doesn't appear to be the case, at least as things stand this evening.

There are several areas that will now be explored further.

Firstly there will be more to come about the relationship between the Met and the press. Good relations between an organisation like the Met and the press are desirable but what has happened in recent months seems to have gone well over the top.

Secondly, we have to ask whether NOTW executives seeking employment elsewhere had used the same "news gathering" tactics in their new fields of employment. This lands the question well on the doorstep of the Prime Minister and former Leader of the Opposition.

Thirdly we have to understand more about the reach of organisations such as News Corporation. For example, the BBC's Robert Peston has been a frequent commentator on Murdoch's affairs in recent weeks. Yet we read in this morning's Mail on Sunday that he was a Murdoch guest just days before the hacking scandal was blown out of the water by the Milly Dowler revelations. The other people at this sumptuous party will also raise eyebrows in the light of subsequent events.

So there we have it. A growing scandal that is ensnaring the police, politicians (don't be surprised if within the next few days we have a very high profile resignation), the major public broadcaster, countless "celebrities" and even a walk on part for the Church of England.

As Christians we have very definite responsibilities to pray for those in authority. I wonder how many congregations, both within and without the Methodist Church, have prayed about the scandal today?

A weakened political structure, a justified loss of confidence in the police, a mistrust of the media and a disgust with those who enter and serve in public life, is a recipe for chaos. It is time for prayer.

Prediction being justified (Update 21:30) Just see what Stephenson is saying about Cameron:

"The reasons for not having told them are two fold. Firstly, I repeat my earlier comments of having at the time no reason for considering the contractual relationship to be a matter of concern. Unlike Mr Coulson, Mr Wallis had not resigned from News of the World or, to the best of my knowledge been in any way associated with the original phone hacking investigation.
"Secondly, once Mr Wallis's name did become associated with Operation Weeting, I did not want to compromise the Prime Minister in any way by revealing or discussing a potential suspect who clearly had a close relationship with Mr Coulson. I am aware of the many political exchanges in relation to Mr Coulson's previous employment — I believe it would have been extraordinarily clumsy of me to have exposed the Prime Minister, or by association the Home Secretary, to any accusation, however unfair, as a consequence of them being in possession of operational information in this regard. Similarly, the Mayor. Because of the individuals involved, their positions and relationships, these were I believe unique circumstances.

Picnic in the park in the rain

2011-07-17T16:32:00.000+01:00

Congratulations to the Warley Woods Community Trust who went ahead with today's Picnic in the Park despite the weather forecast. This year we were organised and arrived with chairs, picnic and liquid refreshments - alas we had to eat out meal under one of the meadow oaks.

Nevertheless it was a great community event, we saw lots of old friends, and enjoyed the music and side shows. A great time organised by great people. Thanks

Breaking the rules

2011-07-17T14:05:00.000+01:00

I really didn't feel like preaching this morning. I returned from a week in London to find that someone had thieved the lead flashings off the church roof (they used the scaffolding that had been erected to repair the tiles) and that the main hall had been flooded during Friday night and Saturday morning. We've also got a difficult family illness to contend with.

Unusually sleep deserted me on Saturday night and I was feeling a bit miserable when I arrived to proclaim the Good News.

As we were cleaning the church, it is in an absolute mess, a woman arrived called Jenny who was distributing leaflets for the The Midnight Oil Summit Revival meetings to be held in West Bromwich over Friday August 5 and Saturday August 6. As we were talking she gave me a testimony of how the meetings came about and that fitted 100% with the points I was going to make from Matthew 13 (the parable of the sower). I suggested she came back after she had visited the other churches in the area.

Well she returned about 40 minutes later and as I started my sermon I felt very strongly that I should ask her to repeat the testimony. Which she did. And she added several other points which clearly encouraged the congregation. I was a little worried because we Methodists have learnt to be wary of asking complete strangers make a contribution. But this turned out to be absolutely right. When she finished speaking we all felt really uplifted. I abandoned the prepared sermon, which in any case didn't feel right, and a member of the congregation suggested a reading and we then sang two hymns.

I know I broke the rules but I think the Holy Spirit was at work We had arrived grim faced feeling the pressure of the building work. We all left smiling. Just what we needed.

Defend our forests

2011-07-16T17:39:00.000+01:00

Remember all the fuss earlier this year when the government found that its plans to sell-off our forests were not acceptable to the public? Well they set up a "review" just to test the waters and see what they could get away with selling. This review closes on 31 July so you have less than a fortnight to express your views. Go to http://www.defra.gov.uk/forestrypanel/

Methodist Preacher on Twitter

2011-07-16T14:14:00.000+01:00

Over the last few weeks I have been reviewing my status on Twitter. Methodist Preacher tweets can be found here. Tweets relating to my professional work will in future be found here. This will eventually support a new blog. Regular readers are welcome to link to either or both.

Chapman Brothers aim to shock...... and challenge

2011-07-15T09:41:00.001+01:00

Yesterday afternoon I received an unexpected invitation to the first night of Jake and Dinos Chapman's new exhibition at The White Cube. My friend and I could only manage the Masons Yard part of the exhibition and that was shocking enough for one evening.

The Chapman's are, of course, no strangers to controversy and this morning's reviews (and here) reflect this.

The exhibition in Mason's Yard starts with a fairly pedestrian room of cubist cardboard models about 18 inches high at waist height.. To be honest they looked like something that an average playground in a Methodist Church could put together over a few weeks. That, I now realise that was the intention, though everyone else in that part of the exhibition appeared to be taking it terribly seriously and the word "playgroup" crossed no one else's lips in my hearing.

Then we were ushered into the basement and here the shock begins. The hall houses some giant metal representations of the cubist art from upstairs. However the room is littered with slightly larger than life mannequins dress as Gestapo officers. Their uniforms were immaculate, except for one, but the swastika on the armband was replaced by a smiley face. I found it slightly the wrong side of offensive.

The mannequins were clearly amused by what they saw, even the one that was being sodomised by his colleagues.If that was offensive enough in the next room was another mannequin dressed as a member of the Klu Klux Klan, clearly aroused whilst watching the crucifixion of a mear kat.

I came away feeling that it was a rather clumsy attempt to associate a skepticism about modern art with the thinking of the Nazis. A position which seems extreme and unnecessary. It isn't an outing for the chapel's over sixties group. (If I were to recommend a good two to three hour exhibition for a chapel outing in London I'd recommend either the The Foundling Hospital or the Wallace Collection).

After leaving the exhibition I went over the the newly restored St Pancras Hotel for a PR company's reception. I remember this building as somewhere that had seen better days and by the 80s was a scruffy office block. However it has been brilliantly restored and every train and architectural buff in the land needs to see it to believe just how beautiful a building can be. Having worked in the ceramics industry I almost swooned when I saw the vast expanse of carefully restored Minton tiling. An interesting evening!

Sarbanes Oxley will do for Murdoch

2011-07-14T10:33:00.000+01:00

It has been an interesting time to be in London. I've had a series of meetings at Westminster and spoken to several contacts in the national media. The overwhelming feeling is that the hacking scandal has even further to go. There will be revelations even more nastier than those that have already come to light.

As a press officer of many years standing I can assure you that the way in which the British tabloid press operates can often be intimidatory. My colleagues in the European Parliament were often amazed at what they saw as low professional standards and ethics. Tony Benn once asked who needed a Gestapo when the establishment have got The Sun.

However when the history of this period is written I have a suspicion that the major determinant in the decision to close the NOTW and withdraw the BSkyB bid may well turn out to be down to Sarbanes Oxley. Many British companies have objected to this legislation but the simple principle means that any company trading shares in the US stock market has to abide by certain US standards of corporate governance.

For all our pride in all British institutions, the Americans established during the 1990s that corporate governance standards had to be based on more than a gentlement's agreement, a handshake and the old boys network. Hence Sarbanes Oxley.

Once the Murdoch family realised that events in Britain were likely to subject to legal intervention by the US authroirites on the basis of Sarbanes Oxley, all bets were off.

Perhaps we now need to learn from the US experience and consider a British version?

Utterly, utterly shocked - a church that needs your prayers

2011-07-10T16:00:00.002+01:00

There is a Methodist Church where newly arrived Black people were asked to sit in some designated rows at the back. When they saw fellow white worshipers in the street the Black people were ignored. Matters came to a head when a steward - a lovely man - asked a Black man to help take the collection.

The other white stewards called a meeting and insisted that no Black person be allowed to take any part in leadership. Several Black people then left and to this day worship elsewhere if they worship at all. There is a suggestion that some of the white Methodists may have been active in racist politics.

When did this happen? In the late 1960s.

Where did this happen? In my own church.

Why hasn't anything been said before? Because we didn't know.

How did we find out? A student from Queens did some systematic pastoral visiting and gradually uncovered the story over the last three months.

What are we going to do about it? Paul our Minister started the process this morning when he acknowledged it had happened and apologised. We believe there are about 40 elderly people out there who over 43 years later are still hurting from this racist abuse. A programme of visits is being organised by a circuit lay minister.

We always knew there was a dark shadow over the church. None of us could put our finger on it. Some thought it was a flirtation with freemasonry, others ascribed "spirits" of disappointment and so on, but we didn't know.

We also knew there was some sensitivity about race - we are a rare mixed race congregation - but no one ever said that this had happened. Now a lot of things fall into place. We are beginning to understand why certain divisions appeared but no one helped us address these issues by explicitly saying what went on. There was a spirit of negativity which seemed beyond anyone's comprehension

Having lost many of our Black congregation - mainly newly arrived migrants from the West Indies - many of the white congregation simply joined the "white flight", leaving the area and the church. Within five or six years ofter the incident over the collection the church was on the verge of closure. Then something wonderful happened which I have described elsewhere.

When David the student from Queens first told me his findings my jaw dropped. I feel as if I want to cry. I'm broken hearted that our church is perceived by people in those terms.

I remember all the effort we've put in. But for nearly half a century we had been carrying this burden of which we were completely unaware. I need as a white person to understand why at no point in my 27 year's membership I hadn't stumbled on this horrible truth. I've since discussed it other people who were in the church in the 1980s and 1990s. They too are utterly shocked that the racism was so overt and obvious.

We know that it isn't acceptable now. But it wasn't acceptable then. This was out and out racism on Methodist premises amongst a Methodist congregation with Methodist people as both perpetrators and victims.

In recent weeks we have been undertaking essential repairs to our roof, treating dry rot and removing tons of rubbish that had accumulated over many years. We have developed an "empty room" policy. If a room is not used we want the rubbish out.

That is how we feel about this terrible blot on our reputation. It has made us more determined to physically clean the building. We probably will be issuing a statement acknowledging that this happened and offering an unreserved apology.

We are not going to burden anyone by asking for their forgiveness, nor are we asking anyone to forget. Far from it, we need to understand that Methodism and the Christianity of which it is part is not immune from the various evil spirits, including racism.

Every single white person involved in these incidents have long since left the church, the area or died. I just hope that this was just one incident and was not repeated in other Methodist churches.

However they have left behind a terrible legacy of which we have only just become aware. We now need to take this forward. We need to pray for healing. We need your prayers.

Thank you for reading this.

The night we were bombed

2011-07-10T15:32:00.003+01:00

The shaft of light in the middle of this picture is a reminder that for a few hours in 1943 the future of our church was in the balance. A German raid had left a trail of damage through Rotten Park, two houses fifty yards down City Road had been blown up.

A bomb came through our roof, left a hole and then landed on the church floor where some brave soul defused it. The roof was repaired and the incident forgotten. That was until last Thursday when the roofers found a round hole in the pitch and horsehair felt that had been used to cover the rafters in 1903. Underneath in the woodwork was the hole that has been unnoticed -for many years. Next week the hole will be covered up and the incident again forgotten.

Thank you and goodbye

2011-07-10T00:01:00.005+01:00

As a journalist I always mourn the loss of a title, even though I am delighted that Murdoch has got his comeuppance. Earlier today a Methodist friend pointed out that this blog often relied on "The Screws" for my Sunday afternoon posts. Any link to the News of the World got a rush of "out clicks". My reasoning - any excuse by the respectable to read the latest gossip.

I was really disappointed when they put up the pay wall which meant that neither me, nor my readers could buy into the Screws copy. Anyway this is an exercise in Methodist blogging nostalgia. And the urban legend is true that if you google "Nazi sex Methodist" you will land here - thanks to a quote from the News of the World!

Not for the faith hearted 11 October 2009
Am I my nephew's keeper? 4 October 2009
7000 in care children "lost" 20 July 2009
The "porn again" churchgoer 15 February 2009
Why the UK has a chlamydia rate that is now out of control 8 February 2009
Is Osborne his brother's keeper? 14 December 2008
Another story about MEPs' expenses 11 May 2008
Leave Amy alone! 27 April 2008
Former Smethwick MP's son exposed in tabloid Nazi sex sting 30 March 2008
Time to stop this circus 24 February 2008

Face to face with the NOTW - after the "clean up"

2011-07-09T17:10:00.000+01:00

The Shropshire Star carries a piece this evening about the News of the World's behaviour in the aftermath of a tragic double murder near Oswestry. This happened after the supposed "clean up". I'm sorry to see anyone lose their job but I won't be sorry to know that there is one less organisation prepared to go the lengths described here. The article concludes:

So when you hear David Wooding bleating plaintively on TV and radio about how the NotW had cleaned up its act and that current colleagues are carrying the can for a previous morally bankrupt regime, take not one jot of notice.

Reprehensible behaviour such as hacking into abducted teenager Milly Dowling’s mobile phone, the families of 7/7 terrorist murder victims, and, it is now alleged, also those of dead soldiers is driven and supported by organisational culture.

And it is an organisation’s leadership that sets and defines its culture. This is particularly true of newsrooms. The culture at the News of the World and further up the organisational structure at News International was one of “results at all costs, whatever it takes” – journalistically, financially, ethically and morally.

I would remind David Wooding that the ethically questionable subterfuge, and harassment my own family endured at the hands of NotW journalists – or their appointed agents – was a mere 15 months ago . . . under the watch of an editor he calls “decent”.

Read more: http://www.shropshirestar.com/news/2011/07/08/my-encounter-with-the-news-of-the-world/#ixzz1RcnZBL91

The missionary shape of the congregation

2011-07-09T00:01:00.001+01:00

Last week I took about two tons of paperwork from the church up to the tip. As I was tossing booklets, gift envelopes, and old prayer books into the re-cycling bin my eye alighted on a document entitled "The Missionary Shape of the Congregation".

What made me pick it up was the statement on the back cover:

"One of the encouraging features of the Methodist Church in Britain today is that a growing number of people are sharing in its worship week by week. In 1983 on a typical Sunday the number of people in Methodist churches was 432,559; by 1986 this figure had risen to 446,710. The proportion of churches reporting growing congregations rose during the same period from 43% to 47% while 30% of the churches were reporting increases of 10% or more."

During the late 70s and early 80s - within the living memory of many in the church today - there was a small but general rise in congregations across all denominations as the impact of the "charismatic revival" and the Billy Graham rallies of that period had an impact. Methodism was one of those denominations - the other was the newly formed URC - who fought hardest to reject both those influences. Nevertheless Methodist numbers rose, albeit slightly by 3.27% over a three year period.

The then secretary of the churches "Home Mission Division", David Bridges, sponsored some extensive research to find out what was going on and this booklet is the report of that research. This was, of course, the period during which I started attending a small church in Birmingham led by a charismatic young Minister called Ermal Kirby. Our church very much fitted the description of growing churches set out in the booklet.

Twenty five years after publication this little booklet has much to commend it. If readers feel it worth a wider circulation I will investigate placing it in full on this site. In the past I have tried to find a serious book about church growth by a Methodist and, alas, there are none currently available as far as I can see, so this 34 page booklet may just be able to give us a steer.

The researchers came up with a number of conclusions (alas a pagination error means that only four survived into the copy I rescued!) giving the reasons for growth

These included

The quality of pastoral oversight....this is a reason given by both church leader and new worshipers alike;
A fresh look at worship...the result of the church taking worship seriously is that others start to take it seriously too;
A ministry which related to the needs of people at every stage of their lives....we should expect people to become worshipers at any time in their life but particularly during their twenties and thirties and in retirement (more than 40% of the new worshipers were in their 20s and 30s, a quarter were over 60)
A collaborative style of leadership, one in which ministers and lay people share responsibility together both for worship and the whole life of the church.

Other factors which assisted growth included population changes, migration, and new or refurbished buildings.

However it was clear that changes in worship style, including participation by the congregation and, in some cases, a renewed emphasis on the sacraments attracted those who wanted to take worship seriously. This was the reason cited by 57% of Ministers questioned.

A similar comment is made aabout a change in theological emphasis as a reason for growth with nearly a quarter saying this had been a factor.

This therefore reads as follows with respondents able to tick more than one box:

Change in worship style - 57%
Change in theological emphasis - 25%
More Sunday School children progressing to full participation in worship - 34%
Special evangelistic programmes - 25%
Active class leader system developed - 38%
Changes in mid week programme - 56%
Changes in lay leadership - 48%
Changes in leadership style - 41%

This booklet may have a symbolic value in that it shows growth in British Methodist congregations has been possible in post - modern times.And for that it should be an encouragement.

However I think we need to be clear why that growth stopped.and membership now hovers around 300,000 much of which reflects greater longevity and will therefore reduce dramatically during the next ten years.

Ideally we should commission research and seek out the 14,000 who joined Methodism in that period. Where are they now?

Most of those who joined my church then now worship elsewhere. Some left as they become increasingly exasperated about the Methodist doctrinal stance on various issues. Others put themselves forward as local preachers and felt that they were bullied by a "liberal" hierarchy that was resistant to references to the Holy Spirit. For a handful there were difficult disputes with other members of the congregation that simply discouraged them. A substantial number left because they moved home to follow work or family, only one to my knowledge found another Methodist Church they felt they could worship in.

Critically, over the years, we as a church lost our ability to replace them when we had a decade of ministerial oversight which actively repudiated anything that didn't conform to a narrow definition of Methodism. I have written about this before here.

I believe British Methodism is ready for change, renewal and repentance. The period of resistance to the Holy Spirit is clearly coming to an end. New churches will emerge as a whole generation of carefully selected "liberal" Ministers retire. These churches will have to be largely lay led, mainly because Ministers just can't micro-manage four or five churches as they could one of two. Those lay people stepping forward for leadership will be different from those who thrived under the bureaucratic system beloved by "liberals" determined to quench the Spirit.

We are in for an interesting time and it would be well worth while for our connexion to get David Bridges little report out of the filing cabinet and see what factors create growth.

Just how important is Methodist heritage?

2011-07-08T19:32:00.000+01:00

This story from The Butts in Walsall interested me. A long abandoned Methodist church building is now the subject of a row with accusations that the local council should have done more to protect the empty building.

When will people understand that when a place of worship has completed its mission that is it? Finis. Time to pull it down. Derelict and empty church buildings do nothing for a local community. Insisting that the exterior is retained and turning them into wine bars and apartments is a futile gesture in the direction of nostalgia.

The Methodist church acknowledges it's past - but looks with an appetite to our future.

Jews and Methodists repair rifts - Jewish Chronicle

2011-07-08T00:01:00.000+01:00

This morning's Jewish Chronicle carries favourable coverage of Monday evening's fringe event.

My comment earlier this week is here

I note with interest that this event was not covered by any other Methodist bloggers, which I think a great shame given the significance of the occasion.

I also note how little coverage and enthusiasm there appears to have been for the anti-Israeli fringe meeting held on Tuesday evening. But then it isn't a good idea to invite a speaker who praises suicide bombers as "martyrs"!

Praise God - the Screws is closing!

2011-07-07T17:28:00.001+01:00

I was halfway through this post when the news was announced that the News of the World is to close. Praise God! Decency has won out. But don't be surprised if Murdoch opens a replacement paper soon. There's still a decent profit to be turned out of indecency. I will temper my joy with just a hope that those innocent News International employees will soon find gainful employment.

As a press officer for nearly half a century I have seen the British media at its best and at its worse. I've seen it in the gutter and, on occasions, have been there myself. I've also seen good journalism make very positive changes, despite the fact that they would often be accused of "muck racking" as they researched the story. Naturally I've taken a keen interest in the phone hacking story.

In the back of my mind I've always assumed that telephones were bugged. I've had conversations that were clearly listened to by a third party. There are other techniques to. In the 1980s a distraught parliamentary candidate in an unwinable seat described how she found journalists from a red top trawling through her dustbin. Apparently they were delighted to find an empty packet of contraceptive pills. Her sole consolation was that it least it proved she wasn't a lesbian, something that practically every high profile woman still finds the subject of investigation. I know because it is a question I have been asked myself on several times from several journalists.

When it comes to human grief there is little new. One Fleet Street newspaper used to employ a sneaky little man who would visit the home of a bereaved family and, as his sympathetic colleague persuaded them to talk about their loss he would "lift" family photographs. On the night of the Ibrox disaster in 1971 another newspaper went to the homes of all 66 victims and carried their photos the following day. One can only imagine the callousness that went into intruding of 66 grieving families.

What is different about the emerging story from the News of the World - and I suspect that there is even more to come - is the sheer industrial scale of the hacking. I accept as a press officer, as a politician, even as a preacher, my private life may be of some interest to others. But a thirteen year old girl who has gone missing? The widow of a soldier killed in Iraq?

What would have happened if the News of the World had found an interesting telephone call to one of the widows? Possibly she had a close male friend? Even if he wasn't a lover the story would have been massged. You can imagine the sheer bile that would have been poured upon her, even in a moment of grief. That is what the Screws were looking for.

One word of warning. Earlier this year I became aware of "interest" in the social media activity of church leaders. Our connections and "friends" on Facebook, Friends Reunited, Linkedin and Twitter are routinely scrutinised with care in the hope of harvesting a story. My strong advice to anyone in a dog collar, or holding a position in the church, is to check the links of your "friends" very carefully. Don't depend on privacy settings.

The News of the World may soon be out of business but the work of gathering "news" continues, and the clergy and those associated with them can easily become news.