Remembering to maintain peace

Here's the Address I shared as part of the Act of Remembrance held this morning at Wickford's War Memorial:

In this Act of Remembrance, we honour all those from this town who laid down their lives in the two World Wars and subsequent conflicts. We will remember them. We also honour all from these shores who died in these conflicts. We will remember them. We also honour all those from the Commonwealth who fought and died for freedom. We will remember them. And we honour those from our Allies who also lost their lives. We will remember them. Although the counting of casualties can never be fully accurate, the number of Allied lives sacrificed in the two World Wars is thought to be in the 10's of millions. We will remember them.

What does it mean to remember, particularly when we were not present and may not have lived through those times. What is it that we need to remember. All these died in the cause of peace. They died to bring about the peace we continue to enjoy today. The work to build and maintain peace was the legacy of all those who laid down their lives in the two World Wars. Therefore, as well as remembering the sacrifice of all who died (both military and civilians), we must also remember all that was put in place after the World Wars to build and maintain peace.

There was a recognition among the Allies following the war that global cooperation between nations was necessary for the maintenance of peace and institutions such as the United Nations and agreements such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights were quickly set up and agreed to form the foundation for maintaining peaceful relations between nations. The actions that were taken then by those who had lived through the two World Wars brought about what has become known as the Long Peace. The actions taken to build and maintain peace were taken by those who knew firsthand the horrors of war and those actions were the active legacy of those who died.

In a world where tensions between nations are growing ever more acute and where the institutions and agreements put in place to maintain peace are also being questioned and challenged, it is more important than ever to remember the reason why so many died and the understanding of how peace is achieved and maintained learnt by those who lived through the two World Wars.

Jesus called his followers to be peacemakers and that was the intent of those who died and also of those built the long peace that we still enjoy. Jesus said that those who acts as peacemakers are the children of God. If we are to live as God’s children by being true to the call to be peacemakers, it remains vital that we do remember; remembering that peace was the goal of all who died and remembering, too, how peace has been built and maintained following the two World Wars. May it be so for each one of us. Amen.

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Judee Sill - The Living End.

ArtWay: Tears of Gold: “The invisible light that radiates from the other” – Jonathan Evens interviews Hannah Rose Thomas

My latest interview for ArtWay is with British artist Hannah Rose Thomas, who is also an author, human rights activist and a UNESCO PhD Scholar at the University of Glasgow:

"I have come to perceive portrait painting as a gift of attention, a way for the subjects to feel ‘seen’ and heard, that they may perhaps have never experienced before. ‘What is indispensable for this task,’ Weil asserts, ‘is a passionate interest in human beings, whoever they may be, and in their minds and souls; the ability to place oneself in their position and to recognize by signs thoughts which go unexpressed; a certain intuitive sense of history in process of being enacted; and the faculty of expressing in writing delicate shades of meaning and complex relationships.’ The time-consuming early Renaissance egg tempera and oil painting methods, and gilding that I use are how I seek to attend to, and honour the stories I have heard. The time taken with the women whom I have painted, listening to their stories and cultivating relationship through the art workshops, is extended through the time spent painting their portraits."

See also my Artlyst interview with Hannah here, a Church Times review here, a HeartEdge workshop involving Hannah here, and posts about Hannah's exhibition at St Stephen Walbrook here.

My visual meditations for ArtWay include work by María Inés Aguirre, Giampaolo Babetto, Marian Bohusz-Szyszko, Alexander de Cadenet, Christopher Clack, Marlene Dumas, Terry Ffyffe, Jake Flood, Antoni Gaudi, Nicola Green, Maciej Hoffman, Gwen John, Lakwena Maciver, S. Billie Mandle, Giacomo Manzù, Sidney Nolan, Michael Pendry, Maurice Novarina, Regan O'Callaghan, Ana Maria Pacheco, John Piper, Nicola Ravenscroft, Albert Servaes, Henry Shelton, Anna Sikorska, Alan Stewart, Jan Toorop, Andrew Vessey, Edmund de Waal and Sane Wadu.

My Church of the Month reports include: All Saints Parish Church, Tudeley, Aylesford Priory, Canterbury Cathedral, Chapel of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, Hem, Chelmsford Cathedral, Churches in Little Walsingham, Coventry Cathedral, Église de Saint-Paul à Grange-Canal, Eton College Chapel, Lumen, Metz Cathedral, Notre Dame du Léman, Notre-Dame de Toute Grâce, Plateau d’Assy,Romont, Sint Martinuskerk Latem, St Aidan of Lindisfarne, St Alban Romford, St. Andrew Bobola Polish RC Church, St. Margaret’s Church, Ditchling, and Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft, St Mary the Virgin, Downe, St Michael and All Angels Berwick and St Paul Goodmayes, as well as earlier reports of visits to sites associated with Marian Bohusz-Szyszko, Marc Chagall, Jean Cocteau, Antoni Gaudi and Henri Matisse.

Blogs for ArtWay include: Congruity and controversy: exploring issues for contemporary commissions; Ervin Bossanyi: A vision for unity and harmony; Georges Rouault and André Girard: Crucifixion and Resurrection, Penitence and Life Anew; Photographing Religious Practice; Spirituality and/in Modern Art; and The Spirituality of the Artist-Clown.

Interviews for ArtWay include: Matthew Askey, Sophie Hacker, Peter Koenig, David Miller and Belinda Scarlett. I also interviewed ArtWay founder Marleen Hengelaar Rookmaaker for Artlyst.

I have reviewed: Art and the Church: A Fractious Embrace, Kempe: The Life, Art and Legacy of Charles Eamer Kempe and Jazz, Blues, and Spirituals.

Other of my writings for ArtWay can be found here. My pieces for Church Times can be found here. Those for Artlyst are here and those for Art+Christianity are here.

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Tim Hughes - We Won't Stay Silent.

Hannah Rose Thomas: Tears of Gold

Last night I was at Exhibition Launch for 'Tears of Gold' at Garden Court Chambers. This exhibition by the artist, author, and human rights activist Hannah Rose Thomas features portraits of Yazidi women who escaped ISIS captivity, Rohingya women who fled violence in Myanmar, and Nigerian women who survived Boko Haram and Fulani oppression. Hannah’s most recent portraits depict survivors of the re-education camps in Xinjiang, China, and of conflicts in Afghanistan, Ukraine and the Gaza Strip.

With these artworks, along with the associated publication Tears of Gold, Thomas bears witness—painting by painting, relationship by relationship—to the singular stories shared by each individual, and by extension the trauma and recovery experienced by their communities.

This body of work not only serves as a reminder to remain concerned about the ongoing persecution of people around the world based on their backgrounds and beliefs, but also reflects on the complexities and limits of empathy as we look to pursue justice more compassionately.

Hannah Rose Thomas demonstrates the potential of caring and creative practices that take time to listen, learn, and focus a prayer-like attention on the suffering of others and in the process reveal a sense of interrelatedness, common vulnerability, and shared humanity that allows for healing and hope.

Hannah Rose Thomas is a British artist and an UNESCO PhD Scholar at the University of Glasgow. She has previously organized art projects for Syrian refugees in Jordan; Yazidi women who escaped ISIS captivity in Iraqi Kurdistan; Rohingya refugees in Bangladeshi camps and Nigerian women survivors of Boko Haram. Her paintings of displaced women are a testament to their strength and dignity. These have been exhibited at prestigious places including the UK Houses of Parliament, European Parliament, Scottish Parliament, Buckingham Palace, Lambeth Palace, Westminster Abbey, the International Peace Institute in New York and The Saatchi Gallery.

Her exhibition Tears of Gold was featured in the virtual exhibition for the UN’s Official 75th Anniversary, “The Future is Unwritten: Artists for Tomorrow.” Hannah was selected for the Forbes 30 Under 30 2019 Art & Culture; shortlisted for the Women of the Future Award 2020 and selected for British Vogue Future Visionaries 2022. Hannah’s debut art book Tears of Gold: Portraits of Yazidi, Rohingya and Nigerian Women was published in 2024, with a foreword by HM King Charles III.

The book also presents Thomas' stunning portrait paintings of Yazidi women who escaped ISIS captivity, Rohingya women who fled violence in Myanmar, and Nigerian women who survived Boko Haram violence, alongside their own words, stories, and self-portraits. A final chapter features portraits and stories of Afghan, Ukrainian, Uyghur, and Palestinian women.

These portraits, depicting women from three continents and three religions, are a visual testimony not only of war and injustice but also of humanity and resilience. Many of the women have suffered sexual violence; all have been persecuted and forcibly displaced on account of their faith or ethnicity.

Hannah Rose Thomas met these women in Iraqi Kurdistan, Bangladeshi refugee camps, and Northern Nigeria while organizing art projects to teach women how to paint their self-portraits as a way to reclaim their personhood and self-worth. She gives women their own voice both by creating a safe space for them to share their stories and by using her impressive connections to make sure their stories are heard in places of influence in the Global North.

Thomas uses techniques of traditional sacred art – early Renaissance tempera and oil painting and gold leaf – to convey the sacred value of each of these women in spite of all that they have suffered. This symbolic restoration of dignity is especially important considering the stigma surrounding sexual violence. Hannah’s work attests to the power of the arts as a vehicle for healing, remembering, inclusion, and dialogue.

Long after the news cameras have moved on to the next conflict, this book shines a spotlight on the ongoing work of healing and restoration in some of the most vulnerable and marginalized communities around the world.

Hannah's essay from the book can be read here. My interview with Hannah for Artlyst can be read here. My Church Times review of her UN75 exhibition is here. Hannah exhibited at St Stephen Walbrook in 2017 and posts about that exhibition are here and here. Hannah also participated in a HeartEdge workshop on 'Art and Social Change' which can be viewed here.

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Tim Hughes - We Won't Stay Silent.

Freedom of expression and freedom of religion

The Theos Annual Lecture 2015 was given tonight by Baroness O’Neill of Bengarve at The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple.

Entitled freedom of expression and freedom of religion, Baroness O'Neill explored the reasons we can give for taking our rights to rights to freedom of expression and to freedom of religion and belief seriously, for interpreting them in specific ways but not in other ways; for institutionalising them in some ways but not in other ways.

Along the way, she noted evidence that they are not respected as being 'all too plain in the persistence of intolerance and intimidation, of outright censorship and religious persecution of those of other faiths, and in the criminalisation of apostasy in some states.'

The lecture can be read by clicking here.

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Wham - Freedom.

Discover & explore: Faith

We had a very positive beginning to the 'Discover & explore' service series at St Stephen Walbrook. Among the comments made by those present were these:

• 'Magnificent choir & organ'
• 'Both the songs and the reflection were excellent' 
• 'Beautiful music; the readings were long and meaty! The whole liturgy was good'
• 'St Martin's Choral Scholars – wonderful tone & expressions'

Here is my reflection on the theme of 'Faith' from today's service:

On 15 June 1215 at Runnymede King John agreed to have Magna Carta, the ‘Great Charter,’ sealed. This event has later become recognised as one of the most important events in English history as it marked the road to individual freedom, parliamentary democracy and to the supremacy of law.

To mark this event, today, at Runnymede, there has been a national Magna Carta Foundation of Liberty ceremony, organised by the National Trust and Surrey County Council, and attended by 4,500 invited guests and VIPs from a cross-section of the community and around the world.

The City of London is the only place to be named in Magna Carta, in a clause guaranteeing "the City of London shall have all its ancient liberties by land as well as by water." It also played a fundamentally important role in the events leading to Magna Carta: Temple, in the west of the City, was where a posse of barons first confronted King John to demand a charter. The City was also later granted the right to appoint a Mayor (later known as the Lord Mayor), part of whose duties was to ensure the provisions of Magna Carta were carried out. As part of the 800th Anniversary celebrations of Magna Carta, the 1297 Magna Carta is currently displayed in the City of London’s Heritage Gallery.

Magna Carta starts as a religious document, concerned with the “health of the soul” of the King, and with the “honour of God,” and with the “exaltation of the Holy Church”. Dr Mike West notes that “Magna Carta established the freedom of the English church from state interference and this has grown to enshrine the rights of each individual to enjoy religious freedom”.

Magna Carta has led to Article 9 of the Human Rights Act, the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, which includes:

• the freedom to change religion or belief;
• the freedom to exercise religion or belief publicly or privately, alone or with others;
• the freedom to exercise religion or belief in worship, teaching, practice and observance; and
• the right to have no religion (e.g. to be atheist or agnostic) or to have non-religious beliefs protected (e.g. philosophical beliefs such as pacifism or veganism).

The process which took us from the Magna Carta establishing the freedom of the English church from state interference to the rights which we all have to enjoy religious and non-religious freedom ran through the period explored by paintings in the recent re-hanging of the Guildhall Art Gallery’s Victorian Collection. The mid-19th century, as is noted in the Gallery’s description of the theme of ‘Faith’, saw a “crisis of faith” brought about by new scientific developments, such as geological discoveries and Darwin’s evolutionary theory, although the majority of society continued to consider personal spirituality as a key component of life.

The debates which began in that period, and which never simply involved the binary oppositions of faith and science that feature in the usual popular commentaries on that period, continue into the present. These lead us firstly to value the freedom we have to hold either religious or non-religious beliefs. This comes with the recognition, identified primarily by Michael Polanyi, that all human knowledge, including that of science, is ultimately faith-based. This is so, because all knowledge relies on personal commitments which motivate our highest achievements and mean that we believe more than we can prove and know more than we can say. As Hebrews 11 expresses it, ‘Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.’ Secondly, for those who do hold religious beliefs, they lead us to value the place of doubt and debate in faith. The latter is well expressed by the statement at St Martin-in-the-Fields that the church exists to honour God by being an open and inclusive church that enables people to question and discover for themselves the significance of Jesus Christ.

As these understandings of faith and the freedom to believe are not universally applied, Dr Mike West, in exploring the legacy of Magna Carta, writes that, “Today it challenges faith communities to examine the part they might play in the development of a liberal democracy and to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem in international relations.”

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John Stainer - God So Loved The World.

British Shared Values and Faith

The Muslim Community & Education Centre and Global One 2015 hosted an event today exploring shared values among faith communities in Britain. The event aimed to encourage meaningful and insightful conversation on the issue of shared values and faith in Britain, and brought together leaders and thinkers from Britain’s faith communities as part of a multi-faith discussion panel chaired by The Right Honourable Baroness Berridge which included Rabbi James Baaden, Imam Asharaf Salah and myself.

With the rise of religious discrimination and tension in the UK and around the world, proactive inter-faith dialogue is as important and relevant as ever. Faith communities in the UK face increasing challenges and yet provide invaluable resources in the form of education, guidance, social engagement and community support on local, national and international levels. In the run up to and aftermath of the general election British values have been constantly in the media spotlight with questions about what British values really mean and how they are compatible with major religions.

A 2014 study by Ipsos Mori revealed that Britons overestimate the proportion of Muslims in the country by a factor of four. These mass misconceptions become problematic when combined with biased perceptions of Islam leading people to feel threatened by the faith and its perceived incompatibility with British values. A similar study for Jewish Policy Research found that 28% of respondents felt anti semitism in the UK had increased a lot in the past five years; whilst 40% felt it had increased a little.

Faith communities’ participation in civil society is an important aspect of building strong cohesive communities. As participation is an indicator of how vibrant a civil society is faith participation can play an enabling and empowering role for many faith communities particularly those which are disadvantaged.

By bringing together religious, social and political leaders and thinkers The Muslim Community & Education Centre and Global One 2015 hoped to bring the discussion on shared values and faith to the forefront of British community life and find positive and achievable solutions to the problems faced by these communities today.

In my contribution to the debate I said the following:

This week my sermon at St Stephen Walbrook was based on James 1. 22, “be doers of the word, and not merely hearers.” This passage says that if we are hearers of God’s word and not doers, we are like those who look at themselves in a mirror and immediately forget what they were like. “A first century mirror was not the silvered glass one without which no bathroom is complete today. It was beaten bronze and gave a fuzzy image. If you wanted to be sure your face was not dirty a quick glance was not sufficient. You would need to peer intently, work out what was required, then go and find some clean water to do something about it. The same is true of the way we react to encountering God. The real blessing of the Christian faith does not lie in listening to sermons or reciting liturgies, but in dwelling on what is true until it transforms what we do. A genuine encounter with Jesus provokes action.”

The action it produces is, as the letter of James states, “care for orphans and widows in their distress.” Jesus said, in the Parable of the sheep and goats, that God’s judgement on us will be based on our actions; giving food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked and visiting those in prison. These actions are to be the end result of our faith. If our looking deeply into God’s word does not result in our doing these things, our faith is not genuine and we are not walking the walk as Christians.

One summary of those words from and thoughts based on the Christian scriptures would be the sentence known as the Golden Rule which appears in the scriptures of many faiths i.e. ‘Do to others as you would have them do to you.’

Let us bear these thoughts in mind, as shared values, as we think a little now about the contribution of Christianity to shared British values.

Julian Rivers has argued in ‘Religion and Law’, that:

“The political and legal implications of Christianity have been quite different from those of Judaism and Islam.” “Judaism and Islam manifested themselves as the law of an entire community organised around those faiths. So it makes sense to talk of Islamic or Jewish criminal law, family law, property law, law of contracts, charitable foundations and so on.” “Instead, under God, in Christianity, there are two authorities on earth, not one, and they are church and government. The sphere of church is characterised by salvific grace, by individual commitment, by freedom – so much so that the very concept of law might be out of place in the church (although Christian ecclesiological traditions vary considerably on that particular question). The sphere of government is characterised by judgement and coercion in the service of goods common to all of humankind. The tasks of government may be considered primarily in terms of restraining evil, or of coordinating human action in pursuit of the common good.”

He notes that, as a result, English law has been beneficially affected by Christianity” and summarises the argument of Lord Denning (Master of the Rolls 1962-1981) who, on his retirement as President of the Lawyers’ Christian Fellowship, published a pamphlet on this topic: “These included a belief in the importance of truth, requirements of good faith in statutory interpretation and contractual obligations, the development of the law of negligence, basic presuppositions of criminal law (such as the requirement to demonstrate that the accused had a ‘guilty mind’), the principle of government under law, the rise of social welfare legislation, and the centrality of a Christian conception of marriage.”

To this list Rivers adds the following:

“Modern commitments to political liberty and equality within the law emerged out of debates which were internal to Christianity; debates which were catalysed by the inescapably radical liberty and equality exemplified by Jesus and his disciples. Jesus is the model of the accountable public servant, using power for the good of others and conscious of his answerability to a higher tribunal. English nationhood owes more than a little to the example of Israel. Christianity also reinforced a commitment to authority, order and the rule of law.”

Dipti Patel has explored, in a paper on the religious foundations of Human Rights, approaches to understanding Human Rights based on the Judeo-Christian tradition. She writes that:

“The central understanding of the human being within the Judeo-Christian tradition starts with the idea that God was the creator of all things. He created man in his own image: ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness … So God created man in his own image, in the image and likeness of God he created him; male and female he created them.’ (Genesis 1:26-27, 5:1, 9:6). This supports the idea of rights that all enjoy by virtue of their common humanity. By virtue of reflecting the divine image, absolute worth is accorded to human beings. This gives all human beings a special status, a unique value, or ... his dignity. Therefore the human being has absolute and inviolable worth. A human being is not to be valued for what society can do with him, he is not a means to an end. Being created in God’s image is to be understood ‘in the sense of God bestowing dignity and honour upon man’. This is explained in Psalm (8:5) where it is stated ‘You have made him but a little lower than the angels, and have crowned him with glory and honor.’ This means that every human being is to be treated with love and respect.”

This is a shared understanding within the Judeo-Christian tradition, while the particular Christian perspective on this issue is that:

“In the New Testament, the Son of God, in the person of Jesus Christ, perfected divine regard for the human being. Through Christ humanity is freed from sin and as a result of the Fall, redeemed before God, and exists in a state of grace. So it is in Christ that the image of God, obscured and blurred by sin, is restored. The human being has supreme value with infinite worth; he is not a bearer of borrowed values. So the Christian understanding of human rights is entirely a function of the value divinely granted to humans through Christ. This is absolute and universal. The absolute value of a person pre-exists any social differences, all are seen as equal, and as a result the value is universal. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption which is Jesus Christ, who is to be received by faith (Romans 3:21- 25). The origin of human rights language in the Judeo-Christian tradition therefore starts with the idea of the creation of man in the image of God, and is therefore absolute, and the state of grace, which is universal. This is the reason why it is important to recognise the dignity of every human being regardless of any social differences. Dignity is inherent. Human rights law provides for a way to recognise the respect for dignity.”

One significant point in the development of Human Rights legislation and the history of Christian influence on British values which is being celebrated this year, is the signing of Magna Carta: “In 1215, after King John of England violated a number of ancient laws and customs by which England had been governed, his subjects forced him to sign the Magna Carta, which enumerates what later came to be thought of as human rights. Among them was the right of the church to be free from governmental interference, the rights of all free citizens to own and inherit property and to be protected from excessive taxes. It established the right of widows who owned property to choose not to remarry, and established principles of due process and equality before the law. It also contained provisions forbidding bribery and official misconduct. Widely viewed as one of the most important legal documents in the development of modern democracy, the Magna Carta was a crucial turning point in the struggle to establish freedom.”

Magna Carta starts as a religious document, concerned with the “health of the soul” of the King, and with the “honour of God,” and with the “exaltation of the Holy Church”. Dr Mike West notes that “Magna Carta established the freedom of the English church from state interference and this has grown to enshrine the rights of each individual to enjoy religious freedom. Today it challenges faith communities to examine the part they might play in the development of a liberal democracy and to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem in international relations.”

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Yusuf Islam - Peace Train.

Europe’s openness about religious images has grown out of the Christian tradition

'Europeans may believe that in defending free speech – including contentious religious cartoons – we are standing up for human rights won since the French Revolution, but this is not strictly true.'

Jonathan Jones, writing about Art Below's Stations of the Cross exhibition at St Marylebone Parish Church (an exhibition which features work by commission4mission's Christopher Clack), notes that: 'Europe’s modern openness about religious images has grown naturally out of the Christian tradition itself.'

As a result, 'Europeans should recognise, when we rightly defend the right to offend, that for inheritors of the sensational tradition of Christian art, it is actually quite easy to say that artists have the right to do what they want to religion. Even the church agrees on that, as it always has.'

While this is a valid and important corrective, Jones will also be well aware of the propensity within certain streams of Christianity to protest against the right to offend. In his article he mentions Andre Serrano's Piss Christ, a cibachrome print of a crucifix submerged in urine, which 'became a hate object for cultural and religious conservatives in 1980s America.'

Yet, as he rightly suggests, Christians are as 'likely to embrace the outrageous image as they would a lamb strayed from the flock. 'Jesus,' he quips, 'how can you offend these people?' In his excellent talk on faith and contemporary art entitled 'Icons or Eyesores?' Alan Stewart does precisely that in relation to Serrano's Piss Christ:

'For me the real power of the piece is that it encapsulates a Christ who comes into the filth and refuse of the world, who himself is rejected, expelled like a body fluid. God in the refuse of life; dignifying it; sitting with us in solidarity. Allowing himself to become contaminated with the fall-out of life.'

Some years ago Philip Ritchie, Paul Trathen and myself led several courses entitled The Big Picture exploring faith and popular culture. In one session we considered the pros and cons of Christian protest or engagement in relation to controversial portrayals of Christ. In the 1970’s and 80’s films like Monty Python’s Life of Brian and Martin Scorcese’s The Last Temptation of Christ resulted in thousands of Christians demonstrating outside cinema’s while Christian organisation’s like the National Viewer’s and Listener’s Association headed by Mary Whitehouse lobbied for these films to be banned. However, the release of The Da Vinci Code in 2006, although it dealt with similarly controversial material for Christians, did not result in mass protests. Instead, through seeker events, bible studies, websites and booklets Churches encouraged discussion of the issues raised by the film while clearly contesting the claims made about Christ and the Church.

We noted that the protests often did not tally with the content of the films and displayed a lack of understanding of the films, their stories and meaning. As Richard Burridge, Dean of King’s College London, has said 'those who called for the satire to be banned after its release in 1979 were “embarrassingly” ill-informed and missed a major opportunity to promote the Christian message.' Life of Brian portrayed the followers of religions as unthinking and gullible and the response of Christians to that film reinforced this stereotype. The Church had to relearn that the way to counter criticism is not to try to ban or censor it but to engage with it, understand it and accurately counter it. The Da Vinci Code events, bible studies, websites etc. that the Church used to counter the claims made in The Da Vinci Code featured reasoned arguments based on a real understanding of the issues raised which made use of genuine historical findings and opinion to counter those claims.

This brings us back to Jones' comments that, following the Iconoclastic controversy, 'When it comes to portraying God and Jesus, there never were many restrictions in Europe ... Artists were not only permitted but encouraged by the Church to depict Jesus in the most shocking ways they could.' This approach has helped to develop 'Europe’s modern openness about religious images' but has grown naturally out of the Christian emphasis on 'the humanity and suffering of a god brought down to Earth' or, as Stewart puts it: 'a Christ who comes into the filth and refuse of the world, who himself is rejected, expelled like a body fluid. God in the refuse of life; dignifying it; sitting with us in solidarity. Allowing himself to become contaminated with the fall-out of life.'

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Kanye West - Jesus Walks.

Baptism, Agape and chain reactions

Jesus’ baptism (Matthew 3. 13 – end) started a chain reaction. It led directly to his ministry which was to bring good news to the poor, proclaim liberty to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, set free the oppressed, and announce that the time has come when the Lord will save his people. To do this he recruited disciples; a core group of 12 and a larger group of 72 or more.

These were themselves baptised and, after Jesus’ ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, they followed Jesus’ commission to go to all peoples everywhere and make them disciples: baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. When Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost he said, “Each one of you must turn away from your sins and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so that your sins will be forgiven; and you will receive God's gift, the Holy Spirit.” Many believed his message and were baptized, and about three thousand people were added to the group that day.

The chain reaction that was started by the baptism of Jesus still continues and at St John's Seven Kings we have been a part of keeping that chain reaction going. Here is one story which demonstrates that to have been the case. Thirty years ago Judy Acheson was a Sunday School teacher here at St John's. While here, she felt called to serve God in the Democratic Republic of Congo. She went to the Congo in 1980 with the Church Mission Society (CMS) to be a nursery nurse, but, as the children she cared for grew, she carried on caring for them, eventually training and handing over responsibility to local leaders. “When I was first simply doing Sunday school work, I trained someone to take over … I always felt that we were there in a country to share the experience we had and enable people to carry it on."

The recent history of violence in the DRC is legendary. There is a legacy of  30 years of a both brutal and incompetent dictatorship, followed by one of the worst civil wars in post colonial Africa. Almost every participating force has been guilty of massacres and rapes. And the north-east region, where Judy was originally, was described by Human RightsWatch as "the bloodiest corner of Congo".

Judy could have left the country during the civil war but chose to stay and develop pioneering youth work. She says, “it was always my philosophy to empower the young people to do the work.” Bisoke Balikenga was one of her original youth team members. “You could see his leadership potential. People would listen to him and do what he asked. When we had visitors he looked after them.” Seeing his potential, CMS gave him and his wife a scholarship to study at Daystar University in Nairobi, then he took over the diocesan youth work Judy had begun, so she could start youth work nationally. Now that she has retired, he has taken over the national youth work as well.

The Youth Department Judy set for the Diocese of Bunia, called Jeunesse Chrétienne Agape (which means Agape Christian Youth), visited young men who joined the tribal militias during the civil war to persuade them to leave the militias, runs rehabilitation centres for young women raped and traumatised during the civil war, and, now the war is over, runs seminars to reconcile those who fought against each other during the war.

When the Archbishop of Canterbury visited in 2011, a group of about 50 former militia members spoke about how the Church, in the form of Agape, never forgot them. One by one, they gave their testimony. "We were taught to repay bad for bad," one said, "but the people from the church came to visit me." One after another they spoke about how, thanks to Agape's seminars and conferences on peace, they retuned to God and their families, rediscovering the love of Jesus. Many of them were then at college or university, slowly putting their trauma behind them.

Throughout these years Agape was been training young people to think for themselves, to have, give and express their own opinions, and make their own decisions. God began to show Judy, Bisoke and others that he is going to bring mighty changes within the country and has chosen to use children and young people as a means of doing so. This led them to write a manual for young people, Young people, with God let us rebuild our beautiful country! With Government support this book, and others they have written, are being used by thousands of teenagers and young adults in schools and in youth groups with the result that they are learning to make their own decisions and become aware of their role and their responsibility towards their own country.

Judy and Bisoke are examples of people who have put Jesus’ words into practice and by doing so having a massive impact on their country. Their story is particularly inspiring because they are clearly ordinary people just like us. If they can do it, so can we. Their story is doubly inspiring because it is about a chain reaction happening among young people who have been baptised and become leaders like Jesus; those who come not to be served but to serve, and to give their lives for others.

As an illustration of the continuing need for the work that Bisoke and his colleagues do, here are some stories from his recent prayer letters:  

While the majority of the DRC is peaceful, fighting continues in the East of the country. Bisoke has asked for prayer for people in Gety who have become refugees in Komanda , Nyankunde, Marabo and Bunia because of the insecurity caused by the war between the rebel and the government soldiers. These people have lost everything when they had to run from their homes without food, blankets or clothes in order to save their lives. Now the young people in these places have started providing assistance with clothes, food, and blankets.

Bisoke also wrote about the Venerable Move Karabutege, the first Archdeacon of Gety, and his wife. They stayed in Gety when everyone else ran away but his wife became ill and they couldn't leave because the road was not secure for them to travel. Eventually, their son got them out and brought them to Bunia but after two days the wife of the Archdeacon passed away.

Bisoke is committed to travelling to all dioceses to build capacity in the church for transformation. 'We twice visited the diocese of North Kivu to discover what we could do for the youth there and understand their needs,' Bisoke said. He says he found that many of the youth leaders badly needed training in peace and reconciliation as well as encouragement in their work in such a tough area.

In December Bisoke helped lead a four-day seminar for dozens of youth leaders in North Kivu. 'We truly saw the hand of God upon us,' said Bisoke, adding that a dozen leaders rededicated their lives to Jesus. 'Some of these youth leaders had been affected by the war and by insecurities around North Kivu, which had blocked the development of North Kivu Diocese. However we are building upon the faith of our youth with these much-needed seminars.'

A Prayer for the Democratic Republic of Congo: O God, loving parent of all, comfort your children displaced, wounded or orphaned by conflict in Congo; and give the people of that country courage to seek enduring peace with justice and freedom, that their children might grow up without fear; for the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen. (Adapted by Canon Ian Tarrant from a prayer in the 1998 Congo Swahili Prayer Book, written after the 1996-97 war).

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Mavis Staples - Sow Good Seeds.

Launch of Arthritis Self-Help Network (London)

Last night I was at the launch of Arthritis Self-Help Network (ASNet) as a charity at Chigwell Hall.

ASNet began life as a support group for those with rheumatoid arthritis at King George Hospital in 2000. Over the years ASNet has grown to deliver many different projects such as Creative Writing, Evening Therapy Sessions, a day out for the housebound in partnership with Redbridge Voluntary Care, GP Education days, 6 week course called ‘Living Life Differently with Arthritis’, and Pain Management Sessions.

With ASNet's launch as a charity there have also come further new developments including a website containing film interviews with members (which can also be seen on http://www.humanrightstv.com/) and a contract to become part of the ‘Enabled 4 Growth’ programme run by the Leonard Cheshire Disability. This programme is designed to help new charities in all areas that are relevant for good practice and growth as well as teaching them how to become financially secure.

ASNet's founder, Diane Wynne-Fitzgerald says the time is right for ASNet because:

"Whatever the cause of disempowerment of people living with disability, in the twenty-first century we surely cannot pliantly accept such low social standards. Cases have to be made, positions adopted and followed through but most importantly the community must be empowered and supported practically. This is exactly why this charity is so important, at its core is the need to assist people to find their own powers, gain their own solutions and be in control of their own lives."

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 Monsters of Folk - The Right Place.

UK Government backs new European trafficking law

Great news from Anti-Slavery International and 38 Degrees:

"We did it! Together we've just won our campaign for the UK to sign up to a new European law to tackle human trafficking. Thousands of you have taken action helping us reach an amazing 47,000 petition signatures!


... the Government announced that they will apply to adopt the EU Trafficking Directive aimed at making it easier to prosecute traffickers and better protect those trafficked. It is an incredible result that they have listened to us all and taken tougher action to ensure we win the battle to end this horrendous crime.

Last Saturday 19th March Anti-Slavery International and 38 Degrees campaigners along with the Independent on Sunday handed in our petition to No.10 Downing Street calling for the Government to back the new law. Check out our Facebook photo album from the day and the excellent news coverage.

It is extremely important that the Government has recognised the need to back this measure and do more to tackle trafficking, sending out a strong message to traffickers today that this crime will not be tolerated."

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Mary Mary - Shackles (Praise You).

Stop human trafficking petition

The Independent on Sunday, alongside a number of high profile figures including the Archbishop of York, actress Juliet Stevenson and the Shadow Foreign Secretary, Yvette Cooper, is now supporting anti-slavery international campaign urging the Government to sign up to a new EU Directive to prevent human trafficking.

Over 13,000 have already signed the petition calling on the Government to adopt the Directive, demonstrating widespread concern that a UK opt out could undermine European-wide efforts to tackle trafficking.

The IOS's support comes as Romanian children as young as nine years-old were found in slavery on UK farms. The UK needs to take tougher action now more than ever to fight human trafficking across borders, especially as many victims are now trafficked from new EU member states such as Romania and Bulgaria.

Please take action by:

1) SIGNING THE PETITION calling on the Government to guarantee the UK will opt in to the Directive.

2) Writing to your MP urging them to sign Early Day Motion 779 which calls on the Government to opt in to the Directive. Click here for a template letter and MP contact details.

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Neil Young - Angry World.

Inspired for service (2)

I spent yesterday trying to inspire others to serve and care through an assembly and a funeral. For the assembly I used material from Unicef:

Durga is 12 years old. She is an orphan and of the Sikh faith. A few years ago a relative borrowed money from an important family. In repayment he gave them Durga. She became ‘bonded’ to the family. A bonded labourer pays off a loan with their labour. But it is not just the loan but also the interest on the loan. Durga’s labour was valued at 50 Rupees a month (£0.88), because the family fed and clothed her. She would never have been able to pay off the loan but would have had to work for the family for life, never receiving any money.

Durga worked as housemaid and nanny in the large household. But the grown-up daughter of the house took a dislike to Durga and bullied her. One day she poured kerosene over Durga and set it alight. Fortunately, Durga acted swifty and dashed water from the sink over herself so she only has superficial burns. The family put ointment on her burns and locked her up. From a window, Durga attracted the attention of a newspaper journalist. He persuaded the family to release Durga from her bond on the condition that he would not write about the incident.

The journalist brought Durga to Mokhila Camp, near Hyderabad. It is like a boarding school which the state government has provided for children who have never been to school. Durga said, “I am so happy to be at the school. I can learn and help with the school. I can be a teacher or anything, I don’t have to be a servant all my life.”

The Convention on the Rights of the Child says that: children should not be separated from their parents unless it is for their own good; governments should protect children from work that is dangerous or might harm their health or their education; and children should be protected from any activities that could harm their development.

All those rights were broken in Durga’s life. That is unjust and she needed the help of the journalist and the state government to bring her justice. We all have these rights but social injustice still exists and to put that right people and organisations are needed to bring about social justice. An 11-year-old boy called Alan Barry wrote a poem about the Human Rights Act, which makes the point that for social justice to come we all need to play our part:

Human Rights

I am not very old
But I think I understand
How the Human Rights Act
Would work throughout the land.

Freedom within the law
To work and think and pray.
To speak out against injustice
Which many suffer from each day.

I am still a child
But I think I know what’s right,
Like standing up for friends
When a bully wants to fight.

We must all work together
To create a better place.
So that all people, everywhere
Can have a living space.

Life is very precious.
We all have much to give.
We must care for one another
And must live and let live.

Alan Barry (age 11)

Have a look at your hands. Your hands can be the hands of God if you use them to help those in need. St Teresa of Avila said:

'Christ has no body on earth but yours;Yours are the only hands with which he can do his work,Yours are the only feet with which he can go about the world,Yours are the only eyes through which his compassion can shine upon a troubled world.Christ has no body now on earth but yours.

Some of you were at the Solid:Remix event at Chelmsford Cathedral recently where lots of young people said that they what to use the lives and talents to serve God and other people. The granddaughter of one of the ladies in my church has the ambition of being an ambassador for peace in the world and is training with an MP in Parliament at the moment to help in fulfilling that ambition. Lots of the young people that we hear about in the media seem to just to want to make money or become famous for themselves but there are also lots of young people wanting to help others and make a difference in the world. Which will you be?

For the funeral I used the story of Ruth:

The story of Ruth, of which we have just heard the beginning, is a wonderful story of the benefits and joy of caring for others, even in the midst of tragedy. Ruth and her mother-in-law Naomi lost all their close family members but chose to stay together and care for one another even though there was the opportunity to go their separate ways.

Difficult circumstances and tragedy can be the prompt or spur for real acts of care, as we have seen recently in news stories of neighbours caring for elderly folk made housebound in the snow and in the financial response that there have been to the suffering being endured by the people in Haiti.

We know that Fred and Ivy also knew tragedy in their lives, particularly through the untimely deaths of their two children Ivy and Fred. Such heartbreak can cause people to look inward and shut themselves off from others and from God, but that was not the response of Fred and Ivy who continued to love and support each other, to care for Ivy’s parents in their old age and, then, Fred cared faithfully for Ivy as she approached death.

Ruth and Naomi returned to Naomi’s home where Ruth’s care for her mother-in-law was recognised and rewarded by Boaz, a landowner, who firstly found ways to support the two women and later married Ruth bringing an end to the poverty in which they had lived since the tragedy of their husband’s deaths.

Similarly, the need that Fred and Ivy had in their lives to receive support and care, as well as to give it, was also recognised. Their Cambridgeshire cousins stayed in regular contact, as did their long-time friends Sylvia and Roy. Closer to their home in Ilford, Fred was also to receive care and support from Janet and Gill.

Janet was put in touch with Fred and Ivy by Gordon Tarry, then the Vicar of St John’s, and initially helped Fred with moving into their bungalow on Aldborough Road while Ivy was in hospital. After Ivy’s death, Fred met Gill by attending the lunch club at the Downshall Centre. Since those times, the pair of them, supported by their families, have consistently kept an eye on Fred and have helped him find the support that he needed in his final days through the care that was provided at Rosewood Lodge and Woodlands.

St Teresa of Avila said that: “Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which He looks compassion on this world.Christ has no body now on earth but yours.” People may ask where was God in the tragedies that we have mentioned this afternoon; the deaths of Ruth and Naomi’s husbands; the untimely deaths of Fred and Ivy’s children; the horrendous loss of life in Haiti. Where is God? God is in the hands and feet, eyes and ears, the bodies of those that he inspires to go and care for those in need.

In talking with Janet about Fred, she said, “The Bible says that people should not live alone. We can’t always be close to those who need care. Others can be a substitute. Just keeping an eye on another is not to be sneezed at.” As we offer practical care to those nearby and the support of remaining in regular contact with those further away, we are the hands and feet, the eyes and ears of God in this world. Fred and Ivy were the hands of God as they cared for Ivy’s parents and they received God’s love and care through those that God inspired to support them in their times of need.

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Larry Norman - I Am A Servant.