Uplift at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival

'Uplift' is a heart-warming play illuminating the significant contributions of the Windrush Generation to Britain, the scandal around their wrongful treatment and their journey in overcoming this atrocious injustice with the support of friends and allies. Dave Neita, lawyer by profession, wrote 'Uplift' to celebrate the culture, impact and resilience of the people who came to Britain and contributed to the rebuilding of the nation following the destruction caused by the Second World War. Dave applies the law to support people who have been damaged by the Windrush Scandal and uses the arts to raise awareness of their struggle for justice.

The play is at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this summer. For booking details see  Uplift | Theatre | Edinburgh Festival Fringe (edfringe.com).

I first met Dave through Jamaican Spiritual, an exhibition held at St Stephen Walbrook which was made up of painting,sculpture and photography highlighting the strong spiritual nature of Jamaica and it’s people. Dave has also contributed to several HeartEdge events, see here, here, and here.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dave Neita - The Beauty And Utility Of Poetry.

Jesus, the ending and beginning of all our journeying

Here's the reflection I shared earlier today in the Manchester Lawyers' Carol Service at St Ann's Church Manchester:

Journeys feature heavily in the Christmas story. There are the physical, geographical journeys of Mary and Joseph from Nazareth to Bethlehem to register in the census, the rather shorter journey of the Shepherd from the hills surrounding Bethlehem to the manger itself, the lengthy journey of the Magi following the star via Herod’s palace to the home of Jesus, and the journey of Mary, Joseph and Jesus to Egypt following the Magi’s visit.

Then there are the emotional and life journeys that the characters in the story make. For Mary the journey of pregnancy and birth following her submission to God’s will at the Annunciation; the journey of carrying God himself in her womb for nine months while enduring the disapproval of her community. For Joseph, there is the journey from what was considered right in the community of his day – a quiet divorce – to the realisation that to do God’s will meant standing by Mary despite the local disgrace and scandal.

All these journeys, and others, bring us to the birth of Jesus; the birth of the new thing that God was doing in the life of our world and the new thing that he was doing in the lives of these people. What can we learn from their journeys that will help us in our own life journeys?

None of their journeys were easy. Even those with shortest journey, such as the Shepherds, risked disapprobation and even the loss of their livelihood, for leaving their sheep to worship Jesus. The Magi, no doubt, had a lengthy and uncomfortable journey not knowing exactly where they were going and nearly being seduced by Herod into contributing to the death of the child they sought. But for Mary and Joseph their journey was most difficult; the worries of carrying a full-term baby in the full glare of public disapprobation, an uncomfortable journey just prior to birth, and the pain of birth in an unsuitable and uncomfortable environment far from home.

God does not promise us that the experience of being part of the new thing that he is doing is ever easy but imagine the joy and wonder of the moment that Jesus is born, when Mary holds this precious, promised child for the first time, when the Shepherds come bursting in with their tales of Angels singing glory to God and the Magi come bearing their gifts, and all who come, come to worship the child that she holds. No wonder the story tells us that she pondered or treasured these things in her heart.

This child, both God and human being, was born to save humanity for our sins. God’s new act to rescue a fallen humanity; God doing a new thing in our world to demonstrate his love for each one of us.

Like the shepherds and wise men, we have journeyed today to celebrate this birth. Our physical, geographical journeys may, like those of the Shepherds have been short, but the life journeys that have brought us here today may well have been lengthy and hard. Like Mary and Joseph, those journeys may have involved disapprobation or scandal, the worry and pain of birthing and caring for children, like the Shepherds our life journey may have risked our livelihoods or like the Magi have involved a lengthy search for truth that has included looking in and leaving the wrong places.

However we have come today, the possibility remains for us to experience the new thing that God has done in our world through the birth of his son, Jesus. The good news about which the Angels sang on that first Christmas night was peace on earth, goodwill among human being; a peace that comes as human beings receive forgiveness from God for all the wrong and torturous journeys we have had, the actions and decisions that have hurt us and hurt others. We know now that we can be forgiven because God has come, as a human being, to be with us, to experience all that human life involves and, ultimately to die to save us from our sins.

This is the new thing that God has done in our world. It is this that came to birth at Bethlehem. It is this to which all our journeys lead. Will we, with Mary, Joseph, the Shepherds and the Magi, this Christmas kneel and worship this child, Jesus, God with us, the Saviour of our world, the ending and beginning of all our journeying?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Libera - Carol Of The Bells.

God is Red

'Liao Yiwu, 57, has lived in exile in Berlin since 2011. He was a leading Chinese literary figure until 1989 when he wrote a long poem titled Massacre addressed to the authors of the Tiananmen massacre (4 June 1989). Sentenced to four years in jail, he experienced life behind bars and social exclusion.

Although his books have been banned, they are widely circulated underground. Among the most famous are The Corpse Walker (English translation by Pantheon, 2008) and Dans l'empire des ténèbres ('In the empire of darkness,' in French, by François Bourin Editeur, 2013), in which he describes his experiences in prison.

In God is Red, published in 2011 in English and in French last month, he talks about his encounters with Christians from Yunnan, Hebei, Beijing and other parts of China. Before that, Liwu had never been interested in Christianity ...

In prison, Liao met with Christian prisoners. In doing so, he discovered another group of fellow Chinese. In God is Red, he relates the stories of some 20 people, Catholics and Protestants. Like many Chinese who do not know the history of the Church, he cannot see much difference between the two.

At the book launch on 12 February, he noted that converting to Christianity is "fashionable" in China. "During the 2000s, there was a strong sense of insecurity, of threat, in China," he said in the interview. "Not everyone had Liu Xiaobo's inner strength to resist those in power". A friend of Liao Yiwu, Liu won the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize. In 2009, he was sentenced to 11 years in prison for some of his online writings.

"Conversion is a way to find spiritual assistance. Yu Jie, a writer who became famous in the 90s, converted after feeling overwhelmed by the regime's threats. My friend Wang Yi did the same, as did their wives. For them it is a way to stop fear. Moreover, when we would meet, my recently converted friends would urge me to convert as well."

Even though Liao Yiwu is not a Christian, he is impressed by the courage Christians showed. Persecuted by the Communist government, they have remained steadfast in their faith.

"They all impressed me. Their fierce resistance for the freedom to believe inspired me a lot," he said. "The one who impressed me the most was a lady who was more than 100 years old, who was filled with holy anger. It is this holy anger that made her live. She wanted to fight until the complete victory of freedom for her religion."'

Friday's Guardian included a report about the current situation:

'A Chinese human rights lawyer who disappeared into police custody last month after joining the fight against a government drive to take down church crosses could face spying charges.

Zhang Kai, a Beijing-based attorney, was seized by security officials on 25 August in Wenzhou, a city in the eastern province of Zhejiang sometimes referred to as China’s Jerusalem because of its large Christian population.

Zhang had been in Wenzhou offering legal support to churches battling a controversial Communist party demolition drive that has targeted Christian places of worship since late 2013.

Writing on Weibo, China’s Twitter, two weeks before his detention, Zhang said: “I have thought it through: at worst they can put me in jail. But if I keep silent, I will regret it for the rest of my life.”'

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Soar On Wings.

Epidemic of mistreatment in the asylum system

Yesterday, the Guardian reported allegations from lawyers that there is an "epidemic of mistreatment" in the asylum system.

Shamik Dutta, of the law firm Fisher Meredith, was one of the lawyers reported and said he had dealt with 15 or 20 cases in the past three years. "The callous and unlawful mistreatment of detainees is continuing, and is not just harming extremely vulnerable and damaged individuals but also costing the economy millions of pounds … it is clear there is an epidemic of mistreatment leading to civil claims going through the courts."

David Wood, strategic director for the criminality and detention group at the UK Border Agency, said the agency sought to exercise its power to detain people "reasonably and lawfully, [while] maintaining effective immigration control and protecting the public from harm". Yet officials accepted that the figure for special payments made in compensation over the past three years runs to millions of pounds.

From the limited contact I have had with UK Border Agency to date I fully support the case being made by these lawyers against the way in which the Agency and its staff carry out their responsibilities.
 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Solomon Burke - None Of Us Are Free.