Jesus welcomes all

Well, I did say I couldn’t promise to be a regular blogger but in my defence I also only wanted to write when I had something to say. I’ve now got something to say.

I don’t know about you, but most of my Christian life is fairly pedestrian. I know I’m a Christian – I’ve given my life to God, I read the Bible, I say my prayers, I pray for others, I seek to do and live as Jesus would. I find days can fall into weeks which fall into months and years living this rather ‘ordinary’ Christian existence. Still, every now and again a challenge comes along that creates a crossroads moment – a moment that stretches us to choose - do we go the way of Christ or the way of the world. As we travel God’s way we experience a fresh and deep connectedness with God that makes sense of, that validates, that energises the ordinariness of our everyday faith.

Many of you will be aware that we have given temporary refuge to the Roof-Stops night shelter at St Thomas’. To cut a long story short, the project was itself made homeless just a few short weeks before it was due to conclude for the spring. After a fruitless search for an alternative venue it became apparent that St Thomas’ represented the last-stop for roof-stop. A quick ring around the Standing Committee and a chat with Anne in the office and we decided that it was more than incumbent on us to open up our spiritual home to be a place of refuge to those with nowhere else to go. Checks and procedures were put into place and agreements made with the project and within a few short hours Roof-Stops new address was St Thomas’ Chatsworth Road.

Throughout the duration of Roof-Stops time among us members of St Thomas’ have been fantastic; they’ve embraced the project with an openness and joy that is truly wonderful – all credit to the care and maturity of those who worship here. This sadly, has not been universally true. I was and continue to be confident that we put more than enough safeguards in place so that we could ensure the protection of all other users of our building and those in the wider community but I was quick to discover that some disagreed – some strongly disagreed!

The venom and anger that a good number of members of our community have targeted at me has been a big surprise. To say that I’m unpopular with some in our community would probably be an understatement of the greatest magnitude! One woman’s response to the homeless typified the response I’ve received from many in the course of these last few weeks, she told me, “I’m not prejudice, but those people are scum”. Another commented, “you people (meaning the church) are only interested in those sort of people, not decent people like us”. It’s hard to know how to respond to such prejudice and cold heartedness. The only response I found was to point them to the sign that stands outside of our Church … it was a sign that has been there long before I came and it reads, “Jesus Welcomes All”. We’re not about being a club or society that only admits a certain type of person – rather we’re growing a Church that welcomes everyone – the good ‘decent’ people of Brampton and those whose lives are hallmarked by chaos and trouble. Sometimes that’s not easy and sometimes that’s uncomfortable and costly – sometimes the odour around us is not as fresh as we’re used to (now we know as a church what caring smells like!). But the truth remains – we care for ALL. I believe this sign now means something more to us that it did before – it’s no longer a slogan or a religious platitude – it’s a real statement of faith and action. ‘ALL’ now has a face – ‘ALL’ has a story. If you were in church for our Ash Wednesday service you will have been privileged to hear ‘Mark’ stand up and share a few words with us at the end of the service. Mark was a client of Roof-Stops and he joined us to worship. At the end of the service he read to us Matthew 25 and in his own way thanked us for the care shown to him. “That’s me” he said, as he read “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me in”. I know many were moved to the point of tears as they realised that the ‘poor and the needy’ that we read about in scripture actually have a face and a story.

Someone said to me, “It’s not whether you care or not, most people ‘care’; it’s how much you care that counts”. It’s strange that it’s easy to help those who are homeless on the other side of the world but some seem to struggle to help the homeless in our own neighbourhood. Why is that I wonder? Could it be that the smell and the dirt of those poor unfortunates in far flung corners of the world don’t reach our nostrils? The possibility that they might steal from us or cause trouble or disturbance to our lives is too distant and remote to be a concern. Do we care enough to get up-close and personal with need, to go beyond sympathy and be led to action? do we care enough to become unpopular (No-one said people would stand around and applaud you for doing what Jesus would do)? do we care enough to risk reputation and good standing in the community? I believe the Lord has tested us as a church to see if we mean what we say or whether our wayside pulpit is just a nice sentiment … I believe we do.

One final thought as I reflect on these last few weeks. I’ve been reminded afresh that Jesus had a bias for the poor, that he has a special love for those ‘without’. Christ displayed this in many ways, not least by his acceptance and love for the leper. We don’t have leprosy as a disease in our society – we have the homeless instead….

Lepers were violently excluded from society …

… as are the homeless

Lepers carry a social stigma that goes beyond the reality of their condition …

…. as do the homeless

Lepers were forced to live on the margins of society …

…. as are the homeless

The Church cares of lepers ….. the homesless …. and those in need …..as does St Thomas’

So, there you have it, I’m Matty-no-mates in a big part of Brampton – but I’m unpopular for heading up a church that cares for the poor, that offers refuge to those who have no-where to go. I’m privileged to be in the company of people who care for those the world would discard. As I lay my head on the pillow at the end of the day I think to myself that there are worse things to be unpopular for.