iGod

A harvest for the world

When the Isley Brothers sang in 1976 ‘Harvest for the World’ it hit a nerve with many people. I am sure you know the words:

“All babies together, everyone a seed/Half of us are satisfied, half of us in need/Love's bountiful in us, tarnished by our greed/When will there be a harvest for the world?”

With its catchy soul funk melody, it has become one of those great social justice songs, which tunefully rants against the dark side of our humanity. Like it or not, the lyrics point to our inherent selfish, greedy nature; something the singer says stops our world from being a peaceful place to live in.

The dualistic battle of right and wrong/good and bad is a philosophical reality that every age and culture has had to deal with. You only need to read ancient Greek literature and the Bible to see that.

The best-known literary example of the inner conflict is probably Robert Louis Stevenson’s, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. At one point our tortured soul admits to himself, “If I am the chief of sinners, I am the chief of sufferers also.” There’s one for psychiatrists everywhere to get their heads around.

Now I feel in some way I can echo those words, as I have lost count how many wrong choices I have made in my life. One minute I do the right thing and the next minute I go and do something dumb, and suffer because of it.

Writing in his Christian culture, the Scottish author of this Victorian gothic classic said, “We have all got both light and dark in us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That’s who we really are.”

Being in harmony with our world is going to take effort. I believe it means exercising all our intellectual, emotional and spiritual muscles to help us in our moral battle to do the right thing.

Jesus Christ, the founder of the world’s largest faith, and the guy I follow, said that he came into the world as complete, unadulterated light to expose darkness of men’s lives. The Bible remarks how there was not a single drop of selfishness, greed or any other form of human weakness to be found his entire being. That is quite something.

Today millions of people have found hope and direction for their lives by believing in his words. Like me, they recognise the potential to be total screw-ups when left to our own devices.

So how can we feel good about ourselves and our choices today? I’d like to offer a thought.

This is the season called Harvest. Traditionally, it’s a time when we celebrate the fruit of our labour. And as a country with a strong Christian heritage we tend to meet together to give thanks to God for nature’s provisions.

Nowadays, Harvest is becoming more of a time when churches, schools, and other voluntary organisations choose to celebrate it a bit differently, by giving food donations to foodbanks, such as our local one, Storehouse.

Storehouse has 37 Donation Collection Points in and around Sudbury who will gladly receive your donations. 

You are welcome to donate at any of our Collection Points. We are particularly in need of tinned meals such as stew, curry, spaghetti bolognaise and ravioli, along with other items such as rice, tea/coffee, cereals and essential toiletries. All of the donations will be lovingly put together by our team of volunteers to give to local families and individuals in crisis.

Giving a food donation is a great way to celebrate Harvest and is something, I can say with confidence, which will bring more than a little bit of light into someone’s darkness. There is much need in our area, so a tin or two will make a big difference to restore hope and confidence.

If you would like to know more, you can drop us a line or ring the team on: 07973 710905. If you are a local organisation, school or business and would like to get involved, we’d love to come and meet you.

On a very personal note, I am immensely proud to be a part of our community. The recent tragic fire in Sudbury has shown all that is good in our town. It’s been truly humbling to see so much generosity and goodwill around. In many ways, it is a harvest of all that is good in our community.

St Paul the apostle knew a thing or two about these things when he said, “let’s not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don’t give up, or quit. Right now, therefore, every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the people closest to us in the community of faith.”

I, for one, am with him. Happy Harvest!

The beauty of blind faith

On the evening of 1^st February, 1924, the New York Syphony Orchestra played Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in Carnegie Hall in New York. The performance was broadcast live on the radio. A couple of days later, the orchestra received a letter of thanks from a lady called Helen Keller:

“Dear Friends, I have the joy of being able to tell you that, though deaf and blind, I spent a glorious hour last night listening to Beethoven's "Ninth Symphony."  I do not mean to say that I "heard" the music in the sense that other people heard it; and I do not know whether I can make you understand how it was possible for me to derive pleasure from the symphony.  It was a great surprise to myself.

“Last night someone suggested that I put my hand on the receiver and see if I could get any of the vibrations. They unscrewed the cap, and I lightly touched the sensitive diaphragm.

“To my amazement, I discovered that I could feel not only the vibrations, but also the impassioned rhythm, the throb and the urge of the music! The intertwined and intermingling vibrations from different instruments enchanted me. I could actually distinguish the cornets, the roll of the drums, deep-toned violas and violins singing in exquisite unison.

“When the human voice leaped up trilling from the surge of harmony, I recognised them instantly as voices. I felt the chorus grow more exultant, more ecstatic, upcurving swift and flame-like, until my heart almost stood still.

“Of course, this was not "hearing" but I do know that the tones and harmonies conveyed to me moods of great beauty and majesty. I also sensed, or thought I did, the tender sounds of nature that sing into my hand—swaying reeds and winds and the murmur of streams.”

She concludes, “As I listened, with darkness and melody, shadow and sound filling all the room, I could not help remembering that [Beethoven] who poured forth such a flood of sweetness into the world was deaf like myself.”

Helen Keller went on to become a great activist for people with disabilities and, in the process, she had experienced an unexpected and profound revelation of beauty and creation. It is hard for me to describe the experience of God, but this I can tell you, he far transcends the best rational explanation I could possibly give.

The philosopher Wittgenstein once poured a cup of freshly ground coffee and asked his students to describe the smell. When they failed Wittgenstein said, in effect: “If we haven’t got words to describe the smell of coffee which we can hold in a cup in our hands, how can we think we have the words adequately to describe God?”

Jesus often chose to speak to the crowds with stories (parables). He recognised people’s limitation to grasp a revelation of who he was and what he was about. He said on one occasion, "Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. Even when presented with all the facts it was not enough to convince some people.

When appearing to his disciples after his resurrection, Jesus praised the many would believed in him even though they did not see the physical proof. Jesus told Thomas, the one who doubted, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Maybe we are one of those who blindly believes. We may not go to church and may have issues with some aspects of religion, but something deep inside of us recognises God’s existence. My advice to you is to pursue that belief and just see where it takes you.

ASD

Storehouse Foodbank and Christmas at VIneyard

Being responsible for Storehouse, the foodbank in South Suffolk, I was recently contacted by a national newspaper. They were running a piece on how London is economically divided from the rest of the country.

During the interview I sensed that the paper’s economics lead writer could not quite get his head around the fact that a place as idyllic as Sudbury needed a food bank. And yet here we are.

Requests for emergency food bags have more than doubled since April this year. Yet this is not a story about statistics, but people’s lives. Many of the accounts I hear simply break my heart and reduce our team to tears.

It takes a lot of courage to admit that you cannot feed your young family and to seek help outside your own means. More than a twinge of shame is often attached to that.  Personal confidence takes a severe blow and you want to withdraw from the company of others. Meanwhile, inwardly, you are at war with yourself and wondering ‘why me?’

Of course, some situations are self-inflicted but, then, haven't we all done things that we are not proud of? Who are we to judge? Then there are the others who have worked hard all their lives and now find themselves in an inconceivable position.

We try our hardest to make people feel ‘human’ as they come in to our Storehouse ‘Drop In’. It gives us some satisfaction to see people walk out just a little bit taller than when they first arrive. I am keen to say that we are not an extension of the benefits office, but a safe place run by caring individuals whose faith in God has inspired us to serve others.

Does anything ever change? You bet.

There was a young mum who came in to see us for emergency food who had been a victim of domestic violence. Her children had been taken away from her because she had become mentally ill and drug-dependent. She was rehoused, but had no furniture, so Storehouse and the church did what it could, which included contacting a qualified handyman who we were told could lay carpets. It turned out that he was helped by Storehouse in the past. He did the whole job for free.

Christmas is a time for hope. To quote Mother Teresa, ‘Small things done with great love change the world’. The one star over Bethlehem 2,000 years ago signifies the one hope in the world through Jesus to help guide us ‘home’ safely.

Why not join us for a family Christmas at Stour Valley Vineyard Church and reflect on these things together? We have a number of events going on.

Shine – free young families’ fun afternoon, 3-5pm, Saturday 14 December at the Delphi Centre, Newton Road, Sudbury.

The Great Big Mince Pie Giveaway, Market Hill, Sudbury 11am, Saturday morning, 21 December.

Christingle – the increasingly popular family church service, 10.30, Sunday 22 December, The Delphi Centre, Newton Road, Sudbury. Includes craft activities.

GLOW –Community Carol Service, 6.30pm, Christmas Eve, Delphi Centre, Newton Road, Sudbury. ‘Carols by glowstick’ with readings read by people in our local community’.  Mulled wine, soft drinks and mince pies served from 6pm.

One last thought. Maybe take a moment this Christmas to look up at the sky on a clear night and imagine what that single bright star over Bethlehem might have looked like some 2,000 years ago. The truth is, it still shines as bright today in the darkest times in our lives.

Happy Christmas and a peaceful new year to all. God bless.

ASD

Science versus Religion. Really?

 

Tom Waits, the American singer wrote: “Like all great things in the world, women and religion and the sky…you wonder about it, and you don’t stop wondering about it.”

I think I have a curious mind, but it wasn’t always that way. My younger me resonated more with another American singer Sam Cooke who sung: “Don't know much about history. Don't know much biology. Don't know much about a science book. Don't know much about the French I took. But I do know that I love you.”

Yet, now science fascinates me. I mean, where to start? It turns out that the universe is still expanding much like Pound stores. The edge of the universe is estimated to be some ninety billion trillion miles away.

The solar system we live in fills less than a trillionth of available space. It is part of the Milky Way and takes some 200 and 250 years to orbit just once.

Apparently before everything was anything, there was a point, called singularity and then there was a bang involving inconceivably high temperatures, loaded with enough energy and potential and possibility to eventually create what you and I know to be life, the universe and everything in it.

Let’s now talk about time. I know this is going to sound like a script from Doctor Who, but time is not consistent. It bends, and warps, and curves.

And if you stand outside on a clear night and see stars, the light you see from the stars is as they were when the light left them. You are looking literally into the past.

Coming a bit closer to home, on a summer’s day you are enjoying the sun as it was eight minutes ago. And techno geeks talk about real time!

Now science does a brilliant job of telling me why I don’t have fins or fur, but what about the soul?

One of the problems science faces is that theories turn into assumptions. And we are often none the wiser when they do. The universe is complex, wonderful and, let’s be honest, just a little scary.

Friends have said to me: you are an intelligent man, how can you believe in the concept of God? (Okay, I made up the ‘intelligent’ bit!) Surely once we have enough knowledge of the universe the notion of God will be redundant and it will have to reside in the history book?

But that belief rests on a very deep faith indeed. One mathematic physicist (not a Christian) deduced that God has to exist because singularity comes down to such a knife-edge you are forced to fall one way or the other. His conclusions led him to believe in God.

Some talk simplistically, and even derogatively, about God being a ‘friend in the sky’, or a cosmic-mythical story for the weak and uneducated, but that attitude betrays all sorts of problems. We have to adopt the same open-mindedness as we do with the pursuit of science and be willing to engage with the possibility of an omnipotent divine being.

So when I talk about God I am talking about the source of all truth, the foundation of all life, the mystery of the soul and the universe, the one who instils the desire to create art, music, dance, poetry, to show compassion and inspire others to greatness.

I just can’t believe that this is all there is and that we are simply collections of neurons and atoms. In fact, the possibility that there is more - a supernatural power - makes life even more awe-inspiring.

Of course, the problem scientists have is this ‘crazy little thing called love’. It is just plain irrational and really should not have a place in our rational, reductionist modern life. And yet, incredibly, it does!

To believe in a God of love who sent his only son into the world is an outrageous thing to suggest. But is it any less believable than some of the grand theories of science. What’s my proof? After all, God can’t be seen. True. But then I haven’t seen a gamma ray. Have you?

I find myself pondering the lyrics of Sam Cooke: “And I know that if you love me too. What a wonderful world this would be.”

What are you looking at?

Be honest, do you like what you see in the mirror?

There’s no escaping it, in our culture looks matters. Ask any actor, musician, politician, or man in the street.  Our overall confidence and emotional well-being is tied up with it, which I guess is pretty good news if you are in the cosmetic business.

Talking of which, Dove, in their latest campaign for “Real Beauty”, recently hired Gil Zamora, an FBI forensic artist to prove that when it comes to looks, we are our own worst enemy.

He undertook a social experiment to illustrate the ongoing struggle women have with recognising their own beauty.

Without seeing his subjects, the forensic artist created composite sketches of women based on their own descriptions, plus a second sketch based on the description of a stranger that they spent a short amount of time with before the sketch.

The end result was extraordinary. In each case the woman’s own description was different than the description by the onlooker. Their faces were full of “flaws”, but when the stranger described them, the sketches were more accurate and more flattering. In an accompanying video a woman tears up as she realises her self-description resulted in a "fatter, sadder" version of herself, while the stranger saw her as "open, friendly and happy."

 

Dove research shows that women are their own worst critics. Only 4% of women around the world consider themselves beautiful.    

So yes, we do have an image problem. Now, I am not sure quite what percentage of men would consider themselves as good looking or handsome, but the ever-growing shelf of men’s products at my local chemist might be a good indication that low self-esteem and confidence are an issue for us too.

Of course, at one level, none of this should surprise us. We are constantly bombarded with advertising, magazines, films and TV programmes showing people’s skin to be clear, wrinkle and spot-free with symmetrical faces, straight noses and super white teeth.

Is it any wonder that our self-esteem plummets when we look at ourselves in the mirror? And as the weather warms up (finally) we will become even more conscious of our numerous imperfections and want to spend money to fix them.

Yet if we, perhaps, notice more of what we have rather than what we don’t have, our self-perception might just change a little.

Maybe we would stop comparing ourselves with others and for once not be left wanting.

When I read the Bible I don’t see beautiful, perfect, gorgeous people nominated by God to be an example to others. Instead, I see Moses with a stammer, who chose to have his brother Aaron speak on his behalf. I see Paul the Apostle suffering with a speech impediment, as well as well as having bad eyesight. Jesus himself was described as ordinary in appearance. His disciples were equally described as ordinary.

So here is another way to look at ourselves.

Polish psychologist Andrew Bienkowski, a man who was exiled to Siberia and starved himself to death so his grandson could eat his meagre rations, said that we could approach ourselves by thinking: I have breath! I have life! I have shelter! I am here…

Be inspired to see yourself differently. Look at the four basics of life. If you can say that you have breath, family, somewhere to live and some place to sleep you can say, “Thank God my life is full!”

God allows us to focus on his own perfection and goodness and to see ourselves as he sees us. We become grateful and satisfied and learn to avoid discontentment, which always leaves us wanting.

King David famously declares in Psalm 23 says, “The Lord is my shepherd and I shall not want.” So the big, fat, honest questions are: what is the “shepherd” of my life? And does it make me not want?

Our confidence and self-esteem can come from knowing that we are accepted by a loving and gracious God. And by those who know us, perhaps, better than ourselves.

So, come on, put that anti-wrinkle cream back and get real. You too guys!

ASD

Keeping an open mind

At a recent leaders’ breakfast time I was asked by a younger dad what wisdom I would pass on to him, being a parent. I munched over another mouthful of muesli before eventually uttering what was once passing on to me: “Don’t always be right at the dinner table.”

We are, perhaps, at our most open and teachable when we are at school and college. Then we leave and something happens over night - we are expected to know it all, not least as parents. Of course, the worst thing is we start believing that we actually do.

A very respected person from my profession of advertising, who would certainly not call themselves a Christian, was taken back after receiving mounting vitriol from a particular group of atheists on a celebrity webpage.

He had asked a TV comedian, well known for his political views, whether he thought atheism should be taught in schools. He replied, “No, there’s no need to ‘teach’ atheism. It’s the natural result of education without indoctrination.” In essence, his argument was that religion indoctrinates young minds and atheism doesn’t.

But the adman wasn’t sure about the answer and pushed him further. He suggested that Agnosticism was, perhaps, more neutral as it didn’t enforce any firm position.

Thinking it would help the discussion along, he cited a dictionary’s definition of atheism: “a doctrine that there is no deity”. Futhermore, agnosticism was defined as “a position taken by people who hold genuine doubts or a skeptical approach to questions to do with God’s existence.”

He got back a wave of abuse, including from someone who had in their profile “Evangelical Atheist”. Another replied, “Relying on dictionary definitions, how pathetic.”

At this point the poor, battered adman submitted to the growing realisation that these people were no different to “religious fundamentalists”. They were closed-minded. Any sympathy with their view vanished.

It was Thomas Huxley who first coined the term agnostic in 1869. You might even describe yourself as one. You may neither believe or disbelieve, but remain open to the possibilities of God existing. You simply don’t know.

But it is healthy to keep an open mind. Not just about the possibility of God’s existence, but in any area of life. In fact, it is a pretty good way to live. It will help us develop strong relationships with our spouses and children. It will also help us to be more approachable and trusted in the workplace?

The more I go on in my Christian faith, the more I realise how much I have yet to learn. Not least in prayer. I haven’t got it all sussed with neatly alphabetised answers for every situation. Life is not that simple. As with all previous generations, my faith comes with doubt.

Besides, I know that if I did have all the answers I would probably be the most annoying person on the planet. Ask my family. It would also, undoubtedly, put others off from ever being open to exploring the possibilities of God. 

I need to come to the dinner table and say, “This is what I think, but what about you?” I need to be thoughtful. Do my level best to affirm the other person. And if they don’t share my view, that is really okay. We will get more respect that way.

In the Bible Jesus often answers a question with another question. On one occasion rather than saying that he is the Son of God he asks, “Who do you say that I am?” He just loved getting people to think. In fact, you could say that Christ died to take away our sins, not our minds.

Part of what it means to believe in God is to live in the question, not in the answer. It is to enjoy the mysteries of life, of which there are many. But I personally believe that we will get the best out of life by being openly-minded to new possibilities. Not least to the promises and claims of Jesus Christ. Now, you can either choose to believe that last sentence or not.

It’s your choice. Enjoy it.

ASD

Enjoy life’s disruptions

Recently I had a meeting planned over in Oxford, but having heard the weather forecast for snow that weekend I wondered momentarily if I should go.

I kept hearing phrases like ‘adverse weather conditions’, ‘severe weather warnings’ and ‘don’t travel unless absolutely necessary’. And on top of that we are all supposed to know what ‘amber alert’ means.

Not one to give up easily, I decided to toss back my head and laugh in the face of weather warnings and continue with my plans for the trip. Okay…well almost.

I packed an overnight bag, put a shovel in the back of the car, along with jump leads, a blanket and, for some unknown reason, a large bag of Minstrels, thinking if I was stuck in my car on the motorway at least I wouldn’t starve. Oh! and a double CD of Charlie Parker. Well, it could be a long night!

The thing about snow is it is a very disruptive thing. Motorways shut, trains get delayed, schools close, and Amazon can’t deliver.

As someone who generally hates disruption and likes to plans ahead for any anticipated inconvenience, snow is very much my bête noire. (I once drove 26 miles to avoid a 3-mile traffic jam on the M1, I am that sad.)

But having seen the fun that my kids have in the snow and the joy it brings me in seeing them play, I have been helped to rethink one or two things.

What if disruption was not a bad thing, but an opportunity for spontaneity?  What if disruption was a gift that stops us in our tracks and breaks into our carefully planned routine?

What if disruption could be seen as a voice that speaks into our soul and says, “Stop what you are doing and listen to yourself. Listen to others around you. Listen to creation.”

When was the last time you did that?

When did you seriously listen to someone else apart from yourself? When did you give your undivided time to someone you love and spend it actually listening, not just hearing?  When did you stop to ponder about the direction of your own life? Maybe you are slightly afraid to listen to your own real feelings for fear the wheels might come off?

The good news is you are no different to anyone else.

When we are inconvenienced we can find ourselves getting angry, irritable and short with people. True?

These are not good personal discoveries, but then we can think we don’t need to be cured of anything in particular and believe life is just fine.

Stopping is not easy. Like a car, it requires a reasonable breaking distance, depending how fast our life is going. We have to prepare to stop. Sometimes we are forced to slam on the brakes hard.

So what is our Plan B when Plan A does not go according to plan? Do we even have one?

A friend of mine who has partly inspired my thoughts here, Brian Draper, works with executives to nurture their spiritual intelligence. He calls these times ‘holy disruptions’. In his book Less is More he talks about divine opportunities that force us to reconnect with ourselves, others and God. They actually start to help us feel human again and see the return of a sense of purpose. It is where we begin to breathe again in between the quantity of demands and rediscover a quality of life.

As Christians, we would call that a spiritual encounter. We become aware of something other than us that leads to life having a greater significance.

I love those poetic and profound, words of Jesus’ found in Mathews’ gospel: “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”

The funny thing about snow is how beautiful and delicate it is. Something we might not notice if we are too busy trying to avoid it.

ASD

Foodbanks - a welcome addition to the festive season

Dr Eve Poole, associate faculty at Ashridge Business School, writes for EA's Friday Night Theology on the value of foodbanks and makes a strong case to go shop for families and individuals in crisis at Christmas.

Often we have to explain that our Storehouse, a Vineyard church initiative inspired by Ann Watson (wife of the late David Watson), is not a homeless programme, but a hard-pressed programme. For whatever reason people fall on tough times. We feel strongly that ours is not to judge, but to show mercy.

Eve Poole cites that "fewer than 5 per cent of those who use foodbanks are homeless. Most of them are ordinary families with cashflow problems from rising bills, spiralling debt, or delayed benefit payments. Many are suffering from unexpected sickness, bereavement, or unemployment."

As our own church prepares for its second weekend at Waitrose, I would recommend having a quick read of Eve's article and letting the stats soak in.

Meanwhile, if you are not near Sudbury Suffolk, there are plenty of other foodbanks around, not least those that are franchised through the Trussell Trust, so why not get involved?

Let's go serve somebody!

ASD

 

Storehouse – offering more than a can of food

A number of years ago I fell for this girl. She was beautiful, bright and played the cello, but she also had something else that made her attractive, well at least to me. It was an unselfish desire to do something for others in desperate need.

I don’t mean simply giving money to an appeal that comes through the front door or handing in half-worn out clothes to a charity shop, but actively doing something.

And that was how I got involved.  She and I became part of an ambitious homeless project called the King’s Table, which was started by a couple of London Vineyard churches to provide food and clothing to the down-and-outs in central London.

After a church service cars loaded up with large vats of hot food, along with a rusty white transit van full of boxes and clothing rails crammed full of donated items, left for the Embankment, off the Strand. We spent two hours giving away the stuff, as well as befriending and praying for people’s needs.

On my first visit I was staggered to find a queue of over 100 people waiting. Quite honestly, I felt more than just a little out of my comfort zone.

The team leader of The King’s Table, gave me a simple, idiot-proof task. “Andrew, can you collect the ticket numbers? They need to hand them in before they can get food. Got it?”

Got it! What could be simpler? However, it was not long before there was “an incident”. A young man came up with a friend and said, “My mate ‘as just been stabbed, Whatcha gonna do about it? The bloke who done it is over there.” He duly pointed to this moody older man to make his unequivocal point. I really wish he hadn’t.

As I looked down I saw a dirty, shaking hand clutching a wound through a blood-soaked t-shirt. I stole a glance to the older man just an uncomfortable 30 yards away.

“Well, what are you going to do about it?” The lad now glaring at me awaiting a firm and resolute response.

“Do about it? Mate, I just collect the tickets!” Actually, I just thought that.

Eventually I muttered something utterly pathetic. “Oh dear, that does look bad. Dear oh dear. Goodness! I, er, well, goodness!” I caught the eye of one of the team. I must have had a look of abject desperation and uselessness because he rushed across and immediately stepped in. The boy was mercifully taken away to safety by an ambulance and the older man arrested. I heard later that he made a full recovery.

It’s not easy reaching out to people with extreme needs. Often they are the unlovable and undoubtedly some of us are emotionally equipped to help more than others. However, for the Christian it is part of what we are called to do, to show the same compassion of Christ. In fact, Jesus talked about how the poor will always be with us, so it demands a compassionate human response.

Homelessness often comes with mental illness and gut-wrenching stories of broken families, sexual abuse and bullying. Sadly for some drug abuse and alcohol problems are never far behind. For me, that first day with the King’s Table changed me forever. My heart was simply broken.

It is one of the reasons I was keen that Stour Valley Vineyard Church made the value of compassion a central part of its local vision.

Our social programme, Storehouse, has now been going for five years. We have provided hundreds of food bags to those in direst need. They include items such as, pasta, rice, cereal, tinned vegetables and meat, tea, UHT milk, as well as essential toiletries. These are then thoughtfully put together to suit maybe a single mum and their baby, or a teenager who is “sofa-surfing” or someone sleeping rough in a tent. It comes with no judgment or strings attached, just a lot of love.  

On Sunday mornings at the Delphi Centre food and household items appear at our Storehouse collection point from members of our church, along with valuable midweek donations from a couple of other local partners.

But it is one thing to give a hand out and another to give a hand up. We have recently assisted someone with a background of drug addiction and prison to move on to start a degree and a new life for himself. Something he could never have imagined once upon a time. 

We also provide a free three-week Money Management course for those who struggle with their finances and slip into debt. No-one at our church gets paid for doing this. It just comes with the satisfaction that today maybe someone’s life might have just got a little better.

The problem is the need is growing, which sadly reflects the national picture. And as the need grows we want to do more through Storehouse. If you are an organisation, church, school or individual we’d like to invite you to help. Could you support Storehouse with a financial gift or donate a couple of cans a week? If so, why not drop a line to our team or ring 07973 710905.

By the way, I married the girl. And grateful I am too.

ASD

Stour Valley Vineyard is a contemporary church with traditional beliefs. It meets on Sundays 10.30 am at the Delphi Centre, Newton Road, Sudbury (apart from the first Sunday of the month).

How are we doing at doing good?

I have often found myself prefixing four simple yet powerful words to a sentence when trying to get our children to behave or to do something. You know the ones: “If you are good I will take you to the toy shop.” “If you are good I’ll let you have a friend round.” “If you are good you can stay up longer.” And so on.

Of course, there are different understandings of what it is to be good. You might have heard, “Sarah’s mum lets her do that.” Or “Grandpa says it’s okay?” Instant conflict!

I suspect being good or doing good matters to most of us. Sometimes it is out of vanity. At other times we are simply moved by compassion to make a situation better and in the process we feel good too. To encourage us more, scientific research shows that we have improved mental health when we do something for others - it takes our mind off our own woes.

One thing is for sure, doing good definitely does not just belong in the domain of churches, faith groups or charities. Many companies, too, are encouraged to have social ambitions alongside their commercial goals. Just look around at your local supermarkets and you’ll see what I mean. However, this is nothing new.

Back in the Eighteenth century Josiah Wedgewood, the celebrated pottery maker, gave affordable housing for his workers. He also trained them in an age of wide-scale illiteracy. Wedgewood, also the grandfather of Charles Darwin, provided adequate food supply for his staff and went on to build one of the first so-called company towns. Extraordinary achievements in themselves, but he went further.

He eventually became part of an international campaign that would help to see black slavery abolished. Wedgewood was part of a Quaker-led initiative that had as its advertising slogan “Am I not a man and a brother?” He engraved these emotive words with an image of a slave in chains kneeling and praying for mercy. It was a sentiment that caught the imagination among both the religious and the secularists campaigners of the day.

Josiah Wedgewood made the message into fashionable jewelry for well-to-do ladies. It contrasted greatly with the religious upper classes who at that time only stood in prayer as it would be demeaning to do otherwise.

Today many commentators talk about having a social footprint. We are faced with the challenge of leaving either a positive or negative mark on society.

None of us are as good as we would like to be. We have all done things that we know we should not have done, and possibly even feel guilt-ridden about. Is there any hope for us?

I find my own encouragement in the words of the famous hymn Amazing Grace, written by ex-slave trader John Newton: “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound / That saved a wretch like me. / I once was lost but now am found / Was blind, but now I see.”

Goodness comes, even from the word alone, from God. In Jesus we see the perfection of all that is good and worthy. This kind of goodness is holy. I know that I shall never be as good as I would like to be, but by God’s grace and mercy, I am working on it. Like Newton, I can also find forgiveness when I screw up. Meanwhile, keeping close to God in prayer is the thing that helps keep it real for me.

How are you doing at doing good?

ASD