OPP Post #7 - There will be poor always

I love my job. I'm going into a third phase of my year, meaning that I am pulling back from the regular drop in work for a more desk based phase of report writing, research and resource writing. While this is very exciting, I am really going to miss the drop in work, and the clients I've got to know.

I must admit that there have been times where I have been totally overwhelmed by the task faced by those working with homelessness and poverty. With the changes to benefits this year, it has seemed like we are trying to bail out the Titanic with a thimble. A totally unscientific look at our stats has shown that the numbers attending one of our drop ins have jumped up in the last month. There is likely to be a number of factors, but can it only coincidence that it fits with the benefit changes. There are times I've got home after work and felt so guilty for the nice warm house I get to sleep in, when we have just handed a young couple sleeping bags and suggested a few places for them to bed down.

It seems like an endless job. And it has really made me reflect on those baffling words of Jesus 'The poor you will always have with you,'

I wish I knew what Jesus meant by this. Is it a rare defeatist view from Christ, or a criticism of the human condition? Or is it just a simple observation that true materialistic equality is impossible? (On that last point, I think of the film Enemy at the Gates, where the Communist Commissar comes to realise that communism won't work, as he is jealous of the love his best friend has. He says: 'In this world, even a Soviet one, there will always be rich and poor. Rich in gifts, poor in gifts. Rich in love, poor in love.')

Maybe it is a shot of reality to all of us, to not be complacent or defeatist. There will always be those in need, but that isn't a reason not to try. Or maybe I am reading way too much into this, and risk becoming like my GCSE English Teacher, who would overanalyse every word of a poem. (She once said that a poet used the alliteration of the 'M' sound to signify the falling snow.)

I'm sounding quite bleak here. But what sparked me to write this post was an encounter I had in the street a few days ago.

I was wasting time in town before getting the bus to a meeting when I bumped into Sophie*, a client who had been coming to the Drop In for a while with her partner Adam*, but who I hadn't seen for a few weeks. When you don't see someone for a while, it could be that they have moved away. Other times, we find out that they are in hospital, or even have passed away. But this case was the best scenario. Sophie told me that they had got themselves a flat and Adam had a job. She had a massive smile on her face. Then she thanked me for all we had done for her, shook my hand and walked off.

It made my eyes well up a little (and they are again now as I write this). Moments like that are that little boost that is needed to keep going. Yes, there are an awful (in both uses of the word) lot of people who rely on Drop Ins and Foodbanks, but there is hope.

*Not their real names.

Your Waiter Tips You Part 2a

This is just a short one, an addition to Tip 10 from a previous post.

#10a Tipping

Tipping in cake is amazing! Last night I had a table that was celebrating an 8 year old's birthday. As well as a £5 tip, they gave a a large slice of cake. It was amazing and really made my shift.

Other 'Your Waiter Tips You' Posts
Part One
Part Two

Called to be a Bureaucrat

This is a post that has been rattling around my head for a long time, but I've been unable to articulate myself. So let's see how this goes.

I've been thinking a lot about my role and calling within the church recently. A number of people have asked if I am going to become a local preacher, or even enter the ministry. I must admit that I would hate to be a local preacher! I led a service a number of years ago, and really didn't enjoy it. It's just not me, I'm not an 'up the front' kind of person. And I have struggled to explain to people that I'm not ignoring a calling, or running from it. I honestly don't believe I have had that calling. I'm not going to say never, because I know that God may call me yet, but I feel my place is elsewhere.

It often seems to me that the church values 'The Call to Preach' as the only calling you can have. As a young person active in the Church, the obvious next step is doing Faith and Worship (the training you do to become a Local Preacher, that is someone who is able to preach, but isn't a Reverend). But we can be called to so much more.

I am a bureaucrat. Some would prefer to use the term 'Methodist Geek', a label I am also happy to wear. I really enjoy meetings. I love being at Conference, being part of the decision making structure. It is where I am happy (sometimes frustrated, despairing, ashamed but happy). I know there are others who hate it, find it a bind to the day to day work of a church. But the 'business side' of the church is important. And it's where I think I best serve the church. I feel my calling is to the bureaucracy. Where that will take me is anyone's guess (except God, I guess he knows).

I was reading Jill Baker (The Methodist Women in Britain President)'s blog just now, and I quote from that now.

 [Rev. Peter Baker] recounted a tale (legend?) about Sir Christopher Wren visiting the site of St. Paul's Cathedral, incognito, during its construction and asking one of the labourers what he was doing.  The boy answered, "I'm just carrying bricks" to which the great architect replied, "No, you're not, you're building a cathedral". (You can read the rest of her blog here)

Being involved in the business side of church can often feel like you are carrying bricks. Doing a lot of the ground work. I don't say this begrudgingly. I am not a great ideas man, but I am happy to support those who are, to put frameworks in place, work on policy and procedure to facilitate great projects. As well as a meetings man, I am a bit of a techy. Tech support is so often a thankless job. The band stand up the front a get the thanks after the service, while us techies are ripping up gaffer tape, coiling wires and packing away the speakers. And doing the business side can be the same. Very few people stop to thank the person who did the risk assessment, the budget, the form filling. And again, I don't to sound like I'm hard done by. I don't do what I do for praise and glory, I do it because it needs to be done, and it is where I can serve the church.

I just ask that people think more widely about callings people can have. Being a Techie can be a calling; being a bureaucrat is a calling; doing the flowers is a calling. And all callings are as important as each other.

So next time someone asking if I have thought about local preaching I will say 'Yes, I have thought about it, and I think God wants be to be a Bureaucrat.'

A Radical Idea for Reforming Politics

I feel I should go and put my Che t-shirt on to write this, as I'm going to propose a radical change to the British political system.

Recently, I have been listening to old episodes of The Mark Steel  Solution (which can be found here), in which Mark Steel suggests radical solutions to social issues. These include that the Royal Family should be chosen by a weekly lottery, everyone should be force to move house and change families annually, and public transport should be paid for by the people who don't use it. (Although it is obviously a satirical programme, when you hear his reasoning, you do start to see his point.)

Anyway today I am going to suggest the Matt Collins Solution:

Anyone who wants to be a politician should automatically be barred from the House of Commons.

Maybe this is a bit of a kneejerk reaction to the last few days, but I am ashamed of the British Political system at the moment. Repeatedly we see big business and bankers, media types and millionaires getting tax breaks or bail outs, while we see those most in need being vilified, attacked and pushed deeper into poverty.

Public opinion is carefully selected to fit the message politicians want to portray, and debate is shut down. In the past couple of days, when four churches were critical of Benefit reform, the Chancellor dismissed this as the church having 'vested interests'. I fail to see how Churches have a vested interest in millions in poverty... And when a Cabinet Minister claims that he could live on the same amount as a person on benefits, people asking him to prove it is dismissed as 'a stunt'

Now I don't want to tarnish all MPs with the same brush, that would be unfair. Many do a great job of representing the concerns of their constituents. But it seems the higher up the party system you go, the less the public seem to matter. They only matter when elections loom, and then it is a rush to outdo each other in pandering to popular support. (I could go on a whole rant about the failing of the Party Political system, but I'll leave that for another time.)

But with the advent of career politicians, who go straight for their PPE course are a Russell Group university to a PR job or policy researcher, then gets parachuted in to a safe party seat a rocket up the ministries, I believe the wrong people are getting into politics. This is a planned rise to power, but someone who obviously has the drive to make it to the top, and stay there once they get there. It becomes about power, not about service.

And this is why, under the Matt Collins Solution, these kinds of people would automatically be barred from become politicians. Instead, people would be able to select a person who they believe would do the best job. These would most likely be people who never gave a thought to being an MP. You would be able to elect someone who has a passion for their community, and wants to make a difference for the people around them, rather than ideologues who seem more interesting in power for themselves.

Now this isn't perfect; there are details to be worked out, such as an effective vetting system. But Comrades, who is with me?

Thank you Methodism for making me me.

I'm currently at a consultation weekend in Shrewsbury, looking at a draft document concerning the British and Irish Churches' response to the injustice in Palestine. I'm with the top people in some big charities, top theologians and scholars... And then there is me. I feel a little overwhelmed at times, not really sure what I can bring. However, I am speaking, raising issues and responding to others. I actually feel comfortable doing so. And for this I have to thank the Methodist Church.

I have been so privileged in the opportunities I have had thanks to the church. I have been to Israel and traveled all around Britain. I have made wonderful friends, even found a girlfriend! But this weekend, I am so thankful for the confidence I have gained through my involvement in Methodism. The formal debates in front of hundreds at Conference, the facilitator training at 3Generate, all the training I've had as an OPP and the various meetings at all levels have made me feel confident enough to sit in the discussions here as an equal.

So this is just a quick note to say thank you to all those who have given me these opportunities, ministers, youth workers, the Children and Youth Team, friends and people I look up too. And a massive thank you to the Church for investing a lot of time and money in young people. All who have played a part in making me who I am, I will be forever thankful.

Social Media Revolution?

Social media often makes the headlines as a revolutionary new form of technological communication, a wild place where anonymous avatars troll everybody, teens sext and rioters plot and plan. It's a scary place out there.

But is social media actually that that fundamentally different to what came before?

I'm not saying it hasn't impacted society, I am sure it has. Combined with 24 hour news and the rise of citizen journalists, social media has sped up the world. Where as you used to get the news the next morning in the paper, now we see it unfolding live on Twitter. It has also shrunk the world. In an instant I can chat with a friend who is skiing in the Alps, help someone write a report in Brazil, discuss political representation with a former MP now in the US and see picture being taken in SPACE! (You simply have to follow @Cmdr_Hadfield)

But I could have done all this 30 years ago, only it would have taken a lot longer and been infinitely more expensive.

Let's look at an example that really caught the public imagination. The Riots across London and other cities in 2011 brought the use of social media into the spotlight. BBM, Twitter and Facebook were all implicated in being in part responsible for what happened, because without them people could never have organised the violence. Yet, Mark Zuckerberg wasn't even a glint in his father's eye in 1981 during the Brixton Riots and I'm pretty sure Wat Tyler wasn't live-tweeting the Peasants' Revolt in 1381. So why all the fuss about social media?

#PeasantsAreRevolting

I see the same in the church (its view of social media, not mass uprising...). You can find all kinds of blogs and seminars on 'how to be a Christian on Twitter'. I may have even written about it myself before... Maybe it's because I am one of the social media generation, but I act the same on Twitter as I do in 'the real world' (I don't like the real world/online world splitting, but that's another story). I respect people, I try and be polite, I debate, I choose not to engage with some people.

Far from being a den of evil, social media is great! I can engage with conferences and events I'm not at, and I can share my thoughts with other people. I was recently at Inspire, the Lancashire Methodist District day conference, and saw this tweet.

@inspiredayconf the old lady next to me does not believe I am listening #inspire7 Should have had a social media workshop.
— Keith R-W (@keithrileywhitt) March 2, 2013

This is something I have often come up against. But for me, summing up a view in 140 characters helps me think about it, it proves me with a archive to look back at later, and maybe more valuably, it adds a second layer of discussion to an event. The same thing happens at Methodist Conference; there is the debate going on between the 300-odd people on the conference floor, and then the debates going on between many hundreds of people both there and around the country, even the world. This is true 'connexion'.

So that is why I love social media, and I've not even touched on the great power of social media for campaigning. There are people who write much more eloquently and scholarly about Social Media than this rambling blog (thinking of you @vickybeeching), but as a member of the social media generation, I'm just putting my thoughts out there.

I'd like to hear from you - please comment on here, on Facebook or on Twitter, or by letter if you're not a fan of social media.

• Why is social media seen as something so radically different?

• Is social media inherently good or bad? Or, like a hammer, is it a tool that can be used for either?

• Should I blog about why I don't like the 'online/real world' dichotomy?