Reflections on the last Year

So my year as an OPP is over. It has gone crazily fast, it only seems last week that I was in the interview, and only a few days since I was standing in Methodist Church House for our first training weekend. But now is a time to look back over what I have done.

I've worked for an amazing charity, Methodist Action, alongside so inspirational staff and volunteers who are truly dedicated to supporting those most in need across Lancashire. I've worked at countless drop-in sessions, meeting service-users who have opened my eyes to some of the problems they face. I've chopped a tonne of onions (and discovered that the ability to do so without crying is almost a valuable enough skill to go on my CV). But there have been a number of times where I have had tears in my eyes, and not because of the onions. I've heard stories that has shocked me, seen lovely people in terrible situations that have upset me, and felt terribly guilty about how lucky I have been to come home to a warm, dry house. All this has had quite an effect on me and on my view of Church. I've seen God's love and felt his presence significantly more at the drop in sessions I've worked at than in the Sunday morning services I've sat through (and that will be a post for another day).

One of the hardest things I've done is create a youth group resource pack, looking at spiritual gifts and volunteering. Called 'God Given', it is available free here. I've struggled, sat staring at a blank screen for long stints, scoured Google for ideas, and chatted with a wonderful designer for the publicity. All I can hope now is that people find it useful (and If you know anyone who might find it useful, point them too it and I have about 300 leaflets that I can send out).

Outside of work, I've moved to the other end of the country, become an proud honorary Lancastrian, and noticed that the Welsh twang in my accent has weirdly got stronger... I lived with the love of my life for a few months without us killing each other or arguing too much. I have found a house and (effectively) lived alone, getting to know a new city.

So what next? Well, that is a good question, and one I don't really know the answer too. I have discovered a passion for Christian-based charitable work, and would love to find a job in that sector. I'm looking for a job, hopefully in the charitable sector and hopefully in the Manchester/Oldham region. And I'm sure something will come up. In the meantime, maybe I'll have to move back south, that is a decision I am still working through.

And I also have to come to terms with stopping being a Methodist Yuff! In October I will be 24, and 3Generate 2013 will be (officially) my last. I know that I will continue to be a 'young Methodist', and will continue to support those involved in working with the current young generation.

So, now I'm back in a place of uncertainty, I focus again on that powerful and poetic piece of prayer, the Methodist Covenant Prayer:

I am no longer my own but Yours.
Your will, not mine, be done in all things,
Where ever Your may place me,
In all that I do and in all that I may endure;

When there is work for me and when there is none;
When I am troubled and when I am at peace.

Your will be done when I am valued and when I am disregarded
when I find fulfilment and when it is lacking;
When I have all things and when I have nothing.

I willingly offer all I have and am to serve You
As and where You choose.
Glorious and Blesséd God, Father Son and Holy Spirit,
You are mine and I am yours,
May it be so forever.

Let this Covenant now made of Earth be fulfilled in Heaven.

Amen

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.

OPP Post #6 - More Than Sunday

Over the last three days, I've worked in three different Methodist Churches in three different towns/cities. I have taken orders and run food at the Drop In (Preston's Central Methodist), prepared and served food at Comfort Zone (North Shore Methodist Blackpool, though staffed by volunteers from Thornton Methodist), and attended a coffee morning for The ARC, Asylum Seekers and Refugees Community, (Wesley Hall, Blackburn). These are three great projects supported by Methodist Action, the independent charity which I work for as an OPP, and I really admire the work that they do. The first two provide food, warmth and fellowship for homeless, poor and lonely people. The latter is a place for refugees and asylum seekers to come together, make friends and get support and advice as they negotiate their way through the system. One of the guys I met there, originally from Iran, came to Britain 18 months ago, speaking no English. Now he is pretty much fluent, and he learnt from other people at ARC who translated for him and taught him.

For the last few weeks, on the advice of my supervisor, I have been keeping a fairly detailed journal of the work I'm doing. I have started recording the interactions I have, my observations and some reflections. I have also been noting down the number of visitors/clients/attendees (each project uses its own term) each time, and I started to wonder what the church attendance there was. Luckily, The Methodist Church have put together a really useful interactive map which holds all the data you could want, including a church-by-church breakdown of average weekly membership. (This map can be found here, and any data with * is taken from this source).

So let's look at the three projects, and their host Church's average weekly attendance.

Drop In (09/12/12) - 53 Visitors                  Central Methodist - 41*

Comfort Zone (10/12/12) - 58 Clients         North Shore Methodist - 44*

ARC (11/12/12) -  61 Attendees                 Wesley Hall, Blackburn - 14*

Can you see a pattern? There are fewer people sitting in the pews (seat in Wesley Hall's case) than attend the outreach that they do. But I wonder how much of their time and effort is spent of this living out of their faith through serving others, and how much time is spent on preparing for the Sunday morning service.

I've thought a lot recently about where the church is going. The latest Census figures released today seem to show Christianity is in decline in Britain. Church attendance seems to be declining in most major denominations; it all looks gloomy. But maybe our focus is in the wrong place. What if we stop worrying about that hour on a Sunday - those five hymns sandwiched between the call to worship, different prayers, three point sermon and the Grace - and start looking to what we have around us. Churches are often geographically in the hearts of communities: my home church is right next to the bus station; Preston Central Methodist is a few yards off the main shopping street. What if we spent more time looking outside, going outside, providing services to help those in need in the local community - be it homeless, refugees, alcoholics?

What is going to show the light of Jesus more; an hour on a Sunday attended by 99 who already know the Gospel, or a few hours serving food, making tea, providing a listening ear for 172 who don't?

I'd like to hear from you - comment on here, on Facebook or on Twitter

Do we need a shift in focus in our church?
If Jesus popped along to your church for a week, what would he think?
Would he prefer the Sunday morning or the drop in session?

OPP Post #5 - 3Generate

Sorry I haven't blogged for a while (I feel I start with this too much), but it's been a busy few weeks. I have recently moved again, so I'm going to use that as an excuse this time.

So, after the negativity of the previous post, I'm back on a much happier note. The weekend before last saw about 300 young people who are connected to the Methodist Church meet together in Litchfield for 3Generate 2012. 3Generate is the current regeneration (Doctor Who based pun!) of the Youth Assembly and Youth Conferences of old (I have blogged about 2011 here), and are one of the highlights of my year.  I love being around like-minded (and often not-so-like-minded) people discussing issues that are important to them, society and the Church. I have been involved with the running of five of the seven I have now attended, this year getting paid for some of it due to being an OPP. I found this tricky because I felt like I should be doing more than I have in previous years as I am being paid, when actually I probably should have been doing less...

I'm not going to give a blow by blow account, but highlight what I took from it. The first thing that struck me was how events and people mature. In 2009, I was ready to give up with the Youth Assembly as was. It was the first time it was run in a workshop style rather than a formal debate structure, and a lot of lessons needed to be learnt. And all I can say now is that it has come so far, this year's event was amazing, truly professional and a real asset to the Methodist Church.  But as well as the event maturing, I have to admit that I have as well. For the past few years, there has been a group of us (formerly calling ourselves Methodist 2.0) who would often spend time picking at all the things that were wrong and being very negative; almost, it seems, for the sake of being negative. But this year was so different. There were still things that need tweaking, but as a group, we were much more positive. Maybe it's because we are preparing to move on in the next year or so, but we started talking about what comes next, and how the event can continue to grow to best suit the 'youngsters' who come now. And there are going to be some very interesting things happening over the coming months and years.

The second thing was how different people want different things from the Church. Maybe that seems obvious, but it really got me thinking. I facilitated a workshop on Cohabitation at 3Generate: how it is viewed and what young adults think about it, which will feed into a piece of work the Methodist Church is doing. This is a great example of participation in action.  At the Youth Assembly in Durham, the young people asked the church to do some work to give guidance on thinking about Cohabitation, and that work is now in its final stages, having had young people involved at key points.  Anyway, I'm tangenting (now a word!). I approached the issue with an open mind, not wanting to come down on either side of the debate as I don't feel that it's helpful in that kind of discussion for the person up the front to have an obvious bias. Many of the people in the session agreed that the Church shouldn't give a black and white ruling, as it is a complex issue with so many variables, but that the Church should give guidance based on the Methodist Quadrilateral of Scripture, Reason, Tradition and Experience. But there were some who wanted a definitive answer. I'll admit I am one of the former - I struggle with open and shut 'answers' when it comes to faith, partly because I don't see that the Bible always is that simple. But again that is another post for another time. But what I love about Methodism is that there is that range of views, but the Church is still very much together.

As I've said, I love 3Generate, and would like to thank all the amazing people who make it happen. The Children and Youth Team are great (I have to say that, I'm now technically one of them!) and the various volunteers (many were young people themselves) who give up an awful lot of time to make sure that it all runs smoothly (or at least looks like it is to the delegates, 3Generate really is like the graceful swan, paddling away manically under the water). But probably most important of all, the young people who come, engage, and challenge. And a big congratulations to Tamara, who was elected to be Youth President 2013/14, and all the other reps who got elected for the various things. Please hold them, and all young people, in your prayers as they go into the world to challenge injustice and spread God's love.

OPP Post #4 - Priorities and Church Politics

It's been a busy few weeks, especially as last week was half term so I was working double the hours at my other, pizza based job. I'm coming towards the end of a 13 day run without a full day off; the curse of having two jobs with not set hours, I have to consciously remember to have days off. I'm looking forward to tomorrow, when I'll finally have time to see Skyfall!

I am settling down in my work a bit now, and am starting to work closer with two projects in particular, the Drop In at Lune Street (Central) Methodist Church Preston, and Comfort Zone at North Shore Methodist Church, Blackpool. These both run along the same lines, they provide food, hot drinks and a place to come together for people who need it. Not all the visitors are rough sleepers; many are sofa-surfing or in really bad accommodation. There is no grilling of who comes in, so long as they don't pose a risk to others they are welcome. I've been helping at the Preston Drop in a few times but this week I did my first Sunday shift. It wasn't that different to the Monday, same visiting faces, though a different group of volunteers, and there was quite a strong Welsh ex-pat group. I really enjoy the work of the Drop In; the volunteers are great, the visitors are a friendly bunch.

The only problem I have is the apparent resentment of a group in the wider church. There seems to be an attitude among some (and I must say, I haven't heard it directly, but it has been commented on by a few different people) that we shouldn't be doing this kind of work. The other week, we came in to find at one of the kitchen tops was slightly damaged. Logic dictates it can't have been us, as it was fine when the Sunday lot had left, and was damaged by the Monday evening. But the Volunteer co-ordinator was ringing around reporting it, conscious that we didn't 'get the blame' as it would only give ammunition to those in the church who were unhappy. And at the end of an evening, we have to make sure everything is spotless and left millimetre perfect where we got it, or voices will complain.

Now I have been involved in the church long enough to be more than aware of church politics, and trying to keep people happy. But when there is a feeling that a group in the congregation (and I'll stress that it is a minority) don't like the fact that we are serving those in need completely baffles me. 

Have they missed the part of the Bible where Jesus spends time with the lepers, the poor and those most in need. And in turning our back on them, are we not turning our back on Christ (see Matthew 25: 31-46).

Another thing which I think sums up the attitude of some in the church is at on the first Monday of every month, the Drop In has to move to the church down the road because the Preston Historical Society meeting in Lune Street Methodists. Does that show the underlying priorities of the church? 

Does a social group concerned with the past matter more than the group in society who are in need right now? And maybe on a bigger scale, how much of our time in Church Meetings is spent preserving the buildings, traditions and order we have inherited, and how much is focused on serving those around us, the ones in real need?

Post Script: This is quite a negative post, and I know that. I have a much more positive post lined up about my time at the Comfort Zone in Blackpool, but I don't want this post to be the length of War and Peace, so I'll post that in a few days time. But I'll leave you with this picture, that simply made me giggle.

OPP Blog #3 - Training and the like

Last weekend was our second Connexional Training weekend. It was held at one of my favourite places, Crossways Centre, Yardley Hastings. Yardley is where we used to have our Youth Exec meetings back in 07/08 (that sounds such a long time ago!), and it was where I got to know the girl who I've know been going out with for just short of four years. So it has a special place in my heart. It was good being back, a slightly strange to not have the other Exec lot there. But I had an equally great bunch of people in my fellow OPPs. It was really good to see them all again, and see how everyone was doing in their projects, six or so weeks in.

It was also a great weekend of training, looking at topics such as Children’s Spirituality, Group Dynamics and Leadership, Small Group Facilitation and Listening Skills. I've just been for a meeting with one of the Directors of Methodist Action (my project) to find out about the history and context of the charity, and found myself subconsciously following the advice we were giving in listening, so I learned something! Another thing I found really interesting in the training was an element of reflection on personality types in groups. I am definitely a 'Talker', I am often vocal and not scared of speaking up in group situations. This isn't a bad thing per se, but it made me recognise that there I times where I should try and reign it in a little, and try and encourages others to speak. I'm going to try and work on this.

On a slightly boastful note, I brought honour to the North West region by winning the Yardley Hastings Kids Park Assault Course Race, though special mention goes to one of the Midlands OPPs, who was much more entertaining.

Within my local project, I have continued to visit projects and meet people. I have been at a few more Drop in Sessions, though I missed the one where some researchers from the BBC came to visit the Drop In at Lune St (Central) Methodist Church. The article can be seen here. I still have many projects to go and see, and have just fired off a few emails to try and sort these out. I'm also looking at spending some time with the NHS Homeless Mental Health Team, to get an idea of how other agencies work. I thought I would have a nice afternoon in Methodist Action Head Office  today, only to find that almost everyone is out in meetings today, so I'm sat in the kitchen catching up with a load of admin, secretly enjoying the lack of WiFi access and phone signal which is forcing me to be productive.

Other than OPPing, I have had a fairly busy few weeks. With 3Generate (Methodist Children and Youth Assembly) only a month away, I have been working on the session I'm facilitating, on Cohabitation. This has lead to some very interesting discussions about what people see as Cohabitation, and how some people view it. Like everything in life, it is definitely not a clear cut, black and white issues, but there are lots of grey areas (I almost typed, 'many shades of grey' maybe that would boost my search rating on Google). I also made to day trips to London, one for more 3Generate planning, and another to discuss the British Churches' response to the Kairos Palestine Document. I'll add some links at the bottom about this, but basically Kairos Palestine is a call to action from the Christian Churches in Palestine, challenging their brothers and sisters in Christ around the world to work for justice in Israel-Palestine. I have somehow ended up on the steering group that is writing the response to this, again, challenging churches to act. I felt quite overwhelmed in a room with the top dogs of a number of charities and organisations who knew an awful lot more than me.

I think I've rambled enough now, and I need to go and buy pizza for a youth group, if only I was at Pizza Hut today.

The Kairos Palestine Document

Kairos Palestine Britain and Ireland (The British and Irish response)

Holy Land Encounter (My reflection on my time in Israel/Palestine in May 2012)