On Saturday, between 1500 and 2000 people took part in a march through Newcastle organised by the English Defence League. The march was organised before the brutal murder of the soldier, Lee Rigby in London, but this became the focus of the march. The chant that was used was “Whose streets? Our Streets!”

Earlier in the week, I heard a Sikh man being interviewed in Woolwich after the EDL had gathered near the Woolwich barracks where the murder happened. He said “These are my streets too. I was born here.”

I was not in town to see the actual march, but earlier saw all the police in their riot gear getting ready to manage the march and an opposing demonstration organised by Newcastle Unites. The sight of so many police, ready for potential trouble, was quite alarming. It reminded me how lucky we are to live in a society where such times of tension and threat of violence are relatively rare.

How do we, as people of faith, respond to all these events? The murder, the protests, the sense of polarisation taking place in some sections of the community? Why were there up to 2000 people on the EDL march and only 400 on the Newcastle Unites protest? Prayer, education and protest come to mind.

Prayer focuses our minds and offers seemingly impossible situations to God for whom all things are possible. We need to educate ourselves, so that we are not making assumptions or judgements about people in other traditions or faiths. Recently, a Muslim group held an Open Day at the Civic Centre and sent an invitation to MCC Newcastle to attend. Vicki attended on our behalf and gave a very favourable account of all that she had experienced during the day. Where we can, we can protest. Protest comes in many forms, from marching in the streets to choosing to shop in more ethical ways. As the psalms teach us, even praying – crying out loud to God can be a protest in itself.

As the story behind the murder of Lee Rigby unfolds, I invite you to pray for peace and justice this week.

God bless,

Cecilia

On Friday it will be IDAHO – the International Day
Against Homophobia and Transphobia. MCC Newcastle will be at the Civic Centre, along with other community groups. The rainbow flag will be raised and there will be stalls and speeches to mark this important day.

In the UK, homophobic bullying, ignorance and prejudice are still issues. Internationally, thousands of LGBT people live in fear of their lives. The state either condones violence towards our sisters and brothers, or turns a blind eye when it happens. Rainbow Home, our joint project with MESMAC, offers a safe space to LGBT people who are seeking asylum in this country. They have fled where they were born and
brought up, because to remain there put their lives at risk.

This week, I was reading something written by our Moderator, Reverend Elder Nancy Wilson. She was wondering what would happen if, on one day, everyone in the world who is LGBT all turned purple. Celebrities, politicians, homophobes, footballers, children, everyone. Just imagine what that would be like. How powerful could that be, if we could all see each other? How powerful could it be
for those who wish to oppress us, to see us in strength and
number?

This is why events like IDAHO and Pride are really important.
They are an opportunity for us to gather together in strength and number. It is an opportunity for those who are still struggling with their sexuality or in the closet to see that they are not alone. It also shows those who would harm us
that they cannot pick us off one by one. There are too many of us.

In the midst of this we stand, as a faith community, offering even more. We witness to a loving and amazing God, who created and loves each of us, just as we are. This second “coming out” is as important as the first. It can also be equally challenging. It takes courage to stand on our stall and offer people a different perspective from what they generally pick up in the media. Many people are indifferent, some are hostile or curious. For a few though, we make a difference to the rest of our lives. That is an amazing gift to be able to offer someone. 

Please pray for Suzanne and her team this Friday, as they are “out and proud” for IDAHO.

God bless,

Cecilia

Some of you will have the press coverage of Susan’s service of blessing and affirmation. Susan is a trans woman who worships with us at MCC Newcastle. Now she has completed her transition, she wanted a service to celebrate this and she renewed her baptismal vows as Susan. It was a powerful moment. You can read Susan’s story online here. 
 
Names are often very important to us. For people who go through the transition process, it is an opportunity to claim a new aspect of who they are – to publicly announce who they intend to be from this point forward. Often we have
special or nicknames for people who are important to us. At the moment I am on a watercolour painting course and there is another Cecilia in the room. It is so rare for both of us to meet another woman with the same name and we are both getting quite a bit of childish glee from saying our own name out loud and have it refer to the other person.

In the Hebrew tradition, it was thought if you knew someone’s name, you had power over them. When Moses encounters God through the burning bush, he asks who is
talking with him. God replies “I am that I am”. Down through time, people have tried to describe God, to give God a name that reflects the Divine one that they encounter.

One of the exercises that we do very early on in the “Creating a Life that Matters” course is to examine the names that we have been taught for God – to dismiss the
ones that we do not recognise and to claim ones that describe that God that we know and love. This is often a useful activity, as it helps course participants to really be thoughtful about how they see God and what old images or labels of God they need to get rid of.

Scripture has many different names for God – as the people who wrote them tried to capture the essence of the Divine. Perhaps this week, it is something we could try – thinking up new names for the One who loves us.

What’s in a name?

Often something very powerful.

 God bless,

Cecilia
 

In worship at MCC Newcastle, we are continuing our theme of #goodnewsgoesviral. Each week, we explore how an individual or group of people gets to hear about
the life and ministry of Jesus. It is a fascinating journey, full of different characters. If you have missed any of the services, remember you can listen to the sermons online.
 
I wonder how I would react if someone told me the story of Jesus today – if the events of 2000 years ago happened instead in the past month in England and I was hearing it all for the first time. Would I be curious, cynical, too busy to even
care? What is it about the story of Jesus that is so compelling? The answer to this question will be different for each of us. For me, the way Jesus engaged with people was new and refreshing. He often challenged their behaviour or tried to make them think in a new way. This was often tempered with gentleness and care. He reached out to those who were seen as “unclean” or marginalised. 
 
All of these things would challenge me, but they would intrigue me too. I don’t know what my logical and slightly scientific view of the world would make of the miracles he performed or the seemingly random way he told stories. What I think I would be attracted to, would be the truth of what he was saying. Sometimes we read or hear something, and it resonates with us deep down. It speaks truth to us in a way that we can’t necessarily articulate. This is why music and poetry can be so powerful. They touch us in a profound way.

The Good News is the same. It touches us in a way that we can’t necessarily explain, but we know to be true. Most of us are not necessarily comfortable with chatting about our faith, especially not to complete strangers. However, the way we behave and the values that we live up to speak for us. When people are able to observe us, and then they hear about our faith, they can see a connection and that it is intriguing or inviting to them.

We are spreading the Good News in many different ways, through our website, Facebook and Twitter. Most importantly, we spread it by how we are in the world. 

What does the Good News mean to you?

 God bless,

Cecilia