The football World Cup will soon be upon us. Do you care? Are you working out how you can watch the games, given the time difference? Are you boycotting the whole event, due to the number of deaths that have occurred among the construction workers, or the amount of money spent, when so many Brazilians live in poverty? It is fascinating how many different viewpoints or opinions can be generated by groups of grown men chasing a ball around a field. We have just had our local and European elections. Again, the range of opinion is wide on our political system, ranging from apathetic indifference to committed political activism. Sometimes, we think that we cannot make a difference, even if we vote. The painful truth is that, if we don’t vote, we certainly won’t make a difference. I can’t see a day coming any time soon when the Government (of whatever party) respond to a low turnout by saying “OK, we won’t accept that vote as being representative of the whole country – let’s do it again and get more people to join in this time.”

Metropolitan Community Churches is a democratic denomination – some people may think it could be more so. Every clergy person has a vote at our General Conference, and every congregation has one vote per 100 Members. Every time we meet, the denominational bylaws (the constitution) are amended by the vote of those present. We vote on other issues too, which impact the life of the whole denomination. At a local level, the people who are active Members of their MCC vote on the budget, electing the Board and electing a new Pastor and other issues, such as aims for the year ahead, and, as in our case, voting to adopt our new name and logo.

It is easy to take our ability to vote for granted, whether in church or in the politics, and to see our responsibility to vote as a chore, rather than a precious right. It is alarming to hear the stories coming out of Ukraine where people were too frightened to even open the polling stations and where the ballot boxes were smashed. I remember seeing those powerful images of Black South Africans queuing in the heat to exercise their right to vote, often for the very first time in their own country. Women in the UK were only given the right to vote in 1918, and then it was only to those aged over 30. People all over the world have given their lives, so that individuals may take part in the democratic process. We might think we can’t change anything, just with one vote. However, an avalanche is made up of millions of tiny snowflakes, each one weighing so little. However, when they are added together, nothing can stop the movement of the snow. We all have power, if we choose to use it.

God bless

Cecilia

Another film crew was in church on Sunday. These were journalism students looking at the issue of religion and sexuality – specifically homosexuality. In the past few years, I have been interviewed on camera by 5 or so different University students. These recorded interviews and footage from our worship services form part of their studies and are shown to a whole group of students on the same course, as well as being marked by lecturers. Some end up on the internet. The questions are generally the same – What is Metropolitan Community Church? What makes you different from other Christian Churches? Why do some Christians take a different view about homosexuality? Have you or the church ever experienced harm because of this? Then there are usually a couple of specialist questions, depending on the specific angle of research that the student is conducting.

There is a marketing adage that in order for a person to really absorb your information, they need to receive it through six different media. Our physical presence at events like IDAHO and Pride, the postcards and badges we give away, the church website and Facebook, the poster on the noticeboard outside church, seeing a video in a University lecture hall and just simply talking to someone are six of the ways a person might find out about MCC Newcastle. There are probably more. Different ways of communicating will suit different people. Some of us find easy to talk about church with complete strangers, others would rather make a lot of noise and wear the church T shirt at Pride! It is wonderful that we have such gifted and skilled folk within the congregation who are able to produce high quality publicity materials for us and understand how to use social media to good effect.

For all the outreach we do, all the logos we have and all the student films we appear in, there is one important thing that cannot be overlooked. We have to do “exactly what it says on the tin.” (See the power of marketing – how many of you know what advert that phrase is from : ) ?  ) Our welcome has to be warm and authentic, our worship needs to help people experience God’s presence and we need to offer opportunities for people to feel safe and accepted enough to grow and learn and serve others. We make take these things for granted, especially if we have been part of this faith community for a while. However, they don’t just happen on their own. It takes consistent work on behalf of all of us to ensure that we are a place where you can

“Be yourself, find meaning, know God”.

God bless

Cecilia

Do you notice what touches your skin? Do you notice the scents in the air or the colours of the things around you? Recently I have been trying to be more mindful of what is around me. I have started to experience the wind ruffling my hair as God’s caress, the rain as God’s kisses and the sun as God’s love warming me through. How this imagery will work with stinging hail and biting wind I don’t know. However, just now I am using this awareness to remind me that God is always with me, always loving me, always just a touch or a breath away.

A call to ordained ministry, to lifelong service, is the same as any other committed relationship. On the day of ordination, I made promises to God which were as solemn and as meaningful as those I made on my wedding day. When I became Pastor here, I made promises to you - the people I serve and to God. I also promised to take care of my own self and my relationship with God, in order to live a fulfilled life and to serve better. As anyone in a long-term relationship knows, relationships take time and attention to keep them healthy and vibrant. They can go through ups and downs, but we need to keep working at them. As many of us can testify, our relationship with God is no different.

A long time ago, I attended a conference where one of the speakers described his relationship with God as “a romance”. I thought this was a beautiful idea, and it really changed how I spent time with God. Recently someone I was talking with used exactly the same phrase and I was reminded that maybe I haven’t been spending the quality time with God that makes all the difference in a relationship. It is possible to sit in the same room as someone else, without actually giving them any loving or thoughtful attention. I wrote a list in my spiritual journal of what I learned in 20 years of human marriage and am now trying to apply those earthly lessons to my sacred marriage to God. I am being mindful of God’s presence as I go about my ordinary day, taking time to pause and to chat, to ask God’s opinion and share my experience of the day. Each morning I still have my quiet time, just to be and to prepare for the day. However, I am re-learning to pause during the day as well, to feel God woven into the fabric of each moment. It takes practice and patience, but to borrow words of one of our worship songs:

“God has my heart and I am God’s forever.”

God bless

Cecilia