The man shook as he told us his story of persecution: we could see the scars on his head and his hands. Another man in the group flinched as someone he didn’t know came into the room. I promised him “You will always be safe here.”  A woman cried as she told me how, as an out and proud Christian lesbian, she had been told she could not become a member of the church that she had been attending for months. “I am so glad to be back here” she said. A charity that works with children hired a room in the building we use, to run an event for LGBT people interested in adoption – “Because we saw you at Pride and thought this would be a good space to hold our event.” These three things all happened in the past month at MCC Newcastle. They are part of what we do, week in, week out. We offer hope and light to our community and beyond. Often it is in small, unseen ways – small gestures of kindness and compassion, such as the regular donations of clothing that people give to the West End Refugee Service. Sometimes we are able to bring hope at big events like Pride and World AIDS Day. People who may never worship with us follow us online and through social media. We are observed at a distance by many individuals, who may turn to us when life changes for them and they need a safe place to be.

A good while ago Mikee preached on Micah 6:8: What does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. He suggested that at MCC Newcastle we are good at walking humbly with God – our worship is excellent and we offer many ways to go deeper in our spiritual life. He challenged us to really step up and step out in acting justly and loving mercy. This message has stayed with me and has continued to challenge me ever since. How do we move out beyond our church walls and how do we make it easier for groups to see us as a resource to support them in what they do?

This year’s Annual Congregational Meeting marks a key moment in our response to the challenge to love mercy and to act justly. The Board is proposing only two aims, which will help us to put our faith into action. Firstly, we are now ready to start looking for our own building, choosing a venue that is better suited to our needs and that will give us the flexibility to develop our ministries more fully. Secondly, we are going to focus on developing activities that intentionally reach out and serve those beyond our church walls.  We are called to bring hope and light. This is our time.

God bless

Cecilia    

Have you seen our new church sign? It hangs across the big yellow St James’s sign every Sunday and it reads MCC Newcastle – the church for our community. Underneath it has our mission statement “Be yourself. Find meaning. Know God.” What does it really mean to be “the church for our community”? Let me give you some examples. Being the church for our community means offering our building
for community groups to meet in – we housed the Tyne Trans group when it was first setting up and paid the rent on the church for Proud Northern Voices to get started. Now we host Rainbow Home once a month – our joint project with
MESMAC, to support LGBT folk who are seeking asylum in the UK.

Being the church for our community means that we are out and proud at key events in the life of our community – Pride, IDAHO, World AIDS day. Being the church for our community means that our community know that we are there for them and they can interact with us in a variety of ways. At Pride I chatted with someone. Later that week she contacted me through our Facebook page to say that she had listened to my sermon online and told me a bit about her own faith journey. 
 
Being the church for our community means leaving the comfort of what we want from church, and listening hard to what our community needs from us. Jesus didn’t just sit in a room and wait for folk to find him. He went out there, he looked and listened to the lives of the people around him. He didn’t change who he was in order to serve them. He was authentically who he was, and because of that, people turned to him.

We are at a tipping point in our journey. We can either shrink back or take a big step forward into the next stage of our journey together. Our treasurer Charlotte W has recently challenged us to add the cost of a cup of coffee per week to our monthly giving if we are able. I have already increased my monthly giving by the equivalent of two lattes per month in response to the report Charlotte gave to the Annual Congregational Meeting.  However, since Pride I have become so convinced that we are called to even greater things that I have just increased my monthly giving by another £20 per month.  10% of my income for today’s needs and a further 1% for our future. 

Our community needs us. Let us be their church.

 God bless,

Cecilia

Here I sit, back in the church office for the first time since the end of June. All around me are the signs of all that has been going on in my absence. There is the fantastic artwork from our Messy Church Pride service – “What makes you proud?” – our families have written in hearts what makes them proud – “my two mummies”, “for being my teacher’s top writer”, “my fabulous family and pets”, “singing with the choir”. The powerpoint printout from Sunday’s service sits on my desk, reminding me of our current worship theme
– “Exploring Spiritual Types”. I am SO looking forward to worshipping again with everyone this Sunday! I’ve heard about the wonderful “Write a Psalm” workshop and have caught up with the news from Chill and Grace, our monthly
lunch.

One of the real strengths of MCC Newcastle is that we believe that everyone has a part to play in the ministry of our church. All of these activities, and others besides, are led by members of our congregation, using their gifts and skills.

Of course, the office is full of stuff for Pride this Saturday. Northern Pride is one of our greatest outreach opportunities and this year we have “Fabulous and Beautiful” stickers to give away, as well as everything else. Every year, we have at least one person who starts worshipping with us on a regular basis, because of seeing us at Pride. What is also important is that our presence is part of a “drip-drip” effect. People see us at Pride, at IDAHO, at other events around the region. They repeatedly hear our message of God’s inclusive love and they get a chance to observe – from a safe distance, what we are like as people.

Because of our constant presence at these events, people check out our website, follow us on Facebook and Twitter. We might never see these individuals at worship, but they know that we are here if they need us, and some day, some of them will come and find us in person.

All of us have had to walk through the doors of MCC for the first time. For some, it is an instant homecoming, for others it is a scary step into the unknown. When someone comes to MCC Newcastle for the first time, it is great when they can
recognise one or two faces, either from Pride or from our amazing website. It helps to make them feel more at home straight away. If we can offer more activities and events beyond the worship service, we are more able to support
each person in their faith journey and in daily living. It takes all of us to offer a “safe, warm, welcoming home.”

Happy Pride!!

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

When I was 18 and went to vote for the first time, my mother said “I don’t wish to influence you but the Conservative candidate is at the top of the form”. She had been born working class in the difficult days of the Depression and shared stories from her childhood of her parents struggling to make ends meet. She was a quick, intelligent woman with a love of words and in other circumstances would
have gone to university.

Marrying my father started her climb up the social ladder and by time I was growing up, she probably would have viewed herself as lower middle class. I was born and
brought up in Sheffield, the home of the National Union of Mineworkers and watched as the 1970’s recession closed down shops, the steelworks for which Sheffield is famous and felt the fear as the police riot vans parked up, Billy
Elliot style, in the city centre. In the miners’ strike, my mother was firmly on the side of Margaret Thatcher.

By the 1980’s, I was living in Bath and was a teacher at the beginning of my career. Once again, Margaret Thatcher’s influence impacted my life, this time in a very personal way. The Conservative government introduced the Local Government Act, which included the notorious “Clause 28”. This forbade local councils from “intentionally promoting homosexuality” and specifically prevented schools doing
anything that showed “acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship”.

This piece of legislation changed my life forever. It was the starting point for my life as a “reluctant activist”. I had already become involved in the local lesbian and gay group and helped to start Living Springs MCC in Bath. The then
new television station, Channel 4, started a controversial series called “Out on Tuesday” and I appeared on one of the shows, which discussed different types of lesbian and gay relationships. The show aired after I had left teaching, but colleagues at the school said it caused quite a sensation with pupils and staff alike. This was the beginning of my “media career”.

For over 20 years now, I have been willing to be a public and visible lesbian for those in our community who cannot be “out”. I have spoken of God’s inclusive love for all people and I hope I have made a difference.
 
Ironically, it seems the Iron Lady helped to make me who I am today.

God Bless,

Cecilia

Today is a day that the world changed. Just now we do not know whether this will be a change for the better. Just now, all the newsrooms around the world will be scrambling to get as much information as they can on this man, suddenly thrown into the spotlight.

Pope Francis, an Argentinean, has been elected to serve the Catholics of the world. He is the first Pope from outside Europe in over 1000 years. That alone is a huge shift. South America is the home of liberation theology - the view that
Jesus was on the side of the poor. Many Catholic priests were actively engaged in politics in South American countries, helping the poor and oppressed, often campaigning against brutal regimes.  One of the most famous quotes from this time is from Dom Helder Camara, Archbishop of Recife, Brazil: 

Like most of you, at the time of writing, I know very little about Pope Francis and his background. However, I think this powerful theological and social movement must have influenced the new Pope at some level. When one is looking at the world through the lens of a Saviour who came to free oppressed people, then it is harder to uphold structures and systems that oppress some people and not
others.

I doubt that there will be any great shifts on issues such as gay marriage or women priests. What we might start to hear more about, is the heart of the Christian message:

In local parishes around the world, from whatever Christian tradition, faithful people work to transform their local community and beyond. It is my hope for them, and for us, that Pope Francis will able to remind the wider world of all
the good that the followers of Christ do each day to bring heaven closer to earth.

God bless,

 Cecilia
 

As many  of you know, I am passionate about giftedness. I believe that the Holy Spirit  works through every single person and every person has particular spiritual  gifts. These are often the things that we do so easily and intuitively that we  don’t even consider them to be gifts, or even to be
particularly special. They  are so normal for us, we assume everyone else must be able to do the same things  we do and respond to the world in the same way.
  
The vote  at the Anglican Synod which narrowly rejected the proposal to allow women to  become bishops has angered and dismayed folk both inside and outside the Church  of England. It also plays to the notion that God calls by gender, rather than by  giftedness. In the same way, some of us have been told that God saves by  sexuality, rather than by grace. We know that the God we serve is beyond human  ways of dividing up people into “worthy” and “unworthy”. Jesus chose the most  unlikely group of people to share in his ministry and went out of his way to  spend time with individuals that society had placed on the margins.
  
Whenever we meet prejudice and ignorance, we need to challenge it. This might be by specific actions, such as signing the petition against the proposed anti LGBT legislation in Uganda (click here to sign). It may  be by how we promote other ways of doing and being. I wear a red ribbon every  day, as a gentle reminder to anyone who notices it that AIDS has not gone away.  
  
World AIDS Day is on Saturday 1st December. More than 90,000 people are currently living with HIV in the UK and globally an estimated 33.3 million people have HIV. More than 25 million people between 1981 and 2007 have died from the virus,  making it one of the most destructive pandemics in history.
  
At MCC  Newcastle, we join in the WAD events each year and also have our own WAD service. Having a vibrant Christian presence at these events reminds people that  God does not punish people through illness, any more than God saves by sexuality  or calls by gender.

 Wear your red ribbon this week – it makes a difference.

 God bless,
  
Cecilia

Northern Pride is nearly here, despite torrential rain and the threat of drag queens getting their heels stuck in the mud! It takes a large team of people working all year round to make this huge community event happen. These folk give tirelessly of their time and energy to produce a programme of activities which seems to get better each year. Most are volunteers, who manage to fit all this in as well as all the other demands on their time.

Most people, at some point in their lives will be a volunteer or serve others in some way or another – looking after
a relative or keeping an eye on an elderly neighbour. It is a part of human nature to think of others, to reach out and to give of oneself. That is why we can be so shocked and disappointed when we find people who are completely self
absorbed and self centred. These inward looking folk miss out on the rewards that come with serving others – the satisfaction of seeing a job well done, the great feeling when someone takes the time to say “Thank you” and just seeing how even the smallest kindness can really make a difference in someone’s life.

In our worship theme Learning from Jesus, we have been looking at how Jesus lived his life and how that can help us. Sometimes, Jesus was intentional about what he did and where he went. Often though, he just seemed to come across people in the street, as he was going about his own business and started a conversation with them, which often led to healing. Jesus took the time to help those he came across, sometimes just by giving them a chance to express their faith.

Many folk at MCC Newcastle already give of their time and energy in the church through our various ministries and activities. Often, they also volunteer elsewhere as well. However, living like Jesus can be as simple as just saying “Hello” to someone on the street, or listening to someone in a supermarket queue who is lonely and just needs to talk. 
 
May you find a chance this week to give a little time to someone else and help build a little bit of heaven on earth.

 God bless,

 Cecilia 

This week is the start of Euro 2012 – a football tournament for those of you are not interested. There has been some
controversy over the choice of Ukraine as one of the host nations, and some politicians and fans have chosen to stay away in protest.

It is easy to think that such protests and boycotts do not have an impact. Or that it has to be someone important or powerful in order for anything to make a difference.

Recently, I have heard from two different people in the
congregation who are each making their own personal protests in different ways. One is refusing to take Communion in their home church, in protest at that denomination’s treatment of lesbians and gay men. Another person refuses to visit the USA or any country that still uses the death penalty for prisoners. These protests gain strength every time the person tells their story and make others think about the issue too.

You may think that one person cannot make a difference. Rosa Parks was an African American woman at a time when racial segregation was still legal and well embedded in USA. After a long hard day at work in 1955, she refused to give up her seat to a white man on the bus and was arrested. This small act of protest became the focal point for a massive bus boycott and was a key event in the civil rights movement. Now, just under 60 years later, the USA has a black President.

You are on the mailing list of MCC Newcastle today, because in 1968, one man called Troy Perry dared to
believe that it could be possible to have a Christian church that would proclaim God’s inclusive love for all people – including lesbians, gay men, bisexual folk and
transgendered women and men.

May you find one way of making your voice heard on an issue this week.

God bless,

Cecilia

At the Annual Congregational Meeting last Sunday, the Members of MCC Newcastle unanimously adopted our
Bedrock Belief statements. This really is quite an achievement – the pages of Church history are littered with examples of Christians falling out – even killing each other, over what they believe.

Of course, in MCC Newcastle, we encourage each person to work out their own beliefs and many of us will be able to agree with the Bedrock Beliefs statements – and add to
them.

This week in worship, we are reflecting on the Bible.

 At MCC Newcastle, we believe:
The Bible is there to inspire and guide. It is not a rule book and can be read with love, compassion and
questioning.

At different times, the Bible has been used as a weapon of oppression – against women, against Black people, against LBGT folk. We need to reclaim scripture. We need to learn to read it with our minds, our hearts and our spirits. Although some of it might seem irrelevant and outdated now, there are still profound truths about God and God’s relationship with us. It is also where we find out about the life of Jesus in a unique way - we can’t find that information anywhere else. 

As part of marking the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO) on Saturday 19th May,  I will be leading a workshop on “What the Bible Really Says” about queer people. This will be after we have gathered at Grey’s Monument and made a big noise against homophobia – with the theme “Equal Before God”.

Much of the homophobia today stems from misinterpretation of the Bible. If we are going to be people of faith who make a difference, we need to be able to show others what the Bible really says about them, and above all, what scripture says about the unconditional love of God.

God bless,

Cecilia