Trick or treat - no thanks

I received a phone call from my friends at BBC Wiltshire yesterday evening asking whether I was free to go into the Breakfast Show this morning to talk about Hallowe'en. From the 10 minute chat with the researcher it became apparent that they weren’t necessarily looking for me to come on as the Christian who sees Hallowe'en as the work of the devil and a cover for the occult. (There may be something in that but I haven’t heard of many virgins being sacrificed in Swindon to be honest – there is a joke waiting to escape there, but I’ll let you, dear reader, fill in your own punch line.)

So having gone in to the studio the conversation we had was along the lines as Hallowe'en now being nothing more than some imported commercial thing which the supermarkets have latched on to as a way of selling lots of “stuff” , naff costumes, sweets and pumpkins. But we also talked about how for many people, particularly the elderly but also anyone who lives alone, Trick or Treat is a genuinely frightening thing. After all, if you are elderly, the last thing you want (or expect) are strangers ringing the doorbell. And then on opening the door you are confronted with people dressed in scary costumes shouting “Trick or treat” at you.

And, to be honest, not only do you not want to be disturbed by strangers, but you have no idea what Trick of Treat means.

In my preparation for the programme this morning I did a quick bit of research on line about the origins of Halloween and Trick or Treat. What I am about to cite comes mainly from an article in the Daily Telegraph dating back to 2009 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/6468637/Halloween-a-history-of-All-Hallows-Eve-from-Samhain-to-trick-or-treat.html Though there are plenty of other things too.

It seems as if there was an ancient pagan festival around this time of the year called Samhain that marked the ending of the light half of the year and the start of the dark part of the year. (Today we call that the festival of putting the clocks back an hour.) Samhain was a sort of harvest festival, when the last crops were gathered in for the winter, and livestock killed and stored. But the pagan Celts also believed it was a time when the walls between our world and the next became thin and porous, allowing spirits to pass through.

As was often the case with the early church, in order to convert the natives, a Christian festival was established called All Souls (or “All Hallows”) in which the dead were remembered and their souls were prayed for, in order to be released from purgatory. (Bear in mind I am no authority in Catholicism and the practices of the early church; if it’s not a Trappist beer I don’t understand it.) In time it became the norm for this festival to start on the night before All Hallows – All Hallows Eve hence “Hallowe'en”.

So what of Trick or Treat? It seems as if in some Catholic parts of the world there was a tradition of giving gifts to the poor at the time of All Hallows. The idea would be that the beggars would say prayers for the souls of the dead in exchange for food. “Guising”, disguising oneself as a ghoul to fool evil spirits. Is this the origin of Trick of Treat? Or did it just emerge in the USA in the 1920s? As they say on QI “Nobody knows”

What most seem to agree is that there was no tradition of Trick of Treat in this country. Those of us of a certain age remember Hallowe'en being a time when you might play some silly games at home such as Apple Bobbing or Apple on the Line. But the major festival was Guy Fawkes on November 5th. But sometime somehow Trick or Treat invaded. (In a 2007 piece Sean Coughlan described Trick or Treat as “The Japanese Knotweed of festivals” http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7067804.stm. Meaning I suppose it’s been imported and is pernicious.)

So am I just being an old grouch to be opposed to Trick or Treat or am I right to voice concern?
Let me say first of all, I don’t think that dressing up children as Margaret Thatcher or something equally scary will mean they become devil worshippers. Certainly my American Christian friends don’t make that association and I think it fair to say that a good number of them are more conservative in many respects than Christians here. So if there was more to Trick or Treat you’d expect them to oppose it.

So my opposition is based on two aspects.

Firstly, there is an anti-social element to it. I’ve mentioned above the genuine fear single and / or elderly people have about being disturbed. Whilst these fears may be unfounded for the most part, they are still genuine. And there will be instances of the houses and cars of people not wanting to participate, being “bombed” with eggs and flour. Also what message does it send to young people? For 364 days of the year it would be illegal to demand money with menaces but suddenly on Hallowe'en we’re telling them it’s fine to demand something (albeit sweets) backed up with the threat of violence.

Secondly, we are allowing commerce to dictate to us. A visit to my local supermarket this morning showed an aisle wholly dedicated to the sale of Halloween stuff. OK people don’t have to buy but there is huge pressure on families to conform.

I suppose I am in the minority and most people see it as a bit of fun. But as I’m on police chaplaincy duty this evening, I’ll be interested to see the effect of this bogus festival.

In the meantime if it’s not too late you can download a “Trick or treat no thanks” poster here:
http://www.wiltshire.police.uk/index.php/campaignsand-events/3343-halloween

Finally, I’d like to point you to a great blog by a friend of mine, on the theology around this topic:
http://tractorgirl66.wordpress.com/2013/10/24/light-in-the-dark-places/

Greater love is loving your enemies

In the hall of my parents’ church in Crosskeys South Wales are two memorial tablets remembering the dead of the First World War who had attended that chapel. And on one of the tablets is this verse of scripture:

13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

John 15:13 (KJV)

It is a verse I have seen quoted on many war memorials and of course it seeks to tie in the sacrifice of men (and women) who have died serving their country and the people of that country. Of course the words were spoken by Jesus in the time leading up to his crucifixion. He is telling the disciples that he will die for them and for their sins, so that they might have eternal life.

But equally it was a reminder to the disciples that some of them would die themselves. They would die for proclaiming the gospel and for living the gospel out. They would die out of love for other people.

A few days ago I saw a story on the BBC news web site that brought this verse into a very up to date context.

The article told the story of an event that happened in 1996. A black teenager protected a white man from an angry mob who thought he supported the racist Ku Klux Klan. It was an act of extraordinary courage and kindness - and is still inspiring people today.

The Ku Klux Klan were holding a protest in the town of Ann Arbor Michigan. And although the Klan could only muster a small number of people, a large crowd gathered to protest against the Klan’s racist views. Among the crowd was 18 year old Keisha Thomas.

At one point someone in the crowd of anti-racism protestors noticed a middle aged man sporting a racist T shirt and racist tattoos including one symbolising the Nazi party’s SS. The crowd turned on the man and started to chase him. The man tripped and people started to set upon him. But this is where Keisha Thomas stepped in.

The black teenager was appalled at the violence so she threw herself on top of the man to shield him – no doubt saving his life.

She has since said she was motivated by her religious beliefs and by knowing what it was like herself to be on the receiving end of violence.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24653643

None of us would want to have to do what Keisha Thomas did. And I suppose I have to ask myself whether I’d have the courage to do what she did. But what makes her story the more remarkable was that she was prepared to do what she did for a potential enemy.

Jesus said:

43 ‘You have heard that it was said, “Love your neighbour[a] and hate your enemy.” 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
Matthew 5: 43 – 44 (NIV)

Perhaps that is one of the hardest things we are called to do. Love our enemies.

(The photograph I've used was taken by Mark Brunner who was a student at the time.)

“The people are the same but the trees have grown.”

On Tuesday I conducted the funeral of one of the saints from Rodbourne Road chapel. I’ll call her Joan. Joan was a lady in her 90s who was a real character. She was housebound due to arthritis. But she managed to remain in the same home she’d lived in for all her married life (almost 70 years) and beyond (following her husband’s death in 2008.)

Although unable to leave her house Joan had the benefit of wonderful neighbours who called in every day, did her shopping and checked up on her. And although her family had moved from Swindon a number of years ago she received weekly visits from her sons and her grandchildren as well as daily phone calls.

A couple of weeks ago Joan’s next door neighbour noticed that the light wasn’t on in the kitchen when he got up for work around 6.30am. Joan was always an early riser (from her time in service she told me) so if her kitchen light wasn’t on that was a concern. The neighbour (I’ll call him Archie) was concerned and let himself in to Joan’s house. He went upstairs and found that Joan had died in her sleep.

After the funeral I was sat with Archie in the pub where the reception was held. Archie is a no nonsense Scot. If you are a fan of the Archers on BBC Radio 4 and can think of the way the character “Jazzer” speaks, then that is Archie.

Archie spoke to me about Joan at length. “She’s the gran I never had.” I know how much Archie and his wife had done for Joan over the years. But I’d not appreciated how much Archie valued having Joan there for him.

I don’t know Archie’s background but I sense he was a bit of a handful at school. He told me how he'd left school at 15 as he’d had enough of it.

Out of the blue Archie asked me if I’d ever visited Arnos Vale cemetery in Bristol. At first this seemed a slightly odd choice of topic. But then again we had both been at a funeral! “Och it’s great Dave. I love visiting cemeteries me and looking at the grave stones and trying to imagine the people.” And Archie told me a lot about Arnos Vale http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnos_Vale_Cemetery

We then proceeded to have one of those life the universe and everything conversations that I enjoy and which people still like to have with a minister from time to time. Archie had had a couple of beers that no doubt enabled to start talking in this way. But it was a good chat.

We started to look at photos of Joan as a younger woman. And Archie said something I often think myself. “Dave. How is it that when we haven’t known a person when they are young and only know them when they are older, we wouldn’t recognise them in a younger photo? Yet if we have grown up with them we always recognise them?”

Archie’s comment sounds a bit odd. But I know exactly what he means.

But he then went on to say something I found very thought provoking. He explained how he visits his home town in Scotland from time to time. He sees people he’s not seen for years but somehow they don’t alter. “The only difference is Dave that the trees have grown. The people are the same but the trees have grown.”

And I think Archie seems to have hit on something there. Mostly people remain the same that is their personality remains the same (even if they are physically older). So we still relate to them even if they look older. “The people are the same but the trees have grown.”

The village I grew up in in South Wales, sums that up really. My parents are physically older and no doubt to people who haven’t seen them for a while they look older. But to me they seem the same. Yet a look out of the window of their house reminds me of the changes. The trees on the hillside opposite their house are grown. The woodland is much denser than when I lived there.

As I write this I am 50 years and 2 days old. 50 is a landmark I suppose. And 100 years ago I would have been an old man. (No comments please!) After all my great grandfather died in his early 50s. But I don’t feel old. At times I barely feel as if I’m an adult!

“The people are the same but the trees have grown.”

Don’t get me wrong. In many ways I am different to the 18 year old, the 30 year old and the 40 year old. I think there is a certain maturity now. But still a wonderful immaturity too!

Be persistent

There are so many things in this life that we just don’t understand. For example, we don’t really understand disease. Why is a youngster perfectly healthy for 13 years of his life and then suddenly just happens to be in a place where he suddenly encounters some germ or bacteria that invades his body and destroys it?

And we don’t understand accidents. They are so random and indiscriminate. You start out a day that is like any other day and then something happens in a matter of seconds and life is forever different.

On and on we could go with our list of things we don’t really understand.

And I suppose one thing we have to add to our list of things we don’t understand is why prayers are not always answered.

One of the things I struggle with is how to pray for someone who is perhaps gravely ill in hospital. Should I pray for a miracle cure when I feel that miracles rarely seem to happen? I know there are some Christians who will tell you differently, and I’ve heard some Christians say that they’ve prayed for something miraculous and it has happened. But I’ve not witnessed such miracles.

And if such miracles happen that is wonderful and amazing. But why aren’t my prayers having that effect? Why aren’t yours?

And we come to the age old question “Does prayer really work?” And the answer to that question isn’t straightforward.

When we pray, we often are praying for God to intercede. For God to intervene. As the writer Anne Dillard puts it we’re asking God to stick his finger in, if only now and again. And occasionally it may seem as if he has done so.

In the first book of Chronicles chapter 4: 9 – 11 is the story of a man named Jabez. That is the whole of his story:

9 Jabez was more honourable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez,[c] saying, ‘I gave birth to him in pain.’ 10 Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, ‘Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.’ And God granted his request.

“And God granted his request” Why?

Skip forward to the 21st century and there are some parts of the Christian church that preach what is sometimes called a “Health & Wealth” gospel. And part of that message is that we should pray for ourselves and for our own well-being. This strand of the church would want us to be selfish in our prayers and this strand of the church would say it is ok to ask God to increase the value of our wealth or for our own better health. And, of course, those Christians of that persuasion will also often say if you pray hard enough your prayer will be answered.

That makes the rest of me feel great when I look at my 7 year old Skoda and take my inhaler. I’m clearly not praying hard enough.

As a minister and before then, I have met over the years some wonderful, sincere, dedicated pray-ers. People who pray heartfelt prayers, persistently and whose prayer requests aren’t fulfilled. We once belonged to a prayer group that contained two amazingly powerful pray-ers. The two people I am thinking of prayed regularly for other people and situations in the town and around the world.

So how do we explain that one of them – I’ll call her Judy – died in her early 70s from a massive stroke? You can’t tell me that she wasn’t praying hard enough? Or maybe those Christians who believe in the health and wealth gospel would turn round and say that my friend Judy should have been praying for her own health and well-being? Well I know what Judy would say to that! She was always far more concerned for others than praying for herself.

In Luke 18: 1 – 8 Luke tells us that

“Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.”

Jesus doesn’t resolve the mystery of answered and unanswered prayer but he tries to teach his disciples persistence.

It’s a great story with two unforgettable characters. We have a harsh judge who has no conscience and “ … who neither feared God nor cared what people thought.” And then we have a widow who is poor, helpless, defenceless and in need of justice.

The scene must be something like a courtroom with the judge seated on a dais, throngs of people waiting to present their case before him, some represented by lawyers, others just appearing for themselves and shouting to get the judge’s attention. The woman is one of these. She can’t afford a lawyer and so every day she comes to court and tries to get the attention of the judge with the plea, “Grant me justice against my adversary.”

Every day she does this and every day the judge ignores her. But she keeps on at him. Maybe she follows him home? Maybe she just keeps shouting in court. She keeps on badgering him over and over again. And he keeps on ignoring her. And she keeps on shouting “Grant me justice against my adversary.”

Finally, the judge has enough. He caves in and gives her a favourable judgment.

And Jesus concludes the parable by saying:

7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night?

And that is a key point. The issue is justice. We should be praying persistently for justice Jesus is saying. And what after all is justice but the right outcome. The wise outcome.

We should not be praying to God to get what we want or what we need. We have to understand that what we really need and what we think we want, are not the same thing.

Many people have had experience of praying for someone who is ill or who is in a difficult situation. We pray for that person to be made well or to be relieved of that situation and what we pray for doesn’t happen. That is one of the most difficult of tests of our faith. We pray, we ask God for healing or whatever and it doesn’t happen. Where’s the justice in that?

I don’t know. It doesn’t seem justice to conduct the funeral of a boy who died of cancer as I have done in the past. And yet our faith requires us to be persistent. Those words of Jesus again:

7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night?

It is so hard to do when we see an injustice done. We shout out at God, we rage against God. “Why don’t you do something about it?!!!!!”

The only book about Prayer I’ve read that makes sense to me is Philip Yancey’s “Prayer – does it make a difference?” And in that book he deals with this parable. He makes the point that in our prayers we may sometimes feel like the widow – alone, powerless, a victim of unfairness. The truth is the opposite. We have a direct line to the Father. We have an advocate (the Holy Spirit) who speaks directly to God; God who has nothing in common with the judge in the story. The judge in the story was unconcerned whereas God is concerned and, Jesus reminds us, God will bring justice. Jesus has assured us of that.

And yet despite hearing this assurance I wonder

“How long do I have to keep praying before something changes? God how long do we keep praying for example ‘Your kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven’ before that actually happens? God, people have been praying that for 2,000 years and look at the mess we’re still in!”

I wish I knew how persistent we have to be. Unfortunately I was away that day at college so I don’t know the answer. All I know is we look at some of the great Christian figures in history and see persistence in action. We see William Wilberforce coming to Parliament year in year out pleading for justice before slavery was abolished. We see Martin Luther King addressing civil rights protestors in Selma Alabama and saying to them “How long? …. How long? …. How long will it take?”

We have to believe that God knows about the things we pray about. If there is anyone anywhere praying for God to intervene and put an end to their oppression, eventually that prayer will be heard and that which is wrong will be set right. That’s the promise of Scripture. We can do no more than trust God.
Now, where does that leave us? Let me tell you a story.

A young black man once asked his minister why their people had to suffer so much poverty, hardship, and oppression. “Why doesn’t God do something?” he wailed.

“He has,” said that wise pastor. “He has created you.”

And so Desmond Tutu became the answer to his own question. And we know how hard Desmond Tutu worked for justice.

So why doesn’t God do something about someone we love dying? God has. He’s given us a wonderful healthcare system. He’s given us Prospect Hospice.

So why doesn’t God do something about children dying of HIV in Africa then? He has. He’s created the drugs they need. He’s created us to be alongside them to give voice to the voiceless. To lobby powerful governments and pharmaceutical companies for justice.

That’s a good lesson for you and me. While we are waiting for God to bring in a perfect and just society, to bring in his Kingdom, you and I are God’s answer to the injustice in our world. We are if you like the answer to prayer. That’s what it means to take up a cross and follow Jesus. It’s not a comfortable position to be in. It’s not popular. But it is Christ’s way, the way of persistence.

7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night?

Yes he will – through you and me.

A man under authority

A story of Jesus I find fascinating is contained in Luke 7 and it is the story of the Roman centurion whose servant is gravely ill and close to death. The Centurion had heard of Jesus and all he had done and could do. So the Centurion sends a message to Jesus and asks for Jesus to heal the servant.

The story is powerful because it shows us many important things. It shows us how we need to be concerned with the well-being of those around us. The Centurion was concerned with the well-being of his slave but also with the Jewish community “he loves our nation and has built our synagogue” the Jewish elders tell Jesus.

Although the Centurion has not met Jesus, he has heard of him and has faith that Jesus can help heal the servant. The centurion then is a model of compassion, a model of how to bridge the gap between people of different faiths and nationalities and most of all a model of faith in Jesus. Based on these things, for me the Centurion is one of the unsung heroes of faith in the Gospels.

But there is more to the story. A Centurion was a powerful figure. He was the commander of one hundred soldiers and he was backed by all the authority of Rome. With such authority, he was accustomed to doing things by simple command. 8 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, “Go”, and he goes; and that one, “Come”, and he comes. I say to my servant, “Do this”, and he does it.’

The Centurion knew then what it was to have power. And he believed that Jesus’ power was such that if Jesus commanded the servant to be well the servant would be well. But Jesus’ power, Jesus authority, is such that he doesn’t have to command anything. For Luke tells us that the servant was healed purely on the basis of the centurion’s faith. Jesus did not have to say anything or do anything.

Like the Centurion I am a man under authority. One of the promises I made at my ordination was to accept the discipline of the Methodist Church. In other words, to accept the authority of the Methodist Church. For the most part this isn’t too onerous but occasionally I am reminded that I am a man under authority.

Just before I went to America I had a meeting with the Chairman of the Bristol District of the Methodist Church. He informed me of a difficult situation in the neighbouring Chippenham Circuit and asked me to consider whether I would move there. The request did not come as a complete surprise and I must admit that I had wondered whether this might happen in the summer of 2014. But I was surprised that the Chairman wanted me to move at the end of February 2014.

Over the summer I thought and prayed about this and I kept being assured that this was something God wanted me to do. And certainly when I visited the main church I’ll have oversight of in Chippenham, it just felt right.

Coming back from the USA knowing this was in the offing made it very difficult to settle back in. On one of the first Sundays back I mentioned in a sermon that I knew God had plans for me (though I didn’t say I had an inkling what they were.) But I did ask for prayers from members of the congregation. A couple of weeks later a lady gave me a note in which she said she could tell I’d been “inwardly stirred by my new experience.”)

I am sorry to be leaving Swindon 18 months earlier than I had planned. But as I have shared with people many times, I have Jeremiah 29:11 on the wall of my study “For I know the plans I have for you says the Lord.” And God’s plan is for me to minister to the people in Chippenham.

PS A couple of weeks ago, I received an email from a distant relative who had been researching the Gray family tree. And it seems that from the mid-18th century to the mid-19th century the Grays lived in Mere or West Knoyle in Wiltshire. So maybe by heading further into Wiltshire I’m going back to my roots!

Autumn melancholy

Since coming back from America in August it has been quite difficult to settle back in. Partly because of what I experienced over there stirring me up and partly because there are some moves afoot (all positive by the way) that means change is on the way. (I can’t say more than that at present.) And these factors have led me to feeling melancholy.

Many Welsh people have a tendency to being glass half empty people. Or perhaps more kindly there is a tendency to be melancholic. And I fit in to that category. I love the autumn and yet as many better writers have said before me, there is something about the season that appeals to my tendency to melancholy.

And it was in this frame of mind that I decided not to go to the gym at lunch time (I don’t need much of an excuse to avoid the gym to be honest, I just find it so boring) and instead decided to drive 5 minutes from the house to Stanton Fitzwarren Country Park.

Walking boots on and iPod on a Classical Chillout album I wandered off.


I had done 1 ½ circuits of the route that had taken my fancy, when the track that came on the iPod was the theme to the film Schindler’s List. If you have seen the film you will recall the beautiful violin solo. Such a haunting piece of music. It quite literally stopped me in my tracks and as I looked along the leaf strewn path, stretching in to the distance, with leaves falling from the trees, I recalled the scene in the film where the train containing Schindler’s workers approached the gates of Auschwitz with snow falling.

In a way this chimed with my melancholy – the feeling I’d gone on the walk for in the first place, to get away from.

But at the same time I had a real sense of God telling me all will be well.
I took a few photos on my phone and uploaded them to Facebook (as a way of getting them in to the blog. And a friend put the comment “Walks can renew the spirit and a great way to see Gods creations.” How true. Far better than staring at the walls of a gym.

I so want to share the news for it feels good. But I can’t so if you are of a praying disposition please pray for us. As I’ve said it is good news, nothing to worry about. But prayers would be good. And when I can share I will do so.