[This magazine has been jointly edited by CHRISTIAN TODAY and Torch Trust for the Blind. All the articles were first published on the CHRISTIAN TODAY website christiantoday.com over the last three months.]
From:-
TORCH TRUST FOR THE BLIND, Torch House, Torch Way, Northampton Road, Market
Harborough, Leicestershire, LE16 9HL, U.K.
Telephone: (01858) 438260, Fax: (01858) 438275, email: info@torchtrust.org
Charity Number 1095904.
Archbishop Warns of Childhood Crisis
Archbishop of York Questions Muslim Veil
Christian Ministry Reaches Out to Truck Drivers
Moya Brennan - Snapshots of My Life
Street Pastors to Tackle Pubs and Clubs
[At the end of this issue you will find a list of Torch holidays for 2007.]
First, may we thank you - many of you - for your comments on this new magazine, and for letting us know you are enjoying it so much. We are delighted that it is proving to fulfil its purpose.
This being the final issue of Christian Today Digest for 2006, we take the opportunity of sending you Christmas greetings and wishing you a happy new year!
I expect we all find it more and more of a challenge, during the Christmas festive season, to keep our focus on the central message of Christmas - the coming to earth of the promised Messiah - the one who was to bring peace to a troubled world.
This week I received a news email sent regularly by Dayspring Cards. It contained this beautiful and thought-provoking message, written by Roy Lessin, the co-founder of Dayspring Cards:
Turn back the clock 2000 years and you will hear no man or angel saying, “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays”. What you will hear are the things that spoke of the wonders of his name, the glory of his presence and the meaning of his birth. You will hear the voice of the angel of the Lord proclaiming to a small band of shepherds the following good news: “Have I got something to say to you! It’s news that is too good not to be true. It’s news that will flood you with joy from your head to your toes. God has done it! He has sent the one he promised to send, the Jewish Messiah from David’s very seed. Yes, it is Yeshua, God’s salvation, who has come to save you from your sins.”
The news was so exciting that a huge number of angels could no longer contain themselves. In one thunderous voice they shouted out, “Glory, glory to God in heaven’s highest place. He has sent to earth’s lowly place his gift of perfect peace - now available to all who will believe.”
May God indeed bless you all with this peace that His Son came to bring - at this Christmas time and through the year ahead.
Jill Ferraby and the editorial team.
Michael Wood was recently awarded the Beacon Award for his outstanding commitment to the poor and underprivileged around the world through the ministry he founded 15 years ago, Rope.
Now Rope has expanded to 85 countries around the world, resourcing Christian nationals to help their own countries’ poor, deprived and oppressed people, particularly widows and orphans.
Christian Today spoke to Mr Wood about his reflections on winning the Beacon Prize and his work with Rope:
Congratulations on winning the Beacon Prize. Were you surprised you won it?
Yes I was. I was rather surprised with the glowing testimonies they gave to our work. Of course it is a team effort and I just happened to be involved in it.
How did you feel as a Christian winning it?
I think it is very important that Christians realise it is extremely near the heart of Jesus Christ that you care for the poor wherever they may be found. And it was that thought that challenged me 15 years ago to form Rope; I am particularly influenced by James 1:27 which says that we have to care for the widows and orphans and so on. And that’s what we do really.
We set up Ropeholders around the world and we are actually in 85 countries across the world. These Ropeholders are nationals and Christian people there who want to help the poor but very often lack the resources to do so. So we motivate them, fund them and make them strictly accountable. And they basically care for the widows and the orphans there.
How did you feel this particular calling?
Through many years of experience travelling, I’ve had a buzz towards the needs of the poor and very deprived people, and Rope seemed a logical development of what I had been doing through a private foundation and it was inviting the public to participate in this.
How great a part did your Christian faith play in motivating you to set up Rope?
Well, totally. I felt it to be a calling all my life. I feel all Christians should be very, very concerned for the fate of the poor of the world. Matthew 25 speaks about caring for the deprived and oppressed people and it seems that is very near the heart of the ministry of Jesus.
Do you feel enough Christians get actively involved with these kinds of issues?
That’s not for me to judge but when I am speaking in churches all over the country I just emphasise that it needs to be part of our Christian commitment and particularly to start by getting information about a country’s situation; we can supply all that and to assess if you can take some small section of it on board.
So you support everyday, ordinary Christians in that?
Oh totally, yes, and challenge them a bit to be involved.
Did you ever feel overwhelmed by God’s calling on you?
Oh totally. The needs are just enormous. And as I’ve travelled the world and visited refugee camps and squatter places and the streets of huge cities and seen the needs there, one is completely overwhelmed; but instead of getting depressed about that you just do the best you can.
Now you have handed over the leadership of Rope how do you want to see it grow?
I would like to see more and more people understand that we are by no means better than other agencies but we do things in a different way. Firstly in the use of nationals so far as the country is concerned and then targeting real needs wherever they are, particularly small businesses. We’ve started many hundreds of those around the world.
How important is it for you that you use nationals?
Many agencies spend a great deal of time sending out white people from Western Europe and America to show national people in developing countries how to do certain things. I am not saying that is without its use, but if you have people who already know the language and the customs and so on you are actually able to find out where the needs are and scratch where people are itching, and they are able to cut through the jazz and the bureaucracy and deal with things very much more quickly.
The cost of sending out a European person to Africa is so great you could almost start a children’s home.
Are you surprised by how Rope grew?
Yes, I think people got the idea because they like particularly the fact that we don’t deduct anything for administration expenses from gifts received. We make it quite clear these are funded by another trust called Friends of Rope. So if you want to contribute to that ... because obviously we can’t run on thin air. If you contribute to Rope 100 per cent goes to help the poor.
So what do you plan to do with your time now that you have retired?
I have a programme speaking in the churches wherever they will receive me. I come with a PowerPoint presentation and explain what our latest activity is and what we are working on. I am hoping to develop some DVD work as well which takes a bit of time. But wherever I get an entry to a church I look forward to just coming and sharing a very cost effective way of helping the poor.
And what about your personal faith, how do you see this growing now you have retired from Rope?
I think as you get older one’s faith gets challenged in various directions. I think it would be idle to say otherwise; because I think it’s been a calling all my life, particularly it gives me tremendous satisfaction when I get a bit of feedback and I feel that people have been blessed. So it helps me.
The Archbishop of Canterbury has warned of a childhood crisis in Britain as he expressed concern over increasing mental illness among children.
In an interview with the BBC, Dr Rowan Williams said that the increasing mental illness was because children today are starved of love and affection by their parents and are growing up in a climate of fear.
The crisis in modern childhood is breeding a new generation of “infant adults” who will be incapable of caring for their own children properly, the archbishop further warned.
“There is a widespread unease about what is happening,” Dr Williams told BBC radio. “We have to go to the roots of the difficulty, and that ... has to do with a shared unwillingness in our culture to let children be children for long enough.”
The Archbishop’s fears came just one week after The Children’s Society launched a national inquiry into the state of childhood in Britain - the first independent inquiry of its kind. The Society will gather evidence from children, parents and experts and will publish its recommendations at the end of 2008.
The launch of the inquiry in September was a prompt response to the joint letter published in The Telegraph in which leading professionals and academics in child-related fields, including director of Kidscape, Michele Elliot, and popular children’s author Anne Fine, warned that modern life is leading to more depression among children.
Dr Williams echoed the concerns of The Telegraph statement which said that children were “over-burdened” by school tests. He said that the drive to improve standards in schools and the testing of pupils from an early age had produced an “anxiety-driven” education system.
“The fear of failure is there,” he said.
Last week’s statement added that children “are pushed by market forces to act and dress like mini-adults and exposed via the electronic media to material which would have been considered unsuitable for children even in the very recent past”.
Bob Reitemeier, Chief Executive for The Children’s Society, said, “Despite our wealth as a nation, the well-being of children in the UK is amongst the lowest in Europe. Too many children in the UK are still experiencing poor childhoods.”
by David Spriggs
No one can miss it - the media are everywhere whether it’s bill boards or TV ads, downloads or website banners, broadsheets or red tops. What the media do affects us deeply, shapes our attitudes, compels our purchases and, moreover has a powerful influence on opinion formers and policy makers who in turn affect us in every aspect of our lives.
So for some time now, Bible Society has been working with
the conviction that one of the ways we must work, if we want to make the voice
of the Bible heard in our culture and society among people in England and Wales, is to communicate with and through the media. Ultimately, if we want the
life-giving nourishment of the Bible to find its way back into our nation’s
soul we need to gain a much more sympathetic hearing with and through those who
control the media. We recognise that this is a huge long-term campaign. But
someone has to start - somewhere.
One of the ways we’ve started is to run city wide campaigns using the broadcast
media. More of that in a moment. First, however, I need to make it clear that
we always do this with and for the churches. We only operate with the
invitation and co-operation of the churches. We recognise that all we can
possibly do is for the Bible to become a blip on ordinary people’s mental radar
for a few weeks. But in that time-window, working with the churches, we hope we
can create an opportunity for them to go on working in a more effective
culture-facing way. We see our campaigning as one way to prepare the culture to
meet the churches - hopefully in a more open and positive way.
Already we have been involved in citywide campaigns in Nottingham and Bristol. Each time, but in a different way, we have related our campaigns to Eastenders -
one of the most popular TV soaps. We used vivid images on large billboards, bus
shelters, inside and outside buses and elsewhere too. We backed this up with
local radio ads and ambient media. How did this Eastenders link work? Well,
whatever you may think of Eastenders, it is dealing with fundamental human
issues, the struggles in relationships, sometimes moral dilemmas - and always
it’s gripping stuff. So first we got people engaged with the images and
questions relating to Eastenders (the “teaser” phase) and then with a second
wave of posters (the “reveal” phase), showed that there was a fascinating link
to the Bible - the Bible was more relevant to life’s challenges than most
people had ever realised. People could also follow this up by exploring
biblical stories through a specially prepared booklet or on line.
While all this was going on there were a whole range of activities and events, some provided by Bible Society and some by the churches. Circus might not be the normal way we think about communicating the Bible, but we’ve done it and done it well. Graffiti is normally frowned upon, but using an advertising lorry and professional artists we have used graffiti to engage people from OAP’s to children, with the Bible. Theatre, vibrant and contemporary musicals, debates in council chamber with high-ranking officials, film, discussions, story-telling, drumming circles and many other approaches have been explored. Altogether this makes a lot of media “noise” and means we get opportunities on TV, radio and in the press to explain more about what and why we are doing this. In the process we make many friends, and professionals who start off suspicious become first fascinated and then good friends.
Afterwards we do research to explore the impact the campaign has made. It is clear that the campaigns have been very memorable and have significantly dented the prejudices that most people have against the Bible.
So now we’re off to Greater Manchester - a much bigger mouthful than even Bristol. To be honest, we’ve been heading for Manchester for a couple of years or more and we have received a very positive welcome and have the support of all kinds of denominations, Christian organisations and groups there. It’s very exciting and May-June 2007 is when Greater Manchester will discover the Bible isn’t to be written off or forgotten - it’s vital for good living in the twenty first century! So what are we doing? Swapping Eastenders for Coronation Street was the obvious move - so, guess what? We’re not doing that!
We are coming up with a brand new approach for the visual media - the bill boards if you like - and we have some intriguing ideas to involve thousands of Christian people with us to maximise the impact of the campaign both on the culture and the churches. But that’s still under wraps for the moment.
If you’re intrigued (or even just interested) and you live within the Greater Manchester area, then you can find out a lot more by coming along to one of our events in November. There are two sets of events, one for church leaders who are key for communicating what it’s all about and giving encouragement to the people in their churches to get involved by praying and planning for a church based event; the other for church activists - people who love to make things happen and have a passion to see both the Bible and the church opened up for ordinary people wherever they are in Greater Manchester.
To find out more about our citywide media campaigns go to www.biblesociety.org.uk/greatermanchester. Through this web site, you can find out what we did in Nottingham and Bristol too!
To find out more about the unexpected campaign and discover how you can join us for breakfast, lunch or an evening event to find out even more and get involved directly in the campaign go to www.biblesociety.org.uk/unexpected.
One day, I hope to tell you how the campaign to Greater Manchester turned out. But through prayer for us or getting along to one of these events, you can be part of that story, with all the churches and Christians of Greater Manchester, helping us to make it happen.
[David Spriggs has been a Local Baptist Minister for 20 years ... Previously headed up the Evangelism Department of the Evangelical Alliance ... Now working for Bible Society in various roles relating to the place of the Bible in the mission of the church in England and Wales, currently Bible and Church Consultant ... Author of several books, and many articles mainly on church leadership and growth, prayer and spirituality, the Bible ... Writes regularly for a number of daily Bible reading notes publishers, including, BRF, CWR, IBRA, SU and Living Light. For more information about the Bible Society please visit: www.biblesociety.org.uk]
by Kevin Donovan
Renowned gospel artists, Rebecca St James and Brian Littrell will kick off on “The Christmas Tour”, a concert billed as “a night of acoustic Christmas” during an eight-city tour set to run from 7th to 17th December.
“I’ve been a born-again Christian since I was eight years old and I’ve known for a very long time that my main objective is to spread God’s Word,” notes Littrell whose introduction as part of the five-member Backstreet Boys re-defined the term “pop music phenomenon” with their 1997 launch. “God has allowed me through the Backstreet Boys to minister in a positive way, encouraging people to stand up for what they believe. I’m looking forward to this tour. I have utmost respect for Rebecca, her ministry and music,” he added.
Littrell’s success with the group, Backstreet Boys, has set the stage for his launch as a solo artist in Christian music and the spring ‘06 debut of his Christian album release, Welcome Home.
St James, who records for EMI/Forefront Records, and Littrell whose Christian music is an alliance project of Reunion Records and mainstream label partner, Jive Records, hold the promise of together delivering a powerful evening filled with the true heart and meaning of Christmas.
The two-hour-plus nightly presentation will present individual sets by each artist with a closing segment that will bring them both together onstage.
A defining voice in Christian music for more than a decade, Australian born Rebecca St James has reached globally with her consistently passionate message for God through music and ministry. Of the tour she noted: “I am very excited about the Christmas tour for quite a few reasons. I love Christmas music - it represents some of the most powerful worship music to God in the world. To go on the road with an artist of the calibre of Brian Littrell and share the belief in that powerful message as we do, is a tremendous thrill. Being acoustic as it is, the concert will hopefully allow Brian and me to engage audiences in a very warm and personal way with the true emphasis on the reason for the season: Jesus.”
The Archbishop of York, second in the Church of England only to the Archbishop of Canterbury, has questioned whether Muslim women in Britain should wear the veil.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, Dr John Sentamu said he did not think the veil conformed to “norms of decency”.
“Muslim scholars would say three things. First, does it conform to norms of decency? Secondly, does it render you more secure? And thirdly, what kind of Islam are you projecting by wearing it? I think in the British context it renders you less secure because you stick out and it brings unwelcome attention. On the first question (of whether the veil conforms to norms of decency) I don’t think it does conform.”
Dr Sentamu also said that he never wore a cross during visits to synagogues or mosques and made an effort to cover his head in temples, “Because I am going into someone else’s home. And I can’t simply say: ‘Take me as I am, whether you like it or not.’
“I think the thing is, in British society you can wear what you want, but you can't expect British society to be reconfigured around you. No minority can expect to impose this on the public or civic life.”
In the interview, Dr Sentamu shared his views on a number of different issues, including the family.
The Archbishop urged Britain to return to family values and warned that materialism was destroying family life in Britain. Parents needed to spend more time with their children, he said, instead of eating in front of a “blaring television”, reports The Guardian.
Dr Sentamu also defended the monarchy, saying: “The Church of England reminds the nation that in this country the Queen is the defender of the faith, the head of the Commonwealth and the head of the state.”
by Kevin Donovan
A Christian drivers’ ministry is gaining momentum in the UK, as numerous drivers continue to be reached with the message of the gospel through the organisation.
Glory Road Ministries is an outreach by Christian drivers to other drivers and their families in the road industry.
Although the ministry uses a range of different ways to support and share the Christian faith with truck drivers in the UK, one of the most effective has proved to be “gift bags”, with some 4,000 given out to date. Aside from goodies such as a tea bag, coffee sachet, sweetener, chewing gum and a chocolate bar, the bag contains a testimony from a Christian driver and a Christian tape, CD or book. The Glory Road drivers find it a useful way to start a conversation with the drivers and introduce them to Christ in a short time.
Other truck drivers’ ministries are involved in the movement of reaching to drivers, such as The Association of Christian Truckers Inc. This ministry has had a vision and focus on impacting the world and “has literally gone right out to the highways and byways to do it,” according to their website.
Other ministries include Man on the Road, Steering Wheel Ministries, and Truckers for Christ.
Christian Unions across Britain are seeking legal advice after four university campus branches were banned from official lists of societies or denied access to university facilities and privileges.
Now Christian Unions at Edinburgh, Heriot-Watt and Birmingham universities are seeking legal advice in the face of accusations that they are excluding non-Christians, promoting homophobia and discriminating against those of transgender sexuality.
The 150-strong Christian Union in Birmingham was suspended this year after refusing to alter its constitution to allow non-Christians to address meetings and to amend its literature to include references to gays, lesbians, bisexuals and those of transgender sexuality.
Edinburgh University has banned an event run by the Christian Union called PURE which promotes a traditional biblical view of personal and sexual relationships.
The university defended the ban, saying that PURE was in breach of its equality and diversity policy because PURE claims that any sexual activity outside heterosexual marriage is not God-ordained. The pressure came principally from the Gay and Lesbian Society at Edinburgh University and follows the university’s decision last year to ban copies of the Bible in its halls of residence after protests from the students’ union.
The Lawyers’ Christian Fellowship criticised the decision to ban PURE, saying, “This incident is an attack on freedom of speech in an institution where an open exchange of views and a search after truth should be strongly upheld. In this instance the Christian Union is being denied freedom of expression because what they say and believe is uncomfortable for some groups in the university.”
Christian Unions elsewhere are also coming under increasing attack. Christian students are threatening to take Exeter University and students’ guild to court over human rights breaches after the university temporarily suspended the Christian Union from the official list of student societies on campus.
The Exeter Christian Union - which has a 50-year history at the university - has also had its Student Union bank account frozen and has been banned from free use of students’ guild premises or advertising within guild facilities. Exeter University’s student guild claims the Christian Union constitution and activities do not conform to its Equal Opportunities Policies, which have only recently been introduced.
Exeter Christian Union told the university that it would take legal action after 14 days if it was not fully re-instated as a student society by the guild with full rights and was allowed to call itself the Christian Union.
Emma Brewster, Christian Union worker at Exeter University said: “This is a fundamental issue of freedom of speech and of common sense. Legal action is the last thing we want to take, and we certainly don’t relish it, but we are fully prepared to stand our ground for truth and freedom.
“We want to be able to study in a university that allows students - of all faiths and of none - to freely express their views from whatever stance they might take, be able to disagree with one another, and yet to co-exist alongside one another. Surely that is a truly democratic society?
“The Christian Union here, as at almost every university in the UK, holds the orthodox Christian views which churches of all denominations have also held for 2,000 years. In 50 years, this is the first complaint about our name and what we stand for.
“The action currently taken by the guild does nothing to enhance the reputation of Exeter University, or its students to prospective employers, nor does it demonstrate that this university seeks to encourage all its students to freely develop their ideas, thoughts, values and beliefs.”
The Lawyers’ Christian Fellowship has provided informal legal advice to the students at Exeter but expects a wave of legal action to follow.
“We haven’t seen examples of this sort of discrimination against any other groups and we are puzzled by why Christian unions seem to be being singled out,” said Andrea Minichiello Williams, public policy officer for the Lawyers’ Christian Fellowship in The Times.
Meanwhile, the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship (UCCF), the umbrella group for the 350 Christian Unions across Britain, said that the Christian Unions faced a struggle “unprecedented” in their 83-year history.
Pod Bhogal, the fellowship’s head of communications, said: “The politically correct agenda is being used to shut people up under the guise of tolerance when, in fact, you tolerate anything other than the thing you disagree with.
The UCCF has asked that as many people as possible write to the Principal of Edinburgh University to express their disapproval at the censorship of the Christian Union at the university.
by Courtney Lee
Moya Brennan, Irish singing legend and the voice of Clannad, recently released her new album Signature. The album reflects snapshots of her life, a journey mixed with bittersweet memories and sometimes dark moments. In this interview with Christian Today, Moya reminisces on her “messed up” past and how she came to find hope once again by devoting her life to God. She also talks about her relationship with her sister Enya - also a former Clannad member and singing legend - and her exciting plans for the future, which include an “Irish Christmas” visit in the States.
How have you been spending your time lately?
I just came back from doing a show in Brazil as the Goodwill Ambassador for the Christian Blind Mission. It’s amazing for me to use my music to fundraise. At the concert, the Prime Minister was there, and there were leaders and other dignitaries ... It’s great for them to be able to realise what’s going on and to pledge towards the foundation that Christian Blind Mission has partnered in.
I’m also involved with Teen Challenge in Ireland. It’s a great way of reaching out and helping young people.
As someone who has dealt with various “issues” yourself, do you feel a connection with the teenagers you work with?
Absolutely. I might have not been as bad as them, but bad was bad enough for me - if you know what I mean. I am glad I was able to get out of it. I didn’t do heavy heavy drugs like heroine or anything like that, but I certainly was in the dark spaces that can be awful. Having gone through certain situations, you can always see two sides to it as well ... it gives you the opportunity to see if either something is difficult or how something can be very relevant to the way people think. When you’ve been there yourself, you can share with them in that sort of way.
How were you able to devote your life to God?
I was brought up as a Catholic and knew about God. But I rebelled against it, didn’t think I needed it. I just went my merry way and got stuck into being busy with my music. I thought that was all I needed. I can look back now and know that when you don’t have God in your life, there’s another thing that’s there that can creep up very quickly. Being afraid - just being afraid of life because you’re alone ... even if you’re with a partner or family member, you feel alone and you have to achieve things by yourself. But when God is in your life, you’re not alone. Of course I didn’t know that and I’ve gone through stages of drinking too much, drugs, having an abortion ... I think when I had a miscarriage ... it was a stage I realised I’d made a mess in my marriage. It was literally a mess. I suppose when I had the miscarriage, it kind of shot me up a lot and I was able to look at myself. My music was going well, I was on the stage, I was doing movies, I was meeting people ... but my life was empty and I didn’t have any kind of meaning. And there’s nothing worse than having a hangover and feeling empty!
The great thing about my parents bringing me up in church, is that when you know about God, at least you can turn to Him. I just asked God to help me and guide me to be a better person and to find peace in my heart, not to be afraid. Just general things that I didn’t feel like I deserved.
And things got better?
Yes. Gradually that year, in 1987 - it was very gradual - prayers were answered, little things happened ... even getting out of bed and feeling happier ... just all these little things. It took me ages to realise that I was finding the Lord. I didn’t know what to say when people asked me if I were a Christian. You know how you hear great testimonies of people giving their lives to the Lord, and they burst into tears? I was very conscious that that didn’t happen to me. It took me a long time to say that I was a Christian and to say that it was a gradual thing. It happens that way to 80 per cent of the people anyway. It needs to be talked about because people were in the same boat as I was. Thinking, “Am I there yet?” It’s really important to share that. It didn’t dawn on me for ages. But the summer of ‘87, I was feeling much better. I’d made a mess of my marriage, that I felt I probably didn’t even deserve another chance. But I was even happy about that. I just said, “Lord I want to be a better person.” But by the end of the summer - the Lord has a great sense of humour - I met Tim.
Tell me about your new album, “Signature”.
For the first time - the album is about me - although I did write a couple of songs about me before, in a song called Perfect Time. God’s perfect time.
Signature isn’t autobiographical, but it’s more like snapshots of my life. I wrote a book a couple of years ago (The Other Side of the Rainbow) - it’s kind of delving into certain chapters and choosing different moments and writing a song around it that touches me. I would like to think that that would be a healer and a hope to the people who listen to it. I kind of write in an abstract way, and it’s the way traditional songs were written years ago. Abstract in a way that I’d like to think, if somebody listens to it, they might find something of themselves in it as well. Even though there are darker moments in the album, I’d like it to render towards giving hope, looking back but knowing the positivity that follows.
Do you have a favourite song yet?
No ... There are just so many different moments that mean so much to me! But there is a song I really like called “Tapestry”. It really relates to the tapestry of our lives. It’s dedicated to my grandparents. There was a poem that they used to recite, called “The Weaver” - just the weaving of our lives and how intriguing it can be. There is a lovely story I heard about a little boy, looking at his mum doing tapestry. The other side of the tapestry was a mess because of the stitching. He’s looking at it wondering what she is doing. When she finishes, she lifts it up and shows the beauty of the other side. If you think about our lives and God, and the beauty of it all, it’s the same. I just love that story. It’s like God will make everything beautiful no matter how mad and crazy life can be. I love that image.
And you’ll be introducing “An Irish Christmas” this year in America?
Yes. An Irish Christmas was released last year. It’s an interpretation of my kind of sound of traditional songs. “Joy to the world”, “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” ... A lot of people enjoyed it because it does sound very different. It’s being released in America this year, which I’m really thrilled about. I’ll be going over doing some shows there at the end of November. I also have a Dutch tour in October and a couple of other projects planned for this year.
What is your relationship like with your sister Enya?
Absolutely great. We don’t talk about it much, so people just kind of speculate, but we agreed from long time ago not to bother. When things are said about us, we don’t bother answering. We sing together at home. We get up with our father and do things. She has adopted a kind of a way in her life that she delivers her music. A lot of people don’t think she has a family even, because she doesn’t bring family into her interviews. She’s built borders around herself and her music - and we respect that. That’s the way she’s given her image, and that’s fine. We just respect that, and we’re just different in doing that.
by Kevin Donovan
Street Pastors have been recruited to offer advice to young people in Weston-super-Mare’s pubs, clubs and on the resort’s streets.
The pastors form part of a nationwide inter-denominational church response to problems such as binge-drinking and anti-social behaviour.
Teams of four volunteers will work one night a month as Street Pastors and will be commissioned by the Bishop of Bath and Wells, the Rt Rev Peter Price, on Saturday 28th October.
Weston-super-Mare police sector deputy, Sergeant Dave Holtby, said: “Each project is run by a local co-ordinator with support from local churches in partnership with ourselves, the local authority and other statutory agencies. A street pastor is normally a church leader, minister or member of a church with a concern for their society - in particular young people who feel they are being excluded and marginalised but not exclusively so. They are willing to engage with people - whether it is on the streets, in the pubs and clubs, or at parties.
“To be a Street Pastor you need to be over 18 (there is no upper age limit), a church member and able to commit to a 12-session training course. This includes subjects such as counselling skills, drugs awareness, sociology, knowing your community, role and responsibility and street safety," explained Holtby.
Street Pastors are known to share their faith if asked, but are primarily there to listen, care and respond with help where appropriate.
A positive response to schemes already up and running in London, Manchester and Birmingham has been reported, including reduced crime when the Street Pastors are on duty.
Christian leaders are hoping to revive and transform the city of London into God’s city at a massive prayer event planned for next May.
The plans for the Global Day of Prayer 2007 follow the success of a previous prayer initiative earlier in the summer which saw 1,000 Christians gather at Westminster Chapel to celebrate Pentecost as part of their response to the Global Day of Prayer 2006.
Only this time, the vision is bigger as the leaders agreed at the start of September on the massive goal of filling up the entire West Ham Football Stadium with 35,000 prayer enthusiasts - a leap ahead of the original goal to fill up one stand of the East London stadium.
A special day of planning drew leaders from across the denominational spectrum to West Ham Football Stadium, a display of ecumenical spirit that encouraged many of the participants which included representatives of Premier Radio, the African Caribbean Evangelical Alliance (ACEA), Faithworks, Glory House, and Youth With a Mission, to name a few.
Pastor Jonathan Oloyede of Glory House, and one of the driving motors behind the 2007 initiative, said it was a “very prophetic step” to see the churches and organisations of different denominations and various ethnicities all coming together.
“Through united prayer, churches can begin to discover each other through the different areas, different regions,” he said. “The black Pentecostal churches can begin to unite with the white evangelical churches, with the Catholic churches, the Anglican churches.
“When we begin to have the churches unite at the local level, the micro level, then we can begin to see the church as a medium for change. What has happened up till now is that the churches have been working in isolation. The churches need to begin to work together in unity.”
The gathered leaders, which also included significantly John Armitage, the Roman Catholic Vicar General of Brentwood Diocese, were extremely encouraged by the close cross-denominational dialogue that took place at the meeting as the leaders planned out a strategy to see their vision become a reality.
Pastor Oloyede will take the lead in coordinating the event alongside the Bishop of Barking, the Rt Rev David Hawkins and the Rev Peter Watherston.
The Bishop of Barking, David Hawkins, has agreed to chair and lead a Steering Group of London Church Leaders to plan the event at West Ham Football Stadium on Pentecost Sunday 27th May 2007 as a backdrop towards the coming 2012 Olympics, the majority of which will be held close by in East London.
He said of yesterday’s meeting: “It is encouraging there is this degree of church leaders really committed to this vision.”
He added: “Each and every one of us must be ambassadors to get out into our denominations, into our networks, into our churches, to spread the vision of this great event.”
Katei Kirby of the ACEA said at the meeting: “One of the passions I have, and I know it is shared by Pastor Jonathan Oloyede and others who are here working with him, is this passion for unity and to really see Christians doing what Jesus prayed for in John 17, which is our being one; that doesn’t mean the same - and I think it’s important to make that distinction - but rather to demonstrate our oneness in Christ.”
A 24/7 Prayer mobilisation will take place from 1st January as part of a massive cross-denominational effort to fill up the whole stadium with Christians passionate for prayer and the Kingdom of God.
by Rev Malcolm Duncan
I want to challenge the view that the term “harmonious evangelicalism” is an oxymoron - although I do admit that there’s an element of orchestral discord in the music of evangelicalism. When it comes to mission, in my analogy, the true Church of Jesus Christ is the orchestra, evangelicalism one section of that, our society is the audience, and God is behind and in it all.
Our job as an orchestra is to play the piece together and in time ... to follow the lead of God’s Spirit, focus on the subject, which is Jesus, and faithfully play the music as composed by the Father. When we do that, the sound is not harsh, bitter or resentful.
Instead it is a music that shows the audience that the message of the Christian gospel is beautiful, challenging and life-transforming. We don’t play a piece we have written ourselves - we play the music of the Master. We don’t overshadow the subject - that is always the Son. We don’t caricature the conductor - we allow the Holy Spirit to do the work of “a person without a face”, leading us in such a way as to illuminate the stage upon which Jesus stands in all His wonderful glory. Such an orchestra would be beautiful.
Too often, however, evangelicals become entrenched in arguments amongst themselves over what they believe or don’t believe. Sometimes we think we’re not just a section of the orchestra, but the entire thing! If not that, then at the very least, we are the most important part of the orchestra, we tell ourselves. Worse still, we end up playing our own tune no matter what the conductor wants, what the score says or what the other musicians are doing. Whilst such attempts at “originality” might be really interesting to the musical techies in our midst, our actions can put the audience of our society right off. We continue with what we are playing, though, determined to finish the piece. Meanwhile the auditorium is emptying of the people we are actually trying to touch. Our conductor is knocked off the podium, and not surprisingly, we go off message.
Now picture an evangelical community with mission on its heart. A Church that allows its structures and traditions to be shaped by its mission - its job of glorifying God and sharing His love and truth. A Church that serves and worships God through honouring people and treating them with dignity and respect. A Church that is a reforming influence in the world, on every level, whether as a local fellowship or individuals in different areas of work. An evangelicalism that is bold enough to sound a chord of justice, gracious enough to operate in an atmosphere of mercy and lowly enough to learn from others and serve in humility.
I don’t know about you, but I believe in that kind of music. And I know that millions of others across the United Kingdom do as well. I meet them every week in church buildings up and down the country, in para-church organisations, in conferences, board meetings and communities. People who understand their faith, are seeking to live it out and are making a difference in their world for Jesus. They are playing the right note at the right time, following the right score, with their eyes firmly fixed on the right conductor. It isn’t easy for them, but they are making wonderful music. And the audience is listening - intently.
I’ve played in orchestras. I’ve practised so long my lips were sore and my head was throbbing. When I lost sight of the beauty of the music, because I’d been playing so long and trying so hard, my role in the orchestra became a chore. At those moments, the conductor would stop us to remind us of the wonder of the music and inspire us with a story of the composer or the journey of the piece we were playing. He would allow us to remember that each section sounds weaker on its own. Then slowly the brass, wind, strings and percussion sections would get more and more of it right until the whole symphony sounded amazing.
Now there has never been a perfect performance of a symphony by any orchestra anywhere in the world at any time. The experts will always hear something that isn’t quite right. Conductors will see areas of potential improvement and composers hear pieces that are wrong. But there has been a lot of amazing music!
The Church may not be perfect. We may not get it right. We might disagree, argue and dispute amongst ourselves. But we must remember that we are the only orchestra God has chosen - and there are millions of people who need to hear the symphony of His love.
So whatever the challenges we face, let’s play our part and allow the music of God’s heart to ring out.
[Rev Malcolm Duncan is the leader of the Faithworks movement, and previously worked as Head of Mission at the Evangelical Alliance UK].
* * * * * *
Are you looking for a holiday next year? Look at what Torch has to offer!
July 14-21 - Keswick Houseparty - Enjoy the teaching at the famous Convention and outings to the English Lakes. Cost: to be determined.
September 2-11 - French Houseparty at the Spring Harvest holiday park on the west coast of France. Sun, fun, French food, excursions, relaxed Spring Harvest style fellowship. Cost: to be determined.
September 15-26 - “Come with me to the Promised Land” - A holiday giving excitement and the emotion of a tour to the Holy Land that has been especially arranged for you. Cost: to be determined.
Relaxing, fun, refreshing, friendly, active - whatever suits you. All based in the picturesque village of Hurstpierpoint, easily reached by road, rail or air to Gatwick.
April 5-10 - Easter Houseparty - Come and join us to remember the death and resurrection of Jesus. Speaker: Rev Simon Allaby. Cost: £220
April 23-27 - Fun, Art & Craft - Have some fun creating your own masterpieces - with Olive Gatward, Marilyn Baker & Tracy Williamson. Cost: £170
May 14-18 - Gardening Week. Enjoy getting your hands dirty. Led by Peter & Kate Mancey. Cost: £170
May 21-25 - Book Week - Lydia and her team will inspire you, challenge you, inform you about books. With Torch Librarians. Cost: £170
June 2-9 - Surprises in Spring Week. New friends, new places and new beginnings. Speaker: Rev Ron Wells. Cost: £285
June 11-15 - International Cuisine Week - Each day a different country, different food and time to hear of your travelling adventures. Cost: £170
June 20-27 - Activity Houseparty - All Action Week. With Rev Simon Allaby. Cost: £345
June 30 June-July 7 - Summer Sunshine - Testimony to Life. Led by Peter & Kate Mancey. Cost: £285
July 11-18 - Summer Sunshine - Walk by Faith. Speaker: to be confirmed. Cost: £285
July 21-28 - Summer Sunshine - God in Today’s World. Speaker: to be confirmed. Cost: £285
August 4-11 - Family Houseparty - Ordinary People - Extraordinary God. With Peter & Kate Mancey. Cost: £285
August 25-September 1 - Bank Holiday Week - God never takes holidays. Speaker: to be confirmed. Cost: £285
September 5-12 - Autumn Houseparty - Christianity explained. Led by Peter & Kate Mancey. Cost: £285
September 15-22 - Activity Houseparty - Adventurers Week. Speaker: Kevin Vickers. Cost: £345
October 8-12 - Lighten the Dark Evenings. Led by Peter & Kate Mancey. Cost: £170
October 15-19 - Computers 4 U. Led by Mike Townsend. Cost £195
October 25-30 - Thanksgiving Weekend - including Torch Thanksgiving Day at Tonbridge. Cost: £170
December 22-27 - Christmas Houseparty. Celebration of the birth of Jesus. Cost: £295
Note: Single occupancy supplement of £10 per night - not available at Christmas & Easter.
Contact: Torch Holiday and Retreat Centre, 4 Hassocks Road, Hurstpierpoint, West Sussex BN6 9QN. Telephone: 01273 832282. Email: torchhrc@torchtrust.org
[Note: The Torch Daily Prayer Guide and additional copies of the Torch holiday leaflet are available in all media from Torch House.]