Seeker

#Rough is the #AdventWord2018 for this 11th day of Advent. The word 'rough' reminds me of rough roads like the one in this photo. 'Rough' makes me think of hard times, desperate situations. 'Rough' also makes me think of the Advent theme of preparing a way for Christ. That preparation is about making rough places smooth, challenging injustice and oppression. That preparation work is in itself a rough and difficult task, not at all comfortable and often dangerous as John the Baptist knew to his cost.  So, here for the 12th day of Advent and thinking of that rough and challenging work is an uncomfortable blessing:  May God bless us with a restless discomfort at easy answers, half-truths and superficial relationships, so that we may seek truth boldly and love deep within our heart. May God bless us with holy anger at injustice, oppression and exploitation of people, so that we may tirelessly work for justice, freedom and peace among all people. May God bless ...

William Wilberforce 3 inspirational people of the 18th and 19th centuries are remembered by the Church of England today. These are William Wilberforce, social reformer and Oloudah Equiano and Thomas Clarkson, anti-slavery campaigners. This portrait is of William Wilberforce (1759 - 1833). He was a member of an influential group of evangelical Christians known as the Clapham Sect. William Wilberforce was active in social reform, a concern that arose from his Christian faith. As an MP for Hull and then Yorkshire he campaigned for improved factory conditions in England and for the abolition of the slave trade.  You can read more about him in a  brief biography of William Wilberforce on the BBC History website . Oloudah Equiano Oloudah Equiano (c.1745 - 1797) was a former slave, then seaman and writer. He was an African captured as a child in what is now Nigeria, sold into slavery, shipped to Barbados and later Virginia where he worked at weeding and gathe...

http://www.blogactionday.org/ Blog Action Day this year has the theme of #Raise Your Voice. The idea is for bloggers to celebrate people  "who raise their voice when faced with censorship, threats, and violence." Today I want to celebrate journalists who keep on reporting the facts in areas of the world where that is a really dangerous thing to do. In some places, to be a news reporter is to risk your life or your freedom. Last year 2014 nearly 100 media workers were killed directly because of their work. In 2015 so far 22 have been killed and 160 imprisoned.  These figures are from Reporters Without Borders , a non-profit organization founded in France in 1985 but now international. The quote below, from their website explains why freedom of information is so important: "Freedom of expression and of information will always be the world’s most important freedom. If journalists were not free to report the facts, denounce abuses and alert the public, how...

Last year I took part for the first time in Blog Action Day, posting in 2014 about food inequality . I have registered again this year and will be posting for Blog Action Day 2015 on 16 October.  Blog Action Day started in 2007. The idea behind it is to encourage bloggers around the world to blog on the same day about one significant global topic. It is a simple idea that gives an opportunity to raise awareness of important social justice issues of our day. Each year has a theme. In the past this has included Human Rights, Climate Change, Food and Water.  The theme for Blog Action Day 2015 is #RaiseYourVoice. This is how the theme is explained on the Blog Action Day website: "This Blog Action Day we celebrate those heroes who raise their voice when faced with censorship, threats, and violence. We will raise our voices to defend their right to raise theirs.  On October 16, we invite you to speak out with others around the world, as we support those who c...

My post for Blog Action Day is about food #inequality. I've chosen this aspect of inequality because #Blogaction14 coincides with World Food Day .  Does inequality in access to food matter? Yes it does if you believe that every human life is valuable. Yes it does because freedom from hunger is a basic human right. Survival depends on it. It cannot be right that, while obesity is a growing problem for many and one third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted every year, 1 in 9 of the world's people live with chronic hunger .  One of the Millennium Declaration targets in 2000 was to halve the number of people who suffer hunger by 2015. Some progress has been made but there is still a long way to go. It is the least powerful who suffer disproportionately: 60% of hungry people are women every year 5 million children under 5 die of malnutrition-related causes 4 in 10 children in poor countries have bodies and brains damaged thro...

A 6 year old girl falls from a bannister at home in and dies. That's what happened in 1863 to Evangeline, the only daughter and youngest child of Josephine Butler and her husband George. It seems that her grief about Eva's death provided part of Josephine's motivation to help people whose pain might be greater than hers. As a feminist, Christian and social reformer she became a significant woman in the history of Victorian social justice campaigns, practical social work and feminism. She has been described here like this: "Josephine Butler was one of the most revolutionary social reformers of the nineteenth century. She challenged the inconsistent and hypocritical standards prevalent at that time especially where they unjustly disadvantaged women. She campaigned vigorously against the sexual exploitation of vulnerable women and children and strove for legislative reform to provide some degree of protection, equality and justice. Josephine Butler worked tirele...

News of yesterday's death of an inspiring and great African-American woman Maya Angelou  (1928 - 2014) has caused me to revisit some of her writing. I will not give a potted biography - her official site has one here . If you know nothing about her then I recommend starting with 'I know why the caged bird sings' , an autobiography of her early years, first published in 1969. When I read it in 1970 it had a profound effect on me. I was then a newly qualified social worker struggling for the first time with a case involving child sexual abuse and incest. Her book helped me to see a little of the child's point of view, as well as understanding more about racial and gender discrimination. And yet somehow it is a hopeful book, especially in the light of all she achieved since her first 17 years which that book is about. Here are some of my favourite quotes from Dr Maya Angelou: "Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to ar...

I've ditched a St Nicholas Day post because there's no way I can ignore yesterday's death of Nelson Mandela, one of the people of our time that I find most inspiring. I think the best way to pay tribute to him is to use some of Mandela's words. Here's a few that mean something to me: "No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite." "...to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others." "As long as poverty, injustice and gross inequality persist in our world, none of us can truly rest." "I am not an optimist, but a great believer of hope." And here are a few links I found helpful today: Thabo Makgoba, Anglican Archbishop of C...

Did you know that an estimated 30 - 50% of all the food produced on planet Earth is lost before reaching a human stomach? There are 2 ways to waste food. One is to eat more than needed. The other is not to make good use of what has been grown for food. I often eat more than I need. I'm now starting an effort to put that right. This means food is rather more on my mind than I'd like it to be just now and I certainly didn't intend to blog about it.  Then I heard a statistic that shocked me. It was that 30 - 50% of the world's food produced for human consumption is never eaten. Put that alongside the fact that millions in the world can't get enough to eat and it looks like a crime against humanity. It is sinful and one way or another we are all caught up in the systems that perpetuate this. I don't usually read reports from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers , but this morning I read Dr Tim Fox's report Global Food: Waste Not, Want Not . It...

There's only a few days left before the General Synod of the Church of England takes a significant vote on whether or not to pass the measure that could enable women as well as men to be consecrated as bishops as well as preserving an honoured place for those who cannot accept this. Both our current and future Archbishops of Canterbury are encouraging a yes vote. Every Diocese has representatives on General Synod. If you worship at a Church of England church and want to encourage your representative to vote yes, you can do so very simply and quickly through the Yes 2 Women Bishops website . You don't need even to know their names, just the name of your church and its diocese. On the same topic - the Church Mouse doesn't blog often nowadays and I miss him, but he's put up a new post today Yes to Women Bishops Part 1 . Even if you disagree with him, it's worth reading. Whatever your views pray for members of all houses of General Synod as they consider how to ...

Today is World Food Day . I'm just about to eat my 3rd meal today. I will not be going to bed hungry. It's shocking to realize that in the UK increasing numbers of people need to use charitable food banks like those organized by the Trussell Trust Globally 1 in 7 or 8 of the world's population suffers hunger. Tearfund tells Ruth's story and has an innovative  idea for one way to help farmers like her who are affected by adverse effects of climate change. Take a look at this short video and if you are in the UK get involved in the campaign.

Oxford is where the House of Bishops of the Church of England will meet on Wednesday this week. They will all be men. There are no bishops who are female in the Church of England. It is illegal in England (but not now in Scotland) for a bishop to be a woman. I find this fact more and more shocking every time I think about it. How can this be so in a country where it is generally illegal to discriminate on grounds of gender in relation to job appointments?  The C of E is legally exempt from this in relation to bishops. The reasons behind that are complex, rooted in ecclesiastical culture and traditions that cling to male power in leadership, usually disguised in theological terms. This is odd when all deacons, priests and bishops in the Church of England swear an oath of allegiance to our supreme governor, HM Queen Elizabeth II. Yes, I know she is the temporal and not the spiritual leader of the church - but all the same - it is odd. The Church of England decided about 12 year...

I've been thinking about language that demeans  others - so this cartoon caught my eye. One of the things that bugs me is when people refer to adult women as 'girls'. It is usually men who do this and it can seem patronising and belittling. As I wrote this I remembered that I've just renewed my subscription to the '... Old Girls' Association' without batting an eyelid. Well, it is a school for girls and I was a girl when I was a pupil there - but should I start a campaign for a name change for the association? Any WOGA members reading this? We women can be equally guilty of using belittling terms for men. A recent public example was the UK MP Nadine Dorries who accused the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer as being "posh arrogant boys" .  It's all about the power games people play of course and women are just as capable of putting down men as men can put down women. Her comment was matronizing, snobbish and belittling. Wh...

What's the best thing to do? Should you always buy locally grown and in season fruit and vegetables? My gut feeling tells me that's the right thing to do for the sake of the planet. If I buy green beans in winter for example - which I sometimes do - I feel guilty. Should I? Today the Christian Aid 'Count Your Blessings' calendar tells me "COC Bless in Egypt has trained farmers to grow green beans for export to Europe, earning them five times the local market price." If this means that poor farm ers can make a living wage I can see that's good in the short term, but what about other unintended consequences of this? I've no time to consider that further today. I'd welcome your comments. Christian Aid is suggesting giving 10p for any fruit or vegetable you bought this week that was not grown in Britain. I can't help feeling this is a fine for doing a 'bad' thing i.e. not using local suppliers. Or is it meant to be a gift i...

A member of my family is in South Africa at the moment, so that country is on my mind. The only connection between this photo, my opening statement and what follows is that these rhinos are South African.  I was shocked to read in Christian Aid's 'Count Your Blessings' calendar that "more than a quarter of the working-age population in South Africa are out of work, compared to 8 out of 100  in Britain and Ireland." I thought the level of unemployment, especially among the young in Britain was worrying but to have 25% of the working-age population unemployed is a frightening and unsustainable situation for any country.  Christian Aid suggests giving £1 if you are currently employed. Image:  South Africa. mazzaliarmadi.it wildlife: CC Licence

One of my maternal great grandfathers started work in a woollen mill at the age of 9 years. He was lucky in that he was able to attend school 2 hours a day, which for him proved really important. But he also had to put in a daily10 hour shift in the mill 5 days a week with a slightly shorter shift on Saturdays.  His family were members of a Methodist church. He was an exceptional scholar and the local Methodist minister encouraged him to work hard at his studies. He did so well he was able to leave the mill-work and become a 'pupil teacher' at 13 years old. This role gave him access to further part-time study. At 18 he took the Queen's Scholarship examination. (It was Queen Victoria then.) He passed at 1st Class level which meant he could study full time at Westminster College (a Methodist teacher-training college) in London with all his fees and board paid for. After college he returned to Yorkshire to teach in a local school and within a few years became a headmaster...

What's this selection of grubby coins from my purse got to do with anything? It's less than £1 which these days doesn't seem worth much. Well, for a start, imagine this is all the money you had to live on each day. How would you spend it and how would you survive? This is the last week of Christian Aid's 'Count Your Blessings' calendar for this year. I considered not writing about it this week as it is Holy Week. But having posted on the calendar theme every day since Ash Wednesday I want to complete the task. The #cyblessings posts will be brief, to make time to do a Holy Week post each day. The Christian Aid 'Count Your Blessings' Lent calendar tells me today that "only one in five people in Burundi have more than US$1.25 (80p) to live on a day." It suggests giving 50p if your salary (or pension) is above 80p a day. Mine is, so that's another 50p for Christian Aid. Photo: my own

"The neighbours think you are running a brothel. I would like you to leave within one month."  So began my only personal experience of eviction. It hardly affected me as I was leaving in a week to get married, but my 3 flatmates had to find alternative accommodation. We were astonished at the allegation. We were not prostitutes. We were not running a brothel. We all dressed modestly, were leading what most people would have regarded as 'good' lives and working in responsible professional jobs with no connections to the sex industry. When Mr. T. told us he was worried by what the neighbours were saying we wondered how such a rumour could have started. Here is how we explained it. We were 4 young single women, each with a (not living-in) boyfriend/fiance. This meant there were 4 men visiting very frequently as well as other male friends or relations calling in from time to time. One of my flatmates was engaged to a musician who played in the orchestra of an ope...

A bit late in the day and no time to do much, but I'm determined to stick with a daily post in Lent following the Christian Aid 'Count Your Blessings's calendar. Today the focus is on some of the effects of the conflict in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory which has continued to affect the most basic of Palestinian human rights, such as freedom of movement. I would love to write a lot about this, but time and energy don't permit this - another time perhaps. So maybe this photo of the West Bank barrier wall can speak for itself. I'm off to bed to nurse my cold. Christian Aid suggests giving 20p if you have a passport and 10p for every trip out of Britain you have made in the last 12 months. I have a passport and have made one trip out of Britain in the last 12 months, so that's 30p. Doesn't seem much in gratitude for the freedoms I enjoy. Image: West Bank Barrier: Wikimediacommons

Sierra Leone is one of the most fertile countries in West Africa, but also one of the poorest and hungriest after its brutal civil war that ended 10 years ago. It's motto is 'Unity, Freedom and Justice' - a noble aspiration, but much work still needed for that vision to become a reality for all. This country will be the focus of Christian Aid Week 2012 (13 - 19 May). The Methodist Church of Sierra Leone (MCSL) is one of Christian Aid's partners. Among other work aimed at tackling poverty MCSL has a project in the Bonthe region. This is part of a campaign to reform the chieftancy systems, working with local communities and chiefs to make the system more democratic and ensure marginalised people such as women and young men have a voice and are involved directly in development to improve lives.  Today the Christian Aid 'Count Your Blessings' Lent calendar tells me that: Christian Aid partner MCSL works with Sierra Leonean chieftancy systems to resolve ...