Christ is calling, will you follow?

Where I am now is a long way from the green college fields of Oxford, the quiet city life of Durham or the vast silence of the Yorkshire Moors. Here there is a constant cacophony  of noises embedded in a constant multitudinous assault of changing landscapes.  As I walk down the street there is always some new aspect to a development, a shop changing or new building peeping up over the edge of fence. London is constantly evolving. There are so many elements mixed in a huge pot, that when you step out for a moment you realise just how slow and quiet the world can be.

From the first week we were here, I knew it would be different when on walking to Church we encountered a man wearing nothing more than a towel standing in the street. A far cry from the stray sheep that periodically attempted to attend Church or School in Yorkshire. The quiet middle class suburbs of England this is not. It is a vibrant community, bursting at it's seams to get out and be heard. In a few short months I have learnt about and experienced a whole wealth of new cultures, languages and social situations. However, I have also seen the effects of desperation, witnessed the distressing effects of addiction and encountered those who have no where to turn. It is a community in need of mending, healing and above all charity.  It is a community in need of love.

You and I could and probably would argue over whether the state is responsible for fixing this or not. Their money (whether in large sums or not) and policy is only half the answer though. We need to put love at the centre of these communities, where that love should come from is without refute. Christians are called to love one another, to treat our neighbour as ourselves. We are not a wonder cure either, we can not and we will not fix all the problems on planet earth. It is our calling though, Christ called us to this service.

We have these buildings in our communities, often towering over their streets, looking watchfully on those who pass under them. These buildings should be beacons of hope, sanctuary, friendship and love. All to often they are a beacon of the establishment, a club where we can all meet our friends have coffee and be nice to one another. As a christian community it is important that our mission becomes more than a cosy coffee after Mass. We need to move past our comfort zone and be an example and witness of Christs Sacrificial love in our communities. Not turn away those who are different, not frown upon those who discomfort us or jump to conclusions about those attempting to reach out. A church is for all, we should welcome, feed, aid and comfort all who cross our thresholds. Beyond that we should take that mission out into our damaged and broken communities,  because we are all broken in one way or another. We should not need a government to tax us into helping, we should already be giving and changing all that we can.