Telling our Stories

 

I frequently feel confused by the big issues of the day, especially as presented in one sentence headlines; I’m talking about issues such as: immigration, asylum seekers, gender fluidity, climate change, strikes and anything to do with money!

So, over the last couple of weeks I’ve been very grateful to come across stories, real stories, that have helped.

The first was told to me by a retired ministerial colleague.  The church where he and his wife have now become members is providing a weekly café for immigrants currently housed at the local Travelodge.  150 are there at the moment and some have been resident at the lodge for over a year now, waiting for their applications to be processed.  My friend meets with a number of these people at the church café every week.  They read newspapers, play board games and most importantly of all, get to know each other over a cup of coffee.  He’s met folk from all parts of the world who have left their own country because of invasion and civil wars, people who are engineers and technicians, who are just longing to settle here and offer something to their new society.

My friend is aware that due process is necessary in all of this and that some cases may not eventually be approved for a variety of reasons.  Yet, because he has got alongside so many of the folk from the lodge and knows something of their background and personality, his understanding of the situation has changed and deepened.  He is thrilled that his new church community is offering such a positive welcome.

The other moment for me came as I was preparing a short talk for LunchBreak on the 75^th anniversary of the arrival of Empire Windrush.  There has been much talk of the Windrush Generation yet I was particularly struck, in my brief research, by the story of Mr Sam King MBE.  He came over on Windrush in 1948 and upon landing at Tilbury re-joined the RAF, with which he’d served during the War.  After a spell there he settled in south London and became a postman for 34 years.  During this time, he had a family and served his local church as a lay preacher.  Mr King became the first black mayor of Southwark and in 2008 was awarded the MBE.  He established the Windrush Project which seeks to explore ways forward for better multi-cultural integration.  When he died, aged 90, in 2016 his funeral was held in Southwark Cathedral attended by 300.

By focusing on one life, rather than talking about Windrush merely in statistics, I sensed I was beginning to understand and appreciate something deeper.

And maybe that’s always the case.  We need to go further than mere headlines and hear peoples’ stories.

As we enter Holy Week, we do that.  We hear once again the story of one man, The Lord Jesus Christ, and in that story, we encounter the deepest wisdom and the most important truths.