Dear friends

This week we have some good news from the campaign in the UK, but also some very disturbing news about a new military offensive the regime has launched against civilians – which so far the international community has ignored. Please do take the time to read this email and lend your support.

Thank you.

CHARM TONG VISITS UK
This week has been a significant one for the campaign for democracy in Burma. Democracy activist Charm Tong, of the Shan Women’s Action Network, has been visiting the UK, and has met with very senior British politicians, including foreign secretary Jack Straw MP, David Cameron MP, leader of the Conservative Party, William Hague, Conservative Party shadow foreign secretary, and Michael Moore, Liberal Democrat shadow foreign secretary. Charm Tong also gave evidence to the new Conservative Party Human Rights Commission and to the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Democracy in Burma.

You can hear Charm Tong being interviewed on Radio 4 Women’s Hour at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/02/2006_17_fri.shtml
You can read the evidence given to the Conservative Party Human Rights Commission at:
http://www.conservativehumanrights.com/events/index.htm

The visit has been the highest profile visit to the UK by a Burmese democracy activist. The fact that so many senior British politicians wanted to meet with Charm Tong demonstrates that the issue of Burma is moving up the political agenda in the UK. This is in large part due to all your letters, emails and faxes to MPs and the British government. They are working! Thank you.

REGIME SLAUGHTERING CIVILIANS
Also this week the regime has continued with a new military offensive, committing horrific human rights abuses against civilians of the Karen ethnic nationality. More than 11,000 people have been forced from their homes and are now homeless in the jungle with no food or medical supplies.

Regime soldiers are killing with impunity, even shooting children and beheading people. Despite this, on Thursday 27th April, the European Union renewed the EU Common Position on Burma (the joint EU government policy on Burma) without taking any steps to increase pressure on the regime. In effect they are saying that no further pressure needs to be put on the regime, everything is fine. This is disgraceful.

You can read more about the attacks on the website of the Free Burma Rangers – an organisation helping people hiding in the jungle. Please be warned that this link will take you to some disturbing pictures of the attacks, including the bodies of people who have been killed.
http://www.freeburmarangers.org/Reports/20060419.html#2

The EU cannot be allowed to stand by while such atrocities are committed. We need the EU to take a strong stance against the regime. We need more countries in the EU to push for stronger EU action. If you live in Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Slovenia, Greece or Hungary and would be interested in supporting a campaign in your country please send us your name and address. Send to mark.farmaner@burmacampaign.org.uk.

TAKE ACTION AGAINST TOTAL OIL!
Protest against Total Oil – the largest European investor in Burma, Friday 12th May. On this day there will be an international day of action against Total Oil. In the UK there will be a demonstration outside Total Oils HQ, from 12.30-1.30pm. 33 Cavendish Square, London W1G OPW. Nearest tube: Oxford Circus. To find out if there is a protest in your country visit and click on the link for the campaign in your country: http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/links.html.

We had a great day today.

At around mid-day our house was descended upon by friends and their children; we chatted, we laughed, we drank, we ate and we had an excellent time together.

It seems to me that when ever we get together like this we start by thinking how long it has been since we last all got together, then we realise it’s been too long and we really should do it more as we have so much fun. This is what real fellowship is: spending quality time together and having a laugh!

Today was excellent, a really fantastic way to start the week; good fiends, good wine, good food. I really wish we could do this more regularly.

… you know who you are … you made some comments here the other day.
Maybe it would be good if we talked more, and I would count that a privilege.

Please email me (you can find the address in the ‘my profile, section on the right hand side of this website so that we can ‘chat’).

I look forward to hearing from you.

It’s been an exciting few days being out and about.

Highlights:
meeting people in Brighton who have a desire to work together to reach the young people of this city in a new creative way.
A meal with Hugh and his wonderful family
spending an exciting time with the trustees of Solent YFC s they look to the future
laughing with Richard and Debbie!
listening to Archbishop John Sentamu speak on culture: ‘Christ is in all cultures, but at home in none’ is a Sentamu comment to be considered and reflected upon.
Being challenged by my spiritual director
Spending time listening to Pauline share dreams
a lie in on Saturday!

Lowlights
being stuck on the south circular
queuing on the M25 at 10.30 pm! (why are those people on the road!!)
getting in late too many nights in a row
leaving the house too early in the morning!
I’m stopping there before I sound too much Iike a grumpy old man!

Are you living your dream?

You have probably noticed the new picture on the right – someone wrote the words on a wall and someone else caught the pic on cam. They hit me, hence their presence!

Are you living your dream?

If not – why on earth are you wasting your time?

I have an exciting few days ahead so may not get to blog. I’m writing this to remind me where I should be!

Tomorrow I am off to meet up with some people from around Brighton at the Salvation Army HQ in Park Crescent to look at what a Brighton YFC might look like. This could be an exciting time.

After that I intend to take a walk along the pier, do a bit more reflecting before sitting in a bar and doing some reading for an essay on ‘the theology of self’ which seems a little confusing to me at the moment. So, if you are in the area – give me a shout lol!

Later in the day I will be traveling to Portsmouth to meet up with Martin and the exec of Solent YFC to look at possible eciting ways ahead.

Thursday sees me traveling around London to Wandsworth for a mission consultation, Brentford FC for Kick London and then popping in on the Greenwich YFC AGM.

Friday off to London again to hear Archbishop John Sentamu speak on Gospel in Context.

An exciting few days after what seems like an age cooped up in the office!

It’s been a busy, but reflective, day today.
A day with a question and thoughts at the back of my head.
A day when I took time out to see Jean, my spiritual director, and think about stuff.

Last night at SEITE we started a new module, approaches and methods in theology. Our tutor, Lincoln Harvey from Kings, was inspiring but set problems which I guess I have never really thought about before. Part of my reflection was asking why I hadn’t thought in this way before!

Who is God?

On the face of it I have always thought this an easy question with answers like ‘creator’, ‘father’, ‘son’, ‘trinity’. But I think we are trying to go deeper than that in this module. Those words are not really answers, they are mere words to describe an aspect of God’s character. In reality, as mere humans with a defined and constrained language we re never going to be able to answer the question. God is indescribable, unconstrained and very probable not definable. The question is a no-brainer, it’s unanswerable! Or … is it?

The real issue is, what do these words mean when I use them, what about when others use them? What are the implications for my life of who I think God is?

Before I can answer that, I need to have a better answer for who God actually is. Which is why today at the back of my mind I have been reflecting.

So … who is God; what do you think?

comments please, cos they may help in this journey!?

People have been asking for the sources of some of the stuff I find useful.
Some of these are great for resources:

Image bank has a fantastic searchable database of images which is always my first place to go when looking for something. This is one of my favourite image sites of the moment as it is just so easy to find stuff.

Signs of Life can throw up some interesting images as well.

Pip at One Small Barking Dog has a mass of excellent stuff as well. I had the pleasure of working with Pip when I was director of GYFC a few years ago when he filmed an excellent video with the young women from our teenage parents video.

Find Sounds – a good bank of sounds if you need them.

Tribal Generation have some fantastic stuff which I have used many times from their reesources section. They have a great Martin Luther King ‘I have a dream’ resource as well as a powerful prayer describing God from SM Lockridge.

Have fun …

Thenew YFC site was launched today.
Why not check it out.
We are currently recruiting fpr some key roles both nationally and locally, as well as having many exciting Gap Year opportunities with various teams for young people.

If you are in an area where there is no YFC centre, and there is little if any missional outreach to young people, why not get in touchand maybe we could set up a fantastic partnership!

Today I had what can only be described of as a real special privilege to be able to speak/preach at the dedication of Callum Smith.

It was great to see he proud parents, Malcolm and Abby, and join with them in praying for the life of Callum; with 2 such committed parents, we all look on in excitement to see how the journey of Callum and God pan out together.

Today was a special event with many people traveling from various places to stand in support with Malcolm and Abby, there was even a great track from D2 which doesn’t happen at every baby’s dedication.

As someone who has known Mal and Abby for years, first as young people, then friends before becoming GYFC staff workers; it is very exciting to see them now as a family and how god is continuing to bless them in their life.

This morning I spoke on Genesis 22, where Abraham is asked to sacrifice Issac, to gibe Issac back to God! Something in this passage struck me and I wished to pass it on to Mal and Abs.

When looking at this passage I have always been amazed at the dedication shown by Abraham and he looks to be doing the unthinkable. This week when I looked, however, I saw something different. I saw the centrality of verse 8 and noticed, when questioned by Issac about what they were going to sacrifice, that Abraham said ‘Yahweh ra’ah’ which has been translated as ‘God will provide’, or should be better translated as ‘God will see to it’.

Abraham knew God was in control, and he had total trust in his confusion. It does not end there, however. At the end of this story, just before Abraham kills Issac, when the knife is ready to fall; God calls Abraham to stop.

I think here Abraham shows greater faith. These were words he was wanting to hear, he would have wondered if it was his imagination, he must have considered just going ahead with the plan, he must have wondered if he was trying to take the easy way out, did he think ‘God has told me to do this … this new voice or just my hope’ – but he stops, he trusts God again, and looks up. He sees a ram to sacrifice and we know the rest of the story.

Abraham had a choice, he could continue to do it himself, or to trust it to God. He trusted God.

As parents I think Abraham shows us here the hardest of all things to do. Abraham trusts God for Issac. All the time as parents we wish to do things for our children, to make it all better; but the best, and yet the hardest, thing to do is to trust God for and with them. Then, and I would say only then, do they receive the full blessing that God has for them.

Today I have been reminded that ‘my’ children are God’s children and that the best thing at all that I can ever do for them is to trust that God has them in his hands.

Today, in the silence of my heart, I gave my children back to God!