Continuing with our guest curators for Refugee Week, today’s post is by Madhi, a Bradford resident and a much valued member of St Cuthbert’s church in Wrose. Thank you to Madhi for sharing his powerful testimony. [w: involves torture]

Good morning! It’s Mahdi with an unbelievable story about my life.

I was only 19 years old and I was planning for my 20th birthday when I was arrested by the police.

I joined the protests in February 2011, Tehran – Iran
Later on, my life has completely changed.

I was sleeping at home, suddenly I heard my mom’s voice, she was screaming.
I got up to see what’s going on? I could only see the plainclothes police raided our house. They came to me, I was still sitting on the bed and shocked. They asked me to repeat my name & date of birth. They pulled a black bag over my head and asked me to follow them. My parents and sisters were still crying.

I was thinking if I could see my family again or not? Was a big question in my mind.
They asked me to get in the car, I couldn’t see anywhere. After two hours driving we approached the destination. I wish we never got there.

I was asked to follow the stairs and go down, I remember there were about 400 stairs. I could feel myself going to hell. They put me in a single cell and they took the bag off. I was alone there for nearly five minutes, I could hear other people are screaming and crying because of their Torture. The cell was so dark and cold. Smelling like a body was left there for a long time.

Someone came to me, perhaps Torturer. He didn’t speak to me but started with beating me. All torturers are agree with an expression which says: If you want your prisoner to answer your questions clearly, beat them first. In short time my nose started bleeding, he asked me to name friends who joined me in the protests and my reasons for joining the protest? If not, we’ll kill you. I stopped answering him but he started beating me again.

I remember first night, I asked for water but they started laughing at me and they told me we send you a glass of Urine. I couldn’t believe where I am. But you know the only things I remember, I asked god to help me, I asked god to see my family again.

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Luke 12: 7 – Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

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My father was trying to release me with bail condition, I found out later. No one could visit me during the time I was imprisoned. As my father used to work for government, he had a friend who was a Judge. He helped my father to release me with bail condition.

Finally, the day I was waiting for. Before they release me, I was asked to sign many papers, and I had to go to the police station for report every day as I am on bail condition. After being released, I found out, I was in Evin prison. One of the worst Prisons in Iran. I lost 13 kg in 16 days. My family was waiting for me outside the prison, and this is the time which I call HAPPINESS.

I lived with my family for two weeks and then I received a hearing date. A judge who was a friend of my father recommended me to leave Iran, otherwise I could be jailed for 15 or more than 15 years.

I was forced to leave my country just because of my views and opinions.

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Psalms 118: 5-6
I called upon the Lord in distress: the Lord answered me, and set me in a large place.
The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?

I wish no one be imprisoned just for their opinions.

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Have a great day.” – Mahdi.

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We thank Mahdi again for sharing his testimony, and his incredible faith.

Welcome to a week of guest curators for Zeph Daily, in honour of Refugee Week!

Today’s Zeph Daily is written by Wellington Moyo. Wellington lives in Bradford and is a refugee. He has worked for many years to improve the lives of refugee communities across Bradford, and is a trustee of Bradford Refugee Forum. Here are his reflections for today…

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Have you ever heard of the statement ‘If this isn’t love then what?’ Here is a story of supernatural love which only comes from a heart that has been sanctified by the Spirit of God, for God is love (John 4:8)

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In a certain church just before the service, the local Pastor stood up to introduce the guest speaker for the upcoming evangelical series. After introduction, the elderly guest Pastor who was seated in the congregation was invited to the pulpit to say a few words to the congregation, and these were his words;

‘Many years ago there was a man who was caught up in a terrible storm with his son and a friend’s son. He and his son were born again Christians, while the son of his friend was not. The storm became more violent and death was lurking. Grabbing the lifeline, the father had to make the most difficult decision of his life, to which boy was he to throw the end of the line to save him’

At this moment there was dead silence in the congregation and everyone was eager to hear how it ended. The old Pastor continued with his story;

‘The father had only seconds to save one of the boys otherwise he would lose them both. He knowing that his son was born again and washed clean by the blood of the Lamb, he thought it better to save his friend’s son whose sins were not yet forgiven. He thought the agony of his son dying in the sea being a child of God was much better than his friend’s son dying without hope. So the father shouted “I LOVE YOU SON” as he threw the line to his friend‘s son. So he sacrificed his son’s life to save the life of a friend’s son’

At the end the local Pastor asked if anyone wanted to say anything about the story, and a zealous young man said this;

‘That was a very touching story, but how would a loving father sacrifice his own son hoping that the son of a friend will one day become a Christian? What if he refused to repent after the man has lost his son?

The old Pastor smiled and quoted this scripture verse;
John 3: 16 – For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

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In deed Jesus Christ sacrificed His life on the Cross to give us a sweet Salvation and let not this love pass you.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJYCZfnbf0w – Pass me not oh gentle Saviour song (my brethren in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe)

It’s Friiiiiiday! John here, sorry to disappoint you with no movies from Universal, like Jaws, Back to the Future, To kill a mockingbird and many more. Nothing to see here…

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When you’re looking for your assembly (or sermon) material, something of the “universal” is useful. Jane Austen knew that. Anything to do with toilets always gets a laugh. It’s an experience we all share. Well, perhaps not “share…”
Tuesday’s boy with the fish butty lunch is another. When I ask if anyone’s mum gives them things for lunch that she knows they don’t like,” I’m looking out at 90% (nearly universal) of the school reacting. (I tell them the solution is to make your own lunch!) Psalmist David’s emotions are all familiar to us even if we’ve not been at the head of an army—or fighting at all. The Bible has so many people, so many moments we can all identify with.
Take a moment to thank God that we can find elements of ourselves in his word.

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But some things aren’t universal and can divide us. We’re told not to judge the people of centuries ago by today’s standards, but the world was split even then. Slavery was not universally accepted, even in Colston’s era. Horace Walpole in 1750 said, “It chills the blood.” Someone writing Colston’s company’s blurb of justification noted, “Many are… against the trade, thinking it barbarous, unhuman (sic) and unlawful to trade in Blacks.” Yup.
Here’s a paradoxical “universal” – some people think differently to us.
Perhaps this is the time to pray for understanding why some people carry anger inside and for God’s peace to rest over this messed up world..

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Understanding doesn’t mean we have to accept or ignore what is patently wrong and what is against what God wants for his people.
It’s not a pass for nastiness, lies or corruption. Bullying isn’t just a difference of opinion.
Pray for discernment to know when and what to say when we see injustice (no justice, no peace) and Holy Spirit courage to do whatever.

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Here’s an excuse for a big cat picture. We all need to love and be loved, it’s how he made us. It’s a universal.
Pray thanks for those who surround us with love, and for God’s love that gives us more than enough for ourselves so we can share it about in this hurting world. And pray for those that need to know God’s love.

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This song was written for one of those holiday clubs that centred on Peter. Jesus needed someone to lean on so he chose Peter, which meant that Peter needed forgiveness. There’s another universal.
Thank God for that forgiveness you have received and pray for those who need someone right now.
https://soundcloud.com/johnfroud/the-rock-song

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And to close, I relent. Looking more appropriate than ever…the original – a Universal (capital”U”):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHV0zs0kVGg

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Go, Friday peeps ! Go in his name to be his people…(possibly have a coffee in his name first)

I miss collective Zeph Team Rants in the office so indulge me! Which UK supermarket annoys you the most???

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Many people are familiar with my answer to this question. I have a legendary Aldi rant about the highly stressful time I got trapped in their vestibule with a basket over-full of shopping, unable either to re-enter the store or leave, while an employee unhelpfully shouted at me that I wasn’t allowed to take my basket with me. (I didn’t want to. I just wanted to exit the store!) Julia particularly loves it and her little eyes light up everytime the subject comes up. Which is often. Not that I bear a grudge, you understand…

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You may not have noticed, but I do have a bit of a tendency to store unfortunate experiences in my internal encyclopedia of Things That Make Me Angry. I think it’s because the storyteller in me is always looking out for potential good rants or funny anecdotes. But it also means I’m not always very good at letting go of my frustrations and moving on.

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Side-step coming up… Last summer, I went to Orkney for the first time and it was wonderful! I have spent many a time during lockdown wishing I was back there, among the history and the scenery and the wildlife and the beautiful, beautiful ocean. I like to collect stories wherever I go, and Orkney was no exception – there are lots of good tales there.

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A rainy weather forecast sent us to Kirkwall one day, where we visited St Magnus Cathedral, a beautiful place – and again, full of hidden stories among the stones…

One of the pillars has this little gold plaque on it. In case you can’t read it, it says:
“Within this pillar lie the remains of Magnus, Erlend’s Son, Earl of Orkney, who on 16th April 1115 was slain on the island of Egilsay. Canonised on 13th Dec 1133. To his memory Rognvald built this Cathedral.”

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“Oo, there’s a story there!” I thought. And so there was!

Magnus shared the Earldom of Orkney with his cousin, Haakon. In 1115, following discord and the threat of violence between their followers, Magnus and Haakon agreed to meet at Egilsay at Easter, to broker peace. Each agreed that they would only bring two ships; but Haakon broke his word and turned up with eight. Magnus claimed sanctuary in the island’s church overnight, but the following day he was captured. An assembly of chieftains, tired of the conflict of joint rule, ordered that one of the Earls must die. When his standard bearer refused to kill Magnus, Haakon made his cook strike him on the head with an axe, and Magnus died. They buried him on Egilsay.

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Thora, Magnus’ mother and Haakon’s aunt, was expecting both Earls to return to Kirkwall to celebrate the brokered peace. She’d prepared a feast to celebrate – but only Haakon returned – and had to explain to her what he’d done. Thora’s heartbreak must have been as immense as it was unexpected. Her peace-loving son was dead; and her nephew had killed him…

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According to the story though, Thora was quite a person. She listened to Haakon, then claimed him as her family – “you must be my kin now.” He had killed her son – and she forgave him, continuing with the feast in his honour. Afterwards, she pleaded with him to let her give Magnus a proper burial, and that’s how his remains ended up in Kirkwall.
Whether she forgave him primarily for his benefit or for her own (so she could reclaim her son’s remains), it is still a huge act.

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It’s a tricky thing, forgiveness. When we get hurt, we can find ourselves wanting to cling on to the anger, to the pain. Letting go of it can feel weak. But there is such power in stories like that of Thora. We all know of other, similar, testimonies – the power of forgiveness and peace…

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Forgiveness is all about restoration. God offers that to us freely and fully. “Forgive us our sins…” Spend a few moments with God, allowing him to give you that restoration, to let go of the things you know you got wrong, the things you didn’t do, the things you should have done better or differently…

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“As we forgive those who sin against us.” There is something incredibly healing about choosing to let go, to give up the things that burden us and weigh us down. Follow Thora’s lead and allow God to lift your burdens of anger and resentment. Allow him to give you THAT restoration too.

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May your days be free of the burden of resentment and anger – and Aldi! – Zephyrs! Amen.

Morning all! Yvonne here today with a little challenge to get you started – can you find the words hidden in the picture?

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This is an impressive response! [Edit – the team found 6 words in our online challenge!] I am pretty much 99% certain that our Isaac would not have done as well as you guys. This is because he is rubbish at spotting stuff; and when I say rubbish, I really mean rubbish. He takes it to a whole new level so that we now have a saying in our family – if ever anyone can’t find anything (especially if it is something that is really obvious where it is) they are accused of ‘looking like an Isaac’!

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I was reminded of Isaac’s less than impressive skills of observation last night, when I was scrolling through my Facebook feed and came across a lovely photo a friend had posted.

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She’d been walking home and had just stumbled across this wild poppy plant just growing out of the cracks next to a wall.

She was so struck by how lovely it was, just there, growing almost like a weed really, not planted deliberately, that she stopped to take a photo of it and then posted it on Facebook. I saw it and my mind went to thinking how there was virtually no chance that Isaac would have noticed that!

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But I wonder how many of us would also have just walked on past and not noticed it?

We can, sometimes, get so wrapped up in our own little world, with looking at our phones instead of where we’re walking, or perhaps with stuff that’s weighing heavy on our minds, that we can miss what’s right in front of us.

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Or maybe we look too much for the spectacular and miss the ordinary…which can be spectacular

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And this thought has led me to one of Zeph’s favourite people – Stewart Henderson – and a poem about something very ordinary but really quite spectacular…..

What is the point of a goldfish?
What is it exactly they do?
They’re not very fast
And don’t often last
you can’t even put them in stew.

What is the use of a goldfish?
Their open mouths make them look dim.
It’s a tedious fact
that their sole daily act
consists of a half-hearted swim.

What is the crux of a goldfish?
Would they like to discover new seas?
Or get up at dawn
and race round the lawn
and feel what it’s like to have knees?

Would they like to shout ‘boo’ at the postman?
And bark at the starlings outside?
Or swallow the cat
thus becoming quite fat
and know what it’s like to be wide?

What is the mark of a goldfish?
It’s not like they do as they’re told.
It lacks any goal
but this fortunate soul
just woke up one day and was gold.

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So, I started today with a challenge and I’m going to finish with a challenge – as you go through your day, try and notice some of God’s spectacular in the ordinary.

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Happy ordinary spectacular hunting!

Hello, Julia here today.
Don’t know about anyone else, but I sometimes feel like I’m not sure what I’m doing…

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It can be hard to know how to help.

Maybe that’s why I relate to this picture so well. That cat is clearly an expert and doesn’t need any help from that human! It’s kind of that man to get involved anyway. At least he’s willing.

Today I wanted to look at one of the classic stories you tend to hear about Jesus – the feeding of the 5000. Have a look in John 6.1-14.

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We see the generosity of Jesus is this story, when he chooses to take care of the crowd of 5000 or so people rather than send them away to find their own tea. Thank God for the times he has gone above and beyond for you.

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The disciples wonder where they are going to get this food, and Andrew finds a boy who has a packed lunch. Andrew brings him to Jesus.

This is not the first time Andrew has brought someone to speak with Jesus – when he first met Jesus, the first thing he did was go get his brother Simon, soon to be called Peter, to come and meet him as well. It was quite the significant moment in Peter’s life. Andrew was right when he thought Peter should meet Jesus, and we see in this story that he was right that Jesus would want to hear from this boy who had offered to help. Thank God for the people who have been there for you and helped to lead you to knowing God.

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Now we move on to the boy and his packed lunch. Question: Why did he want to give it to Jesus and the disciples to try feed the crowd?

Our John has a theory for this I believe. Perhaps the boy’s suspicious eagerness to get rid of it came from something along the lines of “that’s the third time this week Mum’s given me fish sandwiches…”

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The thing is, when the boy gave his packed lunch, there was no way he expected it to feed the entire crowd. When he gave it to Jesus and the disciples, he wasn’t expecting to solve the whole problem. But he chose to help anyway.

And actually, when he gave it to Jesus, it made a lot more difference and went a whole lot further than he could have known.

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See if you can think of any times in your life when someone has done something to help you – even something quite small – and it has made a big difference.

I remember a time when I was a teenager and was worried about something. My friend asked me how I was doing, and gave me a chocolate button to cheer me up. (Chocolate is always the answer.) A chocolate button is fairly small, but it meant a lot to me that day.

There was another time when I was walking to school on my own when I was about 11 one winter, and I saw some children from my year on the way, having a snowball fight. It looked really fun, but I was too shy to join in. That was until one of them turned round and threw a snowball at me! It is a strange way to show kindness, but I took it! A snowball fight might not seem like a huge deal in the great scheme of things, but it still meant a lot to me.

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Sometimes the world can feel overwhelming. There are some huge problems, and it’s easy to feel like there is nothing you can do to help, and that you can’t solve anything. But I think this story shows that it’s OK if you feel like your efforts are inadequate – doing what you can is enough. Even if something seems insignificant, it could mean the world to someone else. The important thing is that whenever there is an opportunity to help, we help.

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And what’s more, it isn’t all down to us anyway. The boy gave his packed lunch to Jesus, and Jesus prayed and shared out a feast.

If Jesus was so powerful, could he have solved the problem on his own anyway? Did he really need the disciples and the boy? Maybe it’s because of God’s love for us, that he wants to do good things that include our input. God works with us because what we do matters, and it is important to him.

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Let’s pray that God will help us see the ways we can help others today, in the big moments and the smaller moments. Thank God that he can do so much good with the smallest, most insignificant seeming things.

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Even if you can’t solve someone’s problem, being there and doing what you can is important and valuable.

Listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwZNL7QVJjE

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Have a good day!

 

Good morning. It’s Jenny picking up the reins of Zeph@10am today.

In the past I have been described as being like a swan – apparently calm and serene on the surface, while paddling like mad to keep going underneath. However, it’s probably fair to say that my colleagues don’t see me like that…… They know me well enough to only see the panicked paddling.

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Can you think of a time when people’s perception of a situation and how you were coping with it was somewhat at odds with your own experience?

My wedding was a bit like that. Whenever I was asked how everything was going in terms of preparation, I’d say, “Oh fine.”…….. Except there was still an unfinished bridesmaid dress two days before the wedding. All my lists and bride-zilla worries over perfection masked the fact that I wasn’t actually getting things done. (Note to future brides: don’t try to work two part-time jobs, and complete a PhD whilst preparing for a wedding).

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I’m returning to David and his Psalms today. I’m looking at Psalm 60. You might want to have a read now. Spoiler alert for Yvonne….. we’ve reverted to ‘not cheery’.

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I took a break from psalms last week, to look at Pentecost. In part that was because I didn’t really know what to say about this Psalm. I’m reading the Psalms of David in a chronological Bible, so his psalms are set within the appropriate texts from 1 & 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles. This Psalm follows immediately after the account of the relevant battles in 2 Samuel 8: 1-18 and 1 Chronicles 18: 1-17.

Those two passages paint a very different picture to the one that David paints within Psalm 60. Two records of a successful military campaign, cataloguing the gains in terms of equipment, and prisoners, and numbers killed, and the longer term benefits of tributes from conquered people and political alliances. No mention of any difficulty in defeating the enemy. No sign that these were difficult battles for David to win. Set against these, the tone of the Psalm was quite jarring and out of place.

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Psalm 60 paints a very different picture. The first part of the Psalm makes it clear that the battles were perhaps not so easy. In fact they may have initially been facing defeat:
You have rejected us, O God, and broken our defenses.
You have been angry with us; now restore us to your favour.
You have shaken our land and split it open.
Seal the cracks, for the land trembles.
You have been very hard on us,
making us drink wine that sent us reeling.

Sometimes, even when we know that we’re in the right place with God – and at this point David was – life still isn’t easy. There are still difficulties to be faced. Perhaps share with God some of things that you are finding particular hard or are worrying you now.

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The Samuel/Chronicle accounts present David as the swan – gliding into battle, taking everything in his stride, serenely in control of everything. In contrast, Psalm 60 shows us what was going on in his head. We see the frantic paddling under the surface. As we thought about just now, there are times when public perception of us is at odds with what’s going on in our heads and our experience. There are times when we appear to be coping, but underneath we are finding it overwhelming. David was able to express his thoughts in his Psalm. Let’s ask God to help us to share when we aren’t coping.

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No matter what struggles David has in defeating his enemies, and no matter how lacking in cheerfulness this psalm is, David does know where to turn for help. The last two verses say,
Oh, please help us against our enemies,
for all human help is useless.
With God’s help we will do mighty things,
for he will trample down our foes.

I don’t think I agree with him that all human help is useless….. Without human help, my friend wouldn’t have had a bridesmaid dress to wear at my wedding. (Thanks Mum). Without human help, lots of people would currently be struggling to get food because they are isolating. In fact human help is extremely useful…… but how much of that is God-inspired (knowingly or unknowingly)?

Thank God for the people around you who you can rely on when the frantic paddling becomes a bit too overwhelming. Give thanks for the people helping out in big and small ways now.

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‘With God’s help we will do mighty things’. Personally, I’m not planning on defeating an army this week, and it certainly isn’t my ambition to kill 22,000 enemies…. I don’t think I have that many! In fact my ambitions for this week aren’t even very mighty. I want to be there for my friends who have just lost a close friend (non-Covid related); I want to continue to make face-coverings for people who need them; I want to continue to provide a ‘safe-space’ for my son during what is a very weird time for our children; I want to make sure Brian along the road doesn’t miss out on fish and chips just because he needs to stay at home to keep safe. These are very small ambitions for this week. But, if it’s true we can do ‘mighty things’ with God’s help, then we can certainly do ‘very small things’ with God’s help.

Tell God your ambitions for this week, and ask for His help.

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Sometimes, when our experience of a situation is at odds with what the world sees, it can be lonely – feeling like we’re struggling alone. Let this song remind you that you aren’t ever alone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbbCGqK6uNc

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Whatever ambitions you have this week – whether they are ‘mighty things’ or ‘very small things’, I pray that God will be your help and that you will know His presence with you.

Good morning! It’s John with a picture of Mr Cheerful to set the mood this morning!

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When I was younger, and teaching at Wycliffe, I used to coach football teams. Today’s thoughts start with football. Bear with me…
I still watch the beautiful game critically; more perhaps, as an analyst than a supporter. And I still, in my head, and sometimes out loud, pointlessly from my armchair or even my seat so far from the pitch at Valley Parade—call out instructions.:
“Look for the pass!”
“Move the ball on”
And with increasing desperation (and at a higher pitch) “Will you get in a position to receive the ball?”

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The Blessed Bob Paisley (Liverpool) used to say that the player with the ball must always have a choice of where to pass it and that, obv., requires his/her teammates to “get in a position to receive the ball.” This means losing your opponent and moving, possibly running, into a “space” where said round object can be passed to you. By definition if the passer has a choice, one of you will be disappointed as you were not the chosen one. If, however you didn’t get there, you definitely won’t have the ball at your feet and won’t be able to exercise your gifts with it. And you’ve not helped your team. In football parlance, “Hiding.” We may even place a limit on the number of times we will go into the place where we can receive because we have been disappointed in the past, feeling overlooked and unappreciated or we may have a totally understandable reluctance to put ourselves in the way of pain.

Lord, help us see your possibilities and make ourselves available…

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Let me tell you, Hettie the cat, while not a great footballer, is the living exemplar of “get into position.” The presence of a human in the kitchen, meal time or not, brings her determinedly from wherever she was (probably) sleeping to take up position by the fridge. Somebody might…something might just fall out of the fridge when the door is opened. It is with unquenchable optimism that she lives her life. Even though often she is disappointed, she goes again and again ever hopeful in spite of experience.

Lord, help us see where (and when) we need to be to receive your blessing…

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This lockdown, eased or not, makes it physically difficult for us to be there, in places where we can receive God’s grace, and we may not be able to visit our favourite “thin places” but it has never really been about the physical. Elijah had to get himself out of the cave to hear God’s re-commissioning, but that’s as much about the courage required as the steps he had to take. God’s presence is not dependent on where we are, but we need our heads to be in “a position to receive”

Lord, help us find the courage to be there…
https://soundcloud.com/johnfroud/get-yourself-close-to-me

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The leper who got himself into town where Jesus could heal him, the woman who felt she just had to touch his clothes both managed to move themselves; the men by the pool and through the roof had to be brought by someone else who recognised their need. You will have your own scripture points of reference…

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We may often wonder why we went there, whether we made the right choice. If indeed, it was our choice (cf Jonah). Our timing may be out (usually too soon) but we need to be there. For ourselves, for others. Wherever there is.

This song has been in my head for days, waiting for the opportunity…
https://soundcloud.com/johnfroud/be-there

Lord help us see where we can assist others to be in a place where they can receive your blessing, your healing grace…

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Go into God’s world. Bless and be blessed. Sunday’s coming…

Morning Zephyrs! Thursday means it’s Julie again. What was your favourite childhood book? This was mine – I used to make my mum read it to me over and over and over…

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I loved Heidi. I went through a phase of wearing my hair in two pigtails when I was about six, and I think it was because I wanted to look like the illustration of her. I loved her because she resonated with me. She was just a little girl, with a fairly small number of loved ones, but she made the world a better place for everyone she met. I both identified with and was inspired by her.

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Representation is important. I loved Heidi because she was like me. From being very small, I wanted to be a writer – and my bookshelves were full of books written by women. Enid Blyton, Michelle Magorian, Jill Murphy – and as I grew older, Jane Austen, the Brontes, and Margaret Atwood. If you can see it, it makes it more possible to become it.

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On Tuesday, Zephaniah joined the quieting of social media to stand with those mourning the killing of George Floyd, to listen, and to call for an end to racism. Like many of us, I’ve been seeking out black voices outside my usual echo chamber in a small effort to address my own ignorance, and it is enlightening. There is still such a long way to go…

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Also on Tuesday, I looked up the new history assignment that’s been set by one of my daughter’s schools as remote learning. She has to choose a 20th-century mover and shaker and prepare a project on them, making a case for why she thinks they qualify. There were lesson plans attached covering six suggested names. Of the six, only one was a woman. Two of the six were BAME. There were three white men. We all know the history/’his-story’ play on words. There is still such a long way to go…

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It can be hard to know how we can each, individually, even begin to address the massive inequalities we see around us. I know that, in the general scheme of things, I am fortunate to sit quite comfortably within the hierarchy. I do not face discrimination because of the colour of my skin. I am educated. I don’t live in poverty. No one judges my sexuality. What can I do from this position of relative privilege?

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Well, to coin a phrase, what would Jesus do? What did this brown-skinned, itinerant, incarnation of God on earth do?

He noticed the experiences of those who were not privileged, who were not equal, who were powerless, who went unseen and unvalued.

The widow who put her silver coins into the temple money box. The woman who was to be stoned to death for adultery. The lepers, shunned by society. The children turned away by his disciples. The thief hanging beside him on the cross.

And in standing with them, he amplified their voices and their value, sending a clear message to them and all around him: “These people you don’t value? I see them. They matter. I raise them up. I value them. I love them. I stand with them. They are worthy.”

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Maybe for each of us, in our own small ways, that is our task. To see those who are oppressed. To make space to listen to their stories. To stand with them and amplify their voices.

In that spirit, listen to this self-penned lament by 12-year-old gospel singer Keedron Bryant, written in the wake of George Floyd’s death…
https://www.cbsnews.com/…/12-year-old-gospel…/…

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When we choose to hear their voices, to hear their stories, to let them break open our hearts so we can feel their pain, that’s how, in our small way, we change the world – by changing ourselves. We are the change – and we in turn can raise our voices and speak to power, changing others as we have been changed.

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What would Jesus do? He’d take the knee and say #BlackLivesMatter.
Spend a few minutes praying, lamenting, mourning, and covenanting with God to value those who he values and stand up beside them in any way we can.

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And that history assignment? After a conversation about equality and discrimination and all kinds of possible options, she’s chosen to do her project on Ruby Bridges…

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There is still such a long way to go… But we can take our share of the steps towards progress. Go, and seek out a voice you wouldn’t normally hear. Have good days, Zephyrs!

Morning, all!

So what is your first drink of the day?

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Last week I told you about the time someone couldn’t understand what I was saying, even though I only said 3 words. Today is kinda the opposite of that story….sort of…..a bit…..

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Again, it happened when I was in Hungary. I’d gone there to be an English teacher at the International Baptist Lay Academy. Students came from all over Central and Eastern Europe to learn English and Theology. My first Sunday, I was taken by one of the other IBLA teachers to the International Baptist Church in Budapest. The person I went with had to sort some stuff out when we arrived, so she abandoned me to mingle alone.

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I naturally headed straight to the tea and coffee table (they did this before their services rather than after). The person serving (a Brit, not that I knew that when I approached) asked what I wanted and so I replied, “Tea, please.” She then said, “Oh, hi! You must be the new IBLA teacher.” I was somewhat taken aback, to say the least. How did she know that? I was on my own, I’d never been there before, I’d never met her before, I didn’t have a badge on or anything to identify myself. How did she know????

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It was my accent that gave me away. She’d heard where the new IBLA teacher was coming from and so when I asked for my tea, hearing my accent she put 2 + 2 together. From just 2 words!! 2 words!! Tea, please – that was all I’d said and yet she knew. 2 words and my accent identified me.

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I have now lived in Bradford for nearly 23 years, longer than I have lived anywhere but my accent still loudly proclaims where I grew up. It is a huge part of my identity. But it doesn’t define who I am!

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Listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ak0OoFBw3c

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I am proud of my accent and how much a part of my identity it is. But as Paul wrote in Philippians 3:7-14 (feel free to go and have a read), it is nothing in comparison to knowing my identity in God. I am loved by Him, I am His child, that’s who I am.

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Thank God that we can be found in Him, that our identity rests in Him, that we are loved exactly for who we are, wherever we may come from, however we may speak, whatever we may look like.

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And one more song to have a listen to (if you want to), coz why not? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GGFb6LcX3U…

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My soul will rest in Your embrace, for I am Yours and You are mine! Amen. Have yourselves a boss day and see yous tomorrow 😁