Words from the The Bishops, Bethany and the rapper!

On Wednesday evening the Bishop of Woolwich, Michael Ipgrave and his wife Julia attended the Feast. It was a delight to have them with us for the evening. We also had a visit from Paul who works at Bethany, a Christian project that now impressively helps vulnerable and needy people from across Scotland. Do look at http://www.bethanychristiantrust.com/  The third (wise) man was Claude aka Gems. Gems provided the 'words' in the middle of the Feast.

Earlier on wednesday evening I had been at the Grand opening of Prendergast Vale school in Lewisham where the Bishop of London was one of the speakers. 

So this weeks Feast was particulaly busy with well over 100 people! No surprise that it was not a quiet night, infact the fighting, both verbally and physically, started before the meeting began.  But words do really matter, so let me leave it to the wise men to tell them.

The Bishop of London said, "Happiness is not dependant on knowledge, it depends on loving and being loved!"

Michael Ipgrave said about the Feast "It was an immensely impressive experience, to see how many people you are caring for through the Feast, and also to recognise the many ways in which you are encouraging them to take back responsibility and to move forward with their lives."

Paul from Bethany Christian Trust visited the Feast after waking at 4.30am in Edinburgh to fly to London for a full day's conference.  He said that he was delighted to find himself in Catford because being at the Feast was about real life! -

Gems, performed brilliantly, with words that reflected the grit and reality of lives but also the hope that is found in God.  He finished by describing that God calls us with a simple invitation.  http://uk.myspace.com/1gems

 

Team lessons from Le Tour

In case you missed it, British cycling sits at the mountain top of world cycling. Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome are top of the Tour de France standings.  Both are capable of winning the biggest and most important title in cycling and it will be the FIRST British winner in the 99 editions of Le Tour.  My love of this race has only increased as I have discovered the joy of personally cycling long distances plus the added bonus of British riders doing very well - I miss the finishing commentary of  "Cavendish on the HTC train".

But the joy of the Tour really is in the complexity of the team dynamics. So here is my 4 top things to learn about team from the Tour.

1. The domestique is crucial.  The domestique is not a derogatory term, in fact the domestiques are essential to everything a team does.  Fetching drinks and snacks, pacing their team leader up a mountain, willing to give up their bike if a leader has a puncture and another 101 things. Lesson - Service to others makes a team work.

2. Everyone serves the ultimate purpose.  Even world champions serve others, Mark Cavendish is the current World Champion but on this Tour he is drinks and waterproof carrier for other members of his team.  Lesson - the ultimate aim determines every decision.

3. Riders surrender their personal ambitions.  Froome-dog as he is known (Wiggins right hand man) or TJ Van Garden (Cadel Evans understudy) have both had to wait for their team leaders on key climbs when they could have attacked themselves.  Both think they can win the Tour but instead this year they are serving others - their years will surely come. Lesson - Excellent no.2's are required to make a team successful.

4. The leader is the one who is most consistent always near the front but not the one who shines on every stage. Wiggins has gone at his pace, which is exceedingly fast, and not got drawn into chasing prizes that would distract him from the ultimate goal. Lesson - Leaders need to stay close to the front but be prepared to let others shine!

So there we are - simply the best sporting entertainment there is!  Team is what Le Tour is all about but if Bradley Wiggins wins Le Tour on Sunday I will be voting for him as the Sports Personality of the Year (even in an Olympic Year) as the leader of a Remarkable Team!

Empowering people - the spice is right!

On Sunday the Jericho Road Project cycling team which is myself and 4 others take on the challenge of the North Kent bikeathon run by our friends at Compton Cycles and Catford rotary. The distances are 25km, 50km or 100km.  The 100K course has 5042ft of climbing, Kent is a hilly place!  If you know Westerham Hill, it is a tough climb and comes at about the 85km mark.

It has been important to me that our fundraising initiatives model what we are trying to achieve which is to empower people.  Therefore our summer activities have been people from the project taking part, we also try to put the bar low on giving, i.e. £1 per person which means that all those taking part can ask everyone to contribute.  So whether it is £1 or lots of £1's, we are investing our funds into initiatives that don't give handouts but help empower people to get control of their lives and benefit others.  No longer recievers but contributors!

Let me illustrate this with a story that I love from our drop-in meeting which is called the Feast which has had its busiest year with numbers exceeding 100 on a number of occasions and this meant that we provided over 4000 3-course meals to the neediest people.

Jack came to the Feast, he was an expert at complaining about all the things people hadn’t done for him – especially the benefit department and support agencies.  For roughly the 1st 6 months he attended the Feast he simply sat, ate and moaned. Then one evening he started helping nand contributing, he began by emptying the bins and now he does this every week as well as collecting the dirty plates and crockery returning them to the kitchen.  The amazing thing is I do not hear him complain about anything.  In fact when he is thanked for his help, he is so delighted and expresses gratitude for the encouragement.  

Let me tell you about one of cyclists.  Brian spent 26 years in prison - he caused so much trouble inside jail that he was frequently put in solitude and was refused paroel on a number of occasions.  He became a Christian in prison and he tells me that everyone knew because his behaviour changed so much.  He was then granted parole and he left prison with a job that he continues to do.  He is keen to help the lives of others which is why he is tking part in this year's Bikeathon.

Our plans in the next few months include starting the King's Debt Advice centre which helps people regain control of their finances.  This will start in September 2012.

We are partnering with agencies who are engaged in providing work opportunites.  We have some ideas that we are hoping to roll out in the next few months.  Did you see that one of our residents has won an award for her new business, read the Lewisham Mercury article here. Well done Marie -  the spice is right!.  It's called Mama-Marie chilli sauce and you can still see her on the stand at Lewisham Shopping centre until the 19th July. 

If you would like to sponsor the Bikeathon or support the Jericho Road Project financially or in other ways please contact jrp@kingschurchlondon.org.

Look out for the bikeathon pictures on twitter @simonjohnallen or on the twitter feed on the side of this blog.

Life and death - "Wheels"

The Feast has always been about life yet death is very close to many who attend.

This blog is in memory of Anthony McKain!

He was more commonly known as 'Wheels' because he was unable to walk and therefore was in a wheelchair.  Wheels died whilst serving a 3 year sentence in HMP Belmarsh in April 2012.
I got to know Wheels early on in my time in Catford so probably about 8 years ago.  I visited the bungalow that he lived in.  It was a shocking place, windows broken and radiators hanging off the wall.  He was separated from his wife and he never spoke badly of her because he was frustrated at himself rather then her for their split.  He allowed many people to stay at his when they were homeless which led to even more chaos.  It was only time before he lost his property and Wheels spent many years homeless.  Hostels never worked for him. Sadly for myself and other housing worker who did everything they could ultimately his anger and addiction prevented him from finding accommodation again.  His disability always added an extra layer of complication, even to his end!

I received a letter from Wheels in March, written from prison.  I have read it many times again since hearing that he had killed himself. The letter makes me cry!

Here in his own words is the reality of life and death. [Extracts from the letter].

"As you can see my life's caught up with me again [prison].  I actually was trying to make a change but life just didn't go to plan.  It got so freaky!"
"I got seriously drunk to numb the pain and also cope with the freezing cold of trying to sleep under a tarpaulin under a hedge"
"I was on the verge of ending it all so committed enough crime to get put in prison just to get out of the cold before I neded up dead but didn't intend gettnig 3 years."
"most people do some form of work in here, I can't even do that as the workshops are up the stairs."
"say hello to everyone, hope you all had a nice Christmas.  Hope you got something nice.  Although I don't know them , hope your family are fine.  Remember good as you are, they put up with your busy life and the cranks you deal deal with, Ha Ha." 

I understood Wheels and he understood me.  We didn't agree on everything but we respected each other.  Death took Wheels before he found a Life worth living.  I miss him!

Nevertheless is a brilliant word

What are you aiming for?  I like to have targets.  Last Christmas I was given a GPS watch, which records how fast you are moving plus lots of other stats when I am running, cycling and walking.  When I am running it provides a target to beat although I suffered the disappointment that I could not improve my previous best every time I ran!  I use it on the bike as well but the targets are not always time related.  When the road is flattish I am time focused but when I get to the hills especially the 25% incline that is Church Hill in Cudham for example it becomes a personal battle against the tarmac.  Can I climb the hill and survive? 

However in my work I have to set a different sort of target.  When you work with vulnerable people the progression is more roller coaster than steady improvement.  Sometimes simply hanging on without embarrassing yourself by screaming is the only way through!!  In reality all people take steps forward and steps backwards, it is just that some backward steps are illegal or dangerous.  And it can be seemingly very small things that present big obstacles. 

The Jericho Road Project has grown to now include a significant number of people from addictive backgrounds, criminal backgrounds and generally difficult troubled backgrounds.  One of my targets is very basic - It is simply maintaining every part of the Project as a positive place to be and not allow people's past issues to cause damage to each other.  The result is that people have to become part of the solution for each other, it is the only way forward with the scale we are at.  That is why time spent helping people choose to forgive or help them learn to communicate well with each other is my time well spent.

Maintaining a BIG target (Vision) and also being satisfied with the day to day nitty gritty of helping people is essential.  I have found the words in Jeremiah 33 to be so encouraging.  Jeremiah described the destruction and bloodshed in the land (in recent weeks I have heard and seen new examples of the brokenness of people).  He then uses the word NEVERTHELESS and it is the most brilliant word in chapter 33 - it could say 'despite everything' 'regardless of what you have done or had done to you' - Nevertheless, God says he will bring health and healing to [his city]; [He] will heal his people and let them enjoy abundant peace and security.

This is a target I have for every person I meet.  It shapes how I speak to people.  It reflects why we keep going with people who let us down.  It is why we take risks with people.  It is why when people say there is no point trying anymore, I am able to say there is hope.  It's why we work with some of the most difficult people in our society.

Chepstow Circles!

Last week 17 of us from the Jericho Road Project went to Chepstow for 4 days.  We stayed at Woodcroft Christian Centre, which is a great venue with plenty of space to relax.  We had lots of rooms, a kitchen, table tennis area, pool room, TV lounge, a sport hall and even our own Peacock strutting around the grounds.  We did a walk up a mountain, did some rock climbing, went to some waterfalls, played a pool tournament, worshipped God and read the bible.  We had a relaxed fun time. 

I have done days out and residential trips for all 10 years of the project.  One of the most memorable trips was to Knowle Park because we managed to leave someone behind and also spent ages finding someone else who had fallen asleep under a tree!  It was that trip which increased the crime rate at the National Trust gift shop but it was offset by Catford having less street drinkers for that day!  Sid the Punk came with us and on the journey there we had to stop for him to take a toilet break by the road side - I had no idea how many layers a Punk wears and therefore how long it takes to do a 'quick' wee!

Chepstow didn't have any Punks but I did have an emergency toilet stop with a difference.  On our return we going at a slow pace in London traffic and I really needed to go so the 'human Satnav' (In London Streets he is brilliant but needs lots of food to keep him going!) stopped us outside the bookies to use their toilet.  I can't remember ever going into a bookies before but I wasn't going to protest at that moment.  As you might expect the group thought this was really funny.   

So every Chepstow holiday (this was our 4th year) has it's particular memories.  It is the people that make the difference and this year's bunch were great.  On the Wednesday night people shared some very personal reflections from lives that had suffered much, often from a very young age.  It was not always comfortable listening but it was very real.  It was also in the context of God being the great rebuilder.  The previous night we had read "Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security" (Jeremiah 33:6).  We were a group of people whose lives had been changed, were being changed whilst we were together and will continue to be changed in the future. 

Two reflections at the end of the week summed it up: "this week has helped me understand what church is all about" and "this is what the church is talking about when it says move from rows to circles" [which is the current King's preaching series looking at how we build community together]

Chepstow is a long way to go to make a circle but the great thing is that we brought the circle back with us!

A short history of my swimming career

Rebekah and I celebrated our 15 wedding anniversary last night by watching David Walliams swimming 140 miles in the Thames - romantic hey!  Don't worry we are going away for the weekend. 

Swimming is simply really hard work.  This year I will do my first Olympic distance Triathlon which involves a 1500m swim in one of the docks on the River Thames.  And whilst I can now swim that distance in a lunch break at the local swimming pool, I have not swum in the Thames in a wetsuit nor had hundreds of other bashing into me ever before.

The real problem I have always had with swimming is the breathing thing.  When I was young I swam backstroke to avoid having mouthfuls of chlorinated water choking me.  I could sprint a length and at the end be totally breathless.  In fact my best swimming moment came in the school gala which was in the days when my secondary school had an outdoor pool.  It was solar heated!  I was sports captain and I managed to lead the Saxon House to victory in all the sports events.  It required powers of persuasion, which was easier to do when it meant I could get children out of their lessons but lots of persuasion I did.  The final event of the swimming gala was the sixth form relay race and I had the last leg.  Now I can't remember what position I was when I started the length I had to swim but I came home first and as a result my house was victorious! 

Well the breathing thing (or rather lack of breathing which is easily mistaken as drowning!) was still a problem until about 5 years ago.  I did my first sprint Triathlon (400m swim) doing back stroke.  No I've never seen anyone else ever do backstroke at a Triathlon either!.  So I had to learn how to breath and do front crawl at the same time.  I asked anyone who could swim well, how it was done. I watched and learnt, then practiced.  I can now do front crawl and breath comfortably nearly all the time.  It is one of my great personal victories. I need to credit Carl for helping me to swim well and in a straight line, thanks.  Carl and his wife Kate are my swimming heros, they swim outdoors all year round without a wetsuit.  Ice does not stop them!  

And then last week something new happened to me.  I swam and instead of concentrating intently on remembering to stay afloat, I found myself daydreaming as I swam.  It had become a learnt behaviour.  It was a new milestone in my swimming history.

So later this year I will swim almost a mile in the Thames and whilst it is 139 miles less than David Walliams I will be breaking new water in my swimming history!