So near, and yet so far

Oct 4, 2018 by

By Stephen Kneale, Building Jerusalem.

I was intrigued by this video about The Church and Estates. I have spoken a lot about church in deprived communities so this is precisely the sort of thing that was going to pique my interest. You can watch it below:

https://youtu.be/NzQ0RWaR8g8

Now, there is so much right about it. There are people going into deprived communities, clearly wanting to love and serve the people there. I liked the focus on ‘accompanying’ people and taking on some of their issues and bearing their burdens. I really liked the emphasis on living in and among the folk on the estate. There is loads to like.

I was alerted to this because the Bishop of Burnley – who has spoken passionately about this subject – put it up on his Twitter feed. Now you can see what I think about some of the Bishop of Burnley’s views on this whole area herehere and here. So, I must admit, I watched with some trepidation as I wondered – despite it being good that people were going to estates – precisely what was being taught on the estates they were on. As you can imagine, I wasn’t thrilled by that.

Three particular things stood out. One was the vicar arguing that people simply need to know that ‘they’re loved and forgiven by God.’ Now, unless I am badly misreading my Bible, that is notthe message people need to hear.

Read here

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