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Saturday 25 February 2012

Needing You so badly, Lord

Two of my students have recently lost a close family member in Afghanistan: one an Afghan whose wife has been shot and the other a UK born woman whose soldier-son has been blown up by a roadside bomb – both by the hands of the Taliban.  Indeed 11 November 2010 was one of those awful, unforgettable days. The lady I mentioned burst into the class; some members of the military had visited her in the early hours of that morning and informed her that her son was dead. Despite my persuasions, she would not go home. Ironically, being November 11, I had already decided we would have a minutes silence at eleven – the most poignant minute’s silence I have ever known – as with the huge burden of grief upon her shoulders, she sat there, near me, in agonised silence.

Oh sad, sad land
  Earth stained crimson red
    Blood shrieking from the soil
   
‘Another senseless death’

And mothers weep, young women cry
  Strong men bow low with grief
   When will You come, oh God?

 ‘Come stop the carnage’

If hearts can turn to You, then let them turn
  If hearts can soften, let them do so
    If there is but a little crack

Then enter where You can, where You’re allowed
It is a start ….

And yes, Oh Christ who wept with Mary
   Enter once again …. soften this heart of mine
    That I might feel and weep and hold … and
                  
Needing You so badly, Lord

O sad, sad world, and sad, sad …. Afghanistan.
  Your grief has over-spilled  …. beyond once-pleasant land
    It has reached – even to here.

Sunday 12 February 2012

Cynical no longer. Hey, do you want another chip?

It’s 10.20pm, another cold night (-1 0) and this time it’s Helen and me, armed with our hot water bottles, walking, scouring, the streets of Coventry. They’re rather dark tonight as there’s a power cut which has set off a relay of shop alarms.  It’s rather eerie actually. Stuffing one of the filled bottles under my duffle coat (welcome warmth) we scout deserted car parks, back alleys and shop and church doorways. Where are all the homeless folks tonight? Let’s hope they’ve found somewhere warm for the night.

Ah yes, we spy them, sitting at a bus stop, two men hungrily eating chips. I look at them and think, ‘mmm, certainly look like good candidates for a hot water bottle.’ We approach them and offer our wares. One of them, let’s call him Wally, tells me his story:  ‘I was homeless in London for two years and then came to Coventry. ‘Val’*found me a place to live a year ago. Yes, Val is a wonderful lady. Here, d’you want a chip?’

 ‘Err, thank you, that’s very kind …’  I replied.

Wally went on to tell me how cynical he used to be - about life, how he had thought everyone was just out for themselves, not bothered about the likes of homeless men like him. He told me of how, after Val had helped him find a flat, he had attended a church centre in Coventry (wish I could remember the name) which had a volunteer scheme to support homeless people. He went there one day and sat down, overcome and weeping. How could people give up their spare time to help people like him? It was too much. Yes, he said, the friend with him was a little embarrassed at his tears, after all - a grown man crying. 

Wally is no longer cynical. ‘What a lovely thing’, he said, ‘giving out hot water bottles’ – but explained that he didn’t need one as he no longer lives on the streets.  ‘Here, have another chip!’ ‘

‘No thanks, Wally,’ I replied. ‘No more. You enjoy them now.’

‘Yes, I’ll be up at the Jesus Centre tomorrow,’ Wally added cheerfully.

‘Great to meet you, Wally,’ I said, ‘and, yes, I’ll tell Val how well you’re doing and that you’ve got that place still. I won’t be at the Jesus Centre tomorrow but will see you there sometime!’

*Val is a support worker at Coventry Jesus Centre, running a ‘bond scheme’ to help homeless people into secure housing.

Thursday 2 February 2012

Fruit cakes? Celibacy gets better

Just thinking today about Granny’s fruit cake …. cakes really were her thing. She cooked them continuously for family, people in her village and, yes, the ‘old ladies.’ (I did point out to her once that she herself was actually older than her ‘old ladies’.) Even when she died, aged 91, one of her fruit cakes sat half-eaten in a tin in my room.

The thing about fruit cakes is: they improve with age.

On Saturday I interviewed a young sister about her celibate call; she is on the threshold, dare I say, of middle age – give it another few years. (The crossover line to middle-age gets higher as you get older. Now it’s about 42 - it used to be about 35.)

Anyway, I do sometimes surprise myself by what comes out of my own mouth. You see, I found myself encouraging her that celibacy actually improves with age. After all, you know yourself better, your limitations as well as your gifts and you definitely discover more gifts as you go along; you know God in a deeper way, hopefully rest a little more on/in who He is and that bonding brings a solid, inward security.  Yes, all this but more … I have found more possibilities are opened up to you. Bluntly, not so many men fall in love with you. Young men look to you as a mother, not an eligible partner.

Yes, the door widens, not narrows; the field gets wider. And anyway, for goodness sake, let’s stop worrying about age. After all, how old was Moses when he began to lead God’s people? 80. And think about Anna, the prophetess - definitely a celibate. She was so single-eyed in her vision that she didn’t even leave the Temple at the age of 84. It’s hard to find an equal to match her passion to see the coming of God’s kingdom (Luke 2:36-38.)

There’s life in the old fruit cake still. Improved life. If I know anything about God, I’m sure He wants things to get better and better anyway – even if it means more heartaches, humblings, breakings on the way. My celibate friend, you are on the threshold .. nearly. Now is the time to take heart, look forward, anticipate .. the better half of your life. Like fruit cakes, your gifting will improve with age.

 
Joseph and Mary take Jesus, as a baby, to the Temple in Jerusalem
 ‘There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshipped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them (Mary, Joseph and Jesus) at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.’ Luke 2: 36-38

Helping Jo to read and write (3)

Heart In The Write Place (see Jesus Life: issue 89)
See previous two blogs: helping Jo to read and write (1 & 2)
 Well done! You’ve really got going, helping Jo to read and write. You are both really pleased with his progress. I bet he’s telling you that he’s started picking out and reading words he’s never recognised as he’s walking round town, sitting on the bus etc.  Moving on to the next phase now ….

1.      Go over with Jo what he has learned at the beginning of each session.
2.      Gradually introduce more words that don’t carry much phonics logic e.g. ‘who’, ‘said’ - especially ones that are useful for Jo’s life.
3.      Begin to introduce letter combinations like ‘ee’, ‘ea’, ‘or’, ‘er’ (called digraphs.)
4.      Teach Jo the order of the alphabet (just make some small cards with the letter on them.)
5.      Begin to introduce UPPER CASE letters and explain they are used as the first letter for names of people, places and the pronoun I.  
6.      Combine learning to read and write with learning computer word processing.
7.      Encourage independence: e.g. leave Jo for a few minutes to write a sentence. 
 8.  Finally – don’t get discouraged. What Jo learns one week may be forgotten by the next. Keep going over what he has already learned.


Well, that’s a start. There’s plenty more to learn but, like a building, good foundations make for a solid structure that will stand the test of time.   Jo has a good foundation now to build on.  He has some essential skills, the door has opened and his life will never be quite the same again. Your positive input has made a huge difference – not just to Jo’s reading and writing skills but to his life in general.  I have heard great stories from folks saying that learning to read has given them new social confidence: now they can speak in public, look people in the eye etc.

Well done! What you have done has made a huge difference to Jo – and probably to you too! Keep going!


Resources:  (You don’t need many – almost all mine are home-made)
Useful books:

Alpha to Omega: A. to Z. of Teaching Reading, Writing and Spelling: Beve Hornsby, Julie Pool, Frula Shear  

Toe by Toe: A Highly Structured Multi-sensory Reading Manual for Teachers and Parents by Keda Cowling and Harry Cowling  

 Spotlight on Words: Phonic Wordsearch Puzzles and Activities to Help the Development of Spelling Skills by Gillian Aitken.  Robinswood Press