INTERFACE

VIEWS & NEWS

APRIL 2003

EASTER

I’m afraid it’s not a pretty sight that lies behind the chocolate eggs and furry bunnies, but I’m sure we are mature enough to think seriously about it.

Eventually the person died. He died an undignified and inhuman death.

His death didn’t come until he had been stripped and beaten by a crowd of soldiers, paraded through the streets and then stretched out naked on a cross-beam and left to slowly asphyxiate as a taunting crowd jeered him on. And to add to all the vicious indignity, his corpse was speared, just to make sure it was truly dead.

Sadly, this was not an isolated incident. Similar indignities and deaths are inflicted on men and women, all the time all over the world. Human life is not valued and such behaviour has no values.

At this time of year we focus on one person who suffered such a death: that is, Jesus of Nazareth. All the high values that are attributed to him are denied and destroyed in what happened to him in his death.

But there are other stories that display the high values that he stands for.

In a boatful of frightened men, he speaks of peace that counters fear.

He defends trembling women who are surrounded by judgemental men.

Among outcast and guilt-ridden, failing people he shows compassion and speaks of healing and forgiveness. When some think there is no hope he speaks of faith and trust. He tells stories about people who are kind, gentle, persistent, honest about themselves (non-hypocritical), and who serve, putting other’s needs before their own. He speaks of love and joy that cannot be taken away and of new life that overcomes death.

The amazing thing is that those who followed his way and believed in his values discovered that death had not destroyed him. They were inspired and found strength to continue in his way, against all odds and in contradiction of all the inhumanities and indignities that perennially threaten the world and its peoples.

Good Friday (death) and Easter Day (new life) go together: life is not only before death, it is after it too: and in the new life after the fearful indignity of death, we discover the higher values that all humanity need to life by.

We wish you all a peaceful and joyful Easter.

David Tonkinson

BANHIM AGM

Over thirty people attended our annual meeting on 7 April held at the URC Church in Basingstoke.

The Bishop of Basingstoke, Trevor Willmott, who is also an executive member, gave the meeting his thoughts about Pushing the Boundaries – thinking outside the box.

He posed two questions, “What difference does Industrial Mission make?” – does the world see any difference in and through us; and “Is the church facing the last straw or a new opportunity?”

Not only the church, and its industrial mission into work and economic life, but all organisations and institutions face huge struggles in our complex and mobile, multi-layered society. Many are seeking identity, friendship and faith. The old familiarities and settled settings in which these were now elude us.

How do we understand our unsettled and fast changing world? The churches task is to interpret it, not to judge it. What future do we face, what are the trends that are fast moving towards us?

We, the church, are not alone in seeking to uphold and proclaim human dignity and the importance of responding spontaneously to need and human aspirations for goodness. Only by being flexible can we positively join in the bubbling-up of new life that’s happening all around us.

We need to be simpler and more informal in order to see the roots that lie beneath the ruts that we may be stuck in. That is, become truly radical and be able to challenge and reject oppressive authority that stifles human development.

Bishop Trevor hopes for a church, and the mission agencies like IM within it, to be more responsive, pro-active and “out there” knowing and sharing in the challenging aspects of daily life.

“TOP TEN” WORK PLACE CONCERNS

Every week the Chaplains visit a number of organisations and have conversations with a good number of people. They are alongside them as they work. There are many conversation topics. What are the “top ten”?

Change – of all kinds. (Near the top every week).

Getting through the workload in the available time.

The need to constantly improve performance and grow the business.

Appraisal and being “inspected”

Future financial security – especially pensions.

Child care and balancing home (children) and work demands.

The reliability (or not) of the computer systems.

Stress and health. (If stress concerns you visit, www.hse.gov.uk )

The effects of sickness absence on “the team”.

Travelling to work and the transport infrastructure.

Management - the good is praised and appreciated: the bad is criticised.

Bullying and unfair pressure. (If this concerns you, visit www.bullyonline.org )

Training and development.

VALUES – LOCAL AND GLOBAL

There’s a lot of talk about values. Do values only apply to individual human beings, or can be lived out by organisations as well? Companies often display a list of values, such as respecting their stakeholders, having integrity in all their dealings, and being efficient stewards.

In parts of the Christian scriptures there are lists of values to be found in the corporate body of the church. Among them are humility, gentleness, patience, kindness, long-suffering, faithfulness, truthfulness. (The anti-values that are not acceptable are such things as deceit, trickery, craftiness, divisiveness.) There are other Christian values such as being hopeful in the face of doubt, giving new chances when let down, and believing that failure is never the end – there is always more. All these affirm human dignity.

Many of these values are in the foundations of good business practice, such as celebrating diversity, health and safety, seeking well-being for all, financial accountability, transparency, staff development and customer service.

We can, rightly, look around and feel good about the high values we keep, individually and corporately.

However, we may need to look further, beyond our immediate horizons and the things that affect us directly.

In the middle of next month is Christian Aid Week (11 – 17^th May). The theme is “You can help to change the world”. Every year the week raises lots of money that is used directly to assist people develop stronger economic and social communities in the poorest parts of the world.

Raising money helps enormously, but it is not enough. Other things influence the well-being of poor communities. Of great importance are just and fair trading practices and financial policies that allow them to deal with unpayable debt.

Companies, through policies as well as individuals, living out high values in the way they trade with local producers and employees in developing countries, contributes greatly to their social and economic well being.

The Christian Way encourages us to exercise the higher values not only in those places where legislation and custom requires in, but also in those places where “lower standards” could be exploited.

Why not get involved in Christian Aid Week at work? For inspirational fundraising ideas, call 020 7523 2160 or email cearly@christianaid.org

Why not visit the website: www.christianaidweek.org and help to raise awareness of these important matters.

CELEBRATING INDUSTRIAL MISSION

On Sunday 1^st. June, in St. Johns Roman Catholic Cathedral in Portsmouth there will be an exhibition and service to celebrate the Hampshire Churches’ “Mission and Service in our Communities.”

Both the Industrial Mission Teams (BANHIM and IBEX – The Church in work and the Economy in the South Central Area) will be there. Why not come along. The Celebration service will be at 4pm.

If you have news and views to share do let us know.
Thank you.

CHAPLAINS
Conway Brown - Basingstoke Town Centre (Retail)  conway@banhim.org.uk  01252 68 63 67
Derek Overfield - Andover - derek@banhim.org.uk   01264 36 60 80
David Tonkinson - Co-ordinating Chaplain - david@banhim.org.uk   01256 81 01 61
CHAIR
Mike Roberts -  micelrob@bctalk.net   01483 57 46 71