You may have seen this year’s TV advert for Christian Aid
along the lines of ‘Give a man a fish and you feed
him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.’ There is
another version which finishes ‘teach his wife to fish and the man can sit with
his feet up whilst she catches as well as cooks his dinner’!
There is, of course, a serious
message here that the work of Christian Aid is all about helping communities to
help themselves, not just about giving one off hand outs.
The TV
advert doesn’t feature actors and it isn’t a film set.
It’s a real community and a real story of hope, self-sufficiency and the power
of possibility. It’s about being innovative in the ways we try to give people
opportunities to lift themselves out of poverty, in this case by a solar
powered freezer project that allowed the fish to be frozen for delayed consumption
or for commercial sale in Sierra Leone where there is lots of sunshine but not
much electricity.
My son’s RE homework this week was to explain what is meant
by each part of the Apostle’s Creed. We discussed how to explain in a few lines
what the ‘holy catholic church’ is which we say we believe in. Most here will
know that in this sense catholic means universal rather than Roman Catholic.
It’s this that Jesus is talking about when he offers the
prayer we heard in today’s gospel reading. This passage is the conclusion of
Jesus’ final prayer before departing for the Garden of Gethsemane and the
events of the Passion. The words aren’t immediately easy for us to understand,
certainly not as catchy as the Lord’s Prayer. He says’ Holy Father, I ask not
only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me
through their word, that they may all be one.’ The prayer is for the disciples
and any with him but it is also for all followers of every generation. It’s a
moving and humbling thought that Jesus offered a prayer for each one of us here
today and for those who will come after us.
He wants us to live in unity in the same way that he speaks
of the unity between the father and the son. Jesus prays for a unity based upon
our common humanity which overcomes national and racial barriers and which
becomes a reality in the way we relate to and value each other.
It matters whether we care about people in our own community
as well as people we may never meet, more than ever our lives are intertwined
and interdependent. If we check the labels on our clothes there’s a good chance
that we can find something that says ‘made in Bangladesh’. Hands that have made
these very clothes may have touched the garments that we then hold and wear,
possibly hands that belong to the 1000 plus people who died as a result of
working in an unsafe building.
People united in faith can’t necessarily solve the entire world’s
problems and injustices but neither is it acceptable to do nothing when there
are so many well targeted projects we can support.
When we see others suffering whether in our own communities
or further afield most of us instinctively want to help and projects such as
those run by Christian Aid and local food banks give us easy ways in which to
do so.
After what seemed a
never ending winter and late spring in our own country my chives are only just
forming the flower heads with none yet in full bloom. There is a sense that
plants have been catching up over the last few weeks as the weather has improved
but it’s been a challenging start for nurseries, farmers and gardeners alike.
Many of us will now be checking the daily weather forecast ready to protect our
plants from a late frost.
Christian Aid is
involved in a project in Kenya which uses mobile ‘phones to help farmers with
the weather and also helps the locals hair to go grey.
Kenyan farmers Justin and Truphena Ireri used to struggle to
feed their family. ‘When there is erratic rain, we didn’t get enough for our
family to eat, let alone to sell,’ says Truphena.
Kenya used to experience drought once every 10 years, but suffered
drought in 8 of the 10 years from 2002 to 2011.
But thanks to the use of new technology and their mobile phones, things are beginning to change for farmers in the in Kenya’s Eastern Province. ‘Traditional ways of forecasting are failing us due to climate change. When we turn to scientific ways, farmers will be able to plan very well,’ Truphena explains.
But thanks to the use of new technology and their mobile phones, things are beginning to change for farmers in the in Kenya’s Eastern Province. ‘Traditional ways of forecasting are failing us due to climate change. When we turn to scientific ways, farmers will be able to plan very well,’ Truphena explains.
Farming methods in the district have been revolutionised by
the introduction of simple, targeted weather forecasts sent to farmers by text
message. Previously, farmers were unsure how to plan for increasingly erratic
weather patterns, and the daily reality for many families was failed crops,
disappointment and hunger.
The only weather forecasts that did exist were targeted at
the large towns and cities, where the climate is often different. And anyway,
as most farmers in rural areas don’t have televisions, they couldn’t even see
these forecasts.
Working with the Kenya Meteorological Society, Christian Aid
partners take specific, scientific forecasts for the rural areas and translate
them into simple language that the farmers can understand.
It then sends this information out by text message, with
monthly and seasonal updates and advice on using different crop varieties and
agricultural techniques to adapt to changing weather patterns.
Such innovative use of technology means that they are able
to work with thousands of farmers, who would have been difficult and expensive
to reach by road. More than 80 per cent of farmers in the area have a basic
mobile handset, and are able to respond to the text messages by asking further
questions about their own situation and getting advice over the telephone.
All this has followed from initial farming workshops held in
church congregations, where trust was built with the local community by showing
that it understood what it was like to try to farm in a difficult environment.
The average life expectancy is only 57 in Kenya so to be
grey haired you really are one of the lucky ones, they don’t sell much hair dye
or ‘just for men’ in the region!
‘When we see a plan coming into fulfilment, it brings us
joy, we can watch our children grow and also see ourselves go grey – grey is
wise!’ says Truphena.
A real example of helping communities where they are to make
the most of the resources they have.
In our reading from Acts we heard how Paul and Silas end up
in prison. The way the events are told help us to understand what God’s glory
actually looks like. This earthquake could be understood as the visible
manifestation of God shaking this world’s powers to their foundations.
Following the earthquake Paul has the opportunity to go free proclaiming that
this is what God will do to those who oppose him. However he chooses to wait
quietly and demonstrate to his jailer that he doesn’t need to destroy him
because the God he worships shows his glory and demonstrates his power through
love and Paul’s actions make this real for him. We see that the reaction to
this is that the jailer is moved to belief not through fear but by acceptance
of the love shown to him.
In our reading from Revelation Jesus tells us that he will
come again reminding us with his ‘Alpha and Omega’ saying that he was there at
the beginning and that he will be there at the end. Jesus describes himself
amongst other things as the bright Morning Star (the brightest star in the sky at
dawn). He can be found by anyone who is looking for him!
We will each have our own opportunities to demonstrate Gods
power through our actions this Christian Aid week. If we do what we can it
could mean that someone we may never meet also gets to see Gods power
demonstrated through love for each other and as they understand the motivation
for this they become part of our catholic (that is all inclusive) church.
Amen
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