JUst read this report from the BU E-News sweep.

Equality Bill 'could lead councils to clamp down on Christmas decorations'

Christmas celebrations could be cancelled to avoid offending people of other faiths due to the 'complex' Equality Bill, Catholic bishops have warned.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/65916...

As someone who lives in one the most multi cutual and mulit faith cities in the country and is surrounded by many faiths I am so angry about this. Our council do nothing of the sort - we have lights for Eid, lights for Diwali, lights for Vaisakhi and...shock horror....lights for Christmas - in fact a Christams tree in the centre of town, the Town Hall decked in lights and even worse (or is that really better) a crib scene and carols being played! In fact our friends of other faiths got very worked up one year when the 'Christian tree' was not displayed.

I know I get worked up about this every year but have these people actually asked what the people of other faiths actually think and feel? Or are they just using it as an excuse to take Christ out of Christmas for themselves as they don't want to think about faith?

This from an Anglican bishop - I wonder what Baptists would say?

Ministry: Rudiments of Wisdom - From Bishop Alan here

30 years ordained this year, and someone asked me what I thought I’d learnt. That conversation gave birth to a few stray thoughts on the back of an envelope. It would be rather grand to call them laws of Vicaring, but here goes (in no particular order of importance):

1. If someone says Jesus has healed their wooden leg, rejoice, but be sure to kick them in the shins first, just to make sure.
2. If you get away with it and it works, fine. If it doesn’t and they catch you, just cough up cheerfully and enjoy all the times you got away with it
3. Do the job you’re doing now with all your heart, not the one you used to do in your last parish, or hope to do in your next. Time flies when you’re having fun...
4. Don't ask until you’ve worked out the question. Only ask people questions they are likely to answer in the way you want. Also, Don't ask when the baby is due until the new lady in Church has actually told you she is pregnant. Never ask a Lawyer “Can we do this?” The question is always “How can we do this?”
5. Pick up the bloody phone! (This applies to outgoing as well as incoming calls)
6. You do not have their P45's in your back pocket, so always explain, always apologise
7. Make the other lot line up with their own rulebook, and have a go at doing so yourself before you propose change
8. Be extremely loyal to your predecessors. They are your most powerful secret weapon, along with people who pray quietly at home.
9. Schedule your free time as zealously as you would a funeral. Your family are the closest members of the body of Christ. Strive not to be toxic to them, and remember they didn't ask to have you for a parent.
10. Beware Grand Designs, especially your own. Dolus latet in generalibus — the Devil's in the detail, along with the delight...
11. You can't argue with whining, but you can with anger. Damaged, angry people have their own reward. Bless ’em all.
12. Rigid faith is often brittle. In the Kingdom the first often come last and the last first. You are not God's minders, or managers, but guides who should strive to be reliable and trustworthy (I Corinthians 4)
13. You inherited far more than you realise. Before you go buy a new tool, check the old toolbox you seldom use and nine times out of ten you've already got one. Revolution by tradition!
14. All constructive change works from the inside out — “You can sleep in the Garage, but it don't make you an automobile” (Billy Graham?)
15. This job is about the how and why of people’s lives, including your own. You accomlish for more long term than you think, and far less in the here and now: “I think I've far exceeded what I ever thought I could possibly do. I'm almost shocked that I'm still around after all these years . . . and always grateful that I get another turn to do something.” (Billy Crystal)
16. “The Church doesn’t need new members half as much as it needs the old lot making over.” (Billy Sunday)

Our local Waitrose has a charity scheme so that when you get to checkout you are given a green token (or several if you are lucky) and you are invited to go and place them in one of three clear plastic boxes, each one assigned to a local charity - Waitrose then gives money according to the number of tokens each charity receives. These are changed each month. Inevitably I tend to go for one close to my heart so anything to to with autism, children and the disadvatanged tends to get my token. It is interesting to see the varying amounts of support the different charities get by how high or low their piles are. Some months its quite even and other months there are clear winners and losers and I tend to agree with the choices being made - even the losers get some money - beauase they are more 'luxury' charities rather than real need ones.

This month one charity is much lower than the others - it is the one aimed at giving support to people with mental health issues when they leave the local unit. It is an important group as this is when people are at their most vulnerable as they try to reintegrate into their families, maybe work and community. So why the lack of support - I suspect because mental health is still a bit of a taboo issue that we would all rather pretend doesn't exist despite the fact that 1 in 3 people will have some level of mental health issue at some point in their lives

This matter is close to my heart: I have suffered from depression and two of our family have mental health issues, both current. But still we tend not to broadcast it, even in churches - it is spoken of in hushed tones or with euphemism's whereas a physical iilnes is referred to openly. When I was  settlingI wondered when the 'right time' was to mention my former depression - worried it might affect their percepion of me. In fact it was never an issue but the fear was with me. Maybe this was prompted by my experience of walking back into school after seeing the doctor and getting the diagnosis of depression and sharing it with a friend on the staff who was also a Christian who promptly told me I should not be on medication and should just pray and get it sorted.

The recent story line of Stacey Slater grappling with being bi-polar I hope has brought this out into the open a bit more and I hope helps people's undertsanding though given those few tokens there is still a long way to go.

Churches can do so much to support people, and I know many do, but I feel there is still work to be done so that Christians need not fear the reactions of their brothers and sisters as they grapple with these difficult periods of their lives or those of their families.