Going to the ball

To Scarborough today to meet up with Nick Taylor the Renaissance manager for the town and a long timer in the regeneration business. He’s the kind of person I have had passing “hellos” in the past and so I was glad to have a longer conversation. The reason I’m in Scarborough is to see what happens in this Yorkshire Renaissance Town with regard to faith groups. Nick tells me that as I expected there are many people of faith involved in the Town Teams but no one officially represents them. More undercover Christians as usual I suspect. Is it something particularly British that we are incapable of owning our faith in public; there seemed to be no problems about it in America or Yemen? Perhaps that’s why we can be intimidated by Islamic or Afro-Caribbean spiritualities.
In regeneration terms this is a real problem for us; we talk of the third sector as though it were some kind of secret society, rather than a living dynamic community of people who own stuff and do stuff and know stuff. Cinderella needs to put on her party dress and come to the ball with all the others in our community.
At Yorkshire Forward the other day I am sure I heard their chair say that their aim was to improve the economy of Yorkshire and inclusion. I don’t think they mean it, yet, but maybe this should include community assets such as faith community assets.
As for people of faith: come out come out wherever you are. Don’t be scared. We have much to offer and yet we are really hiding our lights under a bushel.
Jesus told us to be humble but that didn’t mean to be hidden.
“Let you light shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in heaven” as we used to say at the prayer book offertory.
Talking of lights: although it’s raining, although it’s freezing, the lights of Scarborough still look lovely, don’t you agree?