The Vicarage
15 St. Mark’s RoadDear friends
The speculation about the not-to-be November General Election set me thinking about the nature of politics and how we respond to elections and participate in the political process in general.
It could be too, that my thoughts have been influenced by recently taking part in the Chesterfield Gilbert and Sullivan
Society production of ‘Iolanthe’, which is a wonderful send up of Victorian politics with some hilarious and quite biting lyrics. Take this for example:“When in that House MP’s divide,
If they’ve a brain and cerebellum too,
They’ve got to leave that brain outside,
And vote just how their leaders tell ’em to.”Now that of course is rather unkind - even libellous. I like to think that most people who go into politics do so from the best and highest of motives. Be that as it may, as we live in a democracy, we can look forward within the next couple of years to politicians of every colour, using every means at their disposal to persuade us to give them our vote. Thanks to the internet and the increasing sophistication of communications technology there will be even more ways available to the candidates to get their message across.
Yet in spite of all this, the proportion of the population who take the trouble to go and vote is falling and has been for some years and fewer people are joining political parties. Both of these factors are a source of worry to politicians no matter what party they represent.
If voting and joining political parties is a measure of our willingness to take part in the democratic processes of our
nation, then it suggests that fewer and fewer of us want to have a part in that process. Either we are happy to leave it to others, or we simply see no point in it all.It could be, however, that this is part of a general trend of non–participation in organisations in general. People in all sorts of organisations from Trades Unions to the Mothers’ Union find it hard to recruit members and even harder to find people willing to take office within their organisations. This has certainly been my experience of church-based organisations, and it seems to be true of secular bodies as well, be they recreational or for some more serious purpose.
It seems that we are living in a ‘non-joining’ era. Perhaps the causes lie in a failure of organisations in general to bring about the sort of changes that people want, so they bypass them in favour or other means of influencing events, such as street demonstrations and signing petitions. We now have the internet and mobile phones that provide numerous opportunities for people to make their opinions known and exert a little pressure.
Whether we use the tried and traditional means of getting involved, like using our vote, joining a party, writing to our MP - or we use other methods like signing internet petitions or writing to the newspapers, it is important that we do get involved somehow when we see the need for change.
We worship a God who through Christ was part of humanity in all its rough and tumble. We need to reflect that in our life and worship. If the church is not listening both to God and the world, and speaking to people and for people it will be nothing more than a ghetto for the spiritually self-indulgent.
Getting involved does not mean neglecting prayer. Quite the opposite. Prayer is an immensely powerful force for change. There will be times when praying is all that we can do - never underestimate it.
Finally, we need to avoid being seen simply as finger wagers - always condemning and never praising. The media loves to portray Christians as narrow minded bigots who want to stop people enjoying themselves.
Let us be the first to encourage and affirm the good things happening in our neighbourhoods and communities, and be on the lookout for signs of the Spirit of God at work - and we will discover Him in some very unexpected places.
Every blessing
Frank Willett