About Bishop Jonathan Blake
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS
Bishop Jonathan Blake, born in 1956, taught for one year before gaining his degree at Durham university in 1978. During his undergraduate days he established a shop selling goods from the poorer countries which became a successful aid project trading to this day. In the following year he worked with Mother Theresa`s Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India. He raised over £20,000, a quarter of which he used in direct relief work and the remaining £15,500, he invested through the Church of North India in a trust to fund a T.B. hospital for women in Howrah. On his return he completed his training in Nottingham and was ordained a priest in 1982.
He served within the Church of England for over eleven years. For his six years as a Curate, he worked in Bradford and Rochester. In addition to his regular work, in 1985 he wrote the lyrics for and produced a musical on the life of Saint Francis of Assisi which was performed in the city of Bradford. In 1987 he organised and led an international group of fifty young people from twelve different faiths on a bus journey of reconciliation from London to Moscow as guests of the Moscow patriarchate.
During the next five years he worked as a vicar in Bexleyheath and was responsible among other things for leading the parish in raising nearly £250,000 to complete a major building project to repair and extend the church, making it a multipurpose resource for the whole community. In 1993, he left parochial ministry and in the following year he became fully qualified as a financial advisor and worked with the Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada.
In addition to the above, he has developed wide experience in inter-faith work, serving on the International Executive of the World Conference on Religion and Peace and as the Director of the Week of Prayer for World Peace. He has also worked voluntarily as a Samaritan for four years and for a further four years as a Relate Marriage Guidance Counsellor.
In the autumn of 1994 he decided to relinquish his office as a minister within the Church of England. However, according to church law as well as his own understanding, he is still and will always remain a priest. As such he is continuing his work as a priest, working as a self-employed minister , independent of any denomination.
In the first six years, following 1994, over 70,000 people had attended his services, and more than 1000 were baptised. His ministry had taken him throughout the UK and overseas to Menorca, Morocco and Crete. He has conducted services in homes, gardens, chapels, churches, hotels, country estates, pubs, cruisers, marquees, castles; even in a circus ring, on top of Mount Snowdon, underwater and over the Internet!
He has also chaired the Holy Circle Trust, a charity formed to provide a place of natural beauty for the public to be refreshed spiritually and physically. The charity represents no one group but welcomes all people from every faith and philosophy.
In 1999 he published a book entitled `FOR GOD`S SAKE DON`T GO TO CHURCH ` as well as a little book of prayers.
On the first day of January, 2000, at the rising of the sun, he founded with the Rt Revd Richard Palmer, The Society for Independent Christian Ministry ( SICM ).
By the end of the year 2000, there were over 30 priests within the Society.
On March 30th, 2000, Jonathan`s ministry as a priest and minister was re-affirmed with the laying on of hands by the bishop, priests and ministers present at the first gathering of the Society for Independent Christian Ministry www.sicm.fsnet.co.uk and he was incardinated into that Society.
On December 9th, 2000, Jonathan was ordained a priest according to the Catholic tradition by Bishop Richard Arthur Palmer.
On December 10th, 2000, Jonathan was Consecrated Bishop to work independently within the Province for Open Episcopal Ministry and Jurisdiction.
Jonathan has thus received nearly every form of Ordination practised within the Christian church and thus embodies all the traditions within his ministry. He is happy to take services as a pastor/minister for those from a free church or non conformist tradition, or as a priest for those from an episcopal tradition, be they catholic or anglican. He is happy to take any christian service from any type of prayer book wearing any form of vestments with any form of ritual.
As a bishop of the Christian church, he is a symbol of unity, available for all within the church and all without it. He represents no one tradition ,but all. He works as a CHRISTIAN offering CHRISTIAN ministry to all.
In addition, his ministry is one of love and therefore he is happy to work with and offer ministry for anyone, whether christian or from another faith, whether religious or atheist. He respects everyone.
In November 2001 Jonathan, with Bishop Palmer and Bishop Wilson founded THE OPEN EPISCOPAL CHURCH, a Church for everyone. www.openepiscopalchurch.com. This is now one of the largest independent catholic jurisdiction in this country, with bishops, priests, deacons and laity becoming a part of the church as it grows at an encouraging speed. What is more we have entered and are entering into inter communion agreements with other jurisdictions across the world.
Jonathan, despite the growth in the church nevertheless does not regard himself as solely a part of a 'new denomination'; as a christian bishop he is there for everyone, irrespective.
On 10th April 2003, Jonathan was one of the consecrating bishops with Archbishop Palmer and Bishop Wilson of the Revd Mother Canon Professor Elizabeth Bridget Augustine Stuart ssb.,M.A., D.Phil, Provincial Prior of the Apostolic Society of St. Brigid of Kildare. Her consecration to the episcopate took place in the Chapel of Royal Holloway & Bedford New College, University of London, Egham, Surrey. Professor Stuart is the first woman bishop in this country and the first catholic woman bishop in the world. She is well known as a leading theologian, writer and spiritual guide and her work is well respected, bringing hope and light to all and especially those who have been disenfranchised by the denominational and majority traditions.
In 2001 Jonathan and his wife were approved as foster carers and during 2002 welcomed two foster boys as part of their family.
In December 2001 he founded Room at the Inn and as its Director works to help the homeless. So far he has helped accommodate 3 homeless men and offers a rent scheme for the assistance of others, as well as providing relief over Christmas and Easter to those on the streets.
Jonathan is Chair of Trustees for The Holy Circle Trust which owns a piece of land which they hope to develop as a symbolic place of spirituality, peace, recreation and unity held in ownership for the people of the world.
As an On Call Bishop, Bishop Jonathan has amber beacons and reflective chevrons fitted to his car. The vehicle's livery details his ministry. Bishop Jonathan is available to anyone in a crisis ( Ring 020 8304 7605 or 07767 687711 ) and seeks to offer whatever help he can whenever he can and if ever he discovers anyone in need.
Any roadside assistance offered or emergency to which Bishop Jonathan responds is logged in his Episcopal record and is available for inspection. When Bishop Jonathan stops, he notifies control of his whereabouts and his intention. Any complicated situations are recorded for safety purposes.
In 2005 The College of Bishops appointed Jonathan as the Bishop of Greater London for The Open Episcopal Church.
In 2006 Jonathan was elected Presiding Archbishop of the Open Episcopal Church.
Jonathan adopts a broad minded and liberal approach to matters of faith and to life generally. He is a sensitive and caring man whose desire is to bring greater happiness and hope to people's lives.
His motto and central belief is that ` GOD IS LOVE ` and so he tries to live out, and to encourage others to live out the scripture ` Let us love one another for love comes from God. `
He will never turn away anyone. His love is for ALL.
ON DECEMBER 10TH 2000 JONATHAN WAS CONSECRATED BISHOP BY THE RT REVD RICHARD ARTHUR PALMER AT WESTGATE ON SEA.
THIS IS JONATHAN`S APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION
…… succeeding from the Medieval Church.
Cardinal Scipione Rebiba, Archbishop of Albano
who on 12th March 1566 Consecrated:
Cardinal Giulio Santor, Archbishop of Santa Severina
who on 7th September 1586 Consecrated:
Cardinal Girolami Berneri, Bishop of Albano
who on 4th April 1604 Consecrated:
Galeazzo Sanvitale, Archbishop of Bari
who on 2nd May 1621 Consecrated:
Cardinal Ludovico Ludovisi, Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church
who on 12th June 1622 Consecrated:
Cardinal Luigi Caetani, Titular Patriarch of Antioch
who on 6th October 1630 Consecrated:
Giovanni-Battista Scanoroli, Titular Bishop of Tyre and Sidon
who on 24th October 1655 Consecrated:
Cardinal Antonio Barberini ( nephew of Pope Urban V111 ), Archbishop of Rheims who on 12th November 1668 Consecrated:
Duc Charles Maurice le Tellier, as his Perpetual Coadjutor cum jure successionis
who on 21st September 1670 Consecrated:
Jacques Benigne Bossuet, Bishop of Meaux
who on 1671 Consecrated:
Jacques Goyon de Matignon, Bishop of Condom
who on 19th February 1719 Consecrated:
Dominique Marie Varlet, Bishop of Ascalon (in partibus infidelium)
who on 18th October 1739 Consecrated:
(The See of Utrecht ceased to be under papal jurisdiction in 1724)
Peter Johann Meindaerts, Archbishop of Utrecht
who on 11th July 1745 Consecrated:
Johann van Stiphout, Bishop of Haarlem
who on 7th February 1768 Consecrated:
Walter Michael van Niewenhuizen, Archbishop of Utrecht
who on 21st June 1778 Consecrated:
Adrian Johann Broekman, Bishop of Haarlem
who on 5th July 1797 Consecrated:
Johann Jacob van Rhijn, Archbishop of Utrecht
who on 7th November 1805 Consecrated:
Gisbert de Jong, Bishop of Deventer
who on 24th April 1814 Consecrated:
Willibrord van Os, Archbishop of Utrecht
who on 25th April 1819 Consecrated:
Johann Bon, Bishop of Haarlem
who on 13th November 1825 Consecrated:
Johann van Santem, Archbishop of Utrecht
who on 17th July 1854 Consecrated:
Hermen Heykamp, Bishop of Deventer
who on 11th August 1873 Consecrated:
Gaspard Johann Rinkel, Bishop of Haarlem
who on 11th May 1892 Consecrated:
Gerardus Gul, Archbishop of Utrecht
who on 28th April 1908 Consecrated:
Arnold Harris Mathew, 4th Earl of Landaff: Regionary Old Catholic Bishop for Great Britain and Ireland ( afterwards Archbishop of London )
who on 28th October 1914 Consecrated:
Fredreick Samuel Willoughby, Bishop of St Pancras and Auxiliary
who on 13th February 1916 Consecrated:
James Ingall Wedgwood, 1st Presiding Bishop of The Liberal Catholic Church ( Consecrated as The Regionary Bishop of The Old Catholic in England )
who on 22nd July 1916 Consecrated:
Charles Webster Leadbeater, Regionary Bishop for Australia
who on 9th March 1924 Consecrated:
Frank Waters Pigott, Regionary Bishop for Gt Britain
who on 1st September 1946 Consecrated:
Charles Dunbar Tatham Shores, Auxiliary Bishop in India
who, on 14th April 1963 Consecrated:
Thomas Patrick Watson, Regionary Bishop for South Africa,
who on 6th January 1980 Consecrated:
Johannes Cornelis van Alphen, Auxiliary Bishop in South Africa who, As Presiding Bishop,On 20th September 1997 Consecrated:
Richard Arthur Palmer, Auxiliary Bishop in Gt Britain, resigned on 25th April 1999 and appointed Diocesan Bishop of The Reformed Liberal Catholic Church ( Old Catholic ) on 23rd May, 1999. Also, Bishop in The Province for Open Episcopal Ministry and Jurisdiction
who on 10th December, 2000 Consecrated:
Jonathan Clive Blake, Bishop in the Province for Open Episcopal
Ministry and Jurisdiction
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JONATHAN'S WORK WITH THE HOMELESS
ROOM AT THE INN
Room at the Inn was born as a concept after the experience of the first Christmas homeless outreach. Rooted in the Christian Christmas Story of Mary and Joseph's plight at the time of the birth of Jesus, to secure safe accommodation, it seeks to reach out to all whoa are in states of homelessness.
The organisation of Room at the Inn is handled through the Parish of St Francis of the Open Episcopal Church, and its volunteer base draws upon the loyal help of parishioners. It runs with the minimum of infra structural cost relying upon donations of money and time as need arises.
I first went up to London to try and help the homeless at Christmas in 2001, hence the name under which all this work is carried out, 'Room at the Inn' and there are accounts of each Christmas and Easter since and the way my ministry with the homeless has developed on other pages in my web site as given in the index.
Of course it became apparent that help in the short term offered only limited solace to those involved, although eagerly sought by them at such times of year and also suiting those who were more clearly choosing to explore a life on the streets rather than being housed within the majority patterns of society.
Wanting to try and provide some more substantial help in helping to restore the overall situation of homeless people led to the decision to use our three flats specifically for the homeless. In liaison with St Martins Social Care Unit in Trafalgar Square and alongside my own outreach it has been possible to house successfully three homeless men.
However, once our flats were filled it seemed we had exhausted the possibilities of any further provision of long term help until another idea came to us.
My experience has showed me that there are some people who fall between the present charitable resources either because they do not fall within their criteria or because they are suspicious of any organisational involvement in their lives. There are also those as I have written who have made a decision to live a homeless existence. While ever that works for them they are content but there can come a time when they fall on harder times and by then their state of homelessness has worked an effect upon them which renders them unable to access any escape routes out. A pastoral as well as practical approach is needed.
Our present scheme is to offer any homeless person we meet the chance to become rehabilitated with our support and friendship and financial backing. We can offer them an interest free loan to secure the tenancy and support in establishing their benefits and achieving a stable and self maintaining lifestyle.
Such a provision provides to those I meet the opportunity should they wish it to change their present circumstances. I am also able to assist with any needs that there may be either drawing upon my own resources or connecting the person with other people or agencies.
WORKING WITH THE POOR AT CHRISTMAS
CHRISTMAS 2004
This year Heidi Blake, my 18 year old daughter, taking a gap year before reading English and Politics at York had been employed as the Co-ordinator of the Quaker Homeless Action provision over Christmas called 'Open Christmas'. Their shelter is run from ChristChurch Southwark and caters for about 150 people during the day and about 80 at night.
Unlike Crisis it is a wet shelter accepting those who are under the influence of drugs or drink, to ensure they have somewhere to go, but it makes for a somewhat unpredictable environment which at times becomes threatening. However, volunteers staff it and the ethos is gentle, respectful, well meaning and sincere.
I had arranged to do two 8 hour shifts at the shelter, one before and one after Christmas Day. This proved very useful when on the streets on Christmas Eve as I had more knowledge about the shelter resources on offer.
This year I decided not to wear a cassock but my 'On call Clergy/Emergency yellow jacket' and clerical collar. This clearly identified me from the crowds and appeared to convey more effectively with the homeless.
It was the most 'successful' Christmas Outreach yet.
I met many people and was able to offer very relevant help. Were they planning to stay out over Christmas or were they interested in going to a shelter. If a shelter had they considered which one they would prefer. Having chosen did they need help in transportation, if so I arranged a taxi or accompanied them there myself.
Others didn't want the shelter option but wanted to talk instead and I had a number of long, in-depth chats sat on the pavement.
Some needed money, some advice some accommodation. Each person's situation inevitably different as was there attitude towards their predicament.
I met a number of clearly mentally ill or vulnerable people during the evening, whose chances of surviving safely were remote. One was soaked after repeatedly urinating, another wandered dangerously into the road, another covered in festering sores, another aggressive and threatening to kill.
The saddest part of the evening was meeting a young girl of approximately 17 who I had met last year. She had the same concocted story, trying to pull the same scam for money and lost, so lost. I implored her to reflect on what she was choosing for her life. A whole year wasted. She could choose a different life. I invited her home for Christmas, said we would help her back to a normal stable life. Tears ran down her face. I could feel the internal struggle and waited but she just couldn't break free, couldn't bring herself to let go.
At around 4.00 a.m. Christmas morning I was making my way along the Strand when I saw an elderly black lady tucked into a door way sheltering from the biting wind. She was propped up against the door of the shop surrounded by bags of various kinds. She spoke constantly and her words contained such a volume of information, relating to numerous present and past incidents, that it was hard to make sense of everything she said. It was clear she had no where to go, was absolutely not going to a shelter, and I asked if she wanted to spend Christmas with my family. She accepted. In fact we arrived home at around 5 a.m and she slept that first day until 9.30 p.m.
As I write this report with January turning to February she is still with us. Not wanting to break her confidence I cannot write more, save to say we are trying to secure her future safety but coming up against innumerable obstacles which means, for the moment at least, she has become a member of our family.
CHRISTMAS 2003.
Christmas Eve had already been a very busy day and linked happily to the previous year.
In the morning I had visited the tenants of our three flats. Let me remind you that in December 2002 we had left one of the flats vacant to see if we could accommodate a homeless person; the other two flats being privately rented.
Last Christmas Eve I had met Malcolm ( I change all names for privacy purposes ). He had been on the streets for about 7 months, a man in his fifties who had worked all his life but had fallen on bad times. I spoke with him about the flat and a few days into January last year he phoned. He was delighted to move in a few days later. We supported him financially until all his benefits were sorted out but he remained adamant that he didn't want us to buy him a bed etc. He wanted to build his home slowly and carefully.
It has been a joy over this year during my weekly visits to watch him establish himself, put down roots and become a happy secure man.
On Christmas Eve when I saw him his flat was well furnished, decorated and cosy. Around were bowls of fruit and nuts and Christmas fare. He was preparing to cook Christmas lunch the next day for his neighbour and a friend he had made during the year. He was brimming full of contentment. His words were, ' I cannot thank you enough, from the bottom of my heart.' No words were needed though, the outcome was fulfilment enough.
Completing the picture, having safely accommodated Malcolm, the Lord had plans for the other flats. Both in turn became vacant and we withheld them from private tenancies which in one case proved something of a financial cliff hanger as it wasn't filled for about eight weeks.
Malcolm had contacts with a Housing Officer at St Martins Social Care Centre, Trafalgar Square, so when the other two flats became vacant I contacted him and we have worked well together in accommodating two further homeless people. This has been equally successful. Not only has it opened new chapters in the people's lives by housing them but it has provided them with a safe and settled community with support.
Another unexpected and wonderful gift out of all of this is that the first two tenants ( I refer to them because they have been accommodated the longest ) have been gems. Not only have they valued the opportunities provided and have worked well to make the best of the chance given them but in addition they have been very generous in offering practical help whenever they have been able, to me and their neighbours and quite beyond the call of anything that might have been anticipated.
So the morning of Christmas Eve I had called in to see each of them and take them Christmas gifts and cards. By evening time, a Mass, a wedding and other services later I managed to get to London by 10 p.m. It was a clement night and I was at first beguiled into thinking it would be quiet. Not many homeless around and Trafalgar Square having only a scattering of people.
For a moment I thought I might take a Mass in front of the St Martin's Crib Scene but security said I would have had to have applied beforehand. Anyway I knew I was trying to get away with a safe option. It had to be Leicester Square.
I made my way there.
Despite the previous years I wasn't expecting the chaos, noise, lights, swarming people and the shouting, drunken antics and smashing bottles which chilled me and intimidated me. Peaceful Bishop's Haven seemed a long way away.
During the next 90 minutes or so I wandered the streets talking to the homeless I found, offering them help, leaving them with money but always conscious that midnight was approaching and I had to celebrate Mass.
I kept circling the Square trying to decide upon a spot but none appealed to me. I found numerous reasons why this year was different from the ones previously and why I should not do it and go home instead. I saw some police and decided I would have to ask them if they would object. Three times I approached them, three times I chickened out. At least four times I left the square altogether walking back to my car having decided I couldn't do it. I wanted to crawl away inconspicuously. The thought that I would begin to prepare for the Mass and make myself a target of attention made me feel terrified.
Each time however I had to return. I became angry with myself. I thought of what Jesus had suffered, the early Christians, other Christians in other countries. I knew that my cowardice had no place before the immensity of Love and Grace available from God. I felt pathetic being called Christ's Bishop but unable to celebrate his birth. My arguments against were in vain. This was a totally unacceptable place to celebrate a Mass I told myself, amidst revellers and the brazen scenes of the secular celebrations which had lost touch with the cause of joy. But I knew that Christ was born in the stable, behind the pub, in the everyday out of touchness with the sacred and divine. Christ born for us, made real for us upon a pavement in Leicester Square seemed the most appropriate place, but could I?
Under divine command and in obedience I asked permission from the patrolling police who consented and then I knelt down under some lights and not daring to look up I began to set out my white cloth and the sacred vessels and the Mass book.
People began to gather.
A woman amidst a group of friends asked what was going on. 'Oh' she exclaimed, 'I must receive Midnight Mass.' Her friends groaned and barracked and urged her away but she was not for moving. A homeless man came near. Slowly a variety of people from different backgrounds, races, even faiths became the congregation and I began.
It was intensely moving. I consecrated many hosts so that I could distribute the Mass during the night to the street dwellers and others who I met for whom Christ was born.
I asked the homeless man who had sat throughout the ceremony whether I could help him in any other way, whether he needed some money or whether I could accommodate him that night. He met my eyes with his and said, 'No, no thank you. All I needed was this…'
The Mass became the watershed, the turning point. Grace began to flow. Suddenly I felt as though I were being led from person to person and the streets were filling up with the needy. I would no sooner turn from one to find another.
I can't record all of the encounters but here are a few.
There was a homeless man lying face down on top of a pile of refuse sacks on Charing Cross Road. The ultimate symbol of destruction. One of God's children thrown out with the garbage. I bent down and shook him. He rasped that he was a diabetic and needed an ambulance. I called one. He was taken off to hospital.
I met a young 16 year old girl who had been on the streets for 3 months. Her wrist was bandaged and her hand cut. She presented as quite rationale and together. She said that her step father had thrown her out but that she was getting by although it was dangerous at nights. I offered her help with becoming rehabilitated and gave her my numbers telling her to reverse the charges. I then arranged for her to be accommodated during the following week.
It wasn't long after that I found another 16 year old girl although she looked more like 14. She was slight and timid and, I feared, easy pickings for anyone so inclined. She had been on the streets for two weeks having finally had enough of her drug addict mother and the abuse which she suffered at home. I arranged her accommodation.
There was a young man who couldn't quite believe that I was going to sort out a hotel room for him; that he was going to be able to sleep unmolested and secure, have a shower and breakfast. He literally jumped up and down in the foyer.
So many different people and varying stories of human struggle. Men and women clutching at the straws of help, clinging onto each other, their pets, beer cans, cigarettes, whatever might offer the tiniest of comforts in a cold faceless world in which so much was rushing by. Somehow the backdrop of teeming depersonalised London only added greater poignancy to their words often charged with a breathtaking understanding. Wisdom from the dust and the gutter. God's Word hovering over the surface of the deep.
Working my way through the streets as the hours of night were spent, I was overwhelmed by the number of doorways providing bed space for the homeless. As I passed by, although I knew this would be criticised by traditionalists I felt compelled to leave the body of Jesus beside the sleepers. For to their hearts and lost lives the Christ was born; he was to lie beside them that holy night; they were to awaken to behold the babe of Bethlehem, the crucified saviour and resurrected Lord.
It was past 3.30 a.m. by the time I finished.
As I came back through the square, somewhat foot sore and weary worn I passed by the place where I had celebrated the Mass. I had not realised before. It was outside the Odeon Cinema and the gigantic hording above declared THE RETURN OF THE KING and the sub text THE LORD OF THE RINGS.
My eyes filled.
Yes the King of Kings and Lord of Lords had returned.
Christmas 2002
I had sung carols, read Christmas stories to the children and tucked them up in bed before heading up to London. It was a mild and calm night and the streets of the capital were eerily quiet.
The first homeless man I met was Dave, a man in his forties. He seemed in poor health with sores scattered across his arms and face. He told me of his life on the streets for the last 14 years, intermittently seeing his family, and accompanied by his beloved dog. While I was there, his brother came up who only recently had joined him on the streets having split up from his wife. Dave received the mass and I left him with £10.
During the evening that followed I saw about 30 people but I will only write about some of them.
Further on I stopped by two men, Malcolm and Ian. Both in their fifties, both of whom had been married and had children and one grandchildren and both of whom had ended up on the streets due to drink.
Ian had worked all of his life up to the last 8 months when he ended up on the streets. Malcolm had started work as a young man at the Strand Palace Hotel as a porter, then as a kitchen assistant and then as a chef. From that he had gone on to be publican of two public houses before domestic difficulties had robbed him of everything. He had been on the streets for about 7 months now and seemed quite wistful about his lot and positive about his desire to restore himself.
At this stage I should write about an idea that had come to me some weeks ago. Over the last few years I have managed to build three flats within the property that my wife had worked in as a beautician and which we had decided to buy on mortgage when it was offered to us. We rent out the three flats and have always been keen to offer them to people in need.
They are in a good area and are quickly rented out.
One of these became vacant just before Christmas and instead of advertising it in the local press we decided it might be a good idea to try and use the flats as a means by which those on the streets could get back on the first rung of the social ladder.
Many of the homeless find it hard to claim benefits because they have no address and even if they stay in one place and use the social as an address it is almost impossible for them to find work without an address.
What is more, private landlords will not usually entertain renting their properties to the homeless, mainly because there is a delay in sorting out their housing benefit. Council accommodation inevitably goes to the most vulnerable, like single mums, so there is a wide proportion of people who stay trapped incapable of finding housing.
The idea was to make our flats available, so that a homeless person could be accommodated and could either find work or sort out housing benefit and restore their lives to the point that they could move on to another property with references from us, thus freeing up the flat for someone else. This way the flats would be being used as a gateway back into a more traditional secure way of living for those who wanted that.
In addition another family member, Nicky, my brother in law, runs a well respected training and employment company for 18-25 year olds and he has agreed to help any young person get set up on a training course and with an employer, and any older person outside the 18-25 bracket, to try and help them get a job.
We intend either to find the homeless ourselves or to work with a charity already in the field of rehabilitating the homeless.
Anyway Malcolm was very interested in the possibility of being housed but also cautious. He said that he had been offered such things before and they were tricks or scams. He didn't want to be disappointed again.
He said he and Ian would think about it.
I then asked if they wanted to stay the night in a hotel. They were both shy of taking up the offer. Ian felt so untidy and Malcolm that he didn't want to impose upon me. I said that if they didn't want to because it would be too much of a shock or that it would be too hard to re enter the street life the next day, I quite understood, but if it was because of just not wanting to bother me etc, but inside they wanted to, then they should say yes.
It became clear that they really wanted to, but it was just adjusting to the idea. When they had made the decision to do it they were elated. It was deeply humbling watching Ian trying to tidy himself up, brushing his hair, expressing his sense of pride.
I decided to see if the Strand Palace had any rooms, as Malcolm had worked there for so long. Entering it both their eyes went wide, and Malcolm began a running commentary about how it had all changed and what used to be where and when we booked in he was enlightening the reception staff with his memories.
In the rooms, the heat was too much and they threw open the windows, but they collapsed hungrily onto their beds with eyes dancing, ' a clean bed, clean sheets, its been so long' entering the bathroom, ' this is incredible… a warm and clean shower'
I gave them some money to enjoy the evening and made sure that breakfast was included for them the next day. They were all thanks, and promised to be in touch.
(In fact I can now write that Ian went back up to his home town after Christmas and Malcolm did get in touch. It was very hard to begin with for him to actually catch me in, because of course he had no number I could call him back on, but then he thought of going into an internet café and sent me an email!
When we met, Christmas cold had taken its toll and he had contracted a virus and was gasping somewhat for breath. He had been into St Martins in the Fields and the social worker had told him he could get a resettlement grant if he managed to find a flat. He came and met Annette and the children, saw the flat and two days later moved in. On his first day he went to sleep at 4 p.m. and did not wake until the following morning at 10 a.m. He said that to know that you were safe was incredible. On the streets you have to sleep in snatches, always on your guard.
So, such joy, that he has emerged from all the difficulties and has created a new beginning for himself. The next few months will be critical. God be with him.)
Back on the street, I hadn't gone far when a young man came up asking for help. I asked if he wanted to receive the mass, but he didn't. I gave him £10 which made his eyes pop out of his head. He said good bye, but I hadn't gone far when he came running back, ' I will have the mass after all'.
Round the corner a man was hunched up in a sorry state. When he lifted his head he had a large gaping wound across his cheek. Tony was an articulate man, originally from Canada. He was on medication but said his tablets had been stolen and was wanting to get enough money to get back to the hospital. I set him up with accomodation and money to get to the hospital.
As I was talking to him another man came up, I gave him money and touched his arm as a gesture of friendship but he recoiled in pain at the touch. He then lifted up his sleeve and the whole of his arm was swollen, infected, with the stench of rotting flesh rising up. He too had been to the hospital, but I doubted whether he would see the New Year in and if he did, it would be without an arm. I was shaken.
Amidst the bedlam of London's crazy streets, no one would ever have imagined that the walking dying rubbed shoulders with the rest. That taking time to stop and turn moving shapes into people uncovers the dark secrets that gives a whole new perspective to our society.
I had often sat on the street with the homeless during the evening but on one such occasion, talking to a man called Stuart, a passer by came up to me making the sign of the cross and grabbing my hand, began to crush it violently. He spat out abuse about priests and the church and I feared worse but thankfully he moved on
Further on I met two men who had only recently met on the streets but who had forged a fierce street loyalty. They were trying to comfort each other, but one of the men broke down in tears when I arrived. He was desperate about being separated from his children at Christmas and was seriously contemplating suicide. I spoke with him at length and tried to bring whatever comfort I could.
I spoke also with a man who had been on the streets for 28 years. He was with a woman who had formerly worked as a librarian at the BBC who had had various stints of living on the streets over the past few years and who had was out again, having separated from her boyfriend. She was articulate and analytical about the lot of the street dwellers and should be on any government committee or charity panel considering homeless issues, but the likes of her are probably never asked!
While I was talking to them a man tried to steal from her bags and got a rude awakening when she produced a 6 inch screw and threatened to stab him with it. Later another drunk came by hurling abuse at them.
I finally arrived home at about 2.30 a.m. on Christmas morning. It had an evening of realising that we are all just a moment away from living on the streets ourselves, of tumbling out of the neat parameters within which we live into an unexpected and alternative existence. On the streets you meet every type of person, every type of situation. The resilience of the human spirit and the extremes of devastation which we and others can inflict upon ourselves is unnerving. Equally the qualities and life enhancing insights that can be found within street culture are there to inform us and inspire us.
No engagement with the street dwellers should ever arise from a patronising sense of doing charity or giving handouts. You enter a world where there is a mutual rewarding and immense amounts to be gained from both sides in a mutually uplifting set of relationships.
Not least, at Christmas I followed the stars and found upon the streets what no church and no Midnight Mass could ever offer, the birth of the Christ, in 2002, and I, the poorest of shepherds had come to worship.
CHRISTMAS 2001
I was sitting reflecting on the many who would attend church the following evening for Midnight Mass. The cosy homes, magnificent churches, choirs and the personal satisfaction of the worshippers seemed a long way from the homeless family, the refugee baby, and the dire circumstances of the first Christmas.
At my Consecration I had been commissioned to have a care for the homeless and those in need and the Holy Spirit convicted me that I had to celebrate the Mass not just for the select few but for all. A clear vision came to me. I knew what I had to do, but I was in no way prepared for what was to happen or the sense that I was visiting the people and places Christ had prepared.
The following afternoon, Christmas Eve, I travelled up to Leicester Square in London. People, sellers, beggars, carousel and fun fair, the atmosphere was overwhelming. I was daunted to say the least and circled the square three times trying to convince myself that I was mistaken about the vision.
On my third circuit I considered Trafalgar Square as an alternative venue. It was all but deserted, and I could have celebrated a discreet Mass alone or with a handful of others. I changed direction, but with each step came the conviction that my embarrassment came from myself. I had to forget self and be Christ, bring Christ, celebrate Christ, and see Christ.
I went back to Leicester Square and did two more circuits.
Finally summoning up the courage I asked a restaurant manager for the use of one of his tables.
There, among the throng, I set up a simple altar and proceeded to celebrate the Mass. Many came and went, some stayed. Among those who stayed was Clive. Released from prison 3 years before, he felt that God was on his trail, popping up repeatedly to win over his life and now tonight in the Square. His eyes filled with tears on receiving the Body of Christ. Another man, Ahmed, said that he had been struggling with issues of faith for many years and had reached a conviction that he wanted to give his life to Christ, how should he go about it?
Then, bearing the consecrated host, I went to distribute the Body of Christ to the people who hadn't attended the service, but for whom Christ died out of his great love.
Working my way around Leicester Square and along the Strand I met many homeless people, tucked in doorways and shop fronts. It was cold and wet, the rain drizzling down consistently throughout the evening.
Veronica, Gary, Phil, Phyllis, Ron, Ashad, were just some who had a story to tell. Broken homes, marriages, dreams; all with plans for the future, but some who had reached rock bottom emotionally and physically and who needed help.
One person I met came from Gillingham, where I live. She had been married for 26 years and had 5 children However, three years ago her husband had run off with a 17 year old. The whole experience had led her to the streets where now huddled, cut and black and blue, she lay, in the entrance to a theatre closed for Christmas. She had been beaten up badly the previous night. On passing the homeless one imagines from where they have come. It's hard to imagine that the people who live along your street today may be on the Strand tomorrow.
In spending time with them, listening to them and offering them the Body of Christ they were quite overcome.
I continued through Covent garden and along into Soho. I passed the sign for a Model. I passed by, but something tugged at me and I knew that Christ came for all. I climbed the stairs. The maid who opened the door looked astonished. `Leila` she called, `a priest has come`
I explained that I had come to offer them the Body of Christ on Christmas Eve because Christ came out of his love for them and for us all.
The maid said,
`Come in, come in. You don't understand. We desperately need a priest. We have been so anxious, so frightened. God has sent you to us. Thank you. Thank you`
She went on to explain that two nights before a young 28 year old man had died of a heart attack in the bedroom upstairs and they were ill at ease in the room, the flat and with themselves. They wanted a blessing.
In the bedroom I blessed the room and then gave a blessing and the body of Christ to the prostitute and the maid. As I was leaving the maid pushed a £10 note into my hands with a multitude of thanks.
I felt alight, as though Christ was walking and working within me and I was just moving through the motions as he willed. As I came back out onto the street I bumped into a beggar. He implored me for enough money for a cup of tea. I explained that I had nothing on me at all except that I was bringing the Body of Christ to the homeless.
I had decided at the start to carry no money, although as I will explain later I will do things differently in future.
We talked for a while but he didn't want to receive and we said goodbye, but having walked about 20 metres away, I suddenly remembered that the maid had given me the £10. I ran back, explained to him what had happened, and said the ten pounds was his. His eyes nearly popped out of his head.
Having talked awhile and said our goodbyes I had walked again about 20 metres when I heard a man calling me from behind. It was the same beggar, he had changed his mind, and he wanted to receive the Body of Christ. Both our eyes were full of tears.
As I made my way towards the heart of Soho I passed a number of homeless people who were in a dreadful condition with open cuts and sores, sunken eyes and hollow cheeks. They were all eager to receive.
A musician was singing gospel songs on the corner of one of the streets and I stopped to explain my ministry and hear of his. He asked me to pray for him, for healing of his depression and emotional problems and he gladly received the Body of Christ. On leaving him it seemed that his singing was fuller, richer and came from deeper within his heart.
I climbed the stairs of another prostitute's flat. The woman who answered was concerned.
`I am a sinner. I am too bad. I am not able to receive`
`Jesus was born tonight for the very people who feel just like you. His birth was a gift of love. I have come to bring that love for you` I replied.
The woman received. She then looked at me and said repeatedly, `Thank you`
Then she said,
`God sent you to me tonight`
`What do you mean?` I asked.
`I can't say` The woman replied, `but God sent you to me and thank you`
Further along the road a hunched old woman was carrying a blanket in a plastic bag. I called to her and asked her if she wanted to receive.
` But I am not worthy, I cannot, it's not for me
`It's specially for you,` I replied, ` This is the gift of Jesus, for you this Christmas. His, `I love You`
`Look` she said, ` See that girl by the stripper's club, if she will receive I will`
`That's fine; I was going to ask her as well`
Both received. The old woman's eyes were full of tears.
`I can't believe it, what a gift, what a gift` she muttered as she hobbled away.
One amusing moment came when I visited the last Model doorway. The prostitute who answered said,
`Oh thank you so much my love, how lovely that you came, but I'm just hurrying my last client because I'm trying to get to Midnight Mass myself!`
I made my way towards Piccadilly circus. In a doorway was a disabled man. His physical state was wretched and he explained that he was trying to beg for £6.50 more which would provide him with a ticket to spend Christmas with his grandfather. As I sat talking with him on the pavement a few people dropped coins beside him. He asked me to stay because people seemed to be giving more with me around. He continued to ask feebly if any would give him loose change. It seemed he had little strength and his voice grew weaker.
I felt I had to help and I began to join in,
`Please can any one spare some loose change for Andrew`
I was begging.
I begged for 50 minutes, watching the people pass by on the other side, watching them catch our eye and move on quickly, feeling the cold bite into my flesh, feeling a greater cold bite into my heart at people's indifference.
By this time, he needed just two pounds more. An Italian man had been watching for some time and in the end he came up to ask what I was doing and why. I explained.
He asked whether I thought the beggar was genuine or not. I said that I did not know, although I felt he was. However, his circumstances were so poor that my concern was to respect him and love him. I suggested to Andrea, the Italian, that for him that night the beggar was Christ and for the beggar he was Christ.
Andrea asked if I would hear his confession. So there on the busy London street, as the rain continued to fall I heard the confession, gave him absolution and the Body of Christ. Beside us Andrew the beggar, having been given his two pounds by Andrea, was painfully gathering his belongings and heading for the bus.
Andrea's eyes were shining as he left me.
` Its as though I am reborn` he said.
As I turned back onto the street, a young girl asked me if I was a priest. Francesca went on to explain that she was homeless and pregnant and could I put her up in a hostel for the night. She said she had come from Wales and friends with whom she had planned to stay had moved on and she needed help.
The nearest hotel, which was rather nice, was offering a special rate of 39 pounds a night for bed and breakfast, due to it being Christmas Eve. The problem was I had come out with no money and the car was parked about 20 minutes walk away. I asked the hotel if they would accept my credit card number without the card itself, that I could provide evidence as to my identity with a web site and phone calls and that in these unusual circumstances could they trust my word and I would send them a cheque later.
The front desk and after this the manager were adamant in saying no.
Having walked back to the car to get my credit card I asked to see the manager again and said that I thought it was regrettable that a large hotel, on Christmas Eve, could not trust the word of a bishop when guaranteeing payment for a homeless pregnant young girl, when our culture was based upon the story of Jesus.
The manager said he was interested in money and money alone. He did not believe and was not interested in beliefs only money.
I suggested to him that were it not for God who had given him life he could have no interest in money and that whether from a religious or humanitarian perspective, on this night all nights, an exception could have been made to show compassion.
He again said he was not interested in compassion only money.
I asked him to reflect as he went to sleep that night on his actions.
After all of this with the help of my credit card Francesca was duly booked in. As she entered the lift to go to her room she turned and expressed her gratitude in words that I felt could not have been her own, as though an angel was speaking.
`Thank you, thank you. May blessings come back upon you tenfold`
By this time it was past eleven and as I made my way back to Leicester square I came upon a beggar who I had first met that afternoon at the entrance to a tube station. He looked in a terrible state and the blanket wrapped around him was soaking wet from the rain.
I asked him where he was going to sleep. He mumbled something about trying to find somewhere dry, desperately needing a good night's sleep and being so cold. I asked if he would prefer to sleep out or whether if it were possible he would prefer to stay in a hotel that night. He wanted the hotel but said he couldn't come with me then because he still had to make about £5 for the next day.
I said I would give him £10 and arrange a room. We walked together but I was slightly uneasy for whereas Francesca had looked reasonably clean, Andy was very worse for wear and he trailed his wet blanket behind him. I feared the hotel would not accept him. The front desk saw me coming and when I made my request the man disappeared for about ten minutes obviously checking with the manager whether he should admit Andy. Thankfully they did and Andy tumbled into the same lift saying it was the best Christmas present he could ever have had.
My last two contacts that night were with Dave who seemed quite content to be on the streets and who sometimes stayed with relatives but came back to London for two or three months stretches, and Robbie who was very depressed and said that life sometimes hit the lowest. He was glad to receive the Body of Christ,
`Thanks` he said, `Life has to get better from here`
As I drove home midnight had passed. I had seen people queuing for Carol services earlier in the evening and now they were turning out from Midnight Mass. My mind was alive, my heart ablaze, my spirit convicted.
I knew that so many of the people I had met would always fall through the gaps in the present welfare and charity provision and that Christ was calling me to continue to help them.
As Mother Theresa said, `It is better to light a single candle, than to curse the darkness`
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IF YOU FEEL YOU WOULD LIKE TO SUPPORT THIS WORK THEN PLEASE DO SEND ME ANY CONTRIBUTIONS.
ANY DONATIONS I RECEIVE TOWARDS THIS WORK WILL BE GIVEN TO THOSE I MEET NEXT TIME I WALK THE STREETS OF LONDON OFFERING THE LOVE OF GOD IN THIS WAY.
Work with the poor at Easter and meeting Jesus at the side of the road
A number of the priests from sicm and Bishop Richard and myself celebrated a mass in Leicester square at 3 p.m. on Maundy Thursday.
On one side a street artist was entertaining the crowds. On the other two drummers were filling the square with rhythm.
Around, thousands of people were passing by, some stopping to observe the mass, some sharing in it, some receiving palm crosses.
As evening fell, most of the priests had begun their journey home and only bishop elect Michael and I were left.
Our task was to offer to the homeless and those we encountered the love of God. We offered the mass, anointing with oil, the washing of feet (as it was Maundy Thursday) and any appropriate practical help as well as giving £5 to each person.
As at Christmas the experience was extraordinary, as though we were walking with angels.
We met and helped many that night among them:
Ram who I had met at Christmas. He was hoping for a flat provided through a charity over the next few months and was in good spirits. He was delighted with the £5 I gave him.
Then Gary from up north. He wanted to receive the body of Christ and was glad to chat for a while.
Derek was overwhelmed that we stopped to talk and asked us to sit beside him. He spoke about his life and hopes, asked us for prayer and the body of Christ and was reticent to accept the £5. When we said goodbye he rose to his feet to embrace us both.
Martin was 25 and had been on the streets for 5 years already, wanting to escape an unhappy home. His sister Sophie had run away many times already but now had decided to accompany martin back down to the streets of London. She was 16. I felt so protective of her, in fact of them both, as they looked so young, so far from a 'home'. I gave them my address and told them to get in touch if I could be of help in the future.
Mark came up meanwhile. He looked very unhappy and lost and in need of love.
We spoke with Colin who asked for prayer and anointing.
Then Michael who sat with his dog looking somewhat forlorn as his normal work as a street entertainer had ground to a halt having lost his metal juggling diabola.
As we walked past one club in Soho a tall New Zealand bouncer stopped us to ask what we were doing. He was impressed, sad that all the churches were shut and people were separated from their priests, yet here we were bringing the love of God to the people.
By another club two scantily dressed ladies invited us with the promise of a good '- - - -'. We laughed with them, declined the offer, and offered them the body of Christ instead.
One of the women said "no thanks, I’ve had enough of that, my dad's a vicar!"
Then we were walking through Piccadilly Circus when I noticed an older man tucked into a corner of a shop front, sitting crossed leg and still.
I stopped and went over to him.
I said hello, but he remained silent.
I sat in front of him and asked him his name. He remained silent. I waited for a while before I asked again. Still silence.
His hair was right down his back to his waist, plaited, even matted together. He was perhaps late fifties. A long nicotine stained beard fell from his chin and his face was well lined.
His clothes were filthy, stiff with the grease of years and he wore no shoes, his feet rough and engrained with dirt. He said that he had not bathed for 12 years.
Conscious that I had no right to disturb him I asked him if he would prefer me to go.
It was then that he looked and said
"its up to you".
I asked again his name.
"God knows my name" he replied.
"where do you come from?"
"heaven".
I thought that he was either being funny or was slightly disturbed or was just taking the…
But then I noticed his eyes. Many of the eyes of the street people are yellowy, bloodshot, unclear but this man's eyes were crystal clear, shining, beautiful, two oceans of light.
I said somewhat nervously,
"if you don't mind me saying your eyes are so clear, so bright."
His answer stilled my heart. In fact for the next 40 minutes or so I just sat saying very little and not asking any questions but listening to the wisdom, the divine words that flowed from this enigmatic man. The words were what he chose to say...
He said:
"that's because I can see. Look, all these people they come up to London searching for light, fooled by the lights, but inside them is only darkness, in their hearts and their souls.
They cannot see the light. That's why they cannot see me. They pass me by, they look at me and see only filth, they can't see beyond that.
This world is full of words, churches are full of words, deafening and confusing, but no one understands them. They are distractions. Silence. There should be silence.
I sit here and I watch. People from every country. I have been to Africa and Jamaica. I was taken there. I was just lifted from here to there. I saw.
We are here to learn about love. We can only learn to love when we realise we are beasts. In knowing that we can aspire towards love.
If you are a part of an organisation it is so easy to lose your identity, that which you have been given. We are all unique. It is easy to be tempted by the things that an organisation can offer, the power, the prestige, but you must only say what you have been given to say and only do what you have been given to do. Just as you must not withhold what you have been given nor must you give what you have not been given.
Don't worry about the past. Don't worry about the future. Live in the present and whatever comes you will be able to cope with.
(I asked whether he wanted to receive the body of Christ. He continued…)
I am the body of Christ. You are the body of Christ. Remember that.
Who was the best friend of Jesus? Lazarus. Because Lazarus had nothing. Its when you have nothing that you can have everything, that you can see.
(without knowing that I came from Sheffield he then said)
I know Sheffield. I know it well.
(I asked why he had mentioned Sheffield. He just repeated)
I know Sheffield. I know it well.
(i asked again why he mentioned Sheffield. He just ignored my question and smiled at me, as he had done throughout, a warm, embracing, kind and gentle smile)
Do you know who Theophilus was?
Remember meek and lowly. They go with the words grace and truth.
I felt I had been in the presence of Jesus. That these words were for me, for sicm, for the world.
I left to walk towards the station in something of a daze.
I said goodbye to bishop elect Michael.
In Leicester square I passed by a young frail girl. Charlotte had just celebrated her 18th birthday the previous Monday and was happy because she could now apply for certain jobs and benefits. She had lived on the streets for the last two years. She said it was so hard because unless you had an address you couldn't apply for a job. I suggested she used my address. When I left her with £5 she exclaimed,
"oh you are such a diamond"
A little further on I met Anna Louise. She had been evicted and had had to give up her 4 year old into voluntary fostering, but now the council wouldn't rehouse her unless she had a child and social services wouldn't release the child unless she had a home.
So much need.
Not only from the homeless. People kept coming up to us asking for prayers for healing, anointing, advice. Two young advertising executives sitting drinking outside a bar, Alex and David, asked us over to talk and for Alex to receive communion.
One could minister full time just walking the streets.
If you feel you would like to support this work then please do send me any contributions.
Any donations I receive towards this work will be given to those I meet next time I walk the streets of London offering the love of God in this way.
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