I'm off to Soul Survivor Week A with a few friends tomorrow - rather excited after the events that unfolded last year (which included watching the Olympics Opening Ceremony in a crowd of 4000 young people - it felt like I was actually there!), but also anticipating it in a different way this time around.
This is just wishful thinking, and I will by no means be disappointed if this doesn't happen, but I'm hoping that due to the presence of the homosexuality debate at the moment, there might be a seminar or two about it in the programme this year. Or at least there might be some more reading material on the subject that I might be able to purchase and read up on! Who knows.
But regardless of that, I'm really looking forward to hearing what God has to say to me and to everyone else over the next few days. How He speak to us, how Hes surprises, and the things He might do that could potentially change some lives. he has a knack for doing that quite a lot! But we shall see. I'll let you know next week, unless I come across any WiFi on the campsite, but somehow I highly doubt it, I doubt internet access is particularly high on God's agenda!
Also, I thought I should mention that David Cameron has announced that gay marriage will eventually in a few years become legal in England and Wales. He's even gone as far to add that the UK will be the best place to be gay and get married and live as an equal citizen in the whole of Europe. I truly hope in one way this will be true, but the priority still remains concerning world equality; although that is clearly going to take some time, especially when you take countries like Uganda into account.
As Alice Arnold highlights, however, this is all wonderfully good and hopeful news, but Britain still has a way to go in achieving total equality, void of discrimination and homophobia which is still extremely evident in our society. Kids are still being bullied at school, gay and lesbian stereotypes are still present and evermore damaging; I was reminded of this when walking in a park during the evening with my girlfriend a few weeks ago. I hadn't particularly noticed the group of young people a few yards away from us, or the middle-aged Asian men minding their children in the play park, yet my girlfriend seemed slightly uncomfortable when I reached for her hand and had to push me away a little to prevent drawing any attention to ourselves. I think she was right do so at that time; I was being pretty naive, and despite how I'm past the point of caring what others think of me, I could have made us both incredibly vulnerable to all sorts of prejudice, had I drawn attention to the fact that we were a couple.
That vulnerability still lingers within our society; changing a law is powerful way to begin changing the way people think, but it is general attitude and understanding that needs to adapt before homophobia can really be eradicated from general thought. I believe that the Church has a big role to play in the pace of this attitude change, but I truly believe that it will happen at some stage, hopefully in my lifetime - God treats us all equally, therefore he demands that we have an attitude of equality towards each other, as we are all made in His image regardless of skin colour, sexual orientation or anything else that defines us as who we are. We'll all realise that one day.
Here's Alice Arnold's article about the passing of the Equal Marriage Bill, in case you were wondering. Thank goodness someone can be totally honest about it! And honestly, I'm quietly over the moon about the fact that I might be be able to marry the woman I love one day. As much as I can be empathetic with the various conflicting views against this Bill, I'm hoping I can be allowed to be a little self-indulgent here. Here's to marriage, and a sure sign of equality, at last.
See you next week!
This is just wishful thinking, and I will by no means be disappointed if this doesn't happen, but I'm hoping that due to the presence of the homosexuality debate at the moment, there might be a seminar or two about it in the programme this year. Or at least there might be some more reading material on the subject that I might be able to purchase and read up on! Who knows.
But regardless of that, I'm really looking forward to hearing what God has to say to me and to everyone else over the next few days. How He speak to us, how Hes surprises, and the things He might do that could potentially change some lives. he has a knack for doing that quite a lot! But we shall see. I'll let you know next week, unless I come across any WiFi on the campsite, but somehow I highly doubt it, I doubt internet access is particularly high on God's agenda!
Also, I thought I should mention that David Cameron has announced that gay marriage will eventually in a few years become legal in England and Wales. He's even gone as far to add that the UK will be the best place to be gay and get married and live as an equal citizen in the whole of Europe. I truly hope in one way this will be true, but the priority still remains concerning world equality; although that is clearly going to take some time, especially when you take countries like Uganda into account.
As Alice Arnold highlights, however, this is all wonderfully good and hopeful news, but Britain still has a way to go in achieving total equality, void of discrimination and homophobia which is still extremely evident in our society. Kids are still being bullied at school, gay and lesbian stereotypes are still present and evermore damaging; I was reminded of this when walking in a park during the evening with my girlfriend a few weeks ago. I hadn't particularly noticed the group of young people a few yards away from us, or the middle-aged Asian men minding their children in the play park, yet my girlfriend seemed slightly uncomfortable when I reached for her hand and had to push me away a little to prevent drawing any attention to ourselves. I think she was right do so at that time; I was being pretty naive, and despite how I'm past the point of caring what others think of me, I could have made us both incredibly vulnerable to all sorts of prejudice, had I drawn attention to the fact that we were a couple.
That vulnerability still lingers within our society; changing a law is powerful way to begin changing the way people think, but it is general attitude and understanding that needs to adapt before homophobia can really be eradicated from general thought. I believe that the Church has a big role to play in the pace of this attitude change, but I truly believe that it will happen at some stage, hopefully in my lifetime - God treats us all equally, therefore he demands that we have an attitude of equality towards each other, as we are all made in His image regardless of skin colour, sexual orientation or anything else that defines us as who we are. We'll all realise that one day.
Here's Alice Arnold's article about the passing of the Equal Marriage Bill, in case you were wondering. Thank goodness someone can be totally honest about it! And honestly, I'm quietly over the moon about the fact that I might be be able to marry the woman I love one day. As much as I can be empathetic with the various conflicting views against this Bill, I'm hoping I can be allowed to be a little self-indulgent here. Here's to marriage, and a sure sign of equality, at last.
See you next week!
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