Appearances must match realities. I've always thought it important that our buildings look as if they are available to the community - because they are. We have no fences between the street, vicarage and church. This openness signals, I hope, a basic attitude of hospitality and availability.
Sadly though, this inevitably brings a certain vulnerability. In recent weeks we've suffered some vandalism and anti-social behaviour. There's been graffiti on the notice board and eggs thrown at the church. It's depressing to have to invest time and energy in addressing these issues, when there's so much more important things we could be doing. Our new storage sheds were installed last week, partly because of the way that the old wooden ones had suffered from damage and arson.
In recent weeks more empty Bacardi bottles have come into our garden than footballs.
But the discouragement that comes with this kind of attack shouldn't put us off our mission to serve and to care for those around us. Rather than get down about this, several things are important to remember:
- Part of the reason for our vulnerability is the good that is happening here. Rather than defending ourselves behind walls and fences, our facilities here are teeming with activity. These buildings are busier than ever. We're motivated to serve because of a vision of the Kingdom of God which is more about love than fear, more about abundance than deficits, more about engagement than isolation.
- The youngsters who are causing the trouble are regular faces in these streets. They're in their mid-teens and though most families in Oadby don't face the pressures of deprivation and poverty that occur elsewhere, they seem to be living lives of some significant impoverishment, though perhaps not materially. The gospels remind us that those who are impoverished in any way are not to be despised for their poverty, or defined by it. They are not a pack, clan or gang - they are people.
- Nevertheless, we believe in a gospel of transformed lives and hold fast to to a hope that redemption is possible in every situation of brokenness. Beyond our natural desires for proper punishment for those who commit crime, we must also pray that these young men might find purpose for their lives.
- The effects of crime and anti-social behaviour must be tackled immediately if they are not to drag us, and others, down. I didn't enjoy washing eggs from the church doors but it needed to be done. And thanks to the anonymous person who cleaned the graffiti from the notice board it didn't remain more than 24 hours. I'm sure that the degradation of the local environment through low-level crime leads to more crime. So addressing litter and vandalism immediately is important, even though it distracts us from other important work.
- We're taking a zero-tolerance approach to people loitering on our grounds. Anyone we see will be politely asked to leave. This isn't because we simply wish to move the problem elsewhere but because looking the other way surrenders us to the inevitability of further problems. Strangers are welcome here, not because this is an anonymous place that no one cares about, but because we care - it does matter.
- Prayer is the best response we have, particularly in situations in which we feel weak and vulnerable. We're praying for wisdom and for God's protection on us and our buildings, that this would not diminish our mission or our loving service.
