Ordinary People

The Irish singer-songwriter, Christy Moore, wrote a beautiful song in 1985 called ‘Ordinary Man.’ It’s set against the backdrop of economic struggle and high unemployment, which was the reality for so many in Ireland in the early 1980’s.

It spoke of being let go from a factory after many years of faithful service, and the loss of dignity that accompanies unemployment.

The first verse sets the scene.

I’m an ordinary man, nothing special, nothing grand. I’ve had to work for everything I own. I never asked for a lot, I was happy with what I got. Enough to keep my family and my home.

I guess the song captures the aspirations of most of us and, yet, circumstances sometimes visit us that mean these things are no longer possible.

It might be sickness or bereavement or unemployment, and all those things we cherished and worked hard to maintain are taken from us. It’s completely outside our control. On all sorts of levels, it seems unfair, but we expend a lot of energy trying to alter things we can’t change.

Some readers of the blog will know that I am part of a central church committee called the Bishops’ Appeal. It seeks to fund relief and development projects in the developing world, and often responds to global situations of conflict and crisis.

Parishes collect funds throughout the year and the committee consider applications for funding. We have a long standing relationship with some partner agencies that have a proven track record in this work and, so, we support projects overseen by agencies like Tearfund and Christian Aid and others who report back on how the projects are being overseen and the difference they are making.

I was inspired at a recent meeting over Zoom, when someone came on to speak about the work they were doing in Afghanistan. It’s a small agency that has gone about its work in one of the most dangerous countries of the world for many years.

They seek to do very practical things, like bring clean water to rural communities, to support education and, particularly, for girls and young women in a society in which these things have to happen in secret.

The lady who spoke had fundraised for many years quietly. She ran concerts in churches. She wrote application forms to agencies she thought might be interested in supporting the work. She had recently celebrated her 80th birthday and asked her guests to donate towards her fund, which was building a security fence around a school and providing a playground for children who might not otherwise have been educated. She was a lay reader in a parish church, and had been invited to a neighbouring parish to preach for Harvest. They knew of the longstanding interest she and her late husband had and raised some money for her fund.

Just an ordinary woman quietly doing something truly heroic for people in need far away, and she had been doing it for many years. I know lots of people who quietly do heroic things looking after family members who are very unwell or disabled. There are folks who give lifts or do shopping for people unable to get out. There are people who pray quietly day in day out for others and apologise they can’t do more.

I think of those who work in shops or nurseries or cafes. They care enough to notice if we haven’t been for a while. They take the time to get to know us and our families, and they ask for those we care about. They remember if someone is ill or going through something tough, and they remind us of the good things in the world.

Essentially, these things are pretty simple. They are human contact and connection. They remind us of the value of thinking about others, they feel the pain of the suffering in the world and, while they can’t change it, they try to do their small bit to make a difference and make the world a softer, more caring place.

These are valuable things to be reminded of. Thankyou for being an ordinary man or woman taking the time to read this. Maybe you have seen the difference ordinary men and women can make when they work together to pray and challenge injustice, to create community and care for and love each other. That’s what the church is all about.

Please, if you are free, come along and support our candidates being confirmed on Thursday 21st November at 7.30 pm. We look forward to welcoming Bishop David, and we are so proud of these ordinary teenagers and one adult who are taking the extraordinary decision to follow and serve Jesus in their daily lives, and publicly doing it in front of the church.

Look forward to speaking again soon.

Much love to everyone,

Jono.

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