The dilemma of the Horn

From arms to famine.

International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell has described the response of other countries to the African famine crises as "derisory" but the scale of the problem is enormous and not limited to feeding the hungry.

Islamists in Somalia have agreed to lift restrictions to allow aid to get through but doubts inevitably remain leading to a crisis in charitable giving. With 57% of people believing overseas aid is wasted and stories of corruption with aid diverted or even used against our interests here and here the temptation to ignore requests to donate, eg, to DEC is becoming a problem.

Despite the harrowing pictures it must be right to question a strategy that saves people in a time of crisis only to let them live a life of misery, often mercifully short. Misrule, the problem ofpiracy, and the threat of militant Islamic expansion all need to be addressed to restore public confidence that their charity is not misused or abused.

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Scam Bags

Lately we have had two or three ?Charity? Bags pushed through our letter box some weeks, the latest, from SHC Collections Ltd, is yet another from the sc*m of the earth.

According to their blurb “SHS Collection is a collection company who provide people in third world countries with clothes they can afford. This creates jobs for local people helping them become self sufficient not having to really [sic] on state handouts or charity schemes allowing them to take pride in their ability to provide for themselves and their families”.

Note my italics; these uncharitable people are selling freely donated clothes to poor people in the third world to profit themselves. They are just one of many organizations, mainly Eastern European apparently, taking advantage of British generosity to line their own pockets at the expense of the poor. Sadly most bags are not what they may appear and deprive charities of millions of pounds.

Before I put out a bag I always make sure it has come from a legitimate charity which will receive all the proceeds. In doing so I?Ve found a useful site which is run by concerned volunteers and may be of use next time a bag drops through your letter box: http://www.Charitybags.Org.Uk/index.Htm

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Give me the ******* money!

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This is Dementia Awareness Week (17-23 May)

Click HERE for more information

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Charity bags: "And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity."

It is an urban myth that Bob Geldof used the title phrase in the 1985 Live Aid campaign to raise money for starving children. He did use the 'f' word in an interview but not as generally quoted. Viewhere.

Concerts were held around the world following a BBC news report on the famine which had afflicted the people of Ethiopia. But potential contributors had a choice. Those who were not in the audience could make a payment or enjoy free entertainment while children starved. Persuasion and conscience were key ingredients.

Charity is big business. Arm twisting is a professional activity. Charities pay arm-twisters a percentage of the money they raise. But what of the target? Legendary poppy seller Olive Cook is presumed to have taken her own life after being sent 260 letters from charities every month asking for money and stress caused by cold callers.

Jenny Phelps, a former carer, 'slammed charities' saying they were 'preying on goodwill' after receiving 1,000 begging letters over five years.

Charities need to get their act together. Stewardship teams like to remind churchgoers that "God loves a cheerful giver", a message not lost on charities but cheerful giving often results in harassment. Once on their books charities will sasaran donors regardless of whether they have already given to their latest appeal and their regular givers with pleas for more cash, often with harrowing pictures to drive their message home.

A practice I find particularly objectionable involves charity consultants ringing donors to encourage them to increase their giving, often from meagre resources, so that they can claim commission.

Another irritation is the intimidating supermarket collection where in-your-face charity collectors glare at customers with a 'don't you pass-by-on-the-other-side look'. Thankfully the pressure has eased since most supermarkets have banned the collection of direct debit details to avoid customers feeling pressurised.

The worst abusers are the scam bag collectors who trade on people's ignorance, sympathy and generosity. It's so easy. Pick a charity, print their details on a bag with the Charity number to make it look authentic then promise to pay the charity between ?50, ?85 or ?100 while making a fortune for themselves - see the charity bag scam here.

According to the British Heart Foundation the trade had led to an estimated loss of donations direct to BHF shops worth ?4.6million over two years. In some cases they said "charities are getting ?50 to ?100 per tonne of goods collected when, in fact, the goods can sell abroad for anything up to ?1,800."

Charities need the money but if there is any doubt that a charity bag is genuine, far better to go direct to the charity shop, some will happily collect, or make a donation directly to such as the Alzheimer's Society displayed in the header.

And be aware of the FRSB ü  logo. I have an animal welfare bag in front of me which prominently displays the tick of approval but reading the small print shows that they will donate a minimum of £50 per tonne of goods collected, presumably leaving the collector in excess of £1500 while claiming that every penny of every pound donated goes to directly to animal welfare. That's just £50 in pennies then!

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It's a funny old world

Christina Rees CBE (Photo: Guardian)                 Bishop Anba Angaelos OBE (Photo: Cranmer)

Ebola scarcely warrants a mention in the media these days thanks to the selfless individuals who literally put their lives on the line in their fight to halt the spread of this highly infectious and generally fatal disease. The Queens Birthday Honours 2015 included a wide variety of people with carefully scaled awards. One of those in the news was a poorly paid Ebola nurse Will Pooley. He was awarded an MBE.

Contrast Will's lowly award for risking his life for the benefit of others with the higher accolades handed out over the years to over-paid footballers for kicking an inflated bladder around a large, grass covered spittoon in front of worshiping clones who clap and gesticulate in unison with hands held aloft, cheering or jeering as the mood takes them while chanting their local mantra, all in the name of sport!

There was less publicity for the Women and the Church (WATCH) starlet Christina Rees who bizarrely was awarded a CBE for "her services to the Church of England". How involvement in the campaign for women bishops is seen as a service to the Church of England is not explained but deluded as ever, Ms Rees said she was "thrilled" by the honour which to her shows the campaign was "recognised as a service for the whole Church, not just about women".

The "whole Church" includes the Catholic Church, the Orthodox Church and the majority of Anglicans who view her campaigning as a disservice to the Church which has resulted in a steep decline in Church attendance as the feminisation of the Church of England accelerates.

But do not despair says the Canon Treasurer of Salisbury Cathedral and former NHS Chief Nurse, Dame Sarah Mullally, who was recently named as Bishop of Crediton: "Empty pews are not the end of the world" (here). Perhaps not but the end of the Church of England.

Again, contrast the CBE award to Christian Rees for "her services to the Church of Englanddanquot; with the lesserOBE awarded to Bishop Anba Angaelos, General Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the UK, honoured for services to international "religious freedomdanquot;, not something that WATCH is renowned for except on their own terms.

Meanwhile in Wales there was no honour for the Archbishop of the Church in Wales who like Ms Rees has used every device to secure the admission of women to the episcopate. But he has been invited to deliver a keynote speech exploring the "ethical dilemmas faced by decision-makers when investing billions on behalf of charitiesdanquot;. Not know for his own charitable views towards anyone who disagrees with him, he has plenty of experience of how things can go downhill. It is interesting to note that charities for the advancement of religion account for about one fifth of all registered charities. One pound in six given to charity goes to religious charities (here).

Dr Morgan said, "How and where we invest our money can say a lot about us. If we believe in values such as justice, equality and respect for others we need to reflect that as much as possible in our investments ? Literally putting our money where our mouth is." It is thought unlikely that the Archbishop's discretionary funds will be referred to.

As Margaret Thatcher said at her last cabinet meeting after being ousted from office, "It's a funny old world". Not words a compliant bench of bishops is likely to hear.

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Faith, hope and charity?

"And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three;but the greatest of these is charity". Perhaps some of the most familiar words in the Bible and it seems, the most readily forgotten. Compare these words with those used in the statement by the House of Bishops: The House recognised and felt the profound and widespread sense of anger, grief and disappointment experienced by so many in the Church of England and beyond. 'Beyond' could well refer to the Episcopal Church of Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori who shows a complete lack of charity towards those who disagree with herhere, here, here and here. I could go on but for the latest read Anglican Ink here.

If ever there were a need to heed warning signs! But the fractured liberal wings of the Anglican Communion are so obsessed with (some) women in the church and sexual equality that they flap around ignoring the wider spiritual direction of the universal church and risk ending up in a protestant Cul-de-sac completely separated from the Catholic church of East and West of our creed.

Unrepresentative liberal bishops constantly use selective figures to justify their actions while ignoring the reality of the position in which they find themselves having become slaves of WATCH. I was particularly interested to read the statement put out by Reform in response to the announcement about the working group on women bishops:Prebendary Rod Thomas said he was ‘nonplussed' as to why the membership of the working group does not contain anybody who shares our convictions about male headship – despite the fact that this was a key concern underlying the vote on 20th November.

This comes hot on the heels of an excellent article here about the Church failing to respect its minority voices. But I would add a note of caution to a suggestion repeated in the article: One of the ways forward might be to look at what the Church in Wales is trying to achieve in having separate arrangements for both matters and not having one without the other. Read the reality of the position in Waleshere.

The working group must recognise that the 'majority' view regarding the ordination of women is a minority view in the wider church beyond the Church of England. Within the C of E a significant minority opposed to the ordination of women on theological grounds are also loyal members of the Church of England and in all charity deserve the right to test their resolve in arrangements designed to suit their needs. Anything else is not only unethical, it is unscriptural.

Postscript

Typical of the double standards employed by liberal bishops, the Archbishop of Wales says he does not want a ban on gay marriages in the Church in Wales. He said: "I am not sure we want that kind of protection which makes us out to be very unwelcoming and homophobic". It is not homophobic to believe that marriage is between one man and one woman but his attitude to the 'traditionalist' minority within his own church is already very unwelcoming. Dr Morgan added:"It is not that I am advocating that the Church in Wales is right to perform gay marriages but that decision needs to be made by the Church in Wales, it’s not for the State to decide for us." As with his proposalsfor woman bishops, my guess based on previous form is that he wants to make same-sex marriage legal and sweep up the opposition afterwards.

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Archbishop sets out his stall

With seemingly nothing better to do on a Sunday, the Archbishop of Wales helped to man a stall at a Bridgend weddingfayre yesterday (now in the third year of pulpits being swopped for wedding stands) in his latest bid to drag in anyone to prop up the dwindling numbers attending Church in Wales services under his leadership headship influence.

Defending his absence from the pulpit he said: "These days couples have a huge choice of where and how they can marry. The Church has been in the business of marriage longer than anyone and we want to show couples that a church wedding is particularly special. So we're encouraging them to come and see what we can offer and how we can help them. A wedding fayre is a great place in which to do this and I'm looking forward to meeting people this weekend."

The Reverend Mike Komor of Coity, Nolton and Brackla with Coychurch added: "The idea first came about a few years ago because we had been talking about how many young people seem to be under the misperception that unless they attend a church they can't get married in one. We hit upon the idea of attending a wedding fayre to raise awareness of this issue." - The cost of a church wedding ceremony is ?321, plus ?200 if a Common Licence is needed or an extra fee of around ?250 for a Special Licence.

There is no suggestion that couples have to believe in the Christian faith when touting for business so does that mean that the service will be 'Doctored' for civil use or will the church simply carry on as they have with the ordination/consecration services as if nothing has happened? This is the officialteaching of the Church in Wales:

"The introduction to the Church in Wales Marriage Service describes marriage as a gift from God. The Bible teaches that marriage is a life-long, faithful union between a man and a woman, and compares married love with the love Jesus has for his people – a love expressed in his willing sacrifice of himself on the cross."

"Jesus therefore sets the greatest example of unconditional, self-sacrificial love – a model that husband and wife can seek to follow in the way they love one another, each putting the other’s needs first.  At the heart of the marriage ceremony is the exchange of vows, in which a couple make a public declaration of lifelong commitment to love each other, whatever the future may bring."

"Christians believe that in marriage we find the proper expression of our sexuality, a secure environment for bringing up our children, and an important element of stability for the wider community."

But the Archbishop is not one for keeping to the Christian faith if it suits his secular rencana so competing for business with the 114 wedding venues in Glamorgan must seem perfectly natural.

Happy couples may be assured that the cost of the sacrament of marriage is cheap when compared with other wedding costs. However, couples living in sin in the Parish of Dan yr Epynt in the wilds of Brecknockshire should be advised that they will need to undergo marriage preparation classes. Yet to catch up with the Archbishop's new found enlightenment, that must be anathema to someone who favours marriage between same-sex couples, thereby offering further opportunities for swelling numbers and raking-in even more cash.

On the last point the Archbishop has warned of the dangers of the church being seen as homophobic and, somewhat laughingly for regular worshippers familiar with Dr Morgan's modus operandi, called for discussions to be "charitable"!

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Bishop of St Asaph to extend the hand of friendship

The Rt Rev Gregory Cameron, Bishop of St Asaph, possibly the  next Archbishop.      Sourse: ITV

Traditionalists in the Church in Wales should not get too excited. The Bishop of St Asaph was addressing the need not to befriend 'traditionalist' Anglicans left leaderless in the Church in Wales but so-called 'terrorists' in an ITV discussion on "How we can tackle extremism?"

Observed taking refreshment after the funeral of Bishop David Thomas, the bishop of St Asaph then made time to give his views on matters Muslim rather than attempt with others present to put their own house in order.

The three current Church in Wales diocesan bishops who attended the funeral ignored the family'sinvitation to robe in convocation dress and paraded themselves in cope and mitre in a gesture that once again appeared to be progressives thumbing their noses to traditionalists. Bishop David would not have been surprised given his treatment by Barry and his bench sitters during his time as Provincial Assistant Bishop.

In the ITV discussion, listeners were led to believe that extremism results from Muslims being the victims. No mention of numerousverses in the Koran which command Muslims to kill infidels, Jews and Christians wherever they are found.

True, the hand of friendship should be extended but to draw Muslims to Christ by comparing His message of hope and forgiveness with instructions in the Koran to kill non-believers. However, when he speaks of love and friendship Bishop Gregory should remember that charity begins at home. His message would then carry more force.

"Be joyful and keep the faith!"

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