Rubbish

Just watched a Channel 4 documentary on the Coptic Christians in Egypt.

The show was very fair, not hiding the well known fact that the Christian minority are brutally discriminated against by the Muslim government. Despite intimidation and secret police interference, the reporters got several worthwhile interviews.

Footage was shown of the rubbish slums - where Christians live among the rubbish, rats, pigs and bottles. They gather the refuse from the city, sort and recycle it to squeeze out a living. Yet the sense of community, love and joy was evident. The reporter said that the stench from the rubbish was so bad that it hurt the back of his throat - yet the Christians were more moved by the fact that in their slum they could have what law forbade them anywhere else - a church to meet in. Even there, their building was underground, carved out of rock, and girls walking to church ran the risk of being kidnapped and forcefully married off to Muslims. One family that endured that humiliation was interviewed in secret and explained how the police response to the kidnapping was to arrest the father.

I remember reading reports of Coptic Christians in Egypt being beaten and crucified by police, eight years ago. It looks as if little has changed.

The most powerful momment in the interviews came towards the end of the programme, when the reporter spoke with a relatively well off Christian shop keeper. The reporter was clearly bemused that this man had moved, with his family into the rubbish slum - voluntarily dwelling in a rat infested dump where animals nibbled his kids' ears at night. He asked the man (at a baptism service) why he moved out of the Muslim area to the rubbish slum. The reply?

'Better to live in rubbish with Jesus than to live in Muslim area without him.'

Sermon: Repentance, Baptism & Spirit

Here is a sermon preached last week on Mark 1:1-8.

Augustine published his retractions of all errors at the end of his life - I am happy to start issuing mine now. Every time I mention Elisha in the sermon, I meant Elijah. I retract all mentions of Elisha.

The sermon deals with the issue of the importance of the Holy Spirit and makes the case that 'repentance is not enough'.

http://www.christchurchmedia.org.uk/catalog/event.shtml?;i=383;bs=dp;bi=