Day 15 - A Starting Point for Change

In warm weather I like to sit on a bench with a coffee looking back at our lovely village chapel in the High Peak, appreciating my surroundings. All around me are the rolling hills, some with livestock grazing and an array of birds taking flight, I can’t help thanking God for the beauty that surrounds me. At this time of year, as we proceed through Lent there are so many signs of God’s creation to raise our spirits.

Contrast this scene with where I live, on the outskirts of the City of Manchester. Over the last ten years, sadly, changes have not been for the better. The only green space is in the community parks. Everywhere looks so run down and unloved. There are heaps of rubbish strewn everywhere you go. People dump old furniture and household rubbish on the streets on a near daily basis, despite the recycling centre being only a few streets away. There are abandoned recycling bins tipped up or overflowing, left on the streets for days. Many of the grids on the roads are blocked, creating pools of water everywhere when it rains. Here it feels like no-one cares.

I‘m reminded of the verse in Jeremiah, “And I brought you into a plentiful land to enjoy its fruits and its good things. But when you came in, you defiled my land and made my heritage an abomination”. Jeremiah 2:7

Two very different starting points for change! The issues where I live are deep rooted, the problems are many: people’s attitudes to responsibility; housing issues; education; lack of money and job opportunities; people’s moral compass; and much more. It will take a lifetime to turn around something that is multi-generational. But that isn’t a reason not to try.

I’m lucky that I can travel into open spaces, but many in my neighbourhood never leave the community. Today in our local park some small saplings have been planted by a small group of community activists. I am praying already that they survive longer than a few days, as recently they built a bug hotel which only survived about a week before it was vandalised. Recently the snowdrops, crocus and daffodils still managed to grow and break through the rubbish around them, bringing welcome splashes of colour. God’s hand can be seen everywhere, beautiful and pure and will find a way to show itself through the mayhem created by us.

We are reminded in Paul’s letter to the Romans that all have a responsibility to protect our environment, not only for ourselves but for future generations. “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose”. Romans 8:28

Whatever type of community you live in, and whatever your age or ability I hope that you make the time to input into it in some way, however small a contribution you make, as collectively we can make a difference. I regularly go into the park to litter pick and after an hour or so you can see a difference in the patch I have cleared, even if by the next day it is covered again with plastic bottles and crisp packets etc. I walk my dog in the park numerous times a day and most of the local children know us. I talk to the children and try to explain that the bottle they have just smashed all over the path could cause a small child to get hurt or may cause a dog to cut its paws. I then go home for a brush and shovel to sweep it up. I regularly contact the local council to report damage and when the bins in the park haven’t been emptied for weeks, and they are overflowing, I ring the local park manager to report it.

Small things but my hope is that together we will make a difference.

Kathy Shaw