Saturday 13 March 2010

A Blast from the past!!

I am including my letter published by the Courier on 17 October 2008 simply to retain it in case the website it was retrieved from goes down!

CONGRATULATIONS on your four-page special report on homelessness and also making it the front page story (Courier, October 10).

It is clear from the report that it is Christian organisations which are doing a huge amount of work to alleviate/overcome the problems faced by homeless people: The Bridge Trust (houses and street teams), Crisis Recovery, Soup Bowl, West Kent YMCA, Christian Alliance, Wayfarer Project and the Salvation Army.

Much of this work is funded by members of church congregations. Your correspondent, Mrs Grimes, stated that faith is decaying. In Tunbridge Wells the Christian faith is alive, thriving and undertaking much good work.

Contrary to Mrs Grimes' opinion (in last week's letter) there are many Christians whose faith "has been hammered out on the anvil of doubt" (Archbishop Michael Ramsay) or whose faith is not based on blindly accepting the Church's teachings. I don't recognise the caricature that Mrs Grimes sets up and then knocks down.

Apart from homelessness issues the Christian church is involved in the community through the Number One Community Trust, the Rusthall Youth and Community Project (congratulations to Mike Bassett on a well-deserved civic medallion) which started as a Christian outreach, the Rusthall Lunch Club, The Good Neighbour Project, the exciting community proposals at St Barnabas and the work of Pembury Baptist Church. Each is testimony to Christians living their faith and being true to the injunction "love your neighbour".

The news that Kent County Council is proceeding with plans which hopefully will lead to the formation of a Kent-wide credit union will be welcomed by Christian groups in Tunbridge Wells that supported plans to form a credit union covering West Kent.

The Christian church was at the forefront of the successful campaign to make Tunbridge Wells a Fairtrade town and is committed to supporting measures to combat the effects of climate change both locally and in the wider world.

Your full page report on the Horizon Project indicates, again, a Christian-based organisation (West Kent YMCA) working to support individuals.

The Christian church plays a vital role in Tunbridge Wells. Apart from the above there are two church secondary schools and many church primary schools, youth clubs, play groups, debt advice, Crossways – I could add to the list.

The Christian church has been reticent in publicising the work it does in Tunbridge Wells. Some argue that the work it does has been under-valued and under-estimated by statutory organisations and the community. I believe this is changing and not before time.

Your paper has done the Christian church and the community a great service by reporting in one edition the work of unsung heroes who are helping finance or are engaged, without any thoughts of personal gain, status or self-promotion, in activities for the benefit of others.

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