Faith in the community: Is the Church 'doing politics' again?

I got myself into a bit of hot water last week, with some of my parishioners. I announced that I would be running a hustings for local election candidates in our ward.

That, of course, brought forward the usual angry comments about the church involving itself in politics. So, here’s a thought…

Politics is the ‘business of the polis’ (an old Latin word for ‘the people’). The church does, in fact, involve itself in the ‘business of the people’ every time that it does anything other than hold a service of worship. (Actually, even worship is a political act, for it is an activity of the people, gathered together.)

For Christians – and, in fact, all religion – our worship, directed towards our God, is the inspiration for then stepping out with acts of service to our community.

Serving others is a profoundly political act. It’s no co-incidence that the word ‘minister’ applies to both church leaders and leading politicians.

Jesus of Nazareth made profoundly political statements. He famously stood up in his home synagogue, and read from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah – announcing that he had come to bring good news to the poor, to release captives, and to set prisoners free.

In a society which had very little in the way of welfare support, and which routinely locked people up for disagreeing with the people in power, this was a profoundly political statement.

So, this Saturday (April 27) at 7.30pm, in St Faith’s Havant, I will be holding the feet of our local political candidates to the flame, at our hustings for the local elections. We’ll be talking about homelessness, parking, rates, planning, water, rubbish and a whole host of other local government issues.

We’ll be asking what their policies would be, if elected to power on May 2, on a whole range of issues – issues that are distinctly the ‘business of the polis’.

I am a neutral observer of politics, who worked for five years in Westminster as a government adviser.

I’ll be chairing the hustings. I am very interested to know how politicians will respond to the radical call of Jesus of Nazareth, to ‘love our neighbour’ in practical, political ways. All are welcome to come along and find out – or to watch the livestream on our Facebook page.

ST FAITH’S CHURCH, West Street, Havant, PO9 1LNwww.stfaith.com