A few days ago I read this article on the Cross Rhythms website by Elizabeth Berridge who is Chairperson of Christians in Politics. Christians in Politics is jointly owned by the Christian Socialist Movement, the Conservative Christian Fellowship and the Liberal Democrat Christian Forum.
This is an extract from the article:
“In recent years, it has been wonderful to see the rise in interest in politics among the Christian community in the UK. Many more Christians are writing to their MPs and to the House of Lords to make their views known on legislation and churches are among the few groups that still hold hustings at election time…
“Although many Christians write warm, clear and reasonable letters, I am sorry to say that we too often have recourse to long tracts of Leviticus written in red or green ink, just to make sure the point is not lost. Such long tracts might make a great sermon but are they really appropriate in this context, especially when the MP or their staff may not have attended church for years. We may think we have spoken the truth but was it really in love and has it really helped the promotion of the gospel? What would you say to the researcher, who has spent months witnessing to their colleagues in the office, when the mail bag contains such highly emotive and angry representations. Don’t people matter more than any issue?
“Permit me to make a suggestion. Why not buy your MP an Easter card this year. Not a mass produced one by a campaigning group, but just make a tiny detour when you are next in Tesco, write it and pop it in the post. I think most supermarkets even have a post box. Wouldn’t it be great if MPs and their staff were saying to one another “have you suddenly got 50 Easter cards? It really makes opening the post more fun.” How would the colleague witnessing in the MPs office feel…”
So how about it? Why not send your MP an Easter card saying something along the lines of:
‘Dear…
Thank you for the work you do serving our constituency. I pray that God will bless you this Easter.”
Yours sincerely…’
What do you think? Is it a good act of witness? You can do it even if you voted for someone else. Your local MP’s address can be found HERE.
Categories: Easter, Parliament
God and Politics in the UK 