You may not be aware, but today is officially World Toilet Day. Why, you may be asking, do we need a World Toilet Day?
Can you imagine not having a toilet? Can you imagine not having privacy when you need to relieve yourself? Although unthinkable for those living in wealthy parts of the world, this is a harsh reality for many. One in three people in world does not have access to a toilet - that's about 2.5 billion people.
The health risks of poor or no sanitation are obvious - but we might not be aware of the deadly consequences. Diarrhoea, for example, kills one child every 20 seconds - that's more that HIV/AIDS, malaria and measles combined.
There are also issues of dignity and safety. Poverty and poor sanitation are closely linked. Improving sanitation often leads to a move out of poverty - as people get healthier they are able to work more, children are able to stay in school ...
Many charities are working with communities across the world to improve sanitation and build toilets.
That's why we have a World Toilet Day.
I'm sure we all like a good celebration. The skies around here have been full of fireworks over the last week as the local Hindu community celebrates Diwali. I was talking to a dad outside school on Wednesday - he was off to Toys-R-Us to get Diwali presents for his children and complaining that they are abusing the system as they are expecting Christmas presents as well.
I'm sure that within every culture there are celebrations or ceremonies that take place at points during the year - events that are significant in helping those communities tell and remember their story.
The Old Testament people of Israel were no different. Each year they celebrated seven annual feasts. These feasts were ordained by God and God had told them when to celebrate and how to celebrate. Last Sunday, we looked at four of those feasts as we continue our journey through the book of Leviticus. The instructions are laid out in Leviticus 23.
[We looked at the Day of Atonement a few weeks ago and we're looking at Passover and Unleavened Bread next week.]
The feasts of Firstfruits, Weeks and Tabernacles are directly linked to the harvest. In Israel there were two harvests each year - the barley harvest in the spring and the wheat harvest in the autumn.
The Feast of Firstfruits happens right at the beginning of the barley harvest - the very first thing that is done with the first sheaf that is harvested is that it is offered to God by the priest. It is a thank you to God for the firstfruits and also an anticipation of the harvest still to come. The firstfruits are a sign and a promise of what is to follow over the coming weeks of hard work and labour.
This feast is a reminder to us to be thankful for all that we have, and to give back to God out of the first and best that we have. Not to wait until everything else is taken care of and then give to God out of what is left.
This blog covers a whole range of topics from running to geocaching to shoe boxes to understanding and applying the Bible. Earlier this week I went to a great presentation by Stephen Cage from an organisation called Biblica.
As you will see from the following couple of clips, one of their concerns is how people are engaging with the Bible - or how they are not engaging with it to be more specific. In many countries we have more access to the Bible then ever before. We have multiple translations at home, we have it on our computers, we can access it on our phones, we get it emailed in daily chunks...but are we really engaging with it? Are we getting into it and is it getting into us? And if not, why not?
The observant among you will have noticed that I wrote a blog a few days ago about Motivation (part 1) and you're probably wondering when part 2 is coming. It's in the pipeline! But I'm sure most of us are motivated by doing something with others - which is what makes the community aspect of this project so exciting.
At the moment I'm thinking about how we might use this resource in the new year as a whole church. Let me know what you think...
The first 138 shoeboxes have been checked and are now on their way to Borehamwood.
The boxes will be stored there in a large warehouse, until there are enough to fill a container lorry. Once that number is reached the container is filled and begins its 28 day journey to Swaziland.
