Our little church in City Road, Birmingham turned out to be at the centre of one of the most terrible and notable events - the deaths of three young men run down by a car as they sought to protect family businesses on nearby Dudley Road. For a few hours the community held its breath as if waiting for catastrophe. We thank God for the courage and calmness of a bereaved father who made it clear that the victim's families were not seeking revenge. In just a few moments every single stereotype about our Muslim neighbour's concept of justice and retribution was challenged and changed.
We are a small church in one of the poorest corners of urban Britain but it was left to us to represent God's love and British Methodism at this most dangerous of times. We issued an immediate statement expressing our shock at the killings but our admiration for the families' response. We placed a floral tribute on the makeshift shrine on Dudley Road. Paul our Minister (above) led us to join the peace rally held in the park opposite our buildings. We offered our facilities to the rally organisers should they have needed a back up.
In the face of so much violence and aggression, and at a time of incredible tension, we as a church instinctively responded in a positive way. There was no need to wait for a lead from Connexional headquarters, no need to hold a committee meeting, we just got on with it. Much to our astonishment our seemingly puny response made the front page of the Methodist Recorder, even using photographs taken by me. How much we would have preferred such a public mention to be in happier circumstances.
Over the last few years I and others have felt utter despair for the future of our church in particular and Methodism in general.. The denomination's dysfunctional structures and appointments seem to militate against maintaining a Methodist presence in areas such as Rotton Park and Winson Green. There are those who think that Methodism should simply pack up and leave the inner city. But our church is part of a diverse hard working community that is battered on an hourly basis by poverty, violence, drug dealing, pimps, and all the negatives that make urban life uncomfortable for many Christians. Didn't John Wesley say that we should not simply go where we are needed, but go where we are needed most?
However we can now see that our seemingly mad vision of replacing the roof on a 100 year old building was inspired by God. We know that some came close to mocking us. We know that many of us face really very heavy and very personal spiritual attacks. But the events of August 2011 have shown that our community is crying out to hear and experience the Gospel.
