Pies and Prejudice

The book lived up to the hype. 'Pies and Prejudice' by Stuart Maconie really is worth the read. He's billed as 'the new Bill Bryson' (not that there's anything wrong with the old one!) and I agree.

This book (it's a great title isn't it?) is a northerners return to the north of England. Very wittily written though I think you will apppreciate it more if you are from the north as well!

So many memories of my childhood years came flooding back. A wonderful return to the place where dinner is at midday, tripe and onion is on the menu and there are real football teams to go and see.

Sparoda

I met Sparoda on my recent trip to India. She was a quiet lady with a gentle smile. This is her story…

When my friend Blessy first saw Sparoda, she was in chains with ropes tied around her hands. It took a number of men to hold her down. She was skin and bones, possessed of many evil spirits, shouting, screaming, spitting. Blessy and some other ladies began to pray for her. Sparoda’s family were desperate to see her free and in her right mind. They had been told of Blessy and the church by a Moslem lady where Blessy had helped restore her marriage.

At first there was no change. If anything, Sparoda screamed and shouted all the more. The ladies commanded the spirits to be quiet in Jesus’ name. Sparoda fell to the floor and stayed still for a long time. The ladies continued to pray.

Over the next month, Sparoda stayed in Blessy’s home. She was calm but would not eat. But day by day, she was getting better. Her demeanour was calmer and there was less and less shouting. The ladies continued to pray. After a month, Sparoda began to eat and build her strength again.

At first she would not wash. One of the curses put on her by the village witch doctor, who had caused the madness, was to see soap as human faeces. But with help, she began to see it for what it was and began to clean and wash herself. Sparoda stayed with Blessy for three months and went back home in her right mind and with a Christian faith replacing her Hindu superstitions.

At the time Blessy and her friends were praying for Sparoda, at the very moment Sparoda fell to the floor, the village witch doctor who had performed curses over her (for payment from a family who disliked Sparoda’s family) began to act in the same way Sparoda had. He felt he was burning up, he wanted to scream and shout. But he did not want to admit to it as it would have given away the fact to the village that he had brought about the curses in the first place.

When Sparoda returned to the village, she went to the witch doctor. She said God had turned around all that had been intended for harm. She spoke of the power of Jesus. And she led the witch doctor to a saving faith in Jesus Christ.

An amazing story. And when you see Sparoda, you know how much God has done. Her smile says it all!

Peterborough- Strangely Attractive to the Rest of the World

There was a documentary on prime time BBC2 this week on Peterborough and the number of Eastern European immigrants who are coming to our city. The final narration in the documentary was 'Peterborough - strangely attractive to the rest of the world'. I guess it was said a bit tongue in cheek, but I take it as an accolade. I think it's great to have so many nations in our city. We have over 50 represented in our church alone.

I hope and pray that as a city we will lead the way with a vibrant, integrated, cooperative, international community!