LOVE IS ALWAYS RELEVANT IF YOU want to sell a house in St Ann’s or are looking for a job you give <strong>the</strong> neighbouring, more up market district, Mapperley, as your postal address. The public’s perception <strong>of</strong> St Ann’s is, in fact, based on quite distorted impressions. Despite its reputation I love living in St Ann’s and working <strong>the</strong>re as an adult literacy teacher. For a year Winston spent an hour with me each week so I could help him with his spelling and reading. We had such fun toge<strong>the</strong>r as we laughed our way through <strong>the</strong> sessions and his warm-hearted humour and toothy grin cheered me in a dark time <strong>of</strong> my life. Every now and again after he left I would bump into him on my way to work and experience again his cheerful grin and hearty greeting as he gripped my hand and exclaimed, “Hello, my teacher!” Earlier this year I turned on Radio Nottingham to hear <strong>the</strong> morning news. I couldn’t believe it when I heard Winston’s name. He had been charged with shooting and wounding a man in a night club after a petty row and had been sent down for 30 years. I rushed out to buy a local paper. Was it was true? Sadly it was. A large picture was displayed <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> most forlorn <strong>Jesus</strong> Life One/2008 Page 26 St Ann’s is <strong>the</strong> most deprived ward in Nottingham. It has an unenviable reputation for drug dealing and gun crime. Julia Faire tells some <strong>of</strong> its less wellknown stories – <strong>of</strong> love in <strong>the</strong> midst <strong>of</strong> adversity. pelled” or “constrained” by it (2 Corinthians 5:14.) This is <strong>the</strong> key: love. Love, God’s love poured through His people, is always relevant to people’s lives. Instinctively people know when <strong>the</strong>y are loved. I am a white middle-aged woman from a middle class background – a teacher at that! Yet, I love to talk to some <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> young black hoodied youths that hang out around St Ann’s. At first some <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>m have Winston I could have imagined, with his young, sad, black face and tortured eyes. Grief came over me. I kept looking at <strong>the</strong> picture (I still have it up on my wall.) Winston, why did you do it? I wrote to Winston. I didn’t condone him; it was a terrible thing he had done. I did encourage him to carry on with his spelling in prison. I told him I was praying for him. Winston wrote to me. He told me he had done a foolish thing. He was so grateful to hear from “his teacher”. He was doing “education” in prison. I wrote back. I told him that God is always, always <strong>the</strong> God <strong>of</strong> new starts (and encouraged him that I could see his spelling was really improving!) I can’t forget Winston. One day, one day, I pray he will come to know <strong>Jesus</strong> and experience God’s new start for himself. The message <strong>of</strong> <strong>Jesus</strong> must reach people like many who live in St Ann’s who have found <strong>the</strong>mselves on <strong>the</strong> underside <strong>of</strong> life (<strong>the</strong> message which <strong>Jesus</strong> said was especially for <strong>the</strong> <strong>poor</strong> and <strong>the</strong> underprivileged.) Yet, words alone rarely communicate <strong>the</strong> gospel effectively. Paul spoke <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> love <strong>of</strong> God that so filled him that he was “compocket to spare. Now he was a helpless addict himself, not only to drugs but drink as well, and had known spells <strong>of</strong> prison, street begging, homelessness and living in squats in St Ann’s. Tony kept coming and some friends <strong>of</strong> mine, Alan and Carol, took him into <strong>the</strong>ir home. He got baptised and on <strong>the</strong> advice <strong>of</strong> his key worker went away for 10 months to a drug rehab. He wasn’t allowed to contact us. I had my doubts. Would we ever see Tony again? love crosses every human barrier looked at me a bit strange but after a while I have got a friendly greeting from <strong>the</strong>m and a smile. Love, <strong>the</strong> love that comes from God through us, crosses every human barrier <strong>of</strong> race, age, gender and social difference. Love is always “relevant”. It is not just <strong>the</strong> young who will reach <strong>the</strong> young; it is not just <strong>the</strong> old who will reach <strong>the</strong> old or <strong>the</strong> white <strong>the</strong> white or <strong>the</strong> black <strong>the</strong> black. Tony first turned up at one <strong>of</strong> our church’s meetings with a friend. His friend was drunk and kept interrupting <strong>the</strong> speaker – making <strong>the</strong> meeting very “lively and interactive”! Tony sat attentive and after <strong>the</strong> meeting I went over to talk to him. He was living in a homeless hostel in <strong>the</strong> centre <strong>of</strong> town. Once he had known “better times,” being a drug runner to one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> biggest dealers in <strong>the</strong> town. Then he had had money in his After 10 months Tony returned to Nottingham. Gone was <strong>the</strong> impetuous restlessness <strong>of</strong> a young man with no roots. He steered away from his old haunts and abandoned his life <strong>of</strong> crime and addiction. He found himself a steady girlfriend, Tracey, who in time joined us too and was baptised. Tony had returned as a disciple. Love won Tony. But now his love wins o<strong>the</strong>rs. At Firstfruits, our Christian community house in Nottingham, I am <strong>of</strong>ten greeted by this young man with a warm hug. The gospel has to be lived out in love, and lived out in such a way that people can see it. Like <strong>Jesus</strong>, it has to be lived out on <strong>the</strong> street, in <strong>the</strong> park, on <strong>the</strong> precinct, in <strong>the</strong> shop, at work, outside, inside one’s neighbour’s house. Love, just like <strong>Jesus</strong>, is always relevant. JL Some names have been changed www.jesus.org.uk
o<strong>the</strong>rs Gideon and Jake unitedBro<strong>the</strong>rs Clark have a vision to see young people in Norwich and East Anglia find <strong>the</strong> same life-changing encounter with <strong>Jesus</strong> that <strong>the</strong>y both have. www.jesus.org.uk <strong>Jesus</strong> Life One/2008 Page 27
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