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Faith has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Like many of my peers in the 1980s and 1990s, I grew up surrounded by the Church and the activities associated with it.
In fact, as a family and as a community, most of our free time was spent on faith-related events. Fast forward a few decades and things have changed, for me personally, at least a bit.
Churches and religious communities play an important role in Northern Irish society. In many urban areas, there is a church and congregation on almost every street corner.
While many still attend weekly services (although the impact of Covid has yet to be assessed), we know the numbers have been actively declining across all major faiths.
I do not have all the answers as to why and I want to make it clear that in many areas and on many issues the church is doing a good, hopeful and useful job – supporting food banks, community initiatives, vacation programs and children’s / youth activities to name.
However, for many people, I have become more and more aware that the Church feels disconnected from life in today’s modern world, including attitudes towards our LGBT + community, women, the difference. , disability and diversity.
It doesn’t even begin to take into account the damage that the legacy of mother and baby homes and the impact of abuse has had on individuals, families and communities, much of which has yet to be properly. recognized or treated.
I grew up in the traditional context of the evangelical conservative church, but nowadays my faith is probably best described as progressive. Last year I joined the team at Left Side Up, a progressive faith-based organization based in Belfast where I lead the Faith and Mental Health project.
Labels never really do justice to anyone or anything, and what one person means by progressive may be different from another. But for me and Left Side Up, we use the term to emphasize that we are fully inclusive because of the Christian faith, not despite it.
Lindsay Robinson (Image: Justin Kernoghan / Belfast Live)
Our slogan for the organization is Theology for the Whole Person, which we believe is important because faith should have something to say about all of us: body, minds and spirits. We believe that Christianity is a movement on the fringes and that it is at its best when it offers a genuine welcome, not when it seeks power and influence.
Our eternal destination is no more important or meaningful than our lives lived here, at this time, in community, loving those around us. This is, after all, what Jesus explained as the most important commandment: love God, love your neighbor, love yourself.
Passionate about mental health and well-being for all, we have spent the past 7 months researching faith and mental health, listening to and learning from the experiences of those connected to the church and to the faith.
We found that while everyone who attended believed that the Church has a role to play in this area, too often it does not do it well. Our call to action launched on June 8 with the approval of the Minister of Health, Robin Swann, seeks to challenge, equip and support churches and religious communities to do better.
Our job, my job, is not to call the church or to be held to account, in a negative sense, but to call us all forward, as I include myself and Left Side Up in any challenge that we underline.
For those who look at the Church and wonder if God has any relevance today, we say loud and clear, yes! God still speaks, and we often hear him better on the margins of society. The question for people in churches and faith communities is: are we ready to listen?
To learn more about Left Side Up, click here.
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