the west London mission

Christmas Appeal 2007 There’s a crack in the floor of Tate Modern. You will have read about it. It is a work of art, an installation in the vast Turbine Hall in that building. It is by the Chilean artist Doris Salcedo. It’s a simple idea, brilliantly executed. It’s provocative –and thought-provoking. It is entitled ‘Shibboleth’. It thus has its roots in the Old Testament, in a story of tribal division. The artist is inviting us to explore the cracks in human society, as perilous to us as if a large building was suffering from subsidence. The crack begins near the entrance to the Hall and runs the whole length of the floor. It’s jagged, as cracks are – but it resembles boundaries between peoples and countries, perhaps following natural contours like a coast or a river. It varies in depth and width. When you have followed it to the end of the building it comes up against a reflective surface in which you can see yourself and the crack stretching right the way back to the entrance. The crack never ends. Visitors aren’t sure what to do with it. They photograph each other astride it. Some put their feet down the crack. Others carry on normal conversations and step round it from time to time as it meanders its way down the building. Others walk it reflectively, like a labyrinth. The first question asked, invariably, is how did the artist do it? She is quite clear that it is not a natural crack – the wire used to hold the concrete in the mould is clearly and deliberately visible. It didn’t just appear. It’s man-made. But there’s a mystery as to how it got there. The second question is how they are going to restore the floor, to remove the crack when the exhibition ends. The cracks in our society are evident, perhaps seen with greater clarity at the centre of a city. There are the ongoing tribal divisions, differences of ethnicity and culture. The use of an Old Testament image in the Tate is a reminder of the divisions of faith. People walk on different sides of lines, use different languages. There’s an ‘in’ crowd – and young people, with their groupings, be they Goths or Emos, each with their own dress and language, continue the pattern. But perhaps the greatest divide is wealth, for wealth buys a place in society, gets you to the table, gives you a voice. If you are poor and excluded and ill – then where do you turn? Yesterday I was walking down the High Street at the end of the lunch break. The cafes and supermarket were busy. People were smartly dressed, talking into their mobile phones. Others were coming back from shopping, with brightly coloured bags from the stores on Oxford Street. As I crossed the road I saw someone come towards me. A woman of uncertain age, unkempt, keeping her eyes down – almost certainly someone living on the streets. And then she winced as if she had stubbed her toe –and I looked down and realised she hadn’t any shoes – she was walking just in socks. The crowd flowed by as I stopped. She knew about the Day Centre. She might pop into Hinde Street’s Wednesday Club later for something warm to eat and drink. We might have some shoes. As she walked slowly on she stopped to talk to the guy selling the Big Issue outside the Supermarket –someone else on the other side of the ‘crack’ – almost invisible. As London has grown as a world centre for finance, so have the disparities between rich and poor. It costs a lot just to live here. As the pace of life has grown, so there have become more victims – people unable to cope. As people flow into this city from across the country, the continent, the world, so there are many who enjoy the buzz that this gives to life, the energy that fuels the city. There are others who are lost, fearful. The cracks are there –and the edifice is shaky. It is in this context that the West London Mission lives and works. It sees the fault lines. It talks to people on different sides, trying to speak their language –whether the statutory authorities’ mix of care and enforcement, outcomes and robust measures or the person on the street struggling to express their need or their rage. It places itself in the cracks – bridging, connecting –often at personal cost. And it argues that such divides are man-made – and whilst they may never be resolved they can be continually addressed. In all this it seeks to follow Jesus – who crossed boundaries, sought to reconcile and heal and dared to say that truth was often discovered on the ‘wrong’ side of the divide. This is our annual Christmas Appeal – the only time we ask for money. The work cannot be sustained without donations, particularly for our work with the homeless. Will you help us? Will you help us bridge the gaps? Will you resource us to converse, to share goodness and good news, to listen and engage with polished words or incoherence? Will you sustain our ministry here? Will you help us provide shoes for fragile feet, care for confused minds, support for those who have very little. There are cracks in our society. Where are you standing? With grateful thanks Geoff Cornell Superintendent Minister Support our work by downloading this donation form. Geoff Cornell, 07/12/2007 Add a comment  |  Permalink

About the West London Mission

The West London Mission is a circuit of the Methodist Church which has an unusually distinguished history. It has at least three major parts:

• One is Hinde Street Methodist Church, about which you can read elsewhere on this site.

• Another is King's Cross Methodist Church, a recent addition to the circuit. It is situated in an increasingly vibrant part of London, and comprises two congregations - one English-speaking, and one Chinese-speaking. You can read more about the activities of this exciting church here in English, and here in Mandarin.

• The third part of our body is our Social Work, a network of projects, hostels and schemes planted around London, through which we aim to put into practice our belief in Christ's care for those in need. You can read more about our schemes here.