backdrop

This city I call home has been my personal backdrop for over 60 years. The church spires that stand proud over the city scape speak of an older day when church attendance was high and clerics were men (as they all were then) of respect and integrity. Although, in my view at least, faith has not diminished, church attendances are falling off and many of the established faith communities are losing their place in the wider, secular narrative. New communities have imported new Gods and we struggle with sharing the divinity with "others". So beneath these drab, dark, brick-lined streets, people still struggle to be heard, to be accepted, be treated as equals - as if equality and rights were things to be won, granted by others or earned.
Today, I asked myself the question, what would bring light and hope to those on the margins? It is not institutional religion, governmental policies but faithful people who seek the welfare of the city and are willing to take small, often dangerous steps towards a more shared and tolerant society. From such prodigal actions new hope is birthed.