Unemployed?

Many of you will already know that my job at CSC Computer Sciences was moved to a cheaper location on 17th March 2008. As a result I am no longer in paid employment, but am living on the proceeds of redundancy pay. It is also common knowledge that I was licensed as a Reader in October 2007. Reader training takes, altogether, four years. It starts with attending the Course in Christian Studies for two years, and then moves on to Reader training for a further two years.

Working at CSC, a very large global company, is to experience constant change. There is always the possibility that a reorganisation, or a change of client, will mean that your job becomes more difficult, or easier, or even disappears. It is something that you learn to live with. In 2003 the major projects I was working on had completed, and my team was cut down to 3 as the work was reorganised and re-aligned. I was assigned to a different part of the organisation, and began to get involved in different work. My workload had reduced significantly. My responsibilities were no longer quite so close to the front line. During late 2004 and early 2005 I completed the transition into the role I have been working in since.

When my employment was put at risk I was speaking to someone in the office, and closing down some of the issues I had asked him to look at for me. I happened to have my Bible open on my desk. I was using it to change my password. I use the initial letters of a verse of scripture, and needed a new verse as my passwords had expired. He asked me about the Bible, and told me he was a Christian. We had quite a long chat, and he reminded me of Romans 8:28*. Paul Hinckley used to say that you can often only see what God has done, not what he is doing. As I look back over the years of training I now see that some of the more difficult and demanding parts of my job disappeared, and provided me with a little extra time to get on with the study that I needed to do to complete my course and get to licensing. Then less than six months after licensing the job comes to a complete end, and I have to start looking for another one. Had that happened during the training, I may not have finished the course. With Warner being unwell, I have had very little time to put my feet up and enjoy my time off. That would probably not be something I would enjoy anyway. I like to be busy, and have plenty of things to do.

What has God got planned for my future? Well, of course, I don't know. I believe that I have been called to be a Reader, and that so far as I am aware at the moment that is my only calling. What I can testify to is that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. I believe I can see that evidence in the things that have happened in the last few years. So I know that God has His plans, and all I can do is to follow them as faithfully as I can, as I continue to search for some new paid employment whatever form that may take.

Yours in Christ,
Pete

(* Romans 8:28 “ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”) Ed
 

Shrinking the Footprint

The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world and all who live in it (Psalm 24:1)

Christ Church’s carbon footprint – drinks cartons and mobile phones

You may remember that several months ago the Shrinking the Footprint group wrote about recycling tetrapaks. These cardboard drinks cartons, lined with aluminium or a wax coating are recyclable, but at the time there was nowhere local to recycle them. Tetrapak.uk works with councils who wish to recycle drinks cartons, and now Basildon D.C. is recycling drinks cartons as a separate material. At the moment it is not through a doorstep collection, but through the large recycling centre at Barleylands. A skip for these was provided before Christmas, and has been so popular, often overflowing, that just recently a second bin has appeared. These cartons are collected by Bywaters, a recycling and waste management company.

So, what can I do about drinks cartons now?

EASY Rinse out, pull out the ears at the top and bottom and it is easy to squash the tetrapak absolutely flat. You will save at least 80% per carton in bin space in this way, whether you are putting these in your own bin, or in the recycling skip at Barleylands. This hardly takes any time at all (and only the effort to pull out the ears!!) HARDER Collect the flattened drinks cartons at home in order to take them to Barleylands when passing, or when there are enough to justify a journey. Barleylands also takes many other items – including small non-working electrical appliances, which have useful recyclable parts. HARDEST Make a link with friends or family and collect tetrapaks together to cut down on journeys to Barleylands - and to help out friends who aren't local, whose local district councils are not yet recycling drinks cartons

Disposing of specialised rubbish like this in a way which reduces the damage to the environment is part of our responsibility for the world that God has given us to live in – and sometimes there is a cost for us – in inconvenience. This is a cost which is significantly less than that which people in developing countries – also God’s people – are paying for the impact of climate change on their lives and livelihoods

Liz Slater
on behalf of the Shrinking the Footprint group