June 21, 2024 • 9 mins
Sienna talks to Emma Nash, a Baptist minister and member of the Methodist Mission Team on voting, the local church, mission, marginalisation and hope in politics. Emma shares how her work and ministry influence why she votes, especially from the perspective of churches in marginalised communities. She makes the case that hope is an action that Christians are called to practice.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hello and welcome to 10 Minutes On, a podcast from the Joint Public Issues Team. My name's Sienna.
I am one of the Joint Public Issues Team interns.
Joining me today is Emma Nash. Emma is a Baptist minister but also works for
the Methodist Connectional in the Missions Team.
Emma, thank you so much for being here today.
As we all know, an election is coming up.
(00:22):
To start off our conversation, I'd love to very simply just hear why you choose
to vote and in particular why maybe you're going to be voting in this general election?
Yeah, thank you. Well, first of all, I vote because I'm a woman.
In my school, my secondary school, it was a girls' school and they used to talk
a lot about being girls and women and the price that was paid in the past for
(00:46):
the freedoms that women enjoy today.
So I always vote every by-election, every local election, every general election.
I also vote because I have a social conscience. And I long to see justice in
terms of public services, in terms of welfare, the NHS, housing, and so on.
And I vote because I'm terrified about the climate crisis.
(01:07):
And I want to see a government that takes that seriously.
Obviously, you work both for the Connectional and for the Baptists.
You've got your feet in two different ecumenical wells.
But how does your faith shape the way that you think about voting and shape
the way that you think about your thinking about the 2024 general election?
(01:28):
Yeah, it's a really interesting question because I've been politically engaged
for a long time, since I was quite young and long before I was a Christian.
And part of my problem in the past was always politics makes me so angry that
I become incoherent and I have to calm myself down.
And that's where repentance comes in, recognising that all people are made in
the image of God, including people I disagree with.
(01:49):
But I would say that my faith these days
tells me that God invites us to join in
the transformation of the world and so for example
I think about the feeding of the 5,000 where
Jesus took five loaves and two fish and thousands
of people were fed and that tells me
that God takes the little that I can offer
(02:10):
and magnifies it and when it comes to a
general election that's even more all clear isn't it we all
get just one vote but everyone making
their one vote adds up to big changes I think
that's so beautiful what you're saying about faith inviting us
into the transformation of the
world with your ministerial hat on what's your hope for how churches engage
(02:35):
in the election do you think churches should engage if so why or why not and
then I'll ask you a couple of above the questions in a minute about that yeah
absolutely I absolutely think that churches should engage.
Some people might say that politics should stay out of the pulpit.
To those people, I would ask, have you read the Old Testament prophets?
(02:57):
Have you read Mary's Magnificat? Have you read the Sermon on the Mount?
Our God is a God of justice.
Obviously, ministers and other church leaders talking party politics,
trying to influence the way people vote, that's not appropriate,
but encouraging people to engage their faith with the way they vote,
and also engage with parties after polling day as well. I would say that's biblical. call.
(03:18):
Mission is about God's transformation of the world that God loves,
and governments have a significant part to play in that.
We quite rightly engage in seeking justice locally, but I believe we also need
to be asking the hard questions and holding our political parties to account.
So that's about carefully making a choice about our votes, but then staying
(03:40):
engaged as well and asking whoever forms the next government,
what are you going to do now regarding the things in your manifestos.
In terms of what that might look like, a couple of thoughts really.
I was part of a church a few years ago that hosted a hustings during the general
election where we had the local candidates come and we hosted an event that
was really well attended with people from the church, but also a lot of people
(04:02):
from the local community.
And so that was great for getting church members engaged in the election,
but also showing our local community, you know, the church cares about who's
in government and what they do with the power that we give them.
Emma, as well as being a minister, you work in the Connectional as part of the missions team.
And I'm aware that there's some work that you guys are doing around church at the margins.
(04:25):
I'd be really interested to hear how the work that you're doing as part of the
mission influences the way that you think about politics.
Yeah, well, so my colleague Eunice Atwood is our church at the margins officer.
We have a, the Methodist Church has made a significant commitment to church
planting, say we call it New Places for New People and Church at the Margins,
(04:46):
and we wanted to see a new place for new people or a church at the margins ultimately in every circuit.
And Church at the Margins in particular is about,
not bringing church to the margins, but discovering that God is already at work
among people who are experiencing economic marginalization and discovering what
(05:07):
it means to be church together.
And so when I think about the general election, I've got my colleague Eunice
in my head saying, what about poverty? What about the cost of living crisis?
What are the parties that want us to put them in government?
What are they going to be doing to support people and trying to pay their gas
(05:28):
and electricity bills to support people trying to feed families.
That's just clarion call really for how we need to be engaging with this election.
And each of our churches and people, our church members also asking themselves,
being aware when they're voting, not just what their needs are.
(05:49):
And of course, those are absolutely valid, but also the needs of people who
are experiencing poverty.
And destitution. I mean, this has been the thing about having Eunice on our
team and I edit our newsletter and Eunice will send me reports that we will
sometimes include in those newsletters.
And just reading the Joseph Rowntree Foundation's research on destitution in
(06:12):
the UK is just heartbreaking.
And so these are the kinds of things that we all need to be holding in our minds
in engaging with the election.
And I believe there's a role for churches to be talking about these issues so
that we all hold these things in our minds while we're reading the manifestos
when they come out and asking ourselves for each party,
(06:34):
you know, what are they going to do about relieving economic poverty in the UK?
I want to probe a little bit into, you said something earlier about how mission
is about being part of God's transformation of the world.
I think it can become really easy for us to feel like that's completely impossible
when it comes to politics, particularly when we see the state of politics or
(06:56):
the state of the UK and the world as it is.
How do you stay hopeful? hopeful it's a great question I yeah came across a
thought a quotation from Rebecca Solnit who wrote hope in the dark she's an
activist she's not a Christian but I love what she writes about hope,
(07:20):
And she says, hope is not a lottery ticket that we sit on the sofa and clutch feeling lucky.
It's an axe we break down doors with in an emergency.
That really just jumped out at me because I was thinking, sometimes I think
we think of Christian hope as being like a lottery ticket.
It's a bit simplistic, but I think we do often think of it as a future thing.
(07:43):
Oh, I, you know, I'm a Christian. I know Jesus.
I have a hope of heaven, heaven on earth, however you understand that.
But we think of it as a future thing and the idea that hope is an axe we break
down doors with I just love that the fact the fact that hope is something we participate in,
and and she I haven't read the whole of her book but
I kind of dipped into it and she talks about how you know
(08:04):
hope is is really risky because
we don't know what the future holds we don't know that it's all going to be okay
and but we're taking a chance we're playing
our part in creating a future that is
different from where we are now so I I just love that the idea so what keeps
me hopeful is is the fact that we can we can do something we can play a small
(08:27):
part you know I I would look I think if I weren't a Christian I think it would
be harder for me to hold on to hope,
I have huge respect for humanists but but where I disagree with humanists is
the view that humans on our own have the potential to transform our world because
I just don't see it that way.
But I would say that with God's help and also the idea that,
(08:51):
you know, 8 billion people each playing a small part adds up to a massive difference.
I love that image of hope being an axe we can break down. We break down doors
with and I think it's so true.
There's so much that we can do. I think that that is definitely something that
I'm going to be thinking about when I'm voting, because a vote is not just for
(09:13):
the party and the leader.
It's a vote for the future of the country that you want and for the kind of
shape of the country that we're hoping to create through the political parties
and political leaders that we elect.
So Emma, you've just been talking about hope, and I'd love to finish on that point about hope.
I hope that we can all be challenged to go out and vote and to support people
(09:35):
who might not be able to vote.
You can find JPIT's topical election briefings, resources to help your church
run an election Sunday at jpit.uk forward slash elections.
That's jpit.uk forward slash elections.
If you've enjoyed this podcast, please share it around. Thank you for listening.
Hello and welcome to 10 Minutes On, a podcast from the Joint Public Issues Team. My name's Sienna.
I am one of the Joint Public Issues Team interns.
Joining me today is Emma Nash. Emma is a Baptist minister but also works for
the Methodist Connectional in the Missions Team.
Emma, thank you so much for being here today.
As we all know, an election is coming up.
(00:22):
To start off our conversation, I'd love to very simply just hear why you choose
to vote and in particular why maybe you're going to be voting in this general election?
Yeah, thank you. Well, first of all, I vote because I'm a woman.
In my school, my secondary school, it was a girls' school and they used to talk
a lot about being girls and women and the price that was paid in the past for
(00:46):
the freedoms that women enjoy today.
So I always vote every by-election, every local election, every general election.
I also vote because I have a social conscience. And I long to see justice in
terms of public services, in terms of welfare, the NHS, housing, and so on.
And I vote because I'm terrified about the climate crisis.
(01:07):
And I want to see a government that takes that seriously.
Obviously, you work both for the Connectional and for the Baptists.
You've got your feet in two different ecumenical wells.
But how does your faith shape the way that you think about voting and shape
the way that you think about your thinking about the 2024 general election?
(01:28):
Yeah, it's a really interesting question because I've been politically engaged
for a long time, since I was quite young and long before I was a Christian.
And part of my problem in the past was always politics makes me so angry that
I become incoherent and I have to calm myself down.
And that's where repentance comes in, recognising that all people are made in
the image of God, including people I disagree with.
(01:49):
But I would say that my faith these days
tells me that God invites us to join in
the transformation of the world and so for example
I think about the feeding of the 5,000 where
Jesus took five loaves and two fish and thousands
of people were fed and that tells me
that God takes the little that I can offer
(02:10):
and magnifies it and when it comes to a
general election that's even more all clear isn't it we all
get just one vote but everyone making
their one vote adds up to big changes I think
that's so beautiful what you're saying about faith inviting us
into the transformation of the
world with your ministerial hat on what's your hope for how churches engage
(02:35):
in the election do you think churches should engage if so why or why not and
then I'll ask you a couple of above the questions in a minute about that yeah
absolutely I absolutely think that churches should engage.
Some people might say that politics should stay out of the pulpit.
To those people, I would ask, have you read the Old Testament prophets?
(02:57):
Have you read Mary's Magnificat? Have you read the Sermon on the Mount?
Our God is a God of justice.
Obviously, ministers and other church leaders talking party politics,
trying to influence the way people vote, that's not appropriate,
but encouraging people to engage their faith with the way they vote,
and also engage with parties after polling day as well. I would say that's biblical. call.
(03:18):
Mission is about God's transformation of the world that God loves,
and governments have a significant part to play in that.
We quite rightly engage in seeking justice locally, but I believe we also need
to be asking the hard questions and holding our political parties to account.
So that's about carefully making a choice about our votes, but then staying
(03:40):
engaged as well and asking whoever forms the next government,
what are you going to do now regarding the things in your manifestos.
In terms of what that might look like, a couple of thoughts really.
I was part of a church a few years ago that hosted a hustings during the general
election where we had the local candidates come and we hosted an event that
was really well attended with people from the church, but also a lot of people
(04:02):
from the local community.
And so that was great for getting church members engaged in the election,
but also showing our local community, you know, the church cares about who's
in government and what they do with the power that we give them.
Emma, as well as being a minister, you work in the Connectional as part of the missions team.
And I'm aware that there's some work that you guys are doing around church at the margins.
(04:25):
I'd be really interested to hear how the work that you're doing as part of the
mission influences the way that you think about politics.
Yeah, well, so my colleague Eunice Atwood is our church at the margins officer.
We have a, the Methodist Church has made a significant commitment to church
planting, say we call it New Places for New People and Church at the Margins,
(04:46):
and we wanted to see a new place for new people or a church at the margins ultimately in every circuit.
And Church at the Margins in particular is about,
not bringing church to the margins, but discovering that God is already at work
among people who are experiencing economic marginalization and discovering what
(05:07):
it means to be church together.
And so when I think about the general election, I've got my colleague Eunice
in my head saying, what about poverty? What about the cost of living crisis?
What are the parties that want us to put them in government?
What are they going to be doing to support people and trying to pay their gas
(05:28):
and electricity bills to support people trying to feed families.
That's just clarion call really for how we need to be engaging with this election.
And each of our churches and people, our church members also asking themselves,
being aware when they're voting, not just what their needs are.
(05:49):
And of course, those are absolutely valid, but also the needs of people who
are experiencing poverty.
And destitution. I mean, this has been the thing about having Eunice on our
team and I edit our newsletter and Eunice will send me reports that we will
sometimes include in those newsletters.
And just reading the Joseph Rowntree Foundation's research on destitution in
(06:12):
the UK is just heartbreaking.
And so these are the kinds of things that we all need to be holding in our minds
in engaging with the election.
And I believe there's a role for churches to be talking about these issues so
that we all hold these things in our minds while we're reading the manifestos
when they come out and asking ourselves for each party,
(06:34):
you know, what are they going to do about relieving economic poverty in the UK?
I want to probe a little bit into, you said something earlier about how mission
is about being part of God's transformation of the world.
I think it can become really easy for us to feel like that's completely impossible
when it comes to politics, particularly when we see the state of politics or
(06:56):
the state of the UK and the world as it is.
How do you stay hopeful? hopeful it's a great question I yeah came across a
thought a quotation from Rebecca Solnit who wrote hope in the dark she's an
activist she's not a Christian but I love what she writes about hope,
(07:20):
And she says, hope is not a lottery ticket that we sit on the sofa and clutch feeling lucky.
It's an axe we break down doors with in an emergency.
That really just jumped out at me because I was thinking, sometimes I think
we think of Christian hope as being like a lottery ticket.
It's a bit simplistic, but I think we do often think of it as a future thing.
(07:43):
Oh, I, you know, I'm a Christian. I know Jesus.
I have a hope of heaven, heaven on earth, however you understand that.
But we think of it as a future thing and the idea that hope is an axe we break
down doors with I just love that the fact the fact that hope is something we participate in,
and and she I haven't read the whole of her book but
I kind of dipped into it and she talks about how you know
(08:04):
hope is is really risky because
we don't know what the future holds we don't know that it's all going to be okay
and but we're taking a chance we're playing
our part in creating a future that is
different from where we are now so I I just love that the idea so what keeps
me hopeful is is the fact that we can we can do something we can play a small
(08:27):
part you know I I would look I think if I weren't a Christian I think it would
be harder for me to hold on to hope,
I have huge respect for humanists but but where I disagree with humanists is
the view that humans on our own have the potential to transform our world because
I just don't see it that way.
But I would say that with God's help and also the idea that,
(08:51):
you know, 8 billion people each playing a small part adds up to a massive difference.
I love that image of hope being an axe we can break down. We break down doors
with and I think it's so true.
There's so much that we can do. I think that that is definitely something that
I'm going to be thinking about when I'm voting, because a vote is not just for
(09:13):
the party and the leader.
It's a vote for the future of the country that you want and for the kind of
shape of the country that we're hoping to create through the political parties
and political leaders that we elect.
So Emma, you've just been talking about hope, and I'd love to finish on that point about hope.
I hope that we can all be challenged to go out and vote and to support people
(09:35):
who might not be able to vote.
You can find JPIT's topical election briefings, resources to help your church
run an election Sunday at jpit.uk forward slash elections.
That's jpit.uk forward slash elections.
If you've enjoyed this podcast, please share it around. Thank you for listening.
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