Jonathan Tame
Jonathan Tame is a good friend. He worked for many years with YWAM (Youth With a Mission). He lived for a few years in Iasi, where he was instrumental in creating Primul Pas, a crisis pregnancy centre, as well as Cluj, where he helped create Quo Vadis, a world-view cafe.
He lived lately in Geneva, where he supported our common friend the Romanian Svculptor Liviu Mocan in placing there his Invitation/Decalogue work.
Soon after that, just a few month ago, Jonathan and his family moved back to his country, the UK, working now as International Jubilee Associates Coordinator for the Jubilee Centre in Cambridge.
As part of his responsibilities there, Jonathan puts together ech week his Friday Five newsletter. I place it here below. If you are interested to receive it, just write Jonathan at the email address in this post. Enjoy!
Friday Five
5 points promoting Relational Thinking among Christians each week through:
a quote – a comment on the news – an item for further reading – a relational action – a Bible verse
September 25th 2009: On the unique role of family
Quote
“Everything seems to conspire these days against distant goals, life-long projects, lasting commitments, eternal alliances, immutable identities… One cannot build the future around partnership or the family either: in the age of ‘confluent love’, togetherness lasts no longer than the satisfaction of one of the partners, commitment is from the start ‘until further notice’, and today’s intense attachment may only intensify tomorrow’s frustrations.”
Bauman, Z. (1996). Morality in the Age of Contingency. In P. Heelas, S. Lash, & P. Morris (Eds.), Detraditionalization (pp. 49-58). Oxford (UK) and Cambridge (USA): Blackwell.
News
Following a landmark ruling in a recent House of Lords case, the UK’s Director of Public Prosecutions on Wednesday made it possible for relatives to help loved ones die without fear of prosecution. Although assisted suicide is still illegal, he made it clear that prosecution is highly unlikely in the case of relatives or friends “wholly motivated by compassion”. The great danger here is to make what seems compassionate in a few cases into a precedent for many. If we lived in a society where every old person was respected and honoured, where they were not made to feel a burden on society or their family, where no relative coveted the money which that person would leave in their will, then fine, we would have nothing to fear from such a ruling. But society isn’t like that, and so the law must protect the dignity and honour of all the old and frail, and not place them at risk from relatives, other interested parties, medical staff or anyone else.
Read on…
The Relationships Foundation’s recent report “The Penumbra Effect” looks at the central place of extended family relationships in support of childre, the elderly and the vulnerable. The attached documents are the Conclusion to this 50 page report, and the key diagram which summarises the argument. If you would like a copy of the whole report, please write to me and ask.
Walk the talk
The next time you talk to a child, crouch down so that you are on the same level; making eye contact and giving your full attention can’t be beaten when it comes to showing the value and worth of a child.
The last word:
From the Bible, Psalm 68 v.5-6 “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families…”
Friday Five is written and sent out by Jonathan Tame, International Jubilee Associates Coordinator.
Jonathan Tame
Relationships Global
3 Hooper St
Cambridge CB1 2NZ
01223 341270
j.tame@relationshipsglobal.net
www.relationshipsglobal.net (website coming soon!)
Persona 