In support of The Kavanagh

Categories: uncategorized

Date: 19 March 2009 16:53:02

I was shocked going on Facebook today to discover that the local cinema in Herne Bay had closed down earlier in the week. The Kent Messenger had this story about it and the Reeltime cinema website had a message saying the cinema had closed until further notice.

The consequences of this for the town, following hard on the heels of Woolworths closing are not good. It also shows how however "nice" superstores and muti-plexes might be they are harming / killing local communities. In recessions like this it is also the poor who are suffering most.

Let me expand. Firstly, there are the workers who have lost their jobs. Secondly, there are a whole bunch of kids from a relatively deprived area - as well as their more affluent contemporaries- who will now find it much harder to go to the cinema. From Herne Bay it is possible to get to a muli-plex which opened a year or so ago by public transport - but it is a trek to a retail/ leisure outlet a few miles away.  Similarly, neighbouring towns have small cinemas but again they are a few miles away. These are not the sort of journies you would want a youngster to be making on their own really, particularly if they were under 12. Those families with cars are going to be ok, but there are alot of families and older people in the area who rely on public transport.

Also Herne Bay is a small sea-side town which relies on attracting visitors. In this type of place a cinema where one can escape the rain on a rainy summer afternoon is an amenity not only for locals but also to attract tourists.

I know the cinema is a business, but its closure is another reminder of (i) the human cost of the recession and (ii) the way that we all need to take some responsibility for what's happening. The closure of small businesses like this is not just the fault of the banks, who one suspects refused to renew some kind of funding but also the fault of our consumer choices. If so many of us hadn't chosen to take our cars over to Tesco and the like to buy cheap goods in a one stop shop would Woolies still exist? If we weren't seduced by shiny new multi-screen cinemas would small independent cinemas be more likely to survive? Whilst we can't stop alot of what is happening in this recession some of our consumer decisions may help those on the brink. We have seen through the fair trade movement the differences that ethical consumerism can make. Let us make equally ethical decisions for our own local communities.

Yes, the prices can sometimes be an ickle higher in shopping locally, (although for leisure activities they actually tend to be a bit cheaper than shiny places), but as members of our communities this is something we should be willing to do if possible.

To Christians I would say we, (and that includes me who likes going to Newcastle if I am going to the cinema because I like the comfy seats and Ben and Jerrys), need to realise that our consumer choices are contributing to the suffering of some in this recession. As people of faith we need to base our decision making on faith. That doesn't mean praying before every decision but it does mean thinking if I make this choice what are the consequences for myself, other people and the environment? Too often we see suffering as something huge inflicted by bad people, I think we need to wake up to the fact that more often suffering is something unintentional caused by good people who don't think through the consequences of the "everyday" and "ordinary" choices in our lives. It might mean some element of sacrifice on our part, but isn't sacrifice part of our faith? Are there not times when we are called to give up something for the greater good of God's people?

Whilst this recession needs a rethinking of the macro-economic models we use it should also challenge us on a micro-economic level aswell.

Finally I have put together a prayer of confession which you might want to share in with me:

Lord, forgive us when we don't think through our decision making

Forgive us when others suffer because of the way we choose to meet our needs and wants

Forgive us when gaining our own short term satisfaction results in the long term suffering of others

Forgive us when we have made individual choices without regard for the communities in which we live

Give us the wisdom to make informed decisions that benefit our communities

Help us to see the wider picture in our "ordinary" and "everyday" choices

Bless those who suffer as a consequence of our ignorance.

Amen