Michael has had his annual bus pass for years. First it was a paper ticket in a plastic wallet. Then it became a ‘smartcard’. The first to show to the driver. The second to tap on a machine. Both had the same effect: getting Michael from place to place. To his voluntary work and social activities. Interacting with others. Cheaper than paying each journey and no cash to worry about counting. Feeling included in the society he lived in. Feeling he belonged. Feeling respected.
And now… there’s no more annual tickets. No more smartcard. Just the App. Or a debit card to tap.
Michael (that’s not his real name) doesn’t have a smartphone. Michael (he is a real person) doesn’t have a debit card. Michael doesn’t want either of them.
Despite many emails and conversations by phone and in person, there’s now no bus pass for Michael anymore. The only way to travel takes him back to a past age. Handing over money to the driver and getting a ticket in return. So not all bad but even so, Michael finds himself excluded from the benefits that others experience.
The World Summit for Social Development, (held in Copenhagen in 1995) defined an inclusive society as a “society for all’. ‘This means that every individual has the same rights and responsibilities, and an active role to play within their societies. Differences such as race and ethnicity, gender, class or geography’ (to which I would add disability) ‘have no bearing on a person’s right to achieve their full potential in life. Instead, a socially inclusive society is one that is based on a mutual sense of belonging and respect.’
In my professional career I encountered many who found themselves excluded by society. Those who didn’t feel they belonged, those who didn’t feel respected. I worked alongside people who were involved in addressing social exclusion at a government policy level too (particularly in relation to work and mental illness).
Those experiences taught me that an inclusive society, a society for all, is not just one which doesn’t exclude. It is not just one in which all can be included either. It is one which enables people to make the choice about how to be or not to be included. A choice about feeling a sense of belonging and being respected.
For Michael, some of that choice has been taken away from him.
Non-inclusive societies have always existed as have those who proclaim to be for all. I look at the country we live in and see many aspects of society which include and exclude. And worse still those who proclaim to be inclusive and yet are not. I look now at the Church of England and it’s endless discussion about how people in the LGBT+ community are included and excluded and all the hurt that has caused to so many. Where is the sense of belonging and respect there?
Jesus reached out to all in the society he lived in. Those on the edges and those in power. Those who were opposed to him and those who followed. He sat with both the rich and the poor. He challenged but never rejected. He welcomed all without pre-conditions. He gave people a choice – and still does.
In this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, the church, as part of society, has an opportunity to repeat an offer of belonging and respect. To offer the choice of inclusion for all – a choice which doesn’t need an App to display a ticket.
And yet, sadly, as Nadia Bolz-Weber once put it, ‘Be careful when you say, “All are welcome”. The problem is they show up.’
The choice about how to be or not to be included: there’s the rub.
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