activism – The Artsy Honker

Immigrant Jesus

Byartsyhonker June 20, 2018 0 Comments

I'm not an American citizen. I don't have a lot of spare money at the moment. What I can do is write hymn tunes. So I've written one to this text by Gary Alderson: 1. You ran from oppression, Crossed the baking sand; Found your own safety In an alien land. And Rachel's still weeping, weeping, Weeping for her children. 2. And you found a haven In that far off place; Shielded and welcomed By a...

Bicycles Change Lives

Byartsyhonker January 6, 2016 0 Comments

I'm increasing my cycling to 80 miles per week to improve my fitness. As a way of staying motivated I have signed up for a charity sponsorship thing. Qhubeka is the African programme of World Bicycle Relief. They provide bicycles to children -- many of whom would otherwise walk more than an hour each way to and from school. The bicycles are assembled locally. They are robust and durable, with...

Copyright, Creativity and Culture

Byartsyhonker April 23, 2015 5 Comments

I got up this morning to see much hand-wringing on Twitter over Green policy on copyright. The policy in question states: EC1011 On cultural products (literature, music, film, paintings etc), our general policy is to expand the area of cultural activity, that is ways that culture can be consumed, produced, and shared, reduce the role of the market and encourage smaller and more local cultural...

There is just one flesh we can wound

Byartsyhonker August 11, 2014 2 Comments

I am discouraged that it seems necessary to say "don't kill Palestinians" or "don't kill Christians in Iraq" or that there is outcry over the plight of the Yazidi. How about "Don't kill people"? It isn't the Palestinian identity, the Christian faith, the Yazidi culture that makes it important not to kill people: it is their humanity. I struggle to understand why this isn't obvious, but apparently...

In which I show up anyway

Byartsyhonker November 8, 2013 4 Comments

Each winter, I help out at the Forest Churches Emergency Night Shelter. This is an ecumenical project, open the five coldest months of the year. Guests (or "clients") visit different local churches on different nights of the week. They get an evening meal, somewhere safe to sleep, and breakfast. St Andrew's is too cold to offer sleeping facilities, so some of us help out at Leytonstone United...