The Final Fortnight!

On a Monday morning a nice dramatic title seemed appropriate.  Well, it's true that in two weeks' time the marathon will have been run, and Catholic Children's Society will have benefitted from my running of it to the tune of over £2200!  I have been taken aback by the generosity of so many people who have helped me to achieve my aims.  Lots of individual stories are in my mind, of unexpected donations, genuine interest in the work of CCS and what I'm doing towards it, supportive messages, and so many other positive responses to this project.  But I don't want to single out anybody, because at a basic level nobody's contribution is more special than anybody else's.  They are all uniquely special! 

So, what is there left to do now?  Maybe, not too much.  Runners among you will know about "the taper".  To avoid arriving at race day exhausted and with aching muscles, in the weeks just before, training is gradually reduced.  It's a good strategy, I think.  It does feel strange, though, knowing that the next long run will be the real thing!  That will probably sink in a bit more next week, when every participant has to go to the ExCeL Centre to register.  This is the moment of collecting one's running number - precious, since irreplaceable if lost or forgotten on the day!  The London Marathon is certainly a logistical exercise.  Every runner is also issued with a kitbag for their possessions, put on a lorry just before the race and miraculously awaiting collection 26.2 miles later.  It's the moment everybody is straining towards, yet it also signals "the end".  And so there will be a certain sadness at the loss of something which has been a driving force for a good six months. 

Yet there will be joy, too, of course.  The joy of achieving a personal challenge.  The joy of knowing how many people have enabled that to happen.  Most especially, the joy of having contributed to empowering the lives of local people in difficult situations.  I'm glad to be able to share that joy with you. 

Focus on... Family Centres

Perhaps my favourite part of CCS's work is their family centres, so I thought I would write a bit about them today. 

St Francis' Family Centre was established in Tower Hamlets, England's worst area for child poverty, in 1986.  It offers a number of services which empower parents to be pro-active in their children's development.  The nursery helps children to be better prepared to benefit from school when they start reception class.  Parents are encouraged to stay with their children so that they can learn how to help their development in the home environment.  The after school club provides stimulating activities for 5-8 year olds.  The toy library is a great way of giving children access to a more varied range of activities in their own homes.  Talks and workshops enable parents to develop the skills they need to help their children meet their full potential.  A fund for holidays and trips gives some families their only opportunity to experience a different environment from inner London.  This is a real family-centred approach which can provide what is needed to escape from the poverty trap.  St Francis will be moving to larger, better-equipped premises before too long.  This will make it possible to provide support to even more families. 

St Mark's Stay and Play is based in North Kensington, an area which contrasts starkly to the affluence of other parts of the Borough.  The Centre provides a toddler group where children can play inside and out with masses of lovely toys and equipment.  This environment is perfect for parents suffering from isolation and poverty; they have the chance to socialise with other people in similar circumstances and to grow in confidence and self-esteem.  They can talk in confidence with staff, who offer support and guidance.  This is a really safe and welcoming place, where parents can find new hope and children can make friends and learn new skills. 

I hope you are as inspired by these projects as I am!  What I love is their inclusivity and their emphasis on empowerment.  Everybody accessing these services is respected as an individual with their own particular capacities and struggles.  They are not patronised, but enabled to turn their hopes for their life into reality. 

The final countdown...

Well, this is it, then.  In a month, it will all be over.  As so frequently, I would like to be able to make time slow down!  Partly, of course, this is because it would be good to be better prepared: nearer my fundraising target and fitter.  But also, I realise that this project has been fun!  It's been a good challenge: demanding and hard work, but rewarding, too.  It's given me the chance to talk with people (i.e., you) about a charity whose work makes a difference in my local area.  I've needed to dedicate time to it, to make choices which haven't focussed just on my own desires and wishes.  It has stimulated me to think about how best to achieve worthwhile goals.  The running has made me conscious of my physical - and psychological - capacities and limitations.  So I would definitely recommend such a project, even if it's not to be undertaken lightly. 

Physically, I realise one cannot ignore one's age...  OK, I don't think I've got one foot in the grave.  But it has certainly been tougher than I expected trying to increase my fitness levels, and I'm far from satisfied with the results!  It's frustrating, wanting to be able to run faster, further, and instead moving seamlessly from a painful leg to stomach cramps to back ache, or some other equally limiting trajectory.  I've been doing some fairly long runs on recent Sundays, and it's fascinating observing myself.  I set out, with a degree of trepidation.  I find I can indeed still run, and bounce along energetically enjoying myself.  Time passes, and I realise I have failed to conserve my energy for the distance I am attempting.  I slow down.  Things start to hurt.  Bounce disappears and I risk injury as I plod onward.  I think about getting back.  I'm still more than an hour from home.  I think I will never get there.  I keep going anyway, my movements losing fluidity with every step.  I arrive.  I feel great.  The aim for the next month is to learn to pace myself so that I might still be running at the end rather than barely raising my feet from the ground! 

The donation from Caterplus has certainly made things look more healthy on the fundraising front; the total now stands at £1,325.88.  That makes it sound a bit more believable that I might reach £2000 by the big day.  On the other hand, the pool of friends yet to make a donation is, of course, shrinking as the total rises.  Please help me spread the word further afield if you can! 

A Little Extra!

I can't resist sharing this great news with you - a £300 boost to my fundraising campaign!  That brings my total to a very healthy £1,135.88. 

So, I'd like to thank Paul and all the kind people at Caterplus - the caterers who look after our older sisters' community in Notting Hill. 

Of course, another £864.12 is still needed to reach my goal, so please keep working on your friends to convince them it's worth making a donation! 

And many thanks also for the other donations received recently; I'm hoping it's the beginning of a roll!  ALL your help, financial and otherwise, is so much appreciated. 

Darnel and Wheat

Ash Wednesday: the day in the Catholic calendar when we listen to the words, "when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that no one will know you are fasting...", and a few minutes later go forward to have a big cross marked on our foreheads.  I suppose the only way I can reconcile these elements of the liturgy is to understand them both as reminders of what, or who, my actions should be for.  Fasting is useless if it serves to give me a warm glow of heroic self-restraint.  The same goes for prayer and alms-giving: if these are about basking in self-perceived holiness, I am a hypocrite, not a Christian.  So it's not such a bad idea to be marked as what I am: a hypocrite, a sinner, a creature formed from the dust who turns away so readily from its creator and who can do nothing apart from that creator.  Yet who, with the creator, is a co-creator!  Today, if I wish, I can give my sandwich to the lady who sits by the underground station, rather than eating it myself.  Today, if I wish, I can pray for her.  Today, if I wish, I can ask God to help me crush and smother the darnel in me to give space for the wheat to grow.  But I can ask, too, for acceptance.  We are all darnel and wheat.  Concentrating on the darnel in others is a sure recipe for bitterness.  Concentrating on the darnel in ourselves is a sure recipe for discouragement.  This Lent, my prayer is for God to help me rejoice in the wheat! 

Thanks to all you people who have shown me the wheat in the world by your words of support, by your positive response to my efforts to be a co-creator.  You give me the energy I need to keep on running!