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Reverend Kelso makes a point of writing to both local
and national press and our government on issues within our society that have an
effect on our faith.
This page contains letters written between 2003 and
2005
14th December 05
Dear Andy Simpson,
In all our busy preparations for Christmas may we all pause to
remember what we're celebrating.
The politically correct brigade are trying to take Christ out of
Christmas which, when you think about it, is ridiculous because then you have
nothing left! It's like taking the manger scene out of the Bible story, but if
you do that there is no story!
God with us! That's the message of Christmas. In spite of all our
selfishness and sin God in His love chose to come among us, to be born like one
of us, tiny and vulnerable.
And in that manger is our hope because He came to be our Saviour.
He was born to die upon that Cross, to take upon Himself the world's sin which
includes yours and mine. And if we'll repent and open our heart to Him, then
He'll forgive us and fill us with His love and joy and peace.
So no matter what the world tries to do they'll never take Christ
out of Christmas, because He is at the heart of it.
Yours sincerely,
Rev. Andy Kelso, Christ Church, Matchborough
Andy Simpson
Readers' Letter Editor
Daily Mail
Northcliffe House
2 Derry Street
Kensington
London W8 5TT
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Dear Editor,
I write on behalf of many
Church leaders and people who are fed up with the liberal view being so
constantly expressed. With regard to Iraq there IS an evil regime that needs
removing. Saddam Hussein's reign is indeed similar to that of Stalin and
Hitler, and such mass murder and terror and torture must not be allowed to
continue. Can we honestly dialogue with a man who gasses dissenters, including
women and children, and puts people in huge shredders feet first because he
gets a sadistic kick out of their screams and slow torture?
This is not to say that George Bush and Tony Blair are without
fault, but I believe they are right to stand against such evil regimes and they
need our support. What is so worrying is the refusal of many in this country to
recognise evil and call it as such.
So many English people are now fearful of speaking out because
they'll be called bigoted and racist. But so many people are exasperated and
angry at what is going on in our country, where politically correct liberal
views hold sway. But the result is turmoil. We are flooded by "asylum seekers"
many of whom are "milking" our benefits system with no intention of getting a
job or integrating into our culture. The result will be more and more ghettoes
and no-go areas. . Already people are fearful of going into some town and city
centres in the day never mind the night!
We ought to be proud of our Christian heritage, upon which so many
good things were founded, but now it appears to be "offensive" to use the word
Christian, whilst we bend over backwards to accommodate people of other faiths.
We're losing our identity amidst moral and social chaos because we've turned
our backs on those Christian qualities that gave our nation backbone - family
life, respect for authority, community spirit, hard work, and an underlying
belief in God.
I speak as a Church minister, and as a father, who believes in the
Bible as God's manual for daily living. I don't apologise for being a
Christian! I believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the best way to live and the
best way to die. And for those of you politically correct liberals who scoff at
this, what have you got to put in its place that will heal broken
relationships, give children love and security, teach right from wrong, offer
forgiveness and a fresh start, give purpose, peace and hope for the future?
What's on offer at the moment isn't doing any of these.
Yours sincerely,
Rev. Andy Kelso
Christ Church,
Matchborough. Redditch.
The Editor
The Daily Mail Readers Letters
2 Derry Street
London W8 5TT
In response to Sara Adams' letter last week, may I point out that
I have no problem with genuine asylum seekers coming to this country.
We should do all we can to help those who are fleeing regimes in
fear of their lives. My concern is over many bogus asylum seekers who only want
to come here because they know they can easily tap into our benefits
system.
Sadly, there are such people who have no intention of integrating
into our society and earning a living. These are the facts and by allowing this
we are creating a problem which is getting larger.
In response to the comment about Jesus being an asylum seeker, the
truth is that having fled to Egypt with Mary and Joseph for a little while He
returned with them to His home town of Nazareth.
Jesus came to be our Saviour. He is opposed to evil and injustice
and came to set us free if we will welcome Him into our lives.
Thousands of Iraqi people are genuinely welcoming the Coalition
forces as their liberators. They now have a chance of a life free from
tyrannical oppression and brutality.
Of course, the cost of any war is horrendous in terms of human
suffering, but thousands more lives would have been lost if we had done
nothing.
As the facts emerge, we would do well to be grateful for the
democracy we have. Under a dictator who didn't like our views, both Sara Adams
and myself could find ourselves arrested and tried.
This is the reality for thousands of people still.
Rev. Andy Kelso
Christ Church Matchborough
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Sent to the Daily Mail,
Redditch Advertiser and Redditch Standard 21st January, 2004
PUTTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT
So the Bishops of the Church of England know better
than Almighty God! In their wisdom they are to debate the abandonment of Sunday
as the day which has stood for over two thousand years. A recent report urges
the Church's General Synod to accept that Sunday is no longer a church day for
our society. Alongside this debate the Synod will be told that the Church of
England should give its approval to unmarried cohabiting couples and gay
partnerships.
As a Church of England minister I am appalled at such
suggestions and would like to explain why.
I believe there is a gross deception behind these
liberal views, where the Church is seeking to embrace the world's values in a
desire to accept everyone's point of view and lifestyle. By so doing it hopes
to be relevant. In the light of this, therefore, liberal Church leaders think
that it is fine to abolish Sunday as a day of worship because the majority of
people are doing other things. Similarly, because a majority of people live
together outside marriage the Church need to bless their relationship. Having
also embraced political correctness, the Church does not want to rock the boat
on gay issues and therefore side with the Government on approving gay
partnerships.
But wait a minute! The Church's views ought to be
based on God's Word, the Bible, so is God's Word so flexible and
accommodating?
On the matter of the Sabbath day God clearly stated
in the Ten Commandments: "Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it holy". (Exodus 20:8). This was enshrined in Jewish law for hundreds of years as
the day where people rested from their work and honoured and worshipped God as
individuals, families and community. The reason the Sabbath became a Sunday
rather than a Saturday for Christians was because of Jesus' Resurrection.
Remember that those early Christians were Jews, and only something as
remarkable and life changing would have made them change their Sabbath day. For
two thousand years Christians have sought to honour God's commandment by
setting aside Sunday as a day of rest, within which they honour God in worship,
acknowledging Him to be the one who gives life. Sunday is a weekly reminder
that we are not in charge of the universe, but that we owe our every breath to
a mighty, merciful, awesome and loving God who made Himself known to us in
Jesus Christ.
The Bible makes it clear that God has our best
interests at heart, knowing that as He rested from His work of Creation we need
a day to rest and to worship and reflect of the God who created us. But mankind
decided to know better than God and invented Sunday trading, so that people
could go out and worship the gods of supermarkets and shopping centres rather
than the God of the Bible who loved us enough to send His Son Jesus to be our
Saviour.
But God's Word stands forever. He does not change,
nor does His Word. It is applicable to every generation and is not to be bent
to our whims. He knows what is best for us because He is God. Keeping the
Sabbath day holy to God is as relevant today as it was when it was first given
to Moses, whether or nor people honour it. The Church is not called to embrace
the world's values but God's values, and more often than not God's ways are not
mankind's ways, because we want to please ourselves if we're honest. The Church
is called to be a prophetic voice calling people to God and His Truth, and
living out His Truth so that people can see it makes sense.
Many people think that following God is to lose your
freedom, your fun, your lifestyle. But this is untrue! It is only as we submit
to His loving authority that we experience true freedom. He wants to fill us
with His life, to know that we are loved at the core of our being and that each
one of us is so highly valued that Jesus willingly gave His life for us.
On the issue of sex outside marriage, whether
heterosexual or gay, God's Word is very clear. Marriage was instituted by God
as that between a man and a woman (Genesis 2:24). This is God's desire
for us, for a stable society in which children can be properly noticed. This
government has done nearly everything possible to undermine biblical marriage
and as result we are reaping the consequences in a society that is morally
chaotic. Statistics prove that God is right on marriage, that children fare far
better when they are brought up in a loving environment of having a mother and
father. But yet again political correctness chooses to dismiss this truth.
But God knows what is best for us! Sex outside of
marriage is rebellion against God. Unmarried cohabiting couples lack that
God-honouring commitment unto death. It is far easier to walk away from a
relationship that is not binding, that has no healthy fear of God upon it. The
result as we know is pain and heartache for the people involved, and even more
so for the children.
The Church likens marriage to Jesus coming again for
His Bride, the believing Church. Jesus is not coming back for a partner but a
bride who is totally committed to Him as He is to His bride.
Sex outside of marriage is a perversion of God's
order, whether between heterosexuals or gay people. God loves the individual,
but hates the sin. His Word, the Bible, makes it clear that gay sex is
unnatural and detestable to God. (Leviticus 18:22/ Romans 1:24-28).
Sexual sin of course is one of hundreds of sins and
we are all sinful before a Holy God. That is why in His love and mercy His Son
Jesus Christ willingly came to be our sin-bearer. If we repent and turn to
Jesus He will forgive us and He can help to change our attitudes and desires.
If we do not do this we bear our own sins. That is a choice for each one of us
with all the consequences of Heaven and Hell before us.
This has been the teaching of the Church, expressed
through God's Word for two thousand years. In our modern society to hold this
view is to be labelled unloving, narrow-minded and bigoted. Certain parts of
the Church think that they can dismiss God's commandments, and reinterpret His
words to suit our culture.
Well, God will not be mocked! Proverbs 14:34 states that "Righteousness exalts a nation but sin is a disgrace to any
people." May Christian ministers and people wake up to their true calling in
Jesus Christ before it is too late.
Rev. Andy Kelso
Vicar - Christ Church
Matchborough, Redditch
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Sent to the Daily Mail, Redditch
Advertiser and Redditch Standard 30th January, 2004
Dear Editor,
So the Bishops of the Church of England know better than Almighty
God! A recent report urges the Church to give approval to unmarried cohabiting
couples and gay partnerships. As a Church of England minister I would like to
explain why I believe this is wrong.
On the issue of sex outside marriage, whether
heterosexual or gay, God's Word is very clear. Marriage was instituted by God
as that between a man and a woman (Genesis 2:24). This is God's desire
for us, for a stable society in which children can be properly noticed. This
government has done nearly everything possible to undermine biblical marriage
and as result we are reaping the consequences in a society that is morally
chaotic. Statistics prove that God is right on marriage, that children fare far
better when they are brought up in a loving environment of having a mother and
father. But yet again political correctness chooses to dismiss this truth.
But God knows what is best for us! Sex outside of
marriage is rebellion against God. Unmarried cohabiting couples lack that
God-honouring commitment unto death. It is far easier to walk away from a
relationship that is not binding, that has no healthy fear of God upon it. The
result as we know is pain and heartache for the people involved, and even more
so for the children.
The Church likens marriage to Jesus coming again for
His Bride, the believing Church. Jesus is not coming back for a partner but a
bride who is totally committed to Him as He is to His bride.
Sex outside of marriage is a perversion of God's
order, whether between heterosexuals or gay people. God loves the individual,
but hates the sin. His Word, the Bible, makes it clear that gay sex is
unnatural and detestable to God. The people are not detestable, but the act
is.(Leviticus 18:22/ Romans 1:24-28).
Sexual sin of course is one of hundreds of sins and we are all
sinful before a Holy God. That is why in His love and mercy His Son Jesus
Christ willingly came to be our sin-bearer. If we truly repent and turn to
Jesus Christ He will forgive us and He can help to change our attitudes and
desires.
This has been the teaching of the Church, expressed
through God's Word for two thousand years. Certain parts of the Church think
that they can dismiss God's commandments, and reinterpret His words to suit our
culture.
As another example of this, the Church of England is
being asked to accept that Sunday is no longer a relevant day of worship in our
society. That's rubbish! People are worshipping the gods of supermarkets,
shopping centres and leisure activities instead of the God who created them.
This nation is in spiritual darkness and rejecting the Ten Commandments because
the Church is failing to stand on God's Word. If the Church would return to God
with repentance and heartfelt worship then God would draw near and people would
want to come and worship Him.
Yours sincerely
Rev.Andy Kelso
Vicar, Christ Church,
Matchborough
The following letter written on November 27th 2003 by Rev Andy
Kelso and supported by Pastor Afonso & Elizabeth Eduardo (Portugal), Pastor
Joao Sequira (Brazil and Pastor Mark and Sandra Neale (Stevenage, England) was
published in the Daily Mail and Redditch Advertiser
The Vicarage
Winward Road
Redditch
B98
0SX
27th November 2003
Dear Editor,
As a church minister I am appalled at the
government's desire to purge references to marriage in the cause of gay
equality.
In February 2001 Tony Blair said: "I fully support
marriage and see it and family life as the foundation of a strong and stable
society." But this government has constantly undermined marriage in the false
notion that there needs to be equality.
Yet again militant minorities seek to undermine our
most cherished values, which are based on God's Word. Marriage is God's
ordained desire for a stable society, where one man and one woman commit
themselves to each other unto death. Within such a marriage children can be
loved and nurtured and statistics prove that married couples provide the best
stability for a children's well-being. Statistics also prove that children from
broken homes are more likely to play truant, commit crime and take up
drugs.
For a thousand years marriage has been the foundation
of a stable, moral society. This government thinks it knows better than
Almighty God and proven history and statistics. Why? Because it is fearful of
upsetting certain minority groups. I, for one, am fed up with militant
minorities dictating to us, and I know that thousands of other people in the
nation agree.
That's why our winning the rugby world cup was not
just about sport. It was a cry from millions of us for a restoration of values
we saw underlined in the England team - courage, unity, honesty, loyalty,
modesty.
Millions of ordinary British citizens are fed up with
liberal agendas eroding our lives and they're fearful of speaking out because
of being called narrow-minded, racist, old-fashioned, bigoted and
homophobic.
Well it's time for such British citizens to stand up
and say we will not be dictated to by gays, bogus asylum seekers, Muslim
fanatics. the politically correct, and a government that has deceived us.
Those above-mentioned qualities of the England rugby
team are what makes me proud to be English, and they, along with marriage, are
part of our Christian heritage which is now so derided.
This week we are hosting a conference for church
leaders and members which includes the topic of the restoration of biblical
marriage. Church leaders from Brazil, Portugal and England unite with me in the
contents of this letter.
Will we stand up and be counted or be swallowed up by
those with other agendas? Now is the time to decide!
Rev. Andy Kelso
Vicar. Christ Church,
Matchborough, Redditch
In agreement:
Pastor Afonso and Elizabeth
Eduardo - Portugal
Pastor Joao Sequira - Brazil
Pastor Mark and Sandra
Neale - Stevenage, England
23rd December, 2003
Dear Andrew Powell,
Putting the record straight
My letter of December 3rd was about the danger of
certain militant minority groups and a liberal agenda destroying our heritage,
with marriage being one of the biggest casualties. I apologise if any comments
unduly offended readers, but it's very sad that some people can only respond by
attacking me personally.
At this Christmas Season we need to remember that
Jesus came into the world because of our sin. His love drew Him to become our
sin bearer. Many of the world's values are not God's values. It saddens me that
some parts of the Church have embraced the world's standards in a desire to
accept everyone's point of view and lifestyle. The recent meeting at St.
Leonard's, Beoley seeking to affirm gays, lesbians, bisexuals etc. in the
Church of England is a classic example.
But God's Word is very clear. Sex outside of a
marriage, between a man and a woman is sin. Sex between same-sex people is
detestable to God and sinful. God loves the person, but hates the sin and Jesus
came to be the willing sacrifice for our sin. Sexual sin is, of course, only
one of hundreds of sins and there is a huge gap between a Holy God and each one
of us, which only Jesus can fill. If we repent and turn to Jesus He will
forgive us and can help us to change our attitudes and desires. If we don't do
this we will bear our own sin and when we die we'll be cut off from God, which
is Hell because that was our choice. We presumed to know better than Almighty
God and chose to reject His Word and His Son Jesus Christ as the only sacrifice
for our sins. This is the Bible's teaching.
I apologise again where the Church has not made this
clear to you.
Yours sincerely,
Rev. Andy Kelso
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The following
letter was written in response to an article in the Daily Mail on 30th July
2003 headlined "Bishops: How good can come from the end of a marriage" and
which was accompanied by this comment from the paper:
"What is
it about the Church of England? Not content with tearing itself apart over the
issue of homosexual clergy. it had now launched an insidious attack on the
institution of marriage.
A report by the bishops on the Doctrine Commission
- the Church's policymakers - says that there is no support in the Bible for
'particular institutional forms' of relationship, and that we should not 'imbue
marriage with a halo of unquestioned sanctity'. They go on to suggest that
marriage can be damaging, and that divorce has a 'redemptive
dimension'.
Never in this country has the gap between the people's desire
for moral guidance, and the failure of our spiritual leaders to provide that
guidance, been greater.
Our once great national church has abandoned itself
to cheap, trendy and transient sociology. Its Liberal Tendency is reducing it
to a mere partisan sect, which will come to be of little more than historical
interest to modern Britons."
31st July 2003
Dear Editor,
In response to your article on the Archbishop's Doctrine
Commission on Marriage (Wednesday July 30th), may I point out that there are
some Church of England vicars who are appalled by such views.
Your editorial comment about the Liberal Tendency of the Anglican
Church is correct but it is not true of everyone in the Church of England. This
liberal tendency is what the public hear because the majority of bishops are of
this persuasion, but there are thousands of ordinary committed Christians up
and down the country who are fed up with these unbiblical views, and upset at
the damage that is being done.
Genesis 2:24 clearly states that "a man will leave his father and
mother and be united to his wife and they will become one flesh". This divine
intention of marriage as God's desire for man and woman is underlined
throughout the Old Testament and endorsed by Jesus and the New Testament
writers.
For centuries marriage has been the foundation of family life and
society. It is no coincidence that the breakdown of marriage and the rising
divorce rate has led to spiraling moral chaos. The Doctrine report talks of
"covenanted relationships" being on a par with marriage. This is a gross error
because statistics prove that those who are not married are much more likely to
separate, with the ensuing hurt inflicted on any children involved.
Marriage is a sacrament, a sacred commitment between a man and
woman in the sight of God as their witness. Such commitment, with the exception
of adultery, is God's best foundation for family life and society. To go
against this is to go against God, and there is always a price to pay if you do
that. You need look no further than the state of this nation and the state of
the Church of England to see this clearly.
Sincerely Yours
Rev. Andy Kelso
Vicar Christ Church
The Vicarage, Winward
Road, Matchborough, Redditch B98 0SX
The Editor
Daily Mail Readers' Letters
(Sent by e-mail)
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30th May 2003
Dear Editor
Obviously there are invisible signs around our ports
and airports which are all too clear for certain groups of people. They read:
"A warm welcome to Britain if you are: Hijackers, Terrorists, Bogus Asylum
Seekers or Infected Immigrants."
Some of you may feel this is a sarcastic comment not
suited to a Church Minister, but it highlights a deeply disturbing truth. This
government is crippling the country through its political correctness and is
fast becoming a stooge to Brussels bureaucrats. Recently a group of Afghans who
hijacked a plane, holding passengers hostage for three days at Stansted were
freed because supposedly they acted out of duress. In the meantime they have
lived on benefits in rent free housing and may claim compensation. This ruling
gives the green light to any terrorists to inflict suffering and fear on
hapless people, claiming they've acted under duress to escape a tyrannical
regime. It's ludicrous. Our judges live in cloud cuckoo land and are forever
bending over backwards to appease law-breakers whilst victims of crime are
penalised.
On top of this the government is not slashing the
number of asylum seekers as promised and, worse still, there are no health
tests for immigrants here as there are in the U.S.A., Canada and Australia. The
result of this lack of wisdom has meant that each year we are doubling the rate
of HIV, trebling the rate of TB, and increasing twenty fold the rate of
Hepatitis B. All of these are life-threatening diseases and treatment is
placing enormous demands on an over-stretched NHS budget. People with these
diseases are coming to Britain on tourist and student visas and then using
legal-aid funded immigration lawyers to apply under the Human Rights Act to get
lifelong treatment in Britain. You can't blame them, but that's not the point.
The government is covering up these issues because they're more worried about
political correctness and racism charges than having the courage to tackle
things head on.
The government is recruiting nurses from Africa with
the result that hundreds of HIV positive nurses are coming here each year. The
result is NHS treatment for them and a spouse costing £11,000 a year for
the rest of their lives and an increase in the spread of HIV across the
population, now over 5,000 new cases every year and rising. This is not
compassionate government but reckless stupidity. Giving NHS treatment to those
who can afford the plane ticket to Britain is irrational. Spending these vast
sums on a well thought out plan with African governments would save millions of
lives, not just a few thousand.
The British people are being deceived by an elected
government on issues that affect our health, our safety, and our independence.
We are being steam-rollered into Europe and the Euro and living in a country
that is overcrowded, with resulting acute problems - housing, homelessness,
traffic chaos, health concerns and growing lawlessness.
We have lost our way morally and spiritually, which
is the root cause of many of our problems. All sense of national identity and
our Christian heritage is being stripped away and to dare to voice such views
as these is to be labelled fascist, racist, narrow-minded and bigoted. So I
thank God for the One who stood alone, mocked and despised, but who stood for
truth and justice and died to pay for our sinful, selfish ways. We truly need a
Saviour to haul us back from this abyss. It's certainly not Tony Blair, but it
is Jesus Christ.
Yours truly,
Rev. Andy Kelso-Christ Church
Matchborough
The Editor
Daily Mail Readers' Letters
2 Derry
Street
London W8 5TT
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