Living in Leeds for 42 years, I’ve met a lot of people.

Yaseen’s father came from Pakistan to work in a textiles factory. He then opened a corner shop and this became a supermarket. Yaseen’s now taken over the business.
He lives and works in Leeds. This year he became a councillor. When England play Pakistan at cricket he now supports England.

Miguel was born in Chile but now lives in England with his English wife. Miguel would play the guitar all day if he could. But that doesn’t pay the bills. So he also works in a restaurant. Por supuesto que ama a su esposa y sus hijos. Of course he loves his wife and his children. But he wants to be a musician. And he misses Chile. Sometimes he can’t resist cocaine. And sometimes he steals money to pay for it.

Sonya was born in St. Petersburg. But she thought she’d have a better life here. So she found herself an English husband on the internet. But now she’s here she can’t find a good job.
They live in a bad area. Drugs. Violence. And the mental health of her husband is not good. She feels trapped.

Sonya taught me Russian. Yaseen taught me Urdu. Miguel taught me Spanish. But the only language I spoke fluently was the language of the Church. I spoke it so well I became a priest.

Picture two scenes. In the first, I’m outside a church. I’ve just celebrated the Eucharist for the first time. I’m dressed in a stole, an alb and a chasuble. In the second, I’m outside a crematorium. I’ve just taken a funeral service. But in the second scene I’m not in fact a real priest. I’m an actor in Emmerdale playing the part of a priest.

At that time I was both a priest and an actor. I was a vicar with an Equity card. But some years later, because I was no longer a Christian, I stopped being a real priest. So was I any more real in the church than I was in Emmerdale? Was I simply playing a part in both?

If you’re a Christian you’re meant to love God, and love your neighbour as yourself. I don’t know about loving God any more, but what about loving your neighbour as yourself? Of course love usually means feelings, but in this command it doesn’t. What you feel about your neighbours is irrelevant. It’s what you do for them that matters. What you do, to try and make things fair for everyone. To make things just.

I think it’s why I felt no sense of loss when I stopped being a priest. I couldn’t speak about God any more. But in trying to understand what love and justice meant I still had the same task. Is there a more important language to learn? Justice. The most important language of all.