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OCTOBER 2009

Dear Friends,

In the future there may be a pub quiz question which asks : “Why was the World Cup qualifying football game played between Armenia and Turkey in October 2009 significant?” The answer would be that the match occurred only days after the two governments had signed an agreement to build peace between their nations 95 years after events which the Armenians regard as an act of genocide by Turkish forces. Apparently, during the game some supporters released white doves as symbols of peace while some others shouted nationalist chants. There are lessons for us all here.

Each year in November we hold Remembrance Sunday services. These are times for us to remember and pay due respect to all those who have lost their lives or been (sometimes dreadfully) injured as a result of war. This year again I am sure we will all be very aware that this is a current reality and not just a historic remembering. Within such services there is always a part where we are invited to commit ourselves to working for peace so that others may not have to die in future wars. What might this mean for us, given that very few people are ever involved in international peace negotiations?

At a personal level we know that we are all sometimes guilty of thoughtless words or actions which may lead to misunderstandings, to hurting other people or being hurt by them. We can react to that in different ways. We can go to see them and try to sort it out in order to restore the relationship or we can cut ourselves off and refuse to have anything to do with them. We can offer an apology for ways in which we may have acted or reacted or we can find reasons to blame the other person or someone else

At another level the reality is that we all belong to different groups and nations. We all talk with others and to a small extent shape one another’s attitudes by our words as well as our actions. Again this can help to create understanding of others or it can make even higher barriers. These attitudes can make conflicts more likely or less. The question is ‘Are we going to be people who release doves of peace or are we going to sing or shout our own slogans?’

Yours sincerely,

David

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PRAYER ROTA :

Do join us in praying for our villages and for one another. Our prayer rota for the next month will be as follows:

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