Minister’s Message 22 February
Dear Friends
Once a month I try to attend an online prayer meeting organised by Tearfund. I
particularly value these times because on each occasion there is a guest speaker
talking about some aspect of the work amongst the poorest of the poor in our
world. It is always informative and always humbling.
At this week's meeting the speaker was from Bangladesh and he spoke
encouragingly of the good that is being done in very challenging circumstances in
that country. But I have not been able to get out of my head what he shared with
us of the refugee camp at Cox's Bazaar on the eastern border where refugees
who have been fleeing persecution in Myanmar are now trapped. The camp
(which once featured in our news bulletins) has been there now for 9 years and
currently has a population of 1.1 million people. The speaker was able to report
that through the efforts of a variety of different organisations there are basic
provisions – food, water and sanitation – and we give thanks for that. But he told
us (and this is what struck me most forcibly) that there is no hope. Those who are
living out their lives there are stuck, unable to return home and unable to move
on. Although they have enough maintain an existence, they are not able truly to
live. On any given day 40-50 babies are born and on average there are 20-25
deaths every day. Yet there is no room to make adequate provision for burials. He
had been speaking to a woman who had been waiting for an hour in a queue just
to use a toilet. Yet there is no room to build more toilets.
As we journey through Lent, asking what the Lord requires of us as we seek to
follow Jesus, don't let us content ourselves with a faith that merely keeps things
ticking along in our own lives, in our church and community and in our nation and
wider world but let us open our eyes to practical things we each can do that
God's Kingdom may come.
At this week's service Karena will be pointing us to some very practical ways in
which we can make a difference through supporting fair trade; our March
communion offering will be for the work of CHAS which also makes a huge
difference nearer to home; and please feel free to join one or more of the Lent
studies on Thursday evenings where we are seeking to discover aspects of God's
purpose for us as His people in this place.
With all prayerful good wishes,
Alan
Revd A D Reid