Letter to the Parish

Bring peace to divided communities

We seem to be living in a time of turmoil, upheaval and uncertainty. We have just been through the Referendum - the outcome of which seems to have taken most "experts" by surprise, and also most people that I have spoken to locally. There has been an immediate effect upon our Government, and we now have a new Prime Minister. There continues to be reports on the news of atrocious killings and terrorist acts. As I write this, we have heard the news today of the horrendous killing of many people in the French city of Nice by a man driving a lorry into a crowd of people out celebrating Bastille Day.

And yet our friends are still our friends; our family is still our family, and our neighbours are still our neighbours. And the phrase I used in last month's letter still stands: "Love your neighbour as yourself" - or, putting it in a way that might sound less daunting, or more possible to achieve: treat everyone as you wish to be treated. And because of the terrorist actions we see on the news - like Nice - living life with this as our mantra has never been more important. Theresa May, in her first speech, said "...not everybody knows this, but the full title of my party is the Conservative and Unionist Party ..." I will put my hand up and say that I did not know that; but I will also say that unionist and union are also important to me. Especially in these times. Putting aside the political association of the word, I believe that we would get on better with our neighbour if we concentrated on the things that unite us; the things we have in common. If we have any chance of defeating terrorism and extremism, we have to look to the things that unite us.

When I saw the images of the lorry being driven through Nice causing the death of so many people my heart went out to the people affected: those killed or injured; their families and friends; those who witnessed the event first hand. Common humanity says that act of violence and murder is wrong. Bishop Trevor has said, "It is hard to know how to respond, what could possibly make a difference." One thing that I believe is that prayer does make a difference; and the Bishop urges us to pray - as follows - for all those affected, for France and for our world today:

"God of love, we offer our questions to you. We offer our pain and grief to you. We offer our anger to you. Bring healing to the people of Nice. Grant world leaders your wisdom. Bring peace to divided communities. And embrace us all in your love."

Please pray for unity.

Revd David Commander, Rector

Revd. David Commander
Rector

Benefice of Benenden and Sandhurst

T: 01580 240658 E: david@dc-uk.co.uk