Dear Friends
This morning I took an
assembly in one of the Church of England Primary Schools in our area
that many of our church members as well as Clergy and lay ministers
are involved in, either by being Governors, general helpers or even
just parents or grandparents. Each Term we look at a different value
and this New Year in this particular school we are looking at
‘thankfulness’ - saying thank you.
When I returned home and
began to think about what I would write to you I began to wonder how
often we say thank you these days, and what do we really mean when we
are saying it?
The story we had during
the assembly was of the ten lepers who asked Jesus for help, they
asked for healing from the terrible disease that had ruined their
lives making them outcasts from family and friends. Jesus did in
fact heal them, but afterwards only one came back to thank him for
giving him back his life.
Some people may think
there is not much to give thanks for in today’s world.
A world where people
still kill each other through acts of war or terrorism -
A world where people are
still hungry -
A world where life seems
so cheap -
A world where children
live on the streets or are used as a bomb -
A world where lives are
lost through negligence or greed.
But we need to look
again, for as awful as these things are, we can still find acts of
love, generosity, forgiveness and even joy around us - things we
should be grateful for and say thank you.
Rabbi Harold Kushner said
-
If you concentrate on
finding whatever is good in every situation, you will discover that
your life will suddenly be filled with gratitude, a feeling that
nurtures the soul.
During the assembly, I
asked the children to, during a few moments of quiet, think of
something they would like to thank God for. They sat quiet for a
while and then I asked them if they had thought of something and they
all either nodded their heads or said yes. Then I told them after
the words ‘thank you God for……….’ They were to shout out
what they wanted to thank him for, and do you know they almost raised
the roof!
If those young children
can say thank you to God like that - well so should we - for all that
IS GOOD
in our world and in our lives too.
Ahead of us we have a few
more months when we need to say thank you to God for all that has
been good in the past but also to pray for his guidance and support
as we look forward to the future as the new Kidderminster Ismere Team
with a new Team Rector.
So I hope you will join
in the prayer meetings that have already begun and will continue
throughout this time.
Your friend in Christ
Rose
