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Taken
from the February 2007 parish
magazine.
I would like to begin with wishing you a Happy New Year, even if it
comes a bit late. I am writing this as we begin a week when
we pray for Christian Unity in the world. As we watch all the
effects of division around the world, then it becomes even more
important to do what we can to promote friendship and reconciliation.
I was lucky enough to listen to Bishop John Flack talk about his work
in the Anglican Centre in Rome. While there was important
discussions on church matters, he was hoping that future discussion
would focus on world issues like poverty and the effects of terrorism.
Lent
starts on the 21st February this year, and once again we will be
encouraging people to join a small group. This year we will
be using material prepared by the Diocese of York, and features
Archbishop John Sentamu. During the course we will celebrate
the life, work and faith of a great Yorkshire man, William
Wilberforce. He was instrumental in securing the abolition of
slavery 200 years ago this year. The Church of England will
be playing a vital role in the Bicentennial celebrations, and will be
inviting people from across the country to join in their
‘Walk of Witness’ on 24th March to commemorate this
milestone in history (see p12 for more details).
But the Lent course will not be a history lesson. Like
William Wilberforce, we live in a divided and hurting world and with a
burning question. As Christians in the 21st century, can we
– together with others of good will – build a
better world? I think this is a very relevant challenge.
Do please join a group this year: it will help to make Easter
special and draw us together as a church family. I find
Archbishop John Sentamu very inspiring; he has recently given the 20th
Martin Luther King Memorial Lecture, which can be found
by
clicking here and it is well
worth
reading. It ends with words of hope that we can overcome the
four modern demons of our time: idolatry, materialism, militarism, and
racism.
Rev W Henderson
