Exercising your awareness sensors is just as important as exercising your mind and limbs! Are you aware of the fundamental Christian principle of social justice? Have you ever delved deeper in to the meaning of those two words? It is very easy to come up with examples of social injustice and to then come up with reasons for why society is so. Coming up with, and applying, solutions is more difficult though.
The longer evenings are definitely on the way and the positive vibes that accompany Spring can be heard in the beautiful birdsong each morning and evening. At times like this, though, it is easy to forget that some people can be left behind. Please empathise with those who are housebound, or bedbound, irrespective of the beautiful weather. The lengthening days may even have a negative impact on people in such situations, extending their hours of loneliness.
Lent begins on Wednesday and, in years gone by, this is the time when youngsters were encouraged to put away their chocolates and sweets until Easter Sunday. ‘Giving up something for Lent’ was a strong, and very effective habit-forming, tradition and it is still is today.
As the youngsters grew up, though, the idea of ‘doing something for Lent’ was introduced and many good works, that would not normally have been part of the day, were started. Many times these new good habits stayed for the rest of the year and beyond.
Our foodbank remains our busiest workstream and it seems to continue to be as busy as ever. We are sustained by your tremendous support and prayers and by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Our volunteering team, each Saturday, typically consists of 15 or so adults and 8 or 9 young people, representing a lovely mix from our community! The range of backgrounds, talents and skills is amazing, but we always do struggle with the variety of languages spoken by our clients. Are you able to add this little nugget to our blend? Are you able to converse in, say, Arabic, Polish, Romanian, Farsi, Hindi? If so, why not contact us and see if you can make a difference! We get by using Google Translate and hand signals, etc., but it would mean so much to our clients if they could speak with someone who understands their mother tongue!
Next Thursday is the World Day of Social Justice. This means that it is a big day for organisations, such as the SVP, which advocates on behalf of those suffering the tragic effects of social injustice.
There are too many examples in the daily news and no one person can solve this. But, if we all take a baby step in our local community, then all those baby steps will absolutely add up to change. Jesus taught us this message 2,000 years ago and we are still seeing this truth play out in front of our eyes.