June Newsletter
Dear Friends,
May I warmly commend a visit to the Knitted Bible Stories exhibition open from June 1st to June 12th at church. It is a wonderfully creative way of depicting the Bible in knitted tableaus. If you can help during this time and you have not yet volunteered, please sign up on the list in the Coffee Lounge.
Some background information about the Bible will be included in the exhibition, making us aware that the Bible is not so much a single book but a collection or a library of books-- thirty-nine in the Old Testament and twenty-seven in the New Testament, written by a wide range of authors at different times, in greatly different situations, with particular aims in mind.
One collection that especially speaks to our generation is that of the prophetic writings. A verse that summarises much of the prophetic teaching about how we should live is found in the book of Micah.
O people, the Lord has told you what is good,
and this is what he requires of you:
to do what is right, to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6: 8 NLT
Christian Aid week ended on May 21st, a week in which Christian Aid’s focus had been on supporting people who live beside Bangladesh’s rivers especially those in the low lying districts in the south of the country - people whose homes are regularly affected by flooding caused by heavy rain.
On May 21st 2016, Cyclone Roanu battered Bangladesh's southern coastline, forcing 500,000 people from their homes. Torrential rains, floods and landslides killed 21 people, left over 200 injured and damaged nearly 85,000 homes, as water submerged houses, cut off roads, destroyed crops and uprooted trees. An event that did not feature in any British News bulletin.
Christians worship a God who is deeply concerned about justice. Yet we live in a divided world where a minority of the world’s population possesses the vast majority of the world’s resources; a world in which the developed world’s current life style is putting the planet’s long term existence at risk. One consequence of this is causing climate change to adversely affect poor countries which is exacerbating the migration crisis currently causing European countries so much concern. As Christians, we are responsible to God for the wellbeing of our planet and our fellow human beings. We are connected to one another and this brings responsibilities – to behave justly and to challenge injustice. Genesis 1:27-28 tells us that we are made in God’s image. This implies that we are drawn into a special relationship with other human beings who all reflect that image wherever they may live. Come and enjoy the Knitted Bible Stories exhibition and appreciate the time and the energy that has gone into making it. At the same time listen to the messages that the many books of the Bible are giving us. Then act on them in the way you live.
With best wishes
James
