Thought for the week

As the New Year has begun, we have greeted each other with the words “Happy New Year!” All of us are hoping the future will be truly happy both personally and for the peoples of the world. Yet there are many people in the world today who have every reason to be unhappy. War, conflict,…

When I was in primary school, I always liked the teacher giving me a new exercise book. It was an opportunity to make a fresh start and to try to write more carefully avoiding unsightly blots and crossing outs. As we start another new year it is new beginning for us all with new opportunities.…

The birth of Jesus is a cause for great joy. It is a message our sad and troubled world desperately needs to hear. In many places there is great suffering and sadness, and the future seems bleak. The terrible war in Ukraine continues with its daily toll of deaths and lifechanging injuries on both sides.…

Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris has reopened 5 years after it suffered a devastating fire. In April 2019 a blaze broke out in the church’s roof space, destroying its iconic spire and damaging the cathedral’s roof and upper walls. The work of restoration on the 860-year-old building has been completed in a relatively short time…

The Christmas story is about ordinary people whose lives were transformed by the extraordinary birth of Jesus. One character in the Christmas story who tends to be in the background is Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus. The Gospels show him to be an upright, loving, and spiritual man. In our society there is a…

Bob Yerkes died recently. Bob was a legendary American stuntman who began a life of acrobatics in the circus as a teenager and went on to work as a stuntman in such films as Back to the Future, Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi, and Hook. He said, “I started tumbling down…

A documentary film has been released recently called “The sinking of the Lisbon Maru”. The documentary was made by the Chinese director Fang Li and tells the story of the rescue of British Prisoners of War by Chinese fishermen on 1 October 1942. The armed Japanese troopship “The Lisbon Maru” was carrying 1816 British prisoners…

The annual Remembrance Day is very important. It is right that we remember the many people who died, or were seriously injured, in the two World Wars of the 20th century and the many smaller wars since, and even today. Remembering them is an opportunity to reflect on what happened and to try to learn…

The catastrophic civil war in Sudan has received very little attention from the media. Until 2011 Sudan was the largest and one of the most geographically diverse states in Africa. Sudan is both an African and Arab country. Over 97% of the population are Sunni Muslims with a small Christian minority. Since 1983 the military…

In the Western world inheritances are larger than they have ever been. The general increase in prosperity and especially the significant rise in the value of family homes mean that many older people have sizeable estates. Some are asset rich but cash poor. Children may anticipate becoming much better off when Mum and Dad die.…