Last week in my Pastor’s Posting (God is with us - and them), I wrote about what we could do by using our personal strengths and gifts to make a difference to those in Gaza and elsewhere, whose lives are being ripped apart by war. Since then, I have been trying to take some of my own advice. In one of the news reports from Gaza, they visited a school being used by the UN to house those escaping from the Israeli bombardments. The journalist interviewed a mother holding a new born baby. She told the reporter “We waited eight years for this child and then she was born here, in this school.” I know many people who have really longed for a child, and I was deeply struck by this woman’s story. Later that week, the school that the woman and her newborn were living in was shelled. I have kept that woman and her baby in my prayers each day. I don’t know whether she survived the shelling and I will probably never know. By remembering her every day, I am at least refusing to forget her suffering and the many around the world who are suffering today. I don’t know if my prayer will make a difference. I do know it makes a difference to how I view the world and it shakes me out of apathy, complacency or feelings of powerlessness. If I ever get to meet that woman, at least I could say I did something and I did not forget her.
The other thing that I have done is email my MP. If you don’t know who your MP is, you can find out via this link: http://findyourmp.parliament.uk/and put in your postcode. I wrote that I was deeply concerned about the suffering of the people in Gaza and in Syria. I asked my MP to lobby the Government to increase aid to those fleeing the violence and explicitly said that I approved of the taxes I pay being used to provide support for these civilians. I did not take a view about who was right or wrong in the conflicts, I asked for help for those who are suffering as a consequence. You might not think that writing to your MP will make a difference, however at the City of Sanctuary event I attended recently, one of the speakers talked about this. As you may recall, the UK Government had a policy of not accepting refugees from Syria, preferring to send aid to those providing shelter in neighbouring countries to the conflict. 640 Members of Parliament were contacted by members of their constituencies (out of a total of 650) asking that the UK would be open to these Syrian refugees. The weight of public opinion, expressed this way, caused the Government to change its policy and now Syrian families are finding safety and sanctuary in this country. It is the strength of one action, joining with another, and another which starts to make a difference and change things, bringing hope and light to those who need it most.
God bless
Cecilia
The other thing that I have done is email my MP. If you don’t know who your MP is, you can find out via this link: http://findyourmp.parliament.uk/and put in your postcode. I wrote that I was deeply concerned about the suffering of the people in Gaza and in Syria. I asked my MP to lobby the Government to increase aid to those fleeing the violence and explicitly said that I approved of the taxes I pay being used to provide support for these civilians. I did not take a view about who was right or wrong in the conflicts, I asked for help for those who are suffering as a consequence. You might not think that writing to your MP will make a difference, however at the City of Sanctuary event I attended recently, one of the speakers talked about this. As you may recall, the UK Government had a policy of not accepting refugees from Syria, preferring to send aid to those providing shelter in neighbouring countries to the conflict. 640 Members of Parliament were contacted by members of their constituencies (out of a total of 650) asking that the UK would be open to these Syrian refugees. The weight of public opinion, expressed this way, caused the Government to change its policy and now Syrian families are finding safety and sanctuary in this country. It is the strength of one action, joining with another, and another which starts to make a difference and change things, bringing hope and light to those who need it most.
God bless
Cecilia
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