Reverend Carolyn's letter..

As we gradually move into summer, discarding our winter layers, we can turn our minds to things outside and the pleasures of new growth. But I'm not sure whether you agree that the return of springtime this year has been rather clouded by so much tragic news both within our own country and abroad.

I have been particularly sad about the collapse of the office block in Bangladesh and the rather uncomfortable knowledge that the clothing workers'  jobs involved work for British brands. It looks hopeful that there might be plans developing to contribute in a positive way to the safety arrangements of firms that produce our goods and this of course can only be a positive thing. This was followed by news quite recently of a young woman who was rescued from the rubble after being buried for seventeen days. I was astonished to read that she had happened to find herself in a room that had been set aside for prayer within the factory and that there were some limited supplies of water and snacks that had been stored there. While others around her had died, she had kept herself alive after the rescue parties had given up.

 Some of you might think that it was a matter of pure chance that she found herself in a place of prayer and that anyway it was irrelevant to her plight, and of course you may be right. But I am reminded that we have places of prayer in all of our villages, places where people from medieval times have gone to worship but also to seek help and refuge when cracks appeared in their lives.  I would like to think that our churches can still be places where you can go to find help in times of need or just to give thanks and find peace.  I am also here to be contacted in complete confidence if needs be.

With love and prayers,

Carolyn

Rector