|
Viewpoint from Rt Rev Ian Bishop 27/12/2024
 Rt Rev Ian Bishop
Bishop of Thetford, Diocese of Norwich
We were privileged to host a Ukrainian family in our house following the Russian invasion. When we moved to Norfolk in 2023 they moved into their own home. This New Year they will be visiting us and we’ll be showing them the delights of the county. I’m pleased to say they’re thriving and like so many who have taken refuge in the UK over the decades, they are now making a marvellous contribution to this country. They would much rather be back in Ukraine but they are deeply grateful that we have offered a welcome to enable their three children to grow in safety. If I had one wish for the coming year it would be that the conflicts that currently despoil our world would end and that the refugee road would never be needed because everyone can thrive in the place they call home. But we all know that ‘Peace on earth’, the Christmas wish of the angels, seems a distant dream
 In the Christian calendar as we move on from Christmas, the story of the family of Jesus turns to escape from a violent King as they leave urgently for safety in Egypt to wait out a despotic ruler. That same pattern is seen increasingly in our own world and many will decide to take the dangerous road because to stay presents a higher risk
The Diocese of Norwich this year is committed to prayer. So I’m praying for peace and I’m going to work for peace this year. It always starts in the human heart and so I’ll start with mine. I’m going to try and be a proactive peacemaker amongst the people God has placed me – will you join me? Where can you bring peace? Where can you change patterns of behaviour so that love wins? Perhaps we can make our families gentler places, our social media contributions kinder, our relationships more gracious, our attitudes more forgiving. You can’t legislate for peace; it happens one human heart at a time. But I know that if we get positive culture change then we all benefit. One snowflake will have no impact, but put enough together and you stop traffic
St Paul wrote “If possible, as far as it depends on you, be at peace with all people” (Romans 12:18). Sounds like a great New Year resolution
+Ian Thetford
The views carried here are those of the author, not necessarily of Network Yarmouth, and are intended to stimulate constructive and good-natured debate between website users
We welcome your thoughts and comments, posted below, upon the ideas expressed here
Click here to read our forum and comment posting guidelines
|
|
|
|
