Thought for the Day
A one-minute read to inspire or challenge. Written by members of the church and updated every few days.
24th January 2025
The 27th of January each year is Holocaust Memorial Day. A day to remember the lives of millions of men, women and children who were murdered across Europe during the Second World War by the Nazi regime. This year 27th January marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the largest Nazi death camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau.
A Prayer:
Merciful God,
We remember all those who bear the inner and outer
scars of the Holocaust and of all the past acts of genocide.
Let them not be overwhelmed by the horrors
that engulfed them. Be close to them.
Help them to see that you suffer with those who suffer,
and that no wickedness can ever extinguish your unlimited love.
Restrain those who are filled with hatred
and use violence to pursue their ends.
Change their hearts.
May remembrance make us alert
to the reality of evil and its deceptive allure.
Help us to recognise our own capacity for evil
and may your Spirit remove it from our lives.
Help us always to stand up against evil and oppression,
even if that means we must suffer ourselves.
Enable us to defend those who are not strong enough to defend themselves,
and to be ready to bring the light of your truth into the darkness of human lives.
Deepen our respect for all you have made,
and help us to share in securing the greatest good of every person who lives.
We ask this in the name of your Son Jesus Christ,
who died for us, carried our sorrows, heals
our wounds, who is risen for our freedom. Amen.
Sam King
22nd January 2025
Time seems to have taken on a very elastic quality since the start of the Covid-19 epidemic. The past year has flown past with lots of activity. Yet lockdown now seems like a distant, faintly remembered, bad dream: was it really only a few years ago? It was during lockdown that we began writing these […]
20th January 2025
Light in the Darkness 6th January was the Feast of ‘Epiphany’, a word meaning show/reveal, this particular festival recalling the Magi visiting the infant Jesus. Shepherds had already come to the manger, revealing Christ to the nation of Israel; now, the arrival of mysterious Eastern figures announces the arrival of its Saviour to the whole, […]
17th January 2025
As I write, we are preparing to drive up the M5 and M6 to the Lake District for the thanksgiving service for a very good friend, Mike. We have been friends for 57 years. It does not feel right to tell his wife, Liz, that we will just watch the live-stream on Zoom. We need […]
10th January 2025
‘And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name’ (Genesis 1:25). So does the man, Adam, know all about these animals? Pondering the Christmas letters received from friends far and wide, I read of an amazing variety of dealings with non-human animals: from bee-keeping in New Zealand, to training a hearing-aid dog […]
8th January 2025
Having had a background in biological sciences before turning to theological study, the interplay between faith and science is a major element in my ongoing spiritual journey. I naturally ask theological questions of science and scientific questions of theology; not to do so would be, for me, plain dishonest. So, for example, what does the […]
3rd January 2025
Here we are – it’s January again! As I get older January seems to come around more quickly each year. January takes its name from the Roman god Janus, always pictured as having two faces looking in opposite directions – one, symbolically, towards the past and one towards the future. Very appropriate as we stand […]
1st January 2025
Have you conducted your own personal review of 2024? Perhaps you started off by writing letters to accompany Christmas cards, and then the thinking back led to further reflections? We think of the Tyndale folk we’ve loved and lost in the past year – with huge gratitude for our time with them, and for all […]
20th December 2024
Jesus, Immanuel There is something different and magical in the air around Christmas, people feel it and give expression to it in all sorts of ways. Their longing for something other than the ordinary, for something to let them know that despite the drudgery and tedium of many of their days, there is something alive, […]
13th December 2024
Praying for peace this advent. This advent we are invited by Christian Aid to take time to pray for those around the world who are living in situations of conflict and war. On the third Sunday of advent (this coming Sunday) we focus on the story of Hassan, a primary school teacher, and his wife […]