Dear Friends,
As you know, we are coming to the end of Christian Aid Week. This year, we have walked alongside Aurelia, a farmer from Guatemala. She and her community are facing challenges as the effects of climate change are causing crops to fail. But we hear that, despite this, Aurelia is abounding in hope as she works with Christian Aid’s partners to help mitigate the effects of the climate crisis. What an inspiration. It’s not easy to remain hopeful when the news seems to be so bleak.
I’ve also been thinking about another inspirational woman, Julian of Norwich, whose feast day is celebrated in May. Julian was a medieval anchoress, a spiritual recluse, known for her writings “Revelations of Divine Love”. Probably the first piece of writing by a woman in English, she tells of the visions, or “shewings”, she received when seriously ill. Her overall message is one of love. God is love and all his works, natural or spiritual, are done in love (1).
Julian’s most famous quote is probably ‘Sin is inevitable, but all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well’. These are words I turn to in dark times, when hope is hard to find.
Christian Aid Week’s prayer for tomorrow (Saturday) brings it together really well:
God of justice,
Pour out your spirit, that we may abound with hope.
When we are defeated, give us courage,
And remind us that nothing is impossible with you.
Amen
In love and hope,
Wendy
If you’d like to hear more about a Julian of Norwich, the University of Reading’s Cafe Theologique, hosted by Bishop Mary, on Tuesday 20 May is an interview with theologian Claire Gilbert about her novel “I, Julian”, based on Julian’s life. You can join online via Zoom, or join me at Zero Degrees Bar from 7:30-9:00.
Details: https://www.reading.ac.uk/chaplaincy/cafe-theologique