Second Sunday before Advent
16th November 2024
Following the events of the last few days culminating in the resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury, it will strike many as sadly ironic that this Sunday is designated as Safeguarding Sunday. Over the past twenty years awareness of safeguarding has grown considerably, and necessarily so. Ideally, as Christians, we should live by Jesus' commandment love your neighbour as yourself finding in it everything we need to ensure that all people, whatever their age and vulnerability are accorded the full dignity of the children of God. But whilst this is our aspiration we have to recognise that as imperfect human beings we often fall short and that institutions of all kinds reflect and magnify the weakness of our nature. It is insufficient simply to rely on goodwill and to hope for the best. Procedures and protocols for the better protection of all, especially the most vulnerable, have to be in place, not just kept in a filing cabinet but embedded as part of the culture of the community.
As we are aware a major area of concern is that of not dealing with an issue either because of a presumption that it couldn't possibly happen or because of a particular personal loyalty. But the sad fact is that things do happen and that they are sometimes perpetrated by people who in other respects are good and committed and who may well be struggling with a destructive aspect of their personality. Should such a circumstance arise our immediate responsibility is to those who may be at risk. Staying silent and waiting on developments is not an option. Any concern must be discreetly reported and to that end every parish has a designated Safeguarding Officer who is trained and will know how to respond. In this parish we are fortunate to have Jane Trobridge who brings many years of professional experience to this role. Jane's contact details are on the attached pew sheet.
Whilst the fact of evil cannot be denied most of the mistakes and failings in our lives are made because we are unequal to a situation, overwhelmed or out of our depth. The greater the responsibilities we bear the the greater the consequences of those mistakes are likely to be, so in this current situation I urge everyone, be slow to judge, mindful that any of us could find ourselves in a position where our weaknesses and shortcomings are exposed. Hold in your prayers the victims of abuse and all concerned in these traumatic events including senior church leaders.
The gospel for this Sunday (Mark 13.1-8) is appropriately sombre, Jesus' warning of dire events to come. But it is a warning issued in the expectation of the imminence of the Kingdom. The dawning of the Kingdom is not dependent on human beings building a perfect world and getting everything right. God breaks in upon the sorrow of the world and the messiness of our lives so whatever the situation we face we should never abandon hope. As the writer of The letter to the Hebrews says, hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful (10.13). May the peace of Christ reign in our hearts.
Every blessing,
Charles Booth
The Pew Sheet with notices can be found on the website.
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