The United Reformed Church Chesham

Dear Fellow Worshippers, March 2025

Well, it certainly seems that spring has sprung, as I write this letter. If only the state of the world reflected the calm and beauty of God’s creation, that we currently see around us. Then we turn to the news and are swept up in violence and aggression in so many places.

At Lent we start to follow Christ’s journey from Galilee to Jerusalem and the cross, and hopefully our Bible study of James’ letter will draw us closer to the meaning of that journey.

Last year I joined a group from my old Synod – Mersey – on a trip to the Corrymeela Centre for Reconciliation , based in Northern Ireland, but with a message for all the places of conflict in the world. We shared daily worship, with lectures and of course some sight-seeing, as the Giant’s Causeway was just along the coast from us. The centre was set up by a Presbyterian minister, Rev. Ray Davey, to offer a space for parties in conflict, at the time of the Troubles, children and adults, to come together on neutral ground and seek a way forward – to peace.

One of the lectures had some points I want to share with you – who knows when you might ever have a chance to settle a conflict! Ron Kraybill’s article on “The Cycle of Reconciliation”* was broken down into bite-sized pieces, starting with trying to build a relationship between 2 parties, who are involved in conflict and perhaps sitting face to face in a room together for the first time. Trust grows, can be damaged, self-respect and increasing self-awareness mean perhaps a change in how each group sees itself – and then the other side!

May the year ahead bring a desire across the world to seriously work for peace, and God willing, reconciliation – in the name of the Prince of Peace.

Heather