Peace

We shall remember them

Today is Remembrance Sunday and as every year a time for serious soul-searching for me.

I am forced to consider the stark truth of war and conflict, our (and my) part in it and what should be done about it.

I wear the poppy in remembrance of those who have died in wars across the ages, as well as to support the Royal British Legion, the charity supports serving members of the Armed Forces, ex-Service men and women (veterans), their families and dependants all year-round.

However, I fear the patriotism which so easily slips into this time of year. There seems a fine line between honouring those who have died in service to humanity and glorifying their terrible and untimely deaths.

Then of course  there are the questions and doubts about how right it is to be involved in conflict and war. Is there such a things as a Just War?
Whilst I am able to look at WWII and feel a sense of certainty that this was a right cause and perhaps as just as war as  I can think of, and even feel deep gratitude to those who fought against Nazi Germany, with virtually all conflict since then I cannot muster the same kind of feelings ...

Then there is the knowledge that not only soldiers die in modern wars, but countless innocent civilians too. Who remembers them?

So, as every year I wear the red poppy.
I wear it to remember those young men and women who have given their lives in service to their country and for all mankind.
I wear it as a challenge against all war and conflict and to pose the questions whether it is right to be involved, whether it is a just cause or whether there are other motivations at play.
I wear it to remember ALL who have died in wars and conflict - soldiers and civilians, people from all nations and religions.
I wear it in the hope that one day we will not need to wear red poppies any more ...

Perhaps I should wear a white poppy as well next year??

There's a wideness in God's mercy

I am often surprised (and shocked) by the judgmental attitudes I come across in those who claim to believe in God. Only in the last week or so have I come across a number of explanations, which attributed the hurricane Sandy to God's punishment on mankind ... for (in no particular order) 1) proposed changes in US law on same sex marriage, 2) the anti-Islam film, which was recently made public and 3) not caring for our environment ...
So take your pick which one you think is most likely - but bear in mind that there might be many, many more of these theories out there ...

What strikes me about these theories is the zeal with which people are assured that God is on 'their side' and fighting for 'their causes'.

So it soothed my heart to sing this hymn in church this morning. "There's a wideness in God's mercy" is a hymn, which was written by Frederick Faber in 1854.

I loved these two verses especially:

For the love of God is broader
Than the measure of our mind;
And the heart of the Eternal
Is most wonderfully kind. 

But we make His love too narrow
By false limits of our own;
And we magnify His strictness
With a zeal He will not own.

Here it is sung by the Choir of St Paul's Cathedral, London:

All Souls Day

Today is the day when many Christians remember those loved ones who have died.

It was humbling to take part in the evening service, a quiet and solemn occasion, which gave people the opportunity to remember and grieve in their own way.

Support us, O Lord, all the day long,

until the shadows lengthen, the evening comes,

the busy world is hushed,

the fever of life is over and our work is done.

Then, in your mercy, grant us safe lodging,

a holy rest, and peace at last;

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

(Methodist Worship Book)

For all who grieve for loved ones, may you find peace and rest. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Dances with leaves

The picture says it all.
Enjoy the autumn days and the falling leaves!

Desmond Tutu - God is not a Christian

Desmond Tutu -  retired Archbishop of Cape Town, Nobel Peace Prize winner, human rights campaiger, founder of the Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation and one of my favourite people ever!

Here is an article  in the Huffington Post by Desmond Tutu, which is just too wonderful not to share!

“Peace, prosperity and justice - we can have them all if we work together. There is no 'us' or 'them'. God is not a Christian but neither is S(he) an adherent of any other religion because no religion has monopoly on God. All major religions have love and compassion at their core, they promote tolerance not violence and hate, and most have their own version of the Golden Rule - treat others as you wish to be treated. They all recognise that human happiness ultimately comes from our relationship with each other.

In truth there are no outsiders, no enemies - unless we put them there in our minds. Black and white, rich and poor, man and woman, gay and straight, Jew and Arab, Muslim and Christian, Hindu and Buddhist, Hutu and Tutsi, Pakistani and Indian, - all belong. When we start to live as brothers and sisters and to recognise our interdependence, we become fully human.

Our diversity is beautiful - it would be so terribly boring if we were all the same! Conformity is stoked by fear of not being loved, and an expression of a need to belong. Let's love each other - warts and all. Let's dare to be beautiful in our own truth - and still belong. Unselfish self-assurance, compassion, an inner knowing that our humanity is caught up in one another's, that we are inexorably diminished when others are humiliated, oppressed or treated as if they were of less worth than us - these are some of the inner qualities that will save us as a human race.”

Allotment update

This year has been a tough year for gardeners is the UK. We have had an exceptionally cold and wet summer (the wettest in 100 years!) ... and it has shown on our allotment.

Everything has ripened (if it grew at all in the first place!) a month later than last year.

Much of the plot was waterlogged for several weeks.
It is much to my husband's credit that he continued plodding on, despite the set-backs and the bad weather.

Finally, in August, the weather improved.
We even managed a couple of cook-outs, cooking courgettes and sweetcorn freshly picked on the fire pit.


In the end, all turned out well.
We had a bumper harvest of strawberries (the first time that we had enough to make into jam!); the runner beans and French beans did very well, as did the broad beans; although the courgettes were disappointing, the summer squashes have been amazing; the brassicas are looking well and the beetroot (hubby's favourite) are great too.

Overall we have grown fruit and veg, which would have cost us over £600 in the supermarket. So all in all, not a bad return - especially for a poor growing season.

Just one final problem: what to do with all the squashes??