Greetings …

Tuesday 24 October marks the anniversary of United Nations, an international organisation founded in 1945.  Having grown from an initial 51 Member States, the UN is currently made up of 193 Member States, and it has evolved to keep pace with the rapidly changing word.  But, according to the UN website, even with these changes, one thing has stayed the same: the UN remains the one place on Earth where all the world’s nations can gather together, discuss common problems, and find shared solutions that benefit all of humanity.

There certainly seems to be a need for this.  Conflict is escalating in many places causing displacement of people as they look for a safe haven; climate change is putting pressure on the sustainability of some communities as they struggle to grow crops and feed families – it sometimes feels like the whole world is weary.

Yet I ask myself whether the UN is the ‘one place on Earth’ that people can gather.  Maybe it is the place for the community of nations, but as people of faith I believe that we can all gather together before God and work for the kingdom values that benefit all of creation.

Last week our electronic sign read Pray for peace. Act with justice. This is something that we can all do.  Individual prayers and small actions do make a difference, and while we might not see great changes on the world stage, we can know that we have made a difference, not only for the individual we have stood with or prayed for, but also for ourselves as we are changed by our prayers and actions.

Blessings – Heather (she/her).