(No. 31/2024)

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Dear friends,

 

It was a group of eight of us who went Going Places to Bath last Saturday.  We had a great time!

 

With a city tour led by a local guide, we learnt about some of the architectural history, and visited one of the park, and saw the canal too. After a delicious lunch we walked to the famous Royal Crescent, and also went into Bath Abbey.

 

In the Abbey we prayed in a chantry chapel (a chapel established to pray for the soul of a benefactor) dedicated to peace. It was here that we saw the peace pillar pictured above.

 

Pillars of stone have been symbols of prayer and the presence of God for centuries in Jewish, Christian and other faith traditions. This pillar has the word in five languages: Latin, Hebrew, Arabic and Hindi. It is a focus of prayer for peace. The candle represents Christ, the light of the world; he said "whoever follows me will never walk in darkness John 8:12.

 

After a time of shared silence we said this prayer together, one that feels particularly apt for the current situation in the Middle East:

 

O, God: we pray not for Arab or jew, for Palestinian or Israeli. We pray rather for ourselves, that we may not divide them in our prayers, but keep them together in our hearts. In the name of Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Amen.

 

Let’s continue to pray for peace in the Middle East, in Sudan, in Russia and Ukraine, and in any other places of conflict. And let’s pray for peace within ourselves, the only place where world peace will ever truly begin.

 

Look out for more Going Places with Hornsey Parish Church

 

Wit the assurance of my love and prayers

 

Fr Bruce

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