Rector’s Letter – May 2022

(Khrystos Voskres!)

Christ is Risen!

Dear friends,
As I write this letter, it is Holy Week in Ukraine. By the time you read it, it will be Easter. Out of the hundreds of memorable photographs that have been published in recent weeks, it is this one, taken in the city of Lviv on 9th March, that has stayed with me. It depicts a statue of Jesus from the Armenian Cathedral, one of an untold number of priceless artifacts in danger of being destroyed by Russian shelling, being taken into a bunker for protection.

The image can be read as the packing away of hope but as I reflected on it during our Holy Week – the death-toll of civilians in Ukraine growing day by day – I realised that its composition is the same as that of Rubens’ famous painting ‘The Descent from the Cross’. In both images, the arms of the lifeless Jesus bearing the wounds of his sacrifice are spread wide. It is as if, even in death, the power of Love continues to embrace our world, created and sustained by those nail-torn hands.

This Season of Easter, as we meet in worship with the risen Christ, the hope of the world, let us continue to pray for the victims of all violence and seek ways to support them. The focus of our prayers for Ukraine will move to the Peace Garden created by our Young Church members which is accessible at all times. You are welcome to bring prayers, poems or photos to hang on the surrounding trees.

As we look for ways to welcome refugees from Ukraine into our communities, it is important not to forget those fleeing from violence, oppression and injustice in other parts of the world. I’m sure you will have been outraged by the plan to send those seeking asylum in the UK to be ‘processed’ in Rwanda, a country whose human rights’ record is very concerning. The advice I have received on how to best express our disagreement with this proposal is to write to our local MP, Alyn Smith at alyn.smith.mp@parliament.uk or House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA.

The focus of this year’s Christian Aid Week campaign is to help turn hunger into hope so that the people who need our support can stay in their homes and villages. These include families like that of Jessica Mwedzi in Zimbabwe pictured above, who has been robbed of the power to provide for her children by the combined effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, conflict and drought. And in recent weeks, the war in Ukraine is driving up prices of wheat and cooking oil, pushing vulnerable families like hers even deeper into hunger. Christian Aid is helping people like Jessica to set up water taps on her farm, to learn to grow food and buy seeds that thrive in drought, giving them what they need to turn dry dusty land into gardens of hope. The local Christian Aid Committee is repeating the house to house delivery which proved successful last year, with people given the choice to donate online or drop their envelope off at Meldrum or Charisma on the High Street. More details about other fundraising events and the annual ecumenical service will be available soon.

As the Climate Crisis is such a major cause of poverty leading to displacement and migration across the world, it is appropriate that our Eco Congregation Group is holding its first event during Christian Aid Week. This will be an Eco Question Time at 7.30 p.m. on 18th May – an opportunity to discuss with leading thinkers and activists a range of environmental issues. More details about this and our Eco Fest in June will appear here and on our Facebook page. I would encourage you, if you are able, to get involved in these timely ventures.

I would also encourage you to come with me to our cathedral in Perth on the afternoon of 14th May to celebrate your ministry as a lay person.

To book your place for this joyful diocesan event, phone the Diocesan Office on 01738 580426 or email bishopsec@standrews.anglican.org

In the services on the previous Sunday, 8th May, we will be focussing on the calling of the Good Shepherd in all our lives with the help of Cathy Johnston from Holy Trinity Church Stirling who is a member of the Discernment Team of the Scottish Episcopal Church and Ross Stirling-Young who is a student at the Scottish Episcopal Institute.

In the meantime, I will leave you with this image of our cross, decorated by those who attended the Easter morning services.

With love to you all,
Nerys