Julie's Jottings for November 

“Peace is not made by force. It comes by understanding.”   This was something said to me recently, not in the context of the different wars going on in the world, though this would be relevant to those wars. Rather, the context was in response to the resolution of an argument, which was only achieved when the people involved really listened to each other.
November is a time when we think about what peace means as we remember the sacrifices people made during World Wars, to bring peace to our nation. It makes us thankful for our freedom and thoughtful about what we value in our national life. We may find ourselves questioning what humanity has learnt about peace?
A child said, ‘I know how to stop people arguing.’ I said, ‘Great, tell me how.’  He said, ‘Get everyone to play sleeping lions. When they all shut their eyes together, everything is quiet.’ 
At St Mary’s we meet regularly on Monday and Thursday mornings for prayer. This month we will be praying for peace in our world and community. Prayer is often a time when we close our eyes, but unlike the sleeping lions game, the aim of prayer is not to make us quiet, but more attentive and alert to what our role in positive change and peace bringing might be. Do join us at 8.30am in the church on Mondays and Thursdays to pray for peace in our world.                                                                                       Rev Julie Norris