Plenary, 19 Sep 2001
Meeting date: Wednesday, September 19, 2001
Official Report
419KB pdf
Time for Reflection
I welcome Rev Alison Simpson, who is the Episcopalian minister of St Mary on the Rock, Ellon and St James's, Cruden Bay, to lead our time for reflection.
Rev Alison Simpson (Episcopalian Minister of St Mary on the Rock, Ellon and St James's, Cruden Bay):
A little under a year ago, I made a pilgrimage with a group from our church to visit our companion parish of St Paul's, Woodbury, in Connecticut. Over the years, several exchange visits have taken place and firm friendships have grown out of them.
I have very happy memories of that trip. One thing in particular has stuck in my mind. After a tiring and somewhat frustrating day in Manhattan—where we seemed to spend most of our time stuck in traffic—we climbed to the top of the World Trade Center to watch the sunset. It was a beautiful, warm evening and surprisingly peaceful away from the noise of the street. As the sun went down, the sky changed to all the shades of pink and orange and was made more vibrant by being reflected in the Hudson river. The lights came on as the sun went down and the city took on its very different, but no less spectacular, night-time hue. That was one of those special moments that I will never forget.
The past week has brought to our minds other images that we will never forget. Images of tragedy, death and destruction—on a scale of which people of my generation have no conception—have shocked the world. Alongside the horror, stories of tremendous courage have emerged—of fire crews and those who phoned from the aircraft to express their love, knowing that they were about to die. We must keep those images of humanity and compassion in our hearts and minds even—perhaps especially—when anger and grief are overwhelming.
What we cherish in our society and our nation—freedom, equality, justice, peace and love—are the real strengths in the fight against evil. Archbishop Desmond Tutu wrote a very simple prayer that summarises those thoughts:
Goodness is stronger than evil,
Love is stronger than hate,
Light is stronger than darkness,
Life is stronger than death,
Victory is ours, victory is ours,
Through Him who loved us and
gave his life for us, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.