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Palm Sunday
Conferences are strange things, and we have them all the time these days. Some are better than others, but I cannot imagine therefore how it would have felt to attend one of the most famous church conferences of all time the Council of Nicaea. It was convened on 20th of May 325 at Nicaea, in Bithynia, (in modern day northern Turkey) and between 250 - 318 bishops attended it. Its decisions set the scene for way Christianity would be organised and what its beliefs would be for the next 1700 years. Right up to the present day in fact. A number of clergy and other ordinary people were also present; even some heathen philosophers went out of curiosity to see what the Christians were up to.
One legend came out of this conference.
Many of the bishops were not intellectual and in fact were quiet and simple men (and it was just men in those days), who were not very learned although often considered wise. So they were not persons of any great learning or cleverness. One day one of these bishops was drawn into a discussion by a non-Chrisitan philosopher, who tried to dazzle him with his intellect and puzzle him about the truth of the Gospel with his cleverness. The bishop was not used to arguing in this way nor was he much used to this kind of dispute. He might have been no match for the philosopher in that way, but he contented himself instead with repeating what he believed in the words of the Creed. Amazingly the philosopher was so struck with this, that he took to thinking more seriously about Christianity than he had ever thought before, and he ended in becoming a Christian himself.
Sometimes the simplest of acts, like a walk of witness on Palm Sunday or taking a Palm Cross, can have a profound effect on those we engage with.
Tony Gilbert
Team Rector
God of Compassion and Justice,
We cry out to you for all who suffer in the Holy Land today.
For your precious children, Israelis and Palestinians,
Traumatised in fear for their lives;
Lord, have mercy.
For the families of the bereaved,
For those who have seen images they will never forget,
For those anxiously waiting for news, despairing with each passing day;
Lord, have mercy.
For young men and women,
heading into combat,
bearing the burden of what others have done and what they will be asked to do;
Lord, have mercy.
For civilians in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank, that they would be protected and that every life would count and be cherished and remembered;
Lord, have mercy.
For the wounded, and those facing a lifetime of scars, for those desperately seeking medical treatment where there is none;
Lord, have mercy.
For medical and emergency personnel, risking their own lives to save those of others;
Lord, have mercy.
For those who cannot see anything but rage and violence, that you would surprise them with mercy, and turn their hearts towards kindness for their fellow human beings;
Lord, have mercy.
For people of peace, whose imagination is large enough to conceive of a different way, that they may speak, and act, and be heard;
Lord, have mercy.
Mighty and caring God, you promised that one day, swords will be beaten into ploughshares, meet us in our distress, and bring peace upon this troubled land.
Amen.
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Three Valleys Team Ministry
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The Reverend Tony Gilbert and his wife Nicola