A message from the Rev’d Stephen Sutcliffe

Posted by Admin on 29 October 2019, 12:53 am

The Rev’d Stephen Sutcliffe

Assistant Curate

2 St Faiths Rd

Cowes.

Tel: 01983 652506

Email: steve.alan.sutcliffe@icloud.com

Good day to you my dear friends!

It has been said once or twice, that you should never talk about religion or politics. Well… what can I say at this challenging time in our country’s history.

Perhaps we should talk about the weather?! It has been rather wet lately, don’t you think!

But seriously, as I write this piece for the magazine, I am being bombarded with news headlines concerning a potential Brexit deal and how we will be coming out of the EU on the 31^st October. By the time you read this piece, we will either be just about to leave or would have just done so.

Many commentators have noted that although we will hopefully be leaving with a deal, the real deal will be how we form a new relationship with our closest trading partners within the EU and then with the rest of the world. This will be the hard test for all concerned.

And so it will be within our divided country. How we heal a land of division after some intense confrontational arguments will be a real test for all of us to deal with.

As I’ve said many times before, I feel truly blessed in as much as I see the best in all people. Of course people make mistakes and no one is an exception to that, but we often make our decisions based upon our previous experiences and therefore we can all be prone to not seeing the consequences of our actions before it’s too late.

But if there is one thing I am certain of, is that people do not make decisions based solely upon their intent to cause upset or pain. And when I adopt this view with regard to the referendum, it helps me to envisage a more harmonious future for our land.

Whether people voted to remain within the EU or to leave it, I am sure the vast majority of folk based their decision on a positive image of the United Kingdom for the future. I don’t believe that people thought; how can I inflict a lot of chaos on the people of the UK.

And if we are to heal the wounds of such a divisive referendum and the subsequent debate then by holding views similar to that, we will begin to heal those divisions and bring about a degree of harmony to our community and indeed the whole country.

The power to heal is within our control, the power to see the best in one another, rather than the worst, is in our control and therefore the power to create harmony is within our grasp.

When we view one another through the eyes that God views us all with, we see the world differently. We see the joy that envelopes a situation, we see the beauty that lies within each individual, but we also see the pain that rejection and hostility can bring. And as we are all a part of God’s creation, I believe it is within our DNA to want to bring about peace and harmony rather than division and fear.

History will record these past few years as some of the most turbulent and divisive times in our history but my prayer is that history will record the years ahead as times of harmony between each of us. When we adopt a more reconciliatory tone and see one another as individuals and no longer as adversaries who deserve to be challenged. But only we can begin that debate and change the divisive rhetorical tone that has marked these past few years.

So, my prayer for us all, as we read this article and then as we move forward into the future, is that we will see the best in one another and no longer see a potential enemy who deserves to be challenged. And that this divided country will heal the wounds of its past and will face the future with optimism and hope.

With every blessing,

Rev’d Steve.