Hope for the Future:Poignant Comic Relief day as world seeks hope
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A few weeks ago I was encouraging us all to talk about how we are doing. If I’m honest, at the moment I’m a bit overwhelmed.
Much of that is work-related, as I play a part in layers of reform in the Church of Scotland in Moray, alongside the week by week privilege of parish ministry. (I realise the problem of too much work is a privilege in itself, especially when it comes with an above-average income.)
Lifting my head to the wider world also feels fairly overwhelming. We watch the destruction in Ukraine, the human cost of that - there and fleeing for safety - and the war’s ripple effects. The next phase of the Covid pandemic brings new uncertainties. I know there are also many more crises that don’t quite make the headlines just now.
The accumulation of issues can be very difficult. For any of us, current and past problems, local and global events, work and family concerns, all add up. To help, I’ve found myself turning again to the serenity prayer:
Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and wisdom to know the difference.
There are things that we can’t change, no matter how much we’d like to.
Few of us will be in a position to end the war in Ukraine, no matter how much we scroll through the news.
None of us can change past life events, rewriting our histories or withdrawing words said.
Many of us have few financial choices, because options are very limited for those with the least.
Yet we can change some things.
We can challenge our local political representatives to change systems that limit options for those living with poverty, and to offer refuge to those needing safe homes.
We can, with the right support, revisit and reframe some past experiences, in order to learn from them and make peace with ourselves and others.
And we can raise funds and awareness to help make the world better, from the smallest action to nationwide campaigns.
Today is Red Nose Day, when Comic Relief gives all ages an opportunity to do that, as it has for decades. As they say, “whatever you do, no matter how small, you can help people live free from poverty, violence and discrimination. Because you have the power to change lives.”
There is a particular poignancy to some of the big Red Nose Day challenges this year, with Tom Daley and Jordan North both journeying to their home towns at a time when we see millions of people displaced from their homes.
However, the bulk of Comic Relief’s fundraising comes from people in schools and communities doing smaller things – the dafter the better, having fun in the process. People do what we can, which changes the lives of those taking part as well as those receiving the resulting support.
When we feel overwhelmed, may we find some specks of wisdom, leading us to the right courage and appropriate serenity.
- Jenny Adams, is minister of Duffus, Spynie and Hopeman Church of Scotland.
