Dear Friends

In the first series of the The Vicar of Dibley one of the stained glass windows in the church is destroyed in a storm.  During a subsequent Parish Council meeting there is a dispute  between Jim and Owen concerning a spell of severe weather in the past.  The argument centres on whether it was the Great Storm, the Great Snow, the Really Great Storm, or the Great Dark.  There will come a time when local people will talk of the Great Snow of 2009.  They will remember not being able to use their cars, the shop running out of milk, and the gritting lorries running out of grit.  There will be comparisons as to where the snow was deepest, who built the biggest snow man, and how long it took to thaw.

My abiding memory will be of the heightened sense of community and fellowship that one encountered.  It was truly heart-warming to see families having seemingly endless time to toboggan down slopes, pelt each other with snowballs, and build snowmen.  Conversations took place between people who are normally trapped inside cars as they travel back and forth to work or the shops.  People had time ... time to talk and time to share.

It was a glimpse of how communities should be – of how God created us and how he longs for us to be.  The apostle Paul, writing to the Romans, gives this advice:

‘Love each other as brothers and sisters and honour others more than you do yourself.  Take care of God’s needy people and welcome strangers into your home.  Be friendly with everyone.  Don’t be proud and feel that you are smarter than others.  Make friends with ordinary people.  Do your best to live at peace with everyone.’  (Romans 12:10,13,16,18)

Let us all resolve to play our part in living out this advice.

With prayerful best wishes,

Paul