Page 4 - C:\Users\Jim\AppData\Local\Temp\mso51C7.tmp

Our November Pastoral Letter is provided

by Anne Squires

November, the month when days are noticeably shorter and there
is a nip in the air; the month when youngsters enjoy fireworks,
bonfires and start to prepare letters for Santa, whilst we older ones
look forward to closing the curtains, turning on the fire and eating
hot buttered toast or a warm bowl of soup and remember our youth.

This summer we marked 80 years since D-Day, a turning point in
the Second World War, and on Remembrance Sunday we will
commemorate the sacrifice of so many young lives on the beaches
of Northern France. Many of us will have no personal memories of
a World War, but we may have listened to personal stories from
parents or older siblings.

Most of us have been fortunate enough to have little or no personal
experience of the trauma of warfare, but we have all watched
distressing media footage of the devastation of war, most recently
in Ukraine and the Middle East. Irrespective of our stance on the
morality of war, we must all feel compassion for the innocents
suffering, particularly young children, and fear for their future
deprived of family or home, marred by injury, hatred or mental
instability. We wonder what we could say to comfort all who are in
distress at this time wherever they may be.

As I write, the news of the distressing incident at Gainsborough
Care Home, in our own town is filtering through. We will all be
concerned for the well-being of residents, carers and their families.

4