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Good morning.

Each day as I catch up with the news, I always look for good news stories among them.  It’s fair to say, that they are often hard to find when there is so much going on in the global context that tells of struggle, poverty, pain and injustice.

But I am encouraged that such things are not hidden from us, nor is there any pretence that we live in a perfect world.  The reality is there for us all to see, and the challenge is for us to engage, respond and participate in not accepting what can be changed.

On this day in 1964 the Civil Rights Act was signed in the United States, ending segregation in public places and banning employment discrimination on the basis of race, colour, religion, sex or national origin. 

57 years later that journey is by no means complete in the USA……just as we have our own failings to face up to in the UK with our colonial history and the contemporary experiences of those who experience racism on a daily basis.

Protecting the rights of others and recognising our common humanity is a sign of civilisation. 

Margaret Mead, the anthropologist, described the first sign of civilisation in an ancient culture being a femur that had been broken and then healed - this was the evidence that someone had helped the one who had fallen and been injured, bound up their wound and carried them to safety for recovery - that helping someone else through difficulty was where civilisation started.

We can only fully thrive in life when all are afforded that same opportunity…..and so the journey continues.

God of all, help us to live in your wisdom - to act justly, to love mercy and walk humbly, always in your way.  Amen