When John Bird launched a new concept of magazine for homeless people to sell in order for them to earn money, he cleverly called it “The Big Issue” linking the issuing of the magazine with major issues of the day.
So what are the big issues of today?
They include
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International conflicts
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100 million displaced people
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Huge numbers living with severe hunger, water shortages and crippling poverty
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Catastrophic climate changes
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Pandemics
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Corrupt governments
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Human rights abuses
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Terrorism, racism and crime
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The possibility of economic collapse
The issues we face are indeed big. They are massive threats to the values we seek to live by-justice, peace, freedom and integrity.
With so many inducements to despair, where can we find a rational basis for hope?
Where can we find the resilience and strength and wisdom we need to address these issues in an effective way?
As a person of faith I believe that the ultimate antidote to our shared anxiety is to be found in the existence and nature of God, who is committed to what has been created, and encourages and empowers us to cooperate with God and with one another in ways that bring life, compassion, healing and inventiveness towards tackling life’s major challenges.
We need God and we need each other if we are to make effective headway in facing and overcoming the really big issues of our day.
The Revd David Jenkins, a Methodist Team Minister based in Caversham, writing on behalf of Churches Together in Reading
