Hear all about it - the bravery of Victoria Soto

If you are like me then you too would have struggled with trying to understand some of the recent news stories; Jalcinta Saldanha's untimely, and desperately sad, death seems to be beyond comprehension. We then get the appalling  news of Sandy Hook school and the massacre of innocents. It seems to me these things are beyond words and beyond comprehension.

I am not sure whether 'blame' is really helpful either - it just doesn't undo what was done, it doesn't put any of the terrible wrongs right. Be it: gun laws, school security, prank calls, or how an employer treats its staff - all of these things are of significance but I am not sure whether understanding is really to be had here.

I think the thing that concerns me, the thing that I keep coming back to, is the role of the media in all of this and then, perhaps the bigger question, the thirst we, the general public, have for 'stories'. We could blame the newspapers for following the minutiae of Kate's pregnancy, yet it is we who buy newspapers. Perhaps when it comes to the heinous acts in Newtown, Connecticut the issue is even more insidious, the possibility that perpetrators want to make a name for themselves so that they will be remembered. As I read reports and listen to the radio there seems to be a suggestion, (and maybe nothing new), that 'news' does not just report events but acts as a catalyst to provoke them. Again I am not sure blame is helpful here but what are we to do?

I have not named the gunman, I do not want to remember his name, I will not buy newspapers going into every detail, I will not buy the book or watch the film that they may or not make about it (yes books and films are made about such things.

What can I do? I cannot remember the names of all those who died but I will remember at least one name, so I will try to remember Victoria Soto, the 27 year old teacher who hid the children, she taught,  and persuaded the gunmen to look elsewhere, thus sacrificing her own life. And I will mourn with her family and all those who mourn, and thank God that in the darkest places there are those who are willing to stand up and be counted regardless of the cost. It is this story, this news item that I want to hear about.

After the rain - the rainbow

After my trip up country and the slightly earlier return through central England, a place that resembled either a swamp or a lake, I returned to Exeter and then to Cranbrook to enquire as to any flood issues. It has been said that this new town was built on a flood plain. Well if it has the flood defences have worked very well, for although some local towns very sadly had some serious issues, I am delighted to say that at Cranbrook I saw none, yes there were puddles and pools of water but none of these seemed to impinge adversely on the buildings in any discernible way - this is good!

But it keeps raining and yesterday as I was on my way to the school I saw this, so I stopped and took a picture with my phone (they say that the best camera is the one you have in your hand).

Rainbows have played quite a part in my story, I remember the one over Avonmouth bridge as we travelled to Exeter for the first time more than ten years ago. I also remember the one in Loughborough when I was ordained. Of course, in the Bible they are seen as a sign of God's covenant with the earth and its people. As I was taking my picture I engaged with a lady who had also stopped her car and got out to take a picture with a 'proper' camera. I am not sure whether she shared my faith perspective but she, like me saw this bow in the sky as a thing of beauty, something to stop for and enjoy the sense of awe and mystery that it evokes.

As we prepare to move to Cranbrook there is a real sense of the presence of God before us and behind us, the rainbow was lovely in this respect reminding me again of this ancient story of God's eternal promise and presence. I don't want to be arrogant but us moving to Cranbrook 'feels right', there is a clarity that is as clear as the rainbow in the sky - I really do feel this way!

But here is the interesting bit; there is more than one bow in this picture, the second is less obvious and less clear, a 'shadow' of the first. Although we see (without arrogance) God's hand in our move to Cranbrook there is something else, something more behind, something yet to be encountered or discovered, a second promise.