³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ

A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Rachel Gardner, President of the Girl’s Brigade.

Good morning.

In September 1666, Samuel Pepys stood on the south bank of the Thames, watching as the city he loved became engulfed in what became known as the Great Fire of London. Built in 1087, Old St Paul’s was the heartbeat of the city – it was a building that seemed to carry the pulse of the people.

But Old St Paul’s had gone, swallowed by the fire.

Only stone and charred wood remaining. Christopher Wren was persuaded to re-imagine the St Paul’s of the future. And Wren’s first act, after drawing up designs was to send labourers to find the stone to mark the place the cathedral would be built. The labourers returned with a stone, rustically carved, but a solid, dependable stone sourced from the rubble of Old St Paul’s cathedral.

Each of us will have our own story of the rubble of disappointment or even suffering, as well as the hope emerging from this time.

Martin Luther King said that although we must accept finite disappointment, we must never lose infinite hope. Our hope lies in the fact that God is not helpless among the ruins. God stands weeping with us as we survey the landscape. But God is also inspiring us with dreams of what beauty and truth can emerge from the destruction.

God, as this new day begins, help us to let go of disappointment and hold onto hope for our homes and communities. Thank you that in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, all our deepest longings and hopes are fulfilled. Amen