November—the month of remembrance—is with us again, with its promise of shorter days and colder nights. Summer is a mere memory, although for most of us a cherished memory after the lockdowns of the previous year.
For us, conflicts ending in wars is also just a memory, albeit a painful memory for many who are still grieving for those who they lost in the wars of our life time. It is sad that this is not so in many parts of the world, where people are drawn into wars they do not want and yet are unable to prevent. The Charge of the Light Brigade is from another era, but I hope that readers might like to read and reflect on it.
We cannot forget the other wars either that the whole world, all human beings, are engaged in, against poverty, and other injustices; but also the fight against ecological catastrophe that looms unless we act in a concerted action now. As this magazine is published, we shall be entering the COP26 fortnight. What this Climate Conference is trying to achieve is summarised on page 7
The climate situation is bleak, but as yet it is not irreversible, if the nations collectively act now. When we do, it will be costly, but let us not allow the cost to fall on those who cannot bear it. A sad fact is that the ill-effects of climate change are affecting the world’s poor people disproportionately already. But no one is exempt and recent experiences in North America and Australia might provoke powerful governments into action.
Another topic we might wish to ponder upon is how the Scriptures came to be. The Anglican Lectionary uses some readings from the books of the apocrypha (meaning ‘hidden’ and second tier books of the Bible) at present. The provenance of these books is interesting and I am indebted to Alfred Agius for doing the research for the article on page 16.
We wish you all a safe autumn.
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