New Year Message For 2015 - A Prophetic Way For Society
From Ray Simpson
Founding Guardian of the international Community of Aidan and Hilda
I carry in my heart two seeds more precious than pearls. This may not seem obvious, for I am neither an extravert nor a socialiser, but I want you to know this. The two seeds are our world and the world-wide Community of Aidan and Hilda. It is time for the world to wake up to the fact that our Way of Life is not only a narrow road for a few, but a main route for many. Our society needs this Way of Life if it is not to die.
Our DNA is ‘to release the song in every human heart’. We strive for equality of opportunity in every land until electorates vote for it. Old continents, such as Europe, who once led the way, now creak with new forms of bureaucratic regulation that stifle relationship and initiative.. Our commitment to Simplicity strips away regulations, words and attitudes that divorce the head from the heart, the corridors of power from the streets.
During 2014 I was touched by Scotland’s intense Independence referendum campaign. Whether they were disappointed or relieved by the result, many have been inspired to imagine a whole new way of being a country. We must not let such hopes die. I joined a group outside Edinburgh Parliament who, although lamenting the result, wanted to find ways of ‘keeping the flame alive’.
Our motto is ‘Pass on the Flame’. We need a hundred ways to kindle the flame, to demonstrate ways to build the kingdom of God in our streets. I learned during my August visit to New Mexico that Quaking Aspen trees reproduce by sending out underground shoots that produce genetically identical trees some distance away. Fire plays a role in aspen growth by opening up areas for the sun loving aspen to become established. We need to send out shoots that become trees.
Increasing numbers use Kindle. Our Everyday Prayer for Busy People is available on Kindle. Why not use it and commend it? Or visit https://www.aidanandhilda.org.uk/prayer-examples.php for our daily prayer, or join in Friday Midday Prayer on www.facebook.com/CAandH?
At this time of year churches read about the old prophetess Anna who prophesied over the baby Jesus when his parents brought him into the temple. She could ‘scent holiness’ and sense a fresh unfolding of God’s purposes. I hope we can lay foundations this year for the schooling of such prophets. The old and the young can do this together. A Christmas card informed me that in Hebrew the word ‘guil’ means both ‘age’ and ‘joy’: Hebrew has created a relationship between the elderly and someone who is drunk with joy! A partnership between a young but holy family and an old person drunk with joy is a great model.
God Bless you. Ray Simpson, Holy Island of Lindisfarne.
