At church yesterday, Stephen told of a village priest who was required to deal with a particularly distressing suicide. He cared for the family and took the funeral service. Because of the nature of the man’s death, the burial had to be in ‘un-consecrated ground’ outside the village cemetery.
That night the priest, disturbed and distressed, couldn’t sleep. He assembled some tools and went out…
The next morning the village discovered that the graveyard fence had been moved to include the man’s grave.
The Notting Hill Carnival, Europe’s largest cultural event, the world’s second largest carnival, celebrates its 60th anniversary this weekend.
In 1959, Kelso Cochrane was murdered in a racially motivated attack… There were race riots, growing tensions… In 1966, local resident, Rhaune Laslett, arranged a children’s street party, aiming to bring together a scarred neighbourhood. From this has grown the Notting Hill Carnival.
Their website describes, ‘Six decades of a community that turned exclusion into expression, and struggle into celebration.’ Fences have been moved!
I read about Canadians Andrew and Frances Barr. In 2000 they were concerned about children in Malawi orphaned by HIV/AIDS. Instead of removing orphans from their villages they worked alongside extended families, helping aunts, grandparents and caregivers to provide stable and loving homes.
They set up KINDLE (Kids In Need Deserve Love and Encouragement) providing local health-care and education, enabling community development, supporting social, and spiritual needs. They’ve moved fences for these children.
This weekend was a Great Yarmouth and Waveney Pride event. Their website describes ‘supporting and empowering the LGBTQ+ community’, creating ‘a safe and inclusive environment for LGBTQ+ individuals’, striving ‘to educate the public…’ A number of Christian friends have moved their fences in supporting such events locally…
Musing…
…When I was teaching – children with limited academic abilities, challenging behaviour, on an autistic spectrum… Could or should we move fences to include them?
…It’s easy to see where others should move their fences!
…Do I need to assemble tools to move my well-established fences?
malcolmsmusings.org 