Description
Psalm 36:1, 10
In the chapel at Bishop’s Lodge where we live and work there’s a sculpture over the Lord’s Table of Jesus bent over the city weeping, ‘If only you knew the things that make for peace’ (see Luke 19.41– 42). For centuries the Church has built up the experience of community across the country. It continues to play a unique role in regeneration. It recognizes the importance of the environment, the economy and education to the wellbeing of our neighbourhoods, and it holds out for another vital dimension: spiritual regeneration. The Christian faith is a converting religion. It believes in transformation. The encounter with God through the Spirit of Jesus Christ changes the heart. The evidence of this shows in a new attitude to God, to others and to yourself. The greatest blight I have seen in areas of deprivation and among prisoners is low self-esteem and low aspiration...