Tower and Town, October 2025 (view the full edition)Clergy Letter"Imagine all the people living life in peace... Peace is so much more than the absence of war (and the absence of war of course, is no small thing). But peace as an idea can sound rather abstract or conceptual and therefore be somewhat difficult to pursue. But I think we know peace when we've found it because we feel it as well as make it or know it - with others or with ourselves. I am inspired by the Coventry Cross of Nails. The original version was made from three large medieval nails salvaged from Coventry Cathedral after the building was severely damaged by German bombs on 14 November 1940, during the Second World War. In the following decades, several hundred crosses have been given as gifts to various organisations, including churches, prisons and schools. Coventry Cathedral has since become a centre for significant international peace-making and reconciliation. See the Cross of Nails and find out more about it at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coventry_Cross_of_Nails I'm drawn to this cross because it recognises both the wasteful horror of war and the miraculous possibility of reconciliation; but ultimately it speaks of a "peace that passes all understanding". The earthly life of Jesus was foretold (or prophesied) some 800 years before. The prophet Isaiah asserted that He would be Immanuel ('God with us'), the Prince of Peace. The greatness of His peace would know no limits. This prophetic promise is partially fulfilled for us now. In terms of civic or national and international peace, we still live with the effects of power and imperialism. But in this age, there is no threshold to the peace that an individual may know with God. This yearning for peace is at the heart of any spiritual search. I opened this piece with a quote from John Lennon's beautiful but rather unworldly solo hit, Imagine. You may remember that Lennon famously claimed that the Beatles were bigger than Jesus. I'm a musician and music fan, the Beatles included - but clearly, John Lennon 'believed his own press'! I can't imagine wanting to imitate his life in order to gain inner peace. Imitating Jesus though, is a very different thing. Jesus said that He came to bring life, and life in abundance. (John's gospel, chapter ten, verse ten). In other words, good life. Rich and fulfilling life. A life worth living. I am convinced that this abundant life is the fullest possible antidote to a lack of peace. May you know it. With you in Christ in Marlborough, Peter Sainsbury |