Thought of the Week
Thought for the week, commencing 17th May
POLLING STATIONS
On General Election Day a large number of people were not able to use their vote. The reason was that there were more people than was expected who wanted to vote. Queuses formed outside some polling stations and at 10pm hundreds of people were told that they were unable to vote. How could this have happened was the question that many people asked. We live in a democracy This a society where people’s rights are supported by the law. People were angry because to slam a door in the face of those who had been queuing for a long time showed a total lack of respect to them and to democracy. People who were queuing to vote should have been allowed into the polling station. We must hope that those running the polling stations have learned their lesson and stopping people having their vote should never happen again.
The Bible speaks people having justice and tells us that God respects and loves each person on the Earth. Jesus told people that God knows us personally and that we are loved by Him. In the Psalms, we are told that such love is hard for us to understand. But this is how powerful God’s love is for us.
There are many people in many countries of the world who are treated unfairly. Some young people will never have the chance to go to school because they are born into families who live in poverty. These youngsters are pushed into work long before they are teenagers. The Bible says that treating poor people in this way is wrong and says that all people should be treated fairly. Jesus taught what has become known as the ‘golden rule’ – to love God and our neighbour. We should all work for a world where every person is treated fairly and has the right to have their opinion heard
Questions:
1. Do you think we are doing enough to challenge the unfairness and poverty in our world?
2. We often take our education for granted - do we really appreciate the opportunities for education we have in this country?
3. The Bible teaches us to love our neighbour – is that sometimes too hard to do?
Thought for the week, commencing 10th May
THE ELECTION
People will have voted in the General Election on Thursday, 6th May. During the campaign, people will have listened carefully to what the political parties have promised to do if they get into power. In Britain, people can vote in secret. This means that no one can pressure a person into voting for a particular party.
During the Election campaign opinion polls have tried to guess the result. These polls have said that the result of the Election would be a ‘hung’ Parliament. This means that no single party will have enough votes to rule on its own. The politicians who want to rule will have to form partnerships with other parties. Ruling together is called coalition government.
Many people in Britain are fed up with their politicians as many were found to be dishonest in the amount of money they have claimed as MPs. They said they needed this money to do their jobs in Parliament but this was untrue. Some people have said that they were too fed up to vote. However, this was the very time we should all have voted to show the politicians how unhappy we were with their behaviour.
There may be things wrong with the way we are governed but our system does ensure that we have freedom of speech (the right to speak our opinion) and the rule of law which keeps us safe. This is not true of many countries in the world where to have a different view of the government can mean imprisonment, torture and even death. People in these countries would love to live in Britain.
Jesus’ reply to some sly Pharisees who asked him whether they should pay their taxes was ‘Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s’. Good government always safeguards people’s freedom. Good government is about caring for all the people who live in a country, especially the weak who can not fight for themselves. Voting in an election gives us the freedom to do this.
1. Democracy is the basis of our society. Do we take it for granted?
2. If we don't bother to vote, do we have right to complain about what our
Government does ?
3 If you were the Prime Minister of the UK what changes would you make?
Thought for the week, commencing 4th May
DISAPPOINTMENT
As you know, during the week no planes landed in Britain or Europe for quite a few days. This was because of dangerous ash which had been released into the air by a volcano in Iceland. No planes meant that many people on holiday abroad could not get back to Britain. Other people could not make a start to their holidays. Understandably, everyone was feeling fed up. People were fed up because their holiday plans would have to wait or be cancelled completely. Business people were fed up because they needed to make trips to bring jobs to Britain.
Some people have said that the government was wrong to stop all planes flying. However, the government has said that people’s safety was the main reason for the planes staying on the ground. Once again deciding on the right thing to do was not easy for the people who have to make important decisions for us.
Sometimes things can happen that we did not expect and these can have a devastating effect on our lives. Sadness or worry can sometimes come upon us when we don’t expect them. At these times, we feel hopeless and frightened. It is then that we need to know that we can trust God to look after us. We need to pray for help and trust the promise of Jesus that he will not leave us alone when we feel sad. The volcano will stop erupting and the cloud will disappear and life will go on because God keeps his promises.
Questions:
1. How do we deal with disappointment in our lives ?
2. The old saying says ‘Every cloud has a silver lining’ Can we learn anything from our disappointments?
3. What difference can believing in God make in our lives?
Thought for the week, commencing 29th March
EASTER
What do you think is the best thing about Easter? Of course one of the best things about Easter is that we have a fortnight’s holiday from school. But it isn’t like Christmas – there are weeks of fun leading up to Christmas – and everybody knows why we celebrate Christmas. The reasons for celebrating Easter are not so obvious, but some of the things we see around us give us a clue: flowers reappearing after the long winter, young birds chattering, new born lambs in the fields, and many other signs of new life. Many of you will by now have had a chocolate egg, or two, or three. Why an egg?
The egg has been a symbol of new life for thousands of years. The Chinese were giving eggs as gifts to their friends 900 years before Jesus was born.
The egg has a special significance to Christians. After Jesus died on the cross on Good Friday, all his friends were disheartened: how could they believe Jesus, who had said that he would come back to life?
Then on the Sunday, some of his friends went to his grave and saw that it was empty. During the following 40 days, many of them said that they had seen Jesus. The egg became a symbol to Christians of the empty grave. In the same way, the empty tomb is a reminder that Jesus came back to life, and that through him new life is available to all. During his life, Jesus said that people should believe his words and that he would be with everyone at all times to give them hope.
Today, more than ever, perhaps, our world needs hope, and remembering the true meaning of Easter can help give us that hope. When God is involved, however bad things may seem, he can change things for the better, Jesus did something entirely selfless, that is sacrificing his life so that others could have a better life, and he suffered a very cruel death, being treated like a common criminal and left to die on the cross. But now, more than 2000 years later, his story has brought hope to millions of people all over the world.
By now, the majority of the population celebrates Easter with chocolate Easter eggs. As we enjoy our Easter eggs, let’s not forget about Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross and the hope that he gave to everyone who wanted to follow him.
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What does Easter mean to you?
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Can you think of any other religious celebrations?
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Do you do anything special on Easter Sunday?
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beth ydy ystyr y pasg i chi?
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Ydych chi’m gwybod am ddathliaddau crefyddol eraill?
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Ydych chi’n gwneud rhywbeth arbennig dydyy sul y pasg?