Dear Friends

Welcome to September 2025.  I was thinking about what September means for some people, mainly students and their parents in respect of the academic year.  There will be 4/5 years olds going to primary school for the very first time with anxious parents in tow.  Existing pupils will be starting a new year, with different classmates and a change of teacher.  Newly qualified teachers will be taking their first classes on their own, with structured lesson plans for the term.  At the other end of the spectrum students are going to sixth form college, maybe not knowing if any of their friends will be joining them.  Older students may be leaving for university, leaving home for the first time, their parents returning to an empty house. Students will also be entering into the workplace, with responsibilities for themselves and others, using all their knowledge to gain experience and form a career path.  All these are very important steps to growing and developing from a child to adulthood, making new friendships, learning the social skills to cope at home and work.

September always comes with the celebration of Harvest when we give thanks to the farmers who have cultivated their crops so we might have food on the table.  The weather this year has not been conducive to a good harvest and I think of those who labour long and hard for, what seems to them, little reward. 

What about the rest of the world those in areas of conflict, what does September mean to them?

My mind immediately reflects on those children and adults in war torn countries who don’t have the privilege of knowing what their next step is going to be.  Their future is uncertain, hour by hour, day by day, they don’t know if they will finish that day in their makeshift school without evacuating for a bomb raid, or whether the place they call home will still be there.  They have no idea when, or where, the next meal is coming from, with a state of famine having been declared in Gaza. 

Food supplies are virtually gone and the medical system is in ruins. 470,000 people are on the brink of mass starvation. Essential humanitarian supplies, including critical medication and infant formula, are completely unavailable.

• At least 54,084 people have died, including 16,854 children.
• 470,000 people are facing starvation. 
• Over 123,300 have been injured. 
•  Only 12 out of 29 hospitals in Gaza are functioning, with       limited capacity.
• 90% of Gaza’s 2.1million population has been displaced.

Mirjana Spoljarić, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has stated: ‘Gaza has become worse than hell on earth’.

• In Ukraine: 10 million people have been displaced and many are without access to food, water and electricity
• More than six million have also fled the country, leaving behind everything they’ve ever known – often including their loved ones
• Homes, hospitals, and schools continue to be damaged, forcing further evacuations

The fact it is September – will mean nothing to them.

Lord, we thank you for the security we have at home,

for making it possible for us to plan ahead.

We pray for the farmers who give so much that we can have food on the table.  We pray for those who are less fortunate,

especially those suffering in areas of conflict.

We pray for displaced children, their parents, the loss of loved ones, those who are hurting, tired, scared, alone and hungry.

We pray for those trying to bring normality to an inhumane situation, for teachers, doctors and all volunteers working with the Red Cross, Christian Aid and supportive agencies.

We know this is not what you have planned and ask for your healing hand upon all those in need.  That those full of greed, seeking power and domination will see the error of their ways and change their agenda to work towards peace in our World, Your Kingdom.   Amen.

Yours in Christian love – Anne