By Canon Deborah Parsons, Canon Chancellor
On Sunday 21 September there is a global call to prayer and public witness for peace in the Holy Land. It’s been organised by the World Council of Churches and a coalition of Christian organisations to coincide with UN World Peace Day.
Certainly, there is growing international concern about the genocide in Gaza and a deep hope that a diplomatic and long-term solution can be found to unrest in the Middle East and in all places where war continues to rage.
Speaking to a friend recently, she confided to me that the world seems to be a bleak place at the moment with wars and rumours of wars, civil unrest, the effects of climate change and concerns over migration and the cost of living crisis.
Fortunately, Christian hope isn’t dependent on external circumstances. It’s a quality that we can experience when we are experiencing good fortune and when we are facing an ill wind.
Hope is often described as a light in the darkness – a quiet but steady flame that refuses to be extinguished, even when the winds of life blow hard against it. For Christians, hope is not simply wishful thinking or blind optimism. It’s a deep trust in God’s promises, a confidence that no matter how uncertain or difficult life becomes, we are never alone.
In Scripture, hope is rooted in the faithfulness of God. The psalmist writes, “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him” (Psalm 42:11). This kind of hope doesn’t deny pain or sorrow. Instead, it acknowledges them honestly – while still trusting that God is at work, even when we can’t see how.
We see hope most powerfully in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. When all seemed lost, when the tomb was sealed, hope was not gone. It was quietly preparing for dawn. That same resurrection hope is ours today. It assures us that despair is never the end of the story.
In our Cathedral communities, hope is made visible in small acts of kindness, in shared prayers, and in the ways we carry one another’s burdens. As we journey through seasons of joy and sorrow, let us be people of hope – living reminders that God’s love is constant, and God’s light shines in every darkness.
This Sunday, we also mark the 975th Anniversary of the Foundation of the Cathedral, the Renovation of the Quire and the Construction of the Friends’ Cloister Gallery and set out our strategy for the future.
May we hold fast to hope, not just for ourselves, but for a world that deeply needs it.