Thought for the Day

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Vishvapani - A member of the Triratna Buddhist Order
09 DEC 25
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3:09
Rev David Wilkinson - 08/12/2025
Good morning. In the midst of despair for many at the lack of international progress on combating climate change, comes a small but significant story of hope. Last week, scientists from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, published measurements of this year’s ozone hole over Antarctica. It showed the hole continuing to shrink, demonstrating that the ozone layer is recovering. This is a glimmer of hope giving confidence that science and governments can combine in healing the world.Forty years ago, scientists from the British Antarctic Survey first observed this hole caused by the release of chlorofluorocarbons into the atmosphere, chemicals which are used widely in the production of a wide range of goods, from refrigerators to hair spray. The erosion of the ozone layer exposes the Earth to dangerous levels of ultra-violet radiation. Governments moved swiftly and two years later they adopted the Montreal Protocol. This led to a curtailing of these chemicals even if their concentration in the atmosphere would reach their peak some 13 years later. But the Protocol, built on good science and political willpower, means that by the 2060s the ozone hole will be closed and the planet protected. This achievement needed committed action and long-term vision to solve a problem over many decades. Sir John Houghton, a leading atmospheric physicist, subsequently chaired over one hundred international scientists in producing the first Scientific Assessment Report as part of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. In contrast to the Montreal Protocol, combatting wider global warming was and still is slow progress, resisting considerable pressure from some governments and fossil fuel advocates. When asked whether he ever despaired his reply was ‘absolutely not — it is a totally solvable problem.’ This was based in his confidence in science but also in his deep Christian faith that God was active in the world and had not given up on it. For Christians, the Creator God becoming flesh and blood in the baby born in Bethlehem, is an embodiment of hope. This incarnation shows that God is committed long term to the physical world in both the healing of human beings and the environment and that science is a gift to contribute to that. Further the good news of Jesus is that love can change people from selfish greed to generous service.In a complex world where problems seem so intractable, I am thankful for glimmers of hope, either from science or from the Advent story, to sustain action over the long term and to resist the darkness of despair.
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The Rev Canon Dr Rob Marshall
06 DEC 25
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2:44
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2:44
Chine McDonald
Good morning, This week, Wendy Dalrymple, Canon Pastor at Ripon Cathedral, shared on social media her experience of being in an abusive relationship when she was young. Like many other women who face violence at the hands of men they know, she was locked in a cycle of abuse, followed by remorse, followed by forgiveness, followed by more abuse. The relationship only ended when her then boyfriend assaulted her in a public place and onlookers intervened, telling him to stop, and calling the police. We’re in the middle of the UN’s 16 Days of Activism to end gender-based violence, which highlights the bleak reality that one in three women experience some sort of abuse in their lifetime. To raise awareness, Ripon Cathedral’s Leave Her Alone exhibition showcases art created by male prisoners, many of whom have been perpetrators of violence against women. It hopes to encourage all to speak out, drawing on the words of Jesus who told his disciples to leave the woman who anointed his feet alone. But speaking out – intervening when we know or see someone is being abused - is easier said than done. Our instincts may push us towards self-protection and self-preservation. This week, Farah Naz, the aunt of murdered law graduate Zara Aleena called for a new law that would require bystanders to step in when they see people in danger. Her calls followed the publication of a report by Lady Elish Angiolini into the prevention of sexually motivated crimes against women in public. Among the recommendations – which come four years after the rape and murder of Sarah Everard – was one suggesting the government implement a so-called Good Samaritan law. Speaking on the Today programme earlier this week, she said such a law, requiring people to step in if they can reasonably help someone in danger, would create a culture change, and encourage us all to see the safety of women in public as a “whole society action”. Whether or not a Good Samaritan law will or even could be implemented is one thing, but I think a society in which we notice and try to help others in need, even against our own interests, is the kind of idea at the heart of the Christian story. Drawing on the parable of the Good Samaritan, Martin Luther King – in a speech the day before he was killed – pointed out that it’s reasonable to ask when confronted with another in need: “If I stop to help… what will happen to me?” But for King, the motivating question for the Good Samaritan is instead: “If I don’t stop to help this person, what will happen to them [him]?” Perhaps this motivating question can help us to recognise that – when it comes to the scourge of violence against women in our societies – we are all our sisters’ keepers.
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Catherine Pepinster
04 DEC 25
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