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Good morning.Ìý One of the fascinating things about having boys at University reading subjects like history and politics is that you find them studying the same events which were once part of your own life. That’s particularly true today, as 30 years ago London was the scene of the then largest ever CND protest against Cruise missiles. It was also the time of the Greenham Common camp and our boys are fascinated to discover that their mother used to attend such events.

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It seems a very different world today. The Berlin Wall has fallen and the tension between East and West is now largely about who exerts influence in such crucial trouble spots as Syria and Libya. What brought an end to the arms race between superpowers that threatened such devastation? Was it the mass protest movements of the 1980’s – or was it the simple pressure of economics on an old-fashioned command and control economy? The arguments go both ways – and I expect, in retrospect, it was probably a bit of both.

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However controversial, I also recognise that these years and experiences were formative in the lives of many people – and not just in our household. From them came the realisation that some things are worth protesting about – and in taking to the streets discovering there are other people who also feel strongly enough to get involved. Such protests don’t guarantee peaceful outcomes, as we’ve come sadly to see in Egypt and elsewhere. But to my mind they do signify a willingness to get involved and take responsibility for things – and without that, perhaps it’s hard to have a society at all.

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Almighty God,

In your Son Jesus, you came to minister in the streets and market places of Galilee and to call your disciples to walk them with you; help us to be willing to take the values of your kingdom into the public places of our world today.

For Christ’s sake, Amen.