Richard Littledale

Richard Littledale's
Views on the News: May 2016

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voting cross It is tempting to say that the big news story of this month will be the London Mayoral Election. Of course, if you are living in London, it will. The thing is, though, this column is viewable by anybody on the worldwide web - a potential audience of over 3 billion people. Some of them are more than half a world away - and the London mayoral election seems as irrelevant to them as a bye-election in the outback might seem to me.

voting cross In 2011, not long after the Twin Towers, I travelled to India. What had seemed like a global event in London and New York seemed far less so in a North-Eastern hill state of India. People were compassionate and concerned, but it was not their story. My concerns must have seemed to them like looking through the wrong end of a telescope. We have a duty to be concerned about events far as well as near - but we should not rush to assume that our big story is everyone's big story.

voting cross As attention in London focuses on the needs of the capital, it would be good to remember cities for whom a mayoral election would be a pleasantly peaceful distraction. The Syrian city of Aleppo needs far more than a mayor. Cities in Ecuador after the earthquake need food, water, and shelter more than anything else. In London's flurry of activity, the residents of other cities should not be forgotten.

voting cross The Bible evokes a strong vision of a heavenly city on the day when all things are put right. It will be a beautiful place, devoid of inequality and filled with the light and presence of Christ. Until it comes we are to 'seek the peace' of the towns and cities where we live - and pray accordingly.

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