There are some things happening on a particular road near our church building that are very strange. The road is called Kingsgate and its name reminds me of Jesus entry into Jerusalem and how he was received. Last week a young man ran around the square with a knife in one hand and a hammer in the other screaming at the top of his voice. He scared people. Maybe he was also scared; I don't know. I thought about the young man and I thought about Wythenshawe being like Jerusalem - with some people who felt threatened preparing to get Jesus and end his life. It made me think about this young man...who is he and why did he do that? It is an unfinished story.
Also last week Jesus (and other people from the Holy Week/Easter story) were seen in a vision of a giant canvas caught high up on a telegraph pole on that same road - in this video Marion, a church member and leader at St. Marks United Reformed Church, speaks about what she saw and then felt compelled to paint. These events happened in Holy Week and have affected several members of our community and church.
Please continue to pray for the well-being of all young people in Woodhouse Park, especially those on Kingsgate Road and the adults who live with them; that they will know themselves loved by God and by our church and local residents who may fear them and are finding it hard to love them. Pray for our church communities who find it difficult to know how to respond with grace and peace and hope in actions and make Easter real in Woodhouse Park beyond the walls of the church building where people meet, act up, paint, scare, threaten, fear, live.
