The Irish Methodist President joins call for New Year ‘hope’

The President of the Methodist Church in Ireland has joined other church leaders in expressing hope for a better year and that the challenges faced in 2021 from the Covid pandemic can be overcome.
The Rev Dr Sahr Yambasu, president of the Methodist Church in IrelandThe Rev Dr Sahr Yambasu, president of the Methodist Church in Ireland
The Rev Dr Sahr Yambasu, president of the Methodist Church in Ireland

The Rev Dr Sahr Yambasu, in his New Year message, said the past year had seen a great deal of weakness and vulnerability – in hospitals, care homes, in an upsurge in food bank usage, and in loneliness with the ‘black-clad Queen’ sitting apart from her family as she mourned her beloved husband.

Sierra Leone-born Dr Yambasu said in recent days he has been considering the life and legacy of African church leader the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and was reminded of one of his many quotable musings - “It is through weakness and vulnerability that most of us learn compassion and discover our souls.”

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Dr Yambasu said: “Among the vulnerability, among the chaos that leads to weakness and vulnerability, be it in politics or pandemic, old age or old ways of thinking, we can still find the mettle of our souls when we have the courage to seek to make a difference, a community with whom to work, and the caution — especially in relation to covid — to make sure our efforts are for that which is best for our fellow humans’ health and well-being.

“But hope is not always rewarded immediately. Hope is a flame that sometimes burns low, but is very hard to extinguish. Hope, when nurtured, breeds courage and it is courage, however quiet, that makes mere humans work miracles.”

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