Dear Friends,

 

As we approach Easter, the battle between good and evil rages all over the world. Ireland is no exception. One of the most iconic images of battle was the horrific picture of a naked nine year old girl, napalm burned, crying, arms outstretched, towards the camera. It came from an air raid on a Vietnamese village by the Americans in 1972. The name of the little girl was Phan Thị Kim Phúc. The helicopter commander who organized the raid was John Plummer, who later became a Methodist minister. For twenty years he was haunted by that picture and the consequences of what he had done.

 

In 1996 the two met. The moment was recorded in Plummer’s book The Lost Art of Forgiving. “Kim saw my grief, my pain and sorrow .... she held out her arms to me and embraced me. All I could say was ‘I’m sorry’ – over and over again. And at the same time she was saying ‘It’s all right. I forgive you!’”

 

Forgiveness is costly. The cross of Christ is a reminder of that truth. Can I encourage you to enter into the Easter story as we mark Holy Week and Easter Day with special services? Above all can I urge you to receive the forgiveness that only Jesus can bring and to live lives characterized by forgiveness?

 

Yours,

 

FERRAN