The Parish Magazine July and August 2021

the parish noticeboard — 3
On reflection . . .
By Elizabeth Spiers
Zechariah: God encourages
us through his Word
The Parish Magazine - July/August 2021 11
From the desk
of the editor
editor@theparishmagazine.co.uk
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Zechariah was a prophet living in Jerusalem almost
70 years after the nation of Israel had been enslaved in
Babylon. He was among the first of his people returning
to their desolate homeland. The Jewish people who had
survived were returning in small numbers. Their temple lay
in ruins and things looked bleak. They didn’t have much of
anything and were especially short of hope. It is into this
situation that Zechariah speaks.
God gave him a series of messages to help motivate and
encourage the people to both rebuild the temple and look for
the fulfilment of God’s promises.
Zechariah points to the coming of Jesus. The Messiah
will come, says Zechariah, as Saviour, Judge, and
ultimately, as the righteous King ruling his people from
Jerusalem. He will punish the people for their sins, yes,
but afterwards he will come to them if they are obedient.
CERTAINTY
Zechariah’s book brims over with the hope — meaning
the certainty — that God would remember his promises
to his people, even after all the time they spent in
captivity. Things may look hopeless now, Zechariah said
— in a nutshell — but God is faithful and he will bring
things right in the end.
Although they had been scattered, God had not
forgotten his promises and was still willing to help them if
they were willing to obey him. Deuteronomy 7 says:
‘Know therefore that the Lord your God is God,
the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love
with those who love him and keep his commandments,
to a thousand generations’.
Through his word God continually encourages us
and he is utterly faithful. The God who never changes
always keeps his promises. No matter what we do or how
unfaithful we may be, he is true. We can trust the one
who sees all but still loves us unconditionally. Just as
he encouraged the people of Israel through Zechariah’s
messages, so God encourages us today through his Word.
Have you read it lately?
One of the good things to emerge from the lockdowns
is that I heard some young people say they grew tired of
looking at a screen for almost everything they did so they
started doing some of the more traditional things that the
older generation often occupy their time with — things
such as playing a musical instrument, board games,
painting, handicrafts, cooking and even writing their own
stories. The fun thing about these types of activities is
that they are shared with friends and families, although
story writing can be more difficult to share.
As a magazine editor, of course, I get lots of stories
coming across my desk which I can share, and I have a
ready made outlet for my own stories that I enjoy writing.
For young people, however, sharing their stories is not so
easy so I have had in mind for a while about offering space
in this magazine for young people to be able to share their
stories in print.
YOUNG WRITERS
One of my grandchildren asked if she could write me
a story, which of course, I was delighted about. She often
writes stories but apart from giving them to her parents
or grandparents to read she has few other opportunities
to share them. Stories are for sharing and there must be
many other young story writers who would like to share
their stories more widely. This is why, on page 21, you
will see that I am offering space in The Parish Magazine to
publish stories written by school children of all ages.
My problem as an editor, as well as a journalist, is that
I can't resist editing almost every item in this magazine
but doing this with stories by young writers can be very
discouraging for them so, apart from correcting spelling,
the odd grammatical error, and the use of words which in
my younger days meant something different, I will try not
to rewrite their stories too much!
If you know any young people who enjoy writing
stories — fiction or nonfiction — then suggest they
send them to me and together we can encourage them to
develop the ancient skill of story telling which dates back
30,000 years when stories were first painted in caves.
OUR HIGHEST IDEALS
There are lots of reasons why story telling is
important, here's one I came across on the internet:
Stories can increase our empathy and often help reinforce our
highest ideals such as compassion and kindness.
The greatest example of compassion and kindness
reinforcing stories can be found in the world's oldest, best
selling collection of stories that has been translated into
more languages than any other — the Bible! So if you are
short of ideas for your own stories, try reading it first!