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Viewpoint from Rev Frank Cliff 07/02/2020
 Rev Frank Cliff
Assistant Priest, Great Yarmouth Team Ministry
as published in the Great Yarmouth Mercury
There’s a hymn that seems appropriate for the times we are experiencing at the moment can you guess which one it is?
“Will your anchor hold in the storms of life” written by Priscilla Jane Owens. It seems to fit what is happening within the world and our own small country. Division and argument seem to control the headlines of our papers. But the hymn talks of having something to cling to when all is chaos
 For some of us it can be a cherished long held belief, for others it’s a favourite object from childhood and, sadly, for some it’s addictive substances. As humans we all appear to need a solid thing to hold onto when all around things are falling apart
For myself, I hold onto the self-knowledge that I am cherished and loved no matter what happens, no matter what I have done by an all loving Father. The problem is that I am unable to show people exactly what I mean because I have to use words which, in this case, are so inadequate to express the depth of that love that I feel
In the Hymn Priscilla Owens talks about “Grounded firm and deep in the Saviour’s love” and this is the nearest that I can say about what I feel
 This is a very old hymn sometimes used at funerals but it does express what many Christians feel about God’s love for us
This hymn also challenges us as to how we express that love. What can we do to make people feel cherished and loved?
A first step would be to slow down and listen to people because so often we are preoccupied with getting from A to B quickly that we rush around but, by slowing down and listening to each other without the shouting rhetoric of taking sides, we might hear a truth being spoken that we were not aware of, we might actually to begin to understand the other person. So, here’s your homework for the year. Slow down, listen and feel the love of God in each other
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