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Archbishop advises listeners to prepare carefully for General Election


In a BBC Hereford & Worcester Lenten Pause broadcast on Palm Sunday, the Archbishop of Birmingham invited listeners to use these coming 40 days to help shape the kind of society that we wish to be a part of. He said that our politicians have just 40 days to convince us that their policies are the right ones and that they have the ability to steer the country in the interests of the common good.

During this time, he said we can find opportunities to engage with our local parliamentary candidates and we can also challenge ourselves to ask what kind of world we want.

He continued that we can all set ourselves a personal challenge by asking three questions: "Where is God in my life? Can I see what is valuable in life beyond my material comforts? Can I be generous to those in need?" These questions "can help us be clearer about what we want of our politicians, especially for the weakest and most needy in our communities,' the Archbishop concluded. Adding that 'they also challenge us personally to assess what we can contribute towards the good of our neighbour."

The full text of Archbishop Longley's broadcast follows:

Forty days doesn't seem such a long time and yet a lot can happen in 40 days. It won't have escaped your attention that our politicians are now preparing in earnest for the General Election in May.

They have just 40 days to convince us that their policies are the right ones to choose and that we can have confidence in their ability to steer the country in the interests of the common good for the coming five years. As well as watching the big debates on TV we could find opportunities to engage with our local parliamentary candidates.

We can use these coming 40 days to ask whether on balance the policies they are presenting are more or less likely to help shape the kind of society that we wish to be a part of. That also challenges us to ask ourselves what kind of world we want.

God so loved the world that he sent his only Son. Jesus spent 40 days in the desert preparing for his ministry of preaching the Good News of God's love and challenging the injustices of his day. He proved his love by dying on the cross and rising from the dead that first Easter day.

For the last 40 days Christians have been keeping the season of Lent leading up to Easter - a time of prayer, fasting and almsgiving.

These are three ways of assessing the priorities in our lives inspired by the example of Jesus - ways of asking where is God in my life? Can I see what is valuable in life beyond my material comforts? Can I be generous to those in need?

Those are questions we can all ask. They can help us be clearer about what we want of our politicians, especially for the weakest and most needy in our communities. They also challenge us personally to assess what we can contribute towards the good of our neighbour.

We have a lot to ponder on the way to the General Election.

May the Easter message of God's love for you and for the world be a light for your footsteps and a lamp for your path in the 40 days ahead.

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