Years ago, I was known by some for sporadic, long, detailed blog posts about miscellaneous issues in the world around us… but a wise spiritual director asked me… who did I think was being changed by these posts? And after a period of reflection, I stopped! In the wake of Brexit, Trump (Season 1) and the Covid-19 pandemic I have gradually cut down on my talk-radio and news consumption for the sake of my mental health, and recently I have found my social media engagement has  virtually petered out…

It doesn’t mean that I am an ill-informed hermit living in some sort of “spiritual faraday-cage” that keeps me from being polluted by the world. I simply regulate my intake of information more than before. Particularly, as I have become more awake to the miscellaneous media algorithms which use bad news to keep us hooked to the screen, sometimes literally” doomscrolling.”

And in the face of both world and local news recently I am glad I have stepped back a little, giving me some time to reflect to all that is going on without feeling the need to instantly respond.

I was challenged recently on why I had not made any personal statement online regarding the Israel-Gaza conflict. And a number of people have asked the same of the churches. And when statements are made, then it does not take long until someone says something like “Well, you spoke out on this, why not on that?”

We are fooling ourselves if we think that Facebook posts, or even press-releases, make a significant difference in many situations, apart from making ourselves feel good. We should speak out where we do have a position of significant influence, but even then, we need to be careful that any “statement from a distance” may simply alienate people we might win over by more low-key approaches. This is especially true in situations like the recent race-related riots. Yes, it is important to stand with the vulnerable, but wholesale condemnation of certain sections of our society only increases the sense of alienation of some in those communities and convinces them that “the world is against them.”

Most of us do not have significant platforms that will influence many others for good, or ill. And in the face of the complexity of many of the situations that are producing the conflict in the world, sweeping statements can often be naïve at best, or unnecessarily divisive at worst.

Most months, in conjunction with Contemporary Christianity, I host a meeting for a few politically informed and engaged church leaders from different backgrounds. Last week our discussions were dominated by Israel’s relentless campaign in Gaza, the new conflict between Israel and Iran (and that was before America joined in), the race-related riots locally (again, before the attack on the Islamic Centre in the former Methodist “Aldersgate House” in south Belfast), the two “ethically challenging” votes in Westminster, as well as the state of Methodism and some other “mainstream” churches. It was not a barrel of laughs!

But as we came towards our customary closing prayer time, having tried and failed to” put the world to right”, I quoted a Facebook post of a reflection the poet John Roedel from Wyoming (https://linktr.ee/johnroedelwriter) had posted a week ago… Here it is….

I can’t make the
world be peaceful
I can’t stall tanks
from roaring down roads
I can’t prevent children
from having to hide in bunkers
I can’t convince the news to
stop turning war into a video game
I can’t silence the sound of bombs
tearing neighbourhoods apart
I can’t turn a guided missile
into a bouquet of flowers
I can’t make a warmonger
have an ounce of empathy
I can’t convince diplomats
to quit playing truth or dare
I can’t deflect a sniper’s bullet
from turning a wife into a widow
I can’t stave off a schoolyard being
reduced to ash and rubble
I can’t do any of that
the only thing I can do
is love the next person I encounter
without any conditions or strings
to love my neighbour
so fearlessly that
it starts a ripple
that stretches from
one horizon to the next
I can’t force peace
on the world
but I can become a force
of peace in the world
because
sometimes all it takes
is a single lit candle
in the darkness
to start a movement
oh, Spirit,
let me be a candle
of comfort in this world
let me burn with peace.

John Roedel June 13^th, 2025.

David Campton is the Superintendent of Belfast Central Mission

Please note that the statements and views expressed in this article of those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Contemporary Christianity.