At the time of writing none of us are sure when the general election will be. All indications are that it will happen early to mid May. So have you been practicing writing your cross? Have you decided which party to vote for? Are you even going to bother at all?
The last question is a crucial one. The lack of enthusiasm at the last election and the never ending scandals over recent months, will lead many of us to think why on earth should we vote.
Can I offer a thought? When my first child was born, a wise man said to me, “We get the children we deserve”. I want to pose this question to all of us, “Do we get the politicians we deserve?”
With our children our hope is to steer them to the right kind of behaviour, to shape their attitudes towards others and to teach them to make a worthwhile contribution to society. Should we ask that of our politicians? In truth, for all the scandal, they are not all bad. The very behaviour, attitudes and character we wish to see in our children are seen in the overwhelming number of politicians of all colours, shapes or sizes. The real facts, when you get behind the screaming headlines, bear this out. That some have been caught with their hands in the cookie jar, so to speak, should not deflect us from what should be a driving force to change our society for the better.
Often the manifestos offered by any of the parties are based on focus groups and forums. Who makes up these groups? Well, us, the general public, those that they wish to ingratiate and therefore capture our vote. If we are honest we don’t vote to shape behaviour, attitudes and make a worthwhile contribution to society but we vote for our own interests. How different is that to having our hands in the cookie jar?
Love Jason, The Man in the Manse

Church News
The Women’s World Day of Prayer service held in Sarratt Village Hall on 5 March was attended by around 60 people and was a great occasion. The title this year was ‘Let everything that Has Breath Praise God’ – written by the Christian women of Cameroon – which we celebrated with joy as we processed into the hall while playing tambourines and shakers! It was a very moving experience, especially knowing that we were part of the wider fellowship of Christians on that day throughout the world
Our Family Quiz Evening in March was a great success and raised £190 to help fund a life-saving trip to America for a young lad with a rare form of cancer. The church was filled with a good number of people and their families, who also enjoyed a light supper at half time. Thank you all for your support

On 22 May we shall be holding our annual MAY FAIR and on 12 June we have a FAMILY BEETLE EVENING.