Welcome
Bishop Peter
r e t s Eamessage
The priest stood before the congregation and said, “God forgives you! Be at peace!” On another Sunday she said, “God forgives you. Forgive others; forgive yourself.” With these powerful words, the congregation experienced the hope of Good Friday again. Our sins, our failures, our mistakes are not counted against us. God does not want us to carry this sort of burden. God wants us to experience a new and better life. Many people go through life carrying the huge baggage of mistakes they have made. It gets in the way of them living a happy and purposeful life. They regret their action or inaction. I have done something wrong, or I have failed to do something right. I am disappointed when I have upset someone. I am troubled when I have harmed them. What regrets do you think about when you read this article? It is important to hear that not every feeling of regret is helpful or correct. Did you hear that ‘children should be seen and not heard?’ Did someone tell you ‘women should be silent?’ You may have a wrong sense of regret. Someone has discouraged you from being yourself. They didn’t teach you well. It is a good idea to check whether our sense of regret comes from ignoring our values or someone else’s values.
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Encounter April 2023
Helpful regret comes from acknowledging we have not kept our values. I have done the wrong thing. I have been unkind. I have shown up late. I have been careless. Where do your values come from? There are people who have clear values and follow them. Others don’t think about their values much. Others don’t worry much if they break a rule or two. There is room for healthy regret. It can help make us a better person. It can help us build healthier communities. People often live by the values their parents taught them. People may learn new values at school, at church, or in their work. It is helpful to know where our values come from. We have six values in Newcastle Anglican. They are - wisdom, compassion, faith, integrity, courage, and justice. These values come from the Christian story. The way of Jesus inspires these values. These values come from the bible and church teaching. These values are taught as virtues by positive psychologists. They affirm people’s strengths. Our values guide the work we do and the way we behave.