Comment by Harborough churches: Hard work is costly, but is definitely worth it

Every week, the Harborough churches write for the Harborough Mail. This week, it is the turn of Revd Hils Corcoran, Team Vicar of St Peter’s and St Paul’s Church, Great Bowden
Revd Hils Corcoran, Team Vicar of St Peter’s and St Paul’s Church, Great BowdenRevd Hils Corcoran, Team Vicar of St Peter’s and St Paul’s Church, Great Bowden
Revd Hils Corcoran, Team Vicar of St Peter’s and St Paul’s Church, Great Bowden

Viewpoint by Revd Hils Corcoran, Team Vicar of St Peter’s and St Paul’s Church, Great Bowden

I hate to admit it, I have never been particularly good at sport. There have been times, though, when I have been really gripped by it. I will always be grateful to my friend Neil who, during the Euro 2000 tournament, sat down with me in a pub and patiently explained the off-side rule using pint glasses and beer mats. I remember asking him why there wasn’t an England Women’s team. He laughed and said, “There is, Hils, but no-one wants to watch girls play football!”

Now over 20 years later, as the country is revelling in a stunning victory by England’s Lionesses at Wembley, I can’t help thinking back to that conversation with Neil, hoping that right now he is eating his words! That Wembley match was sold out and record numbers of people tuned in to watch it on TV. England’s Lionesses made the country extremely proud.

The Women’s Euros not only gripped us as a nation but they also gave us hope that change can happen – even though it can take decades – the result of a tremendous amount of unseen hard work behind the scenes.

This hope is important in a world where we face many situations that feel impossible. The war in Ukraine continues. The world continues to see the effects of climate change as the UK faces the hottest, driest, summer on record. Increased energy and food prices mean that many are struggling to make ends meet whilst rich energy companies profit from the struggle of ordinary people. It is difficult to see how things can change for the better.

I’m reminded of what Rev Martin Luther King Jr said back in 1965: “When our days become dreary with low-hovering clouds of despair, and when our nights become darker than a thousand midnights, let us remember that there is a creative force in this universe, working to pull down the gigantic mountains of evil, a power that is able to make a way out of no way and transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows. Let us realise the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.”

Like Martin Luther King, we can have hope that our world can change for the better.

Perhaps we might take a few moments in our day to think about what our hopes for a better world might look like. There’s a challenge for us too. Are we going to watch from the sidelines or, like the Lionesses, be prepared to jump onto the pitch and work together to be part of that change? The football and Commonwealth Games have shown us that the hard work is costly, but is definitely worth it.

Revd Hils Corcoran is Team Vicar of St Peter’s and St Paul’s Church, Great Bowden

Related topics: