A Life Remembered

November is a time for remembering… on the 5^th November we recall a failed plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament, and on the 11^th November we remember all those who have lost their lives in conflict. As chaplain of Queen’s Court this month is also when, at a memorial service on 27^th November, staff and relatives remember all of the residents who have died during the last twelve months.

At this time of year, however, there is another event which helps us to remember people, and the contributions they have made. The Nobel Prize is awarded in a number of categories, and one of the most significant of these is the Peace Prize. This year three women – Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkul Karman – will be given the award for "their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights". These names may be unfamiliar to us, but it is important not to forget those who, in a variety of different ways, work tirelessly to bring peace to our world.

Another winner of the prize, Professor Wangari Maathai, died from cancer in September this year. In 2004 she was recognised for “her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace". Although, as a Kenyan, she was the first African woman to win a Nobel prize, her obituary didn’t make many headlines. Wangari, however, had overcome a variety of social and political obstacles to achieve what she did – constantly reminding governments (and anyone else who would listen) that, in our over-consumption, we are borrowing the earth from future generations.

Earlier this year she was listed by Forbes’ as being amongst the ‘100 Most Powerful Women in the world’. Her vision was to leave the world a better place for our children and grandchildren and to this end her organisation has so far planted an estimated 30 million trees. Her environmental achievements, as well as her other work to alleviate poverty and combat corruption, points to the fact that she was someone who wisely used the 71 years God gave her.

The season of advent, the time when Christians remember the coming of the Prince of Peace, begins at the end of this month. Although few of us will win a Nobel Prize, let us, like Wangari, seek to follow the Christ and live as people of peace.