Hi Everyone,

With the dramatic events in Europe with the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. It appears that the Russian leader Vladamir Putin thought his puppet government would be installed and running the country by now, and that the whole business would be done and dusted in two or three days. The Ukrainian people have had another message for him, epitomised by the  Border Guards on Snake Island.

Bravery is a quality that is extremely difficult to ignore, and in this current horror the people of Ukraine are exhibiting it in spades. From their comedian turned President to the boxing Mayor of Kyiv and his brother, to the extraordinary citizens who ward off tanks with their bare hands. It is an astonishing thing to see. But as powerful a witness to the sense of place and homeland people have,  the desire for human independence and self determination that it is, it is incredible that in 2022, it is necessary.

International aggression of this sort is simply unjustifiable and completely unnecessary and it really has no place in a civilised world.

All power to the nation and people of Ukraine, as terrible as war is, standing back and doing nothing is simply not an option for them.

There isn't a huge amount that we can do ... but we can pray ... so I have included the Prayer sent out by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York for you to pray if you would like too.

While all this horror is being unleashed tens of thousands of kilometres away, here at home the Omicron variant of Covid 19 is running amuck in Auckland. At time of writing we are having nearly 15000 cases a day. Due to this you will see a notice about St Barnabas's response to it all as the city and the country negotiate our way through the peak of this outbreak.

Thanks everyone, hope this email finds you all well and things going along for you and all you love. If you have been in contact with Covid I hope that your isolation, symptoms and sickness have been manageable.

All the best guys,

Scott.