So many good people, doing so many good things – quietly getting on with living their values and faith.

As Development Worker for Together Lancashire, I am constantly struck by the enthusiasm, commitment and hard work which young and old alike put into supporting their communities.

Most of the time, this is supporting those who face the challenges of getting through every day.

It is uplifting to know that there are people who care for those who many of us don’t have the time or inclination to get involved with.

At the same time, when I listen to their stories of those who are struggling I feel angry – and powerless.

I recently sat through a meeting about the impact of the Personal Independence Payment, where one family had been waiting for nine months to get a decision.

It seemed a clearly justified case to me, where someone had lost limbs; the paper trail was horrendous, the iniquities along the way were unacceptable by any measure, and the misery this caused unjustifiable.

Last Sunday, I listened to a sermon about sorting out the wheat from the chaff. I always struggle with the bit about casting the weeds to be burned! Yet the message really was that there is evil and badness in the world, and that we should stand up to it.

Sometimes, the evil is blindingly obvious – literally. Somehow we just do not see it. How did we not see at the time what recent child abuse cases have revealed?

More difficult is perhaps to pick our way through the present world stage and figure where we stand – and how should we stand up for our principles? Next weekend, our thoughts will turn to the start of World War 1 as we commemorate the start of the War to End All Wars (how hollow that sounds today).

Each community has its own way of remembering. In looking back, I hope we may all look forward too – how can the legacy of our fallen be to create a society where we care about those less fortunate, where we look after those who serve their country (unlike those who returned from WW1).

And where we all stand up against inequality and unfairness in all its forms.

Gillian Beeley - Together Lancashire Development Co-ordinator (East Lancashire)