THIS week is Records Week on Coniston Water, the only time when the speed limit of 10 mph is lifted. Speed trials test against past records. The village hums with the sights, sounds and thrills of racing and I love it!

Meanwhile, as a friend of mine jets off to climb Everest, Lakeland roads continue to play host to all manner of cyclists testing themselves against previous records. There is no end to the constant testing of folks living here on this island. It seems that our identity is wrapped up in exercising our own personal version of endurance.

Whether we recognise it or not, there is a challenge that we all share: living together on this planet Earth. Today, in the here and now, we are reliant on one another for every element of our lives. John Donne famously said, "No man is an island entire of itself." Last Sunday we looked at Matthew 22:34-46. Jesus is tested with the question, "Teacher, what is the greatest commandment?" He answers, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind." And the second is like it:

"Love your neighbour as yourself."

It may take a lifetime and perhaps some time out from constant testing, to truly understand this teaching. What great things can happen in the midst of life if, together, we stop, look and listen? This comes with a promise. Seek and ye shall find. May we find the call that’s greater than any earthly distraction of our age.

Pamela Hull, Worship and Outreach Minister (Lay) in Coniston and attends St Andrew’s Church, Coniston.