St Mary's, Highley

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Thought for the Week – 17th March 2024

Doctored Images

The Princess of Wales has been in a lot of trouble for using Photoshop on a picture sent to the press. Personally my sympathies are entirely with her; I do not see why an amateur photographer should be expected to know the code of conduct for the professionals, but perhaps that is just me. The story does raise interesting questions of how we use images for our own advantage. The carefully posed portrait photograph taken by a professional may say very little about the reality of a relationship and painters and sculptures creating work to satisfy their clients is as old as their arts. It is not just photos; every time I speak or appear in public, I project an image of myself. Sometimes I control this image, the smiling and sympathetic vicar visiting his parishioners; sometimes another aspect is on view (how can you drive a car and not break several of the 10 commandments?). The reality is probably somewhere in-between these two images. I suspect most of us are hybrids, not quite as good as we would like to think we are, not quite as bad as we fear we may be. It is important that we take time to reflect on our true nature, to remove the Photoshop additions that we or others apply to us. Some turn to techniques such as mindfulness but the Christian response is prayer. This is not about chatting away with a wish list of 10 things about ourselves we would wish to change; it is about examining our lives, identifying strengths and weaknesses in the presence of the One who is gracious and merciful and who does not need Photoshop to identify our beauty, no matter how much we have spoilt that.

Rev David Poyner

Thought for the Week – 10th March 2024

Form Filling

Back in the 6th century, large numbers were drawn to live together in Christian communities, as monks or nuns. There was no agreed way on how these men and women should live. St David, who we commemorated a few weeks ago, advocated a life of particular simplicity and austerity but there was a danger that of competition between communities to see who could follow the most harsh way of living. The sin of pride can take many forms. A monk called Benedict sought to avoid issues such as this by setting out a series of simple but sustainable rules whereby a community could live together, combining work and prayer. The rule of St Benedict is still followed by many Christian communities today. However, at its heart the rule is about how any group can live well and virtuously together. Part of this involves doing mundane and boring jobs; those of us in work will know that reminders to fill in risk assessments or attend to safeguarding training rarely bring joy. These were not issues Benedict and his monks had to face, but there were equally unglamorous jobs that faced those living in communities and Benedict wrote about these,  as part of the discipline of humility. He devotes part of the rule to tell monks to put their tools away tidily and return plates and dishes to the cupboard. The former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams has recently commented on this.  “Part of our responsibility as a member of a community is to make sure that the material circumstances we share are well organised. That too is prayerful attention. That too is creating the environment in which the likeness of Christ will grow”. Physical tidiness and attention to forms play there part in helping us all to live together in community.

Rev David Poyner

Thought for the Week – 3rd March 2024

St David

March 1st is St David’s day, the patron saint of Wales. He lived in the 6th century and was possibly a grandson of one of the kings who ruled South Wales. It is always difficult to know for certain the history of figures such as David who lived in the Dark Ages, but he seems to have been a genuinely popular figure in South Wales, where he lived and worked as a Bishop. He founded a number of monasteries where he taught his followers a rule of particular austerity; they were to live only on a bread and water diet. I doubt this was any more attractive in 550 than it would be today, but David led by personal example and was loved for his integrity and the simplicity of his own life. Famously on his death bed, he told his followers to “do the little things that you have seen me do and heard about”. In a violent and brutal age, David was a force for good. Many miracles have been attributed to David; modern observers may be sceptical of these. However, there is one tradition about David that in its own way, is miraculous. David was said to have been born after his mother Non, was raped. Out of an act of violence and brutality, a voice of holiness and goodness spoke, a rebuke to evil. As a Christian, that is a pattern I recognise as Christ-like.

Rev David Poyner

Thought for the Week – 25th February 2024

Aleski Nevalany

The picture below is of Aleski Nevalany, who many will know has just died in unexplained circumstances in a Russian penal colony. He spoke out against the rulers of Russia. At his original trial, he quoted words of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”. I have taken the picture and the accompanying text from a Facebook posting.

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