Month: April 2025

Like many, I was surprised by the suddenness of the death of Pope Francis, just a day after his public appearance in St Peters and a  meeting with the US vice-president. I did however think that dying the day after the Church celebrates the resurrection of Jesus and the triumph over the grave was in itself, a strong message of hope. The death of Francis has deeply affected many and its widespread reporting, together with the speculation about his successor, sends a  message that religion is still powerful. I liked Francis. I admired the intellect of his predecessor, Benedict, less his conservative instincts. Francis seemed to me to be a natural reformer; a man in pursuit of a vision of how the church should be. I think Francis’s church was not about power and authority; one of our own Anglcan bishops, Guli Francis-Dehqani has spoken of how it is rarely at its best when it is in that position. Instead Francis wanted the church to show to those around it the love that God shows to us. And he lived this in his own life of humility. He was once asked to describe himself; he replied “a sinner”.

Rev David Poyner

I am writing this on Good Friday morning. Later today, at a service at Chelmarsh, probably alone at Billingsley, I will stand before a cross, I will read the story of the crucifixion from one of the Gospels and I will cover the cross in a shroud. Then, on EasterSunday morning, I will remove the shroud as I read the story of how the women who followed Jesus found the tomb empty. There are two stories bound up in Easter and its cross. Our story is with the people who feature in it; some faithful but despairing like the women, some discovering unwelcome truths about themselves like the disciples who fled, Judas who betrayed Jesus. The cross confronts us with all the elements that make us the people we are; some admirable, some not. But the other story is that of the cross itself, or rather the person who was nailed to it. Jesus was a man but Jesus was also God. God’s story is, that knowing full well the complex people we are, he comes to meet us and through death and resurrection, he shows us that we can become the people we should be. The Good Friday cross carrying Jesus speaks of challenge to us, the shrouded Easter Saturday cross speaks of mystery to us, the empty Easter Sunday cross speaks of hope and new life. 

Rev David Poyner

As we enter Holy Week, vicars throughout the land will be focusing on how to bring the Easter message to anyone they come across, to explain the significance of Good Friday and Easter Sunday to believers and nonbelievers alike. I am going for a rather different approach. This Sunday (13th), in the first of our monthly 6pm Sunday evening events, on Palm Sunday, we will be celebrating the Easter Bunny. Spoiler alert; as far as I can see, the Easter Bunny has never had any connection with Easter, but to learn more, you will need to come on Sunday… But if you can’t make the service, my advice would be to make the most of the fine weather and go for a walk, or just sit out in the countryside, even just your back garden and enjoy the time. Believers can try too hard to be holy. You might spot some real bunnies, who I am sure will be equally clueless as to how they got dragged into Easter. But as you enjoy your walk, or your sitting and let your mind wander, you might just feel uplifted, free of everyday distraction. And in that time when you are taken out of yourself, whether in the company of rabbits or not, you may just become aware of what I call God. 

Rev David Poyner

There has been much comment on the recent 5^th anniversary of the Covid outbreak; lockdown and all that followed.  I totally underestimated the severity of the disease when it first broke. I remember the shock at hearing of the first death of someone I knew; a distinguished scientist only a few years older than me. In our area, we escaped fairly lightly; I only did one Covid funeral.  But I had a sharp reminder of how potentially dangerous the disease was when, many months into the outbreak when it was clearly being controlled, a parishioner lost a relative who was much younger than myself. I still find that shocking. 

So where was God? Living through the crisis was a sharp reminder that natural disasters  happen; an unwelcome insight into the pain and bewilderment so many people have to face in what seem like far-away places. As I write, I think of Myanmar and Thailand. I  am appalled at those who try and present these events as acts of punishment by a stern God. There are indeed places in the Bible where that view can be found, but Jesus seems to have rejected it. Crises like Covid pose problems for those who see God as a micromanager. The best I can do is to accept that if God choses to work through evolution by natural selection, it is inevitable that sometimes unpleasant viruses will appear. God sets up his rules, she must then work by them if we are truly to be free. But even in the depth of crisis God continues to work; the Holy Spirit will still move. In Covid, the self-help groups, the support that otherwise remote neighbours gave each other, the love that was shown, was all of God and from God, even if most people were not aware of it. Ubi caritas et amor, deus ibi est. Where there is charity and love, there God is.

Rev David Poyner