Month: July 2025

Earlier this month, reports appeared of an attack on a Roman Catholic church in Gaza. In response, this is the statement was issued by all the church leaders in Jerusalem including Archbishop Naoum, head of the Anglican Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East.

“We, the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem, join together in profound solidarity with the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the people sheltering in Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza, as we bear witness to the heinous attack by the Israeli Army on the church compound there on Thursday morning, July 17, 2025. This attack not only caused damage to the Church complex, but also left three dead and ten wounded-with even the parish priest, Fr Gabriel Romanelli, being among the injured.

In unyielding unity, we strongly denounce this crime. Houses of worship are sacred spaces that should be kept safe. They are also protected under international law. Targeting a church that houses approximately 600 refugees, including children with special needs, is a violation of these laws. It is also an affront to human dignity, a trampling upon the sanctity of human life, and the desecration of a holy site.

We, the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in Jerusalem, call upon world leaders and United Nations agencies to work towards an immediate ceasefire in Gaza that leads to an end of this war. We also implore them to guarantee the protection of all religious and humanitarian sites, and to provide for the relief of the starving masses throughout the Gaza Strip.

Our prayers and support remain steadfast, calling for justice, peace, and the cessation of the suffering that has descended upon the people of Gaza.”

Rev David Poyner

The Parochial Church Council (PCC) of St Mary’s Highley wishes to inform the community that, following a recent safety inspection of the churchyard, several headstones have been identified as unstable. In line with diocesan guidance and in the interest of public safety, these headstones have been carefully laid flat.

We fully understand that this may cause distress, especially to those with loved ones buried in the churchyard. Please accept our sincere apologies for any upset this has caused. While the action was taken with safety in mind, we acknowledge that the village should have been informed beforehand. We are taking steps to ensure that future actions will be clearly communicated in advance.

To help identify the affected graves

• Red tape will be placed on each headstone requiring attention.
• A full list of names on these headstones will be made available soon on our church website and noticeboard.

If one of these headstones belongs to your family or someone you know, we kindly ask that you contact a qualified stonemason to assess and carry out any necessary repairs.

We are grateful for your patience, understanding, and continued support as we work to maintain a safe, respectful, and dignified environment for all who visit the churchyard.

For any questions or concerns, please contact:

Carl Hinkinson (Churchwarden)

Email: chinkinson4@gmail.com

Mobile: 07722 031585

With every blessing,
The PCC of St Mary’s Church, Highley

Caring for God’s Acre is an organisation that manages churchyards for wildlife.  They help us at Billingsley; four times a year they come and cut back the grass and other vegetation with a scythe. This is a very traditional way of maintaining churchyards; once the vicar would have claimed the grass to make hay. It also promotes wildlife; flowers, birds and insects. How to look after churchyards is something that sharply divides opinion. At another of our churches, Glazeley, it is managed as a lawn with the grass closely cropped and immaculate flower beds. Neither style is right or wrong; Billingsley is aimed at wildlife, but Glazeley is preferred by many visitors, especially those with relatives buried in the churchyard. At Billingsley, we have now extended the area we mow to try and get a better balance. However it is managed, the churchyard is a sacred space where people can sit, stare and, whether they acknowledge it or not, be in the presence of God.  It is no accident that in the creation poem in Genesis 2, God is creates a garden where he walks in, to meet Adam and Eve, representing humanity. That is exactly what takes place in churchyards, God’s Acre.

Rev David Poyner

Last Saturday I went to Hereford Cathedral; a colleague was being ordained priest and I was there to support her. It was seven years since I was ordained deacon, six years since I was made priest, all in the same cathedral. I wasn’t really sure how I would react; this was the first ordination I had been to since my own. I robed and processed with the other clergy and then waited, to see if I would feel anything. The short answer was not much to start with. The singing was good, I think the sermon would have been good but I wasn’t properly listening to it. My fault, not that of the preacher. Then, suddenly it changed. There was movement, the people to be ordained came forward and the Bishop read the “ordination charge”; if you like, the job description for a vicar. It is lengthy and not for the faint-hearted. I remembered my own feeling when I was standing; inadequacy. But then the Bishop is up front; “you cannot bear this charge alone; pray for the Holy Spirit” and I realised I was fighting back my own emotion, just as I had been when I was ordained. After that it was a whirl as the service rapidly moved to the Bishop laying his hands on the head of each candidate, the moment of ordination. My colleague told be afterwards that, out of the blue, that is when the tears came to her; I told her exactly the same had happened to me. I’m not sure if there is any big message in all of this. All I can say is that I was moved and I felt humbled; I hope as I go about my work today as a vicar, I carry those feelings with me.

Rev David Poyner

Did you watch Rod Stewart at Glastonbury last week; still in his 80s, still doing what some call singing? Or there is the Oasis reunion concert this weekend in Cardiff, 30 years on, still making music, probably still falling out with each other backstage. I didn’t watch Glastonbury and I will not be listening to Oasis; my idea of good music is Anglican plainsong. But something I have come to appreciate is passion in others for music. A few years ago I was in a pub in Nottingham; a guitarist was playing. His music meant nothing to me, but I was captivated by the man himself, totally at one with his guitar, living and moving with the sounds he was making. I suspect, at that moment, nothing else mattered for him but his music. So I suspect with the big stars who simply can’t stop performing; somewhere in the mix is the sheer joy of what they are doing. I rather doubt whether my pub guitarist, Rod Stewart or the Gallagher brothers are big on organised religion. However I suspect when they perform, living for their music, they experience something spiritual that takes them from the mundane and points to the higher glory that I call God.

Rev David Poyner