Month: October 2025

Some may recognise the name of Marianne Budde; she is the Bishop of Washington who preached at the inauguration of President Trump back in January; her sermon, on Christian values, did not go down well with the president. These are extracts from a blog she wrote in June; I would encourage you to read it in full (Hopelessness is Not an Option – by Mariann Budde).

“Earlier this year…. I was invited to lead a morning Bible study on Matthew 28:1-10 with 4,300 participants and also give an evening address. It was deeply humbling and inspiring to witness that level of unity, compassion, and hope that reverberated amongst the attendees….. it is essential for Christian leaders to speak and act with humility in the wider society in which we live, for we are in need of the same forgiveness, mercy, and grace that we are called by God to embody for others. If the continued response to the sermon I preached on January 21st has revealed anything, it is that simply professing a faith rooted in mercy, dignity, honesty, and humility is like water in the desert for parched souls…. We’d be made of stone if we didn’t feel discouraged some days and deeply saddened by what we see around us. But remember that hope isn’t something we need to conjure on our own. It is a grace that God gives, allowing us to face evil and death, yet still believe that the life-affirming Spirit is always at work within and around us, bringing about good…. This is a time for us as Christians to be present in as many places as we can and offer what we have to give…. For Christians, hopelessness is not an option — not because of us, but because of Christ’s dwelling in us and our ultimate hope in our true home in the love of God. We have our north star. In that faith, we go on. We are the ones now. For this hour, we are here.”

Rev David Poyner

A new exhibition has recently opened featuring art associated with the iconic 20th century composer, Benjamin Britten. I do not particularly like his music but he was a towering figure in the cultural life of this country in the mid-20th century. He was commissioned to write religious music, especially “War Requiem” for the consecration of Coventry Cathedral but I do not think he would have called himself a Christian. Jonathan Evans, reviewing the exhibition for the Church Times, opens with a quotation at Britten’s funeral from Bishop Leslie Brown; [Britten] believed deeply in a Reality which works in us and through us and is the source of goodness and beauty, joy and love. He was sometimes troubled because he wasn’t sure that he could give the name of God to that Reality.” It seems to me that a great many people are in the same place as Britten; quite a few in or around the edges of the churches in which I minister. I call that Reality God but I am not sure that God is really that bothered what name people use for her or him. At least in my opinion, it is much more important that people recognise and engage with that Reality; I pray that in our churches, we help people draw nearer to that Reality and to understand it more deeply. As a Christian, I trust the Holy Spirit to do the rest.

Rev David Poyner

I recently received an email from a clerical colleague. It was an invitation to a meeting. Immediately there came another email from the same colleague, trying to correct the date for the meeting. Unfortunately that date was still wrong. I took some delight in replying to point this out, until I recalled that earlier in the week I had sent an email around all members of a PCC (including my colleague) with the wrong time for a meeting that evening… At times like this, the words of a classic song come to my mind:
Oh Lord, it’s hard to be humble
When you’re perfect in every way
I can’t wait to look in the mirror
Cause I get better lookin’ each day
To know me is to love me
I must be a hell of a man
Oh Lord, it’s hard to be humble
But I’m doin’ the best that I can

I must go now to admire myself in the mirror.
Rev David Poyner

The day after the killing of two worshippers at the synogogue in Manchester, a day that will almost certainly see more civilian casualties in Gaza, it is difficult for me to find any words. But this morning, I heard the Bishop of Manchester, Dave Walker, speak out about what perhaps is the worse danger of all; that moment when we forget those who are our enemies are also humans. As a Christian I believe we are all made in the image of God. Last week, I wrote about the murdered American political activist Charlie Kirk, a man noted for his controversial views. At his funeral, his widow, Erika, gave a powerful address; she publicly forgave his killer because that was the way of Christ. It was too much for some at the funeral, indeed the sentiment is too much for many. If I suffered grievous wrong, it might be too much for me. But she understood the shared humanity of victim and perpetrator and recognising this is the only way for ultimate healing between individuals or peoples.

“That man, that young man – I forgive him. I forgive him because it was what Christ did, and it is what Charlie would do.”

Rev David Poyner