Month: January 2026

I think I have written before on the “serenity” prayer, attributed to the 20^th century theologian Reinhold Niebuhr but originally popularised by his colleague Winnifred Wyman; “Oh, God, give us courage to change what must be altered, serenity to accept what can not be helped, and insight to know the one from the other”. I find it easier to say and pray it than live it. Anxiety is a normal state of mind; it evolved to help us focus our minds on urgent, perhaps life-saving tasks. However, it can become pathological; the anxiety takes on a life of its own and stops us doing anything. Like depression, it is common, it is no respecter of religious faith but it can usually be treated successfully in individuals. Unfortunately, there also seems to be a form of collective anxiety that is found amongst groups or organisations, which can be harder to deal with. The Church of England seems to be a prime example of this, with what seem to be endless calls for new strategies, particularly in response to falling numbers. Behind these there seems to be the assumption that we are all doing something wrong but this can be corrected by changing the way we do things. Sadly, I think the problems the church and indeed other organisations obsess about are deep-seated and fall into the category of “what cannot be helped”. In the case of the church, I have observed failed initiatives all my life, leading to more anxiety. Perhaps the only response is to try and counter this with as much personal serenity as we can muster; to continue to do the small things that we think are right and make a difference. There is much kindness just in a smile. As a Christian, I leave the rest to God, whose strategy I will never be able to fathom but whose love I trust.

Rev David Poyner

I was somewhat alarmed to see a post with this title on the Facebook page of an old school friend. The “Black Dog” is of course, depression, a reference to how it can seem to come and live with a sufferer. Fortunately it turned out that my friend was not currently struggling this, but he had suffered from it in the past and wanted to increase awareness of it. So far in my life I have been fortunate in that I have only ever had mild depression, in response to particularly stressful life events. This has always passed quickly. However, I have seen many people who have had severe depression. It can be triggered by particular events; the mild depression deepens and will not go away. Sometimes it seems to have no particular cause. Either way, it is always debilitating and potentially life-threatening. A consultant psychiatrist from a major teaching hospital once told me that the only thing he really concentrated on during his lectures to medical students was depression; it was by far the most common mental illness they would encounter and it was also the one where usually they could make a difference by prompt diagnosis and appropriate treatment. Around 1 in 6 adults experience clinical depression; it is more common in women than men and often occurs in people in their 20s and 30s, although there is a peak later in life. Like all illnesses, it is no respecter of religious views; a number of my vicar friends have been treated for it. Fortunately, they recognised the symptoms and got appropriate help from a doctor. So, in line with the wishes of my school friend, I write this to raise awareness of clinical depression, and, if that is your spirituality, to pray for those who are suffering from it, those who are helping them and those researching new treatments.

Rev David Poyner

The quotation, “The kings of the earth rise up” is taken from Psalm 2; it expresses the futility of earthly rulers trying to usurp God in the way they ruled. In many ways, if you want to know the best way of governing a country, the Bible is not much help. Ancient Israel tried various method; rule by kings, rule by priests (from which, deliver us good Lord), rule by an elected champion; we can perhaps add various forms of rule by governors appointed by foreign powers. None stood the test of time. They did not try the modern form of democracy which is now the norm in the West, because it had not been developed in their day. Quite possibly, if it had, they might have been disappointed with its results, unless the states around them had also adapted it.  But if the Bible cannot offer us much wisdom as to the best form of government, it has much to say about what good government should look like. That points to the merciful rule of God, who was celebrated for loving justice and equity, who championed the cause of the powerless against those who misused might. The prophets in the Old Testament roundly condemned those who abused power; in the New Testament, the song of Mary that we call the Magnificat, celebrates a God who humbles the mighty but uplifts the poor. These teaching still apply to any earthly ruler who seeks to rise up in our age.

Rev David Poyner

Happy 9^th Day of Christmas! The Church has always taken a long view of Christmas. Partly this is to do with the way it organises its calendar, it needs something to fill the space between Christmas Day and its next big marker, Epiphany, on January 6^th when we remember the visit of the wise men to the infant Jesus. Of course, it allowed for a 12 day Christmas party, a break at the coldest time of the year and it allowed the serious religious types plenty to time to be pious; up to a point. The tail end of Christmas was dominated by what has become known as the feast of fools, when a choir boy was allowed to become Bishop for the day and, according to popular tradition, even the most straight-laced vicar was encouraged to take part in, or be the victim of pranks and jokes. That at least is how the festival is often portrayed and, due to some rearrangements of the calendar in the 18^th century, it may have given us our modern April Fool’s Day. However the truth is  more interesting. When the festival was becoming popular, the word “fool” was also to those who led simple lives, the humble and those at the bottom of the social pyramid. Originally it was the “minor” clergy who were celebrated by being given the positions of honour whilst the bishops and the like would do the menial work. Today, we might think of the “fools” as being the unsung helpers who clean churches (or community buildings), who visit the lonely and the sick, who deal with the all the paperwork that accompanies everyday life. A feast of fools, when we celebrate the overlooked, still has things to teach us.

Rev David Poyner