Author: svbenefice

I am writing this on the 25^th anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Centre in New York, when terrorists hijacked two planes and flew them into the twin towers of the building, causing them to collapse and kill over 3000 people. That afternoon I had to meet a solicitor; he compared it to the killing of President Kennedy, when a past generation could always remember where they were when they heard the news. He was correct; I was working at Aston University and had just walked into the lab to do an experiment.  My colleague always had Radio 1 on; but this time rather than music it sounded like news; then he told me what had happened. We forgot our usual banter and just listened. It is easy to say an event changed the world, but I really think this did; it destroyed the optimism that we were moving to a new era built on liberal democracy and, implicitly, human reason. As it so happens, the attack coincided with the start of the Jewish New Year, a time of inward-looking and self-examination. It is the same idea behind the Christian seasons of Advent and, especially Lent. Sadly, after 9/11, there was very little of this; perhaps as a world we yet again discovered that human reason has it limits in determining human behaviour. Instead, we are left with the insight from the Judaeo-Christian tradition that we are sinners who need to seek a new mind. Today, when we look at the conflicts in the world, we can see what happens when we ignore that.

Rev David Poyner

A couple of years ago, I heard Rowan Williams, the last-but-one Archbishop of Canterbury, give a talk. He is a deep thinker and someone who I greatly respect. After the talk, he was asked about the current state of the Church of England. He was tactful but said that he had never known the church be as anxious as it currently is. To be fair, there are issues facing senior clergy that would disturb me if I were in their position; churchgoing has been declining for generations, congregations are elderly and there is now a shortage of vicars. Some grasp at straws; the Bible Society convinced itself there was a “quiet revival” going on in church attendance amongst young people. This was news to me and indeed to the statisticians in the church who collect data on attendance. Eventually they had to retract their claims. Ironically, this is taking place against a background of real growth locally. Congregations at Billingsley and Glazeley are now as good as they were in the 1970s; Highley and Chelmarsh are seeing growth and I think this is also being observed in the neighbouring benefices. The growth is mainly in the elderly, some might question if it is sustainable in the long-run, but equally society will always have plenty of people over 50. And, despite the “quiet revival” debacle, there is some evidence that young people are more curious about religion than their parents and grandparents. Some in the church seek quick fixes, be that optimistic targets for new congregations or a hankering after old-fashioned revival. I am doubtful about the value of these approaches. It took 300 yearsy to convert the Roman empire to Christianity and it seems to me that a better approach is the quiet work of relation-building with individuals, the “cure of souls”within a community, to use the language of the Book of Common Prayer. This is not quick work, I rarely see results and do not expect to in my life time. But the who God deals with eternity plays the long game.

Rev David Poyner

A few weeks ago, I shared a poem by R.S. Thomas in which he spoke of the apparent emptiness that can accompany prayer; the most he ever saw was “the flickering of the curtains” as he imagined he was praying to God in a house. I said that this is an experience I know well. This seems to have caused some comment, perhaps even concern. Silence and emptiness are not things we necessarily take well. I live by myself and so have no problems with silence but I do not cope well with inactivity; I always want to be doing things. This is fine, up to a point, but I do know that sometimes I simply need to stop and let nothing happen. I think R.S. Thomas also knew this; he prayed through the silence and emptiness because he knew that even in that void, God was still present. Throughout the centuries, Christian “mystics”, men and women of deep prayer and contemplation, have discovered this. A friend of mine once told me that he learns more about God from the times of silence than at any other time in his life. Much has been written about “the dark night of the soul”, the “cloud of unknowing”. For me, the reality of the God who is present in the emptiness is summed up in the hymn “Dear Lord and Father or mankind”; it speaks of Jesus praying by sharing with God the father “the silence of eternity, interpreted by love”. In that space, words, actions and feelings no longer matter; there is only God.

Rev David Poyner

King Charles is “Defender of the Faith”. This one of the historic titles of the monarch. It was originally granted to King Henry VIII by the Pope when Henry wrote a book defending the Roman Catholic faith against the charges brought by the Protestant reformers. A few years later, when Henry fell out with the Pope and established the Church of England as the national reformed church, Parliament bestowed the title on him, I imagine to make a point to Rome. Recently I have rumours that this title has been changed to become “defender of faiths”.  This is not true. I suspect it is an internet lie spread by those who seek to stir up religious tensions in this country. King Charles remains Defender of the Faith, technically that espoused by the Church of England  as the “established” church in England. But to see what the King actually defends as head of the established church, it is worth reading words spoken by his mother, our late Queen Elizabeth II in 2012.

  “The concept of our established Church is occasionally misunderstood and, I believe, commonly under-appreciated. Its role is not to defend Anglicanism to the exclusion of other religions. Instead, the Church has a duty to protect the free practice of all faiths in this country. It certainly provides an identity and spiritual dimension for its own many adherents. But also, gently and assuredly, the Church of England has created an environment for other faith communities and indeed people of no faith to live freely.” 

Amen, may it always be so.

Rev David Poyner

How was the eclipse for you? My pin-hole camera was not a great success; I saw a disc, I persuaded myself it did get smaller but it was hardly spectacular. The birds probably did go silent; not so some of the nearby parties. But I did notice how it seemed that dusk had arrived; it was notably gloomy. The next day I saw some quite spectacular photos of the sun taken in Billingsley; it really was 90% covered. It is easy to see how in former times an eclipse would be regarded with fear the trepidation and why in many ancient cultures the sun was considered to represent a God.  Both as a scientist and a Christian, I of course have no truck with such notions. But I am aware of the power of the sun. As I write this just after 8am in the morning, it already uncomfortably hot. There is the famous Greek myth of how Icarus flew to close to the sun and was killed.  I however find myself drawn to the famous poem by St Francis; the Canticle of the Sun.

Most High, all-powerful, good Lord, Yours are the praises, the glory, the honor, and all blessings.

To You alone, Most High, do they belong, and no man is worthy to mention Your name.

Praised be You, my Lord, with all your creatures; especially Brother Sun, who is the day, and through whom You give us light.

And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendor, and bears a likeness to You, Most High One.

I give thanks for the wonder I feel for my Brother Sun.

Rev David Poyner

As I write this, the town of Thetford in Norwich has experienced its third night of violence originating from anti-immigrations protests. There are of course a range of views on migration; I suspect most people would accept there is a need for regulation of who comes into the country. It is certainly not for me to lecture others on what that number should be or the policies needed to enforce it. However, as a Christian priest what I can and should do is to remind us of what has always been the Christian response to the stranger and alien. This is rooted in the history and tradition of the people of Israel that they had been exiled and had become migrants, albeit something that did cause tension even in Old Testament times. I worry that asylum seekers are being housed in places where they can receive no support, becoming someone else’s problem. It is also not right that protests against asylum hostels turn violent; it is evil when crowds turn on the asylum seekers themselves by  attacking houses where s are living to try and force them out. I find it particularly sickening when some try and dress up their prejudices as supporting Christian values. Jesus’s summary of the law stands as a rebuke to this; “You shall love the Lord God with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul and all your strength… and you shall love your neighbour as yourself“.

Rev David Poyner

The author of Psalm 19 must have enjoyed looking at the night sky, for (s)he wrote “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge”. Similar ideas existed in Ancient Greece as philosophers reasoned that there was a form of music arising from the harmony of the stars and the planets. The “music of the spheres” has remained a powerful influence on both the popular and artistic imagination ever since. The psalmist realised the music of the heavens was not as we humans understand it; “They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world”. In the 20^th century, radio astronomers were finally able to listen to their music with radio telescopes, including the faint sounds from  the “Big Bang”, the very start of the universe. Radioastronomy is currently  in the news with the proposal of the Government body that helps fund UK science to withdraw its grant to the famous Jodrell Bank radio telescope. A friend of mine who is a radio astronomer remains upbeat; in his view the discipline is vibrant, with UK scientists able to access better international facilities. For the rest of us, it is important that we continue to support basic sciences such as radioastronomy (or indeed my own discipline of molecular pharmacology), if only because they reveal beauty that can inspire and lift us. As a Christian and a scientist, I wonder at the mystery of the God who works through the Big Bang, quantum mechanics and natural selection to create and sustain.

Rev David Poyner

So the World Cup is over but soon the new football season will start! Sport never ends, as soon as one tournament is decided, the preparation begins for the next. And very quickly past achievements fade away and are replaced by the struggle of the new challenge. This of course is not just restricted to sport, past glory quickly goes in most spheres of life. Andre Aggassi, the famous tennis player and serial winner, has said that winning changes nothing. He knew that elation on the tennis court could not give lasting fulfilment. Jesus urged his disciples not to seek transient success in their lives but to seek what he called “treasure that lasts”, the things that do not tarnish or decay. This comes from people leading a right life, based on loving one another and God. This is not a call to abandon all our ambitions or dreams but it means we need to see them in the context of what really matters. Even those who reject the traditional idea of God need to be sure that they are not worshiping an idol instead that leads them down the path of living a false life. That is a sure way of never finding treasure that lasts.

Rev David Poyner

This is adapted from a piece written by Maggie Ritchie, our benefice secretary.

Today, our world is full of scattering: families uprooted by war,  communities displaced by conflict or climate events, people forced to move for work, safety, or survival, social fragmentation that leaves many feeling spiritually scattered. However, God’s mission is not tied to stability. He works through movement, disruption, and change. Sometimes the very places we never expected to be — geographically or emotionally — become the places where  God uses us most.

Today, boundaries are being crossed constantly: migration brings new neighbours from every corner of the world, technology connects us with people we’ve never met, churches welcome worshippers from dozens of nations, communities are becoming beautifully diverse.

In the New Testament the gospel is at its strongest when it crosses borders. It thrives in unfamiliar places. It grows when we welcome those who are different. It shines when we step outside our comfort zones. We are called to embrace difference. To see diversity not as a threat but as a gift. To recognise that God’s Spirit is already moving in cultures, languages, and communities far beyond our own. The Holy Spirit does not reinforce human divisions. He breaks them down. He builds bridges where society builds walls. He draws people  together who would never normally stand side by side.In a world that encourages us to choose sides, we are called to be bridge‑builders. To show that the church is at its best when it is united, diverse yet deeply connected.

Rev David Poyner

Vicars are meant to be people of prayer. I offer to pray for people; it can seem very inadequate but it is often all I can do. The problem is that I am not very good at it. I take some comfort from the poet RS Thomas (who I recently wrote about). Thomas found his prayers were often met by silence but he realised that God was in the silence. His poem “Folk Tale” explores this. I too, just occasionally see the movement of the curtain.

Prayers like gravel
flung at the sky’s
window, hoping to attract
the loved one’s
attention. But without
visible plaits to let
down for the believer
to climb up, to what purpose open
that far casement? I would
have refrained long since
but that peering once
through my locked fingers
I thought that I detected
the movement of a curtain. 

Rev David Poyner