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Thought for the Week – 10th December 2023

In the End

We are well into Advent. Most people think of this as a count-down to Christmas and even within the church, this is now a large part of what it is about. However, originally it had a much more sombre feel. It was a time of preparation, for the end of time itself and also for our own end. Sermons focussed on the four “last things”, heaven, hell, death and judgement. Today in the church these get moved forward, to November and its emphasis on remembrance. But death is always with us. A recent survey has shown how quickly attitudes to death and, most especially, funerals are changing. Only 47% of those in the survey say that they want a funeral; the preferred option is a direct cremation with the money instead being spent on a party to celebrate the life of the deceased. Funerals are considered expensive but also gloomy. The first of these perceptions is true but, speaking as someone who buries people for a living, I do not recognise the “gloomy” bit. I do not think I have been to or lead a funeral where there has not been smiles and laughter at some point, alongside the tears. Those include both religious services but also those led by humanist celebrants, who are equally aware of the need to balance the need for space to grieve and bring closure with celebration and commemoration of a life. I always think that the funeral is not ultimately for the deceased; God knows that person and was with them at their end. Instead funerals are their for us, the living, to allow us to say goodbye to our loved one but then start the process of saying hello to them, as they now live in our memories and ultimately rise with Christ.

Rev David Poyner

Thought for the Week – 3rd December 2023

A New Illuminated Bible

A new illuminated Bible, created by hand, has just been completed. This is the first time for 500 years such a Bible has been commissioned by a Benedictine monastery; in this case, St John’s Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota, in the USA. The project was first discussed in 1998, when a calligrapher, Donald Jackson, approached the community with a proposal for the book. It took 15 years for the book to be created. There is of course just one original, but 300 copies have also been produced and cost a minimum of $160,000 each. One is now in Lambeth Palace, the home of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Some may question the purpose of the project. I however am with the monks who commissioned the Bible, in order to “ignite the spiritual imagination”. Imagination is one of the defining marks of being human, it allows us to reach out, to see beyond the present into the realms of what-can-be, what we long for. Art, in all its forms, can take us to places words and logic cannot. Donald Jackson speaks of how he lets the inanimate materials he works with, paper, wood, glass, “speak from its own personality”, how he longs “to leave it more handsome than [he] found it”. He breathes “life, soul and rhythm” into letters. I love this vision. This is accessible to anyone, but for myself, as a Christian, it opens a window to God.

Rev David Poyner

Thought for the Week – 26th November 2023

The Theology of Dr Who

Dr Who is 60. We did not have a TV when the programme first came out and in any case, I am too young to have remembered the first Doctor, William Hartnell. I can just remember the second Doctor, Patrick Troughton and I recall being very scared by an episode I watched at my grandparents where he met up the with Yeti, the Abominable Snowmen. Reading about this on Wikipedia has renewed shivers. But it is mainly Jon Pertwee, the 3rd Doctor who I remember. I was entertained, but never especially scared and I certainly did think of the programme as being remotely spiritual. But that was then, now I’m a vicar and I do see many things differently.

The Doctor travels through time and space to help humanity and fight evil.  Somewhere in this, there are connections with eternity, a reality outside of us and a sense that we need help to redeem ourselves. Doctor Who was written as children’s entertainment and for 60 years it has (mostly) succeeded, a remarkable achievement. But perhaps that is because it touches on some very deep themes that are timeless and relevant to people of every age. With periodic re-incarnations of the Doctor, it may owe more to Eastern religious thought than the Abrahamic faiths of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, but perhaps unwittingly it does point to a wish for a saviour, human but somehow not human. Are you looking to Advent?

Rev David Poyner

Thought for the Week – 19th November 2023

Power or Virtue

I recently read an extract from a talk given by Rory Stewart on the goal of politics. Stewart is a former Conservative MP and cabinet member; he stood for leadership of the party (and the job of Prime Minister) when David Cameron stood down. He resigned from the party over disagreements about Brexit. He is now an academic and broadcaster.

Stewart suggested that there are two competing visions of how politicians should work. One is typified by the 16th century thinker, Machiavelli, who believed that the first duty of any leader is to achieve and maintain power. If a politician never has power, they will never be able to lead. By contrast Stewart drew on older ideas, derived from Greek philosophers, who believed that the goal of any life was to pursue “virtue”. Here the politician is to prioritise doing what they believe is right, the greater common good, over the pursuit of power.

I suspect most of us borrow from both camps; I can play power games, albeit not very well. However, it seems to me that the Christian view must be that virtue trumps power; it is the former that should motivate us and our leaders, not the latter. You will have your own views on where current leaders, both in this country and abroad, stand on power versus virtue.

Rev David Poyner

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