Category: Thought for the Week

Mothering Sunday is a festival that has many guises. It is the 4th Sunday in Lent, also known as Refreshment Sunday. Refreshment Sunday originated as a kind of bank holiday to give some relief from the rigours of the Lent; a day off from fasting and horsehair shirts. As part of the break in Lent, it became the custom to give house servants the Sunday off. As such, they would return home and, because that is what everyone did in those days, they would go to their home church on the Sunday. This was their mother church, the church that senior clergy liked to think had nurtured them and brought them up safely in the faith. The senior clergy so liked this idea that they were very happy to go along with it becoming a church festival; Mothering Sunday in honour of the church. Meanwhile, the home coming servants knew which side their bread was buttered and made sure they had a posy of flowers for their actual mothers, who had really brought them up and would be feeding them this day.

Today, for most people it is now “Mothers’ Day”, a purely secular occasion but one which still focuses on mothers. Even within the church, this is now largely what it is, but with some prayers and perhaps a sermon attached. It is good to give thanks for our mothers; the people who brought us into the world, those who nurtured us. But for people of faith, we can also go beyond this if we wish, to remember the female side of God, who is both our father and also our mother.

Rev David Poyner

Most (but not all) Christian churches recognise that there is a time when war can be justified. There are strict criteria that need to be met. We have to use our judgement in any given conflict as to how far they may be met.

Before going to war, the following criteria must be met:

• Just Cause: The war must confront a grave evil and by in self-defence, to defend another nation, or to protect innocent life.
• Legitimate Authority: The war must be declared by a lawful, proper authority,.
• Right Intention: The goal must be to promote good or correct a wrong, not for revenge, vengeance, or territorial expansion.
• Last Resort: All peaceful alternatives must have been exhausted.
• Reasonable Chance of Success: The war should not be fought for a hopeless cause, which would waste lives unnecessarily.
• Proportionality: The good to be achieved must outweigh the total evil that the war will cause. 

Once a war has begun, there are rules which dictate how it is fought: 

• Discrimination/Distinction: Non-combatants (mainly civilians but also those in the military who do not carry arms) should not be targeted.
• Proportional Force: Only the minimum necessary force should be used to achieve military objectives. Methods that are inherently immoral, such as genocide, torture, or using weapons that cause uncontrollable destruction  are forbidden.
• Treatment of Prisoners: Prisoners of war must be treated humanely.

Recently thought has been given to what represents a just peace at the end of the war. 

• Just Termination: Aims should be limited to the original just cause.
• Reconstruction: Efforts should be made to restore peace, repair damage, and uphold human rights. 
• (I have adapted this from an AI generated response to a Google query).

Rev David Poyner

It must have seemed such a good idea. One of the winners at the recent BAFTA ceremonies was a film about a Tourette’s sufferer, John Davidson. Tourette’s Syndrome takes different forms, but in some cases in can cause sufferers to shout out obscenities and profanities. Unfortunately, a microphone was put in front of Mr Davidson and, when two black actors appeared on stage, the Tourette’s struck and he shouted out a racial insult. The actors, whilst clearly surprised, responded with professionalism and carried on. The situation was exacerbated by the BBC not editing out the offensive word, either at the time or for some hours after the programme was made available on their website. For the most part, the criticism has been at the BBC, who have apologised. However, some of have suggested that Mr Davidson should not have been invited, as the slur could damage the well-being of those who heard it. It is of course easy for myself to comment, as someone not directly involved. However, Jesus had much to say about the primacy of love and on the price of being one of his followers. I am not always easy to love; I am grateful for those who have the grace to put up with my foibles and who forgive my misdeeds. It cannot always be easy, but the is the way of the cross is the risky path of perseverance.

Rev David Poyner

Yesterday (Thursday 20th) I marked the second day of Lent by having a cooked breakfast at Ditton Priors, a meal at the Pheasant at Neenton then tea and biscuits with friends. Tomorrow I will have a (large) cooked breakfast at the Down. Some people give up chocolate or alcohol for Lent; I am giving up dieting. 

Fasting has always been considered to be a useful spiritual discipline, albeit one I have never attempted. My excuse is that we all have different spiritualities; we can chose practices that work best for us. The big idea behind Lent for people of faith is that it is a period when we reflect on our core values; what we believe and what that should mean for us. In some form or other, that involves stripping away the undergrowth of our lives to see more clearly what is beneath. Even if people have no conventual religious faith, self-examination is still important. All can learn from Lent and what fasting or other forms of discipline are meant to encourage.

Rev David poyner

I have just had to check whether or not the Church of England does officially celebrate St Valentine’s Day. We do; hooray! However, it is to commemorate Valentine as a martyr from Roman times, not the patron saints of lovers. The church website offers the following as to how that came about:

“The present-day ‘retail custom’ of sending cards and flowers declaring love only clouds the commemoration and may owe its existence to John Donne [poet and Dean of St Paul’s]. Donne wrote a marriage song for Princess Elizabeth, the daughter of James I who married Frederick V, Elector Palatine on St Valentine’s Day in 1632. His marriage song merged the religious commemoration of Valentine with fertility symbolism. The spring mating rituals of birds and possibly the pagan Lupercalia festival also add flavour to the reasons behind the current celebration of the day. Extract from Saints on Earth: A biographical companion to Common Worship by John H Darch and Stuart K Burns”.

Whilst I am all in favour of historical accuracy, I suspect most people will find more resonance in the association of Valentine with their beloved than the martyr(s) from the time of the Roman Empire. Sometimes there is room for both myth and reality.

Rev David Poyner

Shortly  before Christmas I took a break from carol services to go to Belfast in Northern Ireland; it was hosting a meeting of the British Pharmacological Society and I was going to present some new findings from our research. I grew up in the 1970s, when the news was all of “the troubles”, the feuds between Loyalists and Republicans, conveniently badged as Protestants and Roman Catholics. The violence is now over, but this was my first visit to a place in some ways I knew well from those old broadcasts. I have to say I was very impressed with what I saw. On the journey from the airport to the city, I did see an Irish flag flying in estate in a town on the bus route, but that was the only glimpse of the past. Belfast was a very friendly, vibrant, multi-cultural city; at least in the centre, it seemed to have completely moved on. Of course, in the space of a short visit, I am sure I did not get a complete picture. But I loved the cathedral, that made me so welcome at one of their lunchtime communion services (and which manages with just two full-time clergy, unlike some places…). And I really loved the First Presbyterian Church, a Protestant church, where the guide and caretaker, so enthusiastic about it, is a Roman Catholic. Change can happen, the Kingdom of God does come.

Rev David Poyner

Many years ago, whilst discretely looking through on old Book of Common Prayer during a boring sermon, I discovered that King Charles 1, the one in the Civil War and who was executed by Parliament, was listed as a martyr of the church. I assumed the church had long since  discretely laid this aside. It was only after I had been ordained that I discovered the church still commemorates him, with his festival being the 30th January. There is even a society that holds an annual service to remember him. The website of the Church of England is honest about Charles. “His promotion of High Church practices in an overwhelmingly Calvinist (and increasingly Puritan) Church did not increase his popularity, nor did his use of harsh methods (in both Church and State) to enforce the royal will. And Charles was no statesman. Handicapped by his belief in the ‘divine right of kings’ he stood on his dignity, habitually failed to take the peaceful option, and showed in his public dealings that his word could not be relied upon. Even Archbishop Laud, who had more reason than most to be grateful to him, described Charles as ‘a mild and gracious prince who knew not how to be, or be made, great’.”

So why is he still celebrated? The website continues: “Perhaps sensing that he could do more good in death than he had ever done in life Charles resolved after receiving the death sentence to meet his end in a noble and fearless way ….. Paradoxically, his execution was a triumph which left an enduring legend….”.

Whether or not Charles was really a martyr, perhaps he can be commemorated for showing that whatever may or may not have been achieved in life, a good and Godly death is still possible.

Rev David Poyner

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