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