Minister’s Message – Christmas Eve

Over the last few years the “Songs of Praise” TV programme, the BBC Classical Music Magazine and the Classic FM radio station have all run opinion polls, trying to find out which Christmas carol is Britain’s favourite. I suspect that the outcome of these surveys has a lot to do with who’s being asked, but the results are surprisingly consistent. One carol that is always at, or near, the top of the list is “In the bleak midwinter”. And many of you will agree with one enthusiastic writer who asked, “Does any other carol get to the very heart of Christmas as understatedly but effectively as this?” and went on to declare that “Christina Rossetti’s poem is nigh-on perfect as a carol text”.

Minister’s Message – December 18, 2022

The news has been filled recently by what we might call small-scale tragedies. Among other sad happenings there were the fishermen who drowned when their boat collided with a ferry off the coast of Jersey and the would-be migrants who died when their dinghy capsized in the English Channel. The island of Jersey itself saw the devastating gas explosion which demolished a block of flats in the early hours of one morning and killed nine people. We heard about that house fire in Pembrokeshire where a husband and wife perished, of the two small boys apparently murdered in east London, and the revellers killed and injured in the concert crush in Brixton. And, of course, we were all shocked by the deaths of the children who fell through the ice on the lake in Solihull – an appalling story, albeit tinged with heroism.

Minister’s Message- December 4, 2022

“Voices in the wilderness”.

In autumn 1931 the great Indian leader Mohandas Gandhi visited Britain. His passion for independence, his advocacy of fair trade and support for the poor were already known, and the visit was a personal triumph, widely reported in the media. During Gandhi’s time in Britain he met national figures such as the Archbishop of Canterbury, Lloyd George and Charlie Chaplin, and visited centres of learning and culture such as Oxford, Cambridge and Eton. True to his ideals, he also went to poor places including London’s East End and the mill towns of Lancashire, still in the grip of Depression, where he was received with enthusiasm. The one person who refused to meet Gandhi was Winston Churchill, who sneeringly called him a “rebel fakir”.

Minister’s Message – Remembrance Sunday

Growing up in the late 1950s at a time when people in Britain – we were told – had “never had it so good”, I used to look forward to Remembrance Sunday. Instead of meeting for Sunday School in the rather dreary church hall with its own peculiar smell, we joined the crowd that gathered around the War Memorial across the road. Prayers were said, wreaths were laid, we observed the Two Minutes’ Silence, the Last Post was sounded, we wore our poppies with pride, and we all had a cup of tea afterwards. Strangely enough I don’t remember singing any hymns: perhaps that was left for the indoor service in church; nor can I remember it ever raining!

Minister’s Message – November 6, 2022

The biggest question we humans face is probably, “What happens to us when we die?” Is that the end, or is there something more? It’s a question which all the major world religions attempt to answer in one way or another, by saying that the human soul enters nirvana or goes to a paradise garden, or that we are reincarnated to live again in a different form. Christianity has its own specific and detailed doctrines of a bodily resurrection and the hope of life in glory with God, for which Jesus has blazed the trail. These beliefs comfort us, especially when we’ve recently lost someone very dear to us; they also encourage us to keep plodding along the pilgrim path in the hope of a heavenly reward. The problem of course is that we have no way of proving the truth of our beliefs: we simply have to have the faith that they are not false.

Minister’s Message – October 30, 2022

On September 3^rd 1966 a special excursion train ran from Glasgow to Aberdeen to mark the withdrawal of one of the most famous classes of steam locomotive, Sir Nigel Gresley’s “A4 Pacifics”. Thirty years earlier an engine of this class named “Mallard” achieved the speed record for steam traction which has never officially been beaten.

Minister’s Message – October 16, 2022

I’m sure that we’ve all seen the film of “The Snowman”, based on the book by Raymond Briggs who died earlier this year. This enchanting film first appeared on Christmas Eve 1982 and has been shown every year since, which means that it’s now delighting the grandchildren of the original viewers. It’s famous not only for its magical artwork but also for its music by Howard Blake – this includes the song “Walking in the Air” which, contrary to popular belief, wasn’t sung by Aled Jones but a chorister from St Paul’s Cathedral called Peter Auty: Jones’ record came out in 1985 and made him a star, while Auty wasn’t even mentioned in the film’s credits until it was remastered 20 years later.

Minister’s Message – October 2, 2022

It strikes me (and I may be wrong) that our society has witnessed a loss of faith over the last years and decades. For instance, many people no longer trust mainstream news media such as the BBC as they believe they’re peddling the “fake news” which the Government would like us to hear, What’s strange is that they then turn to social media and seem willing to believe things which are unsubstantiated or bizarre! We have also lost our faith in politicians, whether to give straight answers to questions, to keep their promises, or to “deliver” on their policies. I’d suggest that the behaviour of some – not all! – politicians hasn’t made it easy for us to put our trust in them.