New CofE Flower Arrangements

 Yesterday at a rowdy General Synod, the Church of Englands governing body, the divisive topic of church flowers finally came out into the open. Features of the debate were:

 - The Archbishop of Canterbury promised 'radical new arrangements' for church flowers. Nobody knows what this means, but everyone is already upset or excited by it, or possibly both. 

- The Church will begin a 10 year process of reflection, called 'Learning about Leaves and Flowers' (LLF for short). This will include a 500 page book and a labyrinthine website with videos about different arrangements. The resource will be imposed on the church at an inconvenient time, and is intended to divert as much time and energy away from prayer and mission as possible. 

 - The resulting Prayers for Leaves and Flowers will be produced by the Bishops. Hopes for arrangements for standalone flowers in services are expected to be met with a compromise, that flowers may be blessed but only when contained within something else. 

 - . Some clergy have made their own arrangements and are seeking to have them recognised.

 - Traditionalists who can't accept the new arrangements are campaigning for Alternative Horticultural Oversight, and have set up The Carnation Fund, so that parishes can be sure their contributions aren't being spent on the wrong sort of foliage. 

Should the CofE pay slavery reparations?

 'Project Spire' has been in the news in the last few days, with a poll showing that the vast majority of CofE members would rather £100m was spent on frontline parish ministry, than on reparations for historic slavery. I agree with them. 

A couple of good articles which set out the arguments, and the flaws in the reasoning of the original report which proposed the £100m, which seems to have been accepted without question by the CofE hierarchy. 

https://thecritic.co.uk/the-church-of-england-must-change-course/  from Katie Lam MP, one of a group of MPs who has written to the CofE to ask them to pull the plug on the idea. 

An interview with Nigel Biggar, author of Reparations: Slavery and the Tyranny of Imaginary Guilt, by Ian Paul at the Psephizo blog. An extract:

As I have reported in my book, several eminent historians have shown that the Church did not profit from slave-trading. Moreover, Project Spire is based on the cartoonishly racist—and racially divisive—narrative of white oppressors exploiting black victims. Since February 2024 I and others have been arguing in public that the project is historically groundless, ethically unjustified, procedurally reckless, and should be stopped. ‘We’ include a former incumbent of the Anglican Church’s premier professorial chair of moral theology, a professor of history at Cambridge, a professor of history at Oxford, a professor of international banking and author of a book on the South Sea Company, a KC and former Old Bailey judge, the Anglo-Indian director of an anti-racist body, and an eminent descendant of African slaves brought to Jamaica.

How has the Church—in the form of the Church Commissioners for England—responded to us? With defamation, evasiveness, silence, and intimidation. This is not behaviour befitting any organisation, especially not a Christian one, and most especially not the body responsible for managing the Church of England’s assets. Nor is it the response of a body confident of its own position

The Church of England itself has an extensive FAQ section on its website dealing with the fund, and some of the objections to it. 

Media stories on 'Quiet Revival'

 Two very positive stories in the mainstream media today on the growing number of Gen Z engaging with church and Christian faith.

From the Guardian

For Christian booksellers, any good news about Bible sales has been few and far between. But recent retail figures have shown a revival.

Sales of the good book reached a record high in the UK in 2025, increasing by 134% since 2019 – the highest since records began – according to industry research. Last year, total sales of Bibles in the UK reached £6.3m, £3.61m up on 2019 sales.

The sudden uptick of interest has caused booksellers and scholars to ask some profound questions of their own, such as where these newly curious readers are coming from and whether faith, or another more modern phenomenon – namely social media influencers – have called them to the word of God.

And from Sky News

"Priests and clerics are telling researchers that they are seeing an influx of young people knocking on their doors because they have encountered a religious idea on Instagram," says Dr David.

"A lot of young people are learning about religion for the very first time via social media. They might see a 30-second video and then they are hungry for more," 

We're coming to the end of an Alpha course, and have (potentially) 6 other people beginning a 'START' enquirers course this coming week, all aged 16-45. 

Thank God/the universe/other people/insert your own answer here its Christmas

 How thankful are we? Some fascinating new research from Kings College London finds:

• One in five (22%) people say they feel suddenly and deeply thankful to be alive on at least a weekly basis, while another one in seven (15%) say they never experience such feelings.
• Seven in 10 (68%) people say they’ve experienced this kind of intense thankfulness at some point in their lives, including one in seven (14%) who say this is a daily occurrence for them.
• While religious belief increases people’s likelihood of feeling thankful, a clear majority of non-religious people have felt suddenly and deeply thankful, and 59% of the public do not think belief in God or a Higher Power is essential for people to feel thankful for life or existence.
• One in four (27%) people say they experience a profound feeling of awe or wonder at the universe or nature either daily (16%) or weekly (11%), compared with one in eight (12%) who say they never do. Those belonging to a religion (38%) are around twice as likely as those who do not (20%) to say such feelings occur at least weekly for them.
• One in five (22%) report a feeling of being connected to all people or living things at least every week, and three in five (58%) report ever having had such a feeling. One in four (24%) say they never experience this sense of connection.
• One in five (18%) say they feel personally guided or watched over by something or someone every week or more often. A majority (54%) of the public report feeling this way at some point in their lives, but a third (32%) say they never have.
• Just over half (53%) the public say there is some guiding purpose in life, including their own life, including four in 10 (40%) people who do not belong to a religion. Three in 10 (31%) of the public as a whole who say such a guiding purpose does not exist.
• Regardless of their religious or spiritual beliefs, most (56%) of the public as a whole say the Christmas season makes no difference to how thankful they feel for life. This compares with a third (36%) who say it makes them feel more thankful and 3% who say it makes them less thankful.

If you're one of those 14% who feels 'intense thankfulness' every day then I'm deeply envious, but then remember that 'comparison is the thief of joy', so comparing myself to people who are more thankful is a sure-fire way to become less thankful. 

I'm reading Proverbs at the moment, and this one really struck me: "The cheerful heart has a continual feast" (Prov 15:15). May your Christmas be marked by thankfulness, the living of life as a gift of love, and may the Giver guide watch over you and give you a cheerful, grateful heart this Christmas. 

Full press release and data here. 

Celebrating St Peters Church & Community Centre

 

6 years ago we built a new Community Centre wrapped around St Peters Church in Westfield, Yeovil. It's the most deprived neighbourhood in south Somerset, and no sooner had we opened the Centre than we were hit first by Covid, and then by the cost of living crisis. 

Out of all that something wonderful has happened. With God's help, and an amazing team, the Centre is providing a warm hub, community pantry, adult learning, free library, groups for all ages, and a safe welcoming space for the 100s who come through the door every week. The video gives you a flavour both of what's happening, and in Vicki's story the tremendous positive effect it is having on individual lives. 

The work here has been recognised by the Bishop of Bath and Wells choosing St Peters as the backdrop for his Christmas message this year. And there's more about the Community Centre here. 

St Peters tagline is 'love God, love Westfield'. I remember coming here 19 years ago thinking 'what can a small church do in a community with this much need?' It's wonderful to see that prayer answered in such a tangible way, with so many different people playing a key role, and knowing that they are making a difference. 

To close with the Bishops words, as I can't improve on them (and wouldn't dare try!)

That’s the invitation of Christmas. To give to Jesus, poor as we are, our hearts. Our hearts opened to others and the needs of the world around us. Jesus wants nothing more. He asks for nothing less. 

Will you give your heart to Jesus? A very happy Christmas to you all.  

Joy: to the world.

 

Tonight's sunset was a spectacular 30 minute show. I caught the last hurrah, after narrowly avoiding several lamp posts on the afternoon dog walk, looking at the sky and grinning like a fool instead of looking where I was going.

Imagine watching a sunset that lasted 24 hours. Imagine watching every sunset, from every vantage point on earth, all those colours, all that spectacular light. Imagine experiencing them all at the same time. 

Imagine watching every sunset, on every planet in the universe, from every possible vantage point, all at the same time, all the time. And multiply that by every other joy its possible to have. That is the inner life of God. Yes there is all the other stuff and all the suffering and everything else that wounds him and breaks his heart. But there is joy. 

Proverbs 8:30-31 'I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in His presence, rejoicing in His whole world and delighting in humanity'. This is the summary of Jesus life before he became incarnate. Constant overflowing joy. So when he is born, it is literally 'joy to the world'. At the end of his life Jesus tells his followers that he's told them all the things he has 'so that my joy may be in you and so that your joy may be complete' (John 15). He then faces and endures torture and death 'for the joy set before him' (Hebrews 12:2)

Jesus is joy to the world. The life of a follower of Jesus is 'righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit' (Romans 14:17). Paul prays that all Christians would be filled with 'all joy and peace' and would 'rejoice, again rejoice!' (Philippians 4). The God who 'rejoices over you with singing' finds an echo in the hearts of His children. 

God is love. Jesus is joy. Psalm 23 pictures even the death-overshadowed pilgrim, in the presence of their enemies, feasting on God's overflowing goodness . Like Jesus, is it possible to be 'filled with delight day after day', rejoicing in God's presence, in God's creation, in God's people? Whether in the joy of new birth or the agony of a cross? 

R.I.P Rob Reiner

Turnip Prize 2025

 Cultural highlight of the year in Somerset, the Turnip prize, is due to be awarded next week at the New Inn, Wedmore. Given to the piece of 'artwork' which took least effort, finalists include Free Palace Stein

and Cold Play

and Only Fans

follow all the action on the competition Facebook page.