In reflecting last month on the life of Queen Elizabeth II, I drew on a fairy tale about an unbreakable thread laced as a daisy chain to appear unassuming. What other such threads give us continuity in our changing and turbulent world?
Marking Remembrance Day is one such. Some will gather at war memorials, and most of us will wear a poppy. Sacrificed lives are reverently remembered. But Remembrance Day is about our future as much as our past. We hold out our hopes that the vulnerable values of peace and freedom fought for will continue.
Welsh poet and priest R S Thomas wrote, in a poem drawing on a parable of Jesus, about treasure present and future – ‘The bright field’:
I have seen the sun break through
to illuminate a small field
for a while, and gone my way
and forgotten it. But that was the
pearl of great price, the one field that had
treasure in it. I realise now
that I must give all that I have
to possess it. Life is not hurrying
on to a receding future, nor hankering after
an imagined past. It is the turning
aside like Moses to the miracle
of the lit bush, to a brightness
that seemed as transitory as your youth
once, but is the eternity that awaits you.
Our village churches are rather like this bright field, sometimes forgotten, yet
then remembered as holding treasure. For some, the beautiful historic building is the ‘pearl’. For others the pearl is the community of people. For many the building is a reminder of eternity, and of a life more radiant than now.
Our church buildings are surely one of those threads that give stability. Yet
they are vulnerable too. No central funds protect them for future generations
– all income to maintain these listed buildings must be local.
We are hugely grateful to all who contribute financially to our local churches’ upkeep. This is far from a good economic time to hoist a financial flag, and some won’t remotely be able to consider this. But for those who can, I encourage consideration of a one-off donation, regular giving, or legacy in your
will, to your parish church for future generations. A confidential conversation
with the respective PCC treasurer* will guide you. May our church buildings
be treasure for generations to come.
