03/09/2026
Rectory Ramblings September 2026
Dear friends,
As I write this at the beginning of August, much of Europe – ourselves included – has been in the grip of successive heatwaves for a couple of months. What little rain we have had has barely scratched the surface of what is needed, and across the parched land wildfires have begun to spring up, devastating agricultural fields and nature reserves, and threatening villages and cities.
Hopefully by the time you are reading this the rains will have returned, though of course there is always the worry that heavy rains falling on the hard-baked ground will lead to flooding. This perhaps illustrates the wisdom found in the 1662 Prayerbook’s “Prayer for Rain”, which asks ‘Send us, we beseech thee, in this our necessity, such moderate rain and showers, that we may receive the fruits of the earth to our comfort, and to thy honour’.
One of the particular challenges of human-caused Climate Change, of which these heatwaves and droughts are a symptom, is the shift away from ‘moderate’ weather and towards extremes, be that stronger storms, longer droughts, heavier rainfall. None of this is surprising, scientists have warned us about this for decades, but we are increasingly seeing the reality of it now.
This shift from moderates to extremes seems to be reflected in other areas of life too, from political ideologies to social and financial inequality. How many other areas of life would benefit from a prayer for a return to the ‘moderate’? The Church of England isn’t immune from this shift either, despite its historic commitment to the ‘via media’, the ‘middle way’ (otherwise known as sitting on the fence!).
But despite all this, the power to change it is in our hands. Just a few weeks ago, during our sermon series on the Lord’s Prayer, Barbara spoke about the prayer “give us today our daily bread”, reminding us that this is a prayer for sufficiency not excess, for enough rather than too little or too much. And if we work together we can make this prayer a reality, for ourselves and for one another.
We can keep talking to people we disagree with, because disagreeing well is a strength not a weakness. We can support the Black Country Foodbank with donations of food and toiletries, and take meals round to neighbours in need. We can press our politicians, locally and nationally, to take the necessary action to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and to protect and restore nature.
We are stronger when we are together, and we are much more likely to be together if we seek the middle way, the common ground, where different perspectives and experiences are valued and heard. It’s not easy, of course not, but it’s not impossible either. So let’s pray together, in an adaptation of the prayerbook prayer for rain, “send us, we beseech thee, in this our necessity, the blessings of the ‘moderate’, the gift of ‘enough’”, and then let’s work together to reclaim that middle ground.
Yours in Christ,
Rev’d Rich
