Letter to the Parish

Be careful what you say; be careful what you hear!

The Most Reverend Justin Welby, the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury, preached and presided at a benefice Eucharist service held at St. Nicholas Church, Sandhurst on the morning of Sunday 22nd November. I'm sorry for those who weren't with us for the service - either because you were away, or because you hadn't heard that the Archbishop was to be with us - we only had a week's notice that he was coming. It had the advantage though that there was less time to worry about things; it was pretty much "take us as you find us".

The Archbishop was able to spend time after the service speaking to many folk from both parishes who stayed for refreshments - thank you to those who provided the refreshments. He was very easy to speak to, and made a very positive impression on those that met him and who heard him preach.

The Sunday that the Archbishop was with us there was an interview with him being shown later on Songs of Praise; nine days prior to this there had been the dreadful terrorist attack in Paris and, of course, he was asked about this. The Press had picked up on this interview in advance; The Independent newspaper somehow managed to conjure the headline, "Paris attacks: Archbishop Justin Welby admits 'doubt' over God's presence after tragedy." Within the piece they had also reported that the Archbishop had admitted the Paris attacks left him questioning the presence of God and that they'd "put in a chink in his armour" of faith. Having watched the Sings of Praise interview, I could not see how they came up with this headline - but they did. And it got me thinking about how careful we have to be in the things we say/the words we use, but also how we have a responsibility to listen.

The Archbishop assured us in his sermon that he does still believe in God. He also said that after two and a half years in this very strange role you'd have thought that he'd have learnt to keep his mouth shut so that what he said couldn't be taken out of context or be misquoted or be misconstrued. In this Archbishop we have someone who has experienced life, who has had a proper job, and who has had to deal with hard things in his personal life; as well as being a man of strong faith and belief in God - he is worth listening to. But like so many people in public positions, others are quick to react to what they think someone has said rather than what they actually said. We all have a responsibility to actually listen to what others say, rather than reacting to the half-story we think we hear. This New Year let's all try to be more careful in our speaking and our listening.

Revd. David Commander
Rector

Benefice of Benenden and Sandhurst

T: 01580 240658 E: david@dc-uk.co.uk