About Us

Letter from the Vicar

Dear All,
As a lifelong fan of the iconic science fiction series Startrek, it has always amused me that the grammar
police came out in force over the split infinitive in the Starship Enterprise’s mission statement “to boldly go.”
Apparently, for some, it marred Star Trek forever. It’s interesting, isn’t it, the things that can irk and provoke
us; Is it Mother’s Day or Mothering Sunday? Remembrance Sunday or Poppy Day? The Isles of Scilly or
the Scilly Isles? Let’s not get started on the subject of flags on lampposts, who we vote for, whether we
were right to choose Brexit, or whether it’s a good thing to be woke. (believe me, it really is!)
People seem to argue all the time and, particularly on social media, they readily fall into arguments about
the most trivial things. The gloves quickly come off when someone’s opinion or narrative is challenged –
discussions soon become personal - spats too often descend into real unpleasantness. Sadly, relationships
can be fractured or broken because people hold different views. And of course, not everything is trivial,
some things really matter: e.g standards in public life; the right to justice; the protection of the vulnerable;
the care of our fragile planet - some things really do matter.
The church is not immune from heated discussions and relational fracture as it faces a turbulent period,
characterised by deep divisions over sexual ethics, a crisis of confidence in safeguarding, and intense
scrutiny of its leadership and institutional role.
People seldom agree on everything – to be human is to learn to live with disagreement. The challenge is to
disagree well, to listen to those with whom we disagree; to love those who think differently and hold
different opinions to us.
None of this is to devalue the importance of truth. We follow Jesus who proclaimed, “I am the way, and the
truth, and the life” (John 14:6). It’s worth noting that being right is not one of the fruits of the Spirit. Jesus is
right and true, but the fruits of the Spirit listed by St Paul as the characteristics of Jesus’ followers are love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).
How can we live so that we manifest these attributes in our pursuit of truth and in our conversations and
interactions with others? As I write this, we are just about to enter the season of Lent, which for Christians,
is a time of prayer and self examination, so it’s a perfect time to ask ourselves the question, ‘how can we
draw closer to Jesus so that we mirror his love more graciously'?
In some translations, one of the fruits of the Spirit, “patience” is translated as “forbearance”. There is a
subtle difference. Patience implies a more passive response. We wait in the face of boredom; and calmly
endure difficult circumstances. Forbearance seems more active, describing restraint or tolerance,
particularly choosing not to react to provocations, offences, or people's flaws. As a fruit of the Spirit, it
connects together patience and self-control. Someone with forbearance suffers fools gladly, because,
frankly, why let someone else’s foolishness interfere or impede one's gladness? We try to be more patient
with others because we are encouraged to exercise forbearance. As Jesus’ followers, we endeavour to
listen more than we speak, we seek to learn, to understand the viewpoints of others, we build friendships
with those who think differently to us. In doing these things we are sharing the Father’s love; who loves us
not because we are right but because we are His children. This month, during Lent, let’s boldly but gently
go to practice patience, exercise forbearance, and may the truth of God’s love for us grow in our hearts.
David Beale
Reader at St Giles