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Trafalgar Day

From Lisa-Dawn Johnston

What perfect timing to reflect on Trafalgar Day, as we pray, plan and prepare for Diocesan Ministry and Vision Day! With Lord Nelson’s decision to choose a radical way to victory (excuse the pun!) we have a remarkable example of bold leadership, thinking outside the box, and inspiring others! I guess it helps that he didn’t have to have committees, faculties, loads of meetings or consensus…🥴. ! But he did have to have the trust and loyalty of his crews… something he no doubt earned over time. I can only imagine what the men felt, seeing the odds against them, the fear and uncertainty. I like to imagine that they prayed. They believed. Today, with our ever evolving society, where leadership and authority is often questioned and challenged, but where the church has to abide by or is guided by certain rules, beliefs or principals, it is hard to change, to move into a direction that one believes we should move… How far can one push the envelope, when there is an overarching authority – on earth… and another in Heaven? The image, Gav, of your example of straddling- one foot on land, and the other on a boat slowly drifting from shore, comes to mind! What a balancing act! How do we do God’s will, spreading the gospel anew, “winning” others to Christ, while still providing those reassuring liturgies and rituals that are comforting to others (but which are wholly alien and unrelatable to others?) I’m hoping it’s a combination of: Boldness of leadership; acceptance of diversification of worship; inclusion; reading the Bible and understanding context; listening to Jesus’ overarching message… and following Jesus’ radical example.

I remember visiting HMS Victory in Portsmouth, when I was a teenager. I remember thinking how reading about the battle in a classroom felt so different and one dimensional compared to actually standing in the ship, looking at the gun ports, the red painted floor… imagining the crew fighting for their lives and for the existence of their country…. Everyone working for the common cause….

At our Ministry and Vision Day meeting, may we be so inspired.