Open letter
Feeling so heavy-hearted I have written a note to our local MP, Laura Trott.
Dear Laura,
Like so many, I am very concerned about the state of our national landscape. I'm sure I'm not the only correspondent to you regarding the immense challenges, leadership calamities, and choices needed over the weekend regarding the leadership of the Conservative Party and our present government. Sorry for adding to your workload... there is no need for a response!
I appreciate our interactions as you serve Sevenoaks and Swanley as our local MP. You have my daily prayers, especially in these days.
I was intrigued by the historical narrative of Solomon, who requested wisdom when he first assumed leadership. As his life unfolds, the influences of wealth and power corrode those first aspirations for something noble. Perhaps it is always this way in public life. However, as a follower of Jesus and a community vicar, I continue to pray for you and your governmental colleagues this weekend that you will exercise wisdom. I also pray that you may find some rest, aside from all that is intense, relentless, and not conducive to good decision-making.
Economic uncertainty is a known breeding ground for extremism, according to history. The "othering" of others provides us with a story that soothes our mental anguish, unites us in the face of fictitious foes, and mobilises the last vestiges of human might to confront the shadows we have created for ourselves.
History warns us of the dangers of elected officials chipping away at the democratic institutions that brought them to power in order to become unassailable in their rule. Executive orders, a derisory level of scrutiny underpinned by inexperience and living out a dream of anti-expert bravado, have not served the country well. The last few weeks have been more than tumultuous. May character and competence be re-established in our national government, esp in these most fragile moments.
More generally, the Judaeo-Christian tradition has long argued that just society, reflecting the way things were meant to be under God, gives special consideration to the destiny of widows and children, as well as others who are marginalised and in need.
Just as was read by Boris Johnson on the occasion of the late Queen’s Thanksgiving Service at the platinum jubilee in early June: "
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interest of others." from Philippians 2, in the Bible. Permit me to urge a restoration of the focus of public life towards the service of others? And a turning away from short-termism to the common good and the patient flourishing of others.
At this pivotal point in our country's history, the blend of character and competency is more important than ever. May I urge you, in choosing your next leader, to find someone who will do just that and, for the sake of our beautiful but beleaguered country, give themselves away in servant leadership? Even in all this brokenness, God will be our help if we seek Him.
As I have further prayed and reflected this morning, I am struck with compassion for the complexities of the decision you will be making this weekend. May you know peace as you decide and wisdom, rest and strength for these next few significant weeks. I will keep you, Graham, and others in the constitutional office in my thoughts and prayers.
Yours sincerely,
Revd Johnny Douglas