25th October 2024

As a child and through much of my teenage years, autumn was always my favourite season. I liked the colours and smells, the sense of nature’s maturity, and even the darkening evenings which somehow made the warmth and security of home more precious. Of course, the anticipation of Halloween (without being troubled by conservative evangelicalism’s anxiety over possible demonic influences), followed immediately by the noisy excitements of November 5th and the approaching winter’s prospect of Christmas and snowfall, it all helped!

Looking back now, I also recognise the part played by my involvement in the parish choir. No sooner had we cleared the church of the Harvest Thanksgiving decorations (when by custom the choirboys were each given a big bag of apples to take home to our Geordie Mams) than we began practising the anthems and special music for Advent and Christmas; and every third year we hosted the November Confirmation Service shared with the two neighbouring parishes, giving us a chance to show off to the bishop.

You might charge me with suffering from an overdose of Betjeman-esque nostalgia, but this was the soil in which my seedling faith grew, even if eventually my journey would take me away from Anglicanism and on into the more sermon-centred world of Baptist Nonconformity. The former gave me a sense of God, of awe, reverence and occasion, while the latter gave me permission and the tools to engage and wrestle with scripture, to ask questions and to keep evaluating the validity of theological assertions. The testing of winter may be approaching, but for now let’s enjoy the richness of autumnal days.

Ken Stewart