Sermon for Safeguarding Sunday 15 November 2026 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, Matthew 25:14-30 Today is Safeguarding Sunday, which is certainly very topical given that the news headlines have been dominated this week by the shocking revelations of celebrities exploiting vulnerable young women. Safeguarding is at the heart of the Christian faith which believes each person is made in the image of God but also acknowledges our fallibility and our capacity for destructive behaviour. Time and time again, scripture points us towards those for whom God has particular concern – the widow, the orphan, the stranger, those who are marginalised and often powerless. Proverbs 31:8 calls us to ‘speak out on behalf of the voiceless, and for the rights of all who are vulnerable’. The needs of the vulnerable were at the heart of Jesus’ ministry, and they need to be at the heart of ours. Historically, the Church has all too often failed in this calling, protecting the institution rather than those whom it is called to serve. People have felt exploited where they should have felt protected, ignored when they should have been heard and respected. Yet, Scripture tells us that safeguarding is not an optional extra. It’s not just a business of filling out the right forms and following correct procedures. It goes to the heart of Jesus’ mission for His church, and to the core of our lives as Christians. Of our two bible readings this morning, the extract from Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth contains perhaps the more obvious link to the theme of safeguarding. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonour others; it is not self-seeking. …….. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects. This advice is a useful starting point for developing a good safeguarding culture in our church communities. A reminder that church should be a welcoming and safe space, where people are treated with love and respect and where those in positions of authority do not abuse that power. A place where people feel they can raise concerns and be listened to and taken seriously rather than dismissed. But what has the Parable of the Talents got to do with safeguarding you might be wondering? Obviously, the familiar interpretation of this parable is about encouraging people to use their skills and talents for the common good rather than, rather than burying them out of fear of failure. But it is also possible to look at this parable from a different perspective, through the lens of safeguarding. And there are three key ideas we can draw out. Number 1 – Being proactive Number 2 - Overcoming fear Number 3 - Realising people are our most precious treasure. Firstly, in the Parable the third servant is condemned because he did nothing with the bag of gold he was given. To a first century audience, burying money in the ground was a recognised cautious way of guarding things against theft. But God rejects this passive practice, and we should also reject the doing nothing option when it comes to raising safeguarding issues. True safeguarding is not just about protecting the institution from liability but must follow the lead of the first two servants in the parable and actively protect the vulnerable. Which leads me onto the second point about why people might do nothing and try to bury the problem. In the parable the third servant says that he hid the gold because he was afraid of the master. Fear is one of the drivers of a poor safeguarding culture. Whistleblowers fear retaliation, volunteers fear getting it wrong and leaders fear reputational damage. However, safeguarding training aims to dismantle this fear and replace it with the confidence to report, support and protect. Did you know that all church volunteers who work with children and vulnerable adults are required to undertake basic safeguarding training and undergo a criminal record check? The final parallel we can draw between the Parable and safeguarding is to consider what the gold given to the servants might symbolise in terms of safeguarding. One bag of gold represented immense wealth – worth about 20 years wages. But in a ministry context, the most valuable resource entrusted to us by God is not the building or the budget but vulnerable human beings. So, we have an important responsibility to protect those people. What does a good safeguarding culture look like? It’s not a tick box exercise and it’s not just about having the right procedures in place, important though that is. It’s about actively creating a safe space where people feel welcomed and respected. A place where people are not afraid to raise concerns, a place where those concerns will be taken seriously. A place where people in positions of authority are not afraid to be held to account. A place where truth comes before preserving reputations. A place where everyone takes safeguarding seriously. Archdeacon Ruth puts it like this: “Jesus’ command to love as he loves is an invitation into relationships of profound mutuality and interdependence. These kinds of relationships contribute to healthy communities, modelled on the example of Christ’s own humility and sacrifice. This is a way of being that says, who I am is caught up in who you are. We are members together of the same body of people. Whatever affects one of us affects all of us. We are all God’s children; Jesus calls us all friends; we are all brothers and sisters. So, if I am your sister, your brother, I have a responsibility for how I behave towards you and that has implications for the choices I make about how I live and love in the world”.
Remembrance Sunday 2026 (Isaiah 2:2-5 & Ephesians 6:10-18) More than 100 years since the end of the first world war, why do we still remember? Or perhaps, I should stop and rephrase the question and say ‘what are we doing when we remember?’ This isn’t just remembering to switch off the lights before leaving the house Or remembering the names of all the planets of the solar system in order, although that is sometimes helpful, particularly when you go to a quiz. When we remember, we show respect, we show fellow feeling, we show gratitude and we show sadness. Today we are remembering all the sacrifice, sorrow and wounds of war. We are remembering that the Armistice was an agreement to stop fighting, and so we are also remembering that we should be building a peaceable kingdom. We are remembering that sometimes in the interest of justice and peace, sadly there is a need to take up arms against the oppressor, or in self-defence. And sometimes there can feel like there is an apparent conflict and tension, in all these elements of remembering. Indeed, there seems to be a certain tension between our two bible readings this morning. We began with a beautiful vision of future peace in Isaiah, where we are told this is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. ‘In the last days, the mountain of the Lords temple will be established as chief among the mountains, it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.’ The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war any more. Come, O house of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord. With beautiful imagery, Isaiah prophesies of a time when there will be war no more, when the implements of war, will be turned into tools for farming. This is an image of hope and peace. As I read this passage, I am often reminded of a trip we made as a family to the war graves in northern France, when our children were teenagers. We spent several days, walking through massive cemeteries, reading the names on the graves, and remarking on their ages. It was harrowing to see row upon row of neatly ordered graves … and how young most of the men were. But in amongst the pain and the deep sorrow, I caught glimpses of hope At school, I had learnt of course, about the Christmas truce, when for a brief moment, the fighting ceased along large parts of the front line, and soldiers emerged from both sides of the trenches, exchanged Christmas gifts and played football together. But what I hadn’t been taught about in school was Trench art … this I discovered as we visited museums along the way, and in every museum, we would find, beautiful examples of trench art, where shell casings, had been transformed into beautiful pieces of art work. As I saw these items, I could picture, the men in the trenches, beating these shell casings, these weapons of violence, and transforming them into useful objects, such as vases, or cigarette cases … with the imagery, offering an insight into their feelings and emotions. It reminded me of the image Isaiah gives of swords being beaten into ploughshares and spears into pruning hooks. And then in our second reading, we come across Paul writing to the Ephesians, about putting on the full armour of God. On first appearances, this seems to conflict with the image we are given in Isaiah of God being the judge of the nations and ultimately the bringer of peace. But then, what is this armour of God that Paul is writing about and for what purpose, dig a little deeper and of course, Paul is writing about spiritual armour. Pauls scope in Ephesians has been cosmic, from the very beginning of the letter he draws attention to the unseen world, and now he describes the spiritual battle that takes place against evil in the heavenly realms. Whilst these verses are referring to a spiritual battle, I want us just for a moment to think about some of the armour of God, he refers to, in particular the belt of truth, and the shield of faith. We live in a world where we are never far from conflict, where we are constantly bombarded with headlines, which talk of war, indeed according to the international committee of the Red cross, there are 130 armed conflicts being fought today, the highest level since 1945. Some of the conflicts around the world today, may seem far off, in distant lands, the Democratic republic of Congo for example, which has been stricken by decades of conflict over its mineral wealth and unresolved tensions from the 1992 Rwandan genocide, or the civil war in Somalia which has been ongoing since the 1980’s, these are conflicts we might hear about occasionally, but they are not constantly at the front of our minds, and then there are the ones that are more obvious to us, they appear to more directly impact on our daily lives, and to a greater or lesser degree we might have opinions about who is in the right and who is in the wrong and what should be done about it. We might think here of the conflicts in the middle east, or even closer to home, Ukraine. And in the midst of the media headlines and social media posts, which often appear to contradict one another, the truth, can sometimes be hard to discern, but Paul reminds us to put on the belt of truth we are to hold on to that which we know is true, that God is sovereign over all, and that we are called to follow Jesus, who said ‘I am the way, the truth and the life.’ And we wear the shield of faith, a faith, that reminds us of the vision we have in Isaiah, that there will come a time, when God will judge between the nations, and there will be war no more. And so in faith and seeking truth, on this day when we remember the sacrifice of so many, not just in the two world wars, but in all the wars and conflicts since, those who continue to serve to preserve our freedom and fight against injustice and oppression. We remember the love they have shown and continue to show. And we commit ourselves afresh to working for peace. We look for ways that we as individuals and as nations, can turn from all that is hateful and harms, and seek ways to bring peace and hope.
Text: Revelation 7.9–end, Matthew 5.1–12 Now take a moment to notice the person next to you – Saint or no Saint? Before we answer that lets for a moment remember how St Paul addressed the members of the churches who he wrote to. He called them all saints! Were the members of his churches particularly holy? We know from what he goes on to say in his letters they were not. In fact these early church congregations sound very like us. I think Paul was not looking at them through his eyes, but through God’s eyes of mercy. And God looks at us not as we are, but as we can become. We are saints in process… The Beatitudes are traditionally read at All Saints, to remind us what sort of people saints are. With an invitation for us to follow in the footsteps of those who have gone before – to tread where the saints have trod. 'Blessed' means those who've received God's blessing. Being rich and famous doesn't make us happy — living life God's way does. The Beatitudes are very shocking; they say exactly the opposite of what most people are trained to believe. The upside-down kingdom. They show us a radically different way of living in the here and now, while Revelation gives us a glimpse of the reward in heaven. So if St Paul claims we are saints – how do we live up to that? Can the Beatitudes help us? Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The poor are the people who realise that they're completely dependent on God. Even if you've got money, if you use it for the benefit of others, and have the trusting spirit that the poor have, there's a place for you in heaven. So let's retranslate the first Beatitude as: Happy are the people who know they need God; they will go to heaven. Blessed are those who mourn: for they will be comforted. No doubt God comforts the bereaved with the hope of the eternity, but you could hardly call them happy. No, this is about people who grieve over the state of the world, and the sinfulness of the people in it. So let's try: Happy are those who worry about the state of the world; God will cheer them up. Blessed are the meek: for they will inherit the earth. Jesus commends the way of meekness — not milk-and-water 'Gentle Jesus, meek and mild', but humbly serving others without demanding your own rights. Happy are those who are humble; God will give them what he promised. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Righteousness is living the way God wants us to. Hungering after it means desperately wanting to live that way. Their reward's not to be filled with food, but with the power to live the way they wish. So: Happy are those who want to please God; God will give them all they need. Blessed are the merciful: for they will be shown mercy. This is for those who bear a grudge: Happy are those who forgive others; God will forgive them. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they will see God. For the Jews, the liver was the seat of the emotions, and the heart was the location of your will. It means singleness of purpose: Happy are those who go all-out to do good; they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called children of God. This means what it says, and down the centuries, the teaching of Jesus has rebuked those who resort to violent solutions to their problems: Happy are those who work for peace; God will call them his children. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Happy? Those who are persecuted? This is the very reverse of how the world sees things: but this is standing up for God’s way of living Happy are those who are attacked for doing good; they too will go to heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. With this, most of those who were listening will have written Jesus off as a lunatic. But the way to happiness is not to avoid trouble, but standing up for your beliefs. Happy are you, when folk make fun of you and tell lies about you because you try to live like me; be very, very happy when this happens, you will be richly rewarded in heaven. It goes against everything that the world teaches. That is what saints tend to do – cut across other people’s expectations. But at its heart lies true contentment and happiness. And because we know this that is why we set out after the example of the saints. For therein lies your and my calling as well.
All are welcome As I was preparing for a sermon a couple of weeks ago, based on the parable of the wedding feast, in which the master, having had his invitation to the feast rejected by his guests, sends his servants out to gather anyone he can find to join him so that the banqueting hall was full, a free gift for all, I was reminded of a sign at Coventry Cathedral someone had uploaded to social media several years ago. The image was soon hailed as lovely and brilliant, you may have seen or heard it before, the sign read. We extend a special welcome to those who are single, married, divorced, widowed, gay, confused, filthy rich, comfortable or dirt poor. We extend a special welcome to wailing babies and excited toddlers. We welcome you whether you can sing like Pavarotti or just growl quietly to yourself. You’re welcome here if you’re ‘just browsing’, just woken up or just got out of prison. We don’t care if you’re more Christian than the Archbishop of Canterbury, or haven’t been to church since Christmas ten years ago. We extend a special welcome to those who are over 60 but not grown up yet and to teenagers who are growing up too fast. We welcome keep-fit mums, football dads, starving artists, tree-huggers, latte-sippers, vegetarians, junk-food eaters. We welcome you if you’re having problems, are down in the dumps or don’t like ‘organised religion.’ (We’re not that keen on it either!) We offer a welcome to those who think the earth is flat, work too hard, don’t work, can’t spell or are here because granny is visiting and wanted to come to the Cathedral. We welcome those who are inked, pierced, both or neither. We offer a special welcome to those who could use a prayer right now, had religion shoved down their throats as kids or got lost in the city centre and wound up here by mistake. We welcome pilgrims, tourists, seekers, doubters … and you! Over the next few months, as we journey through November with its All Souls Services, Remembrance Sunday parade services before entering Advent and approaching Christmas, our church doors will, as they always are, be open to all, all are very welcome to come and worship with us, as we celebrate and mark these special occasions. Because the gift of Jesus, born at Christmas and celebrated throughout the year in our churches, is a gift for all people all of the time … all are welcome. All are very welcome! May God bless you Heather
