Trouble With Church

What does it mean to be a churchgoing Christian in modern Britain? Lucy Berry, formerly poet in residence of the Jeremy Vine Show, has wrestled with the essential meaning of the Christian life and Church for many years and expresses her anguish in poetry which is vivid, passionate and sometimes angry.

Trouble with Church? invites churchgoers to face difficult issues and make genuine Christian responses. According to Lucy: ‘We have a vast, often untapped amount of love, truth and energy trapped now in ourselves and in our churches. It’s very real. It’s called Christ. Our first work is to face what we do that traps him.’

It's unusual yet imaginative form and approach make it excellent material for study groups and many poems are suitable for church worship.

'Perhaps It Is Only Me'
Perhaps it is only me,
But, sometimes, I hear him say:
Shall we pray under the trees
By the pond in the park today?

Perhaps it is only me,
But, sometimes, I hear him say:
Shall we handcuff ourselves
To their railing today?

Perhaps it is only me,
But, sometimes, I hear him say:
Could you not share your stories,
My Loves, while I'm away?

'If It Occurred'
'It's Adam's fault - and Eve's,'
Said my small son today.
'We are outside and will die.'
He turns back to his play.

One day not long ahead
He'll come one night to me:
'Is that tale true or not?
Did it happen, actually?'

And what is there I know
But thorns and earth to earth
And fear of snakes and death
And giving birth?

He'll ask if it occurred.
And what am I to do?
Say: 'No. It didn't happen,
But it's true.'