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A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Dr Rachel Mann

Good morning.

Since the accession to the throne of our Sovereign, Her Majesty the Queen on this day in 1952, Britain has changed hugely. For good or ill, our society has come to prefer personal choice and informality over duty and deference.

Recently, there’s been a lot in the media about the rivalries between the post-war Baby Boomer generation and so-called Millennials, those who have come of age since the Millennium. According to this media narrative, Boomers are selfish and individualistic, while Millennials are flakey and judgmental.

I don’t buy either of these parodies. I’m especially grateful for the clear-sightedness of the millennial generation. I value the urgency of younger people’s views on everything from the environment to sexuality to gender. Indeed, I’ve never forgotten the time I was asked to explain the Church of England’s views on same-sex marriage to a group of sixth-formers. For them it was a no-brainer: they thought that justice required that what is offered to straight people should equally be offered to gay people. I was booed when I said I thought it would take years for the Church of England to offer equal marriage.

I don’t think these young people were being unrealistic or pampered. They were taking their ethical responsibilities seriously. When Christians say that God is love, younger generations want to hold us to account. If I were to give some push-back – as a priest from another generation – it would be to encourage the young to find in ‘compromise’ not so much failure as the suppleness that’s required get change done.

Merciful God, help us to see your face in other people and lead us from judging others; help strangers to become friends, that your world may be shaped by hope and love.

Amen.