Once a quarter, I write the Church Letter for our local community magazine, The Nailsworth News. On the other months, the letter is written by someone from the other churches which make up Nailsworth Churches Together.
This is my article from November 2025:
Flags, Freedom & Community
What does the Union Jack mean to you? My family moved to Australia from the UK when I was 12. For me, the Union Jack represented home, the place where all my extended family lived. I would happily sport a Union Jack T-shirt as I went to the Melbourne Cricket Ground to watch England take on Australia in an Ashes Test or one-day game, even though England were rarely the victors.
In recent years living back in the UK, I’ve happily sported an England T-shirt to support our football teams in events such as the Euro’s. We want to take pride in our country and show that in our flag-waving and flag-wearing, but I’m not so sure how I feel about doing that now…
In recent months we’ve seen the proliferation of flags on lampposts, bridges and roundabouts. This is portrayed as patriotism and pride in our country but there are other things associated with it. We’ve seen the rise of anti-immigration protests and demonstrations outside asylum-seeker hotels both in our county and across our country. It feels as if, too often, our flags are being used not as a symbol of welcome but instead as a warning. A silent message that England is only for the English (whatever that might mean?), and that those who come from other places are not welcome here.
For me, there is a deep sadness in that messaging. The St George’s Cross commemorates a Christian martyred for his faith, just as Jesus was willing to die for what he knew to be true. As a Christian Minister, my role is to help others to know God’s love and care for our hurting world. Jesus came into our world, lived, and died on a cross, not for his own glory, not for any nation, but so that all people, whoever they are, would know more of God’s love.
God’s love is not limited by borders. Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan in response to the question ‘Who is my neighbour?’ He wants to emphasise the truth that our neighbours are not just ‘people like us.’ Sometimes our help comes through people from different backgrounds, perhaps even those we’ve seen previously as outsiders.
At Christ Church we recently decided the ground floor of our church needed redecorating, as it is over 20 years since it was last painted. In September we set about the task ourselves but quickly realised we had forgotten how large the church building is and how much older our congregation are than the last time this was done! Only by working together, drawing on the generous help of family members and those connected to the church from the wider community were we able to get it done.
It is a joy to worship in a refreshed building, but it was an even greater joy to see and feel the satisfaction of a group of disparate people working together to achieve a common task. This is what it is to be a community – working together for the common good.
I’m a relative newcomer to Nailsworth having only moved to this area 4 years ago, but I am proud to be part of this community. Nailsworth has a great history of non-conformism as religious dissenters made this their home in past centuries. That tradition of standing up for religious and other freedom, is deeply embedded in the psyche of this area, where tolerance and respect for difference in all its forms are the basis of shared community values.
My prayer is that in the coming months, and perhaps especially at Remembrance events in November, we will remember the cost that others paid for our freedom, and in remembering we will be spurred on to work together to strengthen our community, both for those born here and also for those of us who’ve chosen to make it our home.
Rev Esther Mason