As we approach Ascension and Pentecost, a fitting theme for this moment is “how Christians live faithfully in anxious times”. We are not short of reasons for concern. In the Church of England, significant national safeguarding reforms have been agreed but implementation remains an urgent priority, questions of how we embrace intercultural mission, promote racial justice, and equity also continue to call for patience, courage, honesty, and charity. Across the UK, people cite the cost of living and the NHS as major concerns, and loneliness remains widespread. Globally, wars and their effects in Sudan and South Sudan, Gaza, Ukraine, and Iran continue to wound ordinary people and displace millions. That is why the coming days between Ascension and Pentecost matter so much.
Jesus tells his disciples: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8). Before there is movement, there is waiting. Before public witness, there is prayer. Before boldness, there is dependence. The disciples do not rush to fix the world. They gather, pray, and wait together for the gift they cannot manufacture for themselves.
Waiting is an important word for us. We live in a culture that confuses urgency with wisdom and activity with fruitfulness. Sociologically, ours is a hurried and fragmented society. We are more connected technologically, yet often less rooted in relationships. Public debate can easily harden into outrage. Communities can become suspicious, fearful, or tired. Our national government has recently warned of increasing strain on social cohesion in the UK.
The Church must not mirror that spirit. We are called to be a people who wait without withdrawing, pray without pretence, and witness without hostility. Theologically, the Ascension reminds us that Christ reigns even when the world seems chaotic. Pentecost reminds us that the Spirit is still given to ordinary believers for a courageous, reconciling, truth-filled mission. So our task is not to despair, rage, or retreat into nostalgia. Instead, it is to be prayerful, steady, holy, and hopeful.
This matters in the Church of England today. If we are to keep facing any safeguarding failure properly and honestly, disagree well, serve people experiencing poverty patiently, and become more intercultural in our life together, we will need more than policies and programmes. We will need the Spirit of God - as we will if we are to speak credibly to a nation anxious about economic pressures, public services, and belonging. We must first be communities where grace and neighbourly love are visible.
So let us not be overwhelmed by the times. Let us be found in the upper room: prayerful, united, and expectant. The same Lord who ascended still reigns, and the same Spirit who came at Pentecost still empowers the Church.
May we be a people who wait well, love deeply, and witness boldly.
May our churches become places of peace in a fractured age.
May the Spirit make us faithful in the days ahead. Amen
The Rt Revd Dr Tim Wambunya, Bishop of Wolverhampton