THE POETRY CHURCH is an ecumenical Christian poetry magazine, which features the work of international Christian poets coming from a wide variety of backgrounds in the mainline churches. The magazine has a pastoral role as well as a literary one. Some of our poets and readers suffer from terminal illness, some are handicapped or lonely. Some are seekers, wanting to know more about the Christian faith and a closer relationship with Christ and his followers. We pray for them all and for each other.

The Feather Books Poetry Series is compiled from collections of privately published works of subscribers to the magazine. The Feather Books Music Series is also compiled from subscriber's works. See
                               Moorside Words and Music.

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A Sample of The Poetry Church Magazine and The Summer Collection 05
   

The POETRY CHURCH COLLECTION is an important annual resource for Christian clergy and laity alike. It comprises about 100 new poems and prayers and several new Christian hymns written by contributors to Britain's leading Christian poetry quarterly. The latest collection is available at £9.99 - postage £1.              To order click here

 Here is a poem from a Collection

 

 PANNING FOR GOLD

God is panning for gold in us.
He knows it’s there,
planted by Him before the stream of time;
mysterious.

And He knows, too,
that it’s choked by grit and grime,
hate and despair.
But those will be washed away;
sieved out by grief,
crushed by the toil of day
and cleansed by our Belief,
until the gleam comes through.
Only the gold is true.

                                                                                 Susan Glyn


 

 Here is a poem from the Poetry Church

 

 

RESERVATIONS

 

Why, when I hear ‘a nice enough chap”

do I think - hold on,

there’s a sting at the end of this,

or a catch in the tail?

There has to he, without fail,

a “but”.

 

It isn’t exactly the peak of praise

to be called “nice”

and “enough” is a bare sufficiency.

This “chap’s” distinction

must follow that pert conjunction,

“but”.

 

As in “but he’s mad as a hatter”,

“but he doesn’t use soap”,

“but he’s far too clever for his own good”,

“but his ignorance shows,

and generally gets up my nose.

Yes, but

 

I suppose it was ever thus,

like most things we say

it aims to be clever rather than just,

not spoken, sneered.

Lord Christ to Pilate appeared

just, but

 

a nice enough chap

 

                                                                                                           Walter Nash
 

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