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In Defence of the White Poppy

- November 02, 2026

Cowardly? Not at all. Every November, the same accusation resurfaces: that wearing a white poppy is disrespectful, unpatriotic, even cowardly. The history says otherwise. Who wears it? Many veterans wear the white poppy, including people who lived through the horrors of the front line and came to see war as futile. Conscientious objectors who refused to fight often showed enormous courage. Some served with the Friends' Ambulance Unit or the medical corps, rescuing the wounded under shellfire without carrying a weapon. Others took on bomb disposal and stretcher-bearing, among the most dangerous work of the wars. The white poppy isn't about dishonouring soldiers. It stands for remembering all victims of war, military and civilian, and for a commitment to peace. Where did it come from? The white poppy didn't start as a rival to the red one. It was first produced in 1933 by the Women's Co-operative Guild, whose members were largely women who had lost husbands, sons, brothe...

Cowards?

- November 02, 2026

For Remembrance and White Poppy Day: He stands tied to a post, fired upon by comrades. He doesn't die. The commander's revolver finishes it "The Coward" The stretcher bearer is under fire. Hands raw from saving lives. He wouldn't arm himself. "The Coward" The stretcher bearer is under fire. Hands raw from saving lives. He wouldn't arm himself. "The Coward" White poppies on a veteran's shirt. Spat at. How dare he pursue peace. "The Coward" A woman hides her child. She doesn't want to send him to the front. How dare she keep him from glory. "The Coward" "Coward" echoes across the scorched earth. Jesus Face as flint to Jerusalem Not fighting They'd call Him a coward too If these are the cowards, I'll join them. They are the bravest thing here. - DTH -

Hands Open, Not Clenched

- October 29, 2026

The same human hands that held a newborn and held a grandmother's hands in a pew are the hands that dragged a boy from a doorway and rolled a body into a trench. A hand tears a jaw apart like wet bread, another hand dead yet still warm, still wearing a wedding ring. But other hands press a stranger's chest and refuse to give up, pass water across a fence, lay a loaded rifle in the mud, knock on heavens door. We can build a school with them. We can break a child with them. The hands of God spread the sky like a cloth, and the hands of Christ were pierced and nailed flat while the world did what the world does — and the world is still being crucified, still bleeding in a hundred villages. So we do not answer the nails with nails. We answer them the way He did: hands open, not clenched, forgiving the ones who drive them in. -DTH- More at Line of Poetry

Suffer the Children

- October 28, 2026

Babies in church are not a distraction. Suffer the children to come. Only consumer churches need worry — the babies and the ASN might pull your eyes from the product, the show. But a church that looks like the early church is for the big and the small, and gathers in strange places: the wilderness, ordinary houses, random temples, altars to an unknown God where ecumenical teaching moments happen. Because here He is. Whatsoever you do to the least of these, you do to Him. -DTH- More at Line of Poetry

I don't want the dark

- October 28, 2026

Then: Free Church of Scotland Mission House. No porch light. No lantern. No knocking. It was forbidden, and I was told why. Tracts out through the door, torn up, flattened under tyres. Every year, the trick was ours. Now: A parent. Still a Christian. "Just a bit of fun", they say. I'm autistic. The doorbell is a fist against my ribs. Masks with no eyes. Laughter on my skin. The whole street, too loud, too cold to bear. My anxiety doesn't do strangers. Children too hyped, too loud with begged-for sugar. I don't want the dark. Christ keeps me in the light. And for the ones who lost someone: Some sit in pubs with plastic bats on the ceiling, skulls on the bar, a wake dressed as a party. I see you. Grief doesn't get a season off. The one good thing: A teacher's hand, sweets at the classroom door — I don't see why you should miss out. Unasked. Unseen. Sweet. -DTH- More free verse at Line of Poetry

Reformation Sunday: Saved by Grace, Sent to Do Good

- October 25, 2026

Dear Friends, The Reformation did not start with a hammer hitting a door in 1517. It started quietly. Long ago, Waldo gave away his wealth to put the Gospels into simple language. Francis chose poverty and peace. Wycliffe translated the Bible for ordinary people. Men tried to silence them, but truth cannot be stopped. By Scripture Alone. The Bible belongs to everyone. William Tyndale promised that a simple farm worker would know the Scriptures better than the scholars. He was burned at the stake in 1536 for translating the New Testament into English. By Faith Alone: Faith is trusting God, not performing for Him. Through Christ Alone: Jesus is our only mediator. For God's Glory Alone: Everything is for God's honor, never ours. By Grace Alone: This is the beating heart of it all. You are saved by grace through faith. It is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8–10). You cannot earn it, buy it, or pray your way into it. It is free to us, but ...