Identifying the 'Common Peril' Today to Inspire us for Tomorrow

On a dull, dank day last winter, I went for a walk to get both my brain and my blood circulating, or at least semi-awakened, when I noticed this commemorative plaque of thanksgiving on a church wall in Bath.  As we've commemorated the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII this year, it got me thinking about the modern 'common peril’.

That specific peril became increasingly obvious as Hitler transgressed national borders and all of Europe saw the danger as they were sucked into the 1939-45 conflict.  Doubtless, you will remember as I did, learning and studying this in school history lessons, back in the day.  Since then, countless books and films have used that dark period of our collective history as a backdrop to their narratives.  It still provides a rich seam of value for creative minds to mine.

Now I’m wondering what our equivalent eighty years on might be.  What would we currently assign to the category of ‘common peril’. I’m not sure I have an answer, apart from the obvious life and death dilemmas that every human in every culture and corner of the earth has always faced.  However, our news feeds confirm that we live in uncertain times just as our parents and grand-parents did at the end of the 1930s.  

Our influence over global crises and world affairs maybe minimal, but the fact that we are all writers should spur us on to contribute something relevant here in 2025.  Not only are we writers, but we are followers of Jesus which gives us a very different perspective on world events and contemporary culture.  In another eighty years, perhaps writers and directors will be mining the historical accounts of our era to water the seeds of their own fresh ideas for books and films. Your words captured now may inspire someone years from now.

Perhaps we might seek to widen our sphere of writing influence vi letters to a local or national newspaper, or pitching for a a piece in a secular or Christian magazine based on a current news story.  Local radio might provide a slot for a relevant and dynamic faith point-of-view on a contemporary topic.

If your pitch is accepted for a spoken piece, writing down your salient points first is a solid tip for ensuring that you keep nerves under control, stay on topic, prioritise your points and remain coherent (not always as easy as it sounds). 

In the meantime, whatever you perceive our ‘common peril’ to be, whether that’s a person, nation, financial or social circumstance, we can take comfort and encouragement from those who’ve gone before us.  Books, as ever, can provide us with information, refuge, motivation and inspiration, and prayers – whether spontaneous or written – can help keep us focused on the One in whose hands it’s all safely held.

Jenny Sanders has spent the last twelve years living between the UK and South Africa. She writes faith-inspired non-fiction: Spiritual Feasting (2020) asks how we can ‘feast’ when life serves unpalatable menus; Polished Arrows (2024), explores the allegory of  God shaping us to be fired effectively into our culture and contexts.                   

Jenny also has two published collections of humorous short stories for Key Stage 2 children: The Magnificent Moustache and other stories, and, Charlie Peach’s Pumpkins and other stories. She is available for author visits and creative writing sessions in primary schools.  She loves walking in nature, preferably by a river, and has a visceral loathing for offal, pineapple and incorrect use of car indicators on roundabouts.