Brian Draper

The second of my conversations for Lent.Martin Wroe 'is married to Meg, a painter. He fell into journalism while studying theology and ended up on the staff of the Independent and later the Observer. A former chair of Greenbelt, he has had long collaborations with the human rights NGO Amos Trust and the rock band U2 and contributes to BBC Radio 4’s Thought for the Day. He accidentally became a volunteer vicar in the Church of England. His most recent book of poems is This Heart: Poems from the Universe Inside, which followed Julian Of Norwich’s Teabag.'

My interview with Pastor Elizabeth Macaulay, for Lent 2026. She is the lead pastor of the Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church in Minneapolis. Her church has been engaged in pastoral care, advocacy and community presence following the shocking deaths of Renée Good and Alex Pretti, and the continued heightened presence of federal ICE agents in the city.One particular movement - ‘singing resistance’ - has sought to meet violence not with force but with communal song. And on the night Alex Pretti died, Pastor Elizabeth’s church hosted a ‘singing resistance’ event for over a thousand people, which helped the community in that moment to come together and light candles and hold a space together and sing. In this 30-minute interview Pastor Macaulay reflects on how we can meet these challenging days with a different way of being, and shine a different light on the way we can live. 

The Lent 2026 Compass Point Prayer​We'll be using Psalm 23 for our Lent Compass Prayer, 2026. We'll pray three lines from it at each of the four points of the compass, which you'll turn through as you go. I've split each line in two: breathe in the first half of the line, and breathe out the second half of the line. Don't try to speak the words yourself - just listen to me.East:The Lord / is my shepherd You / are my shepherdI shall / not want.​South:Let me rest / in green pastures,By quiet pools / Restore my soul.Guide me / in Your paths.​West:Even in the valley / may I not be afraid;you are / with me,Your rod and staff / they comfort me.North:You set me a table / Before my enemiesYou welcome me / and fill my cup.For all of my days / may Your house be my home.East: Your goodness and love / will follow me alwaysYou are my Shepherd / I shall not wantYou are / with me.​