Each year, the National Parliamentary Prayer Breakfast brings MPs, Peers and church leaders together in the heart of Westminster to pray for parliament, government and the life of the nation. This year’s event in Westminster Hall at the Houses of Parliament, centred on the theme ‘Hope for the future’.
The gathering offers space for prayer, reflection and relationship-building between church leaders and parliamentarians and reflects a shared hope that Christian faith can continue to speak into public life with grace, courage and purpose.
Craig Philbrick, Vicar of St Paul’s Weston super Mare, joined Dan Aldridge, MP for the town for the Parliamentary Breakfast. Here he shares a reflection on his morning in Westminster.
Politics is a good servant but a terrible saviour.
This week I had the privilege of being in Parliament for breakfast with our MP, Dan Aldridge, as part of the National Prayer Breakfast.
As someone whose first degree was in politics, it was a deeply meaningful morning. I still believe politics matters. It shapes lives, communities and futures. At its best, it can protect the vulnerable, seek justice and serve the common good.
But Clare Williams-Sarpong put it so powerfully when she said: “Politics is a good servant but a terrible saviour.”
That line stayed with me.
Because politics was never meant to carry the weight of ultimate hope. Hope has a name, and his name is Jesus.
As we prayed in the heart of our national life, I found myself praying for brave and courageous leaders: women and men willing to serve with humility, listen with compassion, speak with integrity and act for the good of others.
And I found myself thinking again about the kind of kingdom Jesus calls us to build with him.
In Matthew 5, Jesus gives us the promise of that kingdom: the poor in spirit are blessed, the meek inherit the earth, the merciful receive mercy, the peacemakers are called children of God, and those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are filled.
This is what we are building with Jesus. Not domination, but service. Not grasping, but surrender. Not empire, but kingdom.
So I came away grateful, hopeful, and challenged — to pray for those in public life, to work for the good of our communities, and to keep seeking first the kingdom of God. Will you pray too?