I’m delighted to offer my first ‘Pilgrim’s Progress’ as the Bishop of Wakefield, having been so warmly welcomed to the city and region over the last couple of months. Since my consecration as Bishop on 11 June, I’ve had the joy of meeting many interesting people, getting to know local communities, and sharing in a range of church and civic activities.

Much of this has involved food! Be it Bishop’s Breakfasts with local leaders, after-service refreshments or the splendid reception following the Mayor’s Civic Service, good food has been a constant welcome feature!

Unsurprisingly, my visit to the Pontefract Liquorish Festival last month also involved food, and it turned out to be a bit of a surprise. From childhood I’ve been convinced I don’t really like liquorish, but I discovered that taste can change and I’ve been happily munching my way through a bag of liquorish since. I’m glad I tried it again! This reminds me of the phrase I often used with my children when they were young and turned their nose up at food they’d not yet tried. My standard encouragement went along the lines of, “go on, give it a go, it might be your new favourite thing!”

In the middle of Psalm 34 in the Bible, we find these delightful words: “O taste and see that the Lord is good; happy are those who take refuge in him.” This doesn’t mean literally eating God, but is poetry evoking something satisfying. From personal experience of God’s faithfulness, the writer invites us to give God a go, that we too might know the goodness of God in our lives. Jesus said something similar when he told people that only God is truly good. It may be that you think God is not really your thing, but I encourage you to take the psalmist and Jesus at their word; to taste and see that the Lord is indeed good. You never know, experiencing God’s goodness might be your new favourite thing!

Malcolm Chamberlain

Bishop of Wakefield