Dear colleagues

I’ve previously reflected on the book ‘The Gospel of Peanuts’ and books exploring Christian themes in the Harry Potter series. Those who write these sorts of books aren’t really posed with a majorly difficult task, given Charles Schulz of Snoopy, Linus and Peanuts fame was a devout Christian; and J.K. Rowling grew up as an Anglican, and remains a member of the Church of Scotland. Sometimes intentional, sometimes due to a lifelong influence, Christian themes appear naturally in their writing.

I re-read all the Winnie The Pooh books when I was in my twenties – not out of some literary driver, but because I read them to a child in our family! I recall thinking how profound and meaningful many excerpts were and how they often appeared as a series of Christian messages. I’m currently reading ‘The Gospel according to Winnie the Pooh’ alongside ‘Winnie The Pooh – The Little Book of Wisdom’. The latter includes direct quotes from A.A.Milne with E.H. Shepard’s illustrations. The former re-imagines the Hundred Acre Wood as a landscape of spiritual adventure, where Pooh’s meandering, Piglet’s worry, Eeyore’s gloom, and Tigger’s exuberance reveal everyday parables of grace, interdependence, and the rediscovery of innocence. Written by Bruce Epperly, a pastor and theologian, ‘The Gospel According to Winnie the Pooh’ interprets the adventures of Winnie the Pooh and his friends as a miniature gospel, showing how ordinary characters reflect the ways of Jesus with faithfulness, despite human flaws. Each character embodies spiritual lessons: Piglet demonstrates courage despite anxiety, Eeyore experiences grace amid gloom, Rabbit learns to overcome suspicion, Tigger embodies untamed energy, and Christopher Robin represents the child navigating growth and discovery. The book is an example of presenting Christian allegory.

A.A. Milne wasn’t a Christian though!  However, when he wrote the Pooh books back in 1925, Britain was a more ‘obvious’ Christian country, with no shops open on Sunday, and attendance at Church being the norm for most people. In a more unapologetic and normalised way, Christian values underpinned society in terms of law, morality and much more.  Seven years post World War 1, the Pooh books were therefore unsurprisingly embraced with their hopeful message. They still are – helped with a large dose of Disney dust!

This one, from the Pooh Wisdom book made me smile – and could easily pass by unless read carefully!

Love Your Neighbour As Yourself

‘Oh bear!’ said Christopher Robin.

‘How I do love you!’

‘So do I’, said Pooh.

The resources we’ve produced that link the Winnie the Pooh books and characters to Christian Values is therefore a celebration of Pooh’s 100th anniversary, and making relevant what appears obvious to Christian readers. Indeed, we did this with our Nationally-funded and subsequently shared across the CofE, ‘Chatting Faith’ project, where we took secular children’s books to see how they could generate normalised and natural conversations about faith.

Next week, the BBC will be celebrating Winnie the Pooh 100, with readings from the books and a new drama. Enjoy this as well as the resources we’ve produced. These can be used flexibly, either as the basis of collective worship, a class reflection, prayer space resources, or as posters to display around the school. Clergy and parishes may find these useful in using for All Age Worship, children’s groups or circulating to families.

The teacher notes and resources can all be downloaded from our diocesan websites at:

Winchester -  https://winchesterdiocese.org/education-schools/resources-for-schools/guided-reflections/

Portsmouth - https://www.portsmouth.anglican.org/education/resources/collectiveworshipres/