Pilgrims or refugees? I heard the great English composer John Rutter recently talking about the Brahms German Requiem. He quoted the first line of the sixth movement taken from the Epistle to the Hebrews: “For here we have no abiding city, but we seek the city which is to come”, and he said, “We areRead more
“A man’s ethical behaviour should be based effectually on sympathy, education, social ties and needs; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death” – Albert Einstein Firstly, if the use of gender pronouns offends you thenRead more
How easily we forget! Wow! What a weekend we’ve just had. Whether you’re a fan of the royalty or not, there was something for everyone if they had a mind to join in and appreciate it. From pomp and ceremony, spectacle, music, poetry, art… In amongst it all there were so many things that remindedRead more
‘Complacency is the deadly enemy of spiritual progress. The contented soul is the stagnant soul’ – Pastor A.W.Tozer. Just take a moment to reflect on what those words may mean to you and then I will begin…. Today, (Palm Sunday), is the start of the end to another Lenten journey as we enter another Holy Week, marking all the keyRead more
Those of you who have got to know me will also know by now that, whilst I see benefits in the lectionary, our Christian festivals and seasonal periods, such as Advent and Lent (I adore Christmas and Easter), I also have concerns that we’re sometimes in danger of putting elements of our faith into neatRead more
Her indoors Do you have a soul? If so, what’s it like? What do you do about it? I imagine a number of you will simply answer “yes” to the first question and send this “thought” to the recycling bin. Some of you may feel angry that I am turning my thought inward at aRead more
The beginning of a New Year has dawned and I pray it will be happy one for each and every one of you. I think it’s true to say that each year brings mixed blessing for many people. We all have our highs and our lows, our triumphs and tragedies. This is not only trueRead more
Well here we are again, Advent. Now let’s get a little moan out of the way first. It’s probably an age thing with me, but time really does seem to be going faster and faster. Not only that, so many things seem to be changing and not always for the better, yes good progress hasRead more
Cast your mind back to early August. The Queen was still alive and Boris was still Prime Minister. So recent, but it seems an age ago, doesn’t it? Newspaper headlines then were dominated by the Archie Battersbee case. It was also the time of the Lambeth Conference, with Justin Welby grappling to keep incompatible wingsRead more
God, where are you in all this? There seems to be nothing good going on in the world anymore don’t you think? When you watch the news, read the newspaper or overhear a polite conversation, the status quo is one of doom and gloom. We have the war in Ukraine, numerous natural disasters due toRead more