A new way of being

I went back to school last week. It was in my role as Chaplain to those training for ordained and lay ministry through the South West Ministry Training Course (SWMTC). A week-long Lent School in the lovely city of Salisbury. It was a privilege. An honour to draw alongside those Read more…

Wholly weak (again)

Just over three years ago I had the privilege of being invited to preach at Portsmouth Cathedral. Among those gathered was Angela Tilby, former BBC religious programmes producer and known for being a somewhat provocative columnist for the Church Times. The Cathedral was marking the launch of a ‘Living Well’ Read more…

Wholly Weak

I am indebted to Canon Mark Oakley for inspiring the title of this post. Writing in the Church Times, he describes how during  the significant days of Holy Week many (not least clergy) wear themselves out journeying through the emotions of them all and they are ‘wholly weak’ by the Read more…

Out of the Wilderness

23 degrees in February. Winter sun in Seville. And visiting one of the city’s 115 churches. The confessional. The priest inhabits a solitary compartment. To one side, kneels a man confessing his sin through a latticed screen. No door to hide behind though. His act of penitence witnessed by all around. Read more…