The first chapter of John’s Gospel is one of those quintessential readings we hear at this time of year. Traditionally, the last one read at a service of lessons and carols, it takes a different approach to other readings about the events leading up to and surrounding Jesus’ birth. It Read more…
The Vicarage had never heard anything quite like it: the three most prominent swear words in the English language all in the same sentence (and none of them began with B or S). The lorry driver was clearly having a bad day – and it wasn’t even half past eight. Read more…
What do Mother Teresa, the current Archbishop of Canterbury, Pope Francis and me have in common? Umm… best let the Pope answer that one, methinks: ‘Who among us has not experienced insecurity, loss and even doubts on their journey of faith? Everyone! We’ve all experienced this, me too… It is Read more…
‘Henri said that for Vincent, and anyone trying to reach compassionate solidarity, it was also “like breaking through an iron wall. This was excruciatingly difficult, but also exhilaratingly beautiful when one succeeded.”’ My companion on retreat at Sheldon this week has been Carol Barry’s beautiful book Learning from Henri Nouwen Read more…
A reflection for the third week of Advent: Joy It was his first ever Valentine card. He was 17, she was 15. As the school library assistant, he’d watch her sit down and open her books. She’d given him a nickname he liked. Had he believed in it all back Read more…
A reflection for the first week of Advent: Hope ‘Being hopeful is a choice.’ Where we live there is a regular meeting of the local ordained and lay ministers. It’s ecumenical: crossing the denominational lines from the free church charismatic to the Roman Catholic, the Anglican to the Baptist, the Methodist Read more…
One of the benefits of being asked to write book reviews (aside from getting a free copy, of course) is that I get to read ones I wouldn’t naturally pick up off the shelf – or, given the demise of so many Christian bookshops in recent years, off Amazon, Eden Read more…
We’d witnessed chaos and conflict. People lost sleep and found anxiety. There were accusations with no evidence. No one willing to say they got it wrong. No one willing to accept defeat. It was a sad sight. Then last Saturday, at around 10am Pacific Standard Time (6pm GMT), a rainbow Read more…
Choosing new frames at the opticians is never easy. Because I’m so short-sighted (-10.75), on a recent visit I had to resort to taking ‘selfies’ so I could see each of the contenders properly. Even then, the photos didn’t really tell me what they looked like. But, after gauging family Read more…
One hundred years ago today, in a small, two-up, two-down, terraced house in Bury, Lancashire, Maria and John welcomed their new son, Tom. Their second child, he was the eldest: his parents lost a daughter a year before the war started. Maria had worked at the cotton factory at the Read more…