‘… and with Clive Myrie in Jerusalem.’ Watching the television news has become difficult again. So many reports ‘containing distressing images’. So many scenes of destruction and despair. So many innocents slaughtered. So many examples of ‘man’s inhumanity to man’, which, as Robert Burns wrote, ‘Makes countless thousands mourn!’ Reporters Read more…
A post with a difference this time, in that is one I was asked to write for Preach Magazine about the need for rest and Sabbath moments. Please click here to read. Thank you for reading this post – please share it with others, subscribe and contribute your thoughts Read more…
Sixty years ago, a new phrase entered the English language. Like other well-known sayings, whether from Shakespeare, Churchill, the Bible and elsewhere, Martin Luther King’s proclamation on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC would always be remembered. ‘I have a dream.’ After years of non-violent campaigning, the Read more…
One of the consistent messages of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations has been about the Queen’s service and stability. Thrust into the responsibilities of monarchy aged just 25, she has been, it seems to me, equipped to serve in a way that no other Queen or King has been. She has 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…
In previous posts, I’ve considered the topics of importance and status, last weekend I was humbled by the response to a Bible study on Acts 6:1-7 which explores these themes. (You may like to read the passage alongside this post.) The book of Acts tells the story of the early Read more…
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…
Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred. It seems somewhat foolish to being calling it ‘Freedom Day’. With a third Covid wave charging onward, Tennyson’s famous lines have for me found a very uncomfortable echo in the lifting of restrictions in England on 19 July. Not though 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…
When Manchester City beat Watford in the recent FA Cup Final, I probably wasn’t the only one to notice the reaction of Pep Guardiola, the City manager, as the fifth and then sixth goals went in. His head was in his hands. Was it embarrassment… or was he humbled by Read more…