With tales of pop stardom, politics and priesthood, the Reverend Richard Coles delighted his audience. A born raconteur, there were anecdotes galore about a ‘liveable life’, as he called it. The former choirboy had turned atheist turned member of The Communards turned Christian and then priest. The ‘borderline national trinket’, Read more…
‘… 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 rather curious phenomenon is happening. Although I still have 18 months to go before I get my bus pass and state pension, I’ve noticed an increasing number of people assuming that I am retired (which I am) rather than asking me what I do. It’s not limited to casual Read more…
‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself,’ (Mark 12:31). Probably most of us feel comfortable with the ‘love your neighbour’ bit… thinking of others, being kind to people… ‘Yep, I can do that. That bit’s OK.’ But what about, ‘as yourself’? To love ourselves in the same way as we Read more…
I first wrote a book over 30 years ago. Called All God’s Work it reflected on the nature of work being not just paid employment but also tasks done in voluntary, community and domestic roles. It also explored the experiences of being unemployed. After numerous rejections it was finally accepted. 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…
‘We’re in the funeral generation now,’ I said as we walked away from having said goodbye to Elizabeth. A kinder person you couldn’t have wished to have known. Jane and I have been to more funerals in the last three months than in the past three years (and that’s without Read more…
‘I thought you’d have opened up by now,’ the voice said as I unlocked the church door for a Quiet Morning. ‘I’m going to the office.’ ‘The office isn’t open to the public at the moment,’ I explained. ‘Well, I’m not the public. Don’t you know who I am?’ To Read more…
‘Sometimes I sit and think, sometimes I just sit.’ The last twenty years has seen an increase in awareness of mental health issues. The last twenty years has also seen a resurgence in the use of mindfulness. The two are not unrelated. Adopting the philosophy of Winnie-the-Pooh (not forgetting his erstwhile companion, AA Milne), Read more…
Many years ago, I lived in a flat at the top of the Vicarage of a large church in Bristol. In those five years I saw and experienced first-hand the 24 hour a day demands, intrusions and joys of such a place. From sharing Christmas lunch with the vicar and Read more…