In case any of you want to revisit one of the first sermons I gave at St Peter and St John's in Nov 2013 (how lovely that St Andrews Benn school featured right at the start and right at the end of my ministry here) One of my first sermons here Nov 2013 This week... Continue Reading →
Is the promise enough?
This is the text of my last Sermon May 16, 2021 Sheila’s final Sunday at St Peter and St John’s This morning as we are all too acutely aware we are thinking about leavings and endings. And our two readings address those two themes. Jesus at the end of 40 days of appearances to his... Continue Reading →
10 Reasons why the world is better than you think
This is a review of the book Factfulness by Hans Rosling which was published in 2018. But if ever there was a time to read this book it is NOW! Yes, okay, it was written pre-pandemic, but it addresses 10 of our most basic human instincts and why, if we trust our instincts rather than... Continue Reading →
God is a ‘who’ not a ‘what’ and why that matters
Earlier this week I had an interesting conversation with someone from generation Z. They didn't announce themselves as being part of that generation but later the same day I was reading about the characteristics of this generation and I realised that the young man I had met was most likely a Z-er - a post-millennial... Continue Reading →
Remembering or forgetting – which is better?
Today is a national day of Reflection in the UK. There will be a minutes silence at 12 noon. This day has been chosen as it marks the first anniversary from the first lockdown in response to the pandemic. Other countries will have their own anniversaries and key dates but this is ours. And we... Continue Reading →
Unknown: when the truth about who we are disappoints us
Like many in lockdown UK David and I are raiding our DVD library and rewatching old films. This reflection only contains one slight plot spoiler for this excellent film 'Unknown' with Liam Neeson in the lead role In the story Liam's character arrives in Berlin and has an accident. He comes round after 4 days... Continue Reading →
Dang! It got me on the last page
I have just finished reading this book. It's a Lent book so I am a bit ahead of myself but having recently re read all the Gospels I have realised afresh the centrality of the cross in the Christian faith. That sounds a bit ridiculous, you'd think it would be obvious that the cross is... Continue Reading →
Giving up fear for Lent?
This week we have entered Lent, the 40 day period leading up to Easter when we remember that Jesus went into the wilderness. Traditionally Christians are called to give up stuff that’s bad for us and we tend to think of abstinence from indulgences such as sugar, chocolate, alcohol or even coffee. But what if... Continue Reading →
More on names and lists there of
Lists of names can be very oppressive. I can think of two places where I have stood and felt utterly overwhelmed: in front of the Menin Gates near Ypres on which are engraved 54,395 names of soldiers who died in the two world wars, and inside the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Jerusalem, where there is... Continue Reading →
A Family Tree Failure
Or is it a family tree full of failures? I have been reading a chapter a day through the gospels recently and last week I came to the gospel of Matthew. I wasn’t particularly looking forward to the first chapter of Matthew because I knew that it was just a long list of names. So... Continue Reading →
