This book is brilliant! It was brilliant in 2010 when it was already old and possibly out of print but I've just re-read it and want to point to it again. Just to say it is one of the most helpful, practical and yet also deeply spiritual books I've ever read. Here is the review... Continue Reading →
Inward Change
Part book review (The Midnight Library by Matt Haig) part reflection on finding yourself in a new location. When it comes to moving, I do have fair amount of experience: I think I moved 5 times before the age of 10, most of which were over thousands of miles and since we've been married we... Continue Reading →
Star Trek and Strawberries – staying sane in scary situations
"Captain's Log Star date 01 01 2021 ..." I grew up with Star Trek, not the movies, the TV programmes with the doors that went 'swish', the devices into which 'beam me up Scotty' was the most frequent and desperate request, the inscrutable and ever logical Mr Spock, the pessimistic doctor 'Bones' (pessimistic inspite of... Continue Reading →
What is THE most important thing you bring to your service of God/the church?
(This is also 'Church: Fractions and Factions Part 2') When we step forward and seek to serve God in some public way (make coffee, arrange flowers,lead prayers, preach, serve on PCC, lay leadership, ordained leadership) what do you might think might be THE most important qualities that you bring with you? Please stop reading and... Continue Reading →
A Manual for Heartache – Book Review
This is an extraordinarily good book. Practical and direct but overflowing with compassion Cathy Rentzebrink will gently talk you through how you can be kind to yourself when overwhelmed by grief. And she should know. Her 'back story' is of surviving a devastating and protracted loss which began in her teens when her brother, to... Continue Reading →
Reverse Contagion?
Earlier this week I anointed someone with oil. It's been a very long time since I've done that. Naturally I took appropriate precautions but as the person concerned was already in that fragile space somewhere between life and death, the risk to her of anything transmitted from me was out of all proportion with the risks she already... Continue Reading →
This is Who I’m talking about…
A 14-year-old boy called Walker whose heart is breaking prays and the next day Jesus turns up in his bedroom, long flowing robes, sandals and all. This short story/poem is absolutely amazing. The Jesus we meet is the Jesus I'd like everyone to meet. I often ask people to read one of the gospels to... Continue Reading →
‘Who do you say that I am?’ How do we know who we really are?
How do we hold ourselves together when we find we hear within ourselves competing voices some of which talk loudly and which appear to take us in opposing directions? Okay, so I don't mean 'hearing voices' in a bad way. I simply mean that all of us have different roles going on in our 'one... Continue Reading →
Managing your mind
Here is a second talk I did recently. This one is very practical: what to do with difficult feelings and whirling thoughts. https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/authentic-2018-managing-your-mind-sheila-bridge/id1359049384?i=1000406713333&mt=2 Here are the slides I refer to through the talk Look at the shape made by the intersect of your body, mind and spirit. This is a traditional image representing God the... Continue Reading →
Being a Beloved person
I'm just posting here a link to a talk I did back in March at the Activate Conference. If you want to listen to the talk you follow the link and it's on itunes but it's free. I was blown away by the generous response to this talk when I gave but maybe you had... Continue Reading →