What do you expect?
Think of a family attending church today. What might they expect or wish? What might they actually experience - not what we might feel but a newcomer? The congregations might...
is this Christmas?
We have, perhaps, heard in the carols this Christmas time of the old, old story. The story we have heard so many times. Of the journey to Bethlehem, of the...
Punktokos anyone?
In the New Testament, Mary’s real name is Miriam which literally means “their rebellion.” The Romans had overthrown the local rulers, put in place their own puppet rulers, and often the troops from Syrian...
Counter Cultural
If John was a hairy chap, purportedly eating an odd diet of locusts and honey, can we also be counter-cultural this year as we prepare for Christmas? Where are we?...
Who doesn’t like a story?
At our Death Cafe today we spoke of life beyond today. We considered, whilst eating coffin shaped biscuits - why not? - what some might call their bucket list. We...
Wot no Christmas story!
When we celebrate Christmas, we might not use the term Advent very often, but we might acknowledge it as a time awaiting the 'big day'. For some, Advent is that...
Breaking into that passive queue
Do you recall that twee picture of you at School? You were all put in order and, one at a time, you stood in front of a board with a...
What exactly is a King?
Welcome to Christ the King Sunday. What exactly does that mean - do we get cake? Should we be celebrating something, a bit prior to Christmas? At the end of...
Economics not Talents
Jesus spoke about relatable situations, so that he didn’t talk over the heads of those around him. They connected. He translated his understanding of God contextually to connect with others....
Are memories so valuable?
At The Death Cafe today, we spoke of our thoughts following last Saturday and Sunday, the Armistice and Remembrance Day respectively. Well, it was for the UK, but what about...
Lest we forget yesterday
It's been a strange weekend. Some might have deemed it Remembrance Weekend, as both Armistice day and Remembrance Sunday were over the one weekend. Should the boundaries blur? Has our...
Remembrance Sunday…again
It's that day again. That day when we recall, with pomp, with pride, the loss of so many lives over so many wars, and repeat "lest we forget" - but...
Keeping it real when all around you
This is quite a confrontation with an increasingly bitter conflict. It could be Prime Minister's Questions but I'm reading from Matthew 23:1-12, a 'debate' between the synagogue where the author...
Choices: political or spiritual?
Well our land is currently concerned with ULEZ (or LEZ for those in Glasgow), whether all genders are allowed in a hospital, shall we have 20mph speed limits and (is...
Currency
In recent weeks we have had the political conferences from the Conservatives, SNP, Labour and Liberals. We have also acutely aware of the travesties of war, resulting from extremist views;...
Which one sounds like the God you may know?
We are looking at two passages this week: both relate to the same scene but are vastly different. Both speak of the Kingdom of God, but one represents God as...
EASEing into Death
This has been a week of death cafes, and it's not even Halloween or our annual time of Remembrance. We met on the Tuesday to listen to a presentation from...
Why so much stress?
Had a super stressful morning. The mobile phone wouldn't switch on, for the fourth time. That feeling of being disconnected, unable to contact others. What to do? Why so much...
10 what
In Exodus and Deuteronomy we have what's known as the Ten Commandments but they are not... So, they are the 10 what? No, they are called the Decalogue. Think of...
Rearranging the stones
There is a phrase “We say that we are going to work in the ‘vineyard’, but instead of harvesting the grapes we spend our time rearranging the stones along the...
How much are they worth?
Have you ever been to a cafe and winced then looking at cost of the items on the menu? How can they charge that much for a sandwich? You could...
Should the Church follow Anonymous?
Have you heard of the various Anonymous support groups that are across the world, facilitating the needs of alcoholics, narcotics, gamblers and overeaters? They have frameworks that support those who...
What just happened?
When there is an incident, witnesses are gathered and evidence gleaned. Occasionally those accounts differ but why? Do we recall the story when the Israelites were escaping Egypt and they...
The last breath
What might you expect if you were to attend a death cafe? Our death cafe today started with a joke about a mother-in-law, who had been on holiday in the...
Flipping Conflict
There will be no further mention of the humble isosceles, nor its colleague, the scalene triangle. Neither will its proper relative, the right angled triangle. But triangles are used in...
Evacuation Plan
In recent weeks we have seen plans for evacuating Greek islands and Maui in Hawaii. It makes obvious sense to have a plan, albeit some might question the implementation of...
Church is archaic
Often we may have heard a biblical passage and thought, what relevance has this for me? Especially today. In fact, the relevance of church is questioned by many in society....
Walk the walk as well as talk the talk
We often hear of disasters on the radio or see them on the TV or on our social media devices. We hear of them nigh on instantly these days. We...
Storm in our teacup
Why did the disciples cross the sea? No, it is not a prelude to the joke about why the chicken crossed the road, but the answer “to get to the...
Death Cleaning
The Swedish term "döstädning" means 'death cleaning'. Before you prepare the swabs and disinfectant, it is more about the graceful art of decluttering the house...before someone else needs to do...
Privatised faith isn’t publicly owned
Death of TV I recall hearing a clip from a TV programme about the future of television. "Linear television will die" said the commentator. What did they mean ‘ linear...
Keep it real
Do you know Psalm 23? Albeit written 1000 BC, it is still so familiar to many. But do we let the words to flow by us, mutter them at a...
Hope when facing death
The death of George Alagiah, the BBC newsreader and journalist, made front page headlines, whilst also receiving emotional coverage across the main media broadcasts. But in the words from this...
Tell the difference
In the middle of Matthew 13 we have the start of the 'Kingdom of Heaven is like' passages. This is how God can be seen or how the 'church' might...
Should we compare?
When we start to listen to the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:1-23), we are already perhaps moving onto the answer. Jesus is at the seaside, when a crowd joins...
Who wants a lighter yoke?
You know when people have three pictures hung on a wall, I think they call out a tryptic. It looks great, despite it being disjointed. Well, this week's passage is...
Want a cuppa?
All we need to do is to welcome others... such a simple message but recall that the preceding verses speak of a message from Jesus - as shown on the...
What does a ‘good death’ mean for a church?
We might possibly engage in a discussion about what is a good death for an individual, but a church? In Paula Gooder's book called 'Heaven', she explains that in the...
Stand up for me against world opinion
Do you enjoy politics? You might have seen or heard Prime Minister’s Questions, or how to not answer any questions but give your particular relevant soundbite, and so on. It...
A ‘Good Death’?
<Trigger alert: this post deals with the history of society considering assisted suicide - please be careful with your own wellbeing. Call the Samaritans on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org...
Truth Be Told
This passage is about Matthew or Levi the tax collector. Jesus has not been slack and has now amassed his disciples. But this is not a club but a community...
How is will doing?
When at the Death Cafe, we might wonder about whether cremation or burial is the 'way to go', but the legal stuff also might make us worried. So what's the...
Belief or how we live
In the Gospels there is a sort of hierarchy. Not of precedence or importance but of history - which one was written first. We have Mark's Gospel which scholars believe...
Doubt
“This is Trinity Sunday, but society doesn’t care really. This is Trinity Sunday, but it doesn’t pay the bills. "But, this is Trinity Sunday," is states on the Plan. Even...
Pentecost : Who is in?
We have people meeting in one place, it’s Pentecost, 50 days after Passover. It’s a house (Acts 2:2) – too early for a church perhaps. Would they have said synagogue...
Who are riding those horses now?
Where have we been on our journey within Revelation? I wonder where those horses have gone? Who are riding those horses now? Those four horses are riding amongst us, and...
Beasts and whatnots
We have had the seven churches, last week it was the seven angels with their trumpets; and we only at week 3 of our exploration of Revelation. I thought angels...
When death is merely a comma
As I sat at a bedside of someone in their last days, we were listening to some classical music. I sat bathed in the music that she so loved. I...
Unlocking what?
It's odd that in recent weeks we have considered the disciples being in a locked room. Locked for fear of the Jews - for that please read certain Jewish leaders...
The questions will never stop
When we start to talk about death and dying, there are so many questions. Perhaps, once we start to engage with death in a positive way, the questions will never...
Is Revelation a blueprint?
Have you heard of the Book of Revelation? Well, may be aware of it but seldom is it unread or unpacked. I’d like to start with a quote from Luke...
Death Cafe
What might be the reason behind a death cafe? What questions might be asked? Does it have any humour? Our next one is at Pollokshaws G431LH on Tuesday 9th May...
What is the door for?
That door, at the front of Church: what is it for? It has a lock on it: why? It is an interesting question as it asks whether the door is...
On a road to nowhere
It's Easter Day - well, it is in our story today. You'd have thought we would have moved on a week or so. Last week, we were recapping how the...
A two-way swing bridge
This is so different to the Easter message of last week. We celebrate Easter with eggs, daffodils, cheers and songs of praise, and don't forget those wonderful Marmite flavoured Hot...
Our Tomb
How does Resurrection: our rising, our flourishing, Easter, apply to us today? What is perhaps hidden? John’s Gospel has been all about Darkness and Light. Lazarus returning to life from...
Holy Wednesday
Our focus this Holy week is Bread for the Hungry, Bread for the Weary. After the Pandemic, amidst the cost of living crisis, we sure are weary. With competing crisis’...
This brings so many questions
Yet another Palm Sunday approaches. We seek to experience what it might be like for Jesus as he enters the hallowed city of Jerusalem, and what it says to us...
Beyond the Cremation?
Sanctuary There is one way which we can decide 'how to go'. Yes, there is burial - both in a coffin or natural; there is aquamation or terramation - neither...
Who rolled our stone away
Lazarus is ill. Hey, who is Lazarus? Lazarus is the one whom Jesus loved. It says more than a handful of times. Don't we know that John’s Gospel denotes the...
What did we see?
Today's story relates to a blind beggar, or does it? Yes, they are a principal character but possibly we are drawn to them for another reason, a deeper reasoning. What...
Misogyny reversed?
On our Lenten journey this year we have encountered an unfaltering relationship with God, a night time misunderstanding with Nicodemus, and now we are back into the heat and blinding...
Why do that?
Chester - Greenway Often, especially around the start of the New Year, we may set ourselves a target of getting fit. This might involve going to the gym or taking...
The secret believer
We have met Nicodemus many times before. We have a Pharisee, a Jewish leader, who is struggling with his faith. He meets with Jesus in the dark. That’s purposefully stated...
What are we not seeing?
You know when you watch a TV programme and think you have seen it all, but then you notice something very different? It is the character on the left of...
Enlightened
Our passage (Matthew 17:1-8) could be describing Jesus being transformed from the ordinary to the divine. Or was Jesus always divine or just enlightened? Early Journeys of Jesus As one...
A life size Cow
Not this large though... When people celebrate the life of a loved one, we may wish for a visible sign. We heard today of a motorbike laying next to the...
Is it one or the other or even more?
Don’t blame women for what they wear. In the news recently we may have heard of the ongoing debate on HS2, and whether it might ever make it to Scotland,...
Terramation is natural
What is so toxic about the dead that we desire such separation? Where there was life, it goes on. Here, we might see what composting actually means. Human composting, also...
A simple 1-2-3 diary
Often we fill our diary, it might be difficult to find any 'free' time. But does it actually help us? Our diary is one that defines our day but does...
Light the world
Do you recall when you used a piece of glass to focus a beam of light onto a creature make a rainbow on the ground? It seemed to amazing that...
hcruhC
Can Church really be turned completely around? What might it really look like, as our perspective may be biased with 20+ years of attending our own Church. In that time...
Attitude or our identity
'Life of Brian' This week we are looking at a famous passage, where Jesus is on a hill speaking to a multitude of people, where the only negative comment in...
What wakes you up
Synoptic Gospels - not John What’s our wake up call? What are you like when the alarm goes off? Is it immediately jumping out of bed, and if you are...
Organ Renewed
As they always say: a church organ never dies, and on that note... Well, perhaps they don't say that very often, but it can be very difficult to scrap a...
Who are we one with?
In Paul's letter many letters to the Corinthians, and in particular 1 Cor 1:10-17, we hear of disputes between factions. But what is the context for this place called Corinth?...
Defection!
When a footballer or politician 'defects' to the other side, there is uproar. They have left all that is good and gone over to the dark side. There is booing...
Death Cafe 10 Jan 23
When you attend a meeting there is normally an agenda, something to look to agree upon. Today, everyone brought their own personal agenda, they sought to find understanding, perhaps a...
Who doesn’t like a dunkin’
Can you recall your baptism or christening? Historically it was to ensure that we were welcomed into the Church i.e. God before we died. Given life expectancy back then, getting...
What to expect at the Death Café
The skeleton is listening! Atmosphere If you are expecting a foreboding venue with spiders webs, open coffins and a bit of dampness thrown in, sorry to disappoint. How about a...
Spiritual dis-ease
When do we succumb? That slice of cake, a drink, a bet, getting into drugs or watching porn? I'm certainly not equating any of these but to eat that cake,...
Where are we going now?
It is not like we may be travelling afar. We have had such a spate of strikes recently that may might be reluctant to take the train, travel down the...