Methodist – A Movement
This week in the Church of England Synod there will be a discussion relating to this document: MISSION AND MINISTRY IN COVENANT. It provides some detail in how the Church...
Promises in the 21st Century
Every year the Methodist Church invites its congregations to reflect upon the Covenant Prayer. It is central to Methodists' devotion and discipleship, and their driver in working for social justice. In...
Reflection on Hope and Turtle Doves
Luke 2:22-40 This is a copy of my reflection given at Cambridge Road Methodist Church, Birmingham, on New Year's Eve 2017 Did you enjoy Christmas? Was it a time for...
Excellent blog by Jesus Without Baggage
Misguided claims on Christmas https://jesuswithoutbaggage.wordpress.com/2017/12/18/3-misguided-claims-of-attacks-on-christmas/
The day is over… How has Remembrance impacted you this year?
The two minute silence this morning brought the nation once again to reflect upon the Great War, the 2nd World War, Korea, Vietnam, Falklands, Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, Kuwait, Afghanistan...did I...
Sticks and Stones – Growing Up Transgender
A parent of a transgender child struggles as they read through the bile of comments on various media pages but still has hope. "I take a big breath, and leave...
End times & our End of Life
In the Hebrew Scriptures we talk occasionally, some more than others, about the end times (Book of Daniel 12:4). Those times when all will be well. Today I heard someone...
Are we really radically welcoming?
I want to paint a scenario: the church service is about a quarter of an hour in, you've had a hymn or two and some guests arrive to see the...
Parenting a Trans Child: Our Journey
Originally posted on 6/11/15 on outcomeonline.org.uk now here. Mandy & Bob are Methodists worshipping in a small rural church who have gone from being fundamentalist Christians to Christian LGBT activists....
That Conference…
Delighted to read that we are all on a journey, of discernment with our God. I continue to pray for those in and outside of the church who identify as...
Material Gain?
Often we are told to aspire to gain everything. At school, children are sometimes encouraged to strive for occupations which pay lots of money, for then we can find 'paradise'....
Pride 2017
With the superbly positive movements within the Church of England in the air* it was wonderful to be at Pride celebrating the opportunity for those in the LGBT community to...
Three letters…
The TLA was common in the military : the three letter abbreviation (TLA) overly populated the literature and vernacular. NFF, DNF and TBD are some I can instantly recall. We even...
Who should we vote for?
My parents spoke to me of their political views and I'm sure that I initially voted for a political party based upon their perspectives. Once in work my views were...
The Walk of Witness
Today, on Good Friday, across the country many churches have left their buildings and made a Walk of Witness through their town or city. This procession, this solemn walking service,...
Eggslackly
I recall once an egg given to our children by a lovely generous woman called Diane when we were on holiday abroad. It was a Hershey's Easter Cross. It wasn't...
The Call
When someone in authority calls you on the telephone and you hear the words "please come as soon as possible", what are your thoughts? We live 120 miles from the...
BBC sponsor vicious attack on transgender children
Post from another blog. This evening BBC2 broadcast a programme “Transgender kids: who knows best” ‘challenging the new orthodoxy that promotes affirmation (acceptance) of transgender children’. As a parent of...
Nativity – where are we in the scene?
Today many celebrate Jesus' birth. In some form of space-time continuum we may see both Jesus as a babe, with parents lovingly gazing at the crib, the Shepherds admiring the Christ-child and...
We Shall Not Forget
We shall not forget those who have fallen, those who have laid down their lives for others. They who have sacrificed their lives so that we might live. This image...
Pray as you Can
Are there days when we seem unable to pray? During this time of formation, as the Church calls it, I am trying to get into the habit (no, not that...
Worship like Apple
I entered the huge expanse of the Apple emporium on New Street, Birmingham. This airy environment with its wonderful architecture has an array of tables set out with various models...
Closure
We are surrounded by boxes: most sealed, some beckoning to us to be filled to capacity. Many more objects confront us as we enter rooms demanding that we do not...
Our Father
Asked to lead a Service with the Lectionary referring to the Lord's Prayer I felt that calling to meet with this text in a different manner. Here's my take. In Judaism...
Gay Pride 2016
We marched with many other Christians last year during the London Pride, aka Gay Pride. The Christians at Pride (CaP) group bring together Christians from so many different denominations and...
What do you think of this?
“And God is gay”: A new poem by Carol Duffy (Poet Laureate) in the wake of Orlando. This writer is gay, and the priest, in the old love of his...
Orlando
Many have commented about the tragedy of the mass killings in Orlando on Sunday morning. The sheer brutality and barbaric manner that someone could enter a LGBT club and mercilessly...
A dispersed monastic order in the 21st Century?
As a mathematician I enjoy looking at orders, to see whether they follow a prescribed pattern. Mathematics is merely a science to seek out a pattern, logical way of describing...
The start of the Journey
It's difficult to locate the source of a river. We can track across the land, looking hard for those signs where the water starts to emerge from the hill. Possibly...