One Body
I am beginning to feel a bit discombobulated. Not because I am called Bob, but because of all that is happening around the world at this time. It seems that...
err, what happened
Awaking early, I stumbled to the kitchen, to grab a coffee and check up on the overnight election results. There was an expectation of good news, that joy would overcome...
Where does our faith stand with armour
Last week, we looked at what is purportedly Paul's letter from a Roman prison to the church in Ephesus. We considered that this may well have been written twenty or...
Why didn’t I see it coming
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DB6DLYJ3?ref_=pe_93986420_774957520 I’d like you to imagine a rock face. We are looking up towards the very top. If a rock were to fall over the edge, it would initially be...
The Treasure within
Having just moved recently, we can often, now be looking for a particular item. Yes, I know we packed it in one of the boxes, but since we have unpacked,...
The river flows onwards
As I ran over one of the bridges to track north-side to then cross south again at what's known colloquially as Squinty or the Clyde Arch (seen right), I noticed...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Funerals have been a-changing
When we contemplate the end for us we typically may think of cremation. But things have for a long time been a-changing. The first crematorium was legally allowed and opened...
Advent Sunday
Advent First Sunday This, 1 Thessalonians 3: 9-13, is probably the first New Testament letter to have been written. I considered 'letters of the alphabet' previously in Advent. Paul is...
Which is it to be?
What with the Olympics and life in general, it is very much 'be the best'. What can we attain, can we reach higher than the next person? In today's texts:...
What a community!
Within Scripture there's a community which is described in Acts 2 which is something we might want to emulate. They don't go to a church or a synagogue primarily as...
The Community Returning to Flourish (Part 2)
No disrespect to some locations, but we have been places where it's original claims didn't quite match up. For some today, the reason to leave is forced upon them/ I'm...
Liquid Church in a sip
Here is the concept of Liquid Church, in a nutshell, or 'in a sip' if you like. Nothing too detailed, just broad brush strokes, or a succession of sips to...
Beauty of the Margins
Have we had that opportunity to pause as we pass by some gardens? The beauty of the plants, their colour can draw our eye towards the centre of the flower...
Can we chat in Church?
OK, the sermon is dragging on a bit, and you've noticed something embarrassing with their tie, or jacket. Have you ever wanted to elbow the person next to you and...
Where’s God?
No, it's not a where's Wally post. Amidst this sunny weather, resembling some of the southern European holiday destinations - and with views of Yorkshire hills - this strange "unprecedented"...
Where is God to us, today?
So where is God?”
anecdotal
The people quietly averted their gaze and you could see their finger pointing upwards – as it was obvious.
“Really?”
Their finger retracted, their view remained averted.
Why can we struggle with the question “Where is God?”. We can theologise, use grand theological explanations which are beautiful, poetic, but may not really get that meaning across to others.
Heaven?
Yes, originally, God was perceived in reside in Heaven, above the dome. God was attended to … Read the remainder
It’s ‘we’ not ‘me’…
The very early church - possibly before they got to call themselves church*1 - had some really relevant ways to connect with each other. This is my paraphrase of Acts...
Churches are A-Zooming!
What might we be willing to change now, and as we, hopefully, move towards the relaxation of 'lockdown'? Where as previously ministers, pastors, call them what you will, were possibly...
Where do ‘we’ go from lockdown?
What are the things we need to learn from this lockdown situation? How do we support the return to normality? Currently our buildings are locked, people are not permitted to...
Living it not just talking it
This post was originally written prior to the #CoronaVirus Crisis. Hence consideration should be given to how we might consider this in the future, rather than in the here and...
What to consider – Liquid Church
So, if we are looking to reimagine Church, just what could we consider? Firstly, where and when we meet? The trappings of the past offer significant portals into the past,...
Church – a change?
We may soon be inundated with ideas on how to spend time whilst in self-isolation: be that knitting, praying, drawing or writing - even finding time to complete that 2000...
Can we look forward to more one-to-one contact?
Popped into Asda today to find people giving every one a wide berth but sharing stories as they inspected the hand sanitiser shelves, devoid of any container other than some...
Choppy water anyone?
I recall, back in 1989, flying from Mount Pleasant airport to the South Georgia as a navigator in the Hercules C-130 to drop airmail. As we descended into the bay...
Are we strangers?
I was listening to someone describe an aspect of their life in the past, of the struggles that had faced. They said that they had often passed by the church...
What could be so different?
When you step away from the 'normal' what do we expect to see? I go to a Church which, it would be fair to say, worships traditionally. How you might...
‘Do we wish to invest in a church-as-we-have-known-it?
Could Church be a verb, not a noun?(The word ‘ecclesia’, often translated to church in our Bibles, doesn’t mean a church building but an assembly, a meeting.) I have been...
New Years Resolutions
Have you thought of any New Year's Resolutions yet?...or reminded yourself of last year's resolutions! How we would go running and get fit!!?... For every half hour we run, we...
When is a Third Place a winner?
Where do we go to relax, to be free to say what we want to? Where could we all go to, to gather, to feel 'at home', to allow relationships...
What Christmas are you looking for this year?
It's Christmas time when the churches are bedecked with tinsel on Christmas Trees, oranges with cloves poking from every side and candles adorning, and a myriad of different Carol services...
TDOR 2019
"The Transgender Day of Remembrance seeks to highlight the losses we face due to anti-transgender bigotry and violence. With so many seeking to erase transgender people - sometimes in the...
Administration…Liquidation…what’s next for the church?
If administration is the process for a company to escape insolvency, and if that were to fail, liquidation is the ending of a company, the selling off of any assets...
What’s next for the Methodist Church?
On Saturday 19th October, 250+ members of the Methodist Church travelled to Westminster Church House, adjacent to the Houses of Parliament, to consult on the latest policy document from the...
Our Echo Chamber : Who hears us, can we silence ourselves?
Have you ever been in a cave or a tunnel and tried to shout out and then hear the echoes? We hear the reverberations of our voice, perhaps not so...
Which glasses to choose?
Once some animals went to Heaven. The Golden Labrador asked God if it could sit on his left side, to keep him company. The Alsatian asked God if it could...
When did Cheerful mean Hilarious?
Have you been to Baitings Reservoir? I have mentioned it before: it’s my thin place, where I am so close to God. I love the water lapping at the edges...
Sharing what’s important
I used to grow my own vegetables. It was really good to come home, tend to the weeding - normally competing with the brassicas - and water/feed the hopeful seedlings....
CND – 4 August 2019
Today we mark yet another anniversary, the 74th, of the Little Boy nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima on 6th August 1945; one that brings great sadness, that still today we...
Do we need a building anymore?
I have been struck recently by the tension facing the church today: does it focus upon buildings or the people? Financially, our buildings have become a significant issue for us...
What retail outlets could offer to church
How do you think we could reimagine church? In the past I have looked at the Apple flagship stores, wondered at their retail strategies and reflected how they could be...
Analysing John’s Gospel
Further to the analysis undertaken using the R function stylo() previously, I was interested in examining whether there was any information to be gained by looking at specifically the Gospel...
Going on Holiday?
As we possibly consider a ‘staycation’ or ‘vacation’ this Summer, I wonder how we see ourselves. The English are often known for grasping the finest intricacies of the foreign language,...
Easter 2019 : In or Out of the Church?
As we approach Palm Sunday, I start to feel that the journey through Lent is nearing its completion. We can see the end: I wonder if the disciples did? When...
Mother’s Day because we all have mothers….
It's that time of the year, well for the UK, just after Valentine's Day when we look to buy lots of cards, chocolates and flowers to celebrate our Mum. Yes,...
Ashing to Go?
The day after Shrove Tuesday (a la Pancake day) is Ash Wednesday. It seems that this is either noted in ecclesial circles with an Ash Wednesday Service including the Ashes...
Fasting: from what?
For some, as we approach the period of Lent, people can decide to fast, to abstain from food and/or drink – but why?
I want Lent .. to affect not only the next 40 days
but also the next 40 years
Rachel Held-Evans
In my younger days (!) I have given up chocolate, sweets and/or alcohol. But now I look back and wonder to what benefit, and to whom? Therefore, in our second meeting of the Faith group, 
where we … Read the remainder
Faith frozen
When you mention the word church, what do you notice? I wonder whether people have a specific view, a certain perspective born from many year's of understanding. This 'wisdom' may...
Todmorden Faith : Same Sex Marriage
Welcome to the first meeting of the monthly 'Faith' group where we look to establish a way to become an even stronger community in Todmorden, willing to engage constructively with...
Death Café
What a liberating time! To talk openly about death, those issues which are generally taboo. How times have changed. Why are we so reticent to talk about death? Here are...
TDOR2018
It has been a week or so since the Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR). It was a surreal moment – not really because it was bizarre but due to the beauty and serenity of the service.
We drew the words used for the service from Susan Gilchrist’s wonderful post on the Corrymeela website . We used the 2017 version but we adapted it to help with the expected congregation. We had spoken with some people from the LGBTQIA community: some … Read the remainder
Spies
If you were a spy, what information might you be looking to gain, to bring back? Who would you be delivering that information to? How might you gain that information?...
Redefining Church for today?
I read this Tweet yesterday : "When did we see you at the border and turn you away?" And Jesus said, "Whatever you did to the thousands of Guatemalan men,...
Bums on seats?
On 28th October 312 Christendom was born. That battle between Constantine 1 and Maxentius saw the former seeing a vision of a cross of light and the words “in this...
How do we all ‘fit’ in a Church Without Walls?
It's been a month now. A month into active ministry, whatever exactly that means, where as a Minister I look to support and facilitate faith in a beautiful town in...
For my friends setting out in ministry
This blog has really engaged me, positively, as I prepare for ministry myself. It contains wise words, from the other side, from within ministry and it speaks back to those...
On a journey
I recall one trek from my youth, where it was a constant slog of 'up and down dale' albeit we were no where near Derbyshire or Yorkshire, we ended up...
Feeding the 5000
Come with me to a quiet place and get some rest I saw so many people coming towards us. Thousands descended the hill, like ants, apparently changing the texture of...
Pride afterthoughts
It was an incredible day, one we will remember for a long, long time. We go to Pride each year to celebrate the diversity in people’s lives, to show that...
London Pride 2018
Someone turned up the heat, added an alternative such as #SweEng and STILL the people, possibly a million, thronged London's streets to celebrate humanities diversity...and with so much joy. Here...
What can change in 2 years?
I have come to the end of my time at The Queen's Foundation in Birmingham. To explain, this is the college where Methodists receive pre-ordination training prior to being sent...
Prayers for Others
I invite you to focus upon the Communion Table. It's construction appears strong. The grain of the wood flows in similar lines, although some lines waiver, even going around in...
Mustard Seed or the Coconut – Making Disciples
In this Chapter within the Gospel of Mark we will have already been aware of the Parable of the Sower and whether we should keep a light under a basket...
Foot Washing?
We don't often wash feet these days, it's just not the done thing. It is too personal, in people's personal space. I invite you to accompany me to a busy...
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...
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...