Who all befriend the poor
In the weekly readings from the Bible, suggested by certain denominations of the Church, known as the Lectionary, we seem to have skipped a fair few passages from last week....
What about us
I have read a number of posts on social media recently which state that whatever that person believes means that they will go to Heaven; of course, if you don't...
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...
Is this ‘The Way’
Imagine a child sitting with Jesus. OK, ignoring the Disney-character image of 'blonde-haired blue-eyed' Jesus, just focus upon that image of the child sitting with Jesus. And then the disciples...
Legacy
When you started to learn to ride a bike, it was hard work pushing those legs to turn the wheels, to gain some speed. After a while, with longer legs,...
Relevancy of the Church today
As a royal psalm, Psalm 85 celebrates and explores the relationship between God and David, God’s covenant with David. It talks about the crowning of David and his sons, the high expectations...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Original Blessing
So we have a Pharisee and a tax collector( Luke 18:9-14). Whose side are you on currently? Which do you favour? Is it that we are taught to despise the...
What is love all about?
If there is one passage many people know about, it's 1 Corinthians 13: where it explains what love is all about. But it's isn't about romance but a telling off,...
Blue Angels
Why have a time reflecting upon Blue Angels when we are all gearing up for a wonderful #partytime? Well, for some, Christmas is a time when anniversaries appear on our...
TDOR 2021
This year we have worked collaboratively with the University of Glasgow, as well as the Iona Community, members of the Woodlands Methodist Church, included a special message of hope from...
Fine robes
This week, having just left Bartimaeus a few weeks ago, who is following everyone from Jericho to Jerusalem, we, too, are looking with fresh insight. What fresh perspective are we...
The Banner over me is love
On Valentine's Day we may seek to express that sign of love to another. Today that can be difficult, with lock down restrictions, we may not even be permitted to...
When they go low we go high
Jesus is being put on the ropes. He's upset the Chief Priests and Scribes with the disturbing the of the money-making ways of the Temple, he's described the Kingdom of...
Blue Christmas 2019
What if the Christmas celebrations are not 'for you' this year? The anniversary of a loved one passing on still brings tears, or that it is so difficult to keep...
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...
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...
Where to go? Walk on by?
I'm on holiday. The weather is fair, the people wonderful and the language very confusing. I have learnt the word pansement this year, as it has been useful to help...
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,...
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...
Where do we fit?
For some people they have lived in the valley all their life, for others they have moved every few years. When I left education it was expected that we should...
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...
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...
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...
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...
What is ‘end of life’ like?
"Does it hurt?" is a question I have recently heard. My generation might have considered our lives to last 3 score years and ten. Today, with an increasing proportion of...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...