Our Ts and Cs
I was researching how to reduce my electricity bill - who isn't? I went to various online forums to discuss the various ways people had used and was often...
James V
In our short time looking at this book of James, we might have rediscovered a desire to examine not just the words on the page, but the deeper context of...
How do you trust in God
I hear this a lot when I struggle with one of life's many events. "Just trust in God" they say, highly suggestive that I don't in some way. So, what...
When does this journey end
Working through addiction is a long journey. The adage says "no one said it would be easy", and no one gave timeframe to be recovered. In our spiritual life, no...
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...
Honest Open Prayers – can we go large?
What is this? The weeping prophet? Where’s their inner strength? They are certainly not a happy chappy are they? I am talking about Jeremiah from his wailing in Jerm 8:18-9:1....
What is prayer about?
"God does not exist to answer our prayers, but by our prayers we come to discern the mind of God."Oswald Chambers In Luke 11:1-13 Jesus teaches the disciples the "Lord's...
Convocation
Do you find meetings, especially large ones, life draining or life affirming? What is it? The action of calling people together for a large formal assembly, yes that’s what a...
Who doesn’t like a bit of milk and honey?
Last week we were up a mountain, but as we have entered into Lent, today we will hear of the start of a journey: for those coming out of exile,...
Why is God on Mute?
Welcome to this last of the four short sessions exploring prayer. So we can pray wherever whenever; we can imagine even re-imagine scenes within Bible passages or contexts in our life...
Looking back
There's an adage don't look back we aren't going that direction. That might be a good thing when regarding the Pandemic and seeking to return to normality but we want...
Where could we pray?
This is the first of four sessions in the Strathclyde Methodist Circuit exploring prayer. The first session focusses upon where and when can we pray, looking at the various places...
Unanswered Prayers – Why?
Wow, I feel this is an area which we are all experts but rarely do we speak about this. These sessions were designed to help our prayer life, where previously...
Lover or friend?
There are umpteen websites available to offer advice on how to say whether we have a lover or a friend. Human interaction is one of the most complex arenas, so...
Praying with our mind
This is our third session of this course, one in which we seek to move away from a litany of petitions, a series of demands for God to perform upon...
What size needles does God use?
God is a knitter, too, just like my grandma.Being Unravelled by Kari Martin, a superb and challenging blog post - really worth a read This week one of us said...
Prayer Exploration #1
We have started to explore prayer. We could spend longer in what we already deem to know as prayer or pause - as is the thing in Lent - and...
Hands together, eyes closed…
I always used to add "Don't forget to blow your nose"... The traditional form of prayer is one that is led from the front, but where today 'the front' is...
Transgender Day of Remembrance 2020
This has been a strange year, of the pandemic, of restrictions but also of a backlash towards those who identify as transgender or non-binary. Across the world, on this day,...
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"...
A-bun-dance
What did you think first? I was imagining such a myriad of cakes whizzing around having so much fun, more fun that they could imagine! How does this relate to...
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,...
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,...
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...
What is Yorkshire saying to us?
We have arrived in a market town in West Yorkshire: Lancashire bounds its western boundary and the River Calder and Rochdale Canal sweep through the town centre. The hills, mainly...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...