I love scones. However, they must be the most controversial treats available. People can’t even decide how to pronounce them – is it scone to rhyme with ‘gone’ (favoured in Northern England, Scotland, Southern England, Home Counties and East Anglia) or scone to rhyme with ‘tone’ (Eastern Midlands, Ireland, Essex, Cornwall)? The source of the…
Psalm 63: 1 O God, You are my God, earnestly I seek You; My soul thirsts for You, my body longs for You, In a dry and weary land where there is no water. This verse has played over and over in my mind, as I have gradually watched the playground near my house turn…
This morning, I attended the first of four sessions I have signed up for to learn how to answer cryptic crossword clues. Every summer, I have promised myself that I would try to teach myself to do these puzzles. I have bought books to help me and books of puzzles that have two sets of…
Saturday afternoon I was in the kitchen pottering around and a smiley face appeared at the window – my four-year-old neighbour. Waving to him and looking out past him, I motioned to him to stay where he was as I made my way to the front door. We greeted each other and I scoured the…
Thinking about neighbours ……. The residents on the road on which our church is built have recently started up a Neighbourhood Watch Scheme which we have been invited to join. As well as traffic issues such as speeding and parking, the organisers seem keen to make it more like a community hub where we can…
At the end of last month, I attended the Religion and media Conference at Methodist Central Hall in Westminster. The keynote speech was given by the Archbishop of York on how religion is central to life and vital for rebuilding trust in the media. He said, ’We prize honesty, truth-telling, kindness, the importance of penitence…
No worries – it was news to me too: It’s ‘Don’t stand on a bee day.’ Be (!) pollinator aware. I would like to think that a church community is like a bee colony. Bees are critical for pollinating flowers allowing the production of fruit and seeds. Christians too, spread the Good News to others…
Have you got your new bins? What do you say when your stationary bin starts moving? BINGO! Probably like you I’ve bin looking into what needs to go into each one. I’ve watched videos of bottles being deep washed so they can be reused and plastic shredded and bundled up so that can be remoulded…
So, this week I’m thinking ‘feet’ – following and sharing. Walking in His way alongside others and bringing others with us. We need to be true disciples, confident in the good news before we can share with others – this is the very thing Jesus commanded us to do before He ascended and possibly the…
If the other weeks have emphasised using our voices and ears/heart, this week is about touch. So many of our people today never feel the touch of another. I appreciate that safeguarding is an important consideration, but it is sad that we are reticent to hold a hand or stroke a back or give a…