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…

Last week we thought about praise and thanksgiving – noisy activities – using our mouth and vocal cords. Worship is quieter – it’s about our hearts – our attitude. Using our ears to listen to who God is and having that change our attitude. Working on us from the inside out. Proper worship proceeds service.…

It is good manners to start our praying with praise and thanksgiving. Praise to God for who He is and what He does in general and thanksgiving for what He does for us in particular. We praise Him for His greatness and thank Him for His goodness to us in particular. Both involve vocalising our…

Psalm 10:12 ‘Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up Thine hand, forget not the helpless.’ It always amazes me how relevant God’s Word is today, even though it was compiled centuries ago.  In this psalm, David shows himself to be a man who isn’t getting his ‘Why?’ questions answered. He trusts God completely but doesn’t…

I recently sent a congratulation card to a young friend who had just secured her first teaching job. Usually teaching vacancies come up after half term, but this school had got ahead of the game and interviewed early. I remembered when I had successfully got a teaching job on 24th April, for a September start and…

Pilgrimages have grown in popularity recently – maybe due to the annual Easter TV programme that follows seven celebrities over a couple of weeks as they walk a pilgrim route together exploring the chemistry between them and their relationship with their beliefs. The closest I’ve been to a pilgrimage was on Bank Holiday Monday this…

On 13th January we met at ITFC for a ‘Together For Ipswich’ meeting at which representatives from Ipswich churches and Christian groups get together to look at ways of working together across our town in the future. It’s a time of change and challenge as key figures have moved on and there are different emphases…

What do you think of when you think of May 4th?  Bank holiday?  Star Wars? Well, I was surprised to discover that 4th May is National Firefighters Day. St Florian (250-304 AD) was a commander in the Roman army in present day Austria, serving under the Emperor Diocletian. One of his responsibilities was the organisation of…

On Monday afternoon some of us from the circuit had a trip to the cinema to watch Ryan Gosling’s latest film ‘Project Hail Mary’. I’m not a great sci fi fan, but this is more of a film about camaraderie lightly hidden in a plot of pending inter galactic disaster. One isolated human having to…

Easter Sunday was a very yellow day for me.  As we travelled to church, we saw beautiful daffodils on the verges and also some delicate lemony primroses.  Inside the church, the different yellow and golden shades seemed to stand out in Easter banners and decorations. Fuzzy chicks and eggs again glowed yellow. I must just…