Detail from a window in the parish church of SS Mary and Lambert, Stonham Aspal, Suffolk, with stained glass representing St Mark the Evangelist Today is the feast day of Saint Mark the Evangelist. The reason for the date, according to Wikipedia, is that, ‘He is the founder of the church in Alexandria, Egypt. It is believed that…

Today’s reading from Romans 6:1-14 asks the question, ‘Shall we go on sinning, so that grace may increase?’. Saint Paul answers the rhetorical question with a resounding ‘no’, going on to explain that that God’s call is to something altogether different. On a long train journey recently I was in the same carriage as a…

In the Bible, God asked Cain the whereabouts of his brother Abel, whom he had murdered. Cain’s brush off response was, ‘I don’t know, am I my brother’s keeper?’” (Genesis 4:9). John Ferguson wrote a hymn (Rejoice and Sing 609) that opens with Cain’s question. It deals with Cain in the first verse, with Pontius…

Life can seem very complicated. There are so many things to understand and cope with that we long for simple pleasures and quiet places. How simple it must be as a sheep (see picture). But so we really mean that? I had a birthday recently; I am not sure about you, but I have one…

Recently I have read many articles and letters in my daily newspaper about the state of the mental health of the population of the United Kingdom. There are wide ranging views on the subject, a lot of them well informed but diverse in their conclusions. I wonder if we are talking ourselves into a worse…

Today’s reading from Jeremiah 30 begins, (v18) “I will restore the fortunes of Jacob’s tents and have compassion on his dwellings; the city will be rebuilt on her ruins, and the palace will stand in its proper place.” Whenever any sort of event damages or destroys created structures, the decision must be made whether to…

It takes courage to speak in public. Some people become nervous, even in small gatherings, even among friends. This nervousness is often driven by a lack of certainty in what we are saying, to develop an opinion by thinking aloud makes us vulnerable. I am writing this on the day of the funeral, in a…

War memorials are always hard places for me. When there are a lot of names the feeling grows; I cannot but feel for all the different families and how it would have felt as the loss linked with every name was realised. In 1953 there was a massacre on the island of Sao Tome, which…

When I was young, I remember my parents watching a mysterious TV drama called the Forsyte Saga. On checking, I see that the series was a 1967 BBC release, so it is no small wonder that I was a little young for it. Recently I have been listening to the trilogy as recorded books while…

We travelled recently to the African island nation of Sao Tome and Principe. To go on holiday somewhere that most people have never heard of, let alone found on a map is a fantastic privilege and humbling as well. More of that in weeks to come, sorry. Today’s reading is Isaiah 60:1-7, a passage about…