Today’s reading from the Psalms is one of those that reflects on the restoration of the fortunes of the people, of Zion. Restoration is defined as the act or process of returning something to its earlier good condition or position, or to its owner. The picture depicts the cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris, currently undergoing…

Image:  Saint Matthew (c. 1611) by Peter Paul Rubens Talking to friends recently, somehow, we got onto the subject of a village church, a long way from here (not in Suffolk) where a scheme is being worked up to replace the ancient oak door with a modern glass one. The argument used in justification is that of…

Image Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. (Samuel H. Kress Collection;191.9.12) Reading : Philippians 2:5-11 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the…

We have lived in our house for just under 30 years. In that time, the bungalow opposite has had three occupants. The first was gardener of significant ability; the place was a picture, something flowering almost all the year round. She was continually pruning, planting and generally injecting love and enthusiasm in a way that…

On our recent holiday in The Lake District, we climbed Great Gable. The Westmorland Cairn at one side of the rocky summit of the mountain was a special place for my Grandparents and my aunts. Standing there overlooking Wasdale and, when the mist allowed, looking across to Scafell Pike I was reunited with past generations…

Today we remember Saint Bartholemew; one of the twelve Apostles known to us as Nathanael, he is reputed to have suffered the most barbaric death of all the martyrs, being flayed alive. Bartholemew’s ‘great crime’ was introducing the King of Armenia to Christianity. Now we think of him as the patron saint of tanners, tailors,…

I wonder how many times I have sat in meetings over the years…church, choir, school governors, work, and other things too. For someone who does not really like meetings it feels bizarre that they have been so much a part of life ever since I left school. That leads me to the next musing which…

A couple of weeks ago I had the wonderful experience of hearing a choir of 250 young people and supporting orchestra and soloists perform Elgar’s ‘Dream of Gerontius’ in Ely Cathedral. It was moving, not just because of the music but because of the effect of performance on young people, many of whom may not…

On my way out of Framlingham one recent Sunday morning, my mind on the service I was heading off to lead, I was brought back to the moment as I watched a dog, placidly on a lead, suddenly take off, pulling free from its unsuspecting walker to go in pursuit of another unsuspecting dog and…

Twenty years ago, we went for our first family holiday to the Lake District. We had always gone to the seaside before, but a change was needed, and we were anxious that the idea might backfire on us. In hindsight it was a huge success; this year we are all going to Cumbria together, accompanied…