Earlier this summer I went with a group to visit Olney in Buckinghamshire, home of John Newton and William Cowper. Those two names have lasting associations with hymnody, Newton’s ‘Amazing Grace’ being one of the best-known hymn texts of all time. Hymns are evocative. People who never go near a church are likely to know…
Read: Revelation 3:1-6 By the time this is published I will have retired from fulltime work. I will be carrying on part time for a while but only on a very limited basis. I have dug out my old diary from 1981 and as far as I can see I left college on 3rd July,…
If you are familiar with Asian culture, you may know that in some countries the giving of gifts is an important part of business and social etiquette. When I travelled regularly to China, I never went without taking something to give my hosts and all-important interpreters. Likewise I never returned empty handed. Earlier this summer…
One last thought about the remains of our cherry tree. When the tree was felled, we decided to leave the main part of the trunk and some limbs as a place to secure bird feeders and on which to train something else. It took a few months to stop dithering between roses, honeysuckles and wisteria…
Read: Micah 6:1-8 If you find this reading fascinating insofar as God takes his people to court, you will find that I reflected in that in my Thought on 11th August 2022. (My Day in Court – The Methodist Church, Ipswich Circuit) (Page 107 of Thought for the Day). The passage culminates with one of…
Read: Zephaniah 3:14-20. Back in the winter someone kindly left a gift on our doorstep. It so happened that we were away for the weekend and the orchid in question spent more than 24 hours in the cold and rain. On our return the plant was rescued and put on a windowsill but shortly afterwards…
I cannot be alone in being amused by all the scandal surrounding the revelation that not all the ‘facts’ in the ‘true story’ set out in ‘The Salt Path’ are quite as factual and true as was thought originally. It is said that there is fabrication at the heart of Raynor Winn’s memoir. Of course…
Last night (as I write this) was the occasion of the annual school production by older children in the Primary School where I am a Governor. As I watched I thought about the privilege of supporting an event that encourages children but with whom I have no directly vested interest. All around in the auditorium…
Just over a year ago I wrote about the end of an era as our cherry tree had to be felled because it was diseased. I was upset then but did not anticipate the unintended consequence of there being more sunlight and space for the buddleia beside and beneath it. With the shade gone what…
Read Acts 6:7-16 When I was growing up in church at home, somehow, we never sang John Mason’s magnificent hymn, ‘how shall I sing that majesty.’ (Singing the Faith 53). The first time I ever heard it was on a recording of a songs of praise service where it was sung by a large congregation…