News (Page 143)

Shine Jesus Shine

Recently the Christmas lights were switched on in the centre of my home town, heralding the start of late-night shopping. If they accidentally get left on during the day, it takes a while to notice – until the electricity bill is received! But because during the day, we have light, the light from the decorations…

I Grew Up

How many times, I wonder, when on our holidays or out for walks in the country, do we stop and look at the alluring site of the babbling brook. Running water, stones, riverbank plants and trees and the buzzing of insects. Tranquil and lovely. Many years ago, a little willow sapling began its journey to…

Letting Stuff Go

What’s your approach to present wrapping: do you do it beautifully and neatly, to raise a sense of anticipation and show how much you care? Or do you do it reluctantly, at the last minute, with whatever wrapping paper the 24-hour garage down the road sells? Or do you give the present without any wrapping…

What can I give?

Sitting in our lounge listening to music, early one morning, and enjoying a break from news available on a variety of channels, my thoughts were disturbed by an advertisement from a mobile phone company.  Trying to entice listeners with an offer of a new phone it ended with the phrase, “And for only £39.99 per…

Which way is best?

I have been visiting a dear friend who has been in Ipswich hospital for some time, and each time I go, I wonder which is the best route from Elmsett to Ipswich hospital. What is the definition of best? Quickest? Shortest? Less traffic? My decision is often influenced by things like the time of day…

Lectionary Reflections – Sunday 3rd December 2023

First Sunday in Advent.       Year B                                                            3rd December 2023 Lectionary Readings Isaiah 64 v1-9             Rip the heavens apart! 1 Corinthians 1 v3-9             Signs of God at work. Mark 13 v24-27                     When the Son of Man appears. Signs and blessings. (The third?) Isaiah was writing after the return of the exiles from Babylon,…

The mystery of Jesus

One of the advantages of being a minister in the East Anglia Methodist District is that every other year we are gifted with a Minister’s Retreat. We go away together for about forty-eight hours, we learn together, we relax together, share fellowship, and eat together, and it is an opportunity to withdraw from our everyday…