Today’s thought for the day is brought to us by Rev Derek Grimshaw Many years ago, when I first started training as a Local Preacher, an older and wiser preacher advised me to try and avoid ever preaching on Trinity Sunday “it is the most challenging Sunday and I never offer an appointment on that…

I mentioned last week that I had been back to N.Ireland to visit family and friends. A couple of the people I met were friends from my previous church. We spent quite a long time catching up on each other’s news. I was horrified to learn that during Covid twenty-one members of the church had…

How do you choose cards for those you love? Do you go for the words or the picture?  Do you choose one that states the relationship you are to the recipient? Or do you pick the cheapest? I was studying the birthday cards I received recently. Thankfully, none had age numbers on. It struck me…

We have arrived in the season of Pentecost. What began as a record in the Acts of the Apostles continues still as the acts of the People of God, empowered by his Spirit. Sometimes, I think, we forget that faith itself is ours because of the Holy Spirit’s work; it cannot be forced by an…

This thought was first published in July 2022 Rabbi Jonathan Romain, leader of a Jewish congregation in the south of England, has been quoted as saying: “I’ve realised that ultimately what draws people to the synagogue is not God, but camaraderie.  What they want most is not promises of the afterlife, but warmth, kindness and…

When I sorted out my Mother’s things after she died over 10 years ago now I found a small spiral bound notebook.  It is a book of prayers my mother had written and I treasure it. Mum was the President of the Women’s Meeting (as it was called then) for about 6 years and the…