News (Page 289)

The Meeting of the Waters

From a Poem by Thomas Moors When we visited family in Southern Ireland a few years ago, we visited thevillage of Avoca which is where Ballykissangel was filmed. You can still see thepub, church and many other places which were in the television programmeand, in fact, it is now a tourist attraction. Just outside the…

A tree of blessing

In his book “A Priest to the Temple”  George Herbert is saddened that so few people greet each other or say goodbye with a blessing.  In his letters, Paul is consistently blessing the people he writes to and urges them to bless each other.  When did you last bless someone? Considering our garden, I come…

Lectionary reflections for Sunday 6th September 2020

23rd Sunday on Ordinary Time        Year A                                                6th September 2020 Lectionary Readings Ezekiel 33 v 7-11                    Ezekiel is appointed to ‘stand watch’ for the people of Israel. Romans 13 v 8-14                  Love is all that the Law demands. Matthew 18 v 15-20               When someone sins. ‘Standing Watch’ over the flow of God’s…

“oh that snake”

I always liked to see what the Sunday School pupils had put on to the notice board. Looking at one on a Church I was visiting I gathered that the children had been asked to draw their favourite Bible Character. All of those that you would suspect were there, Peter, Mary, Paul and so on…

Dipping a toe

Some Churches have been dipping a toe in the water over the last few weeks to re-imagine what Church might look like in the coming weeks and over the next few weeks increasing numbers of Churches are opening with a variety of different expressions of what Church might look like.  I have spoken to several…

Breaking and Mending – No 2

Some of you who read my previous piece, Breaking and Mending 1, may be thinking that what I wrote was too simplistic and naive. After all, if someone is ill physically or mentally, or broken in some way, and medical support has not been of much benefit, then putting your faith or trust in someone…

Lectionary reflections for Sunday 30th August 2020

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time        Year A                                                             30th August 2020. Lectionary readings Jeremiah 15 v15-21               Jeremiah complains and God replies. Romans 12 v9-21                   Rules for Christian Living. Matthew 16 v21-28                Jesus speaks about his suffering and death. “Stop talking like a fool” and “Think like God” (or Straight and Crooked Thinking explained…