I’ve made a bag! But it’s not just any old bag. It’s a bag full of memories. Memories of the time spent with our Minister over 7 years.Rev Diane Smith retires today after 7 years of ministry in the Ipswich Circuit, working with 4 churches & the Dock Chaplaincy (which have been embroidered on the…
How forgiveness works by Jonathan Baker Grove Books, 1995 (Grove Spirituality series, 53) 24 pages £3.95 ISBN 978 1 851 742 913 The beauty and attractiveness of Grove Books is that they cover big subjects in a short span. This one, dealing with forgiveness, is no exception. In just 24 pages, Jonathan Baker…
Hebrews 12:1 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” The 2020 Olympics in Tokyo are in full swing as I write this. They…
How many people have heard of Jabez? It’s not a name that immediately springs to mind, but he has a very simple prayer that can be found in the book of Chronicles. The early chapters of Chronicles appears to be a list of the various clans from Adam to Abraham, and then suddenly this short…
But there are walls that keep us all divided;we fence each other in with hate and war.Fear is the bricks-and-mortar of our prison,our pride of self the prison coat we wear. Fred Kaan (1929-2009) translated from the Swedish of Anders Frostenson (1906-2006)English translation © 1974 Stainer & Bell Ltd. Hallin Fell is not a significant Wainwright…
This weeks 10 minute service includes a reflection on Ephesians 1:18 and we sing Open the eyes of my heart Lord
Every year the new Methodist Church President and Vice-President select a theme for their year. This year it is “God’s Table – An Invitation for All”. I remember in 2000 Rev Inderjit Bhogal was President and he had a similar theme of God’s Table. One of the things about Methodism is the way we always…
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B 1st August 2021. Lectionary Readings: Exodus 16 v2-4, 9-15; Psalm 78 v23-29; Ephesians 4 v1-16; John 6 v24-35. God’s response to our hunger. The people complain to Moses, their leader (and God’s representative), that they have been rescued from slavery in Egypt, only to starve in…
Golden Eagles, whilst in mid-flight, will suddenly began spiralling upward. With their powerful wings the great bird’s soar ever higher, dissolving into a tiny dot and then disappearing. Their flight could remind you of Isaiah’s uplifting words: “Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who…
And God changed his mind because his people prayedby Brother Andrew and Susan De Vore Williams Marshall Pickering, 1991 191 pages ISBN 978 0 551 023 864 ‘A challenge to fatalism’ is how the publishers describe this work by Brother Andrew, best known for his work smuggling Bibles behind the Iron Curtain where Christians…