More than half-way through September now, it strikes me that it’s a month of transitions. The beginning of the Methodist and the School Year. New schools, new classes, new teachers, new friends, new activities. A new season – the Fall (of the leaf) as opposed to the Spring (of the leaf) or autumn as we…
Image: Saint Matthew (c. 1611) by Peter Paul Rubens Talking to friends recently, somehow, we got onto the subject of a village church, a long way from here (not in Suffolk) where a scheme is being worked up to replace the ancient oak door with a modern glass one. The argument used in justification is that of…
Suffolk Historic Church Trust is 50 years old, 1973 -2023. To celebrate a service was held at St Edmundsbury Cathedral Sunday 17th September which I was privileged to attend. 400 reps attended from 60% of churches. In 1973 the Duke of Grafton gained support for a new body to help with restoration & upkeep of…
This week, our 10 minute service reflects on John 21:15-19.
For my daily Bible reading, I prefer a short Bible passage as I find it easier to remember. Occasionally, I am confronted with a much longer passage as occurred recently when I was directed to 39 verses from Daniel chapter 4. Having read through the Bible on at least three occasions, I am always surprised…
Last week I was out in my garden tidying up – weeding and lawn-mowing amongst other things. I cam across this tiny oak tree sapling that was growing in the middle of the lawn. When I pulled it up, it still had the acorn shell attached and a long tap root, that had been attempting…
25th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A 24th September 2023. Lectionary Readings: Jonah 3 v10-4 v11; Psalm 105 v1-6, 37-45; Philippians 1 v21-30; Matthew 20 v1-16. Just to turn things on their head, I am starting with some questions for you to ponder:- The Nature of Love Love is only true to itself when it…
I recently pulled into a pay and display car park, it was a busy day, the car park was fairly full and there was a long queue for the pay and display machine. My daughter rang me while I was standing in the queue and I started the process of obtaining my ticket, conscious of…
A few days ago when I was visiting a close friend who is quite ill, I met her daughter’s dog for the first time. She is quite a character and certainly makes her presence felt. When she was a pup she broke one of her front legs and it didn’t heal properly so after a while…
Today we remember the Battle of Britain. It was a turning point in WW2. If the RAF hadn’t held off the Luftwaffe, Hitler would likely have moved on with Operation Sea lion land invasion of the British Isles. Who’s to say what would have happened then? Britons would have been devastated and the move to…