News (Page 48)

Are you ready?

I was watching a TV programme recently that involved a young man who was involved in an accident. He had only been driving for a short period, and it appears that, travelling at about 65 mph, he had a tyre “blow out!” The car hit the central barrier, careered across the adjoining lane, clipped another…

Deafness

My husband has gone to have his hearing checked, as I write this piece. He is concerned that he does not pick up everything said to him. I wonder sometimes if he perhaps has “selective deafness”?!? My nephew was born with complete hearing loss on his left side. Unless he could see their face, he…

Lectionary Reflections – Sunday 19th October 2025

Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time                Year C                         19th October 2025 Lectionary readings: Genesis 32 v22-31; Psalm 121; 2 Timothy 3 v14-4 v5; Luke 18 v1-8. Present or Future? Luke recalls a story that Jesus told his disciples about a crooked judge and a persistent widow in order to illustrate how the disciples should keep…

Every Cloud…

It was quite a bitter pill to swallow having to come home from holiday on Saturday, 23rd August 2025, because my wife was in such pain with her legs. I know that makes me sound like a dreadful husband, but we had looked forward so much to spending a fortnight in our beloved Yorkshire, catching…

Is the same true of knowing you?

On Tuesday I was a Steward at a funeral of an elderly gentleman. He had been in the army for many years and it was a privilege to be present. In a tribute for his military service a bugler played The Last Post. I was standing right beside him and even though I have heard this played…

Untangled

In a recent prayer meeting, someone said ‘God isn’t a God of muddles’. That set me thinking.  In the creation story, God brought order out of chaos. Jesus’ mission was to ‘bring good news to the poor, proclaim liberty to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, set free the oppressed and announce that…

Family

Read: Matthew 12:46-50 While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my…

Faces?

Wesley hymns are not as popular as they used to be, but we tend to sing the favourites that have been absorbed into general use, and it is quite usual to have one at a funeral. As I grew up in a Methodist family and church I was used to some of the lesser known…

What does it matter?

As I look back over a long life. I recently recalled a few changes that have occurred in the church. In our late teens, my older brother and I attended an elders meeting, somewhat nervously, to ask if it would be possible for the church to purchase a piano to use for youth meetings. With…