Reflections

Don’t Blame the Goat Once upon a time, more than 3,000 years ago, there was an ancient custom in which an unsuspecting goat would be captured and brought before the religious leader of the day. The locals having all told their grubbiest and most grimy faults to the clergy, it would then be the clerics'...Continue reading→

3 May 2026 God of the Unlikely - Hear Our Prayer. Usually, the first lesson at the Sunday Eucharist is normally from the Old Testament; during Eastertide, the first lesson is taken from the Acts of the Apostles. It’s the story of the early Church as reported by Luke, and we do this to enhance...Continue reading→

Of Headphones At Park-run and occasionally when I go around the lake by myself, some people use headphones. I have always assumed that the people who are wearing them are listening to music and that by some blue-toothy magic, their headphones are ‘feeding’ them inspirational noise to speed up their steps and quicken their heart...Continue reading→

26/4/26 Address 2 on Affirmation Today, I would like to offer a couple of examples of how others have affirmed me. Years after I was ordained, Bishop John Hazlewood Reflected that “I was like a little puppy dog falling all over itself in a rush to get to the altar.” His imagery of a little...Continue reading→

19/4/26  Of Affirmation. PART 1 of 2 I thought that I would start with a true story to show you what affirmation does not look like. I experienced ‘Non-affirmation’ frequently in college because  I was an overly sensitive, immature student at theological college. One of my tutors went to great lengths to point out my incompetence when they...Continue reading→

Step Inside Love … and stay In 1968, Cilla Black released a song, ‘Step Inside Love’. It’s about a woman who waits for her special friend to come and visit. When her friend leaves, she makes it very clear that she would like to see them again. In my mind’s eye, I can still ‘see’...Continue reading→

Easter 2. His Wounds are our Wounds. It was a very simple business card, and its simplicity is what made it so striking. There was no gloss on the card; there were pretty pictures or elegant curly whirly script. Just the person’s name, their role and some basic contact details. The absence of dizziness and...Continue reading→

Would it be OK if I said …. ‘I don’t know’? In the story about Adam and Eve, we have that rather delicious-looking fruit that didn’t turn out to be so palatable after all. I don’t think Adam and Eve ate it because they were hungry. Hec no, there was plenty of other fruit that...Continue reading→

Easter  4/4/26 The Rolled Away Stone - Proof of Life. There are three popular theories to explain the resurrection of the Master. First, that Jesus held his breath and stopped his heart long enough so that everyone thought he was dead, no stethoscopes or ECGS in those days. Then, when he was safely ensconced in the...Continue reading→

Softly and gently, dearly-ransom'd soul, In my most loving arms I now enfold thee, And, o'er the penal waters, as they roll, I poise thee, and I lower thee, and hold thee. And carefully I dip thee in the lake, And thou, without a sob or a resistance, Dost through the flood thy rapid passage...Continue reading→

Palm Sunday  - The Donkey During this Lent, we will be offering some homilies under the theme of ‘Instruments of resurrection’. We will discover that the most unlikely, commonplace, mundane things are instruments of resurrection. How clever that the master would use everyday, simple things to communicate and help us enter into the most profound mysteries....Continue reading→

Remember… On Ash Wednesday, we have a splendid custom where the ashes from last year’s Palm crosses are imprinted on our foreheads. You may have seen folk walking around with this grey smudge on their forehead and wondered what all the fuss was about. The words said while the ashes are being placed on the...Continue reading→

Everyone's an Expert/Ambassador Around the time Jeanine and I were considering a Parish exchange (2013), we were deluged with advice on a whole raft of subjects, which was the best time to fly, which airlines to fly with, who was grumpy at which border, which cities to avoid, which pub serves the best pint and...Continue reading→

Sunday March 22nd Lent 5 Vinegar During this Lent, we are offering some homilies under the theme of ‘Instruments of resurrection’. We are discovering that the most unlikely, commonplace, mundane things are actually instruments of resurrection. How clever that The Master would use everyday, simple things to communicate and help us enter into the most...Continue reading→

So this is what it’s all about! I found some words the other day that were helpful for me. For some, they might be too churchy, for others, the style will be familiar. For others… go gently with it and see where it might lead you. I use these words to conclude this little reflection...Continue reading→

Sunday March 15th Lent 4  15 March 2026 During this Lent, we will be offering some homilies under the theme of ‘Instruments of resurrection’. We are discovering that the most unlikely, commonplace, mundane things are instruments of resurrection. How clever that the master would use everyday, simple things to communicate and help us enter into the...Continue reading→

The Two Faces of ‘What If?’ They came to me with a bewildering tale of how they were lining up for a lifetime of ongoing tests. Each one is seemingly innocuous in and of itself, but any one could be life-changing. It wasn’t an easy way for this person to live, but that was their...Continue reading→

8/3/26  Lent 3  Instruments of Resurrection - The Lance. During this Lent, we are offering some homilies under the theme of ‘Instruments of resurrection’. We are beginning to discover that the most unlikely, commonplace, mundane things are actually instruments of resurrection. We discovered last week in our reflection on the hammer and nails that God...Continue reading→

Observe the rest Some time back Jeanine and I went to see the film. ‘The Choral’. It’s a charming movie and it involves a choir with all the sparkle and hard work that goes into making intoxicating music. There was a line in the film I remembered long after I walked out of the cinema....Continue reading→

Lent 2 1/3/26 Instruments of Resurrection: Hammer and nails During this Lent, we will be offering some homilies under the theme of ‘Instruments of resurrection’. We will discover that the most unlikely, commonplace, mundane things are instruments of resurrection. How clever that the master would use everyday, simple things to communicate and help us enter...Continue reading→