Reflections

Would It Be OK if I Just Listened? This reflection comes from a powerful memory of long ago. I wasn’t in the best place at the time, and my friend, knowing this, sought me out and just sat beside me. For about 2 hours, nothing was said. Nope, not one word. Which was peculiar because...Continue reading→

When God Makes You Laugh. There are parallels between the story of Sarah in our first lesson today and the story of the Blessed Virgin Mary. They are both about God doing the impossible for His people. They are also mirror images of each other. One is about a young girl, the other about an...Continue reading→

In Praise of the God who Prods us. In today’s readings, we have God giving two people a bit of a prod. Abraham and Matthew are nudged out of their comfort zones and asked to go somewhere else, do something else and BE someone else. To take up new tasks and different work. The Almighty...Continue reading→

The Parable of the Archer’s Target. Far too often, I have found myself distracted by ‘other’ things that I thought were absolutely vital and essential to the church of God. The sad reality is that they were not. They were petty distractions, and to my shame, I wasted far too much time and energy flirting,...Continue reading→

What’s a LIG? Last time I went to confession, it was just before Christmass. To my great comfort and joy, I discovered not a squeaky clean plaster saint, but a shabby sinner just like myself. Fancy that! Someone who had faced the same delectable tempting scenarios and made the same mistakes as I had. Who’d...Continue reading→

What’s a ‘Synod’? At our Parish Annual Meeting this year, we will be required to elect 4 Synod representatives and 2 supplementaries. A Synod only meets once a year on a Friday night and Saturday, usually in late October. The people go once a year for three years. So time-wise, it’s not a huge commitment....Continue reading→

A Man attended the Outpatients Clinic at a leading Hospital, arriving at 1:15 pm for a 1:30 pm appointment. He checks in at the reception and is told to sit in area C, and he will be called. At 2: 15 pm, he enquires and is told things are a bit behind. Ultimately, at 5:30...Continue reading→

This is not what we were expecting! Often, I have tried to imagine myself as one of those frightened disciples locked up in that upper room. Where not much is said, but simply being together and wanting to be together says it all. What is the next move? What do we do now? Go back...Continue reading→

Our Interconnectedness Should be our Strength. As I’m writing this, the war in Iran is raging, as are the tempers of some world leaders. It’s not pretty, it’s not pleasant, and it’s not new. The war in the Middle East has been going on for some time now, and someone who is far cleverer than...Continue reading→

17/5/26 I Believe in the Communion of Saints. This homily has been given to me over the years by several people. They were unaware of this treasure, but this just makes their gift all the more generous. They did not seek any recompense or reward. This homily is about several people, and yet no one...Continue reading→

Windows into Motherhood. 10 May 2026 Today, in the secular calendar, it is Mother's Day. It will come as no surprise to you that I have absolutely no idea what it is like to be a Mother. I have never known and will never know what it is like to sense those first flutterings of...Continue reading→

Would it be OK if I said … “ I’m sorry ” On Anzac Day, I am always moved. I’m not sure if it's the bugler, the hundreds who turn out, or the minutes' silence, but all of it stirs me in ways that are profound and indescribable. But war must always disappoint us. Retribution,...Continue reading→

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→