This morning, I travelled back from Norwich to London. There were some signal problems on the mainline, so I came back via Cambridge. I had a 1st class ticket (work-related travel!), and sat in this relatively spacious, comfortable area with just a couple of other people. The 1st class area had its own doors, so [...]
The psalm in yesterday’s Morning Prayer made me stop and think. Psalm 46:6 says: “The nations are in uproar and the kingdoms are shaken, but God utters his voice and the earth shall melt away.” The prayer after the psalm was: God of Jacob, when the earth shakes and the nations are in uproar, speak, and let the storm be still; through [...]
The BBC reported today about the Bishop of Reading, conducting a Harvest Festival service in a supermarket: Supermarket hosts harvest service I got the impression that the reporter wasn’t himself overly impressed making some sarcastic comments, and I loved the comment from the boy who said “this has never happened to me before” (in all his 6 [...]
Since reading about the Revision Committee’s press release this morning, I’ve been trying to work out what I think about women bishops. In case you’ve missed the announcement, the Revision Committee (as I understand it) are suggesting that a category of “super-bishop” is created, who will have episcopal oversight for parishes that cannot accept a [...]
Another great image from AsboJesus. I think it speaks for itself!
In preparation for this weekend's Back to Church Sunday, Stephen Cottrell (Bishop of Reading) has suggested that the Church of England has become the equivalent of Marks and Spencer, even though Jesus would be just as happy purchasing his provisions in Aldi.
Anglican churches will be proclaiming, chanting or mumbling (dependent upon their tradition) the words “He is risen indeed. Alleluia!” this morning. But do we really mean it? Do we fully understand the implications of that response? Nick Baines‘ made a comment on his blog earlier in the week that got me thinking. He writes: “On Easter Day [...]
There’s been some debate in our house recently about the YPC sketch that was on last week’s Horne & Corden show. If you missed it, then this is what its all about: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3P5Glo9qdGQ] So the big question is should Christians find this offensive? Personally, I’m not that bothered by it, and do think it is quite funny, mainly [...]
For the February Café Church at Pip n Jim’s, I prepared a Prayer Station looking at Purity, using a presentation showing some Bible verses against a backdrop of rising smoke playing to the song “Pure Like You” by David Gate: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KLcmFzMqR8] Download the notes.
I was listening to the Worship Central podcast this week, where Nicky Gumbel was talking about priorities of ministry. He believes that the priority order is: Your relationship with God Your relationship with your husband/wife Your relationship with your children Your paid employment Your church ministry This really spoke to me. I think its really easy to get these the wrong [...]
