Diocesan Weekly Sermon Jean (not her real name) was in a coma in the intensive care unit when I went to visit her. I spent some time talking to her and praying for her. There was no response. I went back each week for a couple of weeks with no change. The following week, however,…
Diocesan Weekly Sermon I know it’s a bit late, but I feel I should be wishing you a ‘Happy Easter’ since we were all unable to celebrate it together this year. Hopefully you did manage the journey of Holy Week at home and the celebration of Easter day. I wonder what it’s been like for…
Diocesan Weekly Sermon Acts 2.14a, 22-32 As child and a young teenager, I loved reading books. I regularly cycled a couple of miles into town to get books from the local library and I devoured them. Then came the formal study of English literature for GSCE and my love of reading was crushed. I confess…
To follow the Church of England daily Lent Reflections online or on the app… Click Here These reflections explore the urgent need for people to value and protect the abundance God has created. There are 40 short reflections and suggested actions to help you, your family and your church live in greater harmony with God,…
Today’s Gospel reading is a bit of a minefield – you have to be careful where you put your feet. It’s very easy to end up saying something as self congratulatory as ‘Heavenly Father, I thank you that I’m not like that Pharisee, thinking I’m better than everyone else’ thereby becoming exactly like the Pharisee…
St Matthew, also known as Levi, was one of the 12, and by tradition, the author of Matthew’s Gospel. He isn’t mentioned much in the Gospels: he’s listed as one of the 12. In Acts he is listed as a witness of Jesus’ Ascension into heaven, and in Luke’s Gospel there’s an oblique reference to…
Bartholomew is a difficult saint to celebrate because we know hardly anything about him. The gospel for the fast of Bartholomew doesn’t even mention his name. He may or may not be the same person as Nathaniel –scholars argue the one way and the other. In Matthew, Mark and Luke Bartholomew is listed as one…
I suppose the Holy Spirit is the least understood person of the Trinity, and the most misused. Long ago I attended the World Council of Churches 7th Assembly in Canberra, Australia. Christians of almost all denominations and from almost everywhere in the world gathered for 2 weeks to talk about the Holy Spirit. I can…
We have just heard another, very familiar resurrection account from John’s Gospel. John tells us this was the third time that Jesus appeared to his disciples. It was actually the fourth time: John omits Jesus’ very first encounter with Mary Magdalene on that first Easter morning. It would be good to think that we’ve made…