War and Peace on Earth Dear friends, Please join us at our Christmas services, when we will lift our voices in song and in prayer, to praise God for the birth of the one called The Prince of Peace. The only way the noises of war may be stilled is for the songs of peace all around the world to become louder,…
Carols and Christmas Services edition. Dear friends, Have you noticed how Advent always speeds up? The third candle is to be lit. Churches are being decorated, and carol services approach. Musicians and singers rehearse, sermons are crafted. The church heating is fixed and the fire extinguishers receive their annual service, happily unused since the engineer’s last visit. I look forward to seeing…
Coffee, Carols, and the Christmas List Dear friends, Checkendon church is hosting a community coffee (and mince pie) morning this coming Saturday from 10.30am in Checkendon Village Hall. Do pop in for a free coffee and mince pie. Its a great chance to catch up with your neighbours, and take a few moments in the maelstrom. There’ll be a model railway, a…
Made for sharing Bring a friend to the coffee and mince pie morning on Saturday 9th Dec from 10.30am in Checkendon Village Hall. It is a great chance to catch up with your neighbours and enjoy a chat before the holiday season gets under way. There’s a book exchange, a model railway and a craft table for children too. This event for…
The Pike A younger version of myself grins out of a photo on a screensaver. I’m leaning in an attempt at nonchalance against a cairn of stones. Behind me in the near distance shattered rocks and scarcity of vegetation reveal that we are at some altitude. In the far distance, down below, a lake and a habitation, and further mountains and hills.…
Not far to the North…. Dear friends I am constantly impressed by how Iceland handles the fact it is living on top of a volcano. Or, rather, a whole heap of volcanoes. They have a vast web of detectors and instruments, measuring things like earthquakes, and crustal deformation. Satellites, lasers and many teams of scientists are keeping an eye on all the…
We will remember them Dear friends, In a time when conflict appears daily in our news media, one can be forgiven for wondering why we remember earlier wars, when present day suffering elsewhere seems to demand all our attention, and pushes former horrors into the past. We do so, among other reasons, to remind ourselves that such failures of politics – whether…
Delete as Appropriate Dear friends Sometimes its hard when going through the affairs and effects of a loved one. Not just for the poignancy and emotion, but for simple practical reasons. What is to be remembered, and what forgotten, or laid aside? Old photographs tell a story, but they speak someone else’s language, and you only know a proportion of the words.…
God’s brown bin. Dear friends, Autumn is usually a very busy time. Everything is in full swing in the working world, in the voluntary sector and with social events. There are meetings, projects, appraisals, reviews, articles, parties – and the DIY that you started in May is nowhere near finished. Teachers and parents start to look weary and mentally tick off the…
Wholly War Dear friends, At the other end of the village two neighbours hate each other. One has grown a high hedge, and lives comfortably. He manages his resources and businesses well, and turns a good profit from his farm and small enterprises. The other neighbour has little money and his house is too small for his very large family, which he…