Dust and Ashes Dear friends, “Dust you are, and to dust you shall return. Turn away from your sin, and be faithful to Christ.” These are the words spoken at the imposition of a cross of ash on the forehead of the penitent at the start of Lent. The ash is normally sourced from the Palm Crosses of the previous year’s Holy…
Nameless Fears Dear friends, There is a small and battered paperback hiding among the others on my bookcase. The spine is broken, and there are pages waiting to fall out at the first opportunity. I picked it up second hand in Blackwell’s as a student, and it has somehow survived the various cullings and clear outs that have happened down the years.…
The Black Map Dear friends, I was on the phone at the weekend to a former colleague, who lives in Yorkshire. She is in her eighties, and was telling me about her favourite uncle, who was a solicitor, and who during the war drove ambulances for the British Army. “I only found out after he had died that he’d been one of…
An Ezekiel Moment. Dear friends, As Israelis and Palestinians dust themselves off, and see what shape and direction life and circumstances hold for them, separately or together, there is a corporate holding of breath amongst those who care in the international community. Is there a will for peace? Or will the men of violence find a way to shoot the white dove…
The Beta Candidate Dear friends, You may have been wondering why, until now, I’ve made no comment about the resignation of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The whole sorry affair is an object lesson in many different ways, and far more complicated than can be simply surmised here. I can tell you that I have never met Justin Welby, or spoken to him,…
The Unseen Way Dear friends Warm greetings to you all for this new year. I do hope 2024 treated you kindly, and that you found faith, hope and charity among the many gifts of God through the days now past. As the world appears to be able to offer very little besides gloom and woe, it seems right to remind you all…
The Best Time Dear friends, It is the Eve of the Christ Mass. In this time of noise, and not a little chaos, there is yet, amidst all the shouting and clamour, a still, small voice. The baby’s cry, that can reach a mother’s heart, the whisper of God on the night air. Footsteps across the hillside, a light in the distance,…
Day by Day Dear friends As the winding early road of Advent morphs into a four lane motorway, candles are lit with seeming abandon, and, in this week, the school term comes crashing to an end, (to the relief of teachers, and the possible dismay of parents), I invite you to consider Advent in a fresh way. Most of our contemporary approach…
Devices and Desires Dear friends, No, it’s not a shorthand for a Christmas list, but a pithy reminder that we “follow our heart” sometimes to our own peril. The devices in this instance being those schemes of selfishness that can be found coiled like a dragon in the darker corners of our person, – rather than the electronic “devices” held in our…
Waiting to be lit Dear friends, It is the opening week of Advent. The first candle of the Advent ring was kindled on Sunday, and we prayed for the light of the world to come into our darkness. The expectation is heavy, and there is much to be done to be ready. Like our hearts, most of the Advent ring remains unlit,…