I have just returned from a couple of short days away in a religious community on retreat, and having benefited spiritually from such an experience felt that I should share some reflections on it with you. Many people have never experienced a retreat and may wonder what it may offer them, some may just wonder…
Dom Gregory Dix, one of the foremost Anglican liturgists of the 20th Century wrote passionately on the shape and the power of the Eucharistic action, where bread and wine were taken, given thanks for, broken and shared. In Blessed we created a meditation on his text which can be viewed on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqvLLt26p9E Bread and…
This is one of those trying moments in child-friendly ministry. I encourage the full participation of children in the Mass - a teaching ministry where they share what they have learnt in their learning ministry (what we used to call Sunday School), participation in the eucharistic prayer, in bells and acolytes, in allowing them space…
Text: John 14:1-12 In the name of the +Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. “Do not let your hearts be troubled” I have preached on this text quite a number of times. In fact, it is probably the portion of Scripture on which I preach most frequently. I would like…
For the past few years I have been leading worship at the beginning of the All-Night Bowling Event in Worthing, where 100 or so young people and their leaders bowl through the night. It's usually been a little alt.worshippy but this year, having spent so much time being Eucharistic with young people this year, I…
It was working fine last night. I tried to fire up my battered and bruised Packard Bell laptop and nothing. Charging Light, Power Light, but no boot. External Screen to see if it was the LCD, but still nothing. Fan, but no activity. It's bust. They come to take it away tomorrow, but this means…
I've had a really bad few weeks. It's been reasonably awful since the new PC with Vista became the principle desktop, and introduced me to the hell-on-legs which is the Windows Mobile Device Center (sic) to link to my iPaq, a bad replacement for the unspeakably bad Activesync which we had to put up with…
Text: John 10:1-10 In the name of the +Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Two sheep were standing in a field. “Baaaa” said one. “Bother” said the other one, “I was going to say that!” The real challenge of Good Shepherd Sunday is to make it real for an urban…
Opening Prayer Let us pray… Open our hearts and minds, O Lord. Give us vision and confidence in your mission. Bless us with your presence and inspire us with your Holy Spirit. Enable us, as your unworthy ministers, with grace to sing your Easter praises. In the powerful and thrice-holy name of the living God.…
A weekend which promised snow, and had everything from hail, frogs, sun and rain. It was a weekend in which some young person climbed into the loft of one of the residences and put his foot through the ceiling, and in which nearly 200 children aged 7-11 gathered to speak of Thomas, the Cross not…
