The importance of behind the scenes If you have been reading this blog over the past few months you will be aware of how important PE with Joe has been to our family during lockdown. Each day at 9 am some, or all, of the family have tuned into these PE sessions with Joe Wicks on YouTube. After […]
Looking outwards At the height of lockdown one of the things we looked forward to in this house was the weekly arrival of Torbank News in our inbox. Our daughter, Lucy, goes to Torbank Special School in Dundonald and, each week, the school produced a video news which lasted about 7-8 minutes. Often the pupils […]
The key to self control Some years ago we were invited to a baptism service for the daughter of some friends of ours. It was a lovely occasion and after the service we were invited for some refreshments to the church hall. They are really hospitable people and had done all the catering themselves. The […]
The steel in gentleness News reached me at the weekend of the death of Revd. Dr. J.I. Packer at the age of 93. Dr. Packer, a renowned speaker, theologian and clergyman, published a book called ‘Knowing God’ in 1973. It sold 1.5 million copies and was translated into 12 languages. The news took me back to an event in Fitzroy Presyterian Church in the late […]
Faithfulness and Mentors Somebody once wisely told me that ministry is a marathon, not a sprint, and it is important to pace yourself for the long haul. A great inspiration to me, in terms of faithfulness in ministry, is Canon Horace McKinley, who recently marked the 50th anniversary of his ordination. He is currently the longest serving […]
Receiving the goodness of God When our normal patterns of work and activity are taken from us through a global pandemic, our instinct, I think, is to try to recreate new ones. During lockdown, I tried to create certain rhythms or structures, some of which will continue until the restrictions ease. There were 2 blogs […]
The disarming power of kindness I haven’t been reading as much as I normally do, so it was great to finish a novel I started some time ago during a few days off last week. It’s a long time since a novel has affected me so deeply and it was called ‘Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine’. I […]
The Challenge of Patience Last week I took a day trip to see my mum who lives in the south of Ireland. I was the first person across the door in more than 4 months and it was a very special thing to see her again. I had read an article in the Irish Times […]
The gift of peace Almost every day during lockdown I have knelt down in front of the laptop with our children to watch Chris Bennett’s Daily Candle on Facebook. Chris works in Belvoir Parish. Every day he has produced these mesmerising videos to help to guide our thoughts and focus on God during one of the […]
Taking ourselves too seriously Many years ago I was working for a few months as a chaplain in a psychiatric hospital. As I was walking through the corridor one morning a patient stopped me. We had had a few conversations previously and she said very gently, “Jono, are you ok?” I assured her that I was, but she remained […]