Some lessons from the world of competition climbing Regular readers of the blog will know that there are often lessons to be learned on the life of faith from other disciplines, whether that’s the world of sport, or the arts, or inspirational people that we encounter. Last weekend, our son qualified to participate in a […]
Laying your body on the line Sad news came in just over a week ago about the death of Vicky Phelan at the age of 48. In 2011, Vicky underwent testing for cervical cancer and was given the all clear. Her smear reading was inaccurate and, in 2014, she was diagnosed with cancer. She began […]
The Tools of Your Trade I had a puncture on the school run earlier this week. Fortunately, it wasn’t too far from a tyre depot. As I limped my way in a very helpful young man told me where to go. There were industrial type Jacks which had the car up in a few seconds. […]
The Dull Stuff There are some people who thrive on administration and have a wonderful heart for systems and filing and work very methodically on keeping meticulous records. I am not one of those people. I do have aspirations and ambitions to be, but it hasn’t happened just yet. My desk is usually covered in […]
Marking Successes Have you ever noticed how poor we are in society at marking our successes? People are very quick to point out the shortcomings in a customer experience or to be critical of the performance of a sports’ team or a manager or our political leaders. Its easy and, indeed, rather satisfying to offer […]
Some Lessons from the Happy Pear One of the lovely things about writing this blog and recording a weekly podcast is that sometimes the readers and listeners interact with what you are doing. I recently invited listeners to the podcast to make a few podcast recommendations and had the chance to check out one of […]
Clarity in Communication I remember well the first sermon I was asked to preach as a student reader in theological college. The Rector knew I was nervous and asked me to come and have tea with his family a few days beforehand. He invited me afterwards to come down to the church and preach the […]
Difficult Conversations I read a powerful blog recently about the difficulty people from the Christian church have over different theological positions. When people feel strongly over any subject, they usually feel their position is 100% right and other people have simply got it wrong. They haven’t understood, they’ve been led astray by someone else, like […]
Behind the Scenes I recently finished an absorbing memoir of the former Irish President, Mary McAleese. It told her story of growing up in Ardoyne in north Belfast and how the troubles changed everything for her family in 1969. Her brother, who was deaf, was the victim of a vicious sectarian attack which has left […]
Funerals I suspect many people tuned in at some point yesterday to watch the funeral service for Queen Elizabeth II. As one would expect, it was a very moving and grand occasion to give thanks to God for her remarkable life and her reign for over 70 years. I watched the service from Westminster Abbey […]