Unanswered Prayers Sooner or later, if you are a follower of Jesus, it’s quite likely you will come up against the problem of unanswered prayers. When you come to faith and discover that it’s possible to have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, that you can bring the concerns of your heart and your […]
Acts of Solidarity and Community There are times in life when gestures or acts, though small in themselves, take on a greater significance. Most of us will remember the season recently when the population, as a whole, would gather on their doorsteps to applaud the NHS and their efforts on behalf of all who were suffering […]
Time is precious Last weekend, Lucy, our daughter, celebrated her birthday and, as we were away for a few days, we took her horse riding. It was followed up by a lunch out where she had the opportunity to get stuck into some of her favourite things and then we went to visit some friends […]
On Yer Bike! I had a call a couple of months ago from my friend and former curate, Reverend Colin Darling. He was asking me if I fancied taking part in a bit of a challenge for Lent. Colin has recently been appointed as a Diocesan representative for the Bishops’ Appeal. The Bishops’ Appeal for World Relief […]
Bridge Building There are seasons in our lives when we maybe get the opportunity to do different things. I always look back on my twenties as my decade of travelling. I lived in Portugal for 2 years when I worked as a teacher and one of my favourite journeys was the journey from Setubal where […]
They think it’s all over If you are a football fan it’s quite possible you will have heard Kenneth Wolstenholme’s iconic commentary on the closing stages of the 1966 World Cup final. England beat West Germany 4-2 after extra time. Towards the end of the match fans started to spill onto the pitch. Wolstenholme commented […]
Farewell to Ashling As I sit to write this blog I find my mind is about 160 miles away as a beautiful young woman was laid to rest in Mountbolus cemetery outside Tullamore in the Irish midlands. Ashling Murphy was a young primary school teacher and, last Wednesday afternoon as she went for a run […]
Rules and Regulations It’s surprising sometimes to think about how much our lives are governed by rules and regulations. Every time we take a journey in the car, for example, we are bound to observe the rules of the road. When we approach a junction and the lights are red, we need to stop the […]
A Pause for Self Examination Happy New Year to everyone. It’s a time of year when people often make plans for the year to come. Maybe there are projects we hope to complete or holidays we would like to go on or courses we would like to attend in order to pick up some new […]
Some Festive Favourites It’s the time of year when various weekend supplements and radio shows invite people on to give lists of their favourite festive books or films or music. I’m always curious to see if there is anything I haven’t come across before. This week before Christmas is often a busy one for people […]