Breaking out

Have you ever noticed a change in someone and wondered what had happened? The person who recently had been quiet and preoccupied suddenly seems much happier and without a care in the world. Perhaps they had been worried about a diagnosis and been given the all-clear or had passed the exam they were really worrying about, or had fallen in love. Once you found out the reason, it all made sense … More Breaking out

Abundant life

It is traditional in the sermon on the day of the APCM to talk about the life of the church over the last year. Quite honestly, I simply don’t want to do that. We have suffered from bereavements – our beloved Deborah, and others as well and we have had to contend with practical problems in the shape of electric wiring and boilers. So many people have contended with illness, accidents and family issues and yet have continued to contribute to the life of the church. And the backdrop has been a country in political turmoil, a cost-of-living crisis and wars in Ukraine and now Sudan. Enough said. We have survived. We have in many ways got back to normal after covid. We can congratulate ourselves that we have had the strength and courage to persevere. Just staying afloat has been an achievement … More Abundant life

Alleluia

Alleluia!
This is indeed the Alleluia season.
There are many, many pieces of celebratory church music that have just the one word – Alleluia – and since this magazine issue is going out predominantly online, I thought this would be a good time to showcase some of them … More Alleluia

Christian Morality

The Oxford English Dictionary defines conscience as, “A person’s moral sense of right and wrong, viewed as acting as a guide to one’s behaviour”. In the context of the Christian faith, conscience is the voice of the Holy Spirit within us, however, the challenge for many in the modern day is whether we choose to accept this gift that God gives us. … More Christian Morality

Doubt

Good morning and welcome to our service of holy communion for Sunday 16 April. Rev Sue will preside and ALM Carol O will preach. This is also a Sunday Club morning, and the children sang songs, heard stories and did activities on the theme of Hope … More Doubt

John 20:19-31 – The Locked Room

Can you imagine being so scared, so frightened, you lock yourself away and hide, no hope, no faith, absolutely terrified for your life? This is how the disciples felt in our gospel story today. God’s story which is our story. Yes the stories we read each day each week in the gospels are our stories. In Holy Week, I hope, like me, you stepped into God’s story as we followed our Stations of the Cross, as we walked that final hour with Jesus on Good Friday. So let us step into today’s story with the disciples, hiding behind locked doors for fear of the authorities … More John 20:19-31 – The Locked Room