I’ve been going to church my whole life and I thought I had seen everything service wise, and there have been some interesting ones:
Being dive bombed by a dove during a burial
A bride dancing down the aisle for a wedding with her bridesmaids.
A baptism with a font containing three rubber ducks. … More October letter to the parish
I need mountains. I realised this first when, as a student, I lived in Cambridge. When I went out for a walk the land was completely flat and featureless, the paths straight. I remember a similar feeling later visiting my brother in Ontario, and finding the roads in the agricultural area where he lived all went either north-south or east-west, on a grid like the streets in New York. There were no hills to get in the way. It made navigation easy, but it was so boring … More Because it’s there
We know even less about John the Baptist’s early life than we do about Jesus’. He was just a few months older than Jesus, but the first time we meet him since his birth he’s out in the wilderness preaching. It’s a little hard for us to imagine, as in our crowded country we are never far from civilisation. The Judean wilderness near the river Jordan is not huge – it’s 60 miles long, but only 13 miles wide, so you are always going to be able to walk out of it, if necessary. It’s warm in the winter, and hot in the summer and dry all year so there’s very little vegetation … More We played for you, and you would not dance.
Good morning and welcome to our service of holy communion for Sunday 22 September, the third of Creationtide, in which we focus on mountains.
Rev Helen will preside, Rev Steve reads, and Krystyna will preach.
We begin with the hymn “Praise to the Lord the Almighty” … More Creationtide – mountains
It is often said that a change is as good as a rest, so during summer 2024 I took a partial sabbatical from my more visible roles and responsibilities at St Margaret’s, set the ‘Out of Office’ on my parish email account, and visited other churches … More A Summer Sabbatical
A couple of weeks ago I was away on retreat staying with the Community of the Resurrection, over at Mirfield and there are many reasons why I like to visit them. There are many reasons why I like to go there on retreat … More He will return the same way as he left
Welcome to our service of #HolyCommunion for #Creationtide in which we focus on the sky. Rev Sue presides and Rev Helen will preach.
We begin with the hymn “Christ whose glory fills the skies” … More Creationtide week 3: Sky
Matthew’s Beatitudes, which are all blessings, are spoken by Jesus on a hill or mount and we can be fairly certain that Matthew was directing this at mainly a Jewish audience making Jesus a bit more elite. Whilst Luke’s Beatitudes are given on a plain and Jesus has gone down to be with the crowd and it is directed more at a Gentile audience, making Jesus more inclusive to everyone, but specifically for the disciples who needed reassurance … More The Beatitudes
Last week we were thinking about how God created the earth and all living things. We ended the readings just before he made human beings, Adam and Eve, which we have heard about today and he gives them dominion over all living things that moved on the earth. Quite a big undertaking when you think about it to be given the care of a beautiful garden and everything that lives in it … More Creationtide – Humanity
The “Agnus Dei” is the last movement of any mass setting, and it means “Lamb of God”. Throughout the Old Testament, blood sacrifices are offered to please God, to praise him, to thank him, and to ask favour of him. Jesus put an end to that by offering himself as the sacrifice to end all sacrifices. He became the sacrificial lamb, submitting entirely to God’s will and dying a tortuous death on our behalf … More Agnus Dei
St Margaret's Church Prestwich 