Cohen steadfastly avoided giving explanations for his lyrics, instead allowing cover singers and audiences to find their own meaning in the poetry. He did however say that “many different hallelujahs exist”, and that “there is a religious hallelujah, but there are many other ones. When one looks at the world, there’s only one thing to say, and it’s hallelujah” … More Hallelujah – Leonard Cohen (1934-2016)
For those of you reading this issue of our magazine online (and therefore for free!) here’s the link – please help us to help you, by contributing to our running costs: https://givealittle.co/c/7BenBwKBCZ82XbR8wJR … More Give a Little
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
St Margaret's Church Prestwich 