A thought…
Fri 29 December 2023
I’m currently reading Tales of a Country Parish by Colin Heber-Percy – a thoughtful and uplifting collection of writings from 2020. As the book moves into winter of that year, …
Lyrical Riffs
Readings with repetitive, arresting phrases.Glimpsed
Fri 22 December 2023
Did Mary and Joseph catch a glimpse?Did they catch sight of the universeIn those wide, wondering eyes?Did they see the faces of thoseHe would support and comfort.Did they see the …
The Light Shines On
Tue 19 December 2023
The light shines in my darkness,And my darkness cannot put it out.The light shines in our chaos,And our chaos cannot put it out.The light shines in our fear and doubt,And …
Stars
Tue 19 December 2023
Those night lights keep speaking,Leading, guiding, predicting, assuring.For Abraham, a regular sign of the promise of God,his plans and presence and purpose.For David, forever looking at the skyTo remind himself …
Russian Doll
Fri 15 December 2023
Russian Doll What if Christmas were like a Russian doll,a thing of layers, brightly coloured on the outside –a Santa figure, concealing perhaps a snowman,concealing a reindeer (red-nosed of course),concealing …
Advent Candles
Fri 15 December 2023
Five candles flicker and glimmer in the fading light, casting lively images of light and shade on the ancient church walls. The door creaks and groans a little as it …
Our Nature
Mon 11 December 2023
I’m feeling a bit left out, said the sky,the clouds nodded, ‘We know what you mean,we used to be so interesting, butwe’ve been upstaged by a screen.’ The bushes and …
Quiet
Mon 4 December 2023
Silence is there all the time,the noises come and go andsome can be very insistent indeed,but when the noises stop we discoverthe silence has been there all the time.It’s often …
Lazarus
Mon 4 December 2023
Dusty, grey and cobwebbed,Suddenly blown by the winds of God,His tomb clothes ruffled and buffetedBy the voice of one beyond the grave.The call of his name stirring him,So that his …
Making Contact
Mon 4 December 2023
He runs with the others, looks like the others, smells like the others. But he knows that he’s not like them. His past hangs too heavy, like smog in his …
On Our Side
Tue 21 November 2023
Adam and Eve were led to believe,That they could choose to be in God’s shoes,Choosing wrong from right, darkness from light.Adam and Eve so sadly deceived,Not thinking straight, when tempted …
Clarity
Sat 18 November 2023
To see ourselves as God sees us,Not as giants, as Lords of this land,But as tiny, treasured figures,Small enough to fit in his hand.Not the powerful masters we’d like to …
Image
Thu 16 November 2023
Save us from thinking we need more,Need to add extra things,To make us acceptable,Powerful, superior, appealing,Save us from the deception,That we are not enough,That we need something moreTo make us …
Weak
Thu 16 November 2023
The soldier looks on and sees what no one else has seen, what no religious expert or faithful follower has yet understood. He stands there as an outsider, reviled, repugnant, …
Time Travelling
Tue 7 November 2023
We time travel in our heads,Zooming back and forward at breakneck speed,No limit, no problem, no equipment needed, We slip between the back-then and the not-yet, Often missing this moment,Negating the now,Piling …
Emmaus Mist
Wed 1 November 2023
Life is so like the Emmaus road,Our sights set on the wrong destination,When Jesus starts to walk alongside us,Hidden in plain sight,Doing his best to open our eyes.The lamb challenging …
Feet
Tue 31 October 2023
How beautiful are the feet of him Who brings good news, Who walks amongst the rejected, Who sits with the lonely and saddened, Who stands with us in all things, …
Some Doors
Fri 27 October 2023
The other day I walked the path up from Lynmouth to Lynton in North Devon, and along the way there were various handwritten poems, posted beside the path. It gave …
Letters
Fri 27 October 2023
Not a tidy page of well-formed script,copper plate writing,ordered and perfectly formed,but instead a wonderful jumble of words,a page of unique, untidy, precious scribbles,and half formed hopes and ideas,the truth …
Be My Vision
Wed 11 October 2023
Please be my vision, when the day’s fears start,Keep me together when falling apart,Help me to hold on in deep darkest night,When darkness comes calling, please be my light. Help …