New Kid on the Blog

It is my dream that one day I will catch up with all of these, and will be in sync with the local paper that prints them. It's called the Midweek Herald and can be found here . A Thought for the Week for the week after Easter! There are some things we tend to take for granted, some things that are so much a part of life that we don’t really notice them. Churches are like that, in villages they get used for special events, for the important parts of life and death, people use them in directions to get some place, every now and then you might even feel a need to go in, have a look around, take a moment of quiet or say a prayer. But on the whole they are just ‘there’. But the Churches I have been a part of are powerhouses, they work hard to make communities function as communities, they care for the sick, visit the lonely, help the needy. They run events and activities. They worship the God who made the universe. Churches are important, they will support you in need, and need y...

The longer one leaves something the harder it seems to be to get back to it - that certainly is the way things feel with this blog! I often think to myself 'oh, I should blog about that' but then think to myself - how would I introduce that? How do I make up for all those weeks with nothing said? Do I have to try and fill in all the gaps and explain exactly why it is that things have been so gappy? So I decided I would open with a statement about it being difficult to get back into blogging, and then just carry on and see whether or not any/some/all of the thoughts that have bobbed up and waved a bit turn up in blog posts over the next days or weeks. But without any more ado Alleluia - Christ is risen! It's that statement that makes us what we are - as Christians, I mean... So our celebrations of Easter and the lead up to it over Lent have been at the forefront of all I have done over the past six or so weeks. In fact our Lent course (which I wrote using material from ...

This was the first of my thoughts for the week, you may be overwhelmed by these for the next few days then very rarely hear from me! These appear in a local East Devon newspaper called the Midweek Herald . It's a rather good local paper, though admittedly I have a vested interest in it! This appeared in the week before Christmas: God with us. When people ask me about what Christmas means I can easily start spouting about a hundred thoughts a minute to do with the often complicated ideas that we Clergy are prone to spout. But being a Devon boy reminds me that some of the most powerful truths in life are the most simple and straightforward, or as advertising companies say “K.I.S.S.: Keep It Simple, Stupid”. The one simple truth that stands out at Christmas is that God loved us, and loves us, so much that he sent his son to be one of us. Jesus is God with us – not up on a cloud, who can’t understand what it is like to laugh, weep, hunger, thirst, get angry or suffer. God with us, o...

I had most of today off and got lots of bits done, bits around the house, looking after a poorly little man (gorgeous son has had a bug for a few days, has spent some time conked out on the sofa). I also got to ride for a bit this afternoon (yesterday turned out to be too busy after all). Just an hour or so out on the bike, a quick blast to clear away the cobwebs and take some perspective time! This evening was enjoyable but also quite hard work! It was an Art & Craft show preview at the village hall next door. There is an incredible amount of extremely high quality art, some (much) of it moving and profound. The display is on all weekend, mainly comprised of artworks by local people and was a reminder of how many gifted people there are in these villages, if not every community. As part of the evening some of us were asked to share our favourite poems, I shared two, one by Gerard Manley Hopkins and the other by John Betjeman. It was a great evening, but a lot of people wante...

I've not been here... Went away to York (beautiful city) for a very sedate, but extremely enjoyable Stag weekend. Got back this evening in time to put kids to bed (boy, did I miss them), tell wife I loved her (boy, did I miss her) and put on a clerical shirt (ie Dog Collar) in time to get to some of the Parish 'Barn Dance' in one of my villages. Good to be away, glad to be back. More about time away, and a sermon for this week (just finished) when i have more time and energy in the morning, or perhaps in the afternoon after services. ta ta for now

As you may have guessed, things have been a little busy around here, but i have had a fantastic day and we have been celebrating Christ's resurrection in style! Well, in an Anglican style! I have had the chance to rush around being late for services, trying to fit too much in, then had a great afternoon and a good british roast with good friends, including a new friend, my mate Jem's fiance!. A relaxed evening with an episode of Dr Who (continuing theme of resurrection there) and now just a chance for a quick blog to wish you all a happy Easter! Jem said something about the service this morning reflecting a commitment to everyday faith, filled with joy but recognising the hardships of serving these communities, but still showing a commitment to ministry in these places. What a great reflection of what we try to do, from someone who's wisdom i respect and value. Affirmation indeed. I hope the reality of the risen life of Christ is yours today and always. Alleluia, Chris...

Now, I wonder how many bloggers talk about funerals ? Perhaps its something I should google when i have a few minutes to spare? I guess as they are such an important and striking part of life that a number of people talk about them, but I do wonder how many of us who actually end up doing them talk about them online? There was a conversation about them at Dr John's place recently, and I was impressed by the approach some Churches have to this ministry, though things are very different in the U.S. to what we can do here. Enough speculation. Back to the question at the head of this post. It's not an entirely rhetorical question so comments are invited! My answer will follow below. I'm not going to go into much detail, as the bereavement ministry us ministers offer is a very personal one (or should be) and it's enough to say that I've had a run of funerals lately, some of which have been easier than others to put together and to lead, all of which have taken a f...

As regular visitors will know, Friday is normally the day I blog least, as it is my day off. Well, I seem to have given up time off for Lent (don't worry, I have been making time for family and getting some rest, it just hasn't been a whole day off for a few weeks). So here I am having spent the day in schools (both schools had 'end of term services' today) or in the car or visiting or -as I am doing now - preparing for Palm Sunday and Holy Week. My greatest disappointment this year with all of our palm Sunday services is that there are no Donkeys! Usually we have little processions in our villages with slightly temperamental beast of burden to add a little excitement, colour and odour to the proceedings. these days there are fewer people, even in the countryside, who own animals and those who do are not willing to take the risk of having them take part in a public event, mainly because our society is getting more litigious and insurance for such events has skyroc...

I am actually doing this on time! The question to get conversation going this week is: Please tell us: What story is on the front page of your local newspaper? Do you think the event is worthy of front page coverage? This was a bit difficult, as there is no piccy of the front page on the website for our local paper, the Cambridge Evening News, and there is lots of updated news on the site with no information as to what was the front page headline so I went to the local shop and checked out what was on yesterday's paper (there's no Sunday edition) and then looked up the story on the net.. It was this: 50 jobs axed by council Worthy of being 'Front page news' ? Well local council services in the UK are in a bit of a mess in lots of ways with funding from central government a thorny issue at the moment. The reason given for this state of affairs was The council is pushing forward with a complete revamp of its customer services in an attempt to simplify its own systems...