Blog

Friends After two years of lockdown and working from home where I tend to potter around in bare feet, I find that I am not enjoying wearing my high heels as much as I used to. My feet have lost the habit of it, and the fashion for white trainers with brightly coloured suits is … [Read more…]

Friends As we start to see the impact of the rising cost of living, we may be struggling to make ends meet, or have friends or relatives who we suspect are so struggling. Meanwhile, almost every day, I seem to get an offer in my email box for a credit card or bank loan and … [Read more…]

Friends Earlier this week I went to see “Dirty Dancing”. The musical based on the1980’s film released in the summer I was 18. As school finished and we set off on our own adventures as young adults the film resonated in all sorts of ways. Certain moments have become iconic: the girl who, bowled over … [Read more…]

Friends I wonder what you do with your palm crosses each year? In the church, traditionally, they are kept until the following Lent when they are burned to make the ashes for Ash Wednesday. Small children open them out to make swords, some people use them as book marks and I knew one lady who … [Read more…]

FriendsAs I write, the talk in the Davidson household is largely around Will Smith. Is it or is it not okay to hit someone for disrespecting your wife? Everyone on the news and on social media has an opinion, and my own family is no different. For those of you who missed this riveting piece … [Read more…]

Friends Throughout my life as a Christian, I have been encouraged to ask myself the question “Where was God in that?” or “Where did I meet with God today?” I have tended to think of it as a comforting question; a question that acknowledges that some days feel quite ordinary, perhaps even a little bit … [Read more…]

Friends “I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord. “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11) Perhaps by the time you read this, the sun will be peeping through again, although at the moment, apart from a brief respite on … [Read more…]

FriendsI was a bit stumped for ideas this week, but on looking back at last year to see if there was inspiration to be had, I discovered that we had been talking about Jonah and that I had reflected on coming out of lockdown being somewhat akin to coming out of the belly of the … [Read more…]

Friends I’ve recently rediscovered those wonderful detective stories by Dorothy L Sayers, whose hero, Lord Peter Wimsey is always charming, apparently vague and frequently incisive. One of the short stories, is about a man who had an unknown, long-lost twin who was running around London committing terrible crimes while pretending to be him. In the … [Read more…]

FriendsAnother Christmas and New Year has been and gone and I don’t know about you, but for me and my family, it all seems to be a long time ago already. The work of the Circuit continues apace, and as the senior circuit steward and I grapple with still more paperwork around stationing, and boilers … [Read more…]

“Do not be afraid” the angel sang, “Do not be afraid” the hilltops rang.Round about was filled with glory, drawing them into the storySaying “Do not be afraid, do not be afraid.”“Do not be afraid,” they sing today. “Do not be afraid,” oh hear them say.For the world is turning onwards, God has got his … [Read more…]

On the third Sunday of Advent, we light the Joy candle. Advent is a solemn time of fasting and preparation, and yet also we have the joy of what is to come, the birth of a baby who changed the world. At this time of year, we are urged to remember that not everyone finds … [Read more…]

Brothers and Sisters Only a few weeks after the brutal killing of Sir David Amess MP, I find myself less inclined than usual to mark Guy Fawkes Day. Part of me enjoys the fun, the fireworks and the opportunity for one last sausage and soup picnic before the year really is too cold, and part … [Read more…]

Sisters and Brothers This Sunday falls on All Hallows’ Eve or Halloween as it has come to be called. The day before All Saints’ Day on the 1st and All Souls’ Day on the 2nd of November. It ushers in what has become a season of remembrance in the Church with Remembrance Sunday to follow. … [Read more…]

Brothers and Sisters The founder of our Methodist movement, John Wesley, considered there to be two types of holiness: personal holiness, which is growing your personal relationship with God and social holiness, which is showing love to others through caring for their physical needs. This understanding takes very seriously such passages in the Bible as … [Read more…]

Brothers and Sisters Last week, I spoke a little about personal holiness, and today I thought I would write on corporate holiness. 1 Peter 2:9 tells us: “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty arts of him who called … [Read more…]

Brothers and Sisters,I have, incredible though it seems, been writing these “thoughts for the week” for a year now and thought that I would do a short series on holiness. I will look at personal holiness this week, corporate holiness next week and social holiness the week after. (Then I’m going on leave for a … [Read more…]

I wonder how many of you remember the old hymn: When we walk with the Lord in the light of his WordWhat a glory is shed on our wayWhen we do his good will, he abides with us stillAnd with all who will trust and obey.Trust and obey, for there’s no other wayTo be happy … [Read more…]

When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see… In Exodus, we read of Moses and the burning bush. It is one of our seminal stories and we are very familiar with it. Moses sees a bush burning without being consumed by the fire and he wonders how that could be. So he … [Read more…]

My diary is full of extra visits and services for baptisms and funerals at the moment, and I am made freshly aware of the cyclical nature of life where we celebrate birth and death. In the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, in the order for the burial of the dead, we have these words: “Man … [Read more…]