Easter Vigil 2025

Do you remember? When God created the world and it was good, one thing was told to Adam and Eve. Remember - do not eat this fruit. But they did, turning the course of humankind forever.

It isn't fair... but it can be holy

Have you ever noticed that Jesus says some terribly inconvenient things? The classic phrase here which was one of my mum’s favourites to say to us is, ‘Do to others as you would have them do to you’. Truly annoying, when your brother has be...

The Invitation to Keep Going

Today’s readings are in danger of seeming a bit random and disjointed. We have a burning bush and Moses being reluctant, Paul writing about temptation and warnings, and Jesus debunking retribution theology and telling a parable about a non-...

A Walking Lump of Dust

It's purple season! The crosses are veiled, we have joined together in the great litany, the A word has been banished. Welcome to Lent.Lent is a pretty sobering season in the church year, which isn’t that surprising when you consider that i...

A Green Thumb

It’s a running joke in our house that I don’t like flowers. This isn’t quite true - flowers are beautiful and I appreciate them. But the truth is that I have the opposite of a green thumb. I think it’s very inconsiderate of flowers to not a...

We're going to change the world

You have been assigned a mission, should you choose to accept it. It will bring hardship, it will involve stretching your boundaries and being uncomfortable at times. This quest will colour every decision, and influence every choice. It is...

Who Are You?

It’s the first Sunday after Christmas. Mary is exhausted. In the last few days she and Joseph have begun adjusting to life with a newborn, and not only that but they’re doing it far away from home and without their family support system aro...

Santa and Jesus are both watching!

“Stir up your power, O Lord, and with great might come among us.”The cream flowed to the bottom of the mug of coffee, then billowed up in liquid clouds, slowly dispersing and merging into the perfect coffee colour.Butter, sugar, flour, and...

Advent Baking

You can’t have your cake and eat it too. But it’s the beginning of Advent today, so perhaps you can? Stay tuned to find out more…This week was the finale of this year’s season of the Great British Baking Show, which is my very favourite tv...

It's the Zombie Apocalypse!

Nation has risen against nation, kingdom against kingdom, there are earthquakes and famines, and the zombies have emerged. It is the end of the world. If you have made it this far and are alive here this morning, please stand up…You’re lost...

The Sainthood of Baptism

I’m going to ask you to think about three things today that are all connected. The first is, what is a Saint? The second is, where is the adversary? The third is, how do we respond?So, first, what is a saint? If I asked you to name ten sain...

Beauty in Mystery (Trinity)

Last Sunday we celebrated Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit in wind and flame, and often thought of as the birthday of the Church. Today, we mark Trinity Sunday. Trinity Sunday is probably the most dreaded day of the year by preacher...

God doesn't come out well...

If you ask the internet what are the top three questions asked about God, the number two answer is, ‘why does God allow suffering?’. Probably not surprising. The presence of suffering, destruction, and pain is difficult for us to square wit...

The Sound of Silence

Does silence make you uncomfortable?Unless you are used to it, for many of us our instinctive reaction is to want to fill the space. We want a flow of sound to carry us along. But why is that?The Bible has a lot to say about silence, extoll...

A Rusty Heart?

I have a question for you, and I want your very honest answers, if you’re willing to share.Why are you at church on a Sunday morning? Why are you here?Here’s a reason that is true for all of us, but we probably won’t like it. We are here be...

A Miracle of Abundance

When I was a small child, there were certain things that seemed like great abundance. Having a whole pack of chips to myself rather than having to share it among siblings. Being allowed chocolate for breakfast when on vacation. A 10 pound n...

I've got that joy joy joy!

If I said someone was on cloud nine, tickled pink, over the moon, walking on air, on top of the world, like a kid in a candy store, full of the joys of spring, or in seventh heaven, what emotion would you deduce that person was feeling?Joy!...

What Doesn't Kill You

I’m going to ask you to do something. You’ll have 10 seconds - I want you to turn to someone sitting near you, and tell them something about yourself. Anything at all. It could be what you had for breakfast or your favourite colour or what...

It Drives Me Crazy!

Bad driving (from other people, obviously). A disappointing mango. A cat meowing in your face in the middle of the night. Mosquitoes. Ants in the house. Waking up at 4am thinking you’ve slept through your alarm. Pollen. These are some of th...

Holy, holy, holy (Trinity Sunday)

Last Sunday, we celebrated Pentecost. The birthday of the church, and especially for Holy Comforter as it was our patronal festival. Pentecost is the day the Spirit came with wind and fire and settled on the disciples. The day that they fou...

To Abide: Nature or Nurture?

Nature versus nurture is an age-old debate. Is a child formed more by the way they are raised, or is their personality shaped from within, innately? It is fascinating to see who children are as they grow up. What traits or preferences will...

The Faith of Doubting Thomas

The fear you can sense at the beginning of our gospel reading, the way the disciples’ whole world had fallen apart, is perhaps more relatable to us in a post-pandemic world which is seemingly ever-increasingly polarised.There the disciples...

Named, Known, Cherished (Easter Sunday)

It was so early in the morning that it was still dark. The air was cool against Mary’s cheeks as she walked towards the tomb. It has been a sleepless night full of tears and grief and now there was no point trying to rest any more.Mary had...

Woven into Life (Good Friday)

The account of Good Friday which we find in John’s gospel is woven through with struggle. The struggle to define who Jesus is, the effort to demonstrate his innocence or guilt, the tensions of juggling relationships with Jesus against the o...

The Gift of Holy Week

I wonder what stories are near and dear to your own hearts and experience. Humans love stories. We love to immerse ourselves in tales and fantasies, in imagined lives and others’ experiences. We love to be in a world other than our own. Thi...

Hoping for Faith

A long and devastating drought had afflicted the village, and people had become desperate. Food became scarce and what little there was, was very expensive. The elders gathered and discussed the problem. After a lot of complaining with very...

Best Gift Ever!

“You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”I wonder what the best gift was that you ever received? If you take a moment to think about it, is there something that stands out for you - perhaps a surprise, or getting something...

Perfect Illusion

“From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.”As a very rough average, a person’s brain finishes developing when we reach 25 years old. Before that time we are malleable, open to new experiences and ways of thinking. In our tee...

Deep Cleaning with John (Advent 2)

I don’t know about you, but when we are expecting guests to come to our house, that’s the time when we break out the vacuum cleaner and tidy up the piles of junk that have sat on the counter for the past 3 weeks. There’s a slight panic that...

Cheese or Grit? (Christ the King)

I wonder if you are a fan of a cheesy ending. You know the type - when all the problems are resolved, everyone pairs off into blissfully happy couples, mistakes are forgiven, it starts snowing and there’s a log fire and upbeat music and eve...

Annual Wisdom

What makes someone wise?We all know people who are perhaps NOT so wise, but probably most of us also know someone who we really respect and who does have a lot of wisdom. Someone who simply seems to naturally have this something, giving wei...

Glimpsing Glory

As the sun dipped below the horizon, the light took on a mellow, buttery gleam, as it painted the sky golden. Streaks of pink and orange appeared, and the movement of the clouds looked like a kaleidoscope, shimmering and glowing like fabulo...

Come and See! (Easter Vigil)

A small child runs up to you, eyes glowing and excitement exuding from every fibre of their being. ‘Come and see!’ they cry, grabbing your hand and pulling you along with them to observe some small wonder. Your friend describes a newly disc...

Vulnerability of Feet (Maundy Thursday)

Jesus has been caring for his disciples for years. He has fed them, taught them, answered questions and been patient, led them around the countryside, comforted them, and inspired and baffled them by turns. But when it comes to physical tou...

All Things in Common

In these post-Easter weeks, the lectionary gives us readings from Acts, where we hear about the emergence of the early church, how people were being converted in huge numbers, and Christianity was beginning to develop as a new and fervent r...

A Palm Sunday Story

As we begin the journey of Holy Week, walking the path to the cross with Jesus, I invite you to take a few minutes to imagine yourself there, this day, on Palm Sunday…It’s that time of year again. Surrounded by crowds of others doing the sa...

Dry Bones don't get the last word

I’ve been struck recently about how being human brings with it a fair amount of fear. We are afraid of what we don’t know. We are afraid of change. We are scared of loss, of being left behind, of not being in control. We are afraid of death...

Word Play with Nicodemus

I’ve always loved the complexities of language. The way words have synonyms, double meanings, or carry different connotations for different individuals or in different contexts. The way we use language changes constantly - words or phrases...

Artistic Envy

I wonder if it is impossible for us as human beings to have a relationship of any sort with someone, and not compare ourselves in some ways. If they are skilled at something, it makes us feel inadequate. If they are bad at something, we fee...

If only, if only...

There have been many times in my life when I thought that if I had just that one more possession, or was able to go to that place, or do that one thing, then I would never want anything again. I’ve had moments where I thought that I was onl...

What's in a name?

If you had to describe yourself to a stranger, I wonder how you would go about it. Would you tell them what you spend most of your time doing? Explain your job? Seize the opportunity to ramble on for hours about your favourite hobby, or tv...

The Story of Light

In the beginning, at the start of everything, the earth was formless and dark. There was nothing but deep, deep blackness. Nothing could be seen, and there were no eyes to see it. Then, God said, ‘Let there be light!’ And there was light, a...

Through the Wardrobe

Isaiah 2.1-5; Romans 13.11-14; Matthew 24.36-44In C. S. Lewis' Narnia, time travels at a different pace. When Lucy pushes past the fur coats and steps through the wardrobe for the first time, she has a whole adventure involving tea with a t...

Autumn

Crisp apple smell with a subtle hint of decay,cool wind, yellow leaves, grass wetwith last night's rain.The copper sun is bright and fleeting;a momentof autumnal perfection as clouds slowly raceacross the horizon.

Earl Grey

Earl.Noble. Substance and station. Elegance, respect, history. Well-spoken assurance, quietly calming authority.Grey.Not the liquid, for this begins life as clear lakes of possibility, poured and captured, meandering through the delicate ti...

Would you rather?

Luke 18:9-14A game that kids like to play is ‘would you rather’. Would you rather be a tiger or a bear? Would you rather eat a slug or a snail? Would you rather have wings or be invisible? The answers, of course, are guided by our perceptio...

Scars

When you’ve been through the struggle of reevaluation and looked back on it with a newfound perspective, it’s easy to feel that it is over and done – behind, in the past, safely finished with. But, ah, naive self-congratulation, the past ca...

First and Second Loves

Revelation 22:12-14,16-17,20-21; John 17:20-26What does it mean to love?It’s a word we use quite carelessly at times. We might say that we love something like a tv show or a pair of shoes, or a celebrity, or a doughnut. But do we truly love...

Snakes and Scorpions

Galatians 6.1-16; Luke 10.1-11, 16-20I wonder what the phrase ‘the kingdom of God’ means to you. Do you think of it in present or future tense? Or even past? Where in space do you imagine it - is it an ethereal ‘up there’, or is it a future...

Tell Your Story

Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16; Luke 14:1, 7-14Jesus is a man after my own heart. He is always eating and telling stories! There are many accounts of Jesus sharing meals with others throughout the gospels, especially in Luke, and today’s reading is...

Costly Grace

Philemon 1-21; Luke 14.25-33When we talk about love so much, it is admittedly quite weird and jarring when we hear Jesus tell us we need to hate our families in order to follow him. Surely he doesn’t mean it. After all, doesn’t the same Jes...

On Cats and the Queen

The Queen’s death was unexpected. Yes, she was old. 96 is a very good age by any standard, but with her husband reaching 99 and her mother having seen the other side of 100, somehow the Queen’s passing felt premature. Mildly surprising.As s...

Beginnings

Unsettled space ebbs and flows around meas I sink into finding my feet among the waveswashed in newness, fluctuations of time,learning names, process, and what I might bringto this place at this time in this nowwhich is ever changing, mergi...

The Gift

I have a gift, I’ve been told, of tears. But it is a gift most strange and unwanted. To feel in such vivid technicolour the pain, the heartache that belongs to another – to call this gift? A gift of burden, a guilty knife within, a gift of...

The Drip

It drips, the tap.It drips and it drops.So I sit, and I watch.If it drips, I might catch it with paw or with tongue.So I sits in the sink for all the day long, and I wait for the drip.I sits in the daylight. I sits in the dark.I sits and I...

A Priest

I am a priest.​Hands laid upon my head, pressing gently downwards, the pressure of solemnity and significance. Oil dripped from my crossed forehead, blessings running down my face along with the tears.​I am a priest.​Seven years since that...

Good Friday Lament

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?Forgotten me, abandoned me?Turned aside and shut your eyes,withdrawn your guiding hand? My God why have you left me? Alone in pain and blood,surrounded on all sides by those who mock me,spurn my crie...

Dear Soul

When frustrated with yourself, dear soul, remember to be kind. Remember to be generous, and proud. And pay no mind to that voice which cries out ‘useless!’ ‘needs more work’ and leaves behind the truth that your innate gentleness is gift, a...

Praise Be

Praise be to God for dappled things,for light through trees, for moonlit wingsof birds flitting their way through night,for the smooth and speckled skin of pearson the windowsill, now ripe. Praise be to God for fragile things,small eggs in...

Tombstones

I read once that silence is always present. Even underneath the roar of a passing jet engine, stillness is there. You can’t always hear it, but that doesn’t alter the reality of its being.Standing in the graveyard that evening, the mumble o...

Loss

Finitude lends beauty to the fleeting natureof our conscious experience,for if unfettered what is so precious would somehow loseits wonder and become staid, drearin unending repetition.Yet endings bring pain, surprise, rebellion, wounds,a s...

A Psalm before Ordination

O Lord you are full of wonder and majesty. Your creation is glorious, a glimpse of the outpouring of your goodness.​As the wind moves through the grass but cannot itself be seen, so you are present, moving among us in ways we cannot tell. A...

Tannoy

Have you ever wondered why supermarkets seem so ominous when you are little?The long cold aisles stretch into the distance, and the metal trolley you are holding onto could be the trolley of anyone, followed quite by mistake as you are dist...

Turquoise

I keep wavering. Quivering, as if a querulous child has taken up residence within. It doesn’t seem to matter how much assurance I am given, it only takes the blink of an eye, and I’m right back where I was, facing a grey corridor with no en...

Fairy Songs

Do you know what a raindrop is? A raindrop is a note sung by a fairy.​Fairies are fond of frolics and mischief, but they are very serious about some things, and one of those things is their songs.​When it is gloomy and grey, they like to go...

Resolutions

It is new year’s day. The first day. Poignancy is in the air. The early setting sun to one side of me casts golden light onto the underside of scudding clouds, misting the sky with a mellow buttery gleam. The dazzling glory of the sinking b...

Caring

Shrinking and twisting with the pain of disease, she was vanishing before your eyes as the edges of life drew in. Her husband was kind in a gruff way, tersely particular about her food. Tears shone through the quiet conversation about the o...

This is my body

A moment of curious holiness.Juxtaposition of beauty and brokenness.As the melody of the Agnus Dei surrounds my soul with calm, the wafer is cracked.A sharp cut of sound against a softness of voices.And as we sing to the Lamb, the altar aga...

The Valley of the Shadow

Today I knelt in church. I’ve never done that before. It felt a little odd, a little uncomfortable, the cushion not quite right and the edge of my seat pressing into my spine. Yet at the same time, it surprisingly seemed right, natural, per...

Going Home

‘They’ve given me ten days’, he said. Large eyes looked out from a drawn and discoloured face, but the hands were calm, resting on the bed covers. ‘I would have liked longer with the grandchildren. They’re so young. But I’ve been very bless...

Unity

Intimacy of gathering.​The unfathomable mystery of the other in a moment of vulnerability and pause, each unknowable soul brought together by unique impulse.​How strange that individuals can be so connected, sharing communion with one anoth...

3 Wishes

Luke 17.5-10If you were granted three wishes, what would you ask for? The classic restrictions are that you can’t wish for more wishes, and you can’t wish for immortality. But those ideas aside, what would your heart’s desire be? I’ve often...

Looking for God

God is everywhere. I never hear her, but sometimes it’s like she has reached down and pointed at something – gone ‘ta daa!’ or ‘just look at this’, or ‘I love you’. ​ God is in everything. In the person who I struggle to get on with, the on...

Gifted

‘Are those wings?’ you ask, looking over my shoulder.‘What?’ Caught off guard the question surprises me. Someone asked me that once before, a long time ago. ‘I dream of flying sometimes, but I don’t have wings!’ I laugh.Your smile is quizzi...