It’s been another busy day. This morning we held a Chrism Mass – a service where the oils used for anointing are blessed, and clergy and lay people have the opportunity to renew their vows of commitment to God. There were hundreds of people on site; the car park was full, the congregation sang withContinue reading “Lent 2025: Anointing, Abandonment and a Peace that holds”
Tag Archives: fear
Lent 2025: The most common command
If you had to guess the most common command in the Bible, what would you say? Love your neighbor? Pray? Actually, it’s ‘Do not be afraid!’ Throughout the Bible, that command is given over 200 times (people disagree on the exact number, and I haven’t counted them all). That seems like a pretty significant commandContinue reading “Lent 2025: The most common command”
In the silence
It’s Easter Saturday, the day between Jesus’ crucifixion and Jesus’ rising. I have a number of friends who have already put up their colourful Easter wreaths, who have already started wishing others “Happy Easter”, even my t-shirt says ‘Spoiler alert! The tomb was empty!’ None of these are bad things – we live in aContinue reading “In the silence”
By faith – lent 2023
Today I was reading from Hebrews. There is a passage about faith. It starts, ‘Faith is confidence about what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see’. This is a letter written after Jesus has risen to early Christians who would have known the Patriachs, the men from the old testament whoContinue reading “By faith – lent 2023”
40 day challenge day 32: Writers block
Have you ever put so much pressure on yourself that what you do can never be good enough? Have you ever set the expectation bar so high that you set yourself up for failure? Have you ever set perfection as the goal, to the extent that its easier not to even start because your scaredContinue reading “40 day challenge day 32: Writers block”
40 day challenge day 29: Faith over Fear
A friend once gave me a picture. I love it and have it somewhere I can see it often. It has a mouse floating on a dandelion seed and says ‘let your faith be bigger than your fear’. Part of what I love about it is that it doesn’t say ‘don’t be afraid’ which isContinue reading “40 day challenge day 29: Faith over Fear”
40 day challenge day 9: We need to talk about Bruno…
OK, so if you haven’t seen Encanto, that title is very random! But I can’t put him off any longer. Bruno is Abuela’s son and Mirabel’s uncle. He is absent for the first half of the film. His gift is having visions of the future. People don’t always want to hear his visions. Bruno lovesContinue reading “40 day challenge day 9: We need to talk about Bruno…”
Fix your eyes on…?
Anybody grow up going to Sunday School (or an equivalent)? There’s a joke about a child who goes to Sunday School and the leader asks, “what is grey with a long fluffy tail, runs up trees and eats nuts?” The children think for a bit then one pipes up with, “I know it sounds likeContinue reading “Fix your eyes on…?”
Don’t count sheep!
Have you ever seen White Christmas? I was fortunate enough to see it on the West End with Aled Jones and Tom Chambers, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Fantastic talent and a brilliant story-line. But there was one song that stuck with me long after I left the theatre (and no, I don’t mean White Christmas!)Continue reading “Don’t count sheep!”
The Reason for my Hope Blog 