Take time to stop and think

It can be hard to stay focussed on the reason we celebrate in the midst of all the pressures and busy-ness. Advent is a season of spiritual preparation which runs alongside all the practical preparations for Christmas, but it’s so easy for it to get lost, for us to skip straight to nativity plays and … [Read more…]

In Flanders Fields

A sea of red is filling the dry moat at the Tower of London as thousands of ceramic poppies sweep around its perimeter. The first of 888, 246 poppies – each representing a British or Commonwealth soldier killed during the First World War – was planted on 17 July and the final one will be … [Read more…]

Referendum

The morning after – – – Scotland is to remain part of the United Kingdom. I print here a statement from our Bishops with which I’m sure we all agree. Speaking on behalf of the College of Bishops of the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Primus, the Most Rev David Chillingworth, says: “The people of Scotland … [Read more…]

Prayer of the Mace

Dear Friends September is the month of the Referendum – and of the Ryder cup but even I don’t think that is of equal importance! Some of us will be deeply committed emotionally and/or intellectually to one side; others will be unsure. I will vote No, but my wife will vote Yes – and we … [Read more…]

Christian Calendar

The Christian calendar was naturally developed for the northern hemisphere. The birth of Christ, the light of the world, being celebrated at the darkest time; Lent during the ‘hungry months’ when last years crops were all eaten; Easter as new life comes to birth in the natural world. Humanity has always believed that the eternal … [Read more…]