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Continue reading →: Christians awake!
Sergeant Frank Naden of the 6th Cheshire Territorials described how he kept Christmas Eve 1914 in the trenches of northern France. “On Christmas Eve fireballs went up from the German lines and we shouted ‘Hurrah’ and ‘Let’s have another’. We sang Christians Awake and other Christmas hymns.’ One Christmas Day, William Brown, of Richmal Crompton’s wonderful William books,…
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Continue reading →: Kafka’s Church
Professor Helen King, Emerita Professor of Classical Studies at the Open University, (and a member of the Church of England’s General Synod) and Andrew Graystone, author of Bleeding for Jesus, who as a survivor advocate, has recently done so much in bringing into the light the horrific abuse of John…
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Continue reading →: ‘Hymn number 207’ Advent
I enjoyed choosing hymns for worship when in parish ministry. I enjoyed introducing hymns not in the usual repertoire, including some older hymns well worth singing. One hymn I introduced in the first parish I served as Rector, in County Durham, was There’s a light upon the mountains by Henry…
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Continue reading →: The Peace of Wild Things
Several years ago I was inspired by an interview, on the BBC World Service, with Joshua Dubois, a faith advisor to the then US President, Barack Obama. The BBC commented: ““Every morning, one particular email pinged into the inbox of President Barack Obama, it was sent by a young pastor…
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Continue reading →: ‘Tragedy’
During my curacy in Barnard Castle I visited my old art teacher, Douglas Pittuck (1911-1993), who was retired and living in the town. Although I am not an artist he made art lessons at school a special time for me. He was a cheerful and personable man and a dedicated…
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Continue reading →: Called to be kind
“As Jesus followers we’re called to be kind and forgiving to one another. On #WorldKindnessDay, let us be inspired to embody kindness in all we do. A small act can help transform a person’s day and the world around us.” The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, posted these words, with…
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Continue reading →: Total failure in a Church safeguarding complaint
In September 2022 the police and a senior church safeguarding officer investigating historic abuse by a priest encouraged me to make a complaint against the Diocese of Manchester for failing to respond in any way to a disclosure, made several years earlier, of serious sexual assault on me by the…
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Continue reading →: Holy and inclusive?
In 1884 a 37 year old man was consecrated Bishop of Eastern Equatorial Africa in Lambeth Palace chapel. Fifteen months later he was martyred in Uganda, before he actually reached his diocese. James Hannington became an inspiring figure. When news reached England of the Bishop’s torture and martyrdom significant numbers of…
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Continue reading →: Re-membering Baptism
Celebrate the anniversary of your baptism like a birthday, says Pope Francis. Today, October 27th, is the anniversary of my baptism, and I decided to mark it in a special way. I was only 24 days old when I was baptised. At the time of my baptism such services were…
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Continue reading →: Let’s talk about Polygamy, Reincarnation, Traditional African Religions and…
I was always moved at St Chrysostom’s, the parish I retired from, when in worship at Christmas and Easter congregation members publicly gave greetings in their mother tongue – often over twenty languages! Not surprisingly among such a wide range of people there were different outlooks on life. Chatting one…
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A Retired Rector's Reflections 