Category Archives: Uncategorized

Last night was the Olympic 1500 metres final. All of the experts made it clear. It was between Britain’s Josh Kerr and Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen. We Brits knew that Josh Kerr would win. As it happened, both were beaten by the American Cole Hocker, leaving Kerr second and Ingebrigtsen fourth… unexpected disappointment. (…but not forContinue reading “Life’s Unexpected Disappointments”

When I was teaching, the question ‘who am I?’ was often important to the children. Sometimes it related to family – the reputation of parents or siblings… their nationality, affluence, lifestyle; sometimes it was about physical attributes – hair colour, shape, size, needing glasses; sometimes it involved gifts and talents, what they enjoyed or dislikedContinue reading “Who Am I?”

There’ve been violent, angry riots in cities across the country. Right wing groups have targeted immigrants and Muslims in particular. Last night mobs set fire to a hotel housing asylum seekers in Rotherham… Yesterday in church Lou quoted the story of Anthony Walker, the Black British student who was murdered in a racially motivated attackContinue reading “Facing Violence and Hatred – with Gee, Juliet and Helen”

I was reminded of this old Van Morrison song the other day… Whenever God shines his light on meOpens up my eyes so I can seeWhen I look up in the darkest nightThen I know everything’s going to be alrightIn deep confusion, in great despairWhen I reach out for him, he is thereWhen I amContinue reading “Whenever God Shines His Light”

‘The proof of the pudding is in the eating’  – so the old saying goes. When the family come round for a meal Rachel will often say ‘any pudding requests?’ Last time the request was ‘strawberry and cream sponge or banoffee pie, please. Pudding arrived. ‘That looks nice,’ said Emily. It did. The proof ofContinue reading “The Proof of the Pudding…”

In my annual journey through the Bible I arrived this morning in Isaiah 23. In the middle of a prophecy about the ancient city of Tyre there’s the phrase ‘The Sea Has Spoken’. I’ve lived by the sea for thirty-eight years. What does the sea say? In ‘Deck of Cards’ a soldier boy explains hisContinue reading “The Sea Has Spoken”

Monday’s Southport knife attack resulted in the tragic death of three girls. Eight other children and two adults were badly injured. The community came together to share its grief. On Tuesday night there were riots In Southport. Following misinformation on social media shops were looted, vehicles set on fire, the mosque was targeted. The policeContinue reading “Overcoming Evil With Good”

For two days now the news has been dominated by Monday’s tragic knife attack during a Taylor Swift-themed dance and yoga workshop for children aged six to eleven in Southport, a seaside town in northwest England. Last night there were the pictures of the three girls who were killed; we were reminded of the eightContinue reading “Lament, Love, Learn, Live”

‘My Country Wept’ tells the true story of Theo Mbzumutima. Forced to flee from his native Burundi when civil war between Hutus and Tutsis killed many of his family and friends, he describes the impact on his young sister: ‘I couldn’t imagine how my sister must have felt when the army entered our village. AtContinue reading “Xenophobia and Philoxenia”

Yesterday morning at church Danny preached on Jesus’ parable of the new and old wine and wineskins of Christian faith… Yesterday nine of us enjoyed a lovely family lunch together, relaxing, chatting, catching up… Rachel remembered that in the spring the traditional family Easter Egg hunt had been impossible because of the weather… We foundContinue reading “Old Wine and New Wine…”