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Who is Jesus Anyway? Is he who we think he is?

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  Who is Jesus anyway? It’s something I often reflect on, because sometimes the Jesus I see in the Gospels seems very different from the Jesus we see represented in Christianity. It’s something I touched on in a recent sermon and seemed like an unfinished train of thought. After all, we see Christianity being used a means to push through policies in America, which, to me, make no sense. Making me wonder, have they even considered what Jesus would make of moves to ban books, repeal abortion rights or marginalise minorities. Here, the church and state in the United Kingdom are really just united in name only, with the risk of the church being seen to endorse Government policy for fear of losing their status of the Church OF England. It then often feels like the Anglican Communion is only being preserved by church leaders compromising their beliefs to avoid an argument, and I wonder what Jesus would make of these political moves in our church. The horrific acts of violence in Isra
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Silent Retreat poem from 2014

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Just under two weeks ago, I went on my first silent retreat to a beautiful place in the Brecon Beacons. Each retreatant has their own lodge and this was the view I looked at for hours.         While away, a few things happened, some of which I'm still working through and which I may share one day, but not just yet.   I did some writing as well and wrote a few poems and this is one I shared with the others just before we left:   Retreating   Be Listen Be, still Listen Breathe   Let walls of protection fall, Let barriers of control, fall, Be, humble Be, vulnerable Trust.   Listen. God,            Protects the lost            Has a plan            Loves the meek in heart            Comes to the vulnerable            Rewards trust with certainty   Put God first Trust in Love, Hope and Grace Seek and find Listen Find God, In silence Questions, answered Just Be          
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Poem, When I walked through the woods

This poem is a reflection on not only the seasons as they change around us, but also the changes going on in the world as well and how we can perhaps see them differently in the , ‘Light of the World,’ which is unchanging. It appeared in St George's, Cam, Parish Magazine January 2017. When I walked through the woods When I walked through the woods today, the leaves were not crisp and bright anymore. Time was clearly doing its work as they slowly, out of sight, joined the earth once again. There were places where golden leaves lay glowing on the ground, the last memory of a year beginning it’s gentle slide towards the darkest day. They shone though, and while damp, and soon to be mulch, they were a joy, in this gloom, in this day when the world seems to be trying to turn back the clock, rain clouds hanging, ready to pour forth, without thought or reason, just a reaction to absorbing so much, just so much, they can scarcely hold it in, until they le
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A sermon on Rest, from July 19th 2015

Sermon for July 19 th 2015 on Jeremiah 23. 1-6; Ephesians 2. 11-end and Mark 6. 30-34, 53-end  May I speak in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. A couple of years ago, I was in one of those fast, rib boats heading down a Scottish loch on the way to an uninhabited island in the Inner Hebrides. Now, as Louise will tell you, this was a rather unexpected move on my part. Only the year before, I’d opted to paddle back, with my trouser legs rolled up, to the mainland on the causeway from St Michaels Mount in Cornwall, rather than face a small open boat on relatively calm seas.  So, by contrast, I was now heading towards the Gulf of Corryvreckan, which is narrow channel between the islands of Jura and Scarba, where two tides meet over an underwater rock pinnacle to create the UK’s only natural whirlpool. We were heading right for it when the skipper, who knew the waters well, quickly turned the boat 90 degrees left, increased the power
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The Wedding at Cana of Galilee

Sermon preached on Sunday 25th January 2015 at St Georges, Cam and St Cyrs, Stinchcombe May I speak in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen. Exactly one month ago, it was Christmas morning. We were celebrating a feast day in the church in the same way a feast is celebrated in our Gospel reading. On Christmas morning, especially for some of our children, the expectation was all about an abundance of presents. In fact, children of all ages will often study the quantity of presents and the size of the boxes under the tree before wondering what they could be. The general rule of thumb being, the bigger the better. At first analysis, contents are less important, it’s all about the size versus quantity ratio. In fact, the contents can sometimes be so unimportant that even an empty box would be welcome and often, an empty box can be just as much fun as a full one. All a big empty box needs is an abundance of imagination. In our Gospel today, there is a message of abu
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