Remembrance Day
Tomorrow is Remembrance Day and our remembrance service is at 10.15am (not the usual time of 10am). Our parish mass moves to the evening at 6pm.
What I said this Sunday – All Saints Sunday
We kept All Saints Day on the 1st November, but as I know attendance at a weekday feast is always low, we also kept All Saints Sunday as the Church of England allows us to do.
Today is a day for thinking about heaven. This morning we celebrate the great feast of All Saints, as we remember those great heroes of the Christian Faith who have gone before us. And tonight, at our evensong for All Souls – the annual commemoration of the faithful departed – we remember those dear to us who have also gone before us and who join with those great saints we remember this morning in the worship of God in heaven. For all are now equal and worshipping God for eternity. Today we think about heaven.
The Co-operative Funeral service recently undertook a survey of the music that people choose to have played at funeral services. It was widely reported in the news. One thing they discovered is that pop songs now outnumber hymns by two to one. On the whole, while they might not be everyone’s choice, most people pick songs that are favourites of the person who died, or that express some emotion or sentiment on the part of the mourners. Top of the list for the seventh year running is My Way by Frank Sinatra which, apparently, is now played at one in every seven funerals. At number two, from Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli comes Time To Say Goodbye. At least I suppose you can say it’s relevant. However, several of the songs express – even though they may not be hymns – profoundly Christian sentiments. Continue reading
What I said this Sunday – Bible Sunday
This Sunday we kept as Bible Sunday, and it was a particularly special Sunday for us as we were receiving the gift of a new lectern Bible from the Friends of Saint John’s. We already had a lectern Bible, but it has been largely unused for a long time since, like many churches, we now use the New Revised Standard Version in our worship. The new Bible we have is a beautiful leather-bound copy of the NRSV with Apocrypha.
For the occasion I chose as the gospel reading Luke 5.1-11 for reasons which will become clear. Here’s what I said.
Have you noticed how some things just don’t make sense?
- How do dads get away with buying presents for their children that they intend to play with themselves.
- Why do we press harder on a remote-control even when we know the battery is dead?
- Why do people go to Burger King and order a Double Whopper with large fries and then insist on having a Diet Coke?
- How come abbreviated is such a long word?
- Why do banks charge a fee on “insufficient funds” when they know you haven’t got the money to pay it?
- Why is there an ‘s’ in the word ‘lisp’?
- Why do people say that they slept like a baby? Do they mean they cried all night and kept their parents awake?
- Why do toasters always have a setting so high that could burn the toast to ashes and set fire to the kitchen?
- Why is the Bible the world’s best-selling book, and yet so few people seem to actually read it?
From my Quiet Time today
[Jesus says] I am the hope of the hopeless, the helper of those who have no helper, the treasure of those in need, the physician of the sick, the resurrection of the dead.
– Epistle of the Apostles, circa 150.
So much of Church Army ministry is helping people to discover the Jesus who reaches out to them.
– Epistle of the Apostles, circa 150.
So much of Church Army ministry is helping people to discover the Jesus who reaches out to them.
What I said this Sunday – Trinity 20
Here is my sermon from this Sunday
Three years ago the Guardian newspaper published a list of the thousand novels that everyone must read. I think I have some way to go. I looked through the list yesterday and I have read 65 of them. In case you think that actually sounds rather impressive I should explain. The list contains many of the great classics from around the world, Dickens, Cervantes, Dostoevsky, Jane Austen and so on, and many of the books are seriously heavy going. It also contains great modern novels that you probably know better as films – Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith, the great Philip Marlow novels of Raymond Chandler, Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. I managed to resist cheating and didn’t include those in my total even if I’d watched the film.
I was actually helped along to my total of 65 by the inclusion in the list – and remember this is the thousand novels that everyone must read – of such great classics as Asterix the Gaul and Tintin in Tibet, the Discworld novels of Terry Pratchett, and The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13¾ by Sue Townsend. Even Sharpe’s Eagle, that terrific novel about an army officer in Wellington’s army. Continue reading
What I said this Sunday – Trinity 19
What I said this Sunday – Trinity 17
Here’s last Sunday’s sermon.
It has been called a sensational summer of sport.
Of course, we’re used to hyperbole from newspapers and television commentators, but for once they were right. And – against the expectations of so many crowning it all was what has now been called the greatest Olympics ever. And just in case you are inclined to believe all those who say that Britain is no longer ‘Great’ let me remind you that in both the regular Olympics and the Paralympics we came third in the medals table. The Paralympics were amazing. We were on holiday for most of it but I have caught up since with some of the footage. The biggest ever audience for a Paralympics. And how the athletes – both able-bodied and those with disabilities – have inspired us. The way that those with disabilities have been able to overcome those disabilities and compete on the world stage is truly amazing. And as for wheelchair rugby – from what I’ve read and seen it’s far more challenging than the regular game. The Paralympics have been so successful that some are now calling for it to be combined with the regular Olympics in future. Continue reading
What I said this Sunday – Trinity 16
Having had a few weeks off preaching – three weeks annual holiday, and then a visit from the archdeacon to rededicate our newly refurbished and rebuilt organ – it was back to normal last Sunday. Here’s what I said.
Many of you will remember the television series Dallas which ran for thirteen years from 1978. I don’t mind admitting I was addicted to it. It told the stories of the two brothers Bobby and J R Ewing and their constant power struggles with each other and with people like Cliff Barnes for control of the oil industry. It has recently been revived for a new series, currently being shown on Channel Five. And in last week’s episode, J R Ewing – in his 80s but still craving power and money, said to his son John Ross: “Nobody gives you power – real power is something you take.” Continue reading
Pet Service
A reminder thast our annual pet service is being held on September 30th at 11.45am. All pets are welcome as long as they promise not to chase each other! Owners welcome too!
What I said this Sunday – Trinity 11
Here’s my sermon for this week.
It was so much easier in the old days, when I was a child, when the bread man still came to the back door with his basket. The bread came straight from his bakery, freshly baked, and he delivered it door to door in his van. Because, like milk, it was delivered so nobody bothered buying it at the shop. Deciding what kind of bread to buy was easy. He sold white steamed or Hovis brown. That was it. Not even a choice between sliced or unsliced. If you wanted a sliced loaf you used a bread knife!
Some time ago – as some of you know because you have bought my bread Church sales – we got a bread maker. It can make 105 different loaves of bread. Continue reading
View from the Valley 