To the beginning of another year

Today marks the beginning of another new year. I wonder what 2010 holds for us, and how it might compare to the year just gone by. It’s probably just as well that, at this early start to the year, none of can really know the answer to that.
Here in the UK we don’t seem to [...]

Hold us fast to your promises of peace

Hold us fast to your promises of peace
Real world peace sometimes feels as though it’s just an impossible dream. There’s so much conflict in the world, so much upheaval, there doesn’t appear to be enough room left for real peace.
However, individual people and organisations all around the world are trying, are working towards a genuine [...]

Draw us more deeply into the mystery of your love

Draw us more deeply into the mystery of your love
I have mentioned my trip to Walsingham in April on here before. It was a quite profound experience in many ways, and I often find myself thinking about it in one way or another. When I read the Collect for today, Trinity Sunday, my thoughts were [...]

That all may know your peace

That all may know your peace
Today is the Seventh Sunday of Easter, the Sunday after Ascension Day, in the Church of England’s Common Worship lectionary; and, I think, in the Revised Common lectionary that many Churches use around the world.
I was fortunate enough to experience a real sense of God’s peace filling me while I [...]

By the lakeside you renewed your call to your disciples

By the lakeside you renewed your call to your disciples
I have always enjoyed sitting by water of any kind — rivers, lakes, gravel pits, or the sea — and probably don’t do it often enough nowadays. For me, it’s a great way to become aware of the presence of God, through the beauty of his [...]

To the beginning of another year

To the beginning of another year
A very happy and blessed New Year to all readers!
And so we come to the beginning of another new year. I wonder what 2009 holds for us, how will it compare to the year just gone by? None of us can really know the answer to that as yet, which [...]

Bring near the day when wars shall cease

Bring near the day when wars shall cease
My instinct is that, following the momentous events of the past week, the world has moved a little closer to the day when wars shall cease. But I have to say straight away that I’m not the most politically astute person around, and on the whole, don’t get [...]

Serve thee with a quiet mind

Serve thee with a quiet mind
Today is the Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity, just another Sunday towards the end of Ordinary Time in the Church’s liturgical calendar. But for those of us lay people who lead a Book of Common Prayer Evensong on a regular basis, the main Collect for the day is very familiar, and, [...]

May Peace Prevail on Earth

May Peace Prevail on Earth
Today is the United Nations International Day of Peace, “Peace Day”. I first mentioned it in a post back in June. There is a great deal of information about the background to the day, and how you can get involved on their website, here.
“Peace Day should be devoted to commemorating and [...]

Abide With Me

Abide With Me
I mentioned in a comment on August 5th that my brother-in-law had died, and that I was having trouble finding the words to use for a post about his death. Now is, I think, the time to put that right.
James died on July 30th; he was 43 years old. He’d been very ill [...]