There has been a heavy load this week, in the work of pastoral care. Many of those who attended our All Souls service had lost multiple family members; many to Covid or to its consequences in terms of delayed diagnosis or medical intervention. And then the elderly folk who seem to have aged and become…Continue reading Are we allowed?

God with us, Your Son Jesus, calls us to follow him. Give us courage to leave behind the things that don’t really matter, and to follow you in our lives, in your special love for people with no power or influence, In your struggle against the powers of evil and destruction. Show us the way…Continue reading Intercessions for the Third Sunday before Advent.

Today’s Gospel reading in context Today’s Gospel reading is, on the surface, rather uninspiring, and also rather odd. Why would Simon and Andrew simply walk away from their nets and follow someone they seem (according to Mark’s Gospel) never to have heard of? If you do a bit of digging though, the Gospel passage is…Continue reading Sermon for the Third Sunday before Advent

Holy God, you call us to be faithful in our everyday lives, in times of joy and of sorrow, in busyness and at rest, in the simple things and the complicated ones. Help us to follow you faithfully, to seek your guidance and strength, and to believe even when you feel far away. Creator God,…Continue reading Intercessions for All Saints Day

Years ago I went to a performance of John’s Gospel. It featured a solitary actor who proclaimed the whole of John’s Gospel from memory: an amazing feat of memory. The audience was seated in the nave of a darkened church and the actor stood at the front under a spotlight – he was all that…Continue reading Sermon for All Saints’ Day 2021

Holy God, you know us face to face; on our journeys of faith, and in our lives as your disciples, help us to hear your voice, to seek you with purpose and to come to know your love, your healing, and your forgiveness. We pray for the world you gave us to cherish. teach us…Continue reading Interecessions for the Last Sunday after Trinity

Mark 10:46-52 Blind Bartimaeus: a familiar name to us. We know nothing much about him except that he was blind and that he was a beggar. He must have had some kind of degenerative eye disease, or perhaps he had lost his sight in an accident: his request to Jesus is that he will be…Continue reading A Sermon about Blind Bartimaeus

God of the harvest, at this time we usually come to celebrate earth’s plenty, but this year we still find ourselves anxious and with faltering hope. Things were so much better two years ago! Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like a river changing from trickle to flood. After tears of sadness we pray that you…Continue reading Harvest Intercessions