Connecting With Creation and the Self!
Over the next few Sundays the themes of Sunday worship will centre around the stories of creation in the Bible. In the morning services we will seek to find a Christian response to the seemingly hopeless misuse of the earth's resources. In the evening services we will start a new series centred around the importance of work and its purpose in our lives. I think this will be an interesting exercise as I intend to also use the themes and the prayers mentioned on the...
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To move from sitting in Iona Abbey to be standing in The Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada in Barcelona all within a few days is quite an overwhelming experience.
To stand on a boat and view the simplicity of The Abbey on Iona and then to stand in Goudi's amazing unfinished church which seeks to emulate the shear awe and majesty of a medieval cathedral for me opened my mind to all kinds of questions. What do you say when you enter a building that has been under...
This is a good place to be
It's silence and serenity is like gold
But you have to mine it
Dig deep into yourself
To lose the noise of footsteps,
voices,
camera clicks,
and the rustle of clothes.
People move around as though searching,
looking,
some leaning on sticks.
Some full of faith
Breathing in the worship space.
Candles lit in a circle of iron
Prayer requests
pinned to a cross.
Stone slabs neatly laid.
Stone crosses wooden beams
shaped and...
A girl sings on the street
From the back of her throat
Her voice sings U2
Bono would be proud
No stadium to rock
Just a few pigeons
And a couple of old age pensioners
Tapping their feet
The Holy Trinity is behind her
" With or without you "
Echoes off the walls
She gives herself away
Sharing songs on a lunchtime break
She's coined a phrase
earned her lunch
She has to Run
Amy MacDonald couldn't do better
We visited St Andrew's today. The town is...
Here is sanctuary
Gulls are singing praise to God
Stone and wood
Touch earth and sky with grace
The river laps the sand with ease
Ancient sounds of monks are heard in the breeze
Singing songs and chants of praise
Holy Holy is the Lord
Colm's island speaks of God
Hermit prayers can still be heard
Saints and sinners voices cry
Amidst the ruins of our time
Forgive our sins, redeem our lives
We cry for sanctuary
Prayer never ceases it cannot die
It...
Robert Calvert, in an article written for the Lausanne Conversation entitled " Secularity: Dogma meets Diversity in Europe", makes the following comment," The challenge of secularity is to make the case for the truth of Christ in societies that are pluralistic and globalized and to build the peace of Christ in societies that are broken and divided. Evangelical Christians, who need to critically engage rather than to escape the challenge of this secular age, are...
I'm just back from having an interesting two days in London. A few of us from the Vine Trust had the honour of being invited to a Garden Party at Buckingham Palace as part of the celebrations surrounding Princess Anne's 60th Birthday. It turned out to be an excellent day and the weather added to the whole occasion. It was hot and sunny and the Princess seemed to be enjoying meeting up with a number of representatives from the 300 and more Charities to which she is...