Sermons And Gubbins

  This talk was written for our Maundy Thursday service on 28th March 2024. I hope you enjoy reading it. I always used to think today was called Maunday Thursday. I was never particularly sure what that meant – what a Maun Day was. I was fairly content with that; after all, the Church often has obscure names for feast days, high days, and holy days, and ember days. Why not a Maun day? Let’s face it – at this time of year, there’s enough confusion about how on earth anyone could name the events that we remember and commemorate tomorrow ‘Good’ to fill all your time during Lent and Easter to not even think about the name that we give to today. But today is not – as I’m sure you all know – Maunday Thursday. It is Maundy Thursday. And that – believe it or not – actually makes all the difference. The word ‘maundy’ comes from (as many things in the Church do) Latin. It’s from the word mandatum , meaning commandment . And that’s what today is all about – the new commandment. “ I give you a ne

  This sermon was written for our Sunday morning service on 18th February 2024 - the First Sunday of Lent. The gospel was Mark 1:9-15 . I can’t quite believe it’s Lent already! It seems like only the other week we were celebrating the end of Christmas, and now, here we are, already preparing for Easter. Oh – hang on – it was only the other week we were celebrating the end of Christmas. Just 14 days ago, Fi and Caroline led us in our Candlemas service. That time between Christmas and Lent really has been a whistlestop tour this year. Perhaps less so for us in the Church than for those who work in retail though. I distinctly remember Jen messaging me when she was shopping on 6 th January to say that she’d already seen Easter Eggs for sale!   Time really is relative, I guess!   Knowing that doesn’t make any of it feel less of a rush, though, does it? I have to be honest, I’ve not really had time yet to think about what my Lenten discipline this year is going to be.  

These poems were written for our February monthly poetry group. The theme was 'animals'. I found this a difficult theme to work with, but I hope you enjoy reading them! The Battle Silver trails, silver trails  On the front room rug. I will find you, my nighttime nemesis!  ...An  ode  to a slug. An Evening to Myself All is silent as I sip my wine. A sudden scuttling approaches! I shout, and spill on my brand new shirt. A poem for cockroaches. Trauma There are no words that rhyme with 'wasps', But this verse goes out to them, from me. As a child, one stung me on my palm. They can  all  get in the sea. Disgust Earwig, earwig, you look quite foul. You make my insides squirm. I'm not penning any verse for you. Instead,  this  poem's for a worm.