Sermons And Gubbins

T his poem was composed for the second meeting of our poetry group. We were set the theme of 'Manchester: the place we call home'. I decided to find the most common languages spoken in our city; it is, after all, an adopted home to people from all around the world. Apologies to anyone who speaks these languages... I've made my best attempt (using Google Translate) to ensure the phrases are correct! I hope you enjoy reading it (my attempt at a phonetic translation is below the poem, including the languages for each line) Manchester یہ   شہر   ہمارا   گھر   ہے۔ هذه   المدينة   هي   بيتنا ਇਹ   ਸ਼ਹਿਰ   ਸਾਡਾ   ਘਰ   ਹੈ Magaaladani waa gurigeena 这座城市是我们的家 આ   શહેર   આપણું   ઘર   છે এই   শহর   আমাদের   বাড়ি Ev bajar mala me ye این   شهر   خانه   ماست Esta ciudad es nuestro hogar Αυτή η πόλη είναι το σπίτι μας Acest oraș este casa noastră Це місто наш дім To miasto jest naszym domem Cette vi...

This sermon was preached at Evensong on Sunday 28th May, 6 days after the Manchester bombing that claimed the life of 22 people and injured many more. The New Testament reading was Ephesians 1:15-23 . Like many, if not all, of us, I have been trying to come to terms this week with the horrific actions of Monday night, when, after a pop concert at Manchester Arena, a young man, full of religious fervour, set off a bomb, killing himself and 21 other young people, and wounding many others in the area.  “How can this happen?”, we ask ourselves. How does God allow it? Where is God in this awful situation? These are natural questions to ask ourselves, and ask of God. I’d go so far to state that not only are they natural, but they are necessary . Ours would be an immature faith if we did not ask; if we simply stopped our ears at the sound of the question. An immature faith ignores this issue. Not as immature and perverted a faith as one that persuades its adheren...