Sermons And Gubbins

This sermon was given at our Harvest Festival service on Sunday 9th October 2022. The Gospel was John 6:25-35 . I hope you enjoy reading it. Preaching at our Harvest festival is getting to be a regular thing for me! I think this is my third occasion to speak on this subject in the last six years. My first harvest sermon was on this exact date in 2016, when I told a story about the desert folk and their god who lived up a mountain, and my last time before today was this time last year – the 10th October in fact. It’s getting to the point where I’m in danger of running out of things to say! We might need to ensure Harvest doesn’t fall on my rota’d week for preaching in 2023, or I might have to get you all to do my sermon for me instead! But… who am I kidding? You know me, and you can ask my family – I never run out of things to say… And the first thing I want to say this morning is thank you, from all in the ministry team here at St Michael’s for the offerings you have brought today. ...

This sermon was preached at our Harvest Sunday service on 10th October 2021. There has been much talk in the news of petrol shortages, rising fuel costs and existing and protected supply chain issues, causing a sense of fear across the UK. The Gospel that morning was  Matthew 6:25-33 . Our offering at St Michael's was in aid of  Stretford Food Bank , A farmer slowly enters the field. He surveys the golden stalks of wheat, pristine and gently waving in the breeze before him. Solemnly, he prepares his scythe, and whispers a silent prayer to the god of the harvest. In one swift, practised motion, he swings his blade against the wheat, and then stops. Carefully he gathers that first cutting and ties it together, his calloused fingers stumbling over the knot, and sets it gently aside. This will be the offering; the bargain that guarantees a good harvest next year – as long as the farmer did everything right in the preparation, that is. And then, the rest of the harvesting is done....

This poem was written for our Evensong service on 7th October, the week of National Poetry Day 2018. The day was given over to our church's Harvest Festival, and I was reflecting on what we - who no longer plough fields or scatter seed - can bring to the creator of everything, who needs nothing from us. Hope you enjoy... I am not a farmer; I can bring no wheat. I am not a butcher; I can bring no meat. I am not a baker; I can offer no fresh batch. Nor am I a fisherman; I can bring no morning catch. I am not a hunter; I can bring no prey. I am not a potter and can bring no refined clay. I am not a gardener; I can bring no fresh produce. And I am not a fruit picker; I cannot bring first fruits. I am not a cow-herd; I can offer you no milk. I am not a weaver; I can bring you no fine silk. I am not a serving cook; I can prepare for you no meal And I am not a blacksmith; I can forge for you no steel. I am not a miner; I cannot bring you coal. N...

This sermon was preached on Sunday 4th June - Pentecost Sunday, a few days before 2017's General Election. The main reading for the day was from Acts 2:1-21 . I did not have time to edit it to reflect yesterday's attack in London , but all those affected by that horrible event were (and are) in our prayers this morning. Are you ready for the world to change this week? For a change in our nation? Have you felt it in the air? Something stirring within you? Can you feel it? The sense of anticipation? Excitement? Maybe even a sense of fear around what might happen next? Don’t worry; I’m not talking about the election. This is not a party political broadcast on behalf of any prospective government; you can relax! But not too much – don’t get too comfy. There’s no time for that. Today, we celebrate Pentecost , and if you’re comfortable with that, it’s possible you’re thinking that today is a commemoration, an anniversary, a birthday, a historical event, and nothing mor...

This story was written for an all-age harvest service, and told on Sunday 9th October 2016. I enjoyed writing it, but it was tricky to ensure it appealed to (and had a message for) the adults and the very young children in the service.I hope I managed to get the balance right, and that you get something out of it too!   O NCE Upon A Time... many years ago; before you could order a takeaway from an app on your smartphone, before battery hens or McDonal d’s cows, back when all fruit and vegetables were organic, and all animals were free-range, back before potatoes were made into chips, before tomatoes were made into ketchup, or before meat was made into sausages, before even supermarkets were invented, there lived a small tribe of desert people. They lived – these desert people – in dusty desert tents, unsurprisingly, out in the hot, dry desert, near a great big mountain, as tall as the sky itself. Now, because supermarkets were not invented yet, this tribe of desert peopl...