Advent Reflection: the strange case of Zechariah

If there is humour to be found in religion, I find it in the matter of fact way biblical authors speak of extraordinary, supernatural and miraculous events without any hint of needing to clarify how strange the whole situation is. It leaves one most sympathetic to the characters of the drama, however much they appear to be rebuked by the text.

Advent Reflection: Post-Christian Britain now needs a Christian minority fuelled by the audacious hope of the gospel

The recent revelation that the 2021 census revealed Christians to be a minority for the first time really should not have been met with the flurry of news headlines that it was.

Advent Reflection: grief and the Christmas story

Last Sunday was the third Sunday in Advent, known within the church as Gaudete Sunday (rejoice Sunday).

In the chosen reading from Philippians chapter 4 (4-7), Paul writes, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Advent Reflection: hope in fearful times

This reflection for the first week of Advent will invite you to consider 3 important questions: In what do I hope? On what do I depend? What do I love most?

Poem: A bird in a graveyard

High up above I watch them,
Knelt on the ground below,
Some in calm and peacefulness,
Some with faces filled with woe.

Reflection for New Year

So, once again, it’s New Year. This year, like many others, I found myself engaged in conversation with several people who shared equal bewilderment at what all the fuss was about. 2017, after all, won’t be a significant new year: no new decade, century or millennium is beginning.

Why I'm not buying in to 'Brand Positivity'

What is Facebook’s most important question when hiring candidates? Here is the answer. The most important question is this: “On your very best day at work – the day you come home and think you have the best job in the world – what did you do that day?”
As million dollar questions go, you would be forgiven for hoping the sentence construction was a little more graceful, but the lack of elegance is far from the most sinister feature of such a question.