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Pope Francis
Like many, I was surprised by the suddenness of the death of Pope Francis, just a day after his public appearance in St Peters and a meeting with the US vice-president. I did however think that dying the day after the Church celebrates the resurrection of Jesus and the triumph over the grave was in…
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Easter
I am writing this on Good Friday morning. Later today, at a service at Chelmarsh, probably alone at Billingsley, I will stand before a cross, I will read the story of the crucifixion from one of the Gospels and I will cover the cross in a shroud. Then, on EasterSunday morning, I will remove the shroud…
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A Sunday Walk
As we enter Holy Week, vicars throughout the land will be focusing on how to bring the Easter message to anyone they come across, to explain the significance of Good Friday and Easter Sunday to believers and nonbelievers alike. I am going for a rather different approach. This Sunday (13th), in the first of our monthly 6pm Sunday…
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5 Years On
There has been much comment on the recent 5th anniversary of the Covid outbreak; lockdown and all that followed. I totally underestimated the severity of the disease when it first broke. I remember the shock at hearing of the first death of someone I knew; a distinguished scientist only a few years older than me. In our area,…
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Mothering Sunday
I once forgot Mothering Sunday. It only happened once; I still carry the memory… Mum didn’t say a word to me about it; I only found out because a week or so after an uncle pointed out to me that she had noticed the omission. He suggested a suitable form of remediation; I can’t remember…
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Latin and the importance of the useless
We have recently nominated a Wednesday lunchtime at work as a time to meet over a cup of tea and chat about whatever we want. Sometimes it may be about science, when people can share their joy (or disappointment) at their latest results. However, this week I had a lengthy conversation with a colleague about Latin.…
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The Heavens are Telling
I am writing this the morning after the partial eclipse of the moon, the spectacular “blood moon” that turns red and disappears as it passes into the earth’s shadow. I didn’t see it, largely because I think it happened early in the morning when I was asleep and in any case it was cloudy. However,…
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Winning the Argument
It has been a depressing week to follow the news. We seem to be entering a new world of international relationships, where old conventions no longer hold. Even more worryingly, there seems to be in some a hankering after autocratic leaders who disregard any interests other than their own and listen to no one. There…
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Space Exploration, Soul Exploration
SPHEREX, a powerful new telescope, is being launched into space in the next few days. All galaxies emit a form of radiation invisible to the human eye known as infra-red radiation and this is what SPHEREX observes. By measuring this, we can learn about the origins both of the galaxies and the universe. Thus the…
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The Sound of Silence
As a single person, I am used to silence; as an introvert, I positively relish it. Silence is however rarely total. As I write this, alone, I am aware of the wind blowing outside, the faint hum from the central heating in the house. One of the most magical silences I regularly experience is being…
Benefice of Highley with Billingsley, Glazeley and Deuxhill and Chelmarsh
Knowing Jesus and Making Him Known
