There are many interesting features of living in a castle – and one of them is the guard change! Changing the Guard or Guard Mounting is the process involving a new guard exchanging duty with the old guard. The Guard which mounts at Buckingham Palace is called The Queen’s Guard and is divided […]
Tension
Posted on by James Woodward
Tension, then, is an inescapable feature of our spirituality and no one was more insistent upon this that von Hügel. ‘Christianity’, he wrote, ‘can and does develop in man a temper, a state of soul, which so deeply and delicately, so sharply and steadily perceives and feels the difference between Time and Eternity, the Fleeting […]
Michael and All Angels
Posted on by James Woodward
O everlasting God, who hast ordained and constituted the ministries of angels and men in a wonderful order: Mercifully grant that, as thy holy angels always serve and worship thee in heaven, so by thy appointment they may help and defend us on earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee […]
Temple Balsall
Posted on by James Woodward
For those of you unfamiliar with this special place visit www.leveson.org.uk Today a new chapter in the life a place that is very important to me begins – a new Vicar of the Parish and Master for the Foundation of Lady Katherine Leveson – the Reverend Kathy Lloyd Roberts. The place and its new priest, […]
Silence
Posted on by James Woodward
Silence is living, dynamic, and liberating. The practice of silence nourishes vigilance, self-knowledge, letting go, and the compassionate embrace of all whom we would otherwise be quick to condemn. Gradually we realize that whatever it is in us that sees the mind games we play is itself free of all such mind games and is […]
Can we free ourselves?
Posted on by James Woodward
Now I am disarmed.. I have waged this war against myself for many years. It was terrible. But now I am disarmed. I am no longer frightened of anything because love banishes fear. I am disarmed of the need to be right and to justify myself by disqualifying others. I am no longer on […]
Lancelot Andrewes
Posted on by James Woodward
Today we commorate Andrewes Lancelot Andrewes (1555-1626) was born at Allhallows, Barking, in 1555. He was an excellent scholar at Merchant Tailor’s School, and gained a fellowship at Pembroke College, Cambridge. When Jesus College, Oxford, was founded, young Andrewes was invited to be one of its foundation fellows, and in 1580 he took holy orders. […]
The Sky
Posted on by James Woodward
From my bedroom in a tower of the castle I can see for miles – the space and wonder of the sky is extraordinary… it reminds me of this piece: sunset Then new events said to me, ‘Don’t move. A sublime generosity is coming towards you.’ You are the fountain of the sun’s light. […]
Ember Day
Posted on by James Woodward
Today the Church prays for those in ministry. I give thanks for the priviledge of my own ministry and those who support my life and work. In the liturgical calendar of the Western Christian churches, Ember days are four separate sets of three days within the same week—specifically, the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday—roughly equidistant in […]
the genius of Angelou
Posted on by James Woodward
temple We, unaccustomed to courage exiles from delight live coiled in shells of loneliness until love leaves its high holy temple and comes into our sight to liberate us into life. We are weaned from our timidity In the flush of love's light we dare be brave And suddenly we see that love costs all […]
Disappointment?
Posted on by James Woodward
Here is a short piece published in Fridays’ Church Times We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.’ (Martin Luther King) One of the more disturbing pastoral conversations that rather shocked me was with parents who expressed their profound disappointment in their two children. I knew one child well and admired the […]
pointing heavenward
Posted on by James Woodward
You observe the carven hand With the index finger pointing heavenward. That is the direction, no doubt. But how shall one follow it? It is well to abstain from murder and lust, To forgive, do good to others, worship God Without graven images. But these are external means after all By which you […]
Silence
Posted on by James Woodward
Silence is living, dynamic, and liberating. The practice of silence nourishes vigilance, self-knowledge, letting go, and the compassionate embrace of all whom we would otherwise be quick to condemn. Gradually we realize that whatever it is in us that sees the mind games we play is itself free of all such mind games and […]
Hildegard
Posted on by James Woodward
Hildegard von Bingen Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) was a remarkable woman, a “first” in many fields. At a time when few women wrote, Hildegard, known as “Sybil of the Rhine”, produced major works of theology and visionary writings. When few women were accorded respect, she was consulted by and advised bishops, popes, and kings. […]
Christian Aid
Posted on by James Woodward
Travelling in and out of London has given me the time to look and see the power and possibility of advertising! I have been particularly impressed with Christian Aid and its campaigns – have you seen their work that directly challenges us to change the world! How often do we think from a global perspective?? […]
Holy Cross Day
Posted on by James Woodward
This feast is called in Greek Ὕψωσις τοῦ Τιμίου Σταυροῦ (literally, “Raising Aloft of the Precious Cross”). In Latin it is called Exaltatio Sanctae Crucis (literally, “Raising Aloft of the Holy Cross”. (The word “Exaltatio” is sometimes translated as “Exaltation”, at other times, as in the 1973 ICEL translation, as “Triumph”.) In some parts of […]
Be the Change you pray for
Posted on by James Woodward
Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours, Yours are the eyes through which is to look out Christ’s compassion to the world; Yours are the feet with which he is to go about doing good; Yours are the hands with which he is […]
Saturday Mornings
Posted on by James Woodward
A few of my friends have regretted some of the more personal blogs that especially characterised my Sabbatical ‘Journal’….. well I agree but in this different stage and time of my ministry I have tried to take some space to listen and understand people, places and what I hope to learn and share. In case […]
Holiday Reading (4) – The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work
Posted on by James Woodward
De Botton usually mixes idiosyncratic illustrations or photographs with an array of memorable quotations. In looking closely at specific arenas of labour, he hopes this book will serve as “a hymn to the intelligence, peculiarity, beauty and horror of the modern workplace and, not least, its extraordinary claim to be able to provide us, […]
A Jewish Prayer for those who have died
Posted on by James Woodward
O Lord and King, who are full of compassion, God of the spirits and all flesh, in whose hands are the souls of the living and the dead, receive, we beseech thee, in thy great loving kindness the soul of our sister who hath been gathered unto her people. Have mercy upon her; pardon […]