from the Church Times ( 19th February 2010)
As we begin Lent, with its emphasis on soul-searching and repentance, we might reflect on anger and its place in our living — its nature, its causes, and how it can be creative or destructive.With two young children and a wonderf
Blog: Pictures-Books-Reflections
Polycarp
Posted on by James Woodward
Polycarp was Bishop of Smyrna (today known as Izmir), a city on the west coast of Turkey. The letters to the "seven churches in Asia" at the beginning of the book of Revelation include a letter to the church in Smyrna, identifying it as a church undergoing persecution.
Polycarp
Dark
Posted on by James Woodward
Like the water
of a deep stream, love is always too much.
We did not make it. Though we drink till
we burst we cannot have it all, or want it all.
In its abundance it survives our thirst.
In the evening we come down to the shore
to drink our fill, and sleep, while it
In Praise of Bach
Posted on by James Woodward
Bach’s contribution to Western imagination and spirituality is immense His is a sounds-world that in its scale and depth accompanies us on a profound spiritual and musical journey.
The bass notes travel, often at walking pace, rising and falling, journeying through the narra
midwinter spring
Posted on by James Woodward
Midwinter spring is its own season...
When the short day is brightest, with frost and fire,
The brief sun flames the ice, on pond and ditches,
In windless cold that is the heart's heat,
Reflecting in a watery mirror
A glare that is blindness in the early afternoon.
And glow m
Councils ‘will struggle with ageing population’
Posted on by James Woodward
Social care is currently means-tested in England Councils will struggle to cope with the financial challenge posed by England's ageing population, a watchdog says.
The Audit Commission said the £9bn a year social care bill will double by 2026 if current practices continue.
Th
Lament
Posted on by James Woodward
The sound of lament is heard throughout Scripture. It is more than a cry of grief, more than a purely human reaction to a distressing event or oppressive situation. It is both a protest against the pain of the present time, and also a timeless expression of the weeping voice of
Ash Wednesday
Posted on by James Woodward
Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent for Western Christian churches.
It's a day of penitence to clean the soul before the Lent fast
. Roman Catholic, Anglican, and some other churches hold special services at which worshippers are marked with ashes as a symbol of death
Pancakes!
Posted on by James Woodward
Ingredients
For the pancake mixture:
110g/4oz plain flour, sifted
pinch of salt
2 eggs
200ml/7fl oz milk mixed with 75ml/3fl oz water
50g/2oz butter
To serve:
caster sugar
lemon juice
lemon wedges
Method
Sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl with a sieve held high
Between remembering and forgetting?
Posted on by James Woodward
The process of writing and production is a fascinating one - but always exciting! Here is a preview of the cover - more reflections to follow!
The making of Modern Britain
Posted on by James Woodward
The onset of a head cold from hell caused a frustrating retreat and between a streaming nose and eyes gave me a chance to read a Christmas present. I am a great fan of Marr whose writing is engaging and energetic!
Andrew Marr wrote this history of Britain, subtitled "From
Sound?
Posted on by James Woodward
A short taster of Lucy Winketts excellent new book:
Our Sounds is our Wound
The Archbishop of Canterbury’s Lent Book by Lucy Winkett
Sound is also a powerful metaphor for describing our relationship with God. From the description of Creation in Genesis and the beginnin
Finding new walks
Posted on by James Woodward
One of the wonderful things about a getting to know a new place is the discovery of new places to walk and relax.... I have recently been discovering how the River Thames shapes the life of Windsor -
Windsor began as a Saxon village. Windsor's name is believed to be a corrupti
Ways of Perception
Posted on by James Woodward
The Via Positiva is a spirituality of pleasure and delight in creation, of falling in love with life. It is the way we see most clearly in the wonder and discovery of young children, stretching their imaginations and intellect, exulting in their bodies, sharpening their senses,
Dementia ‘losing out’ to cancer in funding stakes
Posted on by James Woodward
Dementia 'losing out' to cancer in funding stakes Each dementia patient costs the economy £27,647 each year Dementia now costs the UK economy twice as much as cancer but gets a fraction of the funding to find causes and cures, a report seen by the BBC shows. For every one pound
Presentation of Christ in the Temple
Posted on by James Woodward
All-powerful Father,
Christ your Son became man for us
and was presented in the temple.
May he free our hearts from sin
and bring us into your presence.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God for ever and
For Kinder lives?
Posted on by James Woodward
The Hebrew word hesed in the Old Testament, which is most often translated as mercy, is in fact a word that is so rich in meaning that we cannot adequately contain it in English. It holds within it qualities of love, faithfulness, kindness and solidarity. It has been expressed
Fragile and threatened? A better Way…..
Posted on by James Woodward
We’ve all been there. We may well have been part of a group that gets infected by this kind of a mood and attacks collectively. Not, of course, that we would ever do anything life trying to throw someone off a cliff. But a little character assassination, a bit of damning with
Funerals
Posted on by James Woodward
A book review that appeared in last weeks Church Times
Death: Our Future
Christian theology and funeral practice
Edited by: Peter C. Jupp
November 2008; Epworth Press; Paperback; 300pages; £25.00;
ISBN: 9780716206385
In an age dominated by con
Transformation?
Posted on by James Woodward
The word ‘transformation’ literally means ‘across forms’. It has a sense of something over or beyond, or on the other side of existing forms. To walk the Via Transformativa is to struggle to find new forms to hold our creativity, new ways to touch the heart. It is the ch