For those of you who know me a little - you will recognize these adjectives:
busy
on the go
energetic
active
engaged
at work
active
on duty
industrious
engrossed
Well - there is of course in new work plenty to do and see and learn. But what are the oppposite
Mystery and Silence
Posted on by James Woodward
An extract from a sermon for Trinity Sunday:
This week I received the Concert programme from Warwick University. It reminded me of the excellent pre-concert talks at where a musician reflected upon their task and the piece they were about to play. A pianist once describ
Brown’s Britain?
Posted on by James Woodward
a bit long for a blog but very interesting!!
Brown’s Britain is Bankrupt
FRANK FIELD MP AND JEREMY JENNINGS
Daniel Johnson: Parliament is supposed to be the guardian of liberty, but it seems rather that its members have been taking liberties. The result is a great upsurge
Thomas Ken
Posted on by James Woodward
Today the Church of England commemorates Thomas Ken
Ken was born in 1637 at Little Berkhampstead, Hertfordshire. His father was Thomas Ken of Furnival's Inn, of the Ken family of Ken Place, in Somerset; his mother was the daughter of little known English poet, John Chalkhil
Trinity
Posted on by James Woodward
Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth:
Set up your kingdom in our midst.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God:
Have mercy on me, a sinner.
Holy Spirit, breath of the living God:
Renew me and all the world.
I venerate and glorify you, O most Blessed Trinity,
Prayer for Creation
Posted on by James Woodward
The Archbishop of Canterbury is urging churches to use Environment Sunday (June 7) to pray for the planet and campaign for climate change in the run up to the important UN talks later this year in Copenhagen.
Dr Williams said it was vital for Christians and people of all
From Windsor to Waterloo
Posted on by James Woodward
Here are ten surprises emerging out of the completely ordinary and unspectacular journey from Windsor and Eton Riverside station to Waterloo:
It only costs £8 return (and I am not a senior citizen!)
It takes just over three quaters of an hour
There are 12 stops between
Time??
Posted on by James Woodward
I read 21st Century parody of Psalm 23 the other day.
It goes something like this:
The clock is my dictator, I shall not rest.
It makes me lie down only when exhausted.
It leads me into deep depression.
It hounds my soul.
It leads me in circles of frenzy, for activitie
Blueness
Posted on by James Woodward
blueness
Reach me a gentian, give me a torch
let me guide myself with the blue, forked torch of this flower
down the darker and darker stairs, where blue is darkened on blueness.
even where Persephone goes, just now, from the frosted September
to the sightless realm where
Justin
Posted on by James Woodward
Most of what is known about the life of Justin Martyr comes from his own writings. He was born at Flavia Neapolis (ancient Shechem in Judaea/Palaestina, now modern-day Nablus).
According to church tradition Justin suffered martyrdom at Rome under the Emperor Marcus Aureli
Pentecost
Posted on by James Woodward
Almighty God, who on this day
didst open the way of eternal life
to every race and nation
by the promised gift of thy Holy Spirit:
Shed abroad this gift throughout the world
by the preaching of the Gospel,
that it may reach to the ends of the earth;
through Jesus Christ our Lor
Josephine Butler
Posted on by James Woodward
Let your continual mercy, O Lord, kindle in your Church the Never-failing gift of love, that, following the example of your servant Josephine Butler, we may have grace to defend the poor, and maintain the cause of those who have no helper; for the sake of him who gave his life fo
Water
Posted on by James Woodward
Water
If I were called in
To construct a religion
I should make use of water.
Going to church
Would entail a fording
To dry, different clothes;
My litany would employ
Images of sousing,
A furious devout drench,
And I should raise in the east
A glass of water
Where an
Augustine of Canterbury
Posted on by James Woodward
O Lord our God, who by your Son Jesus Christ called your apostles and sent them forth to preach the Gospel to the nations: We bless your holy name for your servant Augustine, first Archbishop of Canterbury, whose labors in propagating your Church among the English people we com
Bede
Posted on by James Woodward
Today we commorate The Venerable Bede
Almost everything that is known of Bede's life is contained in the last chapter of his Historia Ecclesiastica, a history of the church in England. It was completed in about 731, and Bede implies that he was then in his fifty-ninth year
Yes?
Posted on by James Woodward
rejected things
After the final no there comes a yes
And on that yes the future world depends.
No was the night. Yes is this present sun.
If the rejected things, the things denied,
Slid over the western cataract, yet one,
One only, one thing that was firm, even
One th
When did you last talk about death?
Posted on by James Woodward
The British don't talk about death, says a survey, because they fear it. So if you are going to have a chat about, for want of a better word, dying, how might it go?
It's got to be the party pooper to end them all: "Hi. What's your name? What do you do? Do you think about death
Ascension
Posted on by James Woodward
Today is Ascension Day - here are some arresting and stimulating images to help us into a deeper sense of the meaning of this Feast:
Alcuin of York
Posted on by James Woodward
Alcuin of York had a long career as a teacher and scholar, first at the school at York now known as St Peter's School, York founded AD 627) and later as Charlemagne's leading advisor on ecclesiastical and educational affairs. From 796 until his death he was abbot of the gre
Dunstan
Posted on by James Woodward
Today we remember Dunstan (c.909–19 May 988) was an abbot of Glastonbury, a bishop of Worcester, a bishop of London, and an archbishop of Canterbury who was later canonized as a saint.
His work restored monastic life in England and reformed the English Church. His 11th century