Swimming in a sea of Death: A Son’s Memoir by David Rieff, (Simon & Schuster) 2008, £12.99
Unfortunately I have had recent experience of my father and his brush with his mortality. A serious blood clot carried him off into hospital where, thankfully, at the age of 70,
Understanding and Affirming Children
Posted on by James Woodward
Here are soem books that have helped me understand soem of the more challenging and problematic dimensions of childhood.
Grief in Young Children: Atle Dyregov. (Jessica Kingsley Publishers) 2008, 91pp, pbk, £9.99, ISBN 9781843106500
Grief in Children: Atle Dyregov. (Jess
Building Community
Posted on by James Woodward
People do not always get on with each other. There is infinite opportunity for misunderstanding. Despite best efforts we sometimes do not communicate well - and if we thought we were clear - that doesnt prevent the hearer picking up a different strand of the story!
Community doe
That was the Weekend that was!!!
Posted on by James Woodward
Amazing, extraordinary, splendid, fun, magnificent - are just soem of the words that come to mind when I consider the shape of the Heritage Weekend that we have enjoyed over the past two days. Let these pictures tell the story.
Friday was wet - and we worried.....
We looked
Think Big – Keep it Simple
Posted on by James Woodward
This is a sermon that was preached today to the community of St Mary's Temple Balsall
On this Heritage Sunday morning I want to offer you my vision, my working vision, and to encourage you to think about the mission and ministry of this church.
I want to do that by way of a
Rain
Posted on by James Woodward
For those of you who have been following our preparations for the Heritage weekend Friday was full of heavy showers which took me to seek refuge in the text books! Here is what they tell us about .....
Rain plays a role in the hydrologic cycle in which moisture from the oceans e
Temple Balsall Heritage Weekend
Posted on by James Woodward
Well its Friday and a crowd of folks are making havoc on my front lawn putting up tents and tables and chairs. The weather has been somewhat unpredictable ( how about that for an understatement ??) But it is all go for the most significant weekend of the year.
I am quite amaze
9/11
Posted on by James Woodward
I guess that most of us remember where we were when the news of the twin towers reached us. I saw a newsflash on BBC news and moved next door to my home where the pictures were so graphic they seemed quite unreal. These images were replayed so often that they have taken
In Praise of…… the Thank You note!
Posted on by James Woodward
In my study in Temple House I have a wonderful large mantlepiece. It is big enough to house a variety of cards and pictures and odd ends that might be useful to keep. A friends's parents clock marks the hour with beautiful chimes that echo in the room.
Of course it needs cl
Roger Hilton
Posted on by James Woodward
A visit to catch up with some friends and be present at a wedding anniversary party gave me an opportunity to see the Roger Hilton exhibition (Swinging out into the void) at Kettle’s Yard in Cambridge last week.
It lived up to all expectations. Quite a stunning ran
What was said to the Rose
Posted on by James Woodward
What was said to the Rose
what was said to the rose
that made it burst into flower
was said to me, too;
and it was said to my heart
Rumi
Ubuntu
Posted on by James Woodward
What is your philosophy? By what values do we live? Does all this Church make a difference?
Perhaps in Europe we have come to live by Descartes’s : I think, therefore I am – in Africa being human is expressed as I belong, therefore I am.
Desmond Tutu translates
The Daily Grind??
Posted on by James Woodward
Well it’s September and who would know it – where has the summer gone…. if we ever had one?
August is over and for many it is back to work and school and the daily grind. For some this is very stressful, added to which is the uncertainty caused by the present economi
An Ageing Church?
Posted on by James Woodward
I gladly spent the last weekend of August, in the Windermere Centre, which is the United Reformed Church residential training centre, set in the Lake District. We gathered to explore some of the questions and issues surrounding age. The group was open, ready to listen an
Temple Balsall Heritage Weekend
Posted on by James Woodward
MORE THAN 900 YEARS AFTER KNIGHTS TEMPLAR FIRST MET AT TEM
The force of Nature
Posted on by James Woodward
I can’t believe that many people need to be convinced that we live in a fragile and unpredictable world.
Can any of us have the imagination to enter in to the fears and terror of those two million people who are fleeing their homes as Hurricane Gustav nears New Orleans.
Holiday Reading Part Three
Posted on by James Woodward
As ever, a mixture of books make up the secret of a good holiday read. My first has been waiting for some time. Richard Hoggart (Promises to keep: Thoughts in Old age) was published by Continuum in 2005. Delightful, modest, engaging and wise are words that most come
God’s Architect
Posted on by James Woodward
What an achievement!
This book weighs in at 498 pages of text, plus another 100 with gazetteer and references. Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin is best known as the apostle of the Gothic Revival, his polemical books Contrasts and The True Principles of Pointed or Christian
Holiday reading Part Two!
Posted on by James Woodward
Broken Promises is one of the themes in Michael Levy’s fascinating account of his life and fortunes as a friend and fundraiser for Tony Blair. A kind holiday present from my brother, who managed to make a contribution to my expanding collection of political biographi
Britian from Above
Posted on by James Woodward
Watching Andrew Marr's Britain from Above (BBC1, Sunday) gives us an extraordinary picture of our country. Clogged roads and railways, the smoking nation's ageing arteries, run between massive landfill sites and even more massive sewage works. Ships crawl, bumper to bumper,