Thought for the Week

June 26, 2022

The Third Sunday after Pentecost

Last week’s ELCE Pastors’ Study Week – although it is only three days – is a good time of fellowship, learning, and worship. We were certainly hosted brilliantly by Westfield House – and a big ‘thank you’ to them – especially for the meals. This year we studied C F W Walther’s ‘Church and Ministry’ […]

June 19, 2022

The Second Sunday after Pentecost

How’s the weather for you? How would you describe it? Warm? Hot? Pleasant? Unpleasant? Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of last week recorded the highest temperatures three days in a row this year. Friday’s UK maximum temperature was, I believe, 32.7ºC in Suffolk, and the average June temperature (from a relatively quick search on the internet […]

June 12, 2022

The Festival of the Holy Trinity

I have been known to challenge Confirmation students to find a worldly analogy to explain the Trinity – one that I can’t pick ‘holes’ in – and the ‘prize’ is the biggest sweet in the supermar- ket that their parents will let me buy. I have yet to go the supermarket. Nevertheless I have been […]

June 5, 2022

The Festival of Pentecost

I thought I knew Australian history growing up. I knew a version of it – not incorrect as such – but definitely not nuanced or the ‘full story’. The ‘skeletons were in the closet’ about some things – particularly in relation to the indigenous people of Australia – and it wasn’t until I was in […]

May 29, 2022

The Seventh Sunday of Easter

It’s been a while … but I did read something recently and thought ‘very good’ and wanted to share so here goes … Luther’s view of truth is inseparable from his doctrine of the Word of God. Without entering into the various inter- pretations of this doctrine that have been advanced in recent years, it […]

May 8, 2022

The Fourth Sunday of Easter

I was saddened to read and hear a story of a naval chaplain who had retired having lost his faith. He describes himself now as an atheist and a humanist. A lot of the material in his story was about – and the material was framed in a way that he was ‘chaplaincy reformer’ who […]

May 1, 2022

The Third Sunday of Easter

Whoops! “Oh Padre!” came the quiet comments – intakes of breath from the cadets – as well as smirks from the staff. We had just finished Colours at Sea Cadets and I had been dismissed but was still on deck as were the cadets and my phone rang. Phones are not to ring on Parade. […]

April 24, 2022

The Second Sunday of Easter

I was intrigued to hear that from these past two years with COVID-19 a thing called ‘long grief’ is now being discussed which I discovered was a short hand for prolonged grief disorder. And yes, I was intrigued especially in this season of Easter – the seven weeks of Easter before Pentecost comes around – […]

April 17, 2022

The Resurrection of Our Lord

I heard a podcast* on my travels about what is happening when our mind wanders. I found it fascinating because of the new things I heard. They’re probably not new to anyone who knows about minds and brains but they were new to me. I heard about how we think about ourselves; how we understand […]

April 10, 2022

Palm Sunday

When Egeria travelled in the Levant (381-384) she recorded many things on her travels one of which was a description of the events in Jerusalem in Holy Week. There were many services, gatherings, walking to various places and on Sunday afternoon having gathered at the Mount of Olives for hymns, antiphons, and Bible readings there […]

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