Echoing the Word - Prayers at the preparation of the table
Echoing the Word - Prayers at the preparation of the table
by SPCK - Paula Gooder & Michael Perham
4 Prayers at the preparation of the table Are there suitable words that help prepare the worshipper for the great Eucharistic Prayer? The pre-Reformation Church thought so and provided prayers that spoke of offering. The Reformation swept these away and instead gave Bible sentenc…
Echoing the Word - The institution narrative
Echoing the Word - The institution narrative
by SPCK - Paula Gooder & Michael Perham
*8 The institution narrative The narrative of the institution of the Eucharist at the ‘last supper’ has always been seen as a crucial part of eucharistic liturgy. There is only one known exception and that is the third-century Syrian liturgy of Addai and Mari which, in a Eucharis…
Recovering from Depression - Sorrow and sighing
Recovering from Depression - Sorrow and sighing
by SPCK - Katharine Smith
Sorrow and sighing Two boys are running along the top of quite a high wall. Suddenly they both slip, lose their balance and fall. One boy suffers some nasty cuts and bruises and is clearly shaken up. The other boy hits his head when he lands and his leg is badly twisted under him…
Cross words
Cross words
by Steve Boxall
Poem for Good Friday The tree that was made into a cross Cross words The tree, Part of God’s creation, spoken into existence. Full of life, holding life, supporting life, Once crowned with branches, leaves dancing in summer winds. Now straight, stark and still, No sweeping curves…
Times and Seasons - Wiping out the past
Times and Seasons - Wiping out the past
by Marjorie Dobson
Wiping out the past Wiping out the past is not an option. History has happened. Regrets alone will not scour the pages clean. The facts are known. Embroidered by memory, or malice, but their significance is plain. Mistakes are made and crimes committed. Errors of judgement cause …
Times and Seasons - Prayer: Human instincts
Times and Seasons - Prayer: Human instincts
by Marjorie Dobson
Romans 12: 9-21 Prayer: Human instincts Vengeance is a natural reaction and most children have the instinct from an early age. We have to be taught to share, to forgive, to live in peace with one another and to resist our automatic reaction to get our own back. So we pray: When o…
Times and Seasons - Psalm 31 – a responsive prayer
Times and Seasons - Psalm 31 – a responsive prayer
by Marjorie Dobson
Psalm 31 – a responsive prayer Where there is distress and tears are the deepest expression of sorrow – God, bring your comforting presence. Where there is pain and anguish that cries out for healing – God, bring your comforting presence. Where weakness and infirmity drain life a…
Times and Seasons - Poppies and snowdrops
Times and Seasons - Poppies and snowdrops
by Marjorie Dobson
Poppies and snowdrops A blood red symbol of the field of war, the poppy stands and bows its head before the wind that sweeps its petals to the skies, until the field is black and colour dies. A frail, white symbol of a winter passed, the snowdrop’s bud breaks through iron ground …
Times and Seasons - One hundred years ago
Times and Seasons - One hundred years ago
by Marjorie Dobson
One hundred years ago How brave they were, they thought, one hundred years ago. Enthusiastic, full of zeal and ready for the sport, one hundred years ago, they thought. How cheerfully they went, one hundred years ago, as town and village sent their companies of pals hell-bent for…
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - Mindfulness, God’s and Ours
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - Mindfulness, God’s and Ours
by SPCK - John Goldingay
His Commitment Is Forever Psalm 136 A former student of mine served as an armed forces chaplain in Iraq for two years after graduating from seminary. One week he called me from there. He had felt compelled to preach on the idea of God’s steadfast love. He remembered my explaining…
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - How to Be Defiant in Spirit
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - How to Be Defiant in Spirit
by SPCK - John Goldingay
How to Be Defiant in Spirit Psalm 138 This morning I received a message from a woman who a year ago was attacked and stabbed by a man while she and a friend were hiking in a forest; her friend was killed but she survived because the man mistakenly thought she was dead. She has re…
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - His Commitment Is Forever
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - His Commitment Is Forever
by SPCK - John Goldingay
His Commitment Is Forever Psalm 136 A former student of mine served as an armed forces chaplain in Iraq for two years after graduating from seminary. One week he called me from there. He had felt compelled to preach on the idea of God’s steadfast love. He remembered my explaining…
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - How to End the Day