Poem: Ash Wednesday
Poem: Ash Wednesday
by Marjorie Dobson
Poem: Ash Wednesday Ashes come from crosses, symbolically palm-leafed for joyful jubilation, yet shaped for betrayal and condemnation. Crosses carried last Lent as emblems of enlightenment and hand-held holiness, now tired and tainted by a year of faults and failing to follow the…
The Pastoral Letters - Waiting For The Crown
The Pastoral Letters - Waiting For The Crown
by SPCK - N T Wright
Waiting for the Crown 2Timothy 4.6-8 REWARD: £100,000. The sign stared at me across the road. There was a photograph underneath, and I crossed the street out of curiosity to have a look. It was, of course, a murder suspect. The police were fairly sure they knew who had committed …
Poem: The Mountain Top
Poem: The Mountain Top
by Marjorie Dobson
Luke 9: 28-36 Poem: The Mountain Top High, high into the mountains we climbed with him, higher than we had ever climbed before. He led us on up steep and rocky pathways made by wild animals and a few stray sheep. Shrouded, clouded was the mountain top he aimed for, invisible to t…
2 Corinthians - Introduction
2 Corinthians - Introduction
by SPCK - N T Wright
INTRODUCTION On the very first occasion when someone stood up in public to tell people about Jesus, he made it very clear: this message is for everyone. It was a great day – sometimes called the birthday of the church. The great wind of God’s spirit had swept through Jesus’ follo…
Responsive prayer: God is our refuge
Responsive prayer: God is our refuge
by Marjorie Dobson
Responsive prayer: God is our refuge On those days when people seem to be aggressive and antagonistic: God is our refuge. On those days when bad news is the only news of the day: God is our refuge. On those days when tragedy and disaster bring fear and a sense of helplessness: Go…
Poem: Call to speaking
Poem: Call to speaking
by Marjorie Dobson
Poem: Call to speaking God speaks and calls to speaking those who have the right potential, or the yet-unknown ability, to answer to the call. Confident or feeling hopeless, ordinary or unusual, any age will be accepted, inclusivity, the norm. For God knows why each is chosen, as…
Imagining the Lectionary: Cherry picking with Jesus (Epiphany 3C)
Imagining the Lectionary: Cherry picking with Jesus (Epiphany 3C)
by David Perry
Imagining the Lectionary: Cherry picking with Jesus (Epiphany 3C) Reflection accompanying image “Cherry picking with Jesus” As Jesus is handed the Isaiah scroll to read in his home synagogue, Luke delights in setting the narrative stage for the heart of this ancient text to be pr…
Paul for Everyone Romans part 1 - When the Law Arrived: Sinai Looks Back to the Fall
Paul for Everyone Romans part 1 - When the Law Arrived: Sinai Looks Back to the Fall
by SPCK - N T Wright
When the Law Arrived: Sinai Looks Back to the Fall ROMANS 7.7-12 The house was quiet when the workmen arrived, and when someone came to the door they assumed it was the owner himself. They had come to install a new alarm system on the doors and windows. The owner had been anxious…
Imagining the Lectionary: Baptism of Jesus (Year C)
Imagining the Lectionary: Baptism of Jesus (Year C)
by David Perry
Imagining the Lectionary: Baptism of Jesus (Year C) Reflection accompanying image “Faith check holy fire assembly point” When can faith be said to be truly authentic? This week's Lectionary readings suggest that the answer to this question relates to both our experiences of God's…
Drama/dialogue: Eastern strangers
Drama/dialogue: Eastern strangers
by Marjorie Dobson
Drama/dialogue: Eastern strangers (A piece for two voices. The first one reads straight to the audience, as if ignoring the interruptions. The second interacts with the audience, letting them in on the comments and questions. Only in the last three lines do the two speakers relat…
Reflection/Drama: Psalm 72 for today
Reflection/Drama: Psalm 72 for today
by Marjorie Dobson
Reflection/drama: Psalm 72 for today (can be read by several voices, but will work best with at least two) ‘He will judge in righteousness. He will defend the afflicted. He will save the children of the needy. He will crush the oppressor. He will be like showers watering the eart…
Christmas Confession
Christmas Confession
by Richard Steel
A simple confession with a focus on Christmas Dear God There’s so much I wanted for Christmas – perhaps I’ve been a bit greedy. Sorry, Lord. Help me to be more generous I’ve wanted so much time for myself – perhaps I’ve forgotten other people. Sorry, Lord. Help me to be more thou…
Christmas all age service -Opening Prayer
Christmas all age service -Opening Prayer
by Richard Steel
A short gathering prayer for use at a Christmas morning service. Dear Jesus We thank you for coming to earth as a tiny baby. We thank you for coming to earth as the light of the world. We come now - Continues... Also available in PowerPoint - Click Here
Lectionary Reflection Year C - Proper 17 Year C
Lectionary Reflection Year C - Proper 17 Year C
by SPCK - Jane Williams
Proper 17 Ecclesiasticus 10.12–18 Hebrews 13.1–8, 15, 16 Luke 14.1, 7–14 In this central section of Luke’s Gospel it feels as though Jesus is in a kind of first-century Big Brother. Everything he does and says is being critically watched, sifted, grafted into other people’s fan…
Lectionary Reflection Year C - Proper 16 Year C
Lectionary Reflection Year C - Proper 16 Year C
by SPCK - Jane Williams
Proper 16 Isaiah 58.9b–14 Hebrews 12.18–29 Luke 13.10–17 Can the leader of the synagogue hear himself? Has he any idea what he sounds like? You can feel the silence that ripples out of the crowd as their religious leader tries to persuade them that what they have seen is wrong an…
Poem/Reflection: Strange choices