Drama: Useless
Drama: Useless
by Marjorie Dobson
Drama: Useless A piece for three voices. The first is a woman, the others preferably men, but not necessarily. Each person reads one line of each paragraph. Follow this with the reading from Micah 5: 2-5a I am a nobody and I come from nowhere. I’m just an ordinary working class p…
Meditation-Is it any wonder
Meditation-Is it any wonder
by Marjorie Dobson
Meditation: Is it any wonder? Is it any wonder that those women were afraid? Surely we would have been, too? They had only gone to the tomb to take their special spices and oils for the ritual anointing of the body of their special friend – a task that was very common in those da…
Two mothers of Bethlehem
Two mothers of Bethlehem
by Kit Walkham
A short but powerful drama or shared reading for 2 women. Aims to link Christmas and Easter. Stories for children help prepare them for the realities of life. So bereaved mothers from 1st century and 21st century Bethlehem challenge Mary as to what stories she told Jesus. Writte…
Reflections for Holy Week - The Uncounted Disciples
Reflections for Holy Week - The Uncounted Disciples
by Michaela Youngson
The Uncounted Disciples Luke 23.27 - 31, 49 - 56 Luke 24.1 - 12 Luke understood the loyalty shown and the price paid by the women, the uncounted disciples. His Gospel bears witness to the witnesses. 'Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and your childre…
Mark for Everyone - The Resurrection
Mark for Everyone - The Resurrection
by SPCK - N T Wright
Mark For Everyone MARK 16.1–8 The Resurrection... ...Mark’s ending is missing. I am convinced of it. Two of our best manuscripts, both from the fourth century, end where this text breaks off. The alternative endings in several other manuscripts, which I shall deal with in an extr…
Shopping Mall Nativity 3: Annunciating the Magnificat
Shopping Mall Nativity 3: Annunciating the Magnificat
by David Perry
Shopping Mall Nativity 3: Annunciating the Magnificat Reflection accompanying image “shopping mall magnificat” Encounters, expectations and testimonies are the air we breathe when we walk across the Christmas GodScape of the Nativity narratives. Everywhere we look we discover G…
All Desires Known - Defender of the Helpless Collect
All Desires Known - Defender of the Helpless Collect
by SPCK - Janet Morley
DEFENDER OF THE HELPLESS Collect Matthew 2.13–18; 1 Corinthians 1.2–9 God of the dispossessed, defender of the helpless, you grieve with all the women who weep... Christmas 1 (A); Holy Innocents (ABC) Taken from All Desires Known by Janet Morley Published by SPCK
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Easter Day Year B
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Easter Day Year B
by SPCK - Jane Williams
Easter Day Isaiah 25.6-9 Philippians 15.1–11 Mark 16.1-8 After all the horror, and the crowds and the noise of the day of Jesus’s crucifixion, this chapter of Mark’s Gospel starts quietly. We have already seen these women at the crucifixion scene, but we hardly noticed them there…
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - Easter Day Year B
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - Easter Day Year B
by SPCK - Judith Dimond
Easter Day Mark 16.1-8 or John 20.1-18 Gaze at the women, determined to do women’s work, and to honour the body of their friend. They come to anoint him with spices, not thinking ‘This is useless, why bother?’ They do not look for miracles, only the performance of a tradition. Bu…
Still Caring - Time to blow the whistle
Still Caring - Time to blow the whistle
by SPCK - Dorothy M Stewart
10 Time to blow the whistle Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked. .....................................................................(Psalm 82.3 – 4) How long …
Imagining the Lectionary: wholeheartedly faithful (Proper 24C / Ordinary 29C)
Imagining the Lectionary: wholeheartedly faithful (Proper 24C / Ordinary 29C)
by David Perry
Reflection based on Psalm 119 to go with the image "Statue in a whirl" or "Comedy and Tragedy" could also be used to illustrate the comedy and tragedy aspect, but you will need 'Statue in the Whirl' image when you you refer to it within the text.
Prayer: Discerning God
Prayer: Discerning God
by Marjorie Dobson
Prayer: Discerning God Discerning God, how often our behaviour must frustrate and concern you. We behave so foolishly, thinking that you do not know when we have been selfish, greedy and uncaring in our attitudes towards others. We forget that when our petty squabbles turn into o…
Poem: Justice
Poem: Justice
by Marjorie Dobson
Poem: Justice God calls for justice for the weak and defenceless, for the ignorant and the misunderstood, for the poor and the hungry, for the oppressed and the orphaned, for all who cannot understand why the greedy and the selfish, the wicked and the unjust seem to win every tim…
Poem: Nothing else matters
Poem: Nothing else matters
by Marjorie Dobson
Poem: Nothing else matters Nothing else matters now. Who cares if you’re poor, or wealthy? Who cares if you’re a banker, or unemployed? Who cares if you own a stately mansion, or you’re homeless,? Who cares what colour you are, or what your background is? Who cares how many degre…
Reflection: What happens when
Reflection: What happens when
by Marjorie Dobson
Reflection: What happens when...? When, through our greed, the earth’s natural resources are exhausted, are we so arrogant as to expect that our human brains will have solved the problems of energy, water and food supplies in a way that is totally sustainable? When, through our s…
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 109:21
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 109:21
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 109:21 A spiritual battle rages around us. It breaks through into the material world. It is impossible not to be caught up in it and, from time to time, to be wounded. Of course, many today dismiss this as medieval theology, but read the opening stanzas of this psalm and it…
Reflection: Favouritism