Marjorie Dobson
Prayer: Ever-present God
Prayer: Ever-present God
by Marjorie Dobson
Prayer: Ever-present God Ever-present God, at this time of Advent this is our prayer for others, that they may discover your presence in their world and in their lives in this special season. Many people live in situations that are devoid of hope; that are steeped in poverty; tha…
Poem: This is my child
Poem: This is my child
by Marjorie Dobson
Poem: This is my child This is my child – and yet he is not mine. He is a special boy and though I fathered him I will not claim him as my own for he belongs to God. The miracle that brought him here was a promise fulfilled, but not to me alone, or to my wife. We are his parents …
Reflection: Special Occasion
Reflection: Special Occasion
by Marjorie Dobson
Reflection: Special occasion We were visiting Edinburgh and couldn’t understand why one particular street was so crowded with people. Everyone seemed to be moving towards the pavement edge where they were kept back by barriers and all were excited. We had no wish to get caught in…
Prayer: Thank you, loving God
Prayer: Thank you, loving God
by Marjorie Dobson
Prayer: Thank you, loving God Thank you, loving God, for all those who have walked with us on the way of faith and who have encouraged and strengthened us in the work we do together. Some of those people have made a real and lasting impact on our lives. Others have only been with…
Poem: Promises, promises, promises!
Poem: Promises, promises, promises!
by Marjorie Dobson
Poem: Promises, promises, promises! Promises, promises, promises! The world is littered with them. Promises from politicians, blandly spoken, without knowledge of the problems involved in fulfilling them. Promises from retailers, with assurances that the order is being dealt with…
Poem: Pilate reacts
Poem: Pilate reacts
by Marjorie Dobson
Poem: Pilate reacts What kind of king are you, you Jew? The priests condemn you for they say you spite them, yet you will not fight them. They say you claim to be a king to rule them. Do you just fool them? They throw your talk of kingdom in your face. You say that it is not your…
Poem: Narrative
Poem: Narrative
by Marjorie Dobson
Poem: Narrative Every good story has a beginning, a middle and an end. But where do we start with God? If God is the source of all being, how far back must we go to find the start of everything? And where is the middle? Is it in the emergence of the human race? Or at the point wh…
Monologue/Reflection: A tribute to David
Monologue/Reflection: A tribute to David
by Marjorie Dobson
Monologue/Reflection: A tribute to David (We are used to hearing funeral tributes. This is an imagined one from the past.) He was a good king! Not necessarily a perfect man, but he was a good king. He tried to be wise in his judgements and to be fair to everyone. He believed in w…
Poem: Stone Circle
Poem: Stone Circle
by Marjorie Dobson
Poem: Stone Circle Ancient stones circle a hilltop, their origins for ever mysterious, their purpose undefined. An aura, not evident to all, drifts in the clear air creating its own history and energizing traces of the builders who laboured long to place these slabs of rock into …
Poem/Reflection: Community of faith
Poem/Reflection: Community of faith
by Marjorie Dobson
Poem/ Reflection: Community of faith Silent contemplation, solitary reflection, praising God in isolation; all these have their places in our lifelong experience of faith. They are life-saving when there is no alternative and helpful when the need to escape from the troubles of l…
Hannah’s prayer – an alternative
Hannah’s prayer – an alternative
by Marjorie Dobson
Hannah’s prayer – an alternative How wonderful it is when God answers prayer with, ‘Yes!’ What joy and happiness it brings and it is understandable that we feel like singing. It is good to celebrate. But we must always remember those prayers that never seem to be answered, or whe…
Monologue: Hannah reflects
Monologue: Hannah reflects
by Marjorie Dobson
Monologue: Hannah reflects When all you long for is a child of your own, then you see them everywhere. Other women seem to have no problem conceiving and bringing a child into the world. All around are families – some happy, some argumentative, some with no control at all – but f…
Prayer: In a world where wealth and power
Prayer: In a world where wealth and power
by Marjorie Dobson
Prayer: In a world where wealth and power In a world where wealth and power seem to be all-important and those who cannot achieve those objectives are ignored: God, forgive us for our selfishness. In a world where two minutes of fame are never enough and the urge to be noticed me…
Hymn: Here we gather in thanksgiving
Hymn: Here we gather in thanksgiving
by Marjorie Dobson
Here we gather in thanksgiving to the God of love and grace, as we celebrate this building standing witness in this place, year by year to offer people worship in this sacred space. Here we gather to remember all the years this church has grown from the seeds of new beginnings, w…
Hymn: By a monument of marble
Hymn: By a monument of marble
by Marjorie Dobson
By a monument of marble, or a simple wooden cross, here we gather to remember sacrifice and tragic loss. Blood-red poppy petals flutter, each a symbol for a life, drifting in a crimson curtain, shadow of our constant strife. Verses 2-3 follow ©Marjorie Dobson Tune: SCARLET RIBBON…
Poem/meditation: Offering sacrifice
Poem/meditation: Offering sacrifice
by Marjorie Dobson
Poem/meditation: Offering sacrifice We do not offer sacrificial animals on a stone altar. We look on such things as being primitive and of historical interest only. We do not spill blood in order to appease our God, even though blood was spilt for our sakes as the cross of Jesus …
Poem: Ruth
Poem: Ruth
by Marjorie Dobson
Poem: Ruth Today I look with love upon this child - the baby that I never thought to bear - and, when he hears the story of my life, he’ll know he owes his being to God’s care. Those days in Moab seem so long ago, my family home a strange and distant place, for I have learned to …
Poem: Saintliness