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The Worlds no stage where we are acting
The Worlds no stage where we are acting
by Andrew Pratt
The world’s no stage where we are acting to show how good we think we are; this is no place to call attention, or seek acclaim from near or far. Our prayers are worthless, void and empty when uttered for the crowd’s applause, much more of worth are silent actions, compassion show…
We play at church, one long charade
We play at church, one long charade
by Andrew Pratt
1 We play at church, one long charade, a trite religious game, and all the time the world goes by, Christ dies again in vain. 2 The down and out wish for our tithes, the homeless plead and pray, while we enact our sullen rite, our crass religious play. 3…
Searching seeking people clamoured
Searching seeking people clamoured
by Andrew Pratt
Second Sunday of Advent Year A Matthew 3: 1 – 12Hymn: Searching, seeking, people clamoured, Searching, seeking, people clamoured, heard the noise and saw the crowd. Saw the baptist by the river, calling clear and calling loud. First attracted, then confounded... Andrew Pratt (b…
Prayer: God of truth
Prayer: God of truth
by Marjorie Dobson
God of truth, even today we live in a world where power corrupts and people are put to death unjustly. We remember those who are persecuted for their beliefs and those who live under an oppressive regime. We recognise that it was religious people who hounded Jesus, mocked his lif…
Poem:True wisdom
Poem:True wisdom
by Marjorie Dobson
Poem:True wisdom Is wisdom found in argument, boasting, or sharp debate, or is it found in selfishness, in envy, or in hate? Does wisdom fire ambition that is ruthless in its drive, or cause a fight or quarrel in the battle to survive? Does wisdom harbour bitterness, or twist the…
Poem: Empty words
Poem: Empty words
by Marjorie Dobson
Empty words from those who live in luxury and despise the poor. Empty words from those who enquire after the sick, but never visit them. Empty words from those who offer hollow sympathy, but never weep with those in sorrow. Empty words... Continues ©Marjorie Dobson
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…
Confounded
Confounded
by Marjorie Dobson
Poem: Confounded Proper 24 year A Matthew 22: 15-22 All he needed was a coin to confound their connivance. Pharisees would not show their faces, so sent their disciples to distract him and the Herodians to harrass him. But malice and menace was their motive and entrapment was the…
A topsy, turvy, upturned world
A topsy, turvy, upturned world
by Andrew Pratt
Hymn: A topsy, turvy, upturned world Proper 20 Year A Matthew 20:1-16 A topsy, turvy, upturned world, where values are distorted, the first is last and last is first with everything contorted. The rich are begging at the door while ones they were despising are given charge of God…
Hymn: We each hold within us a trace of the God-head
Hymn: We each hold within us a trace of the God-head
by Andrew Pratt
We each hold within us a trace of the God-head, the grace of forgiveness, the power to plead; the crisis before us the choice and the challenge: to cultivate hatred or nurture love’s seed. Verses 2-3 follow Tune: ST CATHERINE’S COURT Metre: 12.11.12.11 Andrew Pratt (born 1948) …
Hymn: Hypocrisy destroys our best intentions
Hymn: Hypocrisy destroys our best intentions
by Andrew Pratt
Hypocrisy destroys our best intentions, and Jesus read the hearts of those he met. His challenge, never veiled, caused consternation with words that those who heard would not forget. Verses 2-3 follow Tune: INTERCESSOR Metre: 11.10.11.10 Andrew Pratt (born 1948) Words © 19/10…
Perpetual fashion, flowery prayers
Perpetual fashion, flowery prayers
by Andrew Pratt
Hymn: Perpetual fashion, flowery prayers Proper 26 Year A Matthew 23:1-12 Perpetual fashion, flowery prayers, a show to make you blink, the Scribes and Pharisees sought praise, and that should make us think. Hypocrisy had been condemned, Christ saw another way, of humble service,…
Poem: A sacramental union
Poem: A sacramental union
by Andrew Pratt
Poem: A sacramental union A sacramental union that none can put apart, and those who sought to fudge the law, were challenged from the start. The Pharisees were undermined, the laws would stay in place, with subtle ways of subterfuge destroyed without a trace. Continues... © Andr…
Strange how we adorn with honours
Strange how we adorn with honours
by Andrew Pratt
Strange how we adorn with honours people doing what they should, while the one we count as master hung upon a cross of wood. Verses 2-3 follows Metre: 8 7 8 7 (Trochaic) Tune: ST OSWALD Andrew Pratt (born 1948) Words © 18/9/2013 Stainer & Bell Ltd, London, England, www.stainer.…
The Spirit of God is both humble and gentle