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Reflection: Samaritan believers
Reflection: Samaritan believers
by Marjorie Dobson
Reflection: Samaritan believers …? It must have been a shock, hearing that Samaritans had accepted the word of God. They were the ancient enemies. Their territory was treated as a foreign land. The dispute between their two factions had been bitter and long-standing. There was do…
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…
Reflection: Father
Reflection: Father
by Marjorie Dobson
Reflection: Father Father’ can be an impossible word to use for those whose human father was abusive, cruel, brutal, heartless, inadequate, or had deserted them. Yet the Roman Christians were told that they could use that word with the true affection given to a beloved parent. Ho…
Imagining the Lectionary: Branching Out (Easter 5B)
Imagining the Lectionary: Branching Out (Easter 5B)
by David Perry
Imagining the Lectionary: Branching Out (Easter 5B) Reflection accompanying images “I am the vine you are the branches”, “Old Victorian Greenhouse detail” and “Old Victorian Greenhouse with gardener potting plants” Jesus had a photographer's eye. Because his teaching and conversa…
Monologue/reflection – Who is he?
Monologue/reflection – Who is he?
by Marjorie Dobson
Monologue/reflection – Who is he? He didn’t give us a straight answer, did he? Not even when we challenged him as priests and Levites and told him we’d been sent by the Pharisees. You’d have thought he would have had more respect for authority than that. But what could you expect…
Lectionary Reflections Year A - Proper 22 Year A
Lectionary Reflections Year A - Proper 22 Year A
by SPCK - Jane Williams
Lectionary reflections - Year A Ordinary Time Proper 22 Isaiah 5.1–7 Philippians 3.4b-14 Matthew 21.33–46 The people listening to the story of the vineyard would have responded to it on a number of different levels. Some of them would have recognized this vineyard from Isaiah 5 a…
Twelve Months of Sundays Year A - Proper 13 Year A
Twelve Months of Sundays Year A - Proper 13 Year A
by SPCK - N T Wright
Twelve Months of Sundays – Year A Ordinary Time Proper 13 Genesis 32.22–31 Romans 9.1–5 Matthew 14.13–21 A well-known bishop wrote a book not long ago called Limping into the Sunrise. It was, of course, alluding to this story of Jacob; which was all very well, except that at the …
Twelve Months of Sundays Year A - Proper 10 Year A
Twelve Months of Sundays Year A - Proper 10 Year A
by SPCK - N T Wright
Twelve Months of Sundays – Year A Ordinary Time Proper 10 Genesis 25.19–34 Romans 8.1–11 Matthew 13.1–9, 18–23 The next chapter of Genesis offers a striking echo to this parable: Isaac sowed seed, and reaped a hundredfold, for the Lord blessed him(26.12). But the key background, …
Reflection/meditation/poem: Compulsion
Reflection/meditation/poem: Compulsion
by Marjorie Dobson
Reflection/meditation/poem: Compulsion There are times when I wish I didn’t have to do it. There are times when I think that it is a complete waste of time. There are times when other people think I should stop doing it. But I must go on. There are people who consider me to be ol…
Nothing Too Religious - God said ...
Nothing Too Religious - God said ...
by Marjorie Dobson
Poem/monologue: God said… Look at it this way, said God, whether I created the universe in six days, or six billion years, there was no one else around to see, so there are none of those historical records that people seem to need to give clear evidence of how it all happened. Ge…
Twelve Months of Sundays Year A - Proper 8 Year A
Twelve Months of Sundays Year A - Proper 8 Year A
by SPCK - N T Wright
Twelve Months of Sundays – Year A Ordinary Time Proper 8 Genesis 22.1–14 Romans 6.12–23 Matthew 10.40–42 Perhaps precisely because it is one of the darkest of all Bible stories, the tale of Abraham and Isaac on Mount Moriah has left deep imprints in Judaism and Christianity. Chil…
Monologue/drama: Elisha – the day after
Monologue/drama: Elisha – the day after
by Marjorie Dobson
Monologue/drama: Elisha – the day after … Did I really see that chariot of fire, or have I been dreaming? Was it a whirlwind, or just an ordinary desert storm? Was it all just a mirage and the sand blowing in my eyes made me think there were horses? And maybe the chariot just w…
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - The Sunday Next Before Lent Year B
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - The Sunday Next Before Lent Year B
by SPCK - Jane Williams
The Sunday Next Before Lent 2 Kings 2.1–12 2 Corinthians 4.3–6 Mark 9.2–9 Elijah is taking part in his own funeral procession. Everywhere he goes, people come out to watch him, the coffin, go past. The people do not speak to him. It’s almost as though they think that he has alrea…
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - The Sunday Next Before Lent Year B
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - The Sunday Next Before Lent Year B
by SPCK - Judith Dimond
The Sunday next before Lent Mark 9.2-9 Consider next what God tells us. First, that Jesus is indeed his Son and we must worship him as such. And second, that this means we must obey him, for what is the point of listening if we do not learn? Our faith must be strong enough to f…
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - The Second Sunday of Epiphany Year B
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - The Second Sunday of Epiphany Year B
by SPCK - Judith Dimond
The Second Sunday of Epiphany John 1.43-51 Consider what would make you go, on a friend’s say-so, to meet someone who has influenced him or her. Consider what it would take to make you move from ‘come and see’ to ‘follow me’. Consider how much more courage it takes to ‘follow’ …
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - The First Sunday of Lent Year B
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - The First Sunday of Lent Year B
by SPCK - Judith Dimond
The First Sunday of Lent Mark 1.9-15 Contemplate how passive Jesus is in this description: he acquiesces to baptism; he hears the voice and accepts anointing; he goes where the Spirit sends him, and endures. He is obedient. Contemplate being with Jesus in this wilderness. Excha…
Twelve Months of Sundays Year A - The Third Sunday Before Advent Year A
Twelve Months of Sundays Year A - The Third Sunday Before Advent Year A
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Third Sunday Before Advent Wisdom of Solomon 6.12–16 1 Thessalonians 4.13–18 Matthew 25.1–13 You should only treat yourself to Wisdom of Solomon ch. 6 if you are prepared to live with the rest. The righteous and wise are persecuted and killed by the wicked and foolish; but Go…
Twelve Months of Sundays Year A - Christ the King Year A