A Bit Like Jesus - Whose faith?
A Bit Like Jesus - Whose faith?
by SPCK - Robin Gill
WEEK 5 Faith Whose faith? When he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. So many gathered around that there was no longer room for them, not even in front of the door; and he was speaking the word to them. Then some people came, bringing to hi…
Poem-Communion
Poem-Communion
by Valerie Anslow
A poem composed while running the Great North Run for Alzheimer's Society. Communion Click! Smile. Look this way. Click! Celluloid snap shots of moments Suspended in time. Open the pages into the past and remember. Memories caught in sepia, monochrome, colour. Open up the file of…
The Healthy Option
The Healthy Option
by Valerie Anslow
God is the healthy option in a secular world for he feeds our spiritual needs. The Healthy Option Welcome to the weary traveller needing rest and comfort. Welcome to the family of four, three kids and mum, with a gritted teeth smile. Welcome to the old chap who sits by the door, …
A Bit Like Jesus - Values from stories
A Bit Like Jesus - Values from stories
by SPCK - Robin Gill
WEEK 1 Stories We Value Values from stories Why did Jesus not give us a set of moral laws? I suspect that for many of us it would have been so much easier had he done so. Imagine for a moment that the Gospels were full of moral laws, dos and don’ts, like parts of Leviticus in the…
A Bit Like Jesus - Hypocrisy and paedophile priests
A Bit Like Jesus - Hypocrisy and paedophile priests
by SPCK - Robin Gill
WEEK 2 Hypocrisy Hypocrisy and paedophile priests Forget about my petty scruples concerning Ash Wednesday. It is time to take a much stronger example of religious hypocrisy. For instance, the shameful way that for generations senior clergy in a number of churches covered up for t…
A Bit Like Jesus - Life Stories
A Bit Like Jesus - Life Stories
by SPCK - Robin Gill
WEEK 1 Stories We Value Life stories On my shelves I have an inherited collection of original Henty novels. Written for boys in Victorian England they remained popular in the early twentieth century and are still collectable today. G. A. Henty was a self-taught historian who wrot…
A Bit Like Jesus - Learning from hypocrisy
A Bit Like Jesus - Learning from hypocrisy
by SPCK - Robin Gill
WEEK 2 Hypocrisy Learning from hypocrisy Gene Robinson, the elected Bishop of New Hampshire, was not invited to attend the 2008 Lambeth Conference of Bishops. It was considered that his committed but gay partnership would make his presence too offensive to others within the Angli…
A Bit Like Jesus - Practise what you preach
A Bit Like Jesus - Practise what you preach
by SPCK - Robin Gill
WEEK 2 Hypocrisy Practise what you preach Those who regularly deliver sermons in church should live in fear of this proverb. It might have been designed for us. Do we really live up to what we preach? A common factor in many of the uses of the word ‘hypocrite’ in the first thre…
A Bit Like Jesus - Hypocrisy and aids
A Bit Like Jesus - Hypocrisy and aids
by SPCK - Robin Gill
WEEK 2 Hypocrisy Hypocrisy and AIDS Within the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats both those who did and those who did not give priority to the vulnerable are mystified. ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And w…
A Bit Like Jesus - Religious hypocrisy
A Bit Like Jesus - Religious hypocrisy
by SPCK - Robin Gill
WEEK 2 Hypocrisy Religious hypocrisy This accusation against religious people is especially strong in the first three Gospels. Within the New Testament the term ‘hypocrite’ is found only in these Gospels. It is always found on the lips of Jesus himself. And it is typically direct…
A Bit Like Jesus - Healing and Compassion
A Bit Like Jesus - Healing and Compassion
by SPCK - Robin Gill
WEEK 3 Compassion Healing and compassionAs they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. There were two blind men sitting by the roadside. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they shouted, ‘Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!’ The crowd sternly ordered them to b…
Poem: Sheep?
Poem: Sheep?
by Marjorie Dobson
Poem: Sheep? We’re not too happy about being called sheep. Sheep have the image of being woolly and warm, but not too bright. Sheep blindly follow each other and their minder, wherever they are led. Sheep don’t seem to have very much going for them – not in a world where individu…
GOD's rich Pattern - Dogged determination
GOD's rich Pattern - Dogged determination
by SPCK - Dr Lin Berwick
Dogged determination I had a mixed reaction from people when I entered the local preachers’ meeting. I was questioned by the secretary as to my ability to preach. He said that it would be difficult for me to cope with the public speaking. I explained that I had done over three hu…
GOD's rich Pattern - Shared dark valley
GOD's rich Pattern - Shared dark valley
by SPCK - Dr Lin Berwick
Shared dark valley Every new contact with counselling took me on a different pathway. Through the work with Carematch, Dr Greengross asked me to get involved with SPOD (Sexual Problems of Disabled). It is sobering for some people to realize that people with disabilities are sexua…
GOD's rich Pattern - Treading water
GOD's rich Pattern - Treading water
by SPCK - Dr Lin Berwick
Treading Water I used this limbo period in my life to study and stretch my mind. My family thought it was a complete waste of time, but when you read C. G. Jung, Freud, Ardler, T. A. Harris and many more, then on the religious front many books from the great writers and philosoph…
GOD's rich Pattern - New beginnings