One of the traditional themes of Advent is waiting. The final verse of Psalm 27 is “Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!”. You might be more familiar with these words from the beautiful Taizé chant “Wait for the Lord”. When Christians speak of the Advent theme of waiting, I would guess that they normally have this sense of the word in mind. First and foremost, waiting for Jesus at the end of time, and secondly, waiting for the birth

Last week I received my Lectionary for the coming year. It’s a book full of useful information including which Bible readings are suggested for services on each day of the year. It also lists festivals, saints days and indicates which liturgical colour should be used on each day (e.g. purple for Lent and Advent and gold or white for Christmas). This week is the last week of green Ordinary time before we enter Advent and a new lectionary year on 30 November. Paula Gooder has w

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me… I go to prepare a place for you.” – John 14:1–3   On Remembrance Sunday and on Tuesday Nov 11th at 11am, we pause in stillness to remember those who gave their lives in war, and those who continue to suffer in conflict across the world. We remember them not as distant names carved in stone, but as sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, friends and neighbours: each one known and loved by God.   Jesu

I am lucky enough to have a group of friends, going back to our time as students together. We still meet regularly with our partners, to compare our different experiences and our varied challenges. We don’t solve many problems, but we laugh and see them in a better perspective. Memories and companionship are precious gifts. As Christians we share an even richer treasure. Our saints, remembered on so many days of the church calendar, are a hugely varied group. At Morning Praye

So begins a poem by Gerrard Kelly entitled Lament. It feels serious and sombre but remembering friends and family who have died is not a light-hearted matter.   This season of remembering is such an important time. In our busy worlds the endless round of activities can drown out our need to pause, reflect, and lament. Before we get too gloomy let’s remember this is in the context of the certainty of the love of God that holds us in all times and places. As Gerard Kelly puts i

Our reading from the Second Letter to Timothy yesterday morning contained some words which made my ears prick up: "For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires,   and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths."   That left me pondering the question,  do I have itchy ears? And how would I know?   Paul suggests a test for answering

This year my apple tree has produced more apples than ever before – it was meant to be a small espalier tree but has grown into a large untidy tree which produces hundreds of apples. We’ve eaten them as they come, made chutney, apple juice, apple crumbles and stewed apples. I’ve given apples away to anyone who shows the slightest interest them. Still we have four boxes of apples piled up in my kitchen waiting to be cooked or eaten. Everywhere I look I see trees laden with app

I write this at the Reader retreat at Pleshey where our leader, the Revd. Lizzie Hood, has taken us though ways of looking at time: times...

On Saturday my daughter and I went to the wonderful celebration of the marriage of a friend who was celebrating the love she has for her...

We were thinking about wisdom yesterday. Specifically, the wisdom of the shrewd manager in the parable Jesus told (Luke 16:1-13), who...

Yesterday was Holy Cross Day. We celebrated it at our 10am service in style. We sang some well loved hymns and listened to resonant words...

“Dedicated follower of fashion”? So sang the Kinks back in 1966, arguably the decade that launched a fashion revolution worldwide. One of...

How did you spend the August Bank Holiday? I went to Marlow and walked in the Chilterns before heading down to the Thames path for a swim...

Each of the Gospel writers has their own particular interests, which are brought out in the way they tell the story of Jesus. One of the...

Some time ago, St. Peter’s Book Group discussed Brooklyn  by Colm Toibin. In that novel, Eilis leaves her native Ireland to obtain work...

Clearly there’s a technique to navigating exams successfully. It begins with planning, continues with preparation and includes plenty of...

What do these phrases have in common? Backlift, Beehive, Belter, Bend the back, Biffer, Blocker, Bouncer and Silly mid off!! They are all...

I must admit that yellow is not my favourite colour. I love the brightness of daffodils and forsythia in spring, but that is partly...

I shouldn’t be surprised but I’m often taken aback at just how busy St Albans pubs are. Especially at the weekend. Our recent spell of...

We often reflect on the fact that Christian faith is no longer the default position for people in this country. That said, we also...