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At Pentecost, we remember the gift of the Holy Spirit to the first disciples. It was a powerful experience, when along with wind and fire, ‘all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit’ (Acts 2:4). Power is experienced in two ways: it can be either unleashed or harnessed. The energy in petrol can be...

‘A Christian is one who is completely fearless, continually cheerful and constantly in trouble!’ Paul shares his experience in Asia, when writing to the Corinthians: ‘We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death’ (2 Corinthians...

To be asked to become a godparent is a real honour.  Ideally, it should go on to become a lifelong commitment that turns into a deep and loving relationship between godparent and child.  Sadly, too often it wanes into a duty to be met by Christmas presents and birthday cheques. A godparent is a member...

This month the Church celebrates Pentecost (we used to call it ‘Whitsun’). It marks the occasion 50 days after Easter when the Holy Spirit was ‘poured out’ on the group of followers of Jesus who had obeyed his command to ‘wait in Jerusalem’ until they were ‘clothed with power’. The gift of the Holy Spirit...

I was having a little button problem with the ATM. A message appeared on the screen. ‘Would you like more time?’ I clicked the ‘yes’ button, eventually collected my cash, and spent the rest of the afternoon thinking about that profound question. Well, would I? As an elderly man, do I really want more time,...

To be frank, there is no convincing answer to the question, ‘Why am I suffering?’ It is something that is experienced by every individual (indeed, everything that lives and breathes). Jesus, who grieved, agonised and finally died in shameful circumstances, was no exception. It is an unavoidable part of the world we have inherited. There...

May is the month when the ancient pagans used to get up to ‘all sorts’!  The Romans held their festival to honour the mother-goddess Maia, goddess of nature and growth.  (May is named after her.)  The early Celts celebrated the feast of Beltane, in honour of the sun god, Beli. For centuries in ‘Olde England’...

Is there someone in church whom you respect for their spirituality and common sense combined – someone you feel easy about approaching to ask questions?  That person’s patron saint should be Philip. Philip came from Bethsaida, and was a disciple of Jesus from early on.  He knew how to lead others to Jesus – he...

One thing for sure:  the apostles were not self-obsessed.  In fact, many a church historian has wished that they had left us just a few more personal details about themselves in the New Testament.   James the Less is an excellent example. This is the name we give to James the son of Alphaeus, but –...

This is the name behind the Athanasian Creed.  Athanasius (296-373) was born into a prosperous family in Alexandria in Egypt, studied in the Christian school there and entered the ministry. He was twenty-nine years old when he accompanied Alexander, the bishop of Alexandria, to the Church’s first ecumenical Council, at Nicaea in 325. Although Athanasius...

Rogation means an asking of God – for blessing on the seed and land for the year ahead. It is appropriate in any emergency, war, plague, drought or foul weather. The practice began with the Romans, who invoked the help of the gods Terminus and Ambarvalia.  In those days a crowd moved in procession around...

Many years ago, studying English literature at university, I was intrigued to be introduced to the work of Julian of Norwich. She was writing at the end of the 14th century, when our modern English language was slowly emerging from its origins in Anglo-Saxon and Middle English. Our lecturer was mainly concerned with her importance...