Blog
We often publish short articles to help reflect on the Christian faith, and stories about events in our parish.
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Tempest
On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side.’ And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great gale arose, and the waves beat [...]
Treasure
"'The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one [...]
Snow Day
As Ludovic, Leopold, Caroline and I waited outside Clandon station, seeing train after train cancelled, we realised that the snow had brought our transport system to a grinding halt. If you wanted to get somewhere fast, the Beast from the East was exceptionally irritating. We live in a very [...]
Being Disciples
We have been really enjoying reading Rowan William's Being Disciples (SPCK 2016) this Lent. Williams has a beautiful, deep way of describing the Christian life. In these posts, I hope to share some of the things which our Lent groups have found most helpful about the book. So here, in [...]
Fasting
What is fasting, a practice found in every culture on the planet, all about? At times it was probably understood, to use Austin Farrer's phrase, as a sort of 'hunger strike', designed to influence God and his disposition towards us (Farrer, The Crown of the Year, Dacre Press (1952), p. [...]
Ash Wednesday
Tonight, those of you who want to will walk up to the altar rail, and I will trace the sign of the cross on your forehead in ash, as I say ‘From dust you came and to dust you shall return. Turn from sin and be faithful to Christ’. [...]
Maundy Thursday
In a couple of weeks, I’ll go with most of the bishops, priests and deacons of the diocese of Guildford to the cathedral for a special Maundy Thursday service where we will recommit ourselves to God’s service. Maundy Thursday doesn’t really feature as a significant day for the many [...]
The Joy of the Gospel
We have been using Paula Gooder's excellent Lent study guide The Joy of the Gospel to help us read Pope Francis' Evangelii Gaudium in the Clandons this Lent, and we have been really enjoying it. Evangelii Gaudium offers a way of understanding evanglisation which is motivated by the gospel itself, that is, motivated by love, [...]
Sin no more
John 8.1-11 I wonder what images we conjure up when we hear the word ‘God’, perhaps we think we are very sophisticated and are beyond childish images, that we think of God as loving and forgiving, but look carefully enough at what your imagination assembles when you hear that word, [...]
O Come Emmanuel
It is one of the familiar moans of priests, that Christmas starts too early. We probably all get a bit fed up with Sainsbury's re-doing their seasonal aisle immediately after Halloween. But there is deeper grouchiness about celebrating the 25 days of Christmas. Not only are we generally so weary [...]