Lighting Fires and Digging Ditches
Midsummer is still a couple of weeks away, but I’m thinking ahead. That’s often how it is when you are worship planning. You need to […]
The Messy Table
Capability and the Visitation
Beangirl has started cooking. A few weeks ago, we were at the library and she rummaged around the information section, looking for something new. (Yes, […]
The Writing on the Wall
I’m writing this from the public library, a grand 19th century French Renaissance-styled building in the middle of the city. As I walked in, I […]
Aslan in the city
It’s interesting to live in a city with a zoo. I hadn’t really noticed that until today. It has been a day off school for […]
On the Way
I love this photo of Beangirl. Because she didn’t know I was taking it. Because she’s so focused on her steps and on how the […]
Working it out for ourselves together
It is a reminder to be plural. To be open to the difference of others. To be forgiving and tolerant and together. I hear a strangely beautiful dual freedom in this reminder.
Back to the Burning Bush
There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it […]
Venn’s Poetry
Thanks to Google, the kids discovered that it is John Venn’s 180th birthday today. And they were pretty excited about it. Beangirl worked with Venn […]
Dazzled, blinking and born again
Nicodemus is not used to standing in a place where reason fails. But this is a place where we all must stand at some point in our lives. In joy or in sorrow. In pain or abandon or grief or loneliness or moments of calling and clarity. Moments when we are blinded, unsure if we are standing in the darkness or in the light.
Epiphany Got Away
Today is the last day of the school holidays and, as such, not a great day for writing around here. But tomorrow there will be […]
Practising Advent
I fell into a trap last week. “Really? Already?” Advent is around the corner? That’s what everyone says, isn’t it? That we can’t quite believe that […]
Blessed are the Cheesemakers
There are some days when sitting down in quiet isn’t going to happen. I think we’re there today. So I’m leaving the lectionary for now […]
If anyone asks…
Jesus was used to questions by now. If anyone asks… He sounds like a parent here – assuming that there is going to be a question and trying to solve it before trouble rears its head. The story ends with him responding to the Pharisees, as if their demand was a question, though it palpably wasn’t.
This morning in the snow
Monday morning and things started well. The Spouse was out of bed early, and there were kitchen noises happening. I sneaked into bed with the […]
Walking into the New Year
This Christmas, the Spouse and I very nearly swapped copies of the same book. Robert MacFarlane has recently published the third book in what he calls a “loose trilogy about landscape and the human heart,” and it seemed like a logical and lovely addition to our library.
The first Sunday night and the week that followed
This passage bridges a week from the first evening of the good news into the future of the church. It’s a glossed-over, hazy week, like the first week with a newborn. You can imagine the awe and wonder, wondering and fear, perhaps. Joy.