Two years ago the Canadian singer songwriter Lorena McKennitt wrote a song, The Breaking of the Sword. She was prompted to write the song, which imagines the feelings of loss and grief of a mother whose son had been lost in the Great War, after participating in the centenary commemorations of the Battle of Vimy […]
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Theme for Sunday, 3 November 2019 – All Saints
Scripture for this Sunday: Daniel 7.1–3, 15–18; Psalm 149; Ephesians 1.11–23; Luke 6.20–31 When I was young, one of the books that we read in Primary School was The Water Babies, a story by Charles Kingsley, who was a priest in the Church of England in the mid-19th century. It is a kind of fairy story, but […]
Harvesting
This article was originally printed in the October 2019 issue of Roqueta, Menorca’s English language magazine. October arrives. It’s autumn – although who knows how autumnal the weather may be in Menorca at this time?! Looking back to the springtime, I wonder how many hopes or aspirations have been fulfilled, or how many disappointments have […]
Theme for Sunday, 20 October
Scripture for this Sunday: Jeremiah 31.27–34; Psalm 119.97–104; 2 Timothy 3.14—4.5; Luke 18.1–8 Many people would contend that one of the primary goals of Christianity is to uphold and fulfil Jesus’ message of justice. But what exactly do we mean by justice? For many of us, justice means a sort of ‘quid pro quo,’ or […]
Theme for Sunday, 13 October
Scripture for this Sunday: Jeremiah 29.1, 4–7; Psalm 66.1–11; 2 Timothy 2.8–15; Luke 17.11–19 Let me tell you about a little piece of Venetian history, since we have just come back from a safeguarding training session in that city. We took the tour of the Doge’s palace, the Palazio Ducale, and our guide was clearly […]
Theme for Sunday, 6 October 2019 – Harvest Thanksgiving
Scripture for Harvest Thanksgiving: Deuteronomy 26.1–11; Psalm 100; Philippians 4.4–9; John 6.25–35 So the gospel is about bread … which reminds me of a song (of course!). Trying to keep trains of thought from colliding isn’t always successful. Bread, and harvest and a wedding, all falling close together – it all points to the words […]
Theme for Sunday, 29 September 2019
Scripture for this Sunday: Jeremiah 32.1–3a, 6–15; Psalm 91.11–16; 1 Timothy 6.6–19; Luke 16.19–31 Someone asked me a while ago why I don’t preach about inspiring Christian figures. So … let’s think about Thomas Cook. The man, not the company that bears his name, which has been in the news. What about the man who […]
Theme for Sunday, 22 September 2019
Scripture for this Sunday: Jeremiah 8.18—9.1; Psalm 79.1–9; 1 Timothy 2.1–7; Luke 16.1–13 So, let’s consider the parable offered by Jesus about the dishonest manager (or was he ‘shrewd?’!) and ask whether it doesn’t matter if we are dishonest, as long as the church benefits. Is that even a serious question? Raised in the rabbinical […]
Readings & Hymns for October 2019
Readings & hymns for the worship on Sundays and Wednesdays. 2 October Nehemiah 2.1–8; Psalm 137.1–6; Luke 9.57–62 6 October – Harvest Thanksgiving Deuteronomy 26.1–11; Psalm 100; Philippians 4.4–9; John 6.25–35 Hymns: 283 Fill Your Hearts With Joy And Gladness 533 All Things Bright And Beautiful 290 We Plough The Fields And Scatter 284 For […]
Language
This article was originally published in the September edition of Roqueta, Menorca’s English-language magazine. The implications of trying to communicate in a second language can be quite fascinating. Generally speaking, if I have to say or write something in both Spanish and English, I write the Spanish version first, and then produce the English version. […]