In Es Castell, today, at 12:00 a number of us gathered with the leaders of the Ajuntamiento to observe a minute of silence for the victims of the attack in Barcelona yesterday. I know that there are many who feel anger, but I can only feel deep sadness. I watched the ferry from Barcelona arrive […]
Menorca – Es Diari – 2017-08-16
Interview published in the Menorca daily newspaper on 16 August 2017.
Theme for Sunday, 13 August 2017
Scripture for this Sunday: Genesis 37.1-4,12-28 (Joseph kidnapped by his brothers); Psalm 105.1-10; Romans 10.5-15; Matthew 14.22-33 (Jesus walks on water). The past week has not been short on fearful news (back to the 1960s? the 1860s?): nuclear weapons; white supremacists and counter demonstrations; images of hatred. It’s not just an American problem, although at the […]
Finding God in the World Around Us
[Reproduced from the August 2017 issue of Roqueta, Menorca’s English-language magazine.] “You don’t have to go to church to find God,” I said at a memorial service in Canada several years before moving to Spain. It was in a retirement home; we were celebrating the life of a lady who found peace in the surrounding […]
Theme for Sunday, 6 August 2017
Scripture for Sunday: Genesis 32.22-31 (Jacob wrestles with God); Psalm 17.1-7,16; Romans 9.1-5; Matthew 14.13-21 (Jesus feeds five thousand) Some years ago, while I was a curate in California, I caused something of a stir in an article in the parish newsletter. I wrote: There are many signs about that say, “God bless America.” Well, God […]
Theme for Sunday, 30 July 2017
Scripture for Sunday: Genesis 29.15-28 (Jacob & Laban); Psalm 105.1-11; Romans 8.26-39; Matthew 13.31-33,44-52 (Parables of mustard seed, yeast, pearl, treasure and fishing). There’s a video floating around on the internet in which a judge in an American court gives a lenient sentence to a recent immigrant from Africa for speeding because of the honesty of […]
Readings for worship in August 2017
Readings for the main services of Holy Communion on Sundays and Wednesdays during August. 2 August – Joseph of Arimathea Genesis 23.3–9,17–19; Psalm 16.5-11; James 1:17–18;Luke 23:50–56 6 August Genesis 32.22-31; Psalm 17.1-7,16; Romans 9.1-5; Matthew 14.13-21 9 August Numbers 13.1-2,25-14.1,26-35; Psalm 106.14-24; Matthew 15.21-28 13 August Genesis 37.1-4,12-28; Psalm 105.1-10; Romans 10.5-15; Matthew 14.22-33 16 August Deuteronomy […]
Theme for Sunday, 23 July 2017
Scripture for Sunday: Genesis 28.10-19a (Jacob’s ladder); Psalm 139.1-11, 22-23; Romans 8.12-25; Matthew 13.24-30, 36-43 (parable of weeds) Jesus told a lot of agricultural parables, and perhaps sometimes the meaning gets a little lost today. One can imagine critics of today’s parable asking, “What kind of person could be bothered to go to the trouble of […]
Theme for Sunday, 16 July
Scripture for 16 July: Genesis 25:19-34; Psalm 119:105-112; Romans 8:1-11; Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 The temperate rainforest in British Columbia is littered with the trunks and stumps of dead trees, but is also lush with new life. It is an illustration of the way in which nature sows seeds: liberally, abundantly, profligately. It contrasts markedly with the […]
Theme for Sunday, 9 July
Scripture for 9 July: Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67; Psalm 45:10-17; Romans 7:15-25a; Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 Anyone who has experienced a gifted child will understand that their point of reference for ability is not the same as for others. It takes time for them to come to terms with the idea that their excellence is not the normal […]