Articles

The power of thanksgiving

Let us come into his presences with thanksgiving(Psalm 95.2) In her Christmas Day message this year the Queen spoke of the vital importance of reflection in human life.  Standing back and thinking about what has been and what is to come…

The Rock of our Salvation

“let us shout aloud to the Rock of our Salvation”[1] Here’s a mystery.  Psalm 95 means a great deal to Christians because, to the eyes of faith, there is a reference to Jesus in the first verse. When Christians worship the LORD,…

A daily turning

Come let us sing for joy to the LORD[1] Some years ago, I sat quietly in a very old and beautiful church in Barnby Dun, near Doncaster before a service.  Like many old church buildings, it had a deep atmosphere of prayer.  This was one…

The vital importance of joy

The vital importance of joy “….let us sing….let us make a joyful noise…..”[1] Psalm 95 is a call to rediscover joy at the centre of our Christian faith, to sing out with joy in our worship and express that joy in the whole of…

A threefold invitation

Welcome to 2014.  This year we mark the centenary of the Diocese of Sheffield.  I’m asking the diocese to focus in this first part of the year on a single text: Psalm 95. I’m planning to post a short reflection Psalm 95 on the blog…

A Visit to Barbados: the Provincial Congress of the Church in the West Indies

Ann and I returned yesterday from a very enjoyable two week trip to Barbados. I was invited some months ago to speak at the Congress for the Anglican Province of the West Indies and a separate pre-Congress day conference and we were able to…

Three processes in one: today’s Synod debate on Bishops

What was achieved at the General Synod this weekend?  Everyone is trying hard to find a way forward.  Lots of time was given to facilitated group work on Saturday and to the debate today.  As you may have seen from the news reports, there…

The Seven Disciplines of Evangelisation: a discussion paper

Over the last six weeks I've been trying to develop a discussion paper on evangelisation in dialogue with a number of groups locally and nationally. The paper is a reflection arising from the Synod of Bishops in Rome in October.  It was originally…

The IF campaign and meeting with Nick Clegg

It was very good to meet with Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister this morning, who is also my own Member of Parliament.  I met with Mr. Clegg at the request of Christian Aid and as part of the IF campaign.  I was joined by to other local…