Sermons

A lullaby for the world

“Look a virgin shall conceive and bear and son, and they shall name him Emmanuel” I am struck at the end of this year by how many Christmas carols are lullabies and I have been wondering why. There are plenty of carols which are the…

The Bishop's charge to church wardens

"Thank you so much to the Wardens elect, and to the outgoing churchwardens for the ministry you exercise week in and week out. " That was the opening line to Bishop Steven’s annual Charge to the churchwardens who tirelessly serve our parishes.…

The crown of thorns

Father Jean Marc Fournier is chaplain to the Paris Fire Brigade. On Monday evening, Abbe Fournier led the successful attempt to rescue the precious objects from the burning Cathedral of Notre Dame. Among them was the crown of thorns, the…

The Wisdom of Puddleglum

Who is your favourite character from Narnia?  For those under 30, the Narnia chronicles are children’s books penned by CS Lewis, a kind of forerunner to Game of Thrones with much less blood and sex.  My favourite is Puddleglum the Marsh…

Do not be afraid

There is a refrain which runs through Luke’s story of the birth of Jesus: “Do not be afraid!” How we need to hear it. The angel speaks with Zechariah: “Do not be afraid”. The angel visits Mary: “Do not be afraid”. The angel stands…

This is our long story

The battles our grandparents fought did not end at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month when the artillery fell silent on the Western Front

Retreating into friendly darkness

Our view of the universe is becoming smaller. One of the reasons is light pollution. There is so much wasted light now in urban and suburban areas that we can no longer see the night sky. We are so blinded by the artificial light that our view of the heavens is limited.

Love wins

It is very good to be here. Thank you for the music. Thank you for all that is invested in giving glory to God through choirs across the Diocese and through the Royal School of church music. What do you think is at the centre of the universe?…

Cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic

“We remember the fish we used to eat in Egypt for nothing, the cucumbers, melons, the leeks, the onions and the garlic” I think this may be the first sermon I have ever preached about cucumbers but more of that in a moment. Four weeks…