Reflections

Today the church remembers Ini Kopuria, who was born about 1900 on the island of Guadalcanal, near Australia, part of the Solomon Isles. Ini was apparently an independent young man. He rejected the route planned for him into teaching and…

Today we’re thinking about the Ascension of Jesus. Here is the way Luke tells the story in the book of Acts… On one occasion, after he had risen, while Jesus was eating a meal with the disciples, he emphasised that…

A longer reading this week, but it’s worth it: I wonder what you make of that story? The orthodox church in Ethiopia looks back to this encounter as their foundation. There’s a sense of dynamism in the whole story –…

I spent the last week or so following the Way of St Francis in Italy, ending up at Assisi. We were very lucky with the weather… sorry! We stopped at various points linked with the life of St Francis, and…

I wonder if you have any particular memories of Palm Sunday…? One of my memories is from when I was vicar of a group of rural churches in Lincolnshire. We met at one of the Village Halls and gathered around…

Jesus told the disciples to get into a boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came,…

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove…

In Jerusalem was a man by the name of Simeon. He was an upright man, devoted to the service of God, living in expectation of the “salvation of Israel”. His heart was open to the Holy Spirit, and it had…

I want to share with you the story of Amy Carmichael, who as remembered by the church on Thursday. I think she’s a really inspiring person: She was the eldest of seven children in a Christian family from Northern Ireland,…