A poem by Rev'd Jon Swales It was raining. Sideways rain. Hard, mean, Leeds rain. The kind that says: You’re not welcome anywhere. She stood outside, soaked, smoking the last of her rollies, muttering curses like liturgies for the lost. Then she saw the collar— white, stupid, clean. And that was it. “You lot make… Continue reading “I Hate God” (But I Met Jesus)
Category: Reflections & Poetry
I don’t want to be a Christian who…
By Jon Swales I don’t want to be a Christianwho forgets how to feel -who hides behind answers,quotes verses like shields,and silences sorrow with a song. I don’t want a faithof romanticised abstraction,where resurrection is polishedand the cross is theory.Give me something real-flesh and blood,grief and grace. I want to weepwith eyes wide open.Tears that… Continue reading I don’t want to be a Christian who…
Barabbas’ Good Friday
by Martin Kuhrt When Pilate was addressing the crowd, with Jesus standing before him, he was sitting on the judge’s seat, just outside the Praetorium. This contained both his own Jerusalem residence and a Roman military barracks. It was strategically situated next to the Temple mount. It is likely that Barabbas, who had been convicted… Continue reading Barabbas’ Good Friday
Showing love online on Valentine’s Day
If I blog with sparkling wit and powerful prose, but do not have love, I am just a blaring horn or a screech on a blackboard . If I tell great stories, show brilliant intellect and can shine light on the mysteries of life, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I make myself look… Continue reading Showing love online on Valentine’s Day
Saturday – by Cathy Westby
And here we standAnd here we liveStillShell shocked, heart bruised, exhaustedBy the losses we have witnessedAnd the pain we have felt. We hold tight,White-knuckledTo the promise of tomorrow.We declareThrough gritted teethThe faithfulness we know to be true And tomorrow will comeWith its bright new freedomsAnd hope for aheadWe will sing, and laughAnd dance together again.Even… Continue reading Saturday – by Cathy Westby
Refugees – a poem by Brian Bilston
Photo by Ahmed akacha on Pexels.com They have no need of our helpSo do not tell meThese haggard faces could belong to you or meShould life have dealt a different handWe need to see them for who they really areChancers and scroungersLayabouts and loungersWith bombs up their sleevesCut-throats and thievesThey are notWelcome hereWe should make… Continue reading Refugees – a poem by Brian Bilston
The secularisation of Martin Luther King
Ahead of Martin Luther King day tomorrow in the US and the release of the film 'Selma' in the UK, I am re-posting this article from 2013.
‘The Great Reversal’ – a poem by Kester Brewin
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com Walking with the crowds, Carried along by the pressing forward. Each one eager to get ahead, but each one starting the same – born as a baby and from then on struggling towards meaning, power and influence. Be someone, Be remembered, Make a big impression; leave some indelible mark in… Continue reading ‘The Great Reversal’ – a poem by Kester Brewin
Pray in the tension
Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels.com Today Many of us live A nation of strangers Aliens in cities, Trapped in societies Of rapid, social change. Constantly We face new problems With no clear answers. It's not happened To us before. Nobody’s behaved like that before. We’ve got no tailor-made pattern. It’s an itsy-bitsy life.… Continue reading Pray in the tension
Are you looking forward to the New Year with a feeling of foreboding or a spirit of hope and optimism?: An Advent Reflection
To be sure, there are many reasons to feel hopeless as we enter 2013: The continuing threat of unchecked climate change; the countless children going hungry each and every day – at home as well as abroad; the impact of hikes in energy and food prices and squeeze on incomes; the imminent housing benefit cuts for three quarters of a million households; the seeming war of attrition against almost anyone struggling to make ends meet on benefits; the forced eviction of thousands of families from London.
On a more domestic note, will 2013 be yet another year of declining congregations, continued division over sexuality, theology and much else, and ever greater financial pressures on many local churches?
In the face of all this, do we still believe…
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Grace + Truth 