May 2022

A reflection for the Sunday before Pentecost by the Rev'd David Warnes

There’s a church in the town of Madison, Wisconsin where new members are welcomed by the singing of a somewhat modified version of a song from Lionel Bart’s musical Oliver! It starts “Consider yourself confirmed…”

This seems, on the face of it, an odd choice, since, as those of you who have seen the show or the film will know, the song is sung by the Artful Dodger and his gang to welcome Oliver into the criminal fraternity run by Fagin. The original version starts like this:

“Consider yourself at home
Consider yourself one of the family
We've taken to...

A refection for Sunday 22nd May 2022 Easter VI by Canon Dean Fostekew

I wonder what it was that Paul said that converted Lydia? It must have been telling because I suspect that Lydia was no push over. We are told that she was a worshipper of God, obviously not a Hebrew because she lived in Macedonia but none-the-less a God-fearing gentile, woman. She was a business woman - trading in purple cloth. Two interesting things here; one she is a woman in commerce and two her trade is in an expensive commodity, purple cloth. Both of which might have put her beyond the pale in the eyes of Paul and his companions...

A reflection for Easter V Sunday 15th May 2022 by Canon Dean Fostekew

Acts 11:1-18

The Book of Acts reads a bit like a ‘Boy’s own’ adventure story. It is fast moving and contains accounts of journeys, arguments, debates, conversions and ship-wrecks. It is an exciting read. Try reading it through sometime and you will see what I mean. The Book of Acts is also radical, in fact very radical if not ‘dangerously radical’. It is radical in the sense that it suggests that God, the God of the Hebrews, the chosen people is not just for them but for all people both Jew and gentile.

What was St.Luke, the Book of Acts...

A reflection for Easter III Sunday 1st May 2022 by the Rev'd David Warnes

John 21:1-19

Today’s Gospel is one of my favourite passages in the New Testament. I remember that years ago a somewhat irreverent fellow ordinand described it as “the barbecue on the beach.” I rather like that description. It tells of seven disciples doing what for some of them had been routine work in the years before they were called to follow Jesus and having that everyday routine transformed by their encounter with the Risen Christ. I also like it because the sharing of bread and fish hints at the Eucharistic sharing to which Christ the host invites us as his...