LAST SUNDAY, as part of my training as a Methodist minister, I shared this short reflection during a carol service at Wesley Church Centre in Chester: ‘Do not be afraid; for see – I am …
CHRISTMAS is loud, isn’t it? So much expectation. So many voices. Telling us how to celebrate, what to wear, what to eat and drink, what to watch and what to buy.
Instead, the Methodist Church in Britain invites us to ‘Hush The Noise’ and listen to THREE new Christmas singles!
TODAY I said farewell to the church which has supported me for much of the last three years. Now that I have started training to be a Methodist presbyter [from the Greek word πρεσβύτερος (presbyteros) …
LAST SUNDAY, as part of my training as a Methodist local preacher, I led a service at a Black majority church in inner city Liverpool, about half a mile from a mosque. I had planned the service the week before, but as I woke to news of protests, riots, violence and destruction in the city the night before, I knew I had to respond somehow.
This is a question that Joseph, hero of our faith, might have asked himself. Joseph, a son of Jacob, the last of Israel’s ancient patriarchs, is at the centre of a 4,000-year-old family drama. It’s a story of favouritism, jealousy, hatred, temptation, suffering and reconciliation.
Perhaps this is a situation with which you can identify! But the Joseph story is bigger than that.
‘Here I am, for you called me’.
– 1 Samuel 3
THESE are the words of the child Samuel, apprentice to the priest Eli at the temple of God.
I wonder:
– how could these words speak to each of us today?
– what does it mean for us to be open to God, whatever our age, status, or circumstances?
– how does God speak with us now?
What wonders might give us glimpses of God’s Spirit today?
In what ways can you and I be signs of God’s comfort and support to those in distress?
What role might we have in offering meaning?
What space is there in your life and mine for signs of wonder?
How is the Spirit moving in your life and mine today?
A reflection on Pentecost, the birthday of the Christian Church, and Wesley Day, the brthday of the Methodist Church.
The story of Thomas the apostle is an invitation and challenge to us to be generous in listening to questions and scepticism. How do we cope with challenges to faith – our own and other people’s?
A REFLECTION on the story of the magi travelling to find Jesus in Bethlehem [Matthew 2:1-12] and the poem The Work Of Christmas by Howard Thurman.
THE CHRISTMAS STORY is a jigsaw, which we have pieced together from the four gospels. The pieces include: a star, a manger, shepherds, and wise people from the east. But the story of a man in the desert baptizing people doesn’t seem to fit the puzzle. Does it even belong in our picture of Christmas?
IN MAY 2023 I began the process of applying to begin training as a Methodist minister in 2024. This is the testimonial I wrote for a portfolio as part of my application.
THE REVELATION of God’s name and the call of Moses [3:1-15, 4:1-5], is an example of how, just when we think we have God figured out, God can overturn our expectations once again.
In Moses, God takes an inarticulate, excuse-riddled murderer and turns him into one of the greatest leaders of the Hebrew people, who becomes a prophet in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and other faith traditions.
Feb 19
TODAY in the community where I joined the Methodist Church last year, I led the morning service for the first time, as I am now training as a local preacher. A national Methodist Church resource called Justice, Dignity and Solidarity inspired the theme for the service. It invites us to commit: ‘to becoming a church that …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2023/02/19/eating-with-outcasts-the-inclusive-church-journey-to-radical-welcome/
Jan 07
POPE EMERITUS Benedict XVI died on 31st December 2022, and was buried in the Vatican this week. His legacy is long, though he resigned in 2013, the first Pope to do so for 600 years. In September 2010, as Pope Benedict visited Britain, I was the Convenor of the Liverpool branch of Quest the LGBT+ …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2023/01/07/the-trouble-with-the-pope-on-benedict-xvis-2010-visit-to-britain/
Jan 01
AT THE START of the new year, Methodists make a distinctive resolution. The Covenant Service, often celebrated on the first Sunday of the year, is at the heart of Methodists’ devotion, discipleship, and dedication to social justice. In the service the Church joyfully celebrates God’s offer of loving relationship.
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2023/01/01/i-am-no-longer-my-own-the-methodist-covenant-prayer/
Oct 17
THE COMMUNITY in which I joined the Methodist Church earlier this year hosts a short telephone service on Sunday afternoons – like a Christian conference call! Yesterday I was invited to offer a five-minute reflection on the Gospel reading of the day: The persistent widow and the unjust judge
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2022/10/17/the-persistent-widow-power-of-prayer-in-action/
Oct 07
TODAY, 7th October, is celebrated in many Eastern and Western churches as the feast day of Saints Sergius and Bacchus, (died c. 303, Syria), who are among the earliest authenticated and most celebrated Christian martyrs. Their story also includes one of the earliest known references to ‘Brother-Making’ in the early church. This rite, found in Western and Eastern …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2022/10/07/sergius-and-bacchus-saints-united-in-brother-making/
Aug 31
TEN YEARS AGO today (as I turned 42) I began this blog. I wrote a brief retrospective after five years. Here’s an update on the next five: having ‘come out of the Catholic church‘ in 2011, then authorised as a lay leader in Church of England, I have now become a Methodist thanks to its commitment …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2022/08/31/an-introspective-retrospective-10-years-of-blogging/
Aug 04
IN THE LATEST episode of a podcast ‘for migrants by migrants’, two people with experience of seeking asylum share their stories, one who won leave to remain in the UK with support from an Open Table community, and another who is afraid to get support from an LGBT-affirming Christian community because she fears that the …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2022/08/04/lgbt-asylum-seeker-podcast-shares-stories-of-faith-exclusion-and-inclusion/
Jun 30
THIS MONTH has seen Pride events all over the country. It’s 50 years this year since the first Pride March in London in 1972. To mark this milestone, I was one of a number of faith leaders interviewed on BBC local radio on Sunday 26th June. A pre-recorded interview with me and Rabbi Anna Wolfson …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2022/06/30/it-gets-better-local-radio-interviews-record-progress-on-50th-anniversary-of-pride-in-the-uk/
Jun 27
AT A SPECIAL communion service to celebrate the 14th birthday of the first Open Table community in Liverpool on Sunday 19th June 2022, I shared this reflection on Pride Month and how the origin of Open Table is linked to Liverpool’s first official Pride event. Readings: Romans 5: 1-5, Mark 5:1-20 “We boast in our hope …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2022/06/27/we-boast-in-our-hope-of-sharing-the-glory-of-god-a-reflection-for-pridemonth/
May 21
AS CONTROVERSIAL US preacher Franklin Graham began his UK tour in Liverpool on Saturday 14th May, the Open Table Network worked in partnership with others in Merseyside to offer an alternative event which showcased the Liverpool City Region as a safe, friendly and welcoming place for LGBT+ people of all faiths and none. At an …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2022/05/21/what-needs-to-be-healed-on-franklin-grahams-uk-tour-support-for-conversion-therapy/
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