On a Saturday in early September 2024, I embarked on a train journey to Blackburn, the cathedral to be precise, on a reduced ticket thanks to my senior railcard. This would be a journey I was to make weekly, on a Tuesday evening, during term time for the next 2 years. This particular Saturday was my enrolment Eucharist during which I formally enrolled for Licensed Lay Ministry (LLM) formation with Emmanuel Theological College (ETC). This was hugely thrilling, but what also ex

It’s not very likely, is it? Paying the same amount to one who has worked for one hour as to those who work ten, it seems unfair. Is it also unfair that people doing different jobs get paid startlingly different wages to others? Why do we value the head of a Water Company such a lot more than a teacher or a Doctor? But no normal employer would pay the same wages to those who worked twelve hours and to those who worked one in the same job. If trades unions functioned in his so

It is by happy chance that this Sunda we have a serving Police Detective (who is also a priest) preaching at the 10.30am Mass, because today’s Gospel can sound very much as though it is concerned with policing the Church! It is really though about forgiveness in cased of breaking rules of behaviour? Fundamentally we ask can wrong-doers remain members of the Church? Matthew wrote his Gospel, inspired by God, for the local Churches in Syria, Palestine and neighbouring regions.

Get behind thee me Satan! The start of the gospel today effectively heralds a turning point. – the Galilean ministries are now completed and Jesus is setting His face towards Jerusalem, and His eventual suffering, death and resurrection. Peter has just confessed Jesus as the Son of the Living God. Now he’s admonishing Jesus and ends up being referred to as Satan! Woah!! Some turn around! But to Peter, the thought of the Messiah, the conqueror, succumbing to torture, humiliati

There are rules that we need, and ones that we do not need, and ones that we do not always need, so can be ignored or waived from time to time. If you give me a grouse, I will cook it for 14 minutes in a hot oven and eat it with game chips, bread sauce and port gravy. If I were to use it for sushi or a lasagna, you would be at liberty to phone the emergency services. There are rules of engagement as well – we don’t go up to people we do not know and invite them to go on holid

It is our great happiness this week to invite the Bishop of Blackburn to come and Confirm our candidates in the faith of the Church. Confirmation is a sacrament conferred less frequently than Baptism. Indeed it may be seen that Baptism is the most ‘popular’ sacrament in terms of numbers, followed by Holy Communion, and then numbers tend to dip rather towards Confirmation and even further to Marriage and to an all time low for Ordination, picking up again for the Last Rites –

Much of our life, in one way or another, revolves around food. Some of our happiest memories gather around tables, Sunday dinners, birthday cakes, fish and chips by the sea, the smell of fresh bread, the comfort of a meal lovingly prepared. Even our entertainment reflects this fascination, like many people, I rather enjoy programmes such as The Great British Bake Off. There is something joyful and reassuring about watching flour, butter, sugar, and skill become something beau

I had never heard of Mares Tail until I moved here a few years ago. Now, I know quite a lot about it as I have spent here years getting gardeners to eradicate it from the grounds and picking it out of my own garden. The roots grow seven metres deep as you probably know, so picking it looks better, but does little. This year I have poured bleach onto the front gravel and that seems to be doing the job, and hopefully in a few years it will have worked its way down. You may tho

Earlier this year (May 8th), many of us paused to mark the 100thbirthday of Sir David Attenborough. For generations now, his voice has accompanied our viewing of the natural world, revealing its beauty, complexity, fragility, and wonder. Through astonishing cinematography, programmes such as Planet Earth have allowed us to see the world afresh, the hidden intricacy of forests, the movement of oceans, the delicate balance of ecosystems, the miracle of life unfolding often unno

I used to love watching ‘Yes, Prime Minister’, especially the eternal playoff between Sir Humphrey and the Prime Minister. It usually ended with Sir Humphrey getting exactly what he wanted and making the Prime Minister, Jim Hacker, think he had got what he wanted. It was a complex interplay, with many people on the side of Jim or the side of Sir Humphrey pulling them in different directions. I found myself in the Mayors Parlour last Sunday before walking out to lead the Armed