Sunday's coming!

Closing worship for synod Oct 2015 2 Corinthians 5: 16-20 (REB) Some of you will know that I had a sabbatical this summer, looking into Ecumenism. I was inspired by a quote from the French writer,  Antoine de Saint Exupéry: “If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach people to yearn for the vastness and immensity of the ocean.” I wanted to find some sort of vision for ecumenism – when it can be such hard work, why is it still important for Christians to seek unity? I had some great experiences of worship in other traditions – including preaching at one of the ordination services at Methodist Conference, and worshipping in the small Parish Church in Wales – Aberdaron – where the poet RS Thomas was once vicar. I also did some reading and thinking and attempted to capture in words and images what it means for Christians to be united. But it was only the week before last, ...

Genesis 2: 18-24, Mark 10: 2-16 Some reporters came to Jeremy Corbyn and said “Where does the Labour party now stand on Trident nuclear missiles?” and Jeremy sighed and thought “I wish they hadn’t asked me that question – there really isn’t a good answer that’s going to satisfy everyone” but he turned to them and said  “You’ll have to wait until we have a chance to discuss it fully”. Perhaps you think that Jesus should have given an answer something like that to the Pharisees who ask “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”. Jesus needs to think about the sanctity of marriage, the legality of divorce, the reality of human fraility and the feelings of the people who might hear what he says. And those issues remain for anyone reading or preaching about the gospel passage we heard. I don’t know where you all stand : your personal experience, your family situation, your hurts and your hopes. So it was very tempting to avoid the question altoget...