Sermon - And one will be left

Graveyard under Snow, Caspar David Friedrich, 1826

A sermon for Advent Sunday (Year A) given at the Sung Eucharist at St Stephen Walbrook on Thursday 1st December 2022  based on the text of Romans 13.11-end and Matthew 24.36-44. This sermon was also given at St George’s Bloomsbury. 

BOOK REVIEW : The Naked God by Vincent Strudwick

The Naked God by Vincent Strudwick was published by Darton, Longman & Todd in 2017

Part autobiography and part theological history, this book by Vincent Strudwick explores questions around the future direction of the Church of England from a historical context, drawing on the author’s long career as a priest, theologian and teacher and his experience working closely with Lambeth Palace and the Anglican Communion. 

Start:Stop - Re-clothing God?

A facemask on a carving on the refurbished Shrine of Amphibalus in St Alban's Abbey

This week the church celebrates Alban, the first recorded British martyr, who famously sheltered a priest fleeing persecution by the Roman authorities, helping him to evade capture by swapping cloaks. When the Romans found it was Alban beneath the priest’s cloak, he was sentenced to death. 

Little is known about the priest that Alban sheltered, whose life is also celebrated by the church this week. Even his name remains a mystery.  As a result of a medieval mistake, he became known as Amphibalus (a Latin word for 'cloak').

The restoration of a shrine to Amphibalus in St Alban’s Abbey was completed during the lockdown, on which one carving has been reclothed - in a face mask! A small reminder of how we re-clothe stories using familiar images from our own day. 

Start:Stop - Clothed in Christ - The Chester Mystery Plays

The actors who played Adam and Eve return as the criminals crucified with Christ

Start:Stop offers the chance for busy commuters to Start their day by Stopping to reflect for ten minutes. Starting every quarter hour between 7.45am and 9.00am on Tuesday mornings at St Stephen Walbrook, in the heart of the City of London, we invite people to drop in for as long as they can to hear a sequence of bible readings, reflections and prayers or simply to sit and reflect. For more information visit our website. This reflection is from Tuesday 17th July 2018.