Sermon-Who is Jesus? Who am I? Who am I becoming?

Georges Rouault, Christ (1925–27)

A sermon given during Holy Communion at St Olave Hart Street on Sunday 27^th September 2026 (Year A, Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity) based on readings from Philippians 2.1–13; Matthew 21.23–32 and a week before our Confirmation Service.

Thought for the Day-Our Family of Faith

Egon Schiele, Mother with Two Children III, 1915–17. Oil on canvas, Belvedere, Vienna.

A Thought for the Day given at a lunchtime service of Holy Communion at St Olave Hart Street on Tuesday 22nd September 2026 based on the text of Luke 8.19-21.

Sermon-The Gate to Salvation

Christ a la Porte from La Passion, Georges Rouault, 1939

A sermon given during Holy Communion at St Olave Hart Street on Sunday 26th April 2026 (Year A) - also the day of the London Marathon which passes nearby and “Vocations Sunday” in the Church of England and based on readings from Acts 2.42-47 and John 10.1-10. 

Sermon-The Conversion of Paul

Conversion of St. Paul, by Roy Ruiz Clayton 

A sermon given during Holy Communion at St Olave Hart Street on Sunday 25th January 2025 (Year A) The Conversion of Paul – based on readings from Galatians 1.11-16a & Matthew 19.27-30

Sermon - Embodying the ‘good desires’ of God’s grace

Churches, New Jerusalem, Aristarkh Lentulov, 1917

A sermon given during the Sung Eucharist at St George’s Bloomsbury on Sunday 18th May 2025 (Easter 5, Year C) based on the text of Acts 11.1-19, Revelation 21.1-6 & John 13.31-35. The service was followed by the Annual Parish Meeting.

Prayers - A New Commandment

Gate with a Tower, New Jerusalem, Aristarkh Lentulov, 1917

Prayers of intercession written for  the Sung Eucharist at St George’s Bloomsbury on Sunday 18th May 2025 (Easter 5, Year C) based on the text of Acts 11.1-19, Revelation 21.1-6 & John 13.31-35. The service was followed by the Annual Parish Meeting. 

Sermon - My sheep hear my voice. I know them and they follow me.

Jorge Cocco Santángelo, The Good Shepherd, 2017

A sermon given during Sung Holy Communion at St Olave Hart Street at 11am on Sunday 11th May 2025 (Easter 4, Year C) based on readings from Acts 9.36-end and John 10.22-30. The service was followed by the Annual Parish Meeting.

Thought for the Day - The Road to Everywhere

Emmaus by Janet Brooks Gerloff, 1992

A Thought for the Day given at a lunchtime service of Holy Communion at St-Giles-in-the-Fields on Wednesday 23rd April 2025 based on the text of Luke 24.13-35.

Thought for the Day - Who, What and Why

Carmen Lomas Garza, La Curandera, 1989, The Mexican Museum, San Francisco, CA

A Thought for the Day given during the lunchtime Eucharist at St Mary le Bow on Wednesday 2nd April 2025 based on the text of John 5.17-30.

Sermon-Blind Faith

‘Christ Healing the blind" (2010) by Thobias Minzi, Tanzania

A sermon given during Holy Communion (BCP) at St Giles-in-the-Fields on Sunday 2nd March 2025 (Quinquagesima or the Last Sunday before Lent) based on the text of 1 Corinthians 13, Luke 18.31-43 and inspired by the pop history of nearby Denmark Street, as explored in Peter Watts excellent book.

Thought for the Day - Why are you here?

Farewell by August Macke, 1914

A Thought for the Day given at a lunchtime service of Holy Communion (BCP) at St Giles-in-the-Fields on Wednesday 6th November 2024 based on the text of Luke 11.42-46 and the words of Archbishop William Temple who is remembered by The Church of England on this day.

Baptism Homily - Standing at the crossroads of time and eternity

Crossroad Blues, Oli Kellett, 2016

A homily given at the baptism of Remy Cane at St Giles-in-the-Fields on Sunday 13th October 2024.

Sermon - Jesus' Wedding Sermon to Us

Louis Kahan, The Wedding Feast at Cana, 1949 

A sermon given at the Sung Eucharist at St George’s Bloomsbury on Sunday 21st January 2024 – The Third Sunday of Epiphany (Year B) based on readings from John 2.1-11. You can listen to an audio recording of this sermon in the video clip below:

Church of England National Online Service - The Road to Emmaus

Frances Watt - Road to Emmaus

It was a great pleasure to be invited to contribute to the Church of England’s online service which we recorded today for release on Sunday 23rd April 2023. I was asked to speak for two minutes about what I had learnt from my time at St Stephen Walbrook, framing the response around themes from the gospel reading – the disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24.13-35). This is what I said:

Prayers of Intercession - Follow Me

Carl Kylberg "Venez a ma suite (Följ med)" (Come, Follow Me)

Prayers of Intercession written for the Choral Eucharist at St Stephen Walbrook on Thursday 26th January 2022 (Year A, Epiphany 3) based on texts from 1 Corinthians 1.10-18 and Matthew 4.12-23.

Start:Stop - Her Majesty's Life of Faith

The People's Monarch - Helen Marshall, Gatwick Airport/BBC South East, 2012

Hello and welcome to St Stephen Walbrook and our Start:Stop reflection, when we start the day by stopping for ten minutes in prayer and reflection. Please come and go as your schedule dictates. You can listen to an audio recording of this week's reflection at this link.

The world is mourning the death of Her Late Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II; monarch, Supreme Governor of The Church of England and perhaps one of, if not the most prominent advocate for the Christian faith in recent times. 

I confess I have found it impossible to put into words the loss of someone known to 94% of the population of the globe - the single most visually recorded human being in history.  

So, rather than my words, this morning’s reflection, which follows uses her own. Words of wisdom drawn from just some of the public statements and Christmas Broadcasts (CB) she gave over her long reign. Please do take a sheet away with you to reflect on these words further.

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. 

Prayers of Intercession - Leave your baggage behind

Two Travellers, Jack Butler Yeats, 1942, Tate Gallery

Prayers written for the Sung Eucharist at St Stephen Walbrook at 12.45pm on Thursday 9th June 2021 (Year B, Fifth after Trinity) based on the gospel reading Mark 6.1-13 and text from the sermon.  

Sermon – You don’t have to wait ‘till the Eventide to Abide!

The Vine and the Branches, P. Solomon Raj, 2009

Sermon preached during the Eucharist at St Stephen Walbrook at 12.45pm on Thursday 6th May 2021 based on the text of John 15.1-8 and referencing Acts 8.26-end

Good News in 100 words
Jesus promised that those who believe will abide with him in eternal life. In today’s gospel reading, Jesus calls on us to abide in the present; illustrating discipleship as being like branches of the true vine; bearing the fruits of God’s grace. He says that fruitfulness comes from abiding – not ‘growth’. Abiding is hard to define and even harder to measure, but when it comes to the crunch, we know how important it is. Abiding is the measure of a loving relationship. The Good News is we don’t need to wait until the ‘eventide’ to abide. We can abide today!

Start:Stop – Lord, do you wash my feet?

Sadao Watanabe - Washing the Disciples Feet, 1988

Hello, my name is Phillip Dawson, welcome to our Start:Stop reflection from St Stephen Walbrook, when we stop for a few minutes and start to reflect on a passage from scripture. You can hear an audio recording of this reflection here. During Lent at our informal discussion group, we are exploring the Gospel of John - do join us via Zoom on Thursdays at 7.30pm if you can.

This week we arrived at the start of what many see as the second half of John’s Gospel - the ‘Book of Glory’ or the Book of the Passion. Here, the pace of events slows and the focus changes. John has spent the first part of his Gospel describing, through signs and teaching , Jesus’ love for the world. Now he focuses on Jesus’ love for his followers. For the next five chapters, John describes Jesus speaking only to the disciples; teaching them - and us - how to follow him in faith after his death and resurrection. His first lesson takes place during the Last Supper.