Thought for the Day-Individual but not Independent

Dance (I), Henry Matisse, 1909

A Thought for the Day given at a lunchtime service of Holy Communion at St Olave Hart Street on Tuesday 15th September 2026 based on the text of 1 Corinthians 12.12-14, 27-end

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

Start:Stop - Trust in the slow work of God

Paul on the road to Damascus - Peter Bellone

Start:Stop at St Stephen Walbrook enables busy people to start their day by stopping to reflect. Ten minute reflections are repeated on the quarter hour, from 7.45am until 9.00am every Tuesday morning, beginning with a reading from scripture, followed by a reflection based on an event from this week in history, with space for silence and prayer. You can hear a recording of this week’s reflection at this link and read the script below.

Thank you for joining us for Start:Stop. This reflection will last under ten minutes and you are welcome to come and go as your schedule dictates. This week we consider two very different anniversaries. Often presented as pivotal moments in history that brought about an immediate transformation that changed the world, in both cases, beneath the bright lights and pizazz, we also find an alternative - but no less real - story. One of slow and steady progress towards lasting change.  

Our bible reading is from St Paul’s letter to the Galatians, Chapter 1, verses 11-17.

Start:Stop-The Conversion of St Paul

The Road to Damascus by Jonathan Peter Jackson

Hello and welcome to this week’s Start:Stop reflection from St Stephen Walbrook, when we stop for a few minutes and start to reflect on a passage from scripture. My name is Phillip Dawson. 

This week the church celebrates the Conversion of St Paul - an event on the road to Damascus vividly described in the Acts of the Apostles. Paul’s own accounts of his experience appear, on the surface at least, to be less dramatic - but no less transformational. In his letter to the Galatians he explains that the revelation of the risen Christ caused him to reassess his response to three important questions:

Who am I?
Who is Jesus Christ? and;
How does Jesus Christ transform who I am?

Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles - inviting non-Jews to become followers of Christ, might be seen as a quest to help us all to explore the answers to these questions for ourselves. 

Start:Stop - The Long Road to Damascus

The Conversion of Paul by Hyatt Moore

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.

This week the church celebrates the conversion of St Paul. The feast, on 25th January, also marks the end of the Week of Prayer of Christian Unity.

The drama of Paul’s road to Damascus experience is told in Chapter 9 of Acts of the Apostles, but also in Paul’s own words in his letter to the Galatians - a letter he wrote to defend his mission to the gentiles, under attack from Christians from Jerusalem who wanted gentile converts to the faith to observe Jewish practices and laws. 

In the letter, Paul’s first hand account of his experience suggests that while his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus was life-changing, the process of his conversion, which we celebrate this week, was only just beginning. 

Start:Stop - Paul the Persuader

We are all one in Jesus Christ by Soichi Watanabe, 2009

Hello, my name is Phillip Dawson, welcome to this week’s Start:Stop reflection from St Stephen Walbrook, in which we stop for ten minutes to reflect on a passage from scripture. You can hear an audio recording of this reflection at this link.

Whether it’s the issue of Brexit or Free School Meals, our news bulletins are never short of personalities attempting to practice the art of persuasion. At times it can feel as though we are inundated with requests to sign online petitions aiming to precipitate yet another policy u-turn. Perhaps we have put pen to paper, writing to our MP or others in authority, encouraging them to change their position on an issue of concern to us.

Paul’s letter to Philemon might be seen as the epitome of persuasive Christian letter-writing and, I think, has much to teach us in this regard;

Start:Stop - Lessons from Lockdown

Rythme, Joie de vivre, Robert Delaunay, 1930

Hello and welcome to our Start:Stop reflection, my name is Phillip Dawson. You can find an audio version of this reflection here.

At Morning Prayer this week our New Testament readings are taken from St Paul’s letter to the Philippians. The letter was written whilst Paul was being held for an extended period under house arrest in either Ephesus or Rome. But despite his personal circumstances there are no grumbles here, only gratitude - every section of the letter is overflowing with joy. Paul explains how the restrictions of life under lockdown seem to be opportunities, not obstacles - even the “fake news” some are spreading about the gospel doesn’t seem to get him down;

BOOK REVIEW - Phoebe : A Story by Dr Paula Gooder

“I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church at Cenchreae, so that you may welcome her in the Lord as is fitting for the saints, and help her in whatever she may require from you, for she has been a benefactor of many and of myself as well.” (Romans 16:1-2)