Thought for the Day - God on the Margins

Hagar and Ishmael in the desert, Emanuel Krescenc Liška, 1883

A Thought for the Day given at a lunchtime service of Holy Communion at St Giles-in-the-Fields on Wednesday 2nd July 2025 based on the texts of Genesis 21.5, 8-20 and Matthew 8.28-34

Sermon - Blackbirds, Pigeons, Doves & our Wings of Faith

Charles McGhee - One of the St Giles' Blackbirds (1824. Painting by John Dempsey. National Portrait Gallery)

A sermon given during Holy Communion (BCP) at St Giles-in-the-Fields on Sunday 12th May 2024 based on the text of 1 Peter 4.7-11 and John 15.26-16.4. You can listen to an audio recording of this sermon at this link.

Sermon - Wings of Faith

Gin Lane 2016 by Thomas Moore

A sermon given during Evensong at St Giles-in-the-Fields on Sunday 5th May 2024 based on the text of Song of Solomon 4.16-5.2 and Revelation 3.14-end.

Sermon - Grace is not faceless

My Family, by Fateme Hossini, Afghanistan, 2019

A sermon given during Choral Holy Communion at St Giles-in-the-Fields on Sunday 5th May 2024 (Rogation Sunday, BCP) based on the text of James 1.22-end and John 16.23-end. You can listen to an audio recording of this text at this link.

Sermon - The beginning of the end

This Small House, Richard Woods, 2022

Sermon preached at the Sung Eucharist at St George’s Bloomsbury on Sunday 28th August 2022 (Year C, 11th after Trinity, Proper 17) based on the text of Hebrews 13.1-8, 15-16 and Luke 14.1, 7-14.

“It’s the beginning of the end!”

screams an article I was sent this week - bemoaning what it claims to be a growing culture of commercialization in churches and cathedrals; some of which have played host to mini-golf courses, model dinosaurs and helter-skelters during the summer months. It describes such initiatives as pursuing "the lowest common denominator” which means - and I quote - “higher purposes” are squeezed out.

Apparently, "God has left the building."

The bilious broadside is illustrated with a photograph of the latest contemporary art installation in Southwark Cathedral, which has been on display for the past few months.