Sermon - Presenting Anna

Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1, James Whistler, 1871

A homily given at Choral Evensong at St-Giles-in-the-Fields on Sunday 28th February 2024 based on Luke 2.22-40.

Sermon - A race in which the last shall be first

Ernie Barnes, 100m Sprint, Poster for the 1984 Olympic Games

A sermon given during Holy Communion at St Giles-in-the-Fields on Sunday 28th January 2024 (The Sunday called Septuagesima) based on readings from 1 Corinthians 9.24-end and Matthew 20.1-16

Thought for the Day - The Economics of Possibility

Still Life with Zimmerlinde, Lucian Freud, 1950

A “Thought for the Day” given at Mattins at St Giles-in-the-Fields at 1pm on Wednesday 24th January 2024 based on the text of Mark 4.1-20 

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:

Thought for the Day - Rooting for the Underdog

David and Goliath by Marc Chagall, 1955-56

A “Thought for the Day” given at Mattins at St Giles-in-the-Fields at 1pm on Wednesday 17th January 2024 based on the text of Mark 3.1-6 and 1 Sam 17.32–33, 37, 40–51

Thought for the Day - Everyone is searching for you, Jesus

Faeq Hassan, The Three Wise Men, 1964

A “Thought for the Day” given at Mattins at St Giles-in-the-Fields at 1pm on Wednesday 10th January 2024 based on the text of Mark 1.29-39 and 1 Samuel 3.1-10, 19-20

“All men seek for thee.”

 

Everyone is searching for you, Jesus - the disciples say. 

 

Everyone.

 

This season of Epiphany is bookended by the celebration of events in which a search for Jesus is fulfilled and a new journey begins.

Bonhoeffer's "New Year" Prayer

The Rocket, by Edward Middleton Manigault, 1909

A New Year hymn based on a poem written for all those for whom “the old year still torments our hearts” has been introduced into the Anglican church in a new hymnal.

Sermon - Signs of the (Christmas) Times

Fairy and Christmas Ornaments – Christmas Card by Andy Warhol 1953-1955

A sermon given during Holy Communion at St Giles-in-the-Fields on Sunday 24th December 2023 (The Fourth Sunday in Advent) based on readings from Philippians 4.4-7 and John 1.19-28

Advent Course - Exploring 'Life Together'

Discussion by Milton Avery, 1944 (Mount Holyoake College Art Museum)

Our Advent Course at St Giles-in-the-Fields this year was based on Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s book ‘Life Together’. We held three sessions in church around our Sunday services and a separate half-day retreat on a Saturday at the Royal Foundation of St Katherine in Limehouse, which was also attended by parishioners from St George’s Bloomsbury. 

We selected ‘Life Together’ as the basis for our study group for a number of reasons. With the restrictions of the Covid pandemic behind us and a growing congregation at St Giles, it felt like a good time to consider what it means to be a Christian community. Bonhoeffer’s book offers practical advice on how to live together as Christians not only in times when we gather for worship but also when life means engaging in the world outside of the church (which for most of us is most of the time!) The book is profound but also short, which we felt made it a manageable study text over a few sessions during the busy season of Advent. 

Rather than explore the book chapter by chapter in sequence, we designed the course around four themes. Apart from the retreat day, we limited each session to a maximum of one hour and offered either a light lunch of soup and bread or tea and cakes depending on the time of day.

A copy of the poster and flier is below, followed by a brief summary of the structure of each session and a synopsis of the discussion that ensued.

Sermon - What did you come here to see?

“Visit Me” – illustration for Christianity Today magazine by Kumé Pather

A sermon given during Holy Communion at St Giles-in-the-Fields on Sunday 17th December 2023 (The Third Sunday in Advent) based on readings from  1 Corinthians 4.1-5 and Matthew 11.2-10.

Life Alone – A Half Day Retreat at The Royal Foundation of St Katherine

Edward Hopper, Chair Car, 1965

It was a great pleasure to lead a contemplative retreat for members of the parishes of St Giles-in-the-Fields and St George’s Bloomsbury at The Royal Foundation of St Katherine on Saturday 16th December 2023. I provided two addresses based on the text of ‘Life Together’ by Dietrich Bonhoeffer and a short homily during Holy Communion, offering points for reflection during the periods of silence that characterised the day.