Living Stones - A Spiritual Tour of Southwark Cathedral

The tour began outside in Humphrey’s Yard, where the Dean, The Very Reverend Andrew Nunn, proudly showed us three new corbels at aisle level on the choir, which were made by stone carvers at the City and Guilds College in Kennington and installed in August last year. They represent Evelyn Sharp, a local suffragist, Doorkins the Cathedral cat and PC Wayne Marques, who was one of the First Responders on the night of the terrorist attack on London Bridge on 3rd June 2017 – he was recently awarded the George Medal.

Start:Stop-Near Neighbours or Salaried Strangers? A reflection for World Homeless Week

The Return of the Prodigal Son - Rembrandt (c1669)

Start:Stop at St Stephen Walbrook allows busy commuters to start their day by stopping to reflect for ten minutes. Prayers and reflections start every quarter of an hour from 7.45am until 9.00am each Tuesday morning. This is my reflection from Tuesday 8th October 2019.

Good morning and welcome to Start:Stop. This reflection and our prayers will last around ten minutes and you are welcome to come and go as your schedule dictates. Our reading today is the first part of a famous story of homecoming – and a parable that has much to teach us about the nature of love and how we might serve those in need. It is known colloquially as the parable of the Prodigal Son: 

How am I transformed by the Eucharist?

Jacques Iselin - The Elements of Holy Communion (Methodist Modern Art Collection)

This was the central question posed by Canon James Milne, Precentor of St Paul’s Cathedral, at a study day organised by the St Paul’s Learning team on Saturday 21st September. In “The Eucharist in Six Objects” we were taken on a sensory tour using objects from the Cathedral collection, during which we were challenged to consider how we respond to the sacrament of the Eucharist - which is where, Canon James explained, the past, present and future collide.

START STOP - Going green - what’s the bloody point?

Exiles by Matilde Damele on show at St Stephen Walbrook in September 2019

Each year the period between September 1st and the Feast of St Francis of Assisi on October 4th is set aside by the church as the Season of Creation, when we are called to focus our prayers and actions on our stewardship of the earth. Today marks the middle of a week-long series of protests which are aiming to draw international attention to the climate emergency. These 'Climate Strikes', which have been led by young people, were started by the Swedish schoolgirl Greta Thurnburg who has said “This is the moment in history we need to be wide awake. Dreams cannot stand in the way of telling it like it is, especially not now.”

I think in the Bible it is especially the Books of Wisdom that “tell it like it is” - with frank assessments of the difficulty of living faithfully in the here and now. I have chosen a reading today from one of these - the Book of Ecclesiastes;

Turning Good King Wenceslas upside down

In the foyer of the Lucerna Palace in Prague – an Art Nouveau building housing a concert hall, shopping centre and café, hangs a statute of St Wenceslaus. Unlike the figure on the monumental plinth which stands at the top of Wenceslaus Square, this depiction of the saint, by the sculptor David Černý, sits rather uncomfortably on a dead horse which is suspended upside-down, its lifeless tongue hangs limp, pointing at the shoppers below.

Start:Stop-Start your day the Salesian way

The Sun, Edvard Munch, 1910-1911

Good morning and welcome to Start Stop. This time of year is one of new beginnings for many - back to school or university, or back to work after the holidays. For some this is an exciting time, but for others it can be daunting. It is all to easy to become distracted from the present moment and spend time worrying about the future - to wince at the number of unopened emails or feel anxious about the size of our seemingly never-shrinking to-do lists - and Christmas is only around the corner! How! are we going to fit it all in? How! will we cope?

BOOK REVIEW - Four Ministries, One Jesus : Exploring your vocation with the four gospels by Richard A. Burridge

I was given this excellent book by Fr Chrichton, my last vicar in Southgate. I think it helped (but was not essential) that I had read “Four Gospels : One Jesus” (by the same author and considered to be a modern classic) before reading this book.
‘Four Ministries’ draws on the theme of the earlier (1994) text, using the four symbols now associated with the evangelists to describe a different area of mission and ministry. As in the earlier book, in which Richard Burridge makes clear that the four portraits of Jesus offered by each gospel help to provide a different picture of the same man (in the same way that at Chartwell, different photographs on the walls in different rooms show different aspects of the life of Churchill), so this text, divided into sections examining each gospel, describe different aspects of the one mission and ministry of the church.

BOOK REVIEW - A Grief Observed by C.S.Lewis

A Grief Observed by C.S.Lewis (First published 1961)

In the 1994 introduction to this book written in 1960 and originally published under a pseudonym, Douglas H Gresham, the step-son of C.S.Lewis, issues a note of caution. He explains that this is a description of the grief experienced by C.S.Lewis following the death of his wife. The title “A” Grief is therefore important - this is a personal account - not an attempt to define - or explain - grief universally. Despite this, I recognised much of what Lewis describes, either from my own (limited) experience of bereavement, or from what other people have told me about theirs.

Start:Stop-But can I just first....

Bridge of Glory, Nicholas Roerich (1923)

Good morning and thank you for joining us for Start Stop. Our prayers and reflection will last around ten minutes and you are welcome to come and go as your schedule dictates. Today the church remembers the life of Bernard of Clairvaux, whose writings include a step by step plan to help us on our journey of discipleship. We begin with a short reading from scripture.

Treasure in Heaven-Prayers of Intercession

Praise for God (For J S Bach) by Robert Natkin 1967

These prayers of intercession were written for St Pancras Church on Sunday 11th August 2019 and are based on Genesis 15.1-6 & Luke 12.32-40 with a few references to the Feast of the Transfiguration which was celebrated on Tuesday. It is a great pleasure to be able to help out at other churches during the holiday season.

Jesus said “it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Let us take pleasure in giving thanks for this gracious gift, by directing every moment of our lives to God, who is Lord and Master of all.

Lord, in your mercy

Hear our prayer

Start:Stop-The Transfiguration

The Transfiguration - Sieger Koder

Good morning and welcome to Start Stop. Today is the Feast of the Transfiguration when we remember that moment when Peter, James and John are called up to the top of a mountain where Jesus is transfigured and becomes radiant in glory. Today we will read the account in Mark's Gospel: