On Wednesday’s Radio 4 Thought for the Day, Rhidian Brook was talking about who we are influenced by. He wanted to distance himself from the ‘influencers’ who crave fame and fortune by ‘being themselves’ on social media, and who are
Happy New Year
We all like something new. Sometimes ‘new’ means ‘for the first time’, but often it’s about something new replacing something old: a new coat consigns the old one to the cupboard (or is passed on to someone else); a new
Great Joy
“Glad tidings of Great Joy”, the angel said. So, how does that work? Does it come because of the food, festivities, families, and fun? Does it come as we realise the darkening of the winter nights has turned back? Or
A Signpost
On the A44 between Rhayader and Kington, there is a signpost for Llandegley Airport. But if you follow the directions you won’t find the airport because it doesn’t’ exist – it never has. The owner of the sign says it’s
Ready, Steady…
In the 2012 Olympic 100m final, Usain Bolt lined up in lane 7. “On your marks”, “Set”, the gun went off and 9.64 seconds later the race was won. Years of physical and mental training justified in just 10 seconds.
Why?
I was talking to a small child last week – I was leaving and he was asking why I had to go. So I explained in my best talking-to-a-3-year-old voice why I was leaving, and he simply repeated the question
Who are the saints?
Sometimes we think of ‘the saints’ as the list of people the (Roman Catholic) church has canonised as Saints – Saint Peter, Saint Paul, and an increasing number of others. But I think we all recognise that these ‘official’ Saints
– Preach, vt.
Some of Jesus’ last words to his disciples before he ascended into heaven were that repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be preached to all nations. (Lk24:47) But what is special about preaching repentance as opposed to proclaiming it
– God is …
God is what? How could we fill in the blank? In a way, the answer depends on what question we’re trying to answer, so we might use one of those ‘big’ words about God: Almighty, Creator, Holy; or we might
Are you a Christian?
I knew someone at school who considered himself to be a Christian because he was born in Britain – it was about where he was born. We are Church of England, and some believe living in England (or being English)