Uncategorized – Wearily Hopeful

Flags

I don’t claim to be an expert on this subject: I doubt that anyone is, although the sound and the fury makes it seem that an awful lot claim to be. This is a slightly augmented version of something I posted on Threads a couple of weeks ago and it seemed to strike a chordContinue reading “Flags”

Back from an island…

I got back from a wilderness retreat a week or so ago. I’ve taken part in these for some time now; the experience grows in my mind and imagination even more when I’ve left. We pick an island and sail: this year it was going to be Insh, but the tides didn’t work out, soContinue reading “Back from an island…”

Islands and bad poetry

“My secret is that I need God—that I am sick and can no longer make it alone. I need God to help me give, because I no longer seem to be capable of giving; to help me be kind, as I no longer seem capable of kindness; to help me love, as I seem beyondContinue reading “Islands and bad poetry”

Easter Sunday

I’ve written before of my struggles with images like this that are used when we wish people ‘Happy Easter’. Sometimes, we who believe post them on social media- accompanied by fonts so sickly sweet that Hallmark would baulk at putting them out- to tell others of our faith, often tongue tied in what to sayContinue reading “Easter Sunday”

Good Friday

(Extract from above poem- Gerard Kelly ‘I see a new city: poems of place and possibilities’ Chamine Press, 2000) The priest who gave the thought at our Village Good Friday ‘stations of the cross’ read this poem today. ——————————————— ‘Eloi Eloi Lama Sabachthani’ (‘My God, my God: why have you forsaken me?’)

Lent?

In an instant news age, we tend to judge more and do so more quickly. Access to information is constant and eventually the algorithm will get you with delicately curated gobbets designed to ramp up your outrage. I confess I have succumbed. I confess that I still succumb. There’s a temptation for those of usContinue reading “Lent?”

Advent-ish/Happy New Year

It’s been a while since I’ve written anything here: words and the space to write them have been scarce. I guess I’ve also lost a bit of confidence in my ability to write something that might engage. I’d meant to write something for a friend’s blog: http://www.thisfragiletent.com gathered artists and creatives to do a seriesContinue reading “Advent-ish/Happy New Year”

‘Credo’

It’s been a while since I wrote anything on here: we moved house and I’d underestimated both the feeling of security of having your own home and also the physical and emotional toll- clear thought has been rare. At the theological college I went to, there was a final year course called ‘Credo’; the aimContinue reading “‘Credo’”

Leaving…

Home: I’ve always been fortunate to have the sense of security that comes with one. We owned one once, in Oldham: it was relatively small and wasn’t in an area that could be described as ‘sought after’, but it was ours and I liked the feel of living in an ethnically diverse area. When IContinue reading “Leaving…”

General Election:2

Even before I got a degree in Politics back in 1987, I’ve always been interested in the subject, but I know that is a minority interest… I originally wrote a longer version of this that was more polemical, but then I shortened it, split it into two and tried to make it more pithy. It’sContinue reading “General Election:2”