A small working group has been examining baptism and confirmation in the Anglican Church of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. They are reporting with recommendations to General Synod Te Hinota Whanui (GSTHW) which is meeting in May 2016. School Chaplains have received this report and recommendations but, I have checked with the Provincial Secretary, we
To Confirm or not to Confirm? Read More »
Let us pray (in silence) [that we may grow into the likeness of Christ] pause Transfiguring God, before the passion of your beloved Son you revealed his glory on the holy mountain: grant that we who by faith behold the light of his face may be strengthened to bear the cross, and be changed into
Lent 2 – Transfiguration Read More »
Want to rile many an English teacher? Point out that there is no central authority for the “rules” they fondly promote. How to spell a word (sulphur, sulfur), where to put a comma, ending a sentence with a preposition, when to use a capital letter, what a word means (“decimate”, “aggravate”) – and so on,
How Anglican is English? Read More »
Friend and fellow-blogger, Peter Carrell, said something strongly recently which has kept me thinking since he wrote it on his website: It matters not one whit how much nerve I (or you) have, nor whether we believe there is only One Bread etc, nor whether various popes make pleasant and, yes, encouraging gestures, the simple
In cleaning the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Amiens in France, workers discovered traces of paint on the 13th century exterior. They realised that the western façade of the cathedral was originally painted in multiple colours. Having determined the exact colours as they would have originally been, elaborate lighting techniques were developed to project
I have left this post until now, as it contains spoilers, so that most interested will have seen Star Wars: The Force Awakens. A lot of Star Wars spirituality is pretty overt (even down to the liturgical greeting, “The Force be with you”, the Force being that which “surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds
Star Wars Spirituality Read More »
Let us pray (in silence) [for grace to keep Lent faithfully.] pause Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing that you have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent: create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may receive from you,
Ash Wednesday and Lent Resources Read More »
Only read further if you think that the Transfiguration is a significant story for our Christian life and spirituality. I think it is a central gospel celebration which, amongst other things, celebrates and enables our transformation. It is present in each of the Synoptic Gospels (Matt 17:1-9; Mark 9:2-9; Luke 9: 28-36) and so, we
Avoiding Transfiguration Read More »
