Thought for the week

Tag: God

  • The rebirth is real

    A few years ago, Matthew Parris, a former MP and a distinguished journalist, visited Malawi, where he had lived as a child. He was impressed by the development work of Pump Aid, a small British charity, helping rural communities to have safe water. But, to his surprise, something else impacted him: “Travelling in Malawi refreshed…

  • The courage of Grace Darling

    Grace Darling was born in November 1815. Within a few weeks she was taken to live on Brownsman Island, one of the Farne Islands off the coast of Northumbria, in a small cottage attached to the lighthouse her father ran. In 1826 she and her family moved to the newly built Longstone Lighthouse. Grace was…

  • Comfort in suffering

    We live in a world of suffering. The city of Mariupol in Ukraine is a graphic example of great suffering. The constant indiscriminate bombardment of Mariupol by Vladimir Putin’s soldiers has reduced a beautiful city to rubble. Civilians trying to leave the city have repeatedly been hindered by continued shelling from the Russian army. Hundreds…

  • The God of creation

    The Spring has come. After the dark, wet days of winter we are enjoying bright, sunny, blue-sky days. The snowdrops, crocuses, daffodils, and magnolias are blooming. People are out walking and cycling. Our spirits are lifted as we look forward to the long, warm days of summer. Seeing nature coming to life reminds us of…

  • Loving our children and grandchildren

    We are all conscious of the seriousness of climate change. What we are doing now will have serious implications for future generations – our children and grandchildren. Children who have contributed the least to the climate crisis will pay the highest price. Higher temperatures will leave many families living in poverty with less food, less…

  • The Servant Queen

    On 6 February 2022 Queen Elizabeth II celebrated 70 years since she acceded to the throne on the death of her father George VI. She has reigned longer than any other British Monarch and is also Queen of 14 Commonwealth realms. The words of the National Anthem, which are a prayer, have been fulfilled in…

  • The story of Lisala Folau

    Early in the morning on 15 January a volcano near Tonga erupted produced a colossal explosion that triggered a 7.4 magnitude earthquake. A shockwave radiated outward at close to the speed of sound eventually travelling halfway around the world. The sonic boom was heard in parts of New Zealand more than 1,300 miles away. A…

  • The James Webb Space Telescope

    On Christmas Eve the James Webb Space Telescope was launched by an Ariane rocket from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana. The $10bn telescope is on a mission to show the first stars to light up the Universe. It is the successor to the Hubble telescope and is 100 times more powerful. Thousands of people…

  • Precious in God’s sight

    In the summer of 2019 a young family set out from their home country of El Salvador to find safety and a new life in America. After a journey of 1500 miles Óscar Ramírez, his wife Ávalos and their 23-month-old daughter Valeria were in sight of Texas. They just had to cross a relatively narrow…

  • O come let us adore him!

    Soon after he was born the infant Jesus faced a serious threat to his life. The Wise Men from the east who followed the star had asked King Herod for help in finding the new-born king. After consulting the religious teachers Herod told them to go to Bethlehem and said, “As soon as you find…