Category Archives: Chaplain’s Musings

If historical literature is to be believed there was a long spell in church history when cathedrals and abbeys and churches were overfull. Well they would be as life expectancy was short and fear was not. Easy then for church … Continue reading →

Re-Discovering the Classics 2 The Contemplative, we are told, recognises the sacred potential in the mundane task. The philosopher Søren Kierkegaard reminds us “repetition is reality, and it is the seriousness of life…. Repetition is the daily bread which satisfies … Continue reading →

Re-Discovering the Classics 1 Stories of magic – and mostly we think here of children’s stories but not exclusively – such stories give us pleasure but also a kind of privilege. We are admitted, at least for the length of … Continue reading →

The mirage of normality The other day I was listening to something about how hands are used in religious worship and practice. The importance of gesture and touch. Many of us at St. Catherine’s come from different traditions and this … Continue reading →

I have seen a whole lot of gardening posts recently on various platforms so I ‘stole / borrowed’ this whole section from our Rogation Liturgy. The way I would like to use it this week  is to invite and resource … Continue reading →

The G7 nations (UK, Italy, Germany, France, Japan, USA, Canada) met this last weekend in Cornwall, England and there are some nice pics of them all nicely distancing, regardless of vaccination status. Key themes for discussion we are told were … Continue reading →

I wish to begin today by thanking any of you readers who attended and participated (very limited this year because of zoom format) in the Annual Church Meeting held last month. The Wardens and Council members have long since begun … Continue reading →

Ascension to Pentecost Plainchant Pentecost A poem by Malcolm Guite Sunday morning’s readings spark faith, as of fire, hot yet soft like light insinuating hope – dare we open our mouths, blurt out burning syllables ? We trust instead proper … Continue reading →

Ascension Severed Ties A poem by Michel Quoist Severed ties always create anguish. Think how a spider panics when one of the strands of its cobweb is broken. In the same way, people panic and suffer when their ties with … Continue reading →