Imagine a world without Christ

Having just returned from sitting at prayer in St Mary's Church as part of the Watch of Prayer on this Good Friday morning, I was led to this video and found it so close to the experience I have just had and it made me think of what it must be like to live in a world without Christ!




Hope you enjoy this short video.

The Easter Story one tweet at a time | Liturgy

The Easter Story one tweet at a time | Liturgy


Came across this on Liturgy Blog and just had to share it with you all! Superb video, in my opinion.

Palm Sunday: The King Rides into Town

Firstly, I offer my apologies for this post being later than intended due to our internet connection messing us about for a couple of days.  Never mind it appears to be sorted out now - Thanks Lord.

Palm Sunday, for me, turned out to be a mixture of emotions:  I set off in the car to pick up one of the older members of our congregation, a little earlier than usual in order that we could get to the church before the Palm Sunday Procession arrived, with it due to set off from Sherwood House at 09.30am.  As I entered Devonshire Square I became aware of a lady lying motionless on the ground, close to the pedestrian crossing.  I slowed right down in case I needed to offer help and saw that there were some other members of our church watching over the lady and a police officer crouched by her side.  In view of the help that was already at hand I carried on to pick up my elderly gentleman, praying for the well being of the lady as I went.

The procession approaches led by the symbolic donkey

I picked up the gentleman in question and we drove up to the church, where the police were also present at the end of the drive, in order to safely marshal the procession across the traffic lights when they arrived.  We parked up in the car park, got out of the car and waited for the arrival of the procession.  A wait of about 10 mins. and here they came.  They were being led by the symbolic donkey with the church servers, choir, clergy and congregation following behind with their palm fronds and waving colourful flags in celebration.  As can be seen from the photographs, the Lord blessed the procession with glorious early morning sunshine and I certainly got a warm feeling about the whole thing.  As can be seen in the photograph, some of our younger church members were eagerly awaiting the arrival of the donkey!  As the donkey got closer, I took another photograph with my mobile phone, and you can see here the donkey, with its keeper alongside and John our Church Warden.

The procession stopped at the church gates for a moment of prayer and then they moved off singing "We have a King who rides a donkey" to the old sea shanty tune of "What shall we do with a drunken sailor".  We took up our flags and followed on, waving them as we went along our way around the outside of the church and through the churchyard before entering the church and taking to our pews for a wonderful service of celebration.  During the service, it was revealed that the lady I had seen earlier, laid on the ground near the crossing, was, in fact, Carol, one of our congregation and the lady responsible for the beautiful floral displays in our church.  Before the end of the service we were updated on Carol's situation by John, the church warden, who had been down to the local hospital casualty department to see how she was.  It was believed that she had tripped and most probably broken her arm, but this was awaiting confirmation.

The service was followed with the usual coffee and biscuits in the Magdalene Centre (church hall), and some welcome fellowship with sisters and brothers in Christ, before taking the elderly gentleman back home and me returning home for dinner.  On reflection, I thought how wonderful it had been to see the church out in the sunshine, celebrating the Lord's triumphant entry into Jerusalem, but even more than this:  How wonderful it was that Carol had been attended in her hour of need by fellow members of her church and within minutes of arriving in casualty by ambulance, was visited by someone from that same church who later passed the information on to the rest of the church in order that we might all keep her in our prayers.  In the words of one of my favourite hymns, OH LORD "HOW GREAT THOU ART"!!

I write like Dan Brown: so it tells me

On a lighter note: I just entered a passage from my previous post into this writing analysis software and it told me that I write like Dan Brown (I wish).

Click on the Analyze your writing! link below to see who you write like.

I write like
Dan Brown

I Write Like by Mémoires, journal software. Analyze your writing!

What's happening today Sunday 10th April 2011

Really enjoyed the 10.00am Holy Eucharist this morning, being the first Sunday of Passiontide.  All the crosses and statues were covered over in purple which, I have to say, always seems to take me by surprise when I enter the Church, even though I should be well used to it by now.  The last hymn was one of my all time favourites "The Spirit Lives to set us Free" with its rowsing chorus bringing out the best in both the choir and the congregation.  Then stepping out of the Church into the glorious sunshine and thinking back to the welcoming of another youngster to his first communion in his journey towards confirmation, although in my day, you had to be confirmed before you could take communion.  It is always such a joyful occasion when youngsters make their commitment to Christ, for it is them that have to take the Church forwards as we older ones start to lose a little of our zing.  Down to the Magdalene Centre (church hall) for coffee, a biscuit and half an hours fellowship before taking one of the congregation back to his residential care home.  The fairtrade stall was exceptionally well stocked and well attended this morning as well.  Back home for a delightful roast dinner with Kay, my wife.  Then a couple of hours on the PC to try and catch up with things going on elsewhere.

This evening there is the Stations of the Cross service in St Mary's at 6.00pm so if any of you can make it, would be great to see you there.  May God Bless you all and I'll catch up again soon.

Yesterday's Strange and Wonderful moments

Crystal Glass Cross with candle behind

I started my day at about 7.30am, as usual, with a shout from my wife to tell me that my coffee was in my office (the small and cluttered bedroom).  As I sat down at my desk and took a sip from my coffee, it suddenly dawned on me that I had only awoken once during the night, which is most unusual for me.  A normal night for me is looking at the bedside clock every half an hour or so, after turning in bed because of some stiffness, numbness or general feeling of being less than comfortable.  I started up my computer, lit a tea light candle behind my crystal glass cross, and started to pray.  Before I knew it, it was 9.00am and something suddenly crossed my mind.  I wondered if God had blessed me with the power of healing, and if so, could I apply this to my own body.  I was, at this time, suffering quite a bit of chest pain, so I crossed my arms over my chest, placing my hands face down upon my chest and said something along the lines of:  "If there is anything evil within this body, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, I command you to leave."  I glanced back toward the cross to see a white cloud of smoke rising from my body drifting upward, past my very eyes.  My immediate thought was, being a pipe smoker, had I inadvertently dropped some smouldering tobacco on the floor, so I checked and found it not to be the case.  I was completely taken aback by this strange occurrence and just sat there in amazement.  Then I realised that the pain in my chest was no longer there.

My wife came upstairs to let me know that she was ready for me to give her a lift to Framework at Kirkby in Ashfield, where she is a volunteer coordinator for the charity and noticed that I was looking a little distant, but I thought it better not to say anything about what had just happened at this stage, as she is unfortunately not of the faith.  The shopping, that we had bought for my parents, was put in the car and off we went to Kirkby.

Guide Dog Davy

After dropping her off with her guide dog Davy, I continued on to Mansfield to visit my parents and to drop off their shopping.  I go over regularly because my mum has early stages of dementia and my dad is not getting any younger and starting to have problems with his memory as well.  After sorting through the shopping, dad put his shoes on to take Libby (Kay's retired Guide dog, that now lives with my parents) for a walk, whilst I stay to keep mum company and ensure that she is safe, along with my border collie Jess.  Mum really loves Jess because she is so active all the while, as the breed tend to be.  Then I am told by mum about strange thing number two for today:  she is speaking a foreign language to my dad when they go to bed at night.  Apparently she believes it to be some old language with, as she puts it, a lot of ae words in it.

My Border Collie "Jess"

She cannot stop herself when it comes upon her and feels that she has to tell my dad whatever it is that she is saying.  Dad cannot understand a word of it and cannot make any sense of it at all. Mum, by the way, has never been able to speak any language other than her native English.  I asked her if it was happening when she laid down in bed and started to think of things that she wanted to pray about and she said that, on reflection, it most probably was.  So, is this the Holy Spirit speaking in tongues? and if so I pray that He gives my dad the power to interpret what is being said.  Or, is it simply another stage in her dementia - I certainly do not know.  Dad returns from his walk with Libby and I make arrangements to visit again on Friday morning to see how they are and to let dad get anything done that he needs to without having to worry about mum.

By now it is mid-day, mum gives me an Easter egg and a birthday card to take away with me, as well as giving me a small barbecue set and some unwanted toiletries for me to use as raffle prizes or similar for a new venture that I am hoping to start, a night shelter for the homeless of Sutton in Ashfield, along with the help of my wife, because of her connections with the homeless charity Framework.  Off to the car with Jess and back home to Sutton.

A tin of stewed steak, new potatoes and peas for dinner.  Typical blokes' dinner, all out of tins and warmed up in pans.  A quick wash and shave and it is now 2.00pm and time I wasn't here.  Time to visit the residents and staff of Bank House Residential Care home for the elderly on my pastoral visiting duties (more of a joy than a duty it has to be said).  I arrive at 2.15pm to find their driveway blocked by the manager's car and the decorators' who have scaffolding up everywhere and dustsheets to catch any drips from their painting of the exterior of the home.  Due to this, I have to park about 100 yards away from the home which is difficult for me as I have great difficulty in walking very far at all, due to problems with my spine.  So a few quick prayers to ask for strength and off I go.

I sign in and get a chair to sit in the lounge with the residents, after having gone around them all to see how they are.  I find that I sit there with them for an hour and a half, very little is spoken by me, mainly I just listen and watch, but the one thing that never ceases to amaze me is that, although many of them suffer from dementia to one degree or another, not a single one of them forgets their relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and He increasingly works through me during these visits to bring them a peace and love that I could never offer alone.  Obviously, I cannot say anything of what transpires whilst I am there as confidentiality is of the utmost importance, but they always look forward to us calling each week.  I say us because Jesus walks by my side whenever I visit and it is He that does all the work, not me.  The time is now 4.00pm and it's time to say goodbye to my friends at Bank House, back to the car and back to Kirkby to pick up my wife from her volunteering work with Framework.  From there it is back home where Guide dog Davy and Jess greet each other with the usual play bowing and running around for a few minutes.  It is soon time for tea and I settle down to an evening in front of the TV with my lovely wife Kay.

What a strange but wonderful day it had been!!

What a fantastic day!!

Had a really strange but equally fantastic day today, but feeling really tired just now so I must say goodnight and I will try to fill you in on the details tomorrow.  God Bless you all.

Northern Ireland Police Hunt For Killer Of Ronan Kerr In Omagh Car Bomb Attack: PSNI, Country Tyrone | Home | Sky News

My Thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Ronan Kerr and I pray that all those working to keep the peace in Northern Ireland may continue to do so in the love and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Northern Ireland Police Hunt For Killer Of Ronan Kerr In Omagh Car Bomb Attack: PSNI, Country Tyrone | Home | Sky News