Faith & Reflection
Thoughts, prayers and reflections from across the Chaplaincy.
Lord of Heaven and Earth, we come today with hearts filled with joy and love for the work you have called us to in the worldwide Mothers' Union. Hear we beseech you the prayers of your people for the ongoing work we are engaged with. Lord
Read ReflectionHeavenly Father, We call out to you in these worrying times of civil unrest. Amid scenes of rioting, violence and destruction, we pray for everyone who feels threatened and intimidated, fearful and unwelcome. Lord embrace and protect, en
Read ReflectionHear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John. AllGlory to you, O Lord. As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Fatherâ
Read ReflectionGood Friday: O Sacred Head Surrounded Ô douloureux visage De mon humble Seigneur ;Ô tête sous l’outrage, Ô front sous la douleur. Plein des beautés divines, dans les cieux infinis, C’est couronné d’épines que je te vois ici.
Read ReflectionThis joyful Eastertide, away with sin and sorrow! My Love, the Crucified, has sprung to life this morrow: Refrain: Had Christ, who once was slain, not burst His three-day prison, our faith had been in vain; but now has Christ a
Read ReflectionFIRST STATION “We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you, because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.” JESUS IS CONDEMNED TO DIE It was early Friday morning when I saw my son. That was the first glimpse I ha
Read ReflectionExcerpts from a sermon for Mothering Sunday, preached in Cognac, 10th March 2024. As well as being Mothering Sunday, today is also the middle Sunday in Lent, and it may be that the reason these always fall together is because this half-way
Read ReflectionOur world is scarred by terror and violence. Millions are forced to leave their homes in search of refuge and safety. God of welcome, grant us the grace to risk embracing the stranger, tending their wounds and standing in solidarity with
Read ReflectionOur world is scarred by terror and violence. Millions are forced to leave their homes in search of refuge and safety. God of welcome, grant us the grace to risk embracing the stranger, tending their wounds and standing in solidarity with
Read ReflectionWe are now in the solemn season of Advent in which the Church bids us prepare to celebrate the coming of Christ; a coming that we recall in the Child of Bethlehem; a coming that we experience in the gift of his Spirit, in the bread of the E
Read ReflectionWhat passing-bells for these who die as cattle? Only the monstrous anger of the guns. Only the stuttering rifles' rapid rattle Can patter out their hasty orisons. No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells; Nor any voice of mourni
Read ReflectionGracious and loving God, You call us to be stewards of your abundance, the caretakers of all you have entrusted to us. Help us always to use your gifts wisely and teach us to share them generously; we pray that you would call someone to be
Read Reflection“If you don’t give because no one’s ever asked you, I’m asking you now. If you don’t give regularly because you’ve never got round to it, I’m saying today’s the day. If you don’t give much because you think our Chaplaincy
Read ReflectionAs the tide draws the waters close in upon the shore, Make me an island, set apart, alone with you, God, holy to you. Then with the turning of the tide prepare me to carry your presence to the busy world beyond, the world that rushes i
Read Reflection2nd Sunday After Trinity; Fathers Day Leader We arise today, embraced in the arms of God the Father, empowered by the strength of God the Spirit, and immersed in the love of God the Son. We arise today in the company of the Trinit
Read ReflectionTrinity Sunday is a reminder that we have a Trinitarian God, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. The Trinity is one of the hardest things to understand in Christianity. And it means different things to different people, an
Read ReflectionThy Kingdom Come; Seventh Sunday of Easter Leader God has gone up with a shout, All the Lord with the sound of a trumpet. (Psalm 47:5) Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with you All
Read ReflectionGeoff Cornwall: A Reflection upon Tears With the first anniversary of the start of Putin’s war against Ukraine, the terrible earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, not to mention the sad deaths of so many folk we ourselves know and love
Read ReflectionReflections (Bible Studies) on the Psalms David Hawken PSALM 5 Trust in God for Deliverance from Enemies To the choirmaster: for the flutes. A Psalm of David. 5 Give ear to my words, O LORD; give heed to my groaning. 2 Hearken to the
Read ReflectionDavid Hawken. Bible Studies REFLECTIONS - continuing in the Psalms Psalm 4 Revised Standard Version Confident Plea for Deliverance from Enemies. 4 Answer me when I call, O God of my right! Thou hast given me room when I was
Read ReflectionPSALM 3 One of the questions that non-believers often ask is “Why doesn’t God do something?” Interesting, that! They don’t believe in God, but still want Him to do something about the problems of the world, or even their own diffic
Read ReflectionReflection for Remembrance-tide. Geoff Cornwall At this time of year we are all thinking in terms of remembrance of one kind or another. I am writing this on 31st October, Halloween, All Souls. Tomorrow will be All Saints. Many of us
Read ReflectionDavid Hawken. REFLECTION ON PSALM 2 Oct 2022 Last month I gave myself to write about each one of the Book of Psalms, a task I reckoned would take me to the age of 93, if not longer! So hear goes on my second offering. Psalm
Read ReflectionGeoff Cornwall. The Parables of Jesus It is not as easy as you might think to define the word ‘parable’. The Greek word from which it is derived means ‘to set two things side by side’, so offering a comparison. In the time o
Read ReflectionBeing a Christian is certainly a challenge, but an exciting and positive one, not the negative thing many people think. And the prevailing culture of " me first " clashes with the Christian view of life. John Bunyan famously drew us a pic
Read ReflectionGeoff Cornwall Reflection for August 2022 More years ago than I care to count I took a trip to Ireland with a group of school mates. We crossed from Holyhead to Dún Laoghaire and stayed in Youth Hostels as we explored the region surro
Read ReflectionDavid Hawken Here’s an idea. Each of us who writes for the Bible Studies (Reflections) page on Facebook does so about once every six weeks. So, if I start today on the Book of Psalms it will take me at least 150 times 6 weeks to get th
Read ReflectionBob Whorton Pause for Prayer I came across these words recently from the Buddhist nun, Pema Chödrön: When we pause, allow a gap and breathe deeply, we can experience instant refreshment. Suddenly, we slow down, look out, and there’s t
Read ReflectionDavid Hawken. REFLECTIONS (Bible Study) There’s a bonus in writing for this webpage: no-one tells you what to write about; you can choose your own passage from the Bible. One of my favourite readings in the Old Testament goes back a
Read ReflectionGeoff Cornwall. A reflection upon St. Alban, First Martyr of Britain My life as a Christian began, I suppose, when for several consecutive Easter Mondays in my late teenage years, I went, with my then girlfriend, on the St. Albans Dio
Read ReflectionBob Whorton: Money, money, money Martin Luther once said, ‘There are three conversions necessary: the conversion of the heart, the conversion of the mind and the conversion of the purse.’ And someone has worked out that of Jesus’
Read ReflectionREFLECTIONS gathered by David Hawken from the Christian Aid website This week is Christian Aid Week. Instead of a Bible study, let's look at a practical way that we can follow the teaching of Jesus. Taken directly from the Christian Ai
Read ReflectionGeoff Cornwall A Personal Reflection For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very we
Read ReflectionReflections - Bible Study by David Hawken (30th March 2022) This week I'd like to look at one verse in John's Gospel where the beloved disciple reports Jesus as saying "You are my friends if you do what I command." (John 15:14) You
Read ReflectionBob Whorton Naming the Truth The Russian Orthodox Church has been vocal in its support of Vladimir Putin under Patriarch Kirill. Yes, this is going to be political. I’m not a party-political person, and never have been. But politi
Read ReflectionBob Whorton Empty You may know the Christmas song by Emily E.S. Elliott which begins ‘Thou didst leave Thy throne and Thy kingly crown’ with the chorus, ‘O come to my heart, Lord Jesus, there is room in my heart for Thee.’ It
Read ReflectionDavid Hawken. REFLECTIONS: 12th January 2022 Starting with an apology: this is not, as such, a Bible Study. It's too late to do a study on Christmas. Or even Epiphany, but I'm sure you know all about that already. Instead, I open my Ch
Read ReflectionReflections on Climate Change from Geoff Cornwall In view of the recent COP conference in Glasgow, it seemed to me that perhaps it might be an appropriate time to look at the whole question of Climate Change and our Christian approach th
Read ReflectionBob Whorton Energy Levels Do you enjoy this time of year? As I get a little older each year (strange that!) I am less enthusiastic about the winter months. I find I have to push myself to do things. Some days, my energy levels are low
Read ReflectionDavid Hawken Christians are supposed to be people of prayer. But what to pray ? The obvious answer is the Lord's Prayer, the "Our Father" that Jesus gave to His disciples as a kind of template for prayer. Yes! You've heard it all before
Read ReflectionGeoff Cornwall “Whatever task lies in your hand, do it with might” [Ecclesiastes 9:10] When my children were growing up we used to tell them that we didn’t mind in the least what they chose to do with their lives but we did say
Read ReflectionAt a fringe meeting of the Labour Conference this year the deputy leader, Angela Rayner, described her political opponents as ‘Tory scum’. Now, I am one of those annoying (to politicians) people who have voted for all the major U.K. pol
Read ReflectionReflection On Psalm 150 Many years ago, I was invited to sing, unaccompanied, at the marriage ceremony of two of my friends. Not a problem, except that (and I still don't know why) they asked for something in Latin. In those days both m
Read ReflectionI wonder why it is that so few people seem able totally to commit themselves and their lives to God? Down the ages, from the Bible, from history, we find examples of those who have been fully committed and who have dedicated their
Read ReflectionI find that part of my praying is often with my I-Pad in the form of a dialogue with Jesus. I suggest something, or express something and then imagine the response back. A little while back I was reading the beginning of Mark’s Gospel
Read ReflectionWhile chatting with friends this week, I was reminded of a play on words that was popular among Christians at one point some years ago: No Christ, no life; know Christ, know life! It concisely points out the difference Jesus makes to tho
Read ReflectionSome of you may know that we are caravanning in Sainte Marie La Mer in the south of France. However the wind called la tramontane hasn’t stopped for 3 days now. It’s quite noisy. On the good side, everything is different, the landsca
Read ReflectionLife is full of decisions, full of choices. Some are small, some are big and alter the course of our lives. From what we wear each day to what we do with our lives. Some of the decisions that I have made throughout my life have
Read ReflectionI found myself feeling dissatisfied the other day. These habits of thought and soul are difficult to catch aren’t they? – because they can be so much part of us. It’s hard to stand back far enough to notice them. I was dissatisfied
Read ReflectionDifferent rules for a different country Coming out of our local Carrefour, I walk to the car and open the right-hand door, expecting to see a steering wheel. ‘Wrong side – again!’ This has been a frequent refrain for me, sinc
Read ReflectionIn my daily readings, one of my favourite New Testament stories came up. It’s from Acts 3, where Peter and John are heading for the Temple in Jerusalem in order to pray. On their way in, they encounter a crippled beggar, who sits there
Read ReflectionFirst, what is the meaning of a pit in the bible? The Old Testament "Pit" denotes a large hole in the ground. Pits were used to catch wild animals (Ezekiel 19:1-8) or to collect water for drinking (cisterns). Sometimes they were
Read ReflectionI was drawn to Isaiah 45:3 recently- “I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places.” I had the sense that this verse was very relevant at this time and rather than focus on the ongoing difficulties
Read ReflectionThese words from Ezekiel 36. 26 stood out for me the other morning: I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
Read ReflectionDear friends, Paul was saying: Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. Letting people know that you believe firmly in the resurrection is so important when you wi
Read ReflectionOne of the biggest challenges of this time is isolation. God made us for relationship. That need is part of us, how we’ve been created. Relationship with God and with our fellow human beings. This last year has made this difficult. It
Read ReflectionSomething moves! I was taking the dog for a walk one day during Holy Week and found myself gazing at the may blossom which the wind was blowing into a stream. A few of the tiny white flowers were bobbing happily along, on eit
Read ReflectionA phrase has emerged during the current Covid-19 crisis - the new normal. It can refer to the experience of everyday life under the restrictions brought on by the virus, in that many formerly alien or unknown practices such as the wearin
Read ReflectionAt the beginning of Exodus 31, in the midst of all the instructions given by God to Moses as to how His children were to live, treat each other and as to how to worship and serve Him there are a few verses that intrigue me! God tells Mos
Read ReflectionUnless a grain of wheat These words of Jesus from John 12.24 have followed me around for many, many years: 'Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies it remains alone; but if it dies it bears a rich harvest.' In
Read ReflectionAs I’ve mentioned before in this context, one of my favourite hobbies is beekeeping. I love watching and working with these amazing creatures, observing the organisation and industry of the colony and the way that they are perfectly de
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