St John's and Kiltermon

Jesus appeared to His disciples  by the Sea of Galilee 'Wherefore I pray and beseech you,  as many as are here present,  to accompany me with a pure heart,  and humble voice,  unto the throne of the heavenly grace...' Some Gifts Are Perfectly Timed ... The watercolour above was an unexpected gift.  The artist, is a parishioner*, and has the lovely habit of the right word at the right time.  And sometimes the right picture too. It came by post, during the days set apart.  Whether rightly or not, I had anxiously opened it outside, disposed of the envelope, and set about reading the words inside.  It was several days before I lifted it again, looked more carefully, and realised that it was an original water-colouring, that there was a little ichthus* painted on the side of His boat, and the whole  scene was referring me to Galilee. Of course I was delighted by the card,  and the sentiment...

Jonah 3:10 & Chapter 4 When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened. But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. 2  He prayed to the Lord , ‘Isn’t this what I said, Lord , when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. 3  Now, Lord , take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.’ 4  But the Lord replied,  ‘Is it right for you to be angry?’ Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. 6  Then the Lord God provided a leafy plant and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the p...

A Divided Heart 'All will be well, and all will be well, and all manner of things will be well.' Long tailed Tit, taken by Julie Packham  The statue of Julian of Norwich  on the West Front of  Norwich Cathedral ,  made by the sculptor David Holgate in 2014 Which picture interests you most? Either?  Or neither? This week I've been noticing my divided heart. I've been sitting outside to read and prepare a sermon on Jonah, for today's recording and this blog.  But my heart and mind aren't settled.  I'm distracted by the glorious sunshine.  I'm distracted by the birdsong; the wren that appears, the pair of nesting Blue Tits, two Mapies squawking, four large Crows,  a Dunnock, one Swallow, two Chaffinch, endless bees, a hornet, and then...one, no two Goldfinch appear on the metal wire fence in the field. And sit, and stay, as if to pose for a moment, and then are gone.  ...

A Very Unusual Holy Week Today is Tuesday in Holy Week. It is the fifteenth time  here in Fivemiletown, that  I have made the journey with you towards Jerusalem and Good Friday.   Sometimes we ask ourselves as a family where on earth the years have gone...but I suspect that's a sign of age common to us all.  This Holy Week has been unlike any other. Guest speakers have been cancelled, there are no lists of service sheets to print, no Holy Communion celebrated at homes across the parish, no Good Friday Kids' Brunch or special music rehearsed or flowers arranged.  Instead, I won't complain inwardly on Good Friday that the world goes on without noticing this special day, because the world isn't going on as usual. I won't wonder how few might turn up at this week's services, because I know exactly how many will be present.  Things are very much not usual. How much British society will notice the day, who can tell, but society must be starting...

Sermon Sunday 5 April 2020                           Jonah Obeyed And Went    Chapter 3:1-10 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.”3 Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. 4 Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” 5 The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.6 When Jonah’s warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. 7 This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Do n...

Midweek Reflection Wednesday 1 Ap ril 2020 And the  Lord  appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. Then Jonah prayed to the  Lord  his God from the belly of the fish, saying … And the  Lord  spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land. What on earth do you make of Jonah, and the Big Fish? If your reading this at all, thank you. Two weeks ago, I had never blogged, I had a Facebook page with 6 friends, and didn’t know anything about live streaming. Today, I wonder how much of the Sunday service some 776 people watched, what it means for the parish to have 224 friends, and if anybody reads the blog. In this new age of virtual communication, I’m realizing that I prefer to be affirmed by real human beings. Today though, I’m feeling more and more reduced to Facebook thumbs up, a heart symbol or an Amen hands in prayer. If you don’t Facebook...