Category: Nurture

Nowhere else in Scripture is that affirmation, those words of witness, made. And they were drawn from the mouth of the much maligned, Thomas. Courageous Thomas, questioning Thomas. But doubting? I doubt it.

What kind of donkey do you prefer? A limo-style donkey or a get-away donkey? Do we lean towards confrontation or modesty?

Here’s a link to our April 2025 magazine, paper copies of which will be in our two churches from this…

Our April 2025 Bible readings include God doing a new thing, a prophet being spat at – and wolves & lambs feeding together. Mary filling a house with perfume, an untamed donkey, the days leading up to the crucifixion, and a risen Jesus meeting his friends

You and I need to trust that God knows what’s best for us. That God’s playing a long game for our benefit. We can be flawed and imperfect too but God’s still there for us.

Who are you and what kind of person are you? And do you ever take the time to think about it?

The March 2025 magazine contains a letter from Julian Heaton, about our Mission Community plus a piece on 80 years of Christian Aid.

In our March 2025 Bible readings, Moses glows and Abram counts stars. Jesus dazzles, is hungry and gathers his chicks.

So, God makes a human from red clay. Like Michaelangelo with his red wax model – I wonder if God’s fingerprints were left somewhere on Adam too.

Are you a tree by a stream of living water? We may grow at different rates and in myriad of ways. We each bear distinctive leaves, flowers and fruit.

Despite ourselves, we may just hear ourselves say: ‘Send me’. And then we may just hear a voice in reply saying: ‘What took you so long? I’ve been waiting for you. Now go.’

I wonder how Simeon felt when he woke up the day after meeting Jesus and seeing the truth of what his future would hold. I wonder if he woke up thinking, “today might be the day!” before he remembered that yesterday had been the day and that he would have to find something else to do today.

We start with the presentation of Jesus in the Temple and then stories from the early years of his ministry. From the OT we have readings from the prophets – plus the second creation story from Genesis…

In this edition you’ll find a reflection on Psalm 84 by Alan Thew, together with news and updates from most of our groups and organisations – and a letter on Candlemas from Ian.

For his first miracle, Jesus doesn’t heal anyone, or do an exorcism or feed a hungry crowd. Instead, he picks up the tab and makes sure that everyone has enough wine!