March - 2017

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To respond as Jesus would, instinctively.

Mar 31, 2017

To respond as Jesus would, instinctively.

First aid training this morning. Ministry Centre: 9.30 am. Mmmm. I'm taking singer-turned-paramedic Bobby Sherman at his word: “Take some time to learn first aid and CPR. It saves lives, and it works.” Just to say, I wish I had had some hands-on training 30 years ago. One of the bearers at a funeral at my previous church in Rochdale collapsed in the rain. An older man, he had helped carry a heavy coffin to the very edge of our graveyard. Two of us worked on him in

What are we going to do with Good Friday?

Mar 24, 2017

What are we going to do with Good Friday?

“Is Easter the new Christmas?” asks the BBC news website. It now seems that Easter is now the second-biggest retail event in the UK after Christmas, worth some £550 million to our hard-pressed retailers. You can now buy – wait for it - Easter crackers for the family. Just head for your nearest Sainsbury's, Tesco or Waitrose I note that Poundland (where I invariably buy my gifts for the family) offer bunny banners, egg hunting merchandise and even carrot-shaped fairy

Why I speak such bad French

Mar 17, 2017

Why I speak such bad French

¡Hola amigos! You will be pleased to know that I am now learning Spanish. This is in preparation for visiting our mission partners in northern Argentina, Andrew and Maria Leake, this spring. My experience in visiting the hospital Universitario Nuestra Señora de Candelaria this January showed me that not everyone speaks even basic English and there are times when you just need to communicate. So I sought the advice of CLM leader, Neil Rees, who ministered in Spain for ne

When we pray we think bigger, much bigger.

Mar 17, 2017

When we pray we think bigger, much bigger.

Good idea to walk to St Michael’s, I thought yesterday. Our chapter – the local Anglican clergy – invariably begin our bimonthly meeting with Holy Communion and this month we were meeting down the road in Aughton. However, this meant that the service in the chancel had already started when I arrived. Nothing new there. So I slipped in discreetly and found myself sitting in the Rector’s pew, the very same place where Rev William Henry Boulton led worship for over 50 year

The building of Christ Church – opportunity, risk and perseverance.

Mar 10, 2017

The building of Christ Church – opportunity, risk and perseverance.

This very day 150 years ago Rev W H Boulton, Rector of Aughton, was getting very excited. For in just 16 days time Rt Rev Reverend William Jacobson, the Lord Bishop of Chester, is to lay the foundation stone for a brand new church at the far end of his parish. I know because one of the tasks facing me today is to finalise our plans for the 150th commemoration of this event. The bonus for me is that I have the internet. But as we will see it was a huge technological

Our biggest fear? Being embarrassed.

Mar 3, 2017

Our biggest fear? Being embarrassed.

“Oscar blunder duo given bodyguards after 'death threats.’” So reads this morning’s BBC news page. I have every sympathy for PwC accountants, Brian Cullinan and Martha Ruiz, who continue to endure the full glare of global scrutiny just for handing the wrong envelope to Warren Beatty. And now their very lives are in danger! Hardly accountancy as we know it. You remember the Monty Python sketch on accountancy: “Exciting? No it's not. It's dull. Dull. Dull. My God it's d