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There are reports of explosions at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester. Police say there are fatalities. Many very young people attended this concert and distraught parents have been unable to contact them in the confusion. Please pray for all affected. :votive2: :votive1: :votive2: [I have merge...

Happy Easter to everyone.

Lent Pictures Day 45 GO After Jesus' crucifixion, the authorities placed a heavy stone across the mouth of the tomb and placed an armed guard there, to prevent any rumours about his resurrection starting. The gospel of Matthew tells us that the morning after the sabbath, the women went to his tomb. ...

Lent Pictures Day 45 FORSAKEN On Good Friday we remember the death of Jesus by crucifixion, after being tried for blasphemy. I find the the details of death by crucifixion horrific, too horrific to contemplate to be honest. But he also went through enormous mental suffering. The gospels record that ...

Lent Pictures 44 PASSOVER John's Gospel Chapter 13 tells us the story of what has become known as the Last Supper, when Jesus shared a meal with his disciples and washed their feet as if he was their servant. This took place around the Jewish festival of Passover. When I worked in prison chaplaincy,...

For beautiful little Charlie Gard, his devastated parents and family and for the judge who had to decide his sad case. Lord let your Light and Love and Comfort be felt by all those who have been touched by little Charlie's life and may Charlie rest now in your Love. Amen. Lord, have mercy. :votive2...

Lent Pictures Day 43 DELIVER I'm the daughter of a midwife, so the word 'deliver' always makes me think of birth. I heard loads of stories of births when I was growing up, and whenever I went to the shops with my mum we'd be stopped at least once by someone whose baby she had delivered. Birth is ver...

Revelation 3.14-22 - Laodicea -

Lent Pictures Day 42 HOPE There's a cluster of frog spawn in our tiny, leaf-filled pond again. A few years ago, I had a bout of hospitalisations with various acute illnesses. I found the hospital environment very dull, and longed to see the outside. Once I was home, I spent quite a few weeks watchin...

Lent Pictures Day 41 STEADFAST God's love is described in Psalm 36 as faithful, or steadfast. God doesn't give up on us, although we can, and do, give up on God. I was once asked to be the parish lay representative on a residential Diocesan conference. My discussion group included a visitor from a l...

Lent Pictures Day 40 HOSANNA Palm Sunday, the start of Holy Week, has been dominated this year by the news of Coptic Christians in Egypt being killed at worship. The Spectator magazine notes: "At least 36 people have died in Egypt after blasts targeted Coptic Christians on Palm Sunday. Today’s attac...

Thank you! I hope you might feel encouraged to post your sermon on i-church?

Lent Pictures Day 39 PROCLAIM Angels are messengers from God. When they visit humans, they bring news of God. To proclaim is to shout loudly about something to draw attention to it. The end of Psalm 118 proclaims that God's goodness and kindness towards us is unfailing. How can we proclaim this news...

Lent Pictures Day 38 GRATITUDE This year, i-church members have been reading Archbishop Justin Welby's DETHRONING MAMMON as our Lent book. Welby draws a strong contrast between the culture of Mammon - allowing property and money to determine our actions - and God's economy of grace, abundance and ge...

I made friends online through Christian discussion forums and I vividly remember meeting someone I'd shared a lot with online for the first time. There was a strange 5 minutes while I adjusted what I thought she would look and sound like to what she did look and sound like, which was a bit like wait...

Lent Pictures Day 37 VICTORY Winning can be exhilarating. I remember going to greet Coventry City football team in 1987 on their return from Wembley with the FA cup. It's hard to say why I was exhilarated - I'm not a football fan - but seeing people succeeding is uplifting. One of the most striking ...

Are online friends real?

This BBC video suggests they are!

https://www.facebook.com/BBCLikeThat/vi ... 585728044/

Lent Pictures Day 36 HELP The cat was sitting in the hall today looking very attentively at something. It turned out to be a large bee buzzing around in circles on the floor. I got the bee onto a spoon and put it outside, not wanting self or cat to be stung by it. I realised with hindsight that I ha...

8SCorW9r_Is John 19.38-42 After these things, Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, though a secret one because of his fear of the Jews, asked Pilate to let him take away the body of Jesus. Pilate gave him permission; so he came and removed his body. Nicodemus, who had at first come to ...

Lent Pictures Day 35 REFUGE A refuge is a place of safety, a place to hide in. Psalm 118 talks of God moving the psalmist to a broad place in answer to a cry of distress, and tells us that it is better to take refuge in the Lord than put our confidence in people. The idea of taking refuge in the Lor...

Lent Pictures Day 34 FOREVER I remember, when I was little, being fascinated by the picture on a packet of Kensitas cigarettes. I think my grandpa smoked them. They showed a butler with tray, on which there was a pack of Kensitas cigarettes, showing a butler with a tray, with a pack of Kensitas ciga...

Lent Pictures Day 33 RESURRECT This picture was taken in my garden in Spring last year. The plant it shows is some kind of tall shrub, which dies back to being a bunch of very dead-looking, tall sticks in the winter, which suddenly sprout abundant green leaves and yellow flowers just after the daffo...