Patronal Festival 2021: St Mary Magdalene St Mary Magdalene is our patron saint: but why do we have patron saints and what do they do for us? The custom goes all the way back to the fourth century -1600 years! Churches were named after a local martyr, like St Alban. Sometime a church possessed the relics of a saint and … Read More
Trinity 7 2021: Work, rest and pray May I speak in the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen. When and where to get your rest. When small children are around it can prove almost impossible to get an uninterrupted conversation between adults. I have insisted that our grandchildren always say “excuse me grandma” with the promise that … Read More
Trinity 6 2021: Dissidents in our culture. Mark 6. 14-29 The party is out of control. Herod is drunk. A young girl, a teenager called Salome, starts dancing for him in front of all the men there. She’s the daughter of his brother’s wife Herodias. Herod had an affair with Herodias and then divorced his own wife to marry her. … Read More
Trinity 5: They took offence at Him Mark 6. 1-13 Jesus had become famous for His miracles and His teaching. One day He returned to His hometown, to Nazareth, and He began to teach in the synagogue. But the people there were not impressed. They took offence at Him. The French novelist Francois Mauriac wrote in his life of Jesus: … Read More
“Trinity 4: Touch and Faith” Mark 5.21-43 May I speak in the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen. It’s what we have all missed during this pandemic, touch. Our gospel today tells two different, but intertwined stories that involve touch: a dad desperately trying to save his daughter, and an unnamed woman desperately trying to save herself. … Read More
Parish Magazine ~ July 2021 A prayer of St Gregory Nazianzus: May Jesus give strength and power unto his people and Himself present to Himself His flock resplendent and spotless and worthy of the fold on high, in the habitation of them that rejoice in the splendour of the saints, so that in His temple everyone, both flock and shepherds … Read More
Vicar’s Blog ~ July 2021: A High Calling I suspect that you may never have heard of the battle of Samara. It was fought in AD 363 beside the river Tigris between the Persians and an invading Roman army of 65000 men. But it was a decisive battle for the Church as well as the Persians because at that battle … Read More
Trinity 3 2021: Calming of a storm Mark 4. 35-41 What do you think of when you hear this Gospel story of the calming of a storm at sea? I think of this terrible pandemic we’ve been living through. I think of us being shut out of church and shut into our homes during lockdown. Because I think of the … Read More
Trinity 2 2021: The Kingdom of God Mark 4. 26-34 These last few weeks have been a little bit busy for me. I’ve been beginning my ministry here with you, and my other job as Area Director of Ordinands at the same time, as well as trying to finish decorating and unpacking at the Vicarage. There’s a prayer I love … Read More
A monk in the ancient Church once asked his elder, “Will Christians in the last times be able to raise the dead or perform miracles like us? The elder answered him, “It will be a greater work for them to even be Christians in those times.”
Trinity Sunday: Nicodemus May the Almighty, who is, who was and shall be forever, continue to engage, enlighten and inspire us all the days of our life? Amen. If you had the opportunity to have a conversation with Jesus, what would you ask him? Nicodemus, the man in our gospel reading this morning, had just that opportunity. Nicodemus was a … Read More
Parish Magazine ~ June 2021 Due to the Coronavirus ‘Lockdown’ of March 2020 onwards, the Parish magazine is published mainly online and only a few copies printed for archival purposes. An announcement from Bishop Rob, the Bishop of Edmonton: From the Bishop of Edmonton Friends, I am delighted to let you know that the next Vicar of St Mary Magdalene, … Read More
Priest’s Blog ~ May 2021 ASK: The Fifth Sunday of Easter – ‘I am the true vine’. “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower” (John.15:1) Dear friends, friends old and new, it is unnerving to read that God was willing to cut down anything in Jesus’ ministry that didn’t ‘bear fruit’, what does that mean … Read More
They are all drunk! There were thousands of people milling around. It was a day of obligation, they had to be there to bring the Grain Offering to the Temple. It was the “Festival of Weeks” a celebration, a day to give thanks to God for the early wheat harvest. It was exactly fifty days after the Passover, a period … Read More
“As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them…” John 17: 18 Have you ever had someone tell you they are praying for you? It’s likely we all have had people pray for us, but it is different when someone tells you they are praying for you. It might be when you are going through a … Read More
Love one another “Love one another with a pure heart fervently.” A line from one of my top ten anthems, and one that gave me the most embarrassing moment ever. I learnt this anthem in my twenties when I had a voice that had a range that enabled me to sing all the parts. One day on my walk from … Read More
The True Vine May I speak in the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen. The Evangelists ‘Jews for Jesus’ often remark that Chapter 53 from Isaiah is the turning point in the conversion of many Jewish people, and today we read of Philip who was perhaps the first evangelist and of his encounter with an Ethiopian of … Read More
Priest’s Blog ~ April 2021 ASK: Easter Sunday. ‘The Lord is Risen’ ‘He is Risen Indeed’ Dear friends, friends old and new, Happy Easter! There was no way I was going to let another Easter pass us by without us sharing communion. My heartfelt thanks to everyone who has helped to make this possible. We still need to be very … Read More
Parish Magazine ~ May 2021 Due to the Coronavirus ‘Lockdown’ of March 2020 onwards, the Parish magazine is published mainly online and only a few copies printed for archival purposes. An announcement from Bishop Rob, the Bishop of Edmonton: From the Bishop of Edmonton Friends, I am delighted to let you know that the next Vicar of St Mary Magdalene, … Read More
We have a new vicar! It was announced in church yesterday, in a letter from Bishop Rob, that we are to have a new vicar from 30 May 2021. His letter reads: From the Bishop of Edmonton Friends, I am delighted to let you know that the next Vicar of St Mary Magdalene, here in Enfield will be the Rev’d … Read More
