by Richard on January 27, 2013
All praise to our redeeming Lord,
Who joins us by his grace;
And bids us, each to each restored,
Together seek his face.
He bids us build each other up;
And, gathered into one,
To our high calling’s glorious hope,
We hand in hand go on.
The gift which He on one bestows,
We all delight to prove;
The grace through every vessel flows,
In purest [...]
by Richard on January 25, 2013
listen to ‘Enough Food for Everyone…If’ on Audioboo
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by Richard on January 24, 2013
by Richard on January 21, 2013
Terence Blacker on the National Lottery
The Lottery is a living example of how an apparently innocent idea – premium bonds on steroids – can rot a culture from within. To those who are trapped in their lives, it has offered the illusion that their existence can be transformed. In a cash-obsessed society, it holds out [...]
by Richard on January 20, 2013
Christ, from whom all blessings flow,
Perfecting the saints below,
Hear us, who Thy nature share,
Who Thy mystic body are.
Join us, in one spirit join,
Let us still receive of Thine;
Still for more on Thee we call,
Thou Who fillest all in all.
Move and actuate and guide,
Diverse gifts to each divide;
Placed according to Thy will,
Let us all our work [...]
by Richard on January 17, 2013
I hope I can be excused for promoting an event I’m putting on.
Chapel & Tavern is a concert split between 2 venues. The first half will be in Wrexham Methodist Church and will be focused on hymns - mostly Wesley’s. For the 2nd half, we’ll go down to the Saith Seren pub. The aim is [...]
by Richard on January 17, 2013
For some reason, reading this story brought these sketches to mind…
by Richard on January 16, 2013
My friend Mark Byron asks Would Jesus pack heat?
They didn’t have guns in Biblical days, but they did have swords. Luke 22:38 showed up when I did a search on “Sword”
The disciples said, “See, Lord, here are two swords.”
“That is enough,” he replied.
Jesus didn’t tell them to leave swords behind or turn them into plowshares, [...]
by Richard on January 16, 2013
From the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration State of the Climate report
2012 global temperatures 10th highest on record
2012 was also warmest “La Niña year” on record
The globally-averaged temperature for 2012 marked the 10th warmest year since record keeping began in 1880. It also marked the 36th consecutive year with a global temperature above the [...]
by Richard on January 14, 2013
Dave Faulkner has some moving poetry from the heat of Australia’s fires.
by Richard on January 13, 2013
Christ, from whom all blessings flow,
perfecting the saints below,
hear us, who thy nature share,
who thy mystic body are.
Join us, in one spirit join,
let us still receive of thine;
still for more on thee we call,
thou who fillest all in all.
Move and actuate and guide,
diverse gifts to each divide;
placed according to thy will,
let us all [...]
by Richard on January 11, 2013
A post by Kim Fabricius, reblogged without his permission!
1. What is hell? Hell cannot be known in and of itself. As a negative to a positive, hell can only be known as the antithesis of heaven. Heaven is life with God, hell is existence without God.
2. Or, again - because God is [...]
by Richard on January 11, 2013
That’s a relief.
In other news, eating too many pies makes you fat, farting in lifts will make you unpopular, and Christmas Day will be celebrated on December 25th this year.
by Richard on January 11, 2013
David Matthias bids farewell to New Frontiers.
At the turn of the year, Newfrontiers UK, the UK part of the “apostolic sphere” of Terry Virgo, formally ceased to exist in it’s previous form. While the relationships and future plans had been under development for a couple of years, that was the moment, when something really [...]
by Richard on January 11, 2013
Yesterday, I shared David Campton’s post about his weariness. So, in the interest of balance, it’s only fair that I should share his green shoots too.
contrary to popular perception I’m not grumpy about everything all the time. I’m forever telling my congregation that we are good news people not bad news, so in contrast to [...]
by Richard on January 10, 2013
by Richard on January 10, 2013
Virtual Methodist is tired
I’m tired of people in power laughing and joking over capping benefits for the poor, sneering at them as “shirkers” or “skivers” in contrast to “strivers”…
I’m tired of the wealthy bleating about losing child benefit, and fuel tax hikes that will make their gas-guzzling 4×4’s marginally more expensive to fill up…
I’m tired [...]
by Richard on January 10, 2013
About as jolly a tune as you’re ever likely to hear
listen to ‘Methodist Preacher’ on Audioboo
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by Richard on January 8, 2013
There’s always time for a random slice of Monty Python.
by Richard on January 8, 2013
The Conversation: Will climate change ever have its Sandy Hook moment?
There is an eerie parallel between the gun control and climate change debates. Both involve statistics, “evidence” and entrenched positions.
A single record-breaking summer heat wave or extreme hurricane can’t be unambiguously linked to climate change, but their frequency and intensity compared to the historical norm [...]