Author Archives: northumbrianreflections

 In a few days time, the decorations will come down, the lights that have pierced the darkness of winters nights will be put out, Christmas wrapping paper will no more be seen until next year. The carol singing will cease, … Continue reading →

Attending a Christmas Day service will never be quite the same as this year’s in Ireland.  With nearly all our close family, all three generations, we made our way across the winding lanes and undulating landscape of County Down for … Continue reading →

On Christmas Eve we will be joining the congregation of Down Cathedral in Ireland for a candlelit carol service. The cathedral will be packed with people listening to the traditional service of nine lessons and carols. Everywhere there will be … Continue reading →

                            Whenever I think of Christmas services, I recall the time that we organised a community Carol Concert in our first church, Portrack. This was in the 1980’s when the … Continue reading →

There I was in chapel, with Sisters from a Religious Order, praying the Offices and as we were in Advent, we used the Memorial of the Incarnation which included the phrase: Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. … Continue reading →

I’ve just returned from St Oswald’s near Whitby where I spent some time, mostly silent, on retreat. It’s a valuable discipline that helps me to engage more deeply with the Advent journey in preparation for the celebration of Christmas. It … Continue reading →

The old adage that politics and religion shouldn’t mix has always caused me some difficulties. I’m interested and involved in both and this week’s news, with happenings in Scotland, Westminster and Iraq, along with news that came to me via … Continue reading →

Absence, it is said, makes the heart grow fonder.  I’m not sure if that is the case with my blogs, for which I apologise for the absence over recent weeks. Like London buses of old, it will be a case … Continue reading →

Capturing the memory and missing the moment! I guess like a lot of people reading this blog, we’ve appreciated the lovely summer weather.  Shorts and T-shirts donned each day and every opportunity taken to enjoy being outside enjoying the sun … Continue reading →

Whilst I was speaking at Live Lounge at a church on the banks of the River Tees in Stockton, I looked out the window and thought I saw some giraffe heads in the trees on the embankment below where we were meeting. … Continue reading →