Last night I was leading Evensong at St John’s College, Durham in the UK. The following is the prayer for the university during the intercessions — posted here for ease of sharing.
A Prayer for Universities and Students
Faith
Joy and… judgement?
Lent has now begun.And it started for me, as it does for many Christians, by being marked with ash on my forehead in the sign of the cross. Memento Mori. Remember you are but dust, and to dust you shall return. It’s a poignant reminder that over the centuries Lent has been a penitential time of […]
When Symbolism Flirts: the odd relationship between Christian and Pagan symbols
Symbols are everything. If you doubt that then think of the strength of feeling which is evooked by the American Flag — both positive and negative. Land of hope and freedom, or symbol of the armed forces occupying your land? How about the Swastika? Once a symbol of good fortune and the perpetual rise and fall of […]
Reflecting on Hobbits and Brexit
I have much to write on the Lord of the Rings and the ways in which it has shaped my own personal mythology and character. Aragorn, in particular, has been archetypal in my development from a boy to a man. Middle-Earth, its races, lands and histories are not just words on a page or scenes […]
Moments from a Friary
In the south west of England, in the head of a valley in Dorset where there once was a farm, there is a Friary — Hilfield Friary. Four days ago after a 7 hour plus journey, I arrived here into a world where life passes at that pace which is both fast and leisurely. Four times a […]
CODEC’s MediaLit Conference 2017
The MediaLit17 Chronicles
Patience and encouragement
Bill Bryson Library – Durham Today I was due to be showing a friend of mine on my course the University Library. We’d both forgotten that we had a lecture first thing and so we went to it (and it was really interesting – on Christian views of deliverance ministry). After that, though, they got caught […]
Michah 6:8 – A reflection
A reflection on Michah 6:8 from 2013
“Sexuality” and the subjective/objective problem
Romans during the Decadence — Courture In my studies at the moment we are doing a course on “Sex and Gender”. The conversations have been really rather interesting as we’ve looked at something of what does it mean to consider people as “sexual beings”. One of the first “hurdles”, as it were, is the realisation of how […]
The gospels and the Gospel
One question that comes up in conversation from time to time when I speak with people about the Christian faith is often phrased something like this: “Don’t the gospels contradict each other? How can you believe what they say when they can’t even agree what happened?” At a glance this question seems to offer a […]
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