UMC blog


  • Sin Jul 10, 2023

    Many Christians mistrust the word ‘sin’. We associate it with guilt, shame, punishment, and hellfire. We find it too harsh, too unsophisticated, and too Puritanical for the complexities of our modern lives.

  • His eye is on the Sparrow Jul 03, 2023

    During Covid lockdowns, many people asked Google: “Are the birds getting louder?” Due to the lockdown, there was less noise – no planes overhead, fewer vehicles on the road… And so, the birds sounded louder! In fact, it was one of the things that kept me sane during that time. I loved listening to the birdsong in the tree just outside the bedroom window!

  •  Declaration of Faith - Part 4 Jun 26, 2023

    We are in the fourth week of a journey through the Apostles Creed, a declaration of our faith, and are looking at what it is that we believe when we say the lines:

  • Bidden or unbidden, God is present! Jun 19, 2023

    The psychologist Carl Jung and his wife Emma liked the saying so much that in 1906, they had it carved over the front door of their home in Zurich. Carl later saw to it that it would be etched on his gravestone.

  • A diary of Private Prayer Jun 13, 2023

    Prayer - A diary of Private Prayer, by John Bailley Eternal Father of our souls, let my first thought each day be of you, let my first impulse be to worship you, let my first speech be your name, let my first action be to come before you in prayer. For your perfect wisdom and perfect goodness; For the love with which you love humankind; For the love with which you love me; For the great and mysterious opportunity of my life; For the indwelling of your Spirit in my heart; I praise and worship you, O Lord. Yet let me not, when this morning prayer is said, think my worship ended and spend the day in forgetfulness of Thee. Rather from these moments of quietness let light go forth, and joy, and power, that will remain with me through all the hours of the day; Keeping me chaste in thought: Keeping me temperate and truthful in speech: Keeping me faithful and diligent in my work: Keeping me humble in my estimation of myself: Keeping me honourable and generous in my dealings with others: Keeping me loyal to every hallowed memory of the past: Keeping me mindful of my eternal destiny as a child of Thine! O God, who has been the refuge of my mothers and fathers through many generations, be my Refuge today in every time and circumstance of need. Be my guide through all that is dark and doubtful. Be my Guard against all that threatens my spirit’s welfare. Be my Strength in times of testing. Gladden my heart with your Peace, through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen

  • Declaration of Faith Part 2 May 29, 2023

    We are in the second week of a journey through the Apostles Creed, a declaration of our faith, and are looking at what it is that we believe when we say the lines:

  • Declaration of Faith -Part 1 May 22, 2023

    What are your beliefs? What do you, as a Christian, believe about the nature of the universe? What sets us apart from other world-views and religious beliefs? Even within Christianity, we have conflicting doctrines about salvation, the Trinity, and resurrection.

  • Mother’s Day Musings May 15, 2023

    Smartly dressed career women look at casually dressed moms and their children and think, ‘I want that…’ Meanwhile the moms look back at those career women and think, ‘I want that…’

  • Two sides of 1 Corinthians 13: May 08, 2023

    This chapter is very well known for its theme of Love. No wonder it is often read out at weddings. “Love never ends” appears in calligraphy on creamy-white invitations.

  • Fuel your brain. May 02, 2023

    In my teaching experience, I have come to realise that there are two kinds of teachers: teachers who have never stopped learning and have accumulated a wealth of knowledge in their 20 years of experience, and teachers who just do things the way they have always done them, they don't actually have 20 years experience but rather 1-year experience, repeated 20 times.

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