Today we commorate Andrewes Lancelot Andrewes (1555-1626) was born at Allhallows, Barking, in 1555. He was an excellent scholar at Merchant Tailor’s School, and gained a fellowship at Pembroke College, Cambridge. When Jesus College, Oxford, was founded, young Andrewes was invited to be one of its foundation fellows, and in 1580 he took holy orders. […]
Blog
The Sky
Posted on by James Woodward
From my bedroom in a tower of the castle I can see for miles – the space and wonder of the sky is extraordinary… it reminds me of this piece: sunset Then new events said to me, ‘Don’t move. A sublime generosity is coming towards you.’ You are the fountain of the sun’s light. […]
Ember Day
Posted on by James Woodward
Today the Church prays for those in ministry. I give thanks for the priviledge of my own ministry and those who support my life and work. In the liturgical calendar of the Western Christian churches, Ember days are four separate sets of three days within the same week—specifically, the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday—roughly equidistant in […]
the genius of Angelou
Posted on by James Woodward
temple We, unaccustomed to courage exiles from delight live coiled in shells of loneliness until love leaves its high holy temple and comes into our sight to liberate us into life. We are weaned from our timidity In the flush of love's light we dare be brave And suddenly we see that love costs all […]
Disappointment?
Posted on by James Woodward
Here is a short piece published in Fridays’ Church Times We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.’ (Martin Luther King) One of the more disturbing pastoral conversations that rather shocked me was with parents who expressed their profound disappointment in their two children. I knew one child well and admired the […]
pointing heavenward
Posted on by James Woodward
You observe the carven hand With the index finger pointing heavenward. That is the direction, no doubt. But how shall one follow it? It is well to abstain from murder and lust, To forgive, do good to others, worship God Without graven images. But these are external means after all By which you […]
Silence
Posted on by James Woodward
Silence is living, dynamic, and liberating. The practice of silence nourishes vigilance, self-knowledge, letting go, and the compassionate embrace of all whom we would otherwise be quick to condemn. Gradually we realize that whatever it is in us that sees the mind games we play is itself free of all such mind games and […]
Hildegard
Posted on by James Woodward
Hildegard von Bingen Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) was a remarkable woman, a “first” in many fields. At a time when few women wrote, Hildegard, known as “Sybil of the Rhine”, produced major works of theology and visionary writings. When few women were accorded respect, she was consulted by and advised bishops, popes, and kings. […]
Christian Aid
Posted on by James Woodward
Travelling in and out of London has given me the time to look and see the power and possibility of advertising! I have been particularly impressed with Christian Aid and its campaigns – have you seen their work that directly challenges us to change the world! How often do we think from a global perspective?? […]
Holy Cross Day
Posted on by James Woodward
This feast is called in Greek Ὕψωσις τοῦ Τιμίου Σταυροῦ (literally, “Raising Aloft of the Precious Cross”). In Latin it is called Exaltatio Sanctae Crucis (literally, “Raising Aloft of the Holy Cross”. (The word “Exaltatio” is sometimes translated as “Exaltation”, at other times, as in the 1973 ICEL translation, as “Triumph”.) In some parts of […]
Be the Change you pray for
Posted on by James Woodward
Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours, Yours are the eyes through which is to look out Christ’s compassion to the world; Yours are the feet with which he is to go about doing good; Yours are the hands with which he is […]
Saturday Mornings
Posted on by James Woodward
A few of my friends have regretted some of the more personal blogs that especially characterised my Sabbatical ‘Journal’….. well I agree but in this different stage and time of my ministry I have tried to take some space to listen and understand people, places and what I hope to learn and share. In case […]
Holiday Reading (4) – The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work
Posted on by James Woodward
De Botton usually mixes idiosyncratic illustrations or photographs with an array of memorable quotations. In looking closely at specific arenas of labour, he hopes this book will serve as “a hymn to the intelligence, peculiarity, beauty and horror of the modern workplace and, not least, its extraordinary claim to be able to provide us, […]
A Jewish Prayer for those who have died
Posted on by James Woodward
O Lord and King, who are full of compassion, God of the spirits and all flesh, in whose hands are the souls of the living and the dead, receive, we beseech thee, in thy great loving kindness the soul of our sister who hath been gathered unto her people. Have mercy upon her; pardon […]
Holiday Reading (3) Building Jerusalem
Posted on by James Woodward
Building Jerusalem: The Rise and Fall of the Victorian City by Tristram Hunt Weidenfeld & Nicholson £25, pp472 There is a great deal to admire about Building Jerusalem – its scope, its clarity and the enthusiasm with which it celebrates its subject. He has devoted much of his preface to an assault on the way in […]
Futurism
Posted on by James Woodward
Thanks to the generosity of friends in Solihull I have membership of the Tate and was glad to escape from the pressures of work to see the exhibition of some of the Futurists work in the glorious building. Tate Modern celebrates the centenary of this dramatic art movement with a ground-breaking exhibition. The colour and […]
Holiday Reading (2) Florence Nightingdale by Mark Bostridge
Posted on by James Woodward
Florence Nightingale is a strange figure, both too frequently written about and too little understood. Mark Bostridge is the ideal assessor – measured, temperately partisan, yet never losing a sense of perspective over this whirlwind of ambition; this astonishing, formidable, and frequently supremely arrogant and irritating woman. Florence Nightingale was born into a quintessentially […]
Holiday Reading – Westminster Abbey by Richard Jenkyns
Posted on by James Woodward
One of the delights of being unable to pass by a bookshop(especially if it is secondhand where bargins are to be had) is the sheer delight of discovery. This latest purchase added to the holiday reading written so beautifully by the professor of the Classical Tradition in The University of Oxford. Part of the […]
Gregory the Great
Posted on by James Woodward
Pope St. Gregory I , better known in English as Gregory the Great, was pope from 3 September 591 until his death. Gregory is well-known for his writings, which were more prolific than those of any of his predecessors as pope. He is also known as Gregory the Dialogist in Eastern Orthodoxy because of his […]
Is anything private anymore??
Posted on by James Woodward
This is a kind of kiss and tell book that both attracts (for the gossip I confess but also the sheer wonder at how on earth he managed to get away with so much) and also repells. Is anything private – what of the seal of the confessional? We find him rubbing shoulders with a […]