Category Archives: Church

Church Matters – November 2016


At the recent Honey Fair, Churches Together in Callington (CTiC) stepped out in a new way. Alongside the usual exhibitions and hospitality available in the churches, there was the presence on Fore Street of the CTiC tent and a prayer team. The tent had two banners – a floor standing sail displaying the CTiC logo and another banner attached inside the tent with the word “HEALING” upon it. The tent itself was open on three sides so all could see the Healing banner. A thick blue carpet and two chairs completed the invitation to step inside.

It’s always interesting to see people’s reactions to a Healing banner. Some view it with suspicion. Others catch a glimpse and then avert their eyes or cross over the street. Some stop to find out more. Some then accept the invitation and sit down to receive prayer and whatever God may have for them. Prayer for healing regularly goes on inside our churches and we often see startling results. This was just taking it out onto the streets for the benefit of the community, for those brave enough to receive. Continue reading →

Church Matters October 2016


Science and technology are wondrous things. Sometimes you just have to stand back in awe at some of the things that science uncovers and technology achieves. A case in point is the recent success of the space probe Juno, launched by NASA back in August 2011 and now orbiting around the planet Jupiter. Over the past five years Juno has travelled over 300 million miles and undertaken some pretty intricate manoeuvres in order to reach its goal – all the more mind-boggling when you consider that the manoeuvres are effectively controlled from earth. Continue reading →

Church Matters


So far this summer the travels of my wife, Pam, and I have taken us to the cities of Glasgow, London and Barcelona. That perhaps all sounds a little extravagant and exotic, but Glasgow and London were mostly family visiting, with Barcelona being our real (4 day) break.

Barcelona is quite an extraordinary city it’s fairly extensive redevelopment and improvement for the 1992 Olympics having been carried on down to the present day. This doesn’t mean that it’s all modern buildings – far from it. New developments have been sympathetically blended with the buildings of the past, with both styles offering an architectural feast for the eyes. Put this against a backdrop of beautiful blue skies and surrounding hills and you realise it’s quite a special place.

As we walked around Barcelona it became apparent that we were not the only tourists in the city. All around us were the voices from France, Germany, Japan, China, America, Australia and many more countries. It was a real, buzzing hive of humanity that was simply enjoying the sights and soaking up the sunshine. The plethora of sidewalk cafes and restaurants all offered a laid-back feel to resting points, with locals often engaged in animated conversation at tables while tourists sat and drank coffee or beer in the shade of the brightly coloured parasols.

It really was an idyllic setting for a short city-break. But there was also an undercurrent of something else going on – something that wasn’t immediately apparent but the more you walked around the more you saw and felt it. Nearly every street had someone begging on it. Certain areas had their gatherings of the homeless around park benches. Large wheelie bins that populated the streets were regularly visited by those who would open them and scavenge for anything edible or useful they could find. It somehow felt disturbing that amongst all the splendour of the city, all the bliss of barcholidaymakers, all the leisurely reclining at table, there was this distinct subculture of poverty and need that was openly operating on the streets in broad daylight, and patently being ignored by the vast majority. On reflection, Glasgow and London had similar things happening, but perhaps not as pronounced as it was in Barcelona. Continue reading →

Church Matters


Shock! Horror! Ed Sheeran has decided to quit all social media!
Ah, that’s nice, I hear you say – or perhaps more accurately, who is Ed Sheeran and so what if he’s quit social media. Some of course will know who Ed Sheeran is – a very successful music/pop star who was born in West Yorkshire in 1991. His beginnings in the music industry were done the hard way – he actually used social media to independently promote his songs – but then in 2011 his first album, “+”, achieved multi-platinum sales (over 600,000 by UK “platinum”
measurements). Since then he has won many music industry awards and has gone on to launch his second album “X”.
It was in December at the end of his world tour to promote the second album that his announcement to quit social media until next autumn was made. The announcement probably sent shock-waves through his 16 million Twitter followers and 5.5 million Instagram subscribers – people who are used to hearing Ed’s thoughts and what he’s doing on a regular basis.

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Church Matters, November 2015


TheRevAdvertising is big business at Christmas. Even in early November this year’s TV advert by John Lewis was eagerly awaited to see what story line they would develop and what song they would use. Alongside that we usually get the festive and jolly adverts for Coca-Cola and a myriad of stores all suggesting the perfect gifts for our loved ones. It’s all part of the Christmas season and can potentially add to that sense of wellbeing, nostalgia and expectation, just as long as you have the finances available.

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Church Matters, September 2015


TheRevAt the time of writing the “Migrant” crisis is still in full swing, taking up much newsprint, TV airtime and political ping-pong. It’s been moving along at such a pace that I suspect that by the time you read this in early October the whole situation may have entered an altogether new phase, whatever that may be. It has been intriguing to see how the media, politicians and the world has responded over the past few weeks, and not all of it has been covered in glory.

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Church Matters


TheRevFor anyone who follows the Christian faith, Easter is probably the most important festival of the year, surpassing even Christmas. There has been the 40 or so days of Lent with its invitation to re-focus our commitment to faith, perhaps accompanied by regular fasting or self-denial as a spiritual discipline. Then comes Holy Week, where the scenes of Jesus entering Jerusalem to people’s acclaim, then on to confrontation with the religious authorities and the “Good Friday” crucifixion, are remembered. Then comes the splendour and amazement of Easter Sunday with the celebration of Jesus having risen from the dead. Easter Sunday in church is usually filled with such power and joy – a real cause for celebration.

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Church Matters


giraffe coffeeHere’s a joke my daughter recently told me: person 1 – “When a giraffe drinks a cup of coffee, the coffee gets cold by the time it reaches the bottom of its neck. Do you ever think about that?”; person 2 – “No”; person 1 – “And that’s just it isn’t it – you only think about yourself.”

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