Simon Says ...

Review of Pass It On: Bible Tales Like You've Never Read Them Before (Bible Society, 2015) I picked this up for free outside a branch of the Entertainer toy shop.   It is the retelling of five Bible stories, together with illustrations.   It’s from the Bible Society , and they have brought in some great names to do this. First up is Anthony Horowitz retelling of the Tower of Babel ( Genesis 11.1-9 ).   It is a solid and enjoyable retelling, with all kinds of references to missiles, ancient kings and Bruegel’s painting of Babel.   Martin Coleman’s retelling of Daniel in the Lion’s Den is poetic in the way that books for young children are, and beautifully illustrated by Tim Slater.   It should really be in the larger format of a picture book for bedtime stories!   The comedy of Jonah is captured by Gavin Tyte (who wrote T he Hip-Hop Gospel of Luke ).   This is a bit saggy in places, but worth it for Jonah thinking ‘tha...

Psalm 23 ; Jeremiah 23.1-6 ;   Mark 6.30-34, 53-56 If familiarity breeds contempt, then Psalm 23 must be the most despised Psalm that we have been given.   It is still a favourite reading at weddings and funerals.   It has been adapted into several hymns and modern worship songs.   It was even the theme tune for the Vicar of Dibley. But its popularity is, in fact, a measure of its importance.   It is also a measure of how much it has to offer us as Christians and followers of Jesus.   So for a few moments this morning, I want to explore this most famous of Psalms and offer you the chance to reconnect with the Psalm in a way that speaks of the lives lived in the service of God. The image of a shepherd is one that is very powerful in the Bible.   Moses, who led God’s people out of slavery into freedom, was a shepherd when God called him into his service.   King David, the greatest of all Israel’s kings, was a shepherd...

So that was it – the last General Synod of the Quinquennium.   Many will not stand again, having seen the advent of women bishops due to the work of this Synod.   Bits of the four days in York had an end of term feeling, things being finished off and loose ends tied off.   So we had the immense joy of considering the Synod’s own Standing Orders.   But all this has to be done, and done well. The Convocations of Canterbury and York (gatherings of the clergy only) met first to approve a new set of Guidelines for the Professional Practice of the Clergy.   Duly approved, they constitute an Act of Synod, and will be published in the autumn.   Synod was then addressed by two Archbishops – York and Uppsala – before a first outing of its standing orders so that the evening session could follow new rules. Friday evening was question time.   The rules were new, and simpler.   The atmosphere was a bit grumpy.   One Bishop st...

Thank you for calling me Chair. Thanks also to the Faith and Order Commission for this excellent piece of work, and to Simon Killwick for his PMM.  There is a great deal to welcome in the report. The readings for Morning Prayer over the past few days have been taken from the book of Esther. A young Jewish girl, thrust into a leadership position based on criteria that amount to nothing more than that the King fancies her, with no mention of God anywhere in the book.  Yet Esther saves the whole of the people of God. The Bible is full of surprising leaders, who do not seem to meet any criteria, who have no position from which to lead.  If there is an element missing from this superb report is the notion of surprise.  Paragraph 99 speaks of biblical leaders greeting their call with surprise.  Undoubtedly this is true. But the Biblical leaders are themselves surprising – Esther being but one example. As we move forward in our consideration of leadership in th...