Simon Says ...

What do we do when we are divided and want the opposite to one another?   We face this as a country after the vote for Brexit.   We are split in half.   A small majority will take us out of the EU, but then what?   Can we ever be a united country again? The Church is also divided.   I have just come back from the General Synod in York.   We decided to do something about our divisions over sexuality.   For 48 hours, we met for conversations.   We learned about one another and why we believe what we do.   There were tears, hugs, laughter, profound insights and differences.   I left exhausted, but hopeful that we can walk together into the future. We still disagree.   But now we understanding better where that disagreement comes from.   Most importantly we have stronger relationships.   We see less of an issue, and more of the people it affects.   What we did was meet, share our stories, tal...

A Sermon for Evensong   Genesis 41.1-16,25-37 ; 1 Cor. 4.8-13 Only I could see it.   There was a Zubat in the kitchen.   Quickly I lined up my Pokeball and threw it at the creature.   I caught it, and gathered it into my Pokedex.   For the uninitiated, I am talking about the game Pokemon Go .   It is an app for phones and tablets that allows you to see the mystical Pokemon creatures in the real world.   Samuel and I went for a walk yesterday and caught about ten different Pokemon.   The Cathedral, I am sure you are aware, is a PokeGym, and has been welcoming a range of new, younger visitors over the past couple of days.   The Church of Englandhas issued guidelines about this.   More worryingly, so has the NSPCC .   Pokemon Go works with the idea that there are things beyond the reality that we can see and touch and smell.   All it takes is the right software and technology and a new and exciting ...

As ever, I publish my speech to the General Synod in order to be transparent about my work as an elected member of the General Synod. This speech was on the Legislative Reform Measure   - this Measure would allow the amendment of legislation without going through the full process of a Measure (which takes about two years!).   The Bishop of Rochester introduced the debate with a list of some of the more ridiculous items of legislation that are currently affecting the Church of England. Thank you Chair.   Synod, I welcome the simplification process and this legislation.   I will be voting for it.   Bishop James' examples are clearly things that need to be addressed. However, I want to remind Synod that what the Measure calls 'administrative inconvenience' and an 'obstacle to efficiency' are very much in the eye of the beholder.   The Church of England has held to a long tradition of dispersed authority.   This is ...

A Sermon for the First Eucharist of Sarah Dawson Habakkuk 2.1-4; Ephesians 2.19-end; John 20.24-29   It is a great pleasure and an enormous privilege to be here this morning.   I bring you greetings from Derby Cathedral, where I minister.   Thank you to Joabe for the invitation.   Thank you also to Sarah.   I’ve known Sarah since I was 11.   She and I have laughed, cried and gossiped our way together through our lives for a long time now.     It is a real joy and delight to be here when she presides at the Eucharist for the first time. Some words from the Gospel this morning: ‘Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.’   Today we gather to celebrate with Sarah, to share bread and wine, which are for us the body and blood of Christ.   And we also gather to thank God for St Thomas, one of Jesus’ first disciples and an apostle of the church.   In the midst of all of this, we...