The Ponderings of a Meandering Minister…
Ross 
On Remembrance Sunday 2016 I was standing at the war memorial in Ballynahinch, chatting with another minister before the Remembrance Ceremony about getting ready for the birth of our fourth child, who was due almost a month later. Little did we know, that by the following Sunday the baby would be born and our eldest … Read morePreacher, Preach to Yourself
I’m an infrequent songwriter – by which I mean, I write a song every decade or so. This one has been bubbling away for a number of months as I’ve had the joy of experiencing life more ‘normally’ than had been the case for a few years. I’m guessing it’s similar to moving through stages … Read moreMelancholy Joy
I was in England on a school trip, singing eight-part harmony, high church spiritual songs in grand cathedrals, when news of the IRA ceasefire broke. As teenagers we were overjoyed, though few of us had directly experienced the impact of The Troubles. And then we went back to singing our songs, returning to life as … Read moreAll Life Matters
I penned the following post a few weeks ago (pre-blog-refresh) and popped it on Facebook; it’s published here now for posterity. ———— As one who prefers that the UK remains part of the EU, the disappointment of the referendum result has been compounded on a monthly basis by the inability of the government and those … Read moreBecause Jesus
I’m trying to wind myself up to vote in our local council elections today. As we’re about to – probably – leave the EU soon, and Westminster is paralysed, and Stormont has been suspended for over two years, it seems like local councillors are our only elected officials who can actually do stuff on our … Read moreVote Kind
I’ve been typing up random ponderings since starting ministry training at Edgehill Theological College way back in 2005. That was pre-facebook, pre-twitter, pre-pretty much everything social media. A blog was the only way to self-publish online apart from coding up your own website in HTML and CSS. Posts were much more frequent while I was … Read moreBlog Re-birthed
Kathryn recently wrote a reflection for a series of Lent devotionals produced by the Methodist Church in Ireland (you can subscribe to the Prayer Focus e-mail here). It was based on that day’s lectionary reading (Luke 4:1-13), which you can read here. Kathryn works part-time for the Home Mission Department as Project Worker, supporting the department … Read moreEat, Yell, Sleep, Repeat?
This article first appeared in the Lisburn & Dromore Circuit magazine, “The Light”, March 2019 edition. It introduces us to the six churches among whom we now live and work, and gives an update to readers of this blog who haven’t seen any news since some GDPR guidance nearly a year ago! ….. Hello, I’m … Read moreA Family of Paradoxes
I’ve been working on helping the Methodist Church in Ireland get ready for the General Data Protection Regulation. Here’s an article I wrote originally for the Methodist Newsletter… +++++++++++++++++++ If you subscribe to the Methodist Newsletter, there is probably a list somewhere – perhaps a scribbled note, maybe on a digital spreadsheet – with your … Read moreThe Gift of Knowledge
This morning, our local church expressed their thanks for our ministry amongst them over the last five years. It’s a bit of a weird transition – I’ve been on compassionate leave since Christmas, and the lovely Ruth Craig has been the minister since July, but we still live in Ballynahinch and consider the Methodist Church … Read moreA Word for Ballynahinch Methodist Church