It was a dry day off, if somewhat overcast. I cycled across the Town Moor, past the University, crossed a footbridge over the central motorway (whoever thought of a motorway through the centre of a city??), went down the Byker Link to pick up Hadrian’s Cycleway and head out to the coast at Tynemouth. HeContinue reading “In the Tyre Tracks of Hadrian”
Author Archives: Alex
Go North
Mrs Mabbsnolongerbysea and I have moved 350 miles nearer the Arctic Circle. In August, we left behind the sun, the sea and the sand (well, the pebbles) of Brighton and Hove, after living there for 15 years. We now live in Newcastle Upon Tyne. I’ve taken up a new post as ministry team leader atContinue reading “Go North”
Being a Good Ancestor
These are uncertain times. The COVID pandemic and the climate crisis are dismantling the life we’ve known and the bridge back to normality is on fire. I wonder if November’s autumnal mood of remembering those who have gone before us might give us courage to walk into the darkness that lies ahead. Can our ancestorsContinue reading “Being a Good Ancestor”
Songs of Zion in Covid Babylon
I’ve been in quarantine for nearly two weeks and I am going stir crazy. I am longing to be able to go for a walk or a cycle ride again and venture beyond our front garden wall. I am telling myself: Friday. Even if it’s raining, on Friday I will go out. But underlying thisContinue reading “Songs of Zion in Covid Babylon”
The Messenger Is The Message
Extinction Rebellion (XR) is on the streets in London, Manchester and Cardiff this week. In the news: Protesters arrested. Protesters urged to reconsider actions because of COVID-19. Literary figures join the campaign. Police put on a show of strength. XR blocks roads. XR tweeted this complaint: We are not the story. The story is catastrophicContinue reading “The Messenger Is The Message”
Fire Bird
What flashed through my mind as I fell was the image of a bird, plummeting down from the sun, its feathers like fire, with all the colours of the rainbow in those flames as it soared through the sky. When I came to, the world had gone black. I could feel hundreds of legs andContinue reading “Fire Bird”
Europe’s Rainforest: a theological response
In one of the spurious endings to Mark’s gospel, Jesus says to his disciples, “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation.” (Mark 16.15). It’s not in the oldest manuscripts, but I think it echoes the way Mark tells the temptation story at the beginning of the gospel. There,Continue reading “Europe’s Rainforest: a theological response”
Europe’s Rainforest
Chalk grassland is an enormously rich habitat. It’s so biodiverse and yet so fragile, that the late naturalist David Bellamy called it “Europe’s rainforest”. There are some beautiful examples of it on the South Downs, especially at this time of year with so many plants in flower. It’s not a natural habitat. It’s the resultContinue reading “Europe’s Rainforest”
Spirituality in an Ecological Crisis
It’s not enough to know we’re in an ecological crisis. You have to feel it. It’s a question of the story you tell yourself about who you are. It’s a question of meaning and of spirituality – a question of being who you are in relation to all the life (human and otherwise) that is.Continue reading “Spirituality in an Ecological Crisis”
Active Hope
Hope is hard to come by. I imagine that’s a feeling I share with many others who care about climate, wildlife, extinction, and so on. That sense of despair always lurks in the background and it easily slips into the foreground if I don’t work hard enough to keep it at bay. Part of myContinue reading “Active Hope”
Alex Mabbs 