This was a skit I performed (with the Big Man himself, of course) at our Christmas Eve fancy-dress crib service in 2010 (and repeated at our monthly cafe service, The Junction, last Sunday evening). I thought it might be appropriate to post it on St Nicholas’ Day today. Conversation between Father Christmas & AlexContinue reading “Santa the Wise Man”
Tag Archives: Faith
The light shines in the darkness
“The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” (St John 1.5 (New International Version)) I’m not sure if this should be a Christmas or an Advent sonnet. You decide! The earth was dark, and dark misunderstood the fragile point of light that pricked its veil. These wise men, strongContinue reading “The light shines in the darkness”
Hermitage
There’s a shed at the bottom of the garden. It was full of tools, toys and sheddy clutter. You can see that it’s not the best use of a fairly large space. So I’ve put in a stud partition (using my hand drill! (see previous post)) and turned it into two rooms. To begin with,Continue reading “Hermitage”
The Old Woman and the Tree
Once upon a time an old woman moved into a new house. She wasn’t a very nice woman. She was rude and unfriendly and didn’t have any friends. Her new neighbours soon gave up trying to be kind to her, as she was just mean and nasty in return. In the garden of the woman’sContinue reading “The Old Woman and the Tree”
Wonderful World
Trying to pick some lively hymns for harvest festival on Sunday was hard. No one seems to be writing worship songs that say the world is beautiful and filled with wonder and the glory of God – it might have a lot wrong with it and we do a lot of harm to itContinue reading “Wonderful World”
Mud People
While on holiday recently, I read Ursula Le Guin’s story, “The Word For World Is Forest”. As always with Le Guin, it’s superb, imaginative, thoughtful writing. The story is set on a distant world, Athshe, which humans from Earth are trying to colonise. In many ways, the planet has similar conditions to Earth, theContinue reading “Mud People”
Plaster Saint
At the end of June, I spent a lovely week on retreat at Sheldon. As usual, it was great to be on my own with no one else’s schedule or demands to worry about. I could eat when I was hungry and sleep when I was tired (which was most of the first dayContinue reading “Plaster Saint”
UFO
Mrs. Mabbsonsea held her annual exhibition last week, in our church at Portslade. As well as some of her own work, there were beautiful pictures by a local calligrapher (Julie Walker) plus quilts by some of Louise’s students. Some of the work was unfinished, like this bed quilt: I was sceptical about the unfinishedContinue reading “UFO”
Capitalwasm
I was preaching about Jubilee on Sunday, using Leviticus 25 as a basis. In the return of the land, the release of bonded labourers and the cancellation of debts every 50 years, there is essentially no buying or selling of capital in God’s economy. All capital resources and all people belong to God, andContinue reading “Capitalwasm”
Wide-eyed prayer
I usually pray with my eyes shut. Shutting out awareness of the world around me helps me focus and centre without so many distractions. I like to pray in the garden, down at the wild end, and if I don’t shut my eyes, I end up day-dreaming about the trees or the grass or theContinue reading “Wide-eyed prayer”
Alex Mabbs 