Dear Friends, I write this the day after Pauline McMillen presented her powerful paper on the life of Bishop John Hooper of Gloucester (1 March 1495 – 9 February 1555). We placed it on that particular Wednesday evening after a series of postponements to fit with the anniversary of his death, but it seems appropriate…
Dear Friends, I write the day after the big vote. Our government’s proposals for Brexit have been rejected. Before the vote took place it seemed that there was no clear direction. The vote has happened, we are in the same place and the truth of Proverbs 27:1 has been fulfilled – “you do not know…
Dear Friends, I would like to begin this letter by thanking all the members and friends at Emmanuel for your love, prayer and commitment through another year. 2018 was not an easy year in the life of our church in that we lost a number of our dear friends in death. Others went through very…
Dear Friends, I wonder how many of you have said recently, “Where has the year gone?” We get the impression that time moves faster as we get older, or we say “Time flies when you’re enjoying yourself.” The facts are there are still sixty minutes in an hour, twenty four hours in a day, and…
Dear Friends, As I sat to write this letter I had decided on the subject of contentment, but received the tragic news that one of my closest PNG friends has lost yet another son. We had known them as a really contented family with two sons and two daughters. Before we left PNG the older…
Dear Friends, As I write I am still suffering the effects of jet lag, having visited our son and his family in Canada. We are having to set an alarm every time we go to sleep, even if it is only likely to be a cat-nap. There is no guarantee that we will wake up…
Dear Friends, I trust that you enjoyed our celebration of Easter this year. I was encouraged by the presence of new people in our congregation, but more so by the presence of God as His Son was lifted up and we were able to rejoice in the death and resurrection of our Saviour, the Lord…
Dear Friends, What do Billy Graham, Ken Dodd and Stephen Hawking have in common? They each reached the height of their chosen occupation; they might each be described as brilliant at what they did. What they each did was quite different, the first an evangelist with an international reputation; the second an entertainer and comedian…
Dear Friends, By the end of this month we will be again reminding ourselves of the events of the first Easter. Good Friday is 31st March and Easter Day is 1st April. For many this weekend will be just another chance to indulge themselves, with no thought of God. It is rather appropriate that Easter…
Dear Friends, Last month I entitled my letter ‘Looking Forward’, in order to help us focus on the hopes ahead and not on the concerns and possible failures of the past. This month I want us to ‘Look Up’. On Sunday 14th January I began the message looking at the significant number of difficulties experienced…