Steph's Adventures

One of the biggest developments in our life this year is one about which I have scarcely written here. There are a whole variety of reasons ...

Last week was half-term in Birmingham and we took advantage of the week off to leave the city centre behind and head to Ludlow. Notable in p...

The Lord's prayer has been prayed throughout the whole of Christian history. I'm not about to suggest a rewrite (which almost certai...

Today is the 2nd February, the feast of Candlemas, or the Presentation at the Temple, and, at least in some traditions, the very end of the ...

For the fourth year in a row, during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Birmingham Churches Together organised 24 hours of prayer in a...

I am a great believer in fully enjoying the Christmas Season ... and I have no problem continuing to wish people a Merry Christmas up until ...

I do believe there is an oft-overlooked inherent challenge in the message of the incarnation, but don't get me wrong, I also get that Ch...

December can be a particularly depressing time to live in Birmingham city centre. I realise this is not exactly a cheery upbeat beginning to...

I am sure that the inn keeper of the Christmas story felt he had very good reasons for saying to this tired, dishevelled couple that there...

My painting, not my words (again). This time the words are the lyrics from a song I love: Add to the Beauty, by Sara Groves. We come w...

(My painting, but not my words. I had assumed they were by that well-known prolific author, Anon, but actually they are by someone cal...

On Fridays I have the privilege of teaching an amazing group of students from Iran, Iraq, Yemen and Sudan. Waking yesterday to bright s...

In recent years I have always chosen to wear a white poppy in early November. On a good year, when it doesn't get destroyed by going t...

As with my last one, this wasn't exactly written to be a blog post but hopefully it makes enough sense to be of interest to those who m...

For quite some time, the church here has been planning a discussion about how we celebrate communion. Some of those who know me will know th...

It may be a cultural stereotype, but it is true that there is, if you live in the UK, always plenty to be said (or written) about the weath...

Last weekend, on Peace Sunday, I was offered the opportunity to reflect on an appropriate bible passage. I chose to say something about Matt...

On a notepad somewhere I have scribbled the line: "In Calais, looking at England's Sky" They were the words of one of my ...

Last week governments, military officials and private companies from around the world (including from some of the world's most repre...

For me, it is August, far more than December, which marks the year's end. A hiatus in the usual rhythm, it is a time when looking back o...