Virtual Methodist

Over recent months in Belfast South Methodist we have been thinking about the implications of Jesus’ Beatitudes in Matthew chapter 5, and in this morning's broadcast Service on Radio Ulster we were reflecting on "Blessed are the Peacemakers..." and as part of it we contrasted the words of Jesus with common attitudes in the world at large: VOICE 1:          Jesus says: VOICE 2:          "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." VOICE 1:          The world says: VOICE 3:          "Blessed are the materially wealthy, because theirs is the kingdom of the here and now." VOICE 1:          Jesus says: VOICE 2:          "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." VOICE 1:     ...

Hello again... I've been poorly for a couple of weeks, adding to my blogging lethargy... But tomorrow I am back on Good Morning Ulster's Thought for the Day, so I had to get the proverbial finger out... Especially in the wake of Padraig O'Tuama's superb pieces for the past few Friday mornings... (If you haven't heard them check out the last one from last Friday morning on iPlayer before it self destructs...) At one point I was considering doing something based on what follows, which first appeared as a piece on Downtown Radio in pre-blog days... But I ended up writing something else, and you'll just have to tune into Radio Ulster at Stupid o'clock tomorrow to find out what... Or wait until it is posted here later tomorrow). In the meantime here's something to think about: So... all you Mothers out there... Did you have a good day today? Breakfast in bed? Flowers? Cards? Sunday dinner out? No dishes to do? I’m telling you... you get a good deal... al...

I was responsible for the Radio Ulster studio service for Palm Sunday this morning . You can listen to it via the link if you so desire. This is the psalm I included in it: You are my God, and I will praise you For your love lasts forever! Pushed to our limits we cried to the Lord , and he responded by setting us free. The Lord walks with us; So we have nothing and no-one to fear. He is always at our  side, So we will triumph over our enemies. It is better to seek support from the Lord than to trust in others who will let us down. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in politicians and people in places of power. All our strength we owe to the LORD. He is the source of our singing; He is our salvation. Songs of joy and shouts of victory fill the homes and hearts of the people he has redeemed: Hosanna! We are saved! The LORD's strong hand has reached down to rescue us! Let us sing of all that He has done. We have come into his pr...

I may be on sabbatical, but I'm not completely lounging around with my feet up... just taking a break from my circuit, connexional and chaplaincy responsibilities, freeing me up to to a few of the things that I enjoy doing and more reading and writing. Hence it was that I still found myself sitting in the green room of BBC Radio Ulster this morning at stupid o'clock to do the following Thought for the Day (for the next week you can listen to it here at 25 and 85 minutes in ) It's on a theme I've been touching on more than once here recently... Last week a number of banks posted their annual trading results, and as has been the case every year recently, the figures have been uniformly in the red… However, that hasn’t stopped bank executives being awarded hefty performance related bonuses, on the grounds that the losses weren’t as bad as last year! It strikes me that it’s a weird world where we don’t cap the bonuses of the bankers who got us into this mess, but do ca...

I was doing a live Thought for the Day for Radio Ulster this morning at 6.55 and 7.55am, and one of the great fears when preparing something like this is that you go to sleep well-prepared but wake up the next morning to find that something major has happened which completely derails what you were going to say... Such as yesterday morning when I lurched into consciousness to the news of the death of former Taoiseach Dr. Garrett Fitzgerald. This put a whole different perspective on recent events in Dublin, because there is no doubt that the signing the Anglo-Irish Agreement by him and Margaret Thatcher in 1985, set in train a process which eventually culminated in the momentous visit of the Queen to Ireland this week… Many said a very loud “No” to that Agreement at that time… But in the wake of the later Good Friday Agreement, the majority of people on this island have emphatically and repeatedly said “Yes” to the attempt to put the past behind us and find a way of working together to o...

I've said a couple of times that I've been away for a few days and on Sunday I really enjoyed being with a friend at her church in East London, with no responsibility for leading worship... It was a good time of worship, teaching and ministry, but I did find it strange that there was no reference to the beginning of Advent... As the years have gone by I've come to really appreciate the rhythm of the church year, and, while the rest of the world is rushing headlong towards the economic car-crash that Christmas has become, the liturgical calendar encourages us to put the breaks on... to slow down, if not stop altogether... Well, while I was taking a break this weekend, I was, by the magic of pre-recorded radios, also conducting a studio "service" for the first Sunday in Advent... If you want to stop for a while and reflect on what Advent is all about, you might want to check out the broadcast on BBC's "Listen Again" feature. I don't want to hurry ...

As I stated yesterday I do a monthly slot on Downtown Radio's "Just a Moment" every morning for a week and about four days a year when I am on Radio Ulster's "Thought for the Day". Today was one of those days when there was a conjunction of the two and so at 6.55am a fair chunk of the listnership in Northern Ireland couldn't escape my dulcet tones, as I was apparently in two places at the same time talking about two different subjects. Actually if truth be told I was in 3 places at the same time as I was lying at home fast asleep, since both talks had been pre-recorded. However, this time last week I had a bit of a diary disaster resulting in the difficult task of trying to be physically in two places at the same time. I have a weekly event every Thursday morning, but a few weeks ago I got a message asking me to speak at a local Primary School Assembly last Thursday morning. I said yes, but totally forgot to put it in my diary or rearrange my other appoi...