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Lent: Day 9 - Ignatius to The Philadelphians

Day Nine: St. Ignatius of Antioch: Letter to The Philadelphians (full text) Who: Ignatius converted at a young age and later became Bishop of Antioch. A friend of Polycarp and fellow disciple of John, There is a long standing tradition that Ignatius was The child that Jesus held in his arms and blessed in Mark 10:13-16 What: As usual, a general call to remain in unity and heed Their bishop. Also to avoid listening to Judaizers who would have Them follow The Law. Why: Ignatius wrote a series of letters to The Churches in Asia Minor whilst en route to Rome to face martyrdom by wild beasts in The Colosseum around 108 AD. When: Around 107-108 AD As with The re...

Before The Pumpkins: Reclaiming All Hallows’ Eve

It’s that time of year again when pumpkins appear in windows, skeletons hang from doorways, and debates resurface about wheTher Christians should have anything to do with Halloween. Some will say it’s entirely “pagan” in origin, oThers that it’s harmless fun — and many of us fall somewhere in The middle, just trying to work out what’s right (or try to ignore it!). But what if we’ve forgotten that Halloween began not with ghosts and ghouls, but with grace and glory? Hallowe’en — “All Hallows’ Eve” — was never about celebrating darkness; it was about remembering The light. It marked The night before All Saints’ Day, a day...

It’s Not Your Job To Convert Anyone

On Sunday it was St Andrew’s Day and I was in Church listening to a sermon about Andrew (and The namesake of our Church), that often overlooked disciple, meeting Jesus for The first time. In John’s Gospel, it says: John 1:40–42One of The two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s broTher. He first found his broTher Simon and said to him, ‘We have found The Messiah’… He brought Simon to Jesus. As I sat There listening to our vicar speak about evangelism and how we should be more like Andrew in bringing people to meet Jesus, something from many, many years ago flickered to life in The back of my mind. A realisation I had lo...

From Paradise to Presents: The Christian Story Behind The Christmas Tree

The Christmas tree is one of The most recognisable symbols of The festive season, adorning homes, Churches, and public spaces with its evergreen beauty. But where did this tradition originate, and how did it become a central feature of Christmas celebrations? Looking into The history of The Christmas tree has turned out to be a fascinating historical story woven from various cultural and Theological strands. The Paradise Tree and The Feast of Adam and Eve The connection between The Christmas tree and The Feast of Adam and Eve offers a large clue into its origins. In medieval Europe, December 24th was observed as The feast day of Adam and Eve, a commemoration t...

The Mystery Of Epiphany And The Star Of Bethlehem

As The Church celebrates Epiphany, we reflect on The Magi's visit to The Christ child, guided by a star—a sign of God’s revelation to The nations. This story, steeped in wonder and mystery, has sparked fascination for centuries. What was this “Star of Bethlehem” that led The wise men to Jesus? Was it a miraculous light, or could it have been a natural astronomical event designed by The Creator to herald The birth of The King of Kings? The chart is from The SkySafari app The Great Conjunction In December 2020, The world witnessed a rare astronomical event called a “great conjunction.” Jupiter and Saturn appeared so close in The night sky that t...

Before The Pumpkins: The Day Two Women Defied Rome

In The last post, we looked at Polycarp — a faithful bishop who faced The flames raTher than deny his Lord. His courage in The face of certain death became a rallying light for generations of believers after him. But his story is only one among many in The long line of The cloud of witnesses who ran The race before us (Hebrews 12:1). Today, we step forward a few decades to anoTher account of extraordinary faith — that of two women, Perpetua and Felicity. Perpetua left an account of her own martyrdom (technically a Passion) which is considered historically reliable. What makes it extraordinary is that Perpetua herself wrote a portion of it in Latin b...