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God is faithful through change
I was driving down the motorway several months ago, listening to a new worship album and the hymn ‘Great is Thy Faithfulness’ began to play. In that moment, I was suddenly reminded of the time, many years ago, when this hymn was a constant companion on our drive to school. I was 11 at the […]
God is faithful through life’s upheavals
I was driving down the motorway a few months ago, listening to a new worship album and the hymn ‘Great is Thy Faithfulness’ began to play. In that moment, I was suddenly reminded of the time, many years ago, when this hymn was a constant companion on our drive to school. I was 11 at […]
God is faithful during difficult times
“Bad stuff happens, but God is faithful.” The opening line to my first sermon, on my first Sunday at my curacy church. The church which I was joining quite unexpectedly was in the middle of a very trying and difficult season (what seemed like a million miles from the church I had visited nine months […]
God is faithful to use churches during the lockdown
I’m the vicar at St Mary’s Stoke Bishop, a medium-sized church in the suburbs of Bristol. I was licensed in December and back then I certainly did not imagine that 3.5 months into my new role the church would be closed for an indefinite period! My first Easter here was certainly very different to what […]
God is faithful in the midst of depression
I was sitting in the chapel for morning worship at a theological college on the day of a job interview. At home, my wife, Ali, had been suffering from severe depression for a couple of years, which had caused her to leave the job she loved as a church minister. She was improving very slowly, […]
God is faithful through prison chaplaincy
I came to faith in my late 30s, was ordained in my mid 50s, and am loving life as I fulfill my calling as a prison chaplain. During my time at college I found the academic aspects a significant challenge and continued to consider ‘so what?’ What about us feet-on-the-ground people following Jesus? I was […]
God is faithful through adoption: Revd Emma Swarbrick
A journey into parenthood The outset of my ordained life has looked quite different from most. A little over a year into curacy, I went on parental leave, having welcomed two children into my heart and my home forever. This journey to adoption has been long and at times quite testing. What began as a […]
God is faithful to provide
Our family would not be at Trinity College Bristol today, where Justin has been teaching Christian doctrine for eight years and I’ve helped with the college’s communications work for five, apart from the faithfulness of God. As I’ve watched the world shift under all our feet, it helps me to remember that. The world of […]
God is faithful: even as our churches meet virtually
We live in strange and uncertain times which are completely unprecedented, and it has been a learning curve for us all as we adjust to a new way of doing church. One thing I am so thankful for is the opportunity to share morning and evening prayer by livestream on our church’s Facebook group. This […]