Journey of the Magi by James Tissot (1836-1902) As I sit at my desk on this first day of 2026 can I take this opportunity to wish you all a very Happy and Joy filled New Year; and hope and pray that we won’t leave the celebrations of Christmas behind in 2025 but bring […]
Advent Reflection by Kathryn Elsmore, Curate When you hear the word advent, what do you think of? Advent means ‘coming’ or ‘arriving’. It is the beginning of the new church year and is a time for preparing for the birth of Jesus. It is also a time for us to look at our lives and […]
Let us bring our first fruits to the Lord not our leftovers A few Sundays ago, I asked the question: “would Jesus find a serving and giving community at St Mark’s should He return in the very near future?” I suggested that He would definitely find a serving community, as so many people serve in […]
Thankfulness Dear St Mark’s and Friends, I wonder how often you say or hear thank you? Is it language you use or hear a lot or a little? Do you just assume people know your thanks or take the time to tell them? Saying thank you is something that I think is hugely important. I […]
As I settle down to write this blog after a few days of prayer and reflection the sun is still shining upon us, though much needed rain is forecast. I hope you have been able to enjoy this extraordinary time of good weather wherever you may have been during August? As you can see, I […]
Seasons My life is at a time of major transitions at the moment – events that remained vague and distant for years have now become reality and our whole family is adjusting to new reality and uncertainty, including a temporary complete loss in income. It has given me time to reflect on life, get more […]
Become the Person that God Created You to Be Bishop Mark, Kathryn and Hennie For we are God’s workmanship [work of art], created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10 NIV). The 14th June was my ordination as priest, which means that I can […]
Not Alone Dear St Mark’s and Friends, As you may know I have been unwell this year. This is something, like many other people, I find hard. I found it hard to not do anything and I found it hard to ‘put down work’. I had unfounded and ridiculous fears like: ‘Everything would fall apart […]
I write this May blog less than a week after Easter when we celebrated Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. On Thursday I did an assembly, together with Matthew Poynton, at Lache Primary School explaining to the children the Easter Story. As the children were leaving a young girl aged about 8 came up and said, […]
Changing Seasons Life is a journey where we go through different seasons. When we started walking with Jesus will be different for each one of us. As we grow as Christians we seek to follow Christ throughout our daily lives, in our work, family and church life and all else that we do. Last time […]
