Hanham Tabernacle United Reformed Church

Hanham Tabernacle United Reformed Church Hanham Tabernacle URC is the place of worship God and following the example of Jesus, work together, BS15 8DU. We worship every Sunday at 10.30 am and 6 pm.

Hanham Tabernacle URC is at Tabernacle Road, Hanham, Bristol. The United Reformed Church came into being in 1972 when the Presbyterian church of England and the Congregational Union joined together. They were joined 1989 by the Churches of Christ. Hanham Tabernacle's began life as a Congregational church and we honour the heritage that this brings to our life.

08/06/2026

Monday, 8 June 2026
Church and State 1

Romans 13.1-5

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgement. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you wish to have no fear of the authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive its approval; for it is God’s servant for your good. But if you do what is wrong, you should be afraid, for the authority does not bear the sword in vain! It is the servant of God to execute wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be subject, not only because of wrath but also because of conscience.

Reflection

When members of other denominations attend the ordination or induction of a minister or elders in the United Reformed Church, they often comment on the part of the Basis of Union which says (in its responsive version):

We believe that Christ gives his Church a government distinct from the government of the state. In things that affect obedience to God the Church is not subordinate to the state, but must serve the Lord Jesus Christ, its only Ruler and Head. Civil authorities are called to serve God’s will of justice and peace for all humankind, and to respect the rights of conscience and belief. While we ourselves are servants in the world as citizens of God’s eternal kingdom.
It is a particular surprise to those who come from an Established church such as the Church of England! But today’s passage from Romans seems to set out an alternative point of view. The secular authorities – even the pagan government of the Roman Empire – have been set in place by God, says Paul, and we should not “resist what God has appointed.” So, has the URC got it wrong?

We will explore this question in various ways over the next two weeks. Today, we should note that the URC says it is “not subordinate to the state” “in things that affect obedience to God.” I have heard clergy (of various denominations) glorying in their speeding fines, believing they demonstrate their dedication to their calling by rushing to bedsides or funerals. They suggest that the police who stop them should see their speed as marking obedience to God.

But does God want us to risk other people’s lives in order to demonstrate our obedience? Surely not. This is one field where if we do what is wrong, we should, as Paul says, be afraid.

Prayer

Almighty God,
give me insight to distinguish between
things which affect obedience to you
and actions which are convenient to me.
Enable me to be aware of the power of my example on others
and the effect of my obedience to you on those around me.
May I recognise the difference
between state interference in Christian ministry
and those times when the state is indeed
the servant of God executing wrath on the wrongdoer.
Amen.





Today’s writer
The Revd Gethin Rhys is a retired URC minister and member of St Andrew’s Methodist Church, Cardiff

07/06/2026

7 June 2026

Psalm 128
O blessed are those who fear the Lord
and walk in his ways!

By the labour of your hands you shall eat.
You will be happy and prosper;
the wife like a fruitful vine
in the heart of your house;
children like shoots of the olive,
around the table.

Indeed thus shall be blessed
those who fear the Lord.
May the Lord bless you from Zion
all the days of your life!
May you see your children’s children
in a happy Jerusalem!
On Israel, peace!

Reflection

I am focusing on the lovely image of “children like shoots of the olive, around the table” from Psalm 128.

It grieves me to hear about some of the effects that living in poverty has on children in this country.

Perhaps you or someone you know has been a child living in poverty and know what it is like going to bed feeling hungry; to always wear second hand shoes; to know that the people who love you are worried; to keep moving to different schools; sleeping on a mattress on the floor; not going on school trips; feeling cold because the electricity has gone off; wishing Father Christmas would give you the present you wanted and wanting to choose food from a shop, not the food bank.

Perhaps you have been or know someone who is a parent or carer struggling to provide for children and just never seeming to be able to make ends meet.

I am sure that, as a society, we want all our children to be like “shoots of the olive, around the table”. We want them to thrive, to have opportunities which they can take, to feel secure and loved. But unless they have their basic needs supplied it is hard for a child to flourish.

Jesus, in his “Manifesto” in Luke 4 says that he is coming to “bring good news to the poor”.

He also affirmed the commandment that we must love God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind and love our neighbour as ourself.

I believe that, when we worship God and follow Jesus, we are called to be good news to the poor and to love our neighbour. Christian charities concerned about poverty use the phrase – GIVE, ACT, PRAY

May our giving, our actions and our prayers help children to flourish.

Prayer

Loving God,
We pray for all children today.
Especially for children whose lives are blighted by poverty,
We pray for all who have the care and nurture of children.
We pray for ourselves that we may give with generous hearts,
Act with enquiring minds and pray with love.
We pray in the name of Jesus,
Who blessed the children. Amen.






Today’s writer
The Revd Diana Cullum-Hall is a retired minister and member of the Church at Carrs Lane, Birmingham

06/06/2026

CHURCH CALENDAR – JUNE
Sunday morning services commence at 10.30am

7th Songs of Praise with Gloria Gibbs
14th Rev. James Jang – Holy Communion
21st Jenny Clark
28th Rev. Helena McKinnon

06/06/2026

6 June 2026

When the Spring Still Flows: Revelation 21:6
Then he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.

Reflection

As I come to the end of these twelve devotions, my heart is filled with gratitude. Writing them has been a way of returning to the source, drawing again from the spring of God’s life. Through each devotion I have come to see that water is never still. It moves, it gives, it takes, and it renews.

I have written about dry ground, about thirst and waiting, about the rain that restores what was lost. But water is not only gentle. Sometimes it floods. It rises beyond our limits and unsettles the ground we trust. It does not always come as comfort. It reveals what we have built on fragile soil.

When I look at the floods of our time, whole communities swept away, I cannot simply call this mystery or mercy. It is also the result of our neglect, the weight of our greed. Yet even in the waters that overwhelm, there is a quiet call to begin again, to live with care, to let creation breathe once more.

I have learnt that faith is not about escaping the storm or trying to explain it. It is about standing within it, holding on to hope, and working with God for the renewal of what remains. Somewhere beneath every ruin, the spring still flows.

So I end with gratitude and longing. The journey of water has shown me that grace is not an answer but a movement. It flows through both sorrow and joy and invites us to move with it, to protect, to restore, and to let the world live again. Even when the waters rise, the voice of God still speaks life.

Prayer

God of life,
You are the beginning and the end,
the source and the stillness in every tide.
When the waters rise and we feel afraid,
hold us in Your mercy.
When the ground breaks beneath us,
let compassion steady our hands
and hope take root again on the earth.
Amen.








Today’s writer
The Revd Dr Seoyoung Kim is a Lecturer in Applied Theology at the Belfast School of Theology and a Central Committee member of the World Council of Churches

05/06/2026

5 June 2026

When Rain Becomes Praise: Joel 2:23-24
O children of Zion, be glad
and rejoice in the Lord your God;
for he has given the early rain[a] for your vindication,
he has poured down for you abundant rain,
the early and the later rain, as before.
The threshing-floors shall be full of grain,
the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.

Reflection

I remember being in Tanzania. After worship one Sunday, we walked through the heat and dust to a friend’s home for lunch. We washed our hands in a basin outside and waited for the meal. Then the sky began to roar without warning. Thunder moved across the hills, and rain started to fall, heavy and sudden.

For a moment I felt uneasy. I thought about how we would return through the storm, about the paths turning to mud and the clothes that would not dry. Before I could say anything, everyone around me stood up and began to clap. Someone started to sing, and soon the whole room was moving together. We laughed, we danced, we raised our voices in praise. The children ran to the doorway and lifted their faces to the sky. Their joy spread to everyone. The same rain that brought me worry brought them happiness. For them, this rain was a blessing, a promise that the earth would live again.

I joined their song, and something in me changed. I saw how quickly I call something a problem when others call it grace. I forgot that the same rain that interrupts my plans can become an answer to another person’s prayer.
The prophet Joel spoke about rain like this. He said it was a sign of God’s faithfulness, the early and the late rain that bring the harvest and heal the land. But maybe this rain also heals the heart, showing us how to recognise goodness where we once saw only delay.

Not every rain is gentle. Some rains destroy as they give. Still, the promise remains. Mercy comes again and again, calling us to share, to care, and to help the world begin again. Gratitude is another kind of rain. It falls quietly and reaches what was dry. It reminds us that every drop, even the ones we do not expect, is still a gift.

Prayer

God of rain and mercy,
let Your grace fall gently on us
and wash away our fear.
Let us see each drop as a gift
and share in the joy it brings.
Renew our hearts with Your peace
until new life begins again.
Amen.








Today’s writer
Haec autem illo loquente, facta est nubes et obumbravit eos; et timuerunt intrantibus illis in nubem

04/06/2026

4 June 2026

When the River Learns to Give: Proverbs 25:21-26
If your enemies are hungry, give them bread to eat;
and if they are thirsty, give them water to drink;
for you will heap coals of fire on their heads,
and the Lord will reward you.
The north wind produces rain,
and a backbiting tongue, angry looks.
It is better to live in a corner of the housetop
than in a house shared with a contentious wife.
Like cold water to a thirsty soul,
so is good news from a far country.
Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain
are the righteous who give way before the wicked.

Reflection

“If your enemies are hungry, give them bread to eat; and if they are thirsty, give them water to drink.” This proverb speaks of giving to an enemy, but in truth most of those who thirst are not our enemies. They are our neighbours, people we have failed to see, lives touched by our comfort without our knowing. The distance between us is not hatred but forgetfulness. And when we give water, it is not victory over another life but a remembering of our shared thirst.

I once spoke with a fellow Christian who asked with genuine curiosity why developed countries are expected to provide climate finance to developing countries, and why the church should care about the earth. The question was honest, not hostile, and it has stayed with me. Because beneath it, I heard the confusion of people like us who live well and forget how our comfort rests on the suffering of others.

Justice is not a favour offered by the strong. It is a confession that we have taken too much and a willingness to begin again. When we give bread to the hungry and water to the thirsty, we are not rescuing them. We are being restored ourselves. For every gift of compassion is also a small act of repentance, a way of letting grace return to the place it came from.

The proverb invites us to this simple holiness. Not charity that looks down, but mercy that walks beside. It asks us to open our hands and let the river move again through our common life. Perhaps this is how redemption feels, when the giver and the receiver both find themselves renewed by the same stream of love.

Prayer

God of mercy,
teach us to see the ones we forget.
Keep our hearts open
to the quiet work of Your grace.
When we offer water,
let us also be renewed.
Flow through us
until every life is refreshed
by the same stream of love.
Amen.








Today’s writer
The Revd Dr Seoyoung Kim is a Lecturer in Applied Theology at the Belfast School of Theology and a Central Committee member of the World Council of Churches

03/06/2026

3 June 2026
When God’s Tears Become a River: Amos 5:21–27
I hate, I despise your festivals,
and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
Even though you offer me your burnt-offerings and grain-offerings,
I will not accept them;
and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals
I will not look upon.
Take away from me the noise of your songs;
I will not listen to the melody of your harps.
But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? You shall take up Sakkuth your king, and Kaiwan your star-god, your images[a] that you made for yourselves; therefore I will take you into exile beyond Damascus, says the Lord, whose name is the God of hosts.

Reflection

I heard a pastor from the Pacific Islands speak. “The water keeps rising and the land is disappearing”. His voice trembled as he spoke of home, of the sea that kept coming closer. I watched his hands shake and felt the weight of a world losing ground and the ache of a God who still loved it.

Some words in scripture fall like soft rain, others like frozen hail. Amos carries both in his voice. He speaks to people who sing beautifully but have forgotten the sound of mercy. Their worship fills the temple, but their streets remain dry. And so the Holy One speaks, “But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”

These waters are not a passing rain. They are the tears of God, wept for the unheard and the unseen. Yet they also carry the weight of our neglect, the forests we have cleared, the seas we have poisoned, the poor left to face the storm first. The flood at our doorsteps is not only nature’s grief; it is creation remembering what we have refused to mend.

Justice is not a word to defend. It is love that learns to move, sorrow that becomes healing. When we step into that river, we walk with the Presence who feels the pain of creation and longs for its renewal.

This calling is urgent. It is for this reason that the World Council of Churches has named this time the Ecumenical Decade of Climate Justice Action, a reminder that our worship must now flow into the work of caring for the earth.

Each step is a prayer, each act of care a drop of grace. Together they become a river carrying the promise of new life. Wherever this river flows, something begins to live again. Perhaps holiness begins there too, where divine tears touch the earth, and faith finds the courage to love.

Prayer

God of mercy,
let Your tears become our compassion
and Your love our strength.
When the waters rise,
help us to rise together in hope.
Let Your justice flow through our life as a church,
and Your peace guides the work of our hands.
Keep us walking in the quiet strength of Your grace,
until the world is renewed by Your love.
Amen.








Today’s writer
The Revd Dr Seoyoung Kim is a Lecturer in Applied Theology at the Belfast School of Theology and a Central Committee member of the World Council of Churches

02/06/2026

2 June 2026

When the Water Turns to Wine: John 2:1-11
On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.’ His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ Now standing there were six stone water-jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the jars with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, ‘Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.’ So they took it. When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, ‘Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.’ Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

Reflection

Before the feast began, the jars stood empty. Before the joy overflowed, the jars were dry. And before anyone noticed a miracle, there was only water, ordinary and waiting.

Perhaps this is how grace often begins, not in wonder but in stillness, not in the flash of something new, but in the slow work of transformation that unfolds in silence and time.

Water does not become wine in an instant. It must rest and be changed from within. So it is with us. God’s work ripens in secret places, in patient faithfulness and prayer, in the slow turning of the heart.

At Cana, no one saw the moment of change. They only tasted its result, joy restored, abundance renewed, love returned. What once was used for cleansing became the vessel of celebration. That is the mystery of grace. What once washed away sorrow now carries the sweetness of life.

We live in a world that moves quickly. We search for results, for answers that appear at once, for miracles that happen without delay. And sometimes God meets us that way, sudden and dazzling and full of surprise. But more often, the holy work is slower. It happens beneath the surface, in seasons of waiting, where the unseen change begins to take shape.

To follow Christ is to learn that waiting is not wasted time. It is the soil where joy ripens, where faith grows roots, where the water of our life begins, quietly, to turn to wine. Perhaps this is what Christ still does in us. He does not make us something else. He makes us fully alive in what we already are. The same water still flows, but it has learned the taste of joy.

Prayer

God of slow miracles,
You turn what is plain into what is precious.
In our waiting, ripen joy.
In our emptiness, begin Your quiet work.
Keep our hearts trusting Your timing
when we long for quick answers or visible signs.
Let our ordinary faith be steeped in Your grace,
until our lives, too, carry the fragrance of celebration.
Amen.








Today’s writer
The Revd Dr Seoyoung Kim is a Lecturer in Applied Theology at the Belfast School of Theology and a Central Committee member of the World Council of Churches

01/06/2026

1 June 2026

When the Water Gives Birth: John 3:5
Jesus answered, ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.

Reflection

The water used for baptism looks gentle. It is clear and still, poured with care and received with hope. Yet, in the early Church, it was known as the water of dying and of rebirth. To enter it was to surrender the old self and rise into a new life in Christ. While we often view baptism as a quiet, clean ritual, the water of faith reminds us of both chaos and creation. It carries the memory of the flood and the promise of renewal.

At the moment of baptism, the water touches our skin, and we are joined not only to Christ but to one another. We are not baptised alone. Baptismal water has touched generations before us, carrying their prayers, tears, and hopes through time.

And this water does not stop at the doors of our own congregations. It moves beyond our histories, touching churches that begin in the same grace. This is the quiet truth the global church sought to articulate in the World Council of Churches’ document Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry. Together, we confess that there is “one baptism,” not as a demand but as a recognition of a unity that runs deeper than our divisions. The water has always known a current that carries us further than we can walk on our own.

Yet faith can sometimes grow still under the weight of habit. We may forget the radical nature of our washing. Perhaps the Spirit is calling us today to let the water move again, to allow what has settled to be stirred, and to let grace find its way through us into the life of the world.

Baptism is not an ending. It is the beginning of a life that learns to live with openness, mercy, and courage. The water that once covered us has not lost its voice. It still calls us to be made new.

Prayer

God of living water,
You call us through death into life.
You wash away what is past
and invite us to begin again in Your grace.
Keep our faith from growing still.
Let Your Spirit move within us
so that what is cold may be warmed,
what is closed may be opened,
and what is weary may be renewed.
Amen.








Today’s writer
The Revd Dr Seoyoung Kim is a Lecturer in Applied Theology at the Belfast School of Theology and a Central Committee member of the World Council of Churches

31/05/2026

31 May 2026

Psalm 127
If the Lord does not build the house,
in vain do its builders labour;
if the Lord does not watch over the city,
in vain does the watchman keep vigil.
In vain is your earlier rising,
your going later to rest,
you who toil for the bread you eat,
when he pours gifts on his beloved while they slumber.

Yes, children are a gift from the Lord,
a blessing, the fruit of the womb.
Indeed the sons and daughters of youth
are like arrows in the hand of a warrior.

O the happiness of those
who have filled his quiver with these arrows!
They will have no cause for shame
when they dispute with their foes in the gateways.

Reflection
Challenged by the fact that I’m not really a fan of the Psalms (except the 23rd), yet attracted by the ‘quiverful of arrows’, I chose to write about Psalm 127. I drafted, edited, and laid awake at night wondering why I couldn’t finish the work. After looking at other translations, Hebrew, and commentaries (some Jewish), the mist cleared.

Apparently it’s notoriously difficult to translate Hebrew, not least because so many words have a number of different meanings. So I decided to pick two themes that many writers accept are present in the Psalm. These are:

a) going your own way is not a good thing;
b) having a big family (especially boys) while you’re young is a good thing.

Being with the Lord is a good thing. Recognising that the Lord is with you is, perhaps, a better way to put it. Wherever you are; whatever you’re doing. Remember the manna in the wilderness – alluded to in verse 2. Daily bread for one day – see also the Lord’s Prayer. After a long time in the Christian life I’ve realised that consciously accepting (or not) this offered daily bread inevitably shows in how I live that day. So, once you’re really awake each day, say, “Good morning, God. Here we go again!”

Having a quiverful probably made sense 3,500 years ago. The growing lads could help you build, and protect and support you. The Revd Mr. Quiverful in Anthony Trollope’s Barchester Towers is a poor clergyman with fourteen children. But the alleged advantages of a large family are not for him (at least, not at the beginning of the story). Life’s a long struggle. So it has been for many since time began. Struggle is also well-known to those who experience miscarriage, abortion, adoption, or childlessness (voluntary or not).

Each of us needs that daily bread in order to cope with life, and to help others do likewise.

Prayer
O Lord.
thank you for being there for us every day.
Bless me,
and the individuals I know
who strive to fight the good fight –
or have given up –
and give me wisdom to build, protect, and provide
whenever and wherever you can.
Amen







Today’s writer
Peter Redding is a member of Mangotsfield and Castle Green URC near Bristol

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