St Ternan's Scottish Episcopal Church

07/06/2026

The bible is quite a long book which spans thousands of years of history. The Old Testament is an eclectic collection of writing. From the story of the Israelites to the wisdom of Proverbs to the beauty of the Psalms. The New Testament gives us the story of Jesus and the founding of our Christian faith in the letters of the apostles. How do you read such a book? Well, not in one sitting that’s for sure! In all those words we can sometime lose sight of the simplicity of the message. The words of Jesus sum up the message perfectly. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength and love your neighbour as yourself. That simple beautiful message of love is the core of our faith and we should live it every day.

31/05/2026

Today is Trinity Sunday where we celebrate the idea of the Holy Trinity. The belief that God is three persons in one, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I mostly find that idea a little tough to wrap my head around. I find it all a little confusing and overly complex. It is trying to explain in human terms the completeness of God, the vastness of the idea. I don’t think we are built to comprehend that. However, God sent us Jesus. Human as we are, but also divine. A way that we could connect with the divinity of God, through the humanity of Jesus. Read the story of Jesus and make that connection.

24/05/2026

Today is Pentecost when God rained the Holy Spirit down on the disciples. They were filled with a sense of purpose and a vision of a better world to come. The Kingdom of Heaven built on earth as Jesus had talked about. With the Holy Spirit empowering them, they set about building the Church, a church that would eventually span the globe. The Holy Spirit is there for us all. We are empowered by that Holy Spirit to be God’s hand on earth. We can help build a kingdom of love, peace and understanding. What will the Holy Spirit enable you to do today?

17/05/2026

Just for a moment stop. Listen to the silence. Be still in the presence of the Lord. Be still in anticipation, be still in peace, be still in love. Just for a moment block out the noise and listen. Listen for God's voice, because sometimes it can be blocked out by the noise of normal life. The competing voices for our time and attention can block out that sometimes small voice. Sometimes we just need to stop, pause, draw a breath and listen to the silence. You may be surprised by what you hear. Perhaps just the tweeting of bird, or the hum of electrical equipment, but then again you may hear something truly special. There's only one way to find out.

26/04/2026

I read an article recently that talked about freewill. The essence of the article was that everything that happens is the results of some physical process, even thinking, and as there are hard and fast physical rules for everything, there is only ever one possible outcome. I do not agree with that. It precludes the existence of a soul, that things that separates us from the being merely a biological process. That spark of life is God in us. God has made us more than the plants. God gave us the ability to make choices. You have the choice of good over evil, you have the choice to defeat evil by doing good.

12/04/2026

A short phrase from a recent sermon has been kicking around in my head all week. It was “we need to be brave and humble”. It’s been the humble part that has been troubling me, as it’s not a word I would use to describe myself. We all put on facade for the outside word, it protects us from the rough and tumble of everyday life. When we are before God, we don’t need a facade, we can be humble. God knows us better than we know ourselves and they will lift us up.

05/04/2026

Early on Sunday morning Peter and John are summoned to the tomb by Mary Magdalene. They find the tomb empty. In the dark of the early morning they must have been full of despair. Jesus, their Lord, had been crucified and now it seemed someone had stolen the body. How much more were they expected to endure? They go back to their lodging filled with confusion and despair. Mary stays on and as the morning sun rises, she meets the risen Jesus. Despair is replaced by hope and joy. Life is full of dark moments, but the light shall always overcome the dark. Hope will always defeat despair. Hallelujah, He is risen! Happy Easter.

29/03/2026

Today is Palm Sunday. This is the day where we commemorate Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey. The crowds welcome him by waving palm branches and shouting Hosanna, which was an expression of praise and joy. This was Jesus fulfilling the prophesy in Zechariah 9:9 which said the king would come riding on a donkey. However, Jesus was not the kind of king they were expecting. He was not coming to reign over an earthly kingdom, but the Kingdom of God. This is not a kingdom where the rich reign over the poor, where the currency is power. This is a Kingdom where the currency is love, where justice reigns and peace lives.

22/03/2026

I was sitting near the airport recently, watching a helicopter taking flight. It was very loud to start with, but as it turned away from me it got quiet very quickly. I had to strain to hear it. It got me thinking about how we hear God’s voice. Sometimes it can be very loud, perhaps if we are in church on a Sunday. The voice can be loud, and it can make sense. We know what we must do, how we should conduct ourselves this coming week. Then as week progresses God’s voice can sometimes get quieter. Drowned out by the noise of life. It is good occasionally to take a moment out. Five minutes of peace to just sit and listen for God’s voice. It is there, you just need to listen for it.

20/03/2026