Chaplains Latest Reflection
Thoughts and reflections from the University Chaplain
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Waiting with Excitement
I love these few days in the Church’s year between Ascension and Pentecost. The Ascension of Jesus (which we celebrated last Thursday, 18 May) and Pentecost – the coming of the Holy Spirit (celebrated next weekend) - is suspense-packed ten-day...
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Friendships: Be Present, be Curious
How do you make friends after leaving Uni? I was part of a group of people chatting about this question last week and was impressed by the honesty of the person asking the question. It clearly hit a nerve. A...
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Do You Love Me?
When the Apostle Peter met Christ after the resurrection, the question Jesus asked him was: “do you love me?” There’s a group of people in the Gospels whose love for Christ was so strong, so constant and so utterly fearless...
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Sand
Thanks to the generosity of some friends with a flat, our family has returned to Swanage in Dorset for seaside holidays over many years. One spot that has strong memories is a stretch of beach that has a small inlet...
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Resurrection not Resuscitation
When the young Siddhartha Gautama, the future Buddha, left the protection of his parent’s home and began his quest to find out what life was really like “out there” he was overwhelmed by the amount of suffering he saw. The...
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A Wonderful Mess
When I was a child my grandfather took me with him on a visit to the local solicitor. With great, old-fashioned, curtesy we were ushered into the presence of old Mr. Blackadder - the senior partner. We settled down on...
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Jesus Wept
This is the most extraordinary verse in John’s Gospel. John wrote his Gospel so that the reader might believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and that by believing we may have eternal life. John also continually emphasised the...
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Non-anxious Presence
No matter what article or source you read, you could come to the conclusion that anxiety levels in the UK, and particularly among students, are high at the moment. If even contemplating that sentence adds to your anxiety, as it...
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A Window on the World
I remember when the ten-year-old me was at school, sitting, dreaming in a Religious Education Class. As the reverend-headmaster droned on and on about ‘Shadrack, Meschach and Abendego’ and the ‘fiery furnace’, my imagination carried me into the heart of...
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Compassion Fatigue
Last week we celebrated a grim anniversary: the invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing war. Like so many people, I find myself without words for the suffering that has been caused by this war. And now there is another tragedy...