Six months after I first arrived in the United States, my wife and I went to Washington DC. Ruth had been asked to preside at the funeral of a three star general, and the service took place at the Arlington National Cemetery chapel. As we sat inside the air-conditioned chapel, outside in the 90° heat stood a line of soldiers in full military uniform. The soldiers were there to escort the body to the grave, and give the 21 gun salute.  ...  read more

One of the negative consequences of the Reformation in the 16th century was the wholesale destruction of religious art. Statues of saints were toppled or defaced, paintings were vandalised or burnt, and stained glass windows were smashed. Throughout Europe there was a wanton and systematic desecration of those aids to devotion which had inspired so many of the faithful over the centuries. In large churches and medieval cathedrals, walls that were covered in religious paintings were whitewashed to remove any evidence of the art of the religious painter.  ...  read more

Even on a Saturday morning, there were few people in Brandywine State Park. It may have been the sign at the entrance – “Archery Hunting is in Progress in the Park” – that was deterring potential visitors. I immediately thought of St Sebastian, the patron saint of soldiers, who was martyred by archers – paintings of the saint typically show his body pierced with arrows.  ...  read more

A funny thing happened last Saturday during the Celtic service. During the sermon, the elevator doors in the chapel opened and someone stepped into the chapel. (Believe it or not, St Barnabas’ chapel has an elevator.) Thinking the service would simply carry on, the person began to act as if we were not there but actually we were all so surprised that for a moment continuation was not really possible. It was such a surreal moment that I imagined we were being filmed and that the recording would later appear on YouTube.  ...  read more

Years ago, before I was ordained, I was asked to read the second lesson during an evening service of the Holy Eucharist. It was the first time I had been asked to read in church and the passage chosen – 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 – happened to include the earliest record of one of Jesus’ sayings. (The letters of St Paul pre-date the gospel writings). As I stood at the lectern that evening and read, I felt the honor of repeating the words once spoken by Jesus: words which were as relevant now as they were when Jesus first said them. Here is the passage from Paul’s letter: ...  read more