Category Archives: Christianity

Lent

Posted on February 18, 2015 by Gerry Lynch

What am I giving up for Lent? I’m going to try giving up cynicism and unhappiness. Cynicism is worn as a badge of maturity in 2010s Britain. To dare to be optimistic, to dare to hope, is a sign of … Continue reading →

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CONVERSION EXPERIENCE: A poem for the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul

Posted on January 25, 2015 by Gerry Lynch

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfT-xUV1Nok] CONVERSION EXPERIENCE Voice and light that left him blinded,      Lashed him like a cattle prod. “That you do for me is evil!      That you thought the devil, God!” ‘Did I really intrigue murder?’ –      Pride that led to such … Continue reading →

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Thoughts on Bishops who won’t Ordain Women

Posted on November 7, 2014 by Gerry Lynch

Today it was announced that Philip North, Vicar of Old St Pancras in London and a prominent member of Traditionalist Anglo-Catholic group Forward in Faith, is to be the new Bishop of Burnley. He is, therefore, someone who will not … Continue reading →

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Our Experience of Secret Church in Salisbury

Posted on October 21, 2014 by Gerry Lynch

This is a bit of a brain dump after the Secret Church event I helped organise in Salisbury last night. If you aren’t interested in the background to our church and our advertising programme, just click down to find out … Continue reading →

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A Journey of the Mind to Ancient Antioch

Posted on September 17, 2014 by Gerry Lynch

A reflection on Acts 11:19-26 for Diocese of Salisbury staff prayers. Try to imagine the world of Antioch as the refugee disciples in our reading would have known it. Antioch was the third largest city of the contemporary Empire, after … Continue reading →

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Praying for Ian Paisley’s Soul

Posted on September 12, 2014 by Gerry Lynch

Crossposted to Slugger O’Toole… I have prayed for the happy repose of the soul of Ian Paisley. Initially almost to make him turn in his grave, but then with sincerity. The Book of Common Prayer says that Christ died as … Continue reading →

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Jesus Went to Birmingham. Did the People Let Him Die?

Posted on September 10, 2014 by Gerry Lynch

Every Eucharistic service, in whatever Christian tradition, is a recreation of the Last Supper. I’m at a work conference in Birmingham at the moment, staying in a hotel bang opposite the Cathedral, so I joined the 8 a.m. congregation there … Continue reading →

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Iraqi Christians in Parliament Square

Posted on July 29, 2014 by Gerry Lynch

I attended the national demonstration on the persecution of Iraqi Christians in Parliament Square, London on Saturday 26 July. There was a large turnout of Iraqi and other Middle Eastern Christians, a healthy and welcome presence of Iraqi Muslims, a … Continue reading →

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Prisoners of Conscience on St John the Baptist’s Day

Posted on June 24, 2014 by Gerry Lynch

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gxMq7s0ELE I always had a good appetite as a child, getting stuck into seconds and more whenever I had the chance. My mother, observing this, would often remark, “Son, you’d eat the head of John the Baptist.” John the Baptist’s … Continue reading →

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Why is Cathedral Evensong Growing and What Does It Mean?

Posted on June 5, 2014 by Gerry Lynch

This piece appeared in the May-June 2014 edition of Salisbury Cathedral News I’ve always preferred the intimate parish church community to a cathedral’s grandeur. I came to mature faith in Belfast’s city centre parish of St. George’s, walking past the … Continue reading →

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