“How can we become more authentic in our living? How can we live more faithfully as disciples of Christ? As a first step I want to suggest we take our lead from another long-running TV show, Fake or Fortune. In this show the presenters are on the trail of paintings by old masters which have been lost for years. Often the paintings are covered in a thick layer of dust or dirt, or they have been overpainted by a later artist, and the first step in the investigation is to clean them. To take them back to what they were. To remove the layers of grime to reveal the true picture.

“Now that takes courage, and care. If you proceed too fast or too far you risk damage to the underlying picture. The preparation and the treatment has to be right. And the first step is the preparation. In Fake or Fortune the preparation is simply accepting the picture as it is, and taking it to a studio where the cleaning work will be done.

“So that is the first word – acceptance – in the sense of knowing that we are accepted, as we are. Before any cleaning up work has been done. This is a theme which recurs in Paul’s letters to the young churches. Acceptance. In Paul’s letter to the Romans, chapter 5 and verse 8 we have this: “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” In other words, God accepts us as we are. He does not wait until we have tidied up our act a bit. He steps into our sinful, messy and compromised lives and accepts us as we are. And that is good news.

“But – whilst he loves us as we are, he loves us too much to leave us that way. So something must be done. Like the old painting, the dust and dirt must be taken off to reveal what lies underneath. It really is no good continuing to hide behind it if we want to become more authentic in our living, if we want to be more faithful disciples of Christ.”

This is an excerpt from the sermon delivered by John Sawkins at Morning Worship on 3 May 2026. The readings were Matthew 5:13–20 and 1 Peter 2:2–10. Do read his whole sermon, available at this link, which will explain more about our title and why John is talking about another TV show!

Our picture of a piece of artwork being restored in Florence was taken by Maxim Kotov and made available on Unsplash

The English language is ever-evolving, with new words constantly entering the Oxford English Dictionary. For example, during Covid, the expression ‘binge watching’ came into being. With lockdown in place there was little for many to do save to sit on sofas to watch endless box sets on the television. Another addition is ‘selfie’, a self-portrait photograph or short video taken at arm’s length with a smartphone or digital camera.

Lent is an opportunity to take a self-portrait of ourselves and consider the result carefully. What do we see? Are we comfortable in our own skin? Are we aware of fault? Can we trust ourselves to come to an honest conclusion, or in modern slang, ‘to mark our own homework’? Of course, family or friends can be asked to give an opinion. A few would doubtless be only too happy to tell us bluntly where we are lacking, but most will fear to give offence.

The only means of knowing what others think of us would be to imagine reading our own obituary. What might the writer say? Obituary writers feel more at liberty to tell the unvarnished truth once the subject is no longer alive. This has one an obvious drawback. Should we ever have the opportunity to read our own obituary, we will no longer be in a position to learn of or remedy our shortcomings.

There are always exceptions, notably in the case of Alfred Nobel. Born in Stockholm he later embarked on many business ventures, most notably owning a major manufacturer of cannons and other armaments. Nobel’s most famous invention was dynamite, an explosive he patented in 1867. Later, a shed at his factory used for preparation of dynamite exploded, killing five people, including Nobel’s younger brother Emil. A French newspaper mistakenly confused Alfred for his younger brother and published Alfred’s obituary, which called him a “merchant of death” for inventing dynamite. The article so disconcerted Nobel that he changed his will to give a substantial legacy to found the Nobel Prizes including the peace prize.

Nobel was given a rare opportunity to remedy his faults. Lent is our opportunity to do likewise, to acknowledge our sins, seek forgiveness, and turn back to God.

Part of the homily delivered by Rev Canon Richard Grosse at our Ash Wednesday service today. The readings were Isaiah 58.1–12, Psalm 51.1–18 (BCP) and Matthew 6:1–6, 16–21.

Original photo by Manpreet Rattu on Unsplash, cropped to change its aspect ratio.

At Morning Worship on 18 January 2026, John Sawkins preached on Ephesians 4.4–6, and picked out four things from this passage which he felt still resonate for us as 21st-century Christians. This is some of what he said on the first of these:

“First, remember what unites us. Because sometimes we forget. …

“What unites us, is that we all worship Christ, who is one with God the Father and God the Spirit. The one thing, the only thing, that unites us is Christ. Nothing else.

“We are not one because our churches are organised and run in the same way. We are not one because we all believe in the same things. We are not one because we offer worship in the same way. We are one because we profess Jesus as Lord.

“Throughout the New Testament the idea is expressed in any number of ways; we are all members of the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12), we are all branches of the vine (John 15), we are all members of the household of God (Ephesians 2). We are united in Christ. That is what Paul was saying when he noted: “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.” (Ephesians 4.4–6)

“And so remember – when we get hung up about ecclesiastical routines or ways of doing things, or translations of the Bible, or the hymn tunes chosen, or whether we kneel or sit or stand to pray, or whether we ask forgiveness for our trespasses, our sins or our debts, or if candles are lit, or what the colour of the preacher’s tie is – remember that these things ultimately do not matter. What matters is our profession that Jesus is Lord.

“That, ultimately, is what unites those of us who are part of a church, and what unites churches across the world. Our profession that Jesus is Lord.”

To find out what John’s other points were, read his whole sermon, available at this link.

Our picture of a group of people standing on top of a sandy beach was taken by James Lee and made available on Unsplash.

At Morning Worship on 4 January 2026, when our readings had been Ephesians 1:3–14 and John 1:10–18, Rev’d Keith Pearce finished his sermon with this thought:

“It struck me that by Christmas Day we’ve already passed the winter solstice, the days are already getting longer, the Light has come, a new year has dawned. I thought, ‘Are we looking at things the wrong way, focusing on the ending, rather than the beginning?’

“Several of us here are nearer the ending of our lives than the beginning. But I think that question has relevance for us all. Frustrated as we might be by the things we once did but can do no longer(!), and anxious as we might be by the news and the way international relations are going, and sad as we might be about the closure of churches we’ve known and loved, might it be that by focussing on endings, we miss the beginnings?

“Our grandchildren, I believe, are much better equipped to face the challenges of the coming years than we are. And recent statistics have shown renewed interest in Christian faith and the Bible, especially among Generation Z. Might we be seeing the beginning of a new response to God’s amazing grace?

“So I pray that God in his providence and grace may help us all, as we get older still through the course of this year, to be aware of his presence, to glimpse his glory, to receive his amazing grace, and to focus on the new beginnings happening all around us. Amen.”

To find out what Keith had to say about grace, glory, presence, read his whole sermon, available at this link.

“Eleven pipers piping”

Keith’s talk to our young people on the Eleventh Day of Christmas included a reference to a well-known song, which he linked to a period when Catholics were persecuted by law, and many English and Welsh manor houses sported ‘priest holes’, hiding-places for a priest.

Although the song was not published until two centuries later, one story behind The 12 Days of Christmas is that the words which make little sense contain hidden references, and suggests that in days of persecution the song was used to teach Catholic children about the Church.

The references make interesting devotional reading, which you can explore further at this link.

Our picture of adult hands helping a baby to walk was taken by Jessie Maxwell and made available on Unsplash

All are welcome to attend the online bible study for Advent, with the theme ‘The Four Christmases’, which starts next Wednesday. For log-in details please speak to Daniel George or David Salthouse.