A lovable, but sometimes prickly fellow
No, the heading of this article is not about me telling you how I do funerals. Time was when Hedgehog only did about half a dozen funerals per year and most of those were for people from his own congregation. Now he does 25-30 per year and has found himself ...
Why? Because if our people are apathetic, whose fault is that? Presumably ours as church leaders (well, OK, perhaps our predecessor's), for forgetting to win their hearts before their heads, neglecting to connect with their needs and aspirations, failing to encourage and enable them to dream dreams and develop a ...
So Canon Jeffrey John has been 'persuaded' to refuse his appointment as the next Bishop of Reading. Some are crying 'foul', while others are cheering a 'victory' for 'biblical' Christianity. Most of us are doing what Archbishop Rowan Williams has wisely advised us to do - keep our heads down ...
I confess to having mixed feelings about pulpits, in spite of having demolished one (with the permission of the Church Members’ Meeting, I hasten to add!) with an axe and sledgehammer on one occasion. That one was an ugly Victorian monstrosity which totally dominated the front end of the church ...
“I think it a huge shame that your seminar title implies that teenagers are something negative - it’s hardly surprising they behave as though the world hates and fears them when we regard teenagers as something to be survived, rather than valued, nurtured and encouraged. OK, I know it’s meant ...
After several years of exercising considerable, and commendable restraint, I can hold off no longer. It is time to address the vexed question of pews. I realise that this will be completely irrelevant to those readers who are blessed with comfortable chairs in their church buildings, but spare a thought ...
One Sunday evening, over 30 years ago, I went with some friends to a well-attended Pentecostal church. The occasion sticks in my memory, not for the sermon (totally forgotten!), nor for the company (excellent though it was) nor even for the warmth of the welcome (I’m sure it was), but ...
Are you wondering what to give up for Lent? Well, here's Hedgehog's suggestion - give up watching or listening to the news, including the so-called 'local' news. Yes, I know it'll be tough, but you'll feel a lot better for it and your ministry will become more effective as a ...
I want to place it on record that, recently ordained, I enjoy wearing my clerical collar. My wife, however, is still getting used to it (no, I don't wear it in bed!), especially when I arrive at Sainsbury's and insist on keeping it on throughout the shopping process ("but, darling, ...
Oh good, some Christmas cards have arrived in the post. But as you open them, your heart starts to sink with despair - most of the envelopes also include "THE CHRISTMAS NEWSLETTER". Every year, thousands of otherwise normal, quiet, shy, modest people seem to feel an overwhelming urge to tell ...
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