February 2019 Dear Friend’s It is always good when you have known about something wonderful or fascinating, like a good book or TV series, that others eventually catch on to and enjoy as well. I discovered Marie Kondo and the ‘konmari’ method of tidying and de-cluttering a couple of years ago but now she is […]
Russell’s New Year 2019 Newsletter
January 2019 Dear Friends, As the old-time sailing ships crossed by each other on the vast oceans of the world, they used to shout ‘Whither bound?’ It’s a good question to ask ourselves at the start of a New Year. Whither bound?’ Where are we heading? And what course do we need to follow? No […]
Russell’s monthly newsletter – July 2018
July 2018 Dear Friends, Below is an edited version of my address to this year’s AGM: I begin my address by paying tribute two individuals who deserve special mention today: our two caretakers, Mary and Lorraine. They are at the meeting point between countless numbers of premises users and the church. They do so with […]
Russell’s monthly newsletter – June 2018
June 2018 Dear Friends, From the rising of the sun to its setting, your name be praised, O Light of the World! Truly, Jesus Christ is our sun of righteousness. He is a sun which never sets, he is a light which no one can extinguish. Summer means sun. The sea is warm and welcoming. […]
Russell’s monthly newsletter – February 2018
February 2018 Dear Friends, It is a familiar story: a man, born in humble beginnings, knows he is destined for something greater. No, not the story of Jesus, but the story of 19th Century circus entrepreneur P. T. Barnum in the film The Greatest Showman. Bearing in mind this is Hollywood – and a musical […]
Russell’s monthly newsletter – Easter 2018
March 2018 Dear Friends, The ultimate disgrace today, it seems, is to be called a loser. You cannot sink lower than that. To be labelled a loser is to be consigned to derision, to be avoided by the crowd, to be friendless and hopeless. We live in a world of winners and there is no […]
Russell’s monthly newsletter – February 2018
February 2018 Dear Friends, It is a familiar story: a man, born in humble beginnings, knows he is destined for something greater. No, not the story of Jesus, but the story of 19th Century circus entrepreneur P. T. Barnum in the film The Greatest Showman. Bearing in mind this is Hollywood – and a musical […]
Russell’s monthly newsletter – January 2018
January 2018 Dear Friends, So the decorations are dispatched to the loft for another 11 months and we journey into a new year wondering what joys and trials lie ahead. According to my horoscope 2018 will be…. It is easy to dismiss any such forecast as a piece of magical mumbo-jumbo – but given the […]
Russell’s monthly newsletter – December 2017
December 2017 Dear Friends, My dictionary defines a paradox as something which appears to be absurd, but is actually true. Really gripping thrillers grab your attention by means of paradox. And the story of Christmas is full of it. The events in the ‘little town of Bethlehem’ seem quite disproportionate to such a world-shattering event […]