Theological Writing
Most of the texts here were originally written to be preached as sermons - most though not all at St Stephen's Church Canterbury where I was on the preaching rota for 17 years. Where it seemed appropriate I have removed topical allusions and references to individuals which work in an oral delivery but not in writing. But mostly I have left them as they are.
I've divided them into categories according to the main subject, although of course many of them cross these boundaries. A few which clearly belong to two categories I have but in both. To avoid too much scrolling each category has its own page.
These are the categories I have chosen :
Although most sermons are inspired by one or more texts, most commonly is one of the Bible passages read earlier in the service, I was surprised to find that this was rather a small category; perhaps because the sermon is often not a piece of textual exegesis but uses the text as a springboard to examine wider issues.
I have always been fascinated by the texts which are central to Christian worship - particularly the collects - but which are seldom discussed or thought about. When it seemed appropriate and I had something to say I tried to remedy this omission.
The Church provides an annual cycle of feasts and fasts, closely linked in the Northern Hemisphere to the cycle of the seasons.
Saints
Scattered among this cycle are days when the Church remembers women and men of particular holiness and reflects on what we can learn from them. When these days fall on a Sunday then the sermon is often a good place to think about these.
When I looked for a title for a text a word often emerged. Sometimes this was a theological concept or doctrine - God, Atonement, Hell, Transfiguration - but equally often it was something different - Silence, Private Property, Inclusion, Church buildings.