Thought for the Day
A one-minute read to inspire or challenge. Written by members of the church and updated every few days.
7th November 2025
If you think the rate of technological change is ever-increasing, then you are not alone.
We had a technology conference at work this week and one of the recurring themes was AI – “Artificial Intelligence”. It was good to get past the media hype and listen to those working in the industry. The most insightful observation came from a representative of Amazon when he was asked what further AI developments might be on the horizon. You know the sort of question – it’s a favourite of job interviewers – where do you see yourself in five years’ time? The answer on this occasion really struck home: “Five years? We’re only thinking six months ahead!” Such is the pace of AI development.
I was also impressed by the prominence our speakers gave to the wider implications of AI adoption, in particular the social and environmental impacts. There has been much media angst about whether people will be replaced by machines, but how often have we heard that before? I’m sure the same hysteria followed the inventions of the steam engine, the production line, the personal computer. But we’re still here. The promise of AI, indeed all technology, is to remove the tedium of repetitive, dangerous or error-prone tasks – surely that is a desirable outcome for us all?
And as the UN climate conference, COP30, takes place in Brazil this coming week, it was also timely to remember the environmental cost of AI. Whether it is the energy to power the computers or the water to cool them down, AI is not environmentally neutral. But it does not need to be detrimental to our world.
So let us embrace this new technology but be careful to use it wisely.
5th November 2025
So there will be a public inquiry into Orgreave chaired by the Bishop of Sheffield. FORTY years ago, striking miners tried to picket Orgreave coke plant (fuel not drugs!!) near Barnsley and police brought in from the whole country tried to stop them. A pitched battle ensued with arrests and trials for affray etc and […]
29th October 2025
The royal visit to Rome last week was welcome. The pictures of Pope Leo and King Charles, Supreme Governor of the (Protestant) Church of England, praying together was a symbol of the overcoming of historic estrangements in a world where disunity and hostilities are all too evident or actually deepening. But there’s a slightly amusing […]
24th October 2025
When I was at school I was very fortunate. We had an assembly each morning which included a Bible reading, a hymn and the chanting of a Psalm. Once a week it was the ‘School Psalm’ – Psalm 121. Why that particular Psalm was chosen I never discovered. Nevertheless I think it was a good […]
22nd October 2025
MORE ON ANGELS. Angels feature rather more in Scripture than in Baptist thinking, but most of our Christmas carols feature the agency of angels, who fulfil a number of roles: But the work of angels in Christian history is less easily identified. Here Hebrews 13,2-3 is helpful: ‘Do not neglect to show hospitality; by doing […]
17th October 2025
As the saying goes, ‘been there, done that, got the t-shirt’ – well actually, got three t-shirts! As I write, our six-week trip to Australia is almost over, the list of places and things we planned to visit and do pretty much ticked off. The highlight was, of course, the four nights we had at […]
15th October 2025
ST MICHAEL AND FALLEN ANGELS. The book of Revelation is not an easy read, with much of the writing highly symbolic. Another difficulty is that John is describing happenings outside the human calendar – either expectations of life when history has ended, or beyond its scope, with those wonderful images of the New Jerusalem, or […]
10th October 2025
What sort of week have you had I wonder? On Sunday, at Tyndale, we focused on a Psalm of lament. After the events of the preceding week some of us were probably turning to God and asking, Lord, how long do we have to wait before our Jewish neighbours can go to their synagogues, free […]
8th October 2025
Being honest with God We enjoyed a fascinating Sunday morning with Andy Caldwell, the new team leader of Webnet, and his wife Jo. He was warm, friendly and very open before, during and after the service that he and Sam led together. One idea that came up during his thought-provoking sermon on “lamentation” was that […]
3rd October 2025
A meditation based on the daily prayer from Sacred Space. Take a moment to pause and reflect after each part. Presence “Be still and know that I am God.” Lord, may your Spirit guide me to seek your loving presence more and more. For it is there I find rest and refreshment from this busy […]