18th March 2026
The way we are changing our language sometimes worries me. For example, we seem to have become frightened of the language of death and dying, and have substituted the weak and ambiguous language of passing, not even passing away. How far have we come from the historical language of gone to glory.
We may rightly ask of our modern passing what, where, whom? Without these details the verb is pretty meaningless and seriously underplays a vital human experience. A more religious age may have been over-influenced by a partial reading of Romans 6 v23 which identifies death with ‘the wages of sin’. But not always so – it can be the fitting, even triumphant, end of life here on earth, not so much a death sentence, but a reward for a race well run, when it comes as the end to many years of devoted service to both God and neighbour.
That being so, there is no need always to associate death with fear and pain and negativity, but rather we should look to what the remaining words of Romans 6 v23 speak of, namely “the free gift of God [which] is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”, and who can be tearful about that? The clear message of scripture is that there can be no Easter without first a Good Friday, no resurrection unless this has been preceded by death.
A rejection of the ambiguities of human passing and a return to the plain old-fashioned language of death and dying can therefore be creative and liberating. Indeed our redemption from the tyranny of sin is not secured by Jesus’ passing, but through his cruel death, nailed to a wooden cross.
John Briggs
Sunday 15th March – Fourth Sunday of Lent
Join us in person or online for a streaming service via Zoom at 10.30 am – check your email or contact us for the details.
A recording of the service is available here.
11th March 2026
When, in my very early 20s, a lapsed Catholic friend asked me what I believed about God and Jesus, I made a complete mess of ‘sharing my faith’ with her. By the time I’d finished going on about God’s plan of salvation, I could see she was only listening out of politeness; “that’s very interesting”, she lied.
Later, during my ministerial training, writing an essay about the various theories of the atonement – what happened at the Cross, and how it changed humankind’s relationship with God – I realised that much of what I’d read previously in IVP paperbacks and, now, in weightier theological tomes, didn’t always work for me. They tended to provide answers to questions I didn’t have and offer philosophical solutions I personally found unconvincing and sometimes even unnecessary.
Not that I wish to deny the real value of such answers and solutions – these explanations have developed over centuries in response to people’s genuine need to make sense of the Biblical story and their own experience of moral failure, estrangement, loss and helplessness. That said, I would place my emphasis somewhere else.
If I were to have that conversation with my friend again, this time I’d be talking about love, for that for me is where salvation begins and ends. Instead of majoring on things like sin and repentance, I’d want to begin by assuring her that she’s dearly beloved of God already. Not until she’d grasped that fundamental truth – (or is it, rather, her being grasped by that truth?) – only then would it seem appropriate to explore how God’s love has sorted things for us with the gift of his Son Jesus.
Ken Stewart
Sunday 8th March 2026 – Third Sunday of Lent
Join us in person or online for a streaming service via Zoom at 10.30 am – check your email or contact us for the details.
A recording of the service is available here.
6th March 2026
Being thankful.
The prayers at our Renew Wellbeing Café on Tuesdays follow a pattern suggested by Psalm 103. There is a section inspired by verse 2:
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits
and we prompt each other with the words “What are you thankful for today?”
It has been difficult in this week of horror to stop and remember that we do have things to thank God for but let us try to do just that.
Spring seems to be arriving at last and that annual time of renewal and rebirth makes this my favourite time of the year. Even the daisies are singing a chorus of praise for new life. (Whatever else we may say about this winter’s weather, it’s clearly been great for daisies!)
New human life seems to be theme at Tyndale currently too. Colin and Barbara, June, Tina and I have all recently become grandparents and it is lovely to see Greg and Nadine bringing little Georgie along on Tuesday mornings.
On the theme of the creation of new life, at the first of this year’s Lent Reflections, Prof John Bryant gave us an exciting account of the way that medical science is allowing doctors to treat and even cure diseases that until recently were considered an untreatable death sentence.
In so many ways, life is abundant and improving, let us thank God. The challenge given to us by Jesus is to see our neighbours and ensure that they are not left out.
P.S. I could not have written this if Ruth had not given us her moving reflection on Wednesday which allowed me to move beyond the death and destruction on the news.
Nick Parsons
4th March 2026
We sat quietly at the beginning of the service in church on Sunday, mindful of the attacks in Iran and the Middle East over the weekend. On the news we had seen unfamiliar place names, dots on the map, but where real people – just like us – were experiencing the terror of military attacks. It is hard to comprehend. Later we heard words from a Ukrainian Christian, of their experience of somehow living and carrying on through war, and their story somehow stood for all those who, today, live with conflict that is too close at hand.
What should we pray? How can we respond? Faced with such violence in the world it is easy to be overwhelmed into paralysis. What can we do that feels significant enough to match the enormity of the situation?
It was St David’s Day and Elizabeth reminded us of words attributed to him, “Do the little things”. It is said that we climb a mountain one step at a time. All the moments of opportunity for the little things in life probably add up to more than the occasions for grand gestures. May we continue to do the little things that we can do in this world – as they can make a difference.
I love the gentle but powerful words of Fred Kaan’s hymn:
Put peace into each other’s hands and like a treasure hold it,
protect it like a candle flame, with tenderness enfold it…
Put Christ into each other’s hands, he is love’s deepest measure,
in love make peace, give peace a chance and share it like a treasure.
Ruth Allen
Sunday 1st March 2026 – Second Sunday of Lent
Join us in person or online for a streaming service via Zoom at 10.30 am – check your email or contact us for the details. The service includes communion.
A recording of the service should be available here this afternoon.
27th February 2026
Every profession, craft or game uses ordinary words in its own ways.
“How did it go today?” “I only made eight. Two singles and a lovely six over long on then I snicked one and was caught by short leg.” It makes sense to a cricketer (or his daughter) but may be meaningless to you. All the words are English but ‘caught by short leg’?
In church, we too use words giving them a particular meaning which would make no sense to someone who has never been a churchgoer.
Every Sunday we say the Lord’s prayer. Twice recently I have been at a service where the old form ‘Forgive us our trespasses…’ was used. Trespasses? Do you mean getting into military areas or buildings like GCHQ? Trampling cornfields? Rarely, you hear “I will not trespass further on your time”? That is not what we mean in church.
The Scots use ‘Forgive us our debts…’ That almost always means money or, for instance, “We are indebted to James for his work selling tickets”.
We have ‘Forgive us our sins…’ which I think is a better single word than either of the above but for many outside the church ‘sin’ is mainly used for sexual crimes or misdemeanours.
(‘Syns’ is used by Slimming World to denote treats!)
We have to use words to try to encapsulate concepts which defy words. We cannot get our faith completely into tidy simple language so we use a word but put a much more complicated weight of meaning on it. This is fine but we do need to notice when we are doing that if we are talking to those outside the church.
Margaret Clements
25th February 2026
This week’s reading from Matthew 4:1-11 is often titled “The Temptation of Jesus”, but biblical scholar R. T. France preferred to call it “The Testing of the Son of God”. In the preceding chapter of the gospel, John had baptized Jesus in the river and as Jesus came out of the water God’s voice from heaven had declared, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
But what did it mean for Jesus to be the Son of God? The devil set Jesus three “tests” to tease out an answer. Three tests to see if Jesus would seek power and glory for himself…
- “If you are the Son of God, then turn these stones into loaves of bread.” Jesus could have made food from stones. Remember the boy with the five loaves and two fish; or how he fed the crowd of 5000 people stranded on the Galilean hillside as darkness fell.
- “If you are the Son of God, then throw yourself off the temple roof.” Jesus could have demonstrated his supernatural power in that way. Remember how he proved his authority over the natural world, how he calmed the storm, walked on the water, healed the sick.
- “If you are the Son of God, then claim your place as king of all the world.” Jesus could have been crowned King of Kings. But he did not, at least not in the way people expected. “My kingdom is not of this world.”
As we journey through Lent, may we follow the Son of God who chose a path of humility and service, sacrifice and death, and resurrection.
Ian Waddington
Sunday 22nd February 2026 – First Sunday of Lent
Join us in person or online for a streaming service via Zoom at 10.30 am – check your email or contact us for the details.
A recording of the service should be available here this afternoon.