Thought for the Day
A one-minute read to inspire or challenge. Written by members of the church and updated every few days.
14th November 2025
Younger members of our extended family rather like the idea that we have our very own “whomping willow” tree in the garden. This tree in J. K. Rowlings’ Harry Potter books is sentient and might attack you! On a windy day, as the … well … willowy… branches dance around, it’s not hard to see why a vivid imagination could credit such a tree with more life to it than one might expect! It is quite mesmerising to watch the tree in motion – and at this time of year – to see its leaves gradually being released to spiral back to earth.
Willow trees are mentioned in the Bible, albeit an online search suggests these trees growing along the Euphrates river in ancient Babylon were a type of poplar, rather than the willows we know in the UK.
At Tyndale this week we’ve been focusing together on words from the Psalms in our prayers. Words from Psalm 137 were popularised in Boney M’s 1970’s “Rivers of Babylon” song. In this Psalm is the verse “There on the willows we hung our harps”. It expresses the pain of a people in exile and allows them to articulate their lament: “How could we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land”. May we feel able to bring those things that cause us pain to God, and in expressing our lament, may we know God’s love encircling us and holding us, even in the midst of the hard times.
In the Bible the willow is also associated with water, life, abundance and being sustained by God. May we too know God’s abundance and sustenance.
Ruth Allen
12th November 2025
During this past weekend we had the pleasure of attending the wedding celebration of my schoolfriend Ian. Ian met his first wife at Tyndale; he came along with me and Jackie came with Jan Smith (now Kuhn). Jackie died at a shockingly early age. So here he was marrying the lovely Sue with the support […]
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 […]
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 […]