Gathering up

Sermon for Second Sunday before Lent

Will Howard — Sun, 07 Feb 2021 20:00:00 +0000

Think of the most beautiful place you’ve ever been to. Now that place is part of creation. And Paul is saying that it’s made in Christ, through Christ and for Christ. And you and I part of that creation too. Which means that you and I are created in Christ, through Christ and for Christ.

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Sermon for Advent 3

Will Howard — Sun, 13 Dec 2020 20:00:00 +0000

Are you comfortable with the notion of being a witness to Jesus? Especially after the last nine months of the pandemic that have been so gruelling. For my part, I know that I’m meant to say, yes, let’s go for it! But in truth, I’m a little bit hesitant about it. My reaction is more like, well, that’s a jolly interesting idea, let me think about it and I’ll drop you an email some time…

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Sermon for Trinity 11

Will Howard — Sun, 23 Aug 2020 20:00:00 +0000

So they’d shut down our primary place of worship. No longer were we able to gather and be in the presence of God. In fact, not only that, we were turfed out. Forced to live in a strange new world, one that was deeply disorientating. This is the new normal, some said.

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Homily — Luke 14 1-11

Will Howard — Mon, 06 Jul 2020 15:05:28 +0000

You’re in the queue, outside the supermarket. Everyone’s standing two metres apart, waiting patiently. You’re exhausted. Physically and emotionally. Suddenly a sports car screams by and stops abruptly in the disabled bay by the front door. A young man, in impossibly tight-fitting jeans, jumps out, clutching his smartphone. Flicking his mop of hair, he half-runs… Read More »Homily — Luke 14 1-11

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Living the tension

Will Howard — Fri, 15 May 2020 17:56:14 +0000

Christchurch Parish Website May 2020 A favourite poem of mine is by Seamus Heaney. The poem itself doesn’t have a title. It’s simply no. 8 in a sequence of poems in his collection entitled Seeing Things. You can read the poem here on the Nobel website. One way of reading the poem is that it’s… Read More »Living the tension

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Looking back to our future

Will Howard — Wed, 06 May 2020 15:31:46 +0000

Christchurch Parish News, April 2020 What is the one thing upon which you base everything else in your life? For example, in recent times, human rights have increasingly become the basis by which many of us try to order our lives, both as individuals and as societies. Explaining on what grounds we hold such rights… Read More »Looking back to our future

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Sermon for Lent 3

Will Howard — Mon, 16 Mar 2020 17:17:00 +0000

Sung Eucharist and Matins, Christchurch Priory, 15 March 2020. This was part of a series of sermons where the vicar asked those who regularly preach at the Priory to talk about their favourite prayer. The following week, we entered lockdown in the UK. Exodus 17.1-7 Romans 5.1-11 John 4.5-42 Notice how at the end of… Read More »Sermon for Lent 3

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The Idolatry of God

Will Howard — Wed, 04 Mar 2020 10:45:58 +0000

Christchurch Parish News, March 2020. Over the last couple of months, we’ve been looking at the first commandment (here and here): the one which tells us not to have any other gods before God (Ex 20:3). As we’ve explored this topic, we’ve seen that we have a deep-seated tendency to root our identity, security, well-being… Read More »The Idolatry of God

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First things first

Will Howard — Sat, 25 Jan 2020 23:41:48 +0000

In last month’s piece about the Ten Commandments, we noted in particular that the one that comes first is that we are to have no other gods than God: ‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other… Read More »First things first

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The Order of The Ten Cs

Will Howard — Wed, 01 Jan 2020 10:08:00 +0000

The story goes that prior to giving Moses the Ten Commandments on Mt Sinai, God was having second thoughts. He was about to hit the print button but, as happens, there was a problem with the Wi-Fi. Put on hold by the IT department, He started to wonder if the order He’d put them in… Read More »The Order of The Ten Cs

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Making space

Will Howard — Sat, 30 Nov 2019 13:07:37 +0000

How will we reply to the greatest invitation of all this Christmas? This is a time of year when we often find ourselves needing to make space. For example, when we have to squeeze a couple of extra chairs around the table to make room for old friends we haven’t seen in ages; or when… Read More »Making space

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Sermon for Trinity 18

Will Howard — Mon, 21 Oct 2019 13:20:19 +0000

Sung Eucharist and Matins, Christchurch Priory, 20 October 2019 Genesis 32.22-31 2 Timothy 3.14- 4.5 Luke 18.1-8 ‘Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart.’ In a few minutes, as part of our worship this morning we’re going to say the Lord’s Prayer together. ‘Our Father,… Read More »Sermon for Trinity 18

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It’s a privilege

Will Howard — Sat, 21 Sep 2019 11:56:47 +0000

What’s the one thing we need in order to be church? This autumn marks the 20th anniversary since the completion of the Priory Church Nicholson pipe organ. In 1999, the sense of excitement in the air after the many years of hard work was tangible, even to us newbies (Jen and I had only just… Read More »It’s a privilege

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Sermon for Trinity 7

Will Howard — Sun, 04 Aug 2019 15:04:49 +0000

Sung Eucharist and Matins, Christchurch Priory, 4th August 2019 Ecclesiastes 1.2,12-14; 2.18-23Colossians 3.1-11Luke 12.13-21 It happens all too often, sadly. There’s been a family falling out over money. One son hasn’t got his fair share of the inheritance, or what he thinks is his fair share, and so calls out from the crowd for Jesus… Read More »Sermon for Trinity 7

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The importance of rest

Will Howard — Thu, 01 Aug 2019 12:13:30 +0000

Relax: why the gift of sabbath has never been more vital. Every year, nearly all of us go on a holiday, with many of us doing so during August—especially if we have children at school. In fact, according to research by ABTA, over the course of a year, not only do 86% of us in… Read More »The importance of rest

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All aboard!

Will Howard — Mon, 01 Jul 2019 10:12:40 +0000

What the story of SS Uganda can teach us about what it means to be the church. Christchurch Parish News, July 2019 Back in the 1970s, my brother went on a school trip on a steamship called Uganda. The exotic name caught my young imagination and having heard how enjoyable his experience had been on… Read More »All aboard!

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Sermon for Trinity 1

Will Howard — Mon, 24 Jun 2019 16:08:52 +0000

Sung Eucharist and Matins, The Priory Church, 23rd June 2019 Isaiah 65.1-9 Galatians 3.23-29 Luke 8.26-39 The sun is shining and as you walk by the school playground, you hear the sound of laughter and the shrieks of excitement as the children enjoy the last few minutes of break time. What you may not notice… Read More »Sermon for Trinity 1

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Step by step

Will Howard — Sat, 01 Jun 2019 09:55:35 +0000

Summer fitness tips with a difference! Christchurch Parish News, June 2019 I am a reluctant convert. For at least a couple of years my wife, Jenni, had been trying to persuade me but I was having none of it. It wasn’t for me, I would protest. I didn’t need it. I was managing perfectly well… Read More »Step by step

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What kind of church are we?

Will Howard — Mon, 29 Apr 2019 22:22:33 +0000

Christchurch Parish News, May 2019 What does it mean to be a church that takes the Bible ‘seriously’? A few years ago, a church noticeboard caught my eye. In big blue capital letters, it read: ‘This is a Bible-believing church!’ Underneath that confident statement, in only slightly smaller type, were the words, ‘We are a… Read More »What kind of church are we?

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Sermon for Maundy Thursday

Will Howard — Tue, 23 Apr 2019 22:15:01 +0000

The Liturgy of Maundy Thursday, The Priory Church, 18th April 2019 Exodus 12.1-14Psalm 116.1, 10-171 Corinthians 11.23-26 John 13.1-17, 31b-35 ‘I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you… Read More »Sermon for Maundy Thursday

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