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Newlands Corner to St Martha's Church

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A beautiful walk with Carol today. Found a walk on AllTrails going from Newlands Corner to St Martha’s Church. St Martha’s Church is also known as St Martha’s church-on-the-hill. And it really does sit on a hill, no access roads just trails through the woods up to where the church sits. It has Holy Communion or Matins every other week and the graveyard is still in use with evidence of a fresh internment. Our first visit to Newlands Corner and we were blown away by the views. It was a beautiful day, not too hot, with a little breeze. When you get to a place like this you realise just how beautiful England, and the United Kingdom can be, and how privileged we are to live here. View from the car park Down the initial slope and away across the fields. Through some pretty narrow footpaths. After what seemed a long climb through woods with a lot of sandy soil this was the fantastic view of the church. In some ways it’s beautiful yet in other ways it’s somewhat sad and melancholic, thinking a...
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Waverley Abbey

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Last Bank Holiday Monday we decided to visit the ruins of   Waverley Abbey . It’s only a mile or two from Farnham and only 25 mins from where we live so reasonably local but have never been there. From the car park you follow a path across fields with the ruins of the Abbey in the distance. It was a lovely day for a walk, switching between the August sunshine and traditional cloud so not too hot for me. Going through the final gate you come across some notice / info boards outlining the history and the events during the Reformation. Did Henry VIII get it wrong? Were the Abbeys and associated communities dens of debauchery, vice and greed or were they true Christian Communities holding the nation in prayer? What struck me most was how ‘peaceful’ it is. If you believe in the concept of ‘thin places’ then this would be one for you. From the Abbey ruins you can cross a bridge over a lake into the grounds of the current Waverley House where you can find a warm welcome and a fantastic te...
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The Upper Rooms

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We often think of the 'upper room' as being the place where Jesus and the Disciples held the Last Supper but the Bible has many more 'upper rooms'.
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Sound familiar?

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Watching the BBC interview of Adele by Graham Norton tonight and Adele sang one of the new tracks off her forthcoming album. The track was called A Million Years Ago. Listening to it reminded me of a different song by someone else. You know where you almost recognise a tune but get lost with the words, yet it's the words which are the key! Eventually it came to me, El Shaddai by Michael Card, famously sung by Amy Grant. It's a song that I occasionally play during worship. Have a listen. What do you think?
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Distant Pics of St Michael's Abbey

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Seems that every Saturday when I take Charlie for a walk we stop and look at the sheep, and St Michael's Abbey at Farnborough. Well I say 'we' but I really mean me. Charlie is far too busy rooting round in the undergrowth for something to eat. Met a man who was working on the boundary fence from the inside. He was repairing a 'doorway' that had been cut in the mesh fence. Was probably going to be used to enable something of a reasonable size to be pilfered from somewhere in the monastery grounds, or even a sheep. Pray for the monastery, Abbey, those who have their vocation there and those who labour in support. And also pray for those who vandalise and steal from this wonderful place. The guided tours they do on a Friday are worth it as well and is also an opportunity for them to be supported. Monastery with crooked cross and dome of the Abbey Baa! Someone's been at it with the filters again
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Location: Farnborough, Hampshire, UK
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Thank You (You're Everything to Me)

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Such a simple yet moving act of worship! And also on Vimeo http://vimeo.com/124910254
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The Fall of Constantinople

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The Hagia Sophia, the greatest church of Christendom 562 years ago yesterday the Turks finally took the great Christian city of Constantinople. Greedily desired by the Muslims since the time of their prophet they finally stormed the walls on the 29th May 1453 under the leadership of the Turk Mehmed II.
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