Thought for the day
John Donne's To Christ read by Richard Wallace
A Hymn to God the Father
BY JOHN DONNE
Wilt thou forgive that sin where I begun,
Which was my sin, though it were done before?
Wilt thou forgive that sin, through which I run,
And do run still, though still I do deplore?
When thou hast done, thou hast not done,
For I have more.
Wilt thou forgive that sin which I have won
Others to sin, and made my sin their door?
Wilt thou forgive that sin which I did shun
A year or two, but wallow'd in, a score?
When thou hast done, thou hast not done,
For I have more.
I have a sin of fear, that when I have spun
My last thread, I shall perish on the shore;
But swear by thyself, that at my death thy Son
Shall shine as he shines now, and heretofore;
And, having done that, thou hast done;
I fear no more.
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Kingdoms of Europe card game, circa 1895 Jaques & Son, 102 Hatton Garden, London
Preached by the Revd Dr Brutus Green
Preached by Canon Dr Stephen Spencer
Preached by Canon Dr Stephen Spencer
The diocesan synod, as well as receiving all the usual reports from bishop's council, general synod and the diocesan board of education, heard that if everyone increased financial giving by the cost of one cup of coffee per week, the diocese's shortfall would be eliminated! The diocesan strategy, Transforming Church Together, TCT, was also discussed at length. The strategy can be summarised as: following Jesus, serving others, transforming communities. It is intended to enable churches to become more open and inclusive, and thereby, to achieve growth. Good news stories were heard of how the strategy had worked in practice, such as helping to turn a church around to make it much more effective in its local area, and on better terms with its neighbouring schools. The synod heard that, while, sadly, funding for Carbon Net Zero was paused at the end of 2025, due to financial constraints, work, intentions and commitment in this area has not ceased, and it is saving money on utility bills as a result. The synod voted to adopt the ten year financial plan. A written question was submitted about the need to increase diversity: the best we can come up with so far is... choose people to do things who are not like you, ask someone different! I shall attempt to do a short summary of each synod which I attend. I shall also undertake to write up all of last year's synods, in one document, but this involves condensing every set of minutes into a paragraph or so, and given that each is the size of a small book, that's quite difficult to do. We need four new deanery synod rep's, so please all put your names forward and be elected at the APCM. Thank you. Auriol Britton 21.03.2026
Preached by the Revd Dr Brutus Green
