Praising God in Devon

Dearest friends, There is something painfully recognisable about the servant who buries his master’s money in the ground. He is afraid. He knows that something valuable has been entrusted to him, and he cannot bear the thought of getting it wrong. So he digs a hole, hides the money, and waits. When his master returns, he can give back exactly what he received. Nothing has been lost. Surely that will be enough. Yet this is the servant who finds himself…

Dearest friends, On Remembrance Sunday we pause to remember those who have died in war, and those whose lives have been shaped by conflict. We remember people whose names are known to us, and the many whose names we will never know; those who did not return, and those who came home carrying grief, fear, or injuries that were not always visible. We remember, too, the families and communities who have lived with that loss, sometimes for generations. St Paul’s…

Dearest friends, One of the questions people sometimes ask about All Souls is why we pray for the dead. If those who have died are already in God’s hands, what difference can our prayers make? Are we trying to persuade God to be merciful, or to change something which has already been decided? The answer begins with love. When somebody dies, our love for them does not suddenly end. We still speak their name, remember the things they taught us,…