A lovable, but sometimes prickly fellow
I used to provide prickly thoughts for this august journal, but decided to retire some years ago. However, I now find there are new subjects causing my prickles to rise, and, not being the kind of hedgehog who curls up into a little ball and waits till the source of ...
I’ve been tucked away in my burrow for quite some while, but two comments made to me by friends have woken me from my long hibernation. The 1st comment was as follows: “The main reason I can’t develop alternative worship in my church is because it’s full of pews”. Now ...
How come I’ve never heard a sermon, nor, to the best of my knowledge, have I ever preached a sermon, ever, in any church, of any denomination, in any country, on the theme of sleep? Weird, isn’t it? After all, we spend one third of our lives sleeping, so you’d ...
... and others involved in making ministry appointments To whom it may concern Once upon a time, there was a perfect world called Christendom, where there was a minister in every church, plenty of money to pay them, churches full of happy people, and there was no eventuality which could ...
Hedgehog is puzzled. This is not an uncommon experience. There is much about the Church in the early 21st century which is intensely puzzling. The reason for my temporary puzzlement is the recent articles and correspondence in this august journal (or on this equally august website, depending on which version ...
Preaching is dead, is it? Not likely! It’s alive and well in Britain. It’s just that the theologians and pundits haven’t noticed. Our modern preachers are the stand-up comedians. They provide the same for the people today as was offered in the 18th century, when folk went to London “to ...
In days gone by, it was not unusual for the captain of a ship to lash himself to the wheel as the ship rode out a storm. That action had a symbolism which went beyond a mere fear of being washed overboard. It marked a determination not to abandon ship ...
The saying goes that “power corrupts, and absoluter power corrupts absolutely”. Sadly nowhere is that more true than in the life of the local church. A friend was telling me recently about a little local difficulty in his church. One of the elders was becoming increasingly frail, and was eventually ...
Invitations keep arriving to attend re-unions - strange events, where you meet with people you last saw maybe 40 or 50 years ago. One was to the college where I trained for ministry, in the company of bright-eyed fervent well-thatched enthusiasts, pawing the ground as we prepared to change the ...
We all have to live somewhere. Hedgehog lives in a Vicarage, of which more in a moment. Some of you reading this little item live in a Manse or a Rectory or even a Presbytery or - horror of horrors - a curate house. Some of you may live in ...
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