Genesis 32:22-31 “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” This famous quote from William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet indicates names do not matter but is Shakespeare right? Does our name influence how people see us and who we grow to be? Studies suggest that […]
Genesis 29:15-28 Last Sunday in my sermon I indicated that we should be careful not to read the bible and assume we are the goodies of the story. We should also not assume that the biblical characters, even the forefathers are the goodies. Biblical characters like all us humans are complex, not all good or […]
Genesis 28:10-19 I wonder which of the parents among us, who have more than one child, would be brave enough to say they had a favourite and name which one it was? In last week’s reading (Genesis 25:19-34) we were told that the parents, Isaac and Rebekah, had favourites. “Isaac loved Esau, because he was […]
Genesis 25:19-34 Remember last week I said that Isaac suffered “middle child syndrome” or middle patriarch syndrome? Well let me give you some more evidence of this. This week’s reading, Genesis 25:19-34, is called “the toledot (generations or descendants) of Isaac” in the Hebrew Bible but biblical commentators usually call it “the Jacob Cycle”. How […]
You have probably heard of middle child syndrome. Middle child syndrome is the belief that middle children are excluded, ignored, or even outright neglected because of their birth order. I wonder if Isaac would consider himself a victim of ‘middle child syndrome’ or maybe more accurately middle forefathers syndrome? Isaac is the second of the […]
Matthew 10:5-14, 40-42 During this time of Covid-19, I have been reflecting on what it means to be welcoming and hospitable. I have been asking, how do we do this when we are not physically gathering and are unable to share a meal with each other? It is a question that many churches are asking […]
Matthew 10:24-39 Rev Tammy Hollands On Thursday I had an ecumenical lunch and it is the first time back to a restaurant since the Covid-19 lockdown. It was lovely to have a menu put in front of me and I could pick what I wanted and have it served up to me on a […]
Genesis 18:1-15, 21:1-7 I have a great admiration for people who can speak more than one language and those who try to learn a second language. I have never been very good at languages. I find pronouncing words and sounds from other languages very difficult, especially languages that roll their “R”s or have guttural sounds. […]
Rev Tammy Hollands This Sunday is Trinity Sunday or as I like to refer to “heresy Sunday”. It is unusual when compared to other days in the Christian calendar as it is the only day church celebrates a doctrine not an event or a person. And what a doctrine! There are multiple analogies to try […]
Rev Tammy Hollands I came across a post on Facebook this week that said something like: If this, Corona virus, were happening to the ancient Israelites we’d be stuck with an annual holiday where we’d have to stay inside for 50 days. Happy Koronakah! Such a festival might look like this: Families gather over Zoom […]