St Patrick, Church of Ireland, Kenmare

If we are to appreciate the gentleness of a lamb, we need to know its opposite. If we are to understand what safety is, we need also to experience the possibility of danger.

Perhaps, when we pray, we need to remember it is the Jesus on the Mountain to whom we address our prayers, the one whose face shines like the sun and transfigures our faces as we radiate in His light.

Is Jesus suggesting, not to eat and drink? And is he saying we should not wear clothes but go naked?
How unrealistic is this, and how depressing – we need to eat and drink, and we need clothing.

Christ’s words are given to all His people in the face of the difficulties we ourselves face in life. We claim them and are assured of Blessing. And that is all we need.

For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

In prayer, we ask: Who is God calling to come and use their specific individual gifts to continue to build His Kingdom in the future?
His reply is clear.
“You”, He says.

Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.

Joseph’s example is one of love, human reaction, vocation and ultimate obedience to his Creator. So we rightly celebrate both Mary and Joseph as the chosen parents of the Christ-child. But we must also remember that they were ordinary people with human emotions who lived extraordinary lives.

By your grace we have the gift of the Scriptures. With the help your grace, may we listen deeply to what you want to say to each one of us. May we know your gifts of endurance, encouragement and hope, so that not only our lips but also our lives may be a song in praise of your mercy.

The significance of the Themes and Candles we light during the Advent Season.

We celebrate the beginning of the story in Advent – but before we do, it is equally important to celebrate the final act of Coronation. The Gospel proclaims that Jesus is King.

In ways, the Christian Journey is like a race – a Marathon, not a sprint. The key is endurance, Jesus says. There will be mountains to climb, tears and heartache in the depths of your soul, and it will sometimes feel like it’s impossible to carry on. But the world will continue, and end only in God’s good time.

Every selfless act honours our Christ. In Him, we are one. Whoever we are. We are all His family, and violence against each other is violence against Him.

A Reflection for Sunday 2nd November 2025provided by Reverend Barbara Irrgang-BuckleyJesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham.Hymn Put all your trust in God...

There are so many who have been alongside us in our Christian Journey, Paul only being one of them.

We live in comfort, in safety, in freedom, accepted in our community. I wonder how often we send a Thank you to the One who sets us free?

In community we can support each other in love and fellowship and build one another up. And plough on. For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.

I hope and pray that I shall leave the world in a better place than I entered it, otherwise I shall have wasted the opportunity to live in freedom of body and soul as a disciple of Christ.