Priest of the Church of England. Historian. Liverpudlian. Rector of Liverpool.
Liverpool, England
Joined February 2012
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An article I wrote, based on my doctoral research, kindly published in 'Faith & Worship', Trinity 2018. It's about the birth of English Protestantism, and the relationship between a Reformed liturgy, almsgiving, & the deep foundations of our Welfare State: scribd.com/document/40057963…
My Top 5 hymns
1. Crown him with many crowns
2. Lo, he comes with clouds descending
3. Of the Father's Heart begotten
4. Alleluia, Sing to Jesus
5. And now, O Father
For All the Saints is a favourite at family funerals, since 1935, when RVW's fine tune was a mere 29 years old.
29.10.1885
An English missionary was murdered in East Africa, triggering the persecution of Christian converts by the king of Buganda.
Bishop James Hannington was the best kind of imperialist - a saintly humanitarian.
He is highly honoured in Uganda today.
mediacentre.go.ug/press-room…
It is the 70th anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Uprising, when the people of that nation demanded freedom, having been forced to endure a decade of communism. Today @LiverpoolParish the Magyar diaspora celebrate their rich heritage, with a splendid replica of St Stephen's crown.
On foot in the parish when the storm hit earlier, a @merseyrail train got me back to @LiverpoolParish in the dry.
4 underground stations serve the city centre. My favourite part of the network is the pedestrian tunnel up from James St Station, with its exit yards from the church.
Liverpool Clergy votes for the General Synod published today.
Proctors in Convocation are elected by a Single Transferable Vote system, with voters encouraged to list all candidates in order of preference.
Eliminated candidates' voters thereby still influence the final results.
It was a very good day to go for a walk up Caldy Hill, with some of the younger members of @LiverpoolParish.
We met at West Kirby Station, and a member of the church who lives nearby volunteered to guide us through a maze of paths that cross the common land, down to the seashore.
"we shall this day light such a candle, by God's grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out"
Humbled to be elected by Liverpool's clergy to represent them as Proctor in the Convocation of York, i.e. General Synod, on the anniversary of the martyrdom of Latimer & Ridley.
Big news about would be Roman emperor, Magnus Maximus, confirming details of later Welsh literature - re his presence in Pembrokeshire.
He became a crucial figure in the medieval Welsh imagination, as last a bastion of Roman civilisation vs the barbarians.
theguardian.com/uk-news/2026…
The Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity 2026
"he said to him, “Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?” And he was speechless."
Sermon on Matt. 24's Parable of the Wedding Feast, with apologies to the people of Edinburgh,
"you'll have had your tea".
@LiverpoolParish
Returning to England, from China, my way back to Liverpool takes a circuitous route, by way of Greensted Church, Essex: the oldest surviving wooden church in the world.
Here the remains of St Edmund, the martyr King of East Anglia, rested overnight, in the early eleventh century.
A delight to be able to meet up with former Head Chorister of @LivCathedral, Cyrus, and his mum, in Hong Kong this evening.
Life's course has moved us all on from our time with @LivCathChoir, but we shared how proud we were to be part of its extended and very far-reaching family.
Ghosts of British Hong Kong today, summoned by Evensong at the Cathedral yesterday. The colony was defended in 1941 by British troops from round the world. So many graves tended to by @CWGC
On Victoria Peak I paused in the evocative gardens of the Governor's old summer residence.
Visiting friends in Hong Kong - Sunday hike up High Junk Peak, overlooking the city and harbour. Evensong at St John's Cathedral later.
Today the church architect made his Quinquennial Inspection of @LiverpoolParish, a great excuse to climb the tower spiral staircase, up to some glorious views of the Mersey.
I've prayed for years for a new settlement for Adult Social Care, which is eating up local government budgets; and an end to the precarious young paying for Triple Locked pensions.
Maybe, just maybe, it was in my Liverpool parish that a tide turned, today:
nursingtimes.net/policies-an…
Fairford Church has some of the best and most complete medieval stained glass in the country, including a Last Judgement.
Perhaps the arrested men will turn out to be Betjeman fans, touring churches - like those Russians who went to Salisbury to admire the famous Cathedral spire.
ALT Detail from the Last Judgement window, Fairford Parish Church.
Today's inaugural voyage of the new Mersey Ferry, built in our local shipyard,was heralded as a triumph of devolution as a policy.
I was delighted to bless her.
As a frequent visitor to the Hebrides, I couldn't help but recall Scotland's ferries' troubles:
lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v44/n18/…
