Tag: Grief

Turning point

A reflection for Good Friday

Good Friday is a day on which I often feel torn. It’s in many countries the start of a long bank-holiday weekend, so the ideal time to visit friends and enjoy the time together. Yet, today of all days in the year, I find it hard to enjoy myself. I feel disturbed: somehow it feels inappropriate to have fun. Yet, should I really let this event from the past – an event at which I was not even present – control my feelings, rather than what is happening today, in the present?

foot of the cross

I suspect that this is a feeling to which many can relate, particularly in a time of grief. When we mourn the loss of a loved one, it can feel wrong to continue with our daily tasks. It can become hard even to eat, to get up, let alone to read the newspaper or to smile at a funny comment. For me, it is one of the most compelling reasons that the famous line in the poem ‘death is nothing at all’ is plainly wrong.

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From where will our help come?

Sermon St Mary’s Marlborough 5th November 2017

All Souls: A service of prayers and readings to remember those who have died

Psalm 121 & John 20.11-18

Jakub_Schikaneder_-_All_Souls'_Day

For many of us this afternoon it was not easy to come here. Even though the decision to come to the service may have been straightforward, still, I suspect that many of us will have felt some hesitation when we set off. Because what we have in common this afternoon is that we are here to remember those who have died. And although we may feel that there is a lot to give thanks for, we are also faced with feelings of sadness and loss as we remember those who were, but are not longer with us. Continue reading “From where will our help come?” →