This has been a firm favourite at church picnics over the years, according to reliable sources in the congregation. Ingredients:...

The world waited Mary shouted Joseph wept Shepherds startled Angels danced Anna rejoiced Simeon prophesied Wise men searched Heaven held...

I have no appetite For politics or religion. The first the refuge Of the power hungry The second for the desperate. I married him Because...

I stand alone. Alone as the angel Gives me as task Of costly obedience Which my love for God Will not make any easier. I stand alone....

By Revd Dr Simon Woodman

The waiting seems interminable. I am afraid. She should not Be giving birth This far from home. What if something goes wrong? If I cannot...

It was a very ordinary night. Protecting the flock And domestic concerns My only thoughts. I had no idea That heaven and earth Were about...

By Revd Dr Simon Woodman

Silent night? I can’t imagine It was so: Instead The distant murmur from passing crowds; The whisper of Joseph’s anxious reassurance, And...

The rain falls Like tears: Sometimes soft but unrelenting, Like the ache of a loss Long ago But never gone: Sometimes harsh and...

By Revd Dr Simon Woodman

The pain was largely gone: Just a few echoes Like aftershocks From a cataclysm. I held him; Watching each breath; The miniscule rise and...

I thought I knew pain That night in Bethlehem: Wave upon wave Of unrelenting agony; And the cloaking loneliness As I longed For the women...

By Revd Dr Simon Woodman