I love the Lake District, Cumbria and, in particular, St Bees. Unless you’re very new to the area, or have been living under a particularly dense rock for the last seven years, you’re probably thinking: “Yes, Sarah, we know! Tell us something new!” There is, however, a reason for me repeating this well-known fact. Whenever I am in that area, I cannot help but realise afresh, what a truly beautiful, “green and pleasant land” we live in. Much of the greenness may be due to the often-bemoaned high level of rain we experience, but even this is a blessing many people in other countries would love to share.

Our churchyard recently featured in a video created by Rev Doug Chaplin

The clergy chanted in the choir, children screamed in the nave; the cries of screaming babies and the grieving of their mothers gave the response to those singing the office.

This evocative image, of the monks carrying on with the daily office in the choir while the nave was a scene of chaos, the transcendent song from one mingling with the piteous lament from the other, is a description by a local chronicler of Worcester Cathedral in early November 1139. Civil War between King Stephen and his cousin Empress Matilda had just begun in earnest, and men from Gloucester, loyal to the empress’ half-brother Robert but also seeking to attack their commercial rivals, were marching on Worcester. Forewarned, desperate citizens sought sanctuary in the cathedral with their most prized possessions, turning the church into what a modern historian describes as a ‘giant warehouse and refugee camp’.

What a difference a year makes!
Last year I sat alone in my kitchen early on Easter Day, reading the familiar and much-loved accounts of the first Easter. The experience was both deeply moving and deeply lonely.
This year I celebrated Easter in church, with flowers, lights, music and, most importantly, people!

Exciting news!

Little Lambs will be back on 26th April from 10-11.30.

We're really excited that Children's Worship will be starting back tomorrow during the 10.30 service. We look forward to seeing old friends and new!

​Following the very sad news of the death of His Royal Highness, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, today 9th April 2021 the Union Flag was raised to half-mast on the tower and then the sixth bell was tolled 99 times

I stared, uncomprehending, at a square of blistered black paint. My friend was doing her PhD in Soviet art history and I had agreed to accompany her to the exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts. I love art and art galleries, but it baffles me that people look at Caravaggio, with his magnificent use of light and shade to skilfully portray a gritty reality, in the same category as Jackson Pollock, who threw paint at a canvas.

“Rejoice, hold fast to the faith. And remember to fulfil those small tasks that you have learned while you were with me.”
Reputed to be amongst the last words of St David to his followers, these words could just as easily have been spoken by Jesus to the disciples of his day, and to his modern-day disciples.

During Lent Arthur Miller will be offering daily readings of psalms in the Lady Chapel at St John’s Church. The readings will take place during the ordinary opening times of the church (for private prayer) – 10am to 4pm.