Benefice of St Bartholomew

Messums, the barn and art gallery in Tisbury, is always an impressive setting, but I was particularly moved by the work of Halima Cassell in a recent exhibition entitled ‘Of the Earth’. For ‘Virtues of Unity’ she has created 54, beautiful, bowl-like, sculptural vessels, each unique yet clearly related, with a shared rhythm to their …

It’s often remarked upon how strange it is that Christians wear a cross or crucifix as the sign of their faith and hope since, of course, it represents a means of execution. In the 2nd century some Christian converts were even given the nickname ‘adorers of the gibbet’ – certainly not a title I want …

I’d never got round to reading the novel Life of Pi by Yann Martel, until I had the opportunity to see the play at Bath in May and thought I should do my homework. The strange scenario is that a young Indian boy, Pi, finds himself adrift in a lifeboat on the Pacific, all alone …

I read recently of the Bishop of Manchester attempting to use voice recognition technology to draft personal letters to clergy. He discovered that much Church of England jargon was utterly baffling to it. Each reference to Diocese became ‘darkness’. Every curate became ‘Kate’ – heaven forbid! Every benefice, and I like this one more, became …