» Back to school
18/01/22 12:24 from Living In Grace
The importance of learning is clear to all of us. For this reason we send our kids to an academic institution to further their studies and to gain valuable knowledge (and hopefully some wisdom). All of this involves numerous sacrifices o...
» Kinship
17/01/22 17:54 from Urban Ministry Live And Unplugged
In the Eastern Cape this month, I sought to renew a few contacts. I had a nice surprise when I visited one of wife E's aunts. It was the first time I had seen her in years, and she didn't know I was to visit. When I walked in the door, s...
» Greatness is determined by?
17/01/22 13:56 from Living In Grace
M artin Luther King Jnr - " Not everybody can be famous but everybody can be great, because greatness is determined by service." As our friends in the USA are enjoying Martin Luther King Day, it is worthwhile reminding ourselves of some ...
» Bell for the Chop Shop
17/01/22 07:58 from Urban Ministry Live And Unplugged
This historic Congregational Church bell is likely a heartbeat away from the 'chop shop'. It is a Prindle Station bell, manufactured in the USA. I first photographed it in April last year, when it was still intact. Part of its mounting h...
» If I can just explain….
16/01/22 20:31 from Mags Blackie
If your rallying cry of discrimination is based on a position of ‘let me explain’… you don’t understand discrimination. Discrimination is the use an arbitrary filter to decide who is in and who is out. That’...
» Red Plant
16/01/22 18:06 from Urban Ministry Live And Unplugged
Earlier this year, I posted a photo of a seeping spring in the Table Mountain World Heritage Site -- marked by a red plant, as such springs often are. This is a close up of the same plant. I do not know its name.
» Not be shaken
16/01/22 16:53 from Living In Grace
"Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.” – Psalm 55:22 These words of comfort and hope are a great encouragement for us today. I pray that we would learn to cast our ca...
» Toleration
15/01/22 20:17 from Urban Ministry Live And Unplugged
I once wrote up a list of things which were tolerated or accepted under my ministries, with endorsement of the Church. The purpose was the advancement of the gospel. Here are some things we decided deliberately to allow (there were more ...
» 1500 Consecutive Days of Reading the Bible
15/01/22 12:19 from Theo-Enthumology
» Burial
14/01/22 19:31 from Urban Ministry Live And Unplugged
I attended a burial last Saturday, of an aunt. I have taken some interesting photos of burials (elsewhere on this blog), but felt that I wanted one with a difference. It resulted in this, which is in fact two photos electronically stitch...
» Memorised Sermon
13/01/22 06:30 from Urban Ministry Live And Unplugged
Every year in recent years, the United Congregational Church has asked me to lead a service in one of its far-flung parishes, or preach -- without notice. I always declined this double challenge (an unprepared service or sermon, and in A...
» Undertakers' Motives
12/01/22 14:07 from Urban Ministry Live And Unplugged
Years ago now, I posted about an undertaker, who hurried around the graveside with advertisement boards, so that photographs at the graveside would advertise the undertaker. It gets worse. Now undertakers drop a coffin at a funeral servi...
» The great mediator
12/01/22 12:31 from Living In Grace
Jonathan Edwards wrote “The redeemed are dependent of God for all. All that we have—wisdom, the pardon of sin, deliverance, acceptance in God’s favour, grace, holiness, true comfort and happiness, eternal life and glory—we have from God ...
» Perpetuating Passivity
12/01/22 11:31 from Urban Ministry Live And Unplugged
I've had awful problems with my bank. They corrected course, though, and sent me an apology and a good-will payment (I joked that it was hush money). This post is about a hedge clause they keep sending me. This immediately impressed me f...
» Rolling Echo
11/01/22 19:50 from Urban Ministry Live And Unplugged
The happier side of the last post is that I used the PP3 battery for a new design. I have been thinking on it for months. Cape Town has a noon day gun. Years ago now, this gun went off as I was sitting below the face of Table Mountain. F...
» Super Life (Not)
11/01/22 19:31 from Urban Ministry Live And Unplugged
Recently I bought two PP3 batteries. The company which sold them to me packaged them before I saw them. Well, they looked promising on first impressions. They are Varta batteries, with (see the photo) SUPERLIFE. But look for their rating...
» Pulling us forward
11/01/22 17:14 from Living In Grace
Our encounters with God are never meant to be kept private, but rather to inspire us to share the good news with others. Each moment with Jesus is a further reassurance that God is with us and that he has given us all we need for the fut...
» Explanation for Intrusions
10/01/22 22:46 from Urban Ministry Live And Unplugged
During the past year, I had various intrusions in my Internet accounts. This included edits of my accounts, some of which very visible -- the most recent being last week, open to public view. In two cases, Google identified the source of...
» Even before we were known on earth
10/01/22 17:19 from Living In Grace
Every time I read Psalm 139 I am reminded of how much God loves each one of us. And then when we read the same passage from a few different translations, the wonder of God's love becomes even more pronounced. Take the words from Eugene P...
» Everybody’s Lapdog
09/01/22 18:45 from Urban Ministry Live And Unplugged
I say that some lapdogs are everybody’s lapdogs – only one doesn’t know it till one sees it. There are officials who are lapdogs to superiors. What a superior doesn’t always know is that their lapdog is everybody’s lapdog. So one may hav...
» Grant us strength
09/01/22 17:53 from Living In Grace
Here is a meaningful prayer for the beginning of a new week. May these words uplift you and inspire you. “Grant us strength and grace to run the race to the best of our ability, with our eyes focussed on you. Fill our hearts with l...
» Burial of a Great-Aunt
09/01/22 12:59 from Urban Ministry Live And Unplugged
I took this photo yesterday of my youngest niece. She just turned two. It’s a common observation on this blog: childen are very much included in funeral services and burials. It was the burial of her great-aunt, who sadly came to an unti...
» COVID-19 [Episode Two]
08/01/22 19:33 from Urban Ministry Live And Unplugged
It's interesting to witness the attitude of some of South Africa's townships to COVID-19, the Omicron variant. The last I heard, there were 10,000 new cases per day in South Africa. Yet most days, here, there is no sign at all that there...
» Haircut
08/01/22 17:36 from Urban Ministry Live And Unplugged
I thought this was a nice shot, of one of the elders this morning, having his hair cut. Taken in South Africa’s Eastern Cape. You may click on the photo to enlarge. pre { font-family: "Liberation Mono", monospace; font-size: 10pt; backgr...
» Unexpected grace
08/01/22 16:58 from Mags Blackie
I would not have actively chosen the Christmas holiday that I have had. And yet it has had a truly unexpected grace. What I wanted, after a very tough 2021, was to retreat to my personal ‘bunker’ – the basement … ...