iChaplain

Image by Pete from Pixabay The theme of this year's 2026 Durham Miners' Gala, "The Past We Inherit, The Future We Build," is both simple and profound. It speaks of gratitude for those who came before us and responsibility towards those who will follow. While Jesus never used these exact words, the idea runs deeply through his teaching. The theme invites reflection not only on the mining communities of Durham, but also on the wider question of what we receive from the past and what we owe to the future.  The Gala itself is rooted in memory. It honours generations of miners, families and communities whose labour shaped County Durham and much of modern Britain. Their struggles, sacrifices and achievements are part of an inheritance that cannot be measured merely in economics. They handed down values of solidarity, dignity and mutual care. Yet inheritance is never meant to be an end in itself.  Jesus often taught that what we receive carries with it a responsibility. In ...

There’s a moment early in John’s Gospel that has always stood out for me. Two curious men begin following Jesus at a distance, unsure what to say, unsure what they’re even looking for. Jesus turns, notices them, and asks the simplest question imaginable: “What do you want?” (John 1:38). They mumble something about where He’s staying. And Jesus replies with three words that have shaped Christian invitation ever since: “Come and see.” (John 1:39) No pressure. No performance. No sales pitch. Just presence, honesty, and an open door. In my previous reflection, Beyond Evangelism: Becoming the Kind of People Who Help Others Find Jesus , I explored how our calling isn’t to “sell” Jesus but to become the kind of people through whom others can encounter Him. If you haven’t read it yet, you can find it here: https://www.ichaplain.uk/2026/07/beyond-evangelism-becoming-kind-of.html That post laid the foundation for this one, because the heart of “come and see” is the heart of becoming those kin...

What if the church's discomfort with evangelism is telling us something important? Few words make Christians more uncomfortable than evangelism.  For some, it evokes memories of pressure, awkward conversations, or techniques designed to persuade. For others, it raises feelings of guilt and inadequacy. We know Jesus commissioned his followers to make disciples, yet many churches struggle to know what faithful evangelism looks like in today's world. This is not to deny that there are times when evangelism requires words. The New Testament is full of examples of faithful and courageous proclamation. Peter preached publicly at Pentecost (Acts 2:14–41) and before hostile authorities (Acts 4:8–20). Paul reasoned in synagogues and marketplaces (Acts 17:17), defended the gospel before rulers (Acts 24–26), and declared, "I am not ashamed of the gospel" (Romans 1:16). Yet alongside these examples of proclamation, we find something equally important: communities whose common lif...

  We  don’t always wake up thinking, “Today I’m going to ignore God.” We wake up thinking about what needs to get done.  The bills, the messages, the job, the family. Alongside it all, there’s something else quietly shaping us, a desire for stability, a hope that things will work out, a longing to feel secure, valued, or at peace.  Life fills up quickly with these things, and before we realise it, our attention is already spoken for.  It’s not that we’ve rejected God. We’ve simply become busy, preoccupied, distracted. And it’s into that very normal, very human reality that Jesus speaks: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” At first, it can sound like a call to simply “put God first.”  But as we sit with it, we begin to see that Jesus is not just talking about where God sits in our lives. He is challenging what shapes our lives in the first place.  Because the real issue isn’t just that we...

  A Familiar Landscape Even if you have never opened a Bible, there is a good chance you have heard Psalm 23. It appears at funerals, in films, and in quiet moments when people are searching for words that carry comfort. There is something about it that feels familiar, like a landscape you somehow recognise, even if you have never walked it before. Perhaps it endures not just because it is well known, but because it speaks to something deeply human: the desire to feel safe, guided, and not alone. Being Known and Cared For The psalm begins: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”  For those who approach it from faith, this is a statement of trust in God’s care. For others, it can still be heard as a powerful image. A shepherd is not distant or abstract. A shepherd pays attention, stays close, and guides with care. And then there is that second phrase: “I shall not want.” Many of us spend much of life aware of what we lack, time, security, clarity and peace of mind. This li...

There are times in life when words like joy can feel slightly out of place. We hear them, we read them, and we know they matter. Yet there are moments when they do not quite match our experience. Not because we disagree with them, but because life, as we are living it, feels very different.  And it raises an honest question.  What does joy really mean, when it does not feel like joy at all? When Pain Takes Over Everything Recently, I had toothache.  Not just mild discomfort, but the kind that takes over completely, the sort that brings sleepless nights, constant throbbing, and deep, exhausting pain that is hard to ignore. It reminded me of something similar I experienced over twenty years ago. The intensity was the same. Once again, everything else seemed to fade into the background because this was all I could feel. And during that time, I can honestly say this. I was not thinking, “This is wonderful.” I was not thinking, “I am really enjoying this.” It was quite the opp...

There are moments in life when everything seems to slow down.  A waiting room late in the evening.  A quiet house after difficult news.  A long pause in a conversation where no one quite knows what to say.  These are the moments when the usual distractions fall away, and we are left with our thoughts.  And sometimes, almost without warning, a question surfaces:  If there is a God, where are you right now? Not always as a challenge. Not even always with anger.  Sometimes it feels more like a quiet reaching, honest and unguarded.  But this question does not only arise in private moments.  It can also come while watching the news, or listening to what is happening in the world. Stories of conflict, suffering and loss can leave us with the same quiet, unsettled thought: Where is God in all of this? For many people, the question of suffering does not begin as an abstract idea. It begins here, in ordinary life and in the world around us: when somet...