Rev Matt iBlog

Things get cancelled all the time especially in the UK for different reasons. You cancel an order online because you’ve changed your mind and don’t want the item anymore. The meeting you was looking forward to attending ends up getting cancelled because people double booked.  Cancelled or cancellation isn’t a new thing. However, this year seems to feel like a movie and yet somehow, it’s real with the Covid-19. We all seem to be dealing with cancellations and postponements with the fear of the unknown. So many people are looking forward to something like a special birthday, wedding or a holiday. This can be said for children in year 6 wanting to be at school with their friends to have a nice send-off before starting secondary school.  I can relate to the disappointment of cancellations. 28 th  June was meant to be my Reception into Full Connexion and Ordination. Ordinands have worked hard the past 5+ years including candidating, ministerial training and prob...

Twelve years ago I had the privilege of going to Ghana. I was invited because the church Helen and I attended in Hull had Ghanaian members. I attended Calvary Methodist Church. The Methodist Church is located in the centre of the capital, Accra. Calvary Methodist is a vibrant church with two services on a Sunday. I remember having to give a greeting to the minister in front of 200 people. Eating banku and making a mess Children greeting me Twelve years later, Helen and I find ourselves in the New River Methodist Circuit.  17th May was meant to be my District Testimony service before attending the Methodist Conference to be ordained. I was going to share the honour to be part of a circuit that is 90% Caribbean and West African. I want to thank the circuit for teaching me so much since joining them in 2018. Thank you for helping me to realise that my way of worship isn't the only way. We learn together and we show solidarity.  Edward Colston was...

I suffer from something called selective hearing. Helen once asked me if we had any frozen corn in the freezer and my response was "it would be good to have some fish." This reminds me of... A man decided his wife was getting hard of hearing. So, he arranged an appointment to have her hearing checked. The doctor said he had a full schedule and could see her in two weeks. However, the doctor suggested the husband tried a simple, informal test that he could do to give the doctor some idea of the dimensions of a problem. "Here's what you do," he said. "Stand about 40 feet away from her, and speak in a normal conversational tone and see if she hears you. If not, go to 30 feet, then 20 feet, and so on until you get a response." That evening his wife is in the kitchen cooking dinner, and he's in the living room, and he says to himself. "I'm about 40 feet away, let's see what happens." "Darling, what's for di...