Monologue, not minologue, but I suppose there's an appropriateness to my typo...

Believing Thomas As promised today I will be preaching in Donegall Road Methodist for the last time in my current role, and will be focusing on t...

Getting full value out of this last (for a while) lectionary-based art post. I'll be referring to it in my last service on circuit in Donegall Rd Methodist in a few hours, but in the meantime here's a minologue on the story that I won't be using...
virtualmethodist.blogspot.com/2026/04/beli...

#EasterArt 7: 'The Incredulity of Saint Thomas' an oil painting on canvas by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (c.1601-2) in the collection of he Picture Gallery in the Sanssouci Park, Potsdam, Germany. (Posts based on the Daily Revised Common Lectionary for Year A from Vanderbilt University)

The background is purple. A central bearded figure in white or pale blue, representing the risen Christ, stands facing out of the painting surrounded by a group of figures looking at him. He stands with his arms outstretched in a welcoming or cruciform gesture. He is clad in a pale blue robe. His head is framed by a large, vibrant halo composed of radiating strokes of white, yellow, green, and orange. The smaller figures looking upward at him are largely simple abstract blocks of color, mostly cobalt and cerulean blue, with ​a figure wearing a vibrant red hooded cloak sitting centrally in the foreground, providing a strong focal point, and another man on the right in red with a beard shown in profile.

#EasterArt 6: 'Risen Jesus' a painting using recycled house emulsion by Mollie Walker Freeman (c.2011-13) on repurposefulpainter.wordpress.com. (Posts based on the Daily Revised Common Lectionary for Year A from Vanderbilt University)

The Last of Lasts And so, after a series of "Lasts", some formal and some more informal, I am coming, at last, to the last of the lasts... At least in my curr...

Nearly there... the Last of the Lasts at Donegall Road Methodist Church on Sunday

virtualmethodist.blogspot.com/2026/04/the-...

A green bronze sculpture of a leaping long-horned antelope facing right, with its body arched, neck crooked back over its right shoulder and front legs tucked back. Its hind legs are on a curved, abstract bronze base that mimics a rock or wave and thus is mounted on a dark grey polished granite pedestal set against a clear blue sky in an outdoor urban or campus environment.

#EasterArt 5: 'Leaping Gazelle, 1936' a bronze sculpture by Marshall M. Fredericks (1988) in the Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum, Saginaw Valley State University, Auburn, Michigan, USA. (Posts based on the Daily Revised Common Lectionary for Year A from Vanderbilt University)

On the left, a commander (presumably Joshua) sits atop a majestic white horse wearing Roman-style armour and red cloak, raising his arm as if signaling the advance. Right of centre a massive, glowing pillar of white and gold light erupts from the clouds, illuminating the center of the piece. Directly beneath this light, a group of figures dressed in white robes carries the golden Ark on their shoulders. They are stepping into the churning waters of the Jordan River, which appears to be parting or piling up, creating a dry path for the procession to cross. In the background and to the far right, a vast crowd of people, soldiers with spears, and banners follow the Ark, suggesting the entire nation of Israel on the move. In the lower-left corner, figures are seen bowing or prostrating themselves in awe and reverence toward the miracle occurring before them. The artist uses a rich contrast between the dark, earthy tones of the foreground and the brilliant, ethereal glow of the sky. The use of red in the cloaks of the leaders provides striking focal points against the more muted landscape. The painting captures a mixture of military discipline, religious fervor, and supernatural wonder. The scale of the mountains in the background further emphasizes the monumental task of the crossing.

#EasterArt 4: 'Joshua passing the River Jordan with the Ark of the Covenant' (1800) an oil painting on a panel by Benjamin West in the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Australia. (Posts based on the Daily Revised Common Lectionary for Year A from Vanderbilt University)

A figure on a rock facing a tumultuous sea under a dark, heavy sky with a blood-red horizon and a setting sun. In the foreground, massive, churning waves crash against a rocky shoreline, with tiny fragments of chariots including a wheel caught up in the waves.

#EasterArt 3: 'The Destruction of Pharaoh’s Host (1836) a watercolor with pencil and gum arabic by John Martin in the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles. (Posts based on the Daily Revised Common Lectionary for Year A from Vanderbilt University)

Do We Believe in Hell Anymore? Many years ago when I was only a first year ministerial student, the minister I was serving with assigned me the challenge of preaching on t...

I was going to have a day off from the computer today but this was eating away at me...

virtualmethodist.blogspot.com/2026/04/do-w...

#poem

Moses in the foreground at edge of sea beside tents and a crowd of Israelites behind him, with a dust cloud and classical city in background on right and left respectively.

#EasterArt 2: 'Moses dividing the waters of the Red Sea' a watercolour by John Martin (early 19th century) in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England. (Posts based on the Daily Revised Common Lectionary for Year A from Vanderbilt University)

Will do so in future where possible

#EasterArt 1: 'Christ Appearing to Mary Magdalen (Noli me Tangere)' an oil painting on canvas by Graham Vivian Sutherland (1961) in the Pallant House Gallery, Chichester, England. (Posts based on the Daily Revised Common Lectionary for Year A from Vanderbilt University)

The Incomplete Journey I started to write this last Sunday, inspired (yet again) by Malcolm Guite's own poem and reflection for Palm Sunday in "The Wor...

I wrote this last year but it seems even more appropriate as I stagger my way towards the end of my own incomplete journey with BCM NI this year...
virtualmethodist.blogspot.com/2025/04/the-...

#poem #holyweek #holyaturday

#LentArt 44: 'The Entombment of Christ' an oil painting on oak panel by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (c.1624) in the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, Glasgow, Scotland. (Posts based on the Daily Revised Common Lectionary for Year A from Vanderbilt University)

A Return to the Shadow of the Cross As part of out circuit Holy week events this year on Wednesday evening we hosted "Play It By Ear", otherwise known as Chris Neil...

The shadow of the cross looms large this Good Friday.
virtualmethodist.blogspot.com/2026/04/a-re...

#LentArt 43: 'Jésus devant Pilate. Deuxième entretien' gouache over graphite on gray wove paper by James Tissot (between 1886 and 1894) in the Brooklyn Museum, NY, USA. (Posts based on the Daily Revised Common Lectionary for Year A from Vanderbilt University)

#LentArt 42: 'The Washing of the Feet' an acrylic on canvas by Ghislaine Howard (2004) from the Methodist Modern Art Collection. Image Copyright © Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes. (Posts based on the Daily Revised Common Lectionary for Year A from Vanderbilt University)

The Confession of Judas On preparing a Holy Week reflection on the anointing of Jesus as recorded in John 12 I remembered this version of part of the medieval myste...

Another blast from the past - my reworking of a much older piece giving Judas Iscariot's perspective on the earlier anointing in Bethany.
virtualmethodist.blogspot.com/2008/03/conf...

#LentArt 41: 'The Last Supper' a minIature by an unknown German artist in Regensburg, Bavaria (c.1400-10) for the "World Chronicle" by Rudolf von Ems in The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, California, USA. (Posts based on the Daily Revised Common Lectionary for Year A from Vanderbilt University)

Benediction Today was another "last" with my friends and colleagues at BCM HQ (including some of the Puddleducks team included in this pictu...

Something of what I shared this morning BCM NI HQ...

virtualmethodist.blogspot.com/2026/03/bene...

#LentArt 40: 'Sower with Setting Sun' an oil painting on canvas by Vincent van Gogh (1888) in the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. (Posts based on the Daily Revised Common Lectionary for Year A from Vanderbilt University)

The Return of Mary of Bethany - a reblog In our Holy Week Services in Donegall Road, Belfast South and Grosvenor Road this week we will be focusing our thoughts using ad...

This was the second of the three monoligues I wrote for EBM/Skainos all those years ago. I've only used it once since then but have reblogged it many times since including this piece last year. virtualmethodist.blogspot.com/2025/04/the-...

#LentArt 39: 'Mary Magdalen' a wood engraving on paper by Eric Gill (1926) in Tate Britain, London, England. (Posts based on the Daily Revised Common Lectionary for Year A from Vanderbilt University)

Palm Sunday Revisited - a Reblog I'm coming to the end of my period as Superintendent of Belfast Central Mission and before I take up my new appointment in July ...

An alternative perspective on the events of Palm Sunday.
virtualmethodist.blogspot.com/2026/03/palm...

#LentArt 38: 'Heads of a Donkey and Foal' a watercolour on paper by Elizabeth Eleanor Milner (late 19th/early 20th century) in The Bushey Museum and Art Gallery, Hertfordshire, England. (Posts based on the Daily Revised Common Lectionary for Year A from Vanderbilt University)

#LentArt 36: 'Femme assise (Melancholy Woman)' an oil painting on canvas by Pablo Picasso (1902-3) in the The Detroit Museum of Art, Michigan, UK. (Posts based on the Daily Revised Common Lectionary for Year A from Vanderbilt University)

Fire Fall Down There are times when I am jolted out of times of worship by a phrase or image that strikes me in an unexpected way, and whilst I...

Another morning with my mind starting at 100mph... Do we really hear what we are singing? And how do we want God to answer?

virtualmethodist.blogspot.com/2026/03/fire...

#poem

#LentArt 35: 'La Douleur (Sorrow)' an oil painting on canvas by Paul Cézanne (1868-1869) in the Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France. (Posts based on the Daily Revised Common Lectionary for Year A from Vanderbilt University)

#LentArt 34: 'Ashurnasirpal II besieging a city' a gypsum wall panel relief from the palace of Nimrud, Iraq (865BC-860BC) in the British Museum, London, UK. (Posts based on the Daily Revised Common Lectionary for Year A from Vanderbilt University)

#LentArt 33: 'Elisha Raising the Son of the Shunamite' an oil painting on canvas by Frederic Leighton (1881) in the Leighton House, London, UK. (Posts based on the Daily Revised Common Lectionary for Year A from Vanderbilt University)