Author Archives: Barrie Cooper

Thousands of years. Storms and wind and rain. The passing of human beings, leaving their mark. Thousands of years. Pointing the way, weathered by rain, snow, hail and much more. Original purpose may be lost to us. But we want to know and enquire and make sense. What matters is what it points to. TheContinue reading “How long?”

I’m a great fan of gates….here are some I photographed whilst on the Isle of Arran, last year. Gates were at the centre of my life in my 20 years as a Prison Chaplain. Opening, closing, clanging and banging….. The gate above just got me thinking how faith works. Obstacles, seeming barriers, are routes intoContinue reading “A Gate…of sorts!”

Give thanks to him who made the heavenly lights— His faithful love endures forever. the sun to rule the day, His faithful love endures forever. and the moon and stars to rule the night. His faithful love endures forever. Psalm 136;7-9 The photograph was taken looking seaward at the setting of the Sun and theContinue reading “Holding on…..”

Just how I feel in this moment of waiting; the promise of the rainbow, and moving and changing sea. My faith that has taken me through all the storms of life and sometimes I’ve hung on with fear and trembling. The middle is a nowhere place without anything to guide. There’s part of me wantingContinue reading “Stuck in the middle…”

A photograph from friends who are on holiday in Grand Canaria .A real sense of tranquility and peace. When Apollo 11 landed on the moon in July 1969, the area it landed on was named Traquility base. What a powerful word for the heading of this blog today. It can be a very transient wordContinue reading “Tranqility…”

I’ve been doing a lot of drifting over the past few months. Both inwardly and outwardly! Getting lost in a moment of reflection, but unable to express what is really going on in my heart and soul. Many changes and challenges, including my Mum’s death. Seeing the world change in Ukraine and all the uncertaintyContinue reading “Drifting…..”

Mist in a valley and trees in the foreground. A hill in the distance, creating an illusion of floating on a cloud. Seeing clearly does not always help us. Sometimes we see through a fog of limited understanding. Being human in other words!!! Here are some words of the apostle Paul, which speak about theContinue reading “Seeing clearly..?”

Hermit’s cell? Place of pilgrimage? Offerings? Ruin? Place of rest? Focus of prayer? Stopping place? Spiritual charging point? It could be any of the above and much more! Where is your stopping point during your day? Allow God’s love to surround you and let the Holy Spirit connect with your spirit. Peace be with youContinue reading “A space”

….is believing! But what does it all mean? I took this photograph a couple of years ago. Staged and offered to you now. It’s got something to do with faith and how we see or perceive our world. We each of us take our own journey, and faith can be an important ingredient. The photographContinue reading “Seeing……”

Sometimes, life feels like ‘hanging on’, just like the branches in the photograph. The sense of being moved and shaken by internal and external forces or influences I mentioned last week that my Mum was hanging on to life. Amazingly she is still with us! Still not ‘out of the woods’, but carrying on. InContinue reading “Hanging on”