{"id":231,"date":"2023-07-16T15:40:22","date_gmt":"2023-07-16T14:40:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/djcommunications.uk\/?page_id=231"},"modified":"2026-01-03T11:49:22","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T11:49:22","slug":"faith-and-football","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/djcommunications.uk\/index.php\/non-footie-stuff\/faith-and-football\/","title":{"rendered":"Faith and Football"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Faith and Football 2025<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Aside from his football writing, David\u2019s other great passion is his Christian faith. This site is sprinkled with references to it.<\/p>

Mostly, these two aspects of his character lead very different lives.<\/p>

Mostly, but not always.<\/p>

Here are some examples of his work from a few years back, when his two worlds collided, with the most powerful of results.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/strong>Promoted to Glory<\/strong><\/a><\/p>

Enjoy David\u2019s emotional account of a remarkable funeral he attended during lockdown. \u2018Glory, glory Man. United?\u2019 At a funeral??<\/p>

Abide with Me<\/strong><\/a><\/p>

Sixty-four lucky football fans represented their football clubs as they joined with The Band of The Brigade of Gurkhas in front of almost 90,000 people on Saturday 30 May 2015.<\/p>

Songs of Praise, who teamed up with BBC Sport as part of their FA Cup programming, asked for people to submit stories that reflect their personal memories and passion of the cup from every level of the game.<\/p>

The winning tales – selected by a panel of judges from the worlds of football, music and journalism \u2013 were a combination of amusing and moving stories which captured the spirit of the FA Cup and have a strong thread of family, community and tradition throughout.<\/p>

David was thrilled to represent Cardiff City at this magnificent occasion. Another testimony to his writing skills!<\/p>

\"Image:A URC Lay Ministry Weekend on 2025 at the Hotel Metropole, Llandrindod Wells, was no ordinary training event \u2014 it was a game of three halves! From parables and preaching practice to laughter and learning, participants discovered fresh ways to share stories of faith.<\/p>

Photograph: David with Cherie, the Archbishop and Bishop! Monmouth Diocesan Conference 2025<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Tell me the old, old story<\/strong><\/h3>

\u00a0<\/strong>Pontprennau Community Church sent their resident author\/sports journalist David Collins along to a different kind of fixture recently. David attended a URC lay preaching training weekend in Llandrindod Wells. Here is his \u2018match report.\u2019<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>

Most lay preacher training involves theological study, practical skills development, and a focus on scripture and sermon delivery.\u00a0<\/p>

The theme of this weekend was \u201cA church made of parables.\u201d Old stories if you like. It offered many treats.\u00a0<\/p>

First into bat, was the highly entertaining Revd Susan Durber.\u00a0<\/p>

Susan introduced familiar parables, using pictures and anecdotes to bring well-known stories to life.\u00a0<\/p>

But she did more than that.\u00a0<\/p>

\u2018Swinging her bat around with glee,\u2019 she unpacked these well-known fables in a new way. She questioned, criticised and analysed. Susan set challenging inquisitions for us, based upon ancient stories which had first spread via oral history.\u00a0<\/p>

The parables contained many mysteries.\u00a0<\/p>

Were they stories, or miracles? Did these old tales still hold a message for us in 2025? Did the very titles mislead us? Was the parable of the mustard seed really<\/em> about a mustard seed \u2013 and can that seed become a tree? Were these parables, or miracles? They present many unexpected events.\u00a0<\/p>

My favourite biblical character is Thomas. He asks really good questions. Or, as a former vicar once articulated, \u201csetting up Jesus for some of his best lines.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>

I doubt if Susan knew this, but she introduced the Gospel of Thomas, which had failed to make the Starting XI when Team Bible was selected. That brought my first Google of the weekend. One of many as it turned out.\u00a0<\/p>

Susan warmed to her theme, suggesting how each of us could take our personal messages form the parables. One of her slides used a picture of a Manic Street Preachers album. \u201cThis is my truth, tell me yours\u201d I thought.<\/p>

Ask me about F.O.A.M too by the way. I will use that in my next service.\u00a0<\/p>

If Day 1 had been about questions and interrogation, Day 2 offered practical, how-to-do-it advice.\u00a0<\/p>

Susan again led the proceedings. She discussed Praying the Parables. We contemplated the Parable of the Persistent Friend. \u2018Seek and ye shall find.\u2019 Be bold in your faith. Proverbs 28:1. Google it.\u00a0<\/p>

Susan elaborated, as she set us an exercise. \u201cWrite a Collect\u201d she suggested. We had a go.\u00a0<\/p>

A prayer in three parts:\u00a0<\/p>

Dear God,<\/p>

Please grant us\u2026\u2026<\/p>

Through Jesus Christ our Lord etc\u2026..<\/p>

Harder than it looks, believe me.<\/p>

Next to step up to the crease, was Revd David Salisbury. What a teacher this guy was.\u00a0<\/p>

David invited us to draft the key elements of a service. Which bit goes where? Should the notices come at the beginning? Prepare\/Hear\/Respond: So what does \u2018Respond\u2019 involve?<\/p>

The delegates used cut \u2018n paste notes to debate the correct batting order for these elements. I was dismissed by a Googly from a colleague from Wrexham. No VAR at this venue sorry.\u00a0<\/p>

The day concluded with a demonstration of Lay Pastoral Supervision (Revd Kathryn Price) and a deeply personal reflection on the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector from Heather Phillips. Luke 18: 9-14. \u201cThis is my truth, tell me yours.\u201d<\/p>

This course had been the ultimate Game of Three Halves, as Sunday morning brought direct advice for the practitioners.<\/p>

Megan Price led a stimulating session on voice projection. Breath, resonance, diction. Shout at the wall and listen to the echo. Avoid carpets which suck up the sound. I yelled Taylor Swift lyrics at a stoney canvass. Taylor yelled back.\u00a0<\/p>

Claire Boot also discussed physical aspects of our surroundings, as she used parables to highlight important isSusans for church buildings. Was your church built on stoney ground? Are your assets stored in bigger barns? Is your money buried in the ground until the master returns, or do you demonstrate a planned approach based on hypothecated reserves and anticipated risks.\u00a0<\/p>

Hypothecated. One of my favourite words.\u00a0<\/p>

This had been a remarkable event. Words, worship and praise, mixed with contemplations to stir the most stable of minds.\u00a0<\/p>

Despite the occasional offside flag and stern glance from match official Maggie Kirkbride, I had lasted the full 90 minutes, so to speak. Sustained by hearty breakfasts and opportunities for further learning, I headed home to Cardiff. Much to contemplate.\u00a0<\/p>

They think it\u2019s all over? It isn\u2019t now.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Faith and Football 2025 Faith and Football 2025 Aside from his football writing, David\u2019s other great passion is his Christian faith. This site is sprinkled with references to it. Mostly, these two aspects of his character lead very different lives. Mostly, but not always. Here are some examples of his work from a few years … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":86,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-231","page","type-page","status-publish"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/djcommunications.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/231","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/djcommunications.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/djcommunications.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/djcommunications.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/djcommunications.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=231"}],"version-history":[{"count":31,"href":"https:\/\/djcommunications.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/231\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1358,"href":"https:\/\/djcommunications.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/231\/revisions\/1358"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/djcommunications.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/86"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/djcommunications.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}