Rev Stephen Thompson preaching‘I was born in Lancaster in 1957. (Let’s face it, someone has to be!!). You could argue that things went from bad to worse when a promotion for my father took our family to Wigan in the early 60’s. I grew up within sight of many mills that looked ‘dark’ and terribly ‘satanic’. But it was during these years that I encountered certain school teachers who nurtured my enthusiasm for books, and instilled in me a profound love for English language and literature. I think of teachers such as Alan Collier, Miss Barrow (who, I thought, slightly resembled Her Majesty the Queen), Miss Harrison, Jack Eaves, Miss Coulton, and the spectacularly wonderful Miss Woosey.
I have been a local church pastor since 1978, serving in Southport, Lancaster (Yes. Would you believe I actually went back? Even more shocking, I lived in Morecambe!), Leeds, and, for the past 32 years, the beautiful village of Boston Spa. I realised many years ago that I will probably never be a published author. ‘However’, I thought, ‘why don’t I write for the people in my church?’ It took me almost 30 years to do start. However, in January 2012 I did finally get round to it. I began to write daily Bible thoughts, five days a week, for my much loved congregation at the King’s church in Boston Spa (No, it isn’t in Linconshire. Try again!).
Then came the idea of a blogsite. June Warner, who faithfully posts my pieces onto the web, has helped to make this possible. I am, as always, deeply grateful for her loyal help and support.
Why ‘Home thoughts from abroad?’ I remember my mum having a 45 r.p.m. record of Jim Reeves singing ‘This world is not my home…’ The Bible teaches that Christians are foreigners in this world. I believe that the daily reading of the Bible helps to reorientate our hearts towards our true home above. The ‘reception’ can become fuzzy, but each day we can ‘re-tune’.
If you are able to join us as we tweak the ‘dial’, I hope you will always find something to remind you about where your true citizenship lies.
I have also written a little book about the story of my becoming a Pastor and the beginning of The King’s Church in Boston Spa. It is called The Mother Hens First Chick and you can sample/download  it on ibooks, alternatively you can contact me for a pdf copy or hard copy.
Enjoy!
(And for any readers in Lancaster, I don’t really mean it!!)
P.S. At the end of August 2022 I will be ‘retiring’ from my local church pastorate, but I intend to keep these daily thoughts going if I can. I hope they will be a help to all who come across them.