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Rich Clarkson @revrichclarkson.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

How does a collection of poems and songs linking themes of faith, climate change, travel and hope sound? richclarksonpoetry.com/melanesia

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Theological Colleges Environment Network @tc-en.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Applications are open for the Elisha Project, a year long programme for early career church leaders, theological educators and scientists. Networking, mentoring and conferences. We want to raise up the next generation of environmental theologians. Apply here tcen.org.uk/applications/

tcen.org.uk

Applications - TCEN

Named for the prophet who took on the mantle of Elijah and went on to heal the polluted waters of his city, The Elisha Project is a yearlong, national

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Rich Clarkson @revrichclarkson.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

Heatwaves like we will experience over the coming days are ever more frequent as a direct result of climate change. The science is clear, but so are the solutions: cut our global dependence on fossil fuels and protect and restore nature. It's not complicated, though it will be hard. #ShowYourStripes

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Rich Clarkson @revrichclarkson.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

New poem: Calling a reflection on the line from the ordinal "you cannot bear the weight of this calling in your own strength" #poetry #ordination #ministry #grief

Calling
Summoned to the bedside of the dying,
I slip into a house where every room
is heavy with grief's incense. This is not
my first time through this door, just weeks ago
I sat in this front room, listening and praying,
anticipating all that was to come,
that is now here. What can I do but sit
here listening and praying once again.
I pull out of my pocket a small jar
of oil and take those still warm hands in mine:
"Lord lettest now thy servant depart in peace."
The fragrance of the oil anoints the air
as I depart, leaving transfigured grief.
Unsure of what to do I make my way
uphill, to find a churchyard bench where I
release the breath I hadn't realised I'd
been holding in. I sit and watch three birds
who circle gently in the distance over
that same house which I had visited
and then, as I watch on, they make their way,
towards me, and beyond, and out of sight.
"You cannot bear this weight in your own strength."
Those ordination words come to my mind
and I find comfort in the thought. I watch
a buzzard spiral upwards, hear the breeze
flow through the bracken, watch the ants at work,
and place myself within the larger whole
of God's creation, full of grief, and joy,
and life, and death, and life. And in my hand
I feel again the little jar of oil,
still warm and fragrant, like the tears that fall.

© Rich Clarkson 2026
richclarksonpoetry.com

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Rich Clarkson @revrichclarkson.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

New poem: Calling a reflection on the line from the ordinal "you cannot bear the weight of this calling in your own strength" #poetry #ordination #ministry #grief

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Rich Clarkson @revrichclarkson.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

I spent about 4 hours making an Easter egg treasure trail around our garden for our kids, and they all loved it!

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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 01/04/2026

Artemis II lifts off

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Rich Clarkson @revrichclarkson.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

We're going to the moon! 🥳🥳🥳

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Rich Clarkson @revrichclarkson.bsky.social · 28/03/2026

Inspired by today's @togetheralliance.bsky.social and #NoKings marches I've rewritten Bob Dylan's "The times they are a-changin'" as a Palm Sunday protest song for tomorrow's Palm Sunday service! #PalmSunday #JesusRevolution @cclimateaction.bsky.social @oasiswaterloo.bsky.social

The Times They Are A-Changin’
(Palm Sunday version)

Come gather round people wherever you roam
Galilee or Judea, Corinth or Rome
Wherever you've travelled from this is your home
Jerusalem's festival is waiting
And the king on a donkey is one of our own
Yeah the times they are a-changing

Come prophets and teachers, come Pharisees too
And see what the King on his donkey will do
If you're cheating the poor then he's coming for you
And he isn't afraid to turn tables
He will take your injustice and replace it with the truth
Yeah the times they are a-changing

Come kings on your thrones with your weapons in hand
And armies in readiness at your command
Leaving trails of destruction all over the land
As you sit there ranting and raging
But the king on the donkey has peace in his hands
For the times they are a-changing

Come women and men, the old and the young,
The uncertain, the lonely, the prodigal sons,
Let the king on the donkey loosen your tongue
Grab your palm branches high and start waving
There's plenty of Hosannas left to be sung
For the times they are a-changing

The line it is drawn, the die it is cast,
And the world as we know it will soon be surpassed
Cos the king on the donkey is coming on fast
The old order is rapidly fading
Yeah the last shall be first and the first shall be last
For the times they are a-changing

richclarksonpoetry.com

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Rich Clarkson @revrichclarkson.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

Very happy with that, given that I've spent the last 15 years immersing myself in Maximus's writings! whichtheologianareyou.netlify.app

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Rich Clarkson @revrichclarkson.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

Rocking the Cope at a recent wedding 💛 When I was a curate this Cope was given to me by a retiring priest who in turn had been given it by a bishop in Zimbabwe so it's pretty well travelled!

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Rich Clarkson @revrichclarkson.bsky.social · 09/03/2026

They're felling trees in the village this week, which brings to mind these lines from Gerard Manley Hopkins' poem Binsey Poplars #poetry #GerardManleyHopkins #Nature #Grief

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Mike Hudema @mikehudema.bsky.social · 22/02/2026

The majority of earth's scientists now believe we are headed for at least 2.5°C of warming. We're in a climate emergency. No time to wait. #ActOnClimate #climate #energy #renewables #go100re

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Rich Clarkson @revrichclarkson.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

As an antidote to our turbulent and confusing world, here is a poem about an otter. #poetry #poem #sonnet #otter #rewilding

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Rich Clarkson @revrichclarkson.bsky.social · 15/02/2026

...has a way of tangibly reframing the world. It's a remarkable thing to get to do every week #Priest #Anglican #OurCofE #CofE

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Rich Clarkson @revrichclarkson.bsky.social · 15/02/2026

One of the (many) joys of being a priest in the @churchofengland.org is the sheer timescale you work with - presiding in a building that Vikings visited, using silverware that is older than the United States, telling a story in more or less the same way it's been told since Roman times...

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Rich Clarkson @revrichclarkson.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

My 2025 album Murmuration is now on Spotify (and other music streaming services) enjoy 🥳 open.spotify.com/album/11D7dY...

open.spotify.com

Murmuration

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Rich Clarkson @revrichclarkson.bsky.social · 05/01/2026

For what it's worth you can listen to the sermon here: stpeterskinver.org.uk

stpeterskinver.org.uk

St Peter's Kinver

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Rich Clarkson @revrichclarkson.bsky.social · 03/01/2026

Just writing tomorrow's sermon for Epiphany, reflecting on how the birth of Jesus subversively undercuts the power of authoritarian rule. Gosh, I wonder if there are any contemporary examples I could use...

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Rich Clarkson @revrichclarkson.bsky.social · 25/12/2025

Now waiting for the middle child to fall asleep before I can be Santa and then go to bed... 😲

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Rich Clarkson @revrichclarkson.bsky.social · 25/12/2025

Preaching, presiding, and playing the organ at Midnight Mass tonight was truly epic! for the first time I played rather than sang the last verse of O Come All Ye Faithful and it was everything 🎶WORD🎶

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The Church of England @churchofengland.org · 25/12/2025

We're raising a glass to all those taking part in #ClergyMaltClub tonight. Thank you for all you do - and we wish you a very Happy Christmas. ⭐

A priest dressed in vestments is praying in a candlelit church setting.

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Chaucer Doth Tweet @levostregc.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

"Ich askid ChatGPT." Well *Ich* askid the stones, and the forest, and the starres, and the mountaynes, and what thei seyde was learninge, and dreames, and growinge thinges, and makinge art, and a worlde wher we talke to each othir and care about each othir.

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Rich Clarkson @revrichclarkson.bsky.social · 08/10/2025

A new poem inspired by a conversation I had during my recent visit to Melanesia #poem #iambicpentameter #melanesia #anglican #library #MynaBirds

A picture of a yellow library building in Solomon Islands with mountains in the background and this poem overlaid on the sky:

A Conversation Outside the Charles Elliot Fox library at Kohimarama

“The birds around here speak sometimes”, he said,
“the smallish brown ones with the yellow eyes.
You have to pay attention though, they spread
their mottled wings, glance back, say their goodbyes
and then before you know it they have gone,
packed up their conversation and moved on.”

“We used to have a bishop here,” he said,
“who was well known for talking to the birds
and other creatures. Once the rats all fled
from the cassava patch at just a word
from Bishop Fox. His grave is over there.
It's said the birds still join with him in prayer.”

I tried to pay attention like he said,
but though I watched and listened for a week,
I talked to them, sang songs, and shared my bread,
I never once did hear the Myna speak.
Beside the Charles Fox library, filled with words,
I sit in silence, praying with the birds.

Rich Clarkson, 2025

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The Church of England @churchofengland.org · 03/10/2025

Today Bishop Sarah Mullally, nominated as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury, made her first address at Canterbury Cathedral. Watch the address at cofe.io/106thArchbishopAddress.

cofe.io

Announcement of Next Archbishop of Canterbury

Watch Rt Revd and Rt Hon Dame Sarah Mullally DBE, who will be the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury, make their first address at Canterbury Cathedral. May God...

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Dr Jo Kershaw @mthrjo.bsky.social · 03/10/2025

SHE HAS A NAME

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Simon Evans @drsimevans.carbonbrief.org · 30/09/2025

NEW: Something remarkable happened recently and hardly anyone noticed – GB electricity demand was 100% covered by clean power We took a look at the data and this has happened for a record 87 hours in 2025 to date, twice as often as ever before 🧵 www.carbonbrief.org/... 1/7

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Rich Clarkson @revrichclarkson.bsky.social · 26/09/2025

1981, 1987, 2005, 2010 - what do they have in common? Nottinghamshire won the County Championship and England won the Ashes. Notts just won the County Championship again and the Ashes start in a few weeks... #JustSaying @trentbridge.co.uk @wisdencricket.bsky.social #CountyChampionship #Ashes

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Nottinghamshire CCC @trentbridge.co.uk · 25/09/2025

Kyle Verreynne seals the title in stupendous style, lofting a six to take us beyond 300 and banking the required batting points! #Champions25 🏆

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Rich Clarkson @revrichclarkson.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

I'm currently in the Solomon Islands getting to know the Anglican Church here and learning about the impacts of Climate Change here. This is a poem I wrote today reflecting on the last week of visits and conversations. #ClimateChange #Environment #CreationCare #SolomonIslands #Anglican #poetry #poem

Vulnerable
There is a vulnerability in these
small Islands where the challenges they face
are mostly not of their own making. Seas
are rising, trees are being felled, the race
for land and for development is fierce -
their magnitude could flood the roads with tears.
But vulnerable does not mean powerless.
Developing does not mean uninformed.
These islands, villages, and towns are getting
ready now to face the gathering storm.
Stone by stone, day by day, resisting
those forces that would stop them from existing.
Here, where land and sea are in a battle aeons long,
a fragile hope against all odds has always been their song.
RichClarksonPoetry.com

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Rich Clarkson @revrichclarkson.bsky.social · 31/08/2025

I've offset the flights through #ClimateStewards - not to greenwash but, acknowledging the impact of long haul flight balanced with the value of making the trip, to do some extra good and tip the balance a little further!

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Rich Clarkson @revrichclarkson.bsky.social · 31/08/2025

The visit is supported by the Melanesian Mission UK and Lichfield Diocese, as well as my own parishes of Kinver & Enville, and while there I'll be starting with the Melanesian Brotherhood and visiting various ACoM projects and people

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Rich Clarkson @revrichclarkson.bsky.social · 31/08/2025

The Season of Creation begins tomorrow, and I'm just packing to head out to the Solomon Islands in behalf of Lichfield Diocese to see firsthand the impacts of Climate Change in the Pacific and the work the Anglican Church of Melanesia is doing in response #SeasonOfCreation #Melanesia #ClimateChange

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Rich Clarkson @revrichclarkson.bsky.social · 22/06/2025

I'm 6'3" and even I have to go up into the pulpit to light the Paschal candle our church warden bought this Easter - it's huge 😂

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Rabbi Marisa James @marisaelana.bsky.social · 22/06/2025

I'm not sure who turned my words into a meme, and included U.S. citizens (most of whom do not want a new war!), but I appreciate how many people are connecting with it. May all of us, in all of our different situations, somehow help bring the justice this world so desperately needs. 💔

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Rich Clarkson @revrichclarkson.bsky.social · 21/06/2025

A glorious sunny afternoon watching the frogs and newts in the pond #frogs #newts #pondlife

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Rich Clarkson @revrichclarkson.bsky.social · 13/06/2025

And yet somehow the idea that we need to get to Net Zero carbon emissions as quickly as possible is a debated and disputed political idea. We need to do it for the literal survival of our species and our planet! #NetZero #ClimateChange

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Rich Clarkson @revrichclarkson.bsky.social · 13/06/2025

We went to a garden centre this morning and I was struck by this matter of fact sign saying that this particular plant has been "bred to withstand our ever-increasing summer temperatures". Yet another symptom of the undeniable fact of climate change #ClimateChange #NetZero

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Adam Tranter @adamtranter.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

Today, the Government launches plans to fast-track driverless vehicle trials in the UK. One of the companies involved says London presents a big challenge: “It has seven times more jaywalkers than San Francisco.” Except… it doesn't. 🧵

The UK Accelerates Its Self-Driving Car Ambitions

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Rich Clarkson @revrichclarkson.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

Today's GCSE History exam is on the twin topics of "Making America" and "Living Under Nazi Rule". Those two are much closer together at the moment than they ought to be...

A photo of a GCSE timetable which includes today's History exam with the title "Mke Amrc Liv Undr Nzi Rle"

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Rich Clarkson @revrichclarkson.bsky.social · 08/06/2025

A group of folks I'm part of who usually meet at the pub on a Tuesday night have hired the church hall and are putting in a concert for family and friends and it's wonderful! 3 songs each and some impromptu bands - amateur music is alive and well in this corner of the world ❤️

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