Fr Richard Tuset's blog and other bits and pieces on Christianity

I am a priest in the Church of England and welcome to this page of thoughts, notes, scribbles and excerpts from some of my writing on Christian theology.

The blog (scroll down this page) also includes some longer reflections and papers plus the odd poem.

I've also included some videos of my parish teaching including some very playful videos prepared for assemblies, Sunday schools and playgroups.

Finally, I like to take pictures and I have taken most of the photographs shared on the site.

Romans 6: 1-11 - Bishops Certificate Study Guide (Baptism, Life, Death, faith and Works!)

Romans 6:1–11 is one of those passages that can sound much more complicated than it actually is. Paul is wrestling with a very simple but profound question: If God’s grace forgives us, does it matter how we live? And his answer is: Yes …..because baptism means that something has happened to us. We have entered into the death and resurrection of Christ, and therefore we are called to live a new kind of life. Let me try and unpack this: 1. First: what is Paul arguing about? At

richardtuset

Sep 125 min read

What does your soul sing?

Today we celebrate the Feast and Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Every evening, at Evening Prayer, the Church has sung Mary’s words for centuries: My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour. It is familiar, but perhaps we can forget just how radical it is. The opening chapters of Luke’s Gospel are rather remarkable. Two women: Mary and Elizabeth take centre stage. They recognise what God is doing, speak and interpret what is happe

richardtuset

Aug 165 min read

When we die?

Luke 9:28–36 – The Transfiguration There is one question that almost every human being asks, but which we rarely ask out loud. What happens when we die? It is a question that visits us at funerals, beside hospital beds, when we lose someone we love, or in the quiet moments of the night. Every Sunday we proclaim, “We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.” Yet, if we’re honest, many of us aren’t quite sure what those words really mean. Perhaps

richardtuset

Aug 145 min read

Refugee Week Homily

Refugee Week Sermon Matthew 25:31-46 A few years ago, someone asked a refugee who had finally reached safety after years of displacement what surprised him most about arriving in a new country. His answer was simple. “People looked at my paperwork before they looked at my face.” I have never forgotten that. People looked at my paperwork before they looked at my face. Before they saw a father, they saw a file. Before they saw a mother, they saw a case. Before they saw a chil

richardtuset

Jun 216 min read

A Story of Sanctuary

I recently came across this quote by the remarkable Turkish-British writer and novelist Elif Shafak: “Clock-time, however punctual it may purport to be, is distorted and deceptive. It runs under the illusion that everything is moving steadily forward, and the future, therefore, will always be better than the past. Story-time understands the fragility of peace, the fickleness of circumstances, the dangers lurking in the night but also appreciates small acts of kindness. That i

richardtuset

Jun 195 min read

A secular post! The Carrier Bag: Rethinking a Public Service

Every so often, an organisation or service gets described in a way that perhaps doesn’t quite ring true to me. Or perhaps there is something more or beyond that understanding that we could be missing out on? It would be possible to see the Commissioning and Communities directorate I am leading at Brighton & Hove City Council has been characterised as a collection of potentially unrelated services: Community Cohesion, Commissioning, Children's Safeguarding, Adult Learning and

richardtuset

May 213 min read

“Stay With Us”

Road to Emmaus - Luke 24:13–35 (With thanks to Debie Thomas) There is a phrase at the heart of this Gospel which is so simple, and yet so devastating, that it reaches across centuries and finds us exactly where we are. “But we had hoped.” “But we had hoped…” Those are the words spoken by Cleopas and his companion as they walk away from Jerusalem. Away from the place of crucifixion. Away from shattered dreams. Away from everything they thought God was doing. And if we are hone

richardtuset

Apr 195 min read

This Word is Light

Short Sermon: For Bishop's Certificate (Week 4) Psalm 104, Genesis, and John 1 in Conversation “O Lord my God, you are very great… You wrap yourself in light as with a garment.” Psalm 104:1–2 “In the beginning was the Word… In him was life, and the life was the light of all people.” - John 1:1,4 This evening we come to Psalm 104, one of the great songs of creation in Scripture. It doesn’t just tell us about the world; it invites us into a gift - a created world that alread

richardtuset

Feb 74 min read

St Nick meets Advent 2 - It's time to get sent.

Sermon for the Patronal Festival of St Nicholas of Myra - Advent II “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord.” So begins Isaiah’s great vision ...the veil drawn back, heaven touching earth. The temple shakes with glory; the seraphim cry “Holy, holy, holy,” and Isaiah trembles, aware that he is dust and unclean. Then a coal from the altar ....flame from sacrifice ....touches his lips, and he is made whole. “Whom shall I send?” asks the Lord. And the prophet replies,

richardtuset

Dec 13, 20254 min read

Tribute to my dear father.

Dennis Cesare Butcher (1st November 1934 - 29th of October 2025) A few words to celebrate a man who lived his life not for himself, but for the people he loved, demonstrating that the truest form of love is visible through care and action. Dennis Cesare Butcher's life - a father, husband, grandfather, coach, and the finest gentleman many of us have ever known. Dennis was born on All Saints Day, November 1st, 1934, during the long shadow of the Great Depression. He was the so

richardtuset

Dec 13, 20257 min read

Wilderness Cries, Hope and Liberation

Luke 3. 1-6 Advent 2 (2024) Debie Thomas reminds us that Advent is a good time to remember the Bible as a “wilderness text.” It’s a book born out of trauma, displacement, and loss. The people who wrote scripture and the characters in its stories were often on the margins - persecuted, displaced, enslaved. They lived through war, famine, natural disasters, and exile. They weren’t generally the powerful or the privileged. Instead, they were desperate, crying out in the wilderne

richardtuset

Dec 9, 20245 min read