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REV STEPHEN GAMBLE

Music, sermons, notes & videos of my dogs.

Having originally started with posting sermons on this Blog I branched out to include videos of my dogs, articles I have written, and some of my music. 

The things I write are as full of inelegance and error as any other quality I may rather they posses, but they may possibly be useful or even entertaining to you - maybe if only to take issue with what I have said.

Vicar (part - time) of the Welland Foss Benefice






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Sermon for 6th Sunday after Trinity. Give it a Rest!

Ephesians 2; 1-10 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who i

Article for the July Parish Publications: The Grammar of Love.

Is Love a Noun or a Verb? Love can be both. As a noun 'love' names a thing, such as an emotion, or an attitude, or a relationship. As a verb 'love' describes an action, that is, something you do, such as an act of the will, or of selfless generosity, or of commitment. Have you heard the popular wisdom “Love is a verb, not just a noun?” This expresses the truth that genuine love should be more than just a feeling; it must result in action. Equally, without the inner reality of

Sermon for the Third Sunday after Trinity. A Virtuous Circle of welcome.

1 Peter 4: 7 - 11 7 The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. 8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, th

Sonata for Strings Memories of Farndale, by Stephen Gamble

Prelude - Quasi Fugue - Quasi Chaconne. Is it possible to fall in love with a landscape? Does a landscape speak to you? Can you hear echoes of the voices from times long past of those who have lived there? From a theme written down, to working out the music in my head, to writing it out. I get quite a lot of time to 'work out the music in my head' as Chronic Fatigue means I have to spend time being quiet and still. Composed in 2024.

Sermon for Trinity 3: Dare to be a Daniel.

Daniel 6, 7 – 12 & 16 “7 The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or human being during the next thirty days, except to you, Your Majesty, shall be thrown into the lions’ den. 8 Now, Your Majesty, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.

Sonata for Strings: Autumn in the Yorkshire Dales, by Stephen Gamble

00.00 Preludio: Autumn Advances - Allegro 06.60 Autumn Falls: Andante con moto 09.52 A Moment of Repose: Adagio 14.07 Harvest Dances (quasi una chaconne): Allegro - Presto The first thought of this Sonata for strings came about as I was watching and listening to the counterpoint of tree branches moving, and autumn leaves falling, all caught up in the wind, with sunlight and cloud passing. This movement was written first and the other three then grew from it. 'The Moment of Re

Lament for Orchestra, in A minor, 'Jeremiad'. By Stephen Gamble

A Jeremiad is a lament that alternates elegy and rage. After the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah, who lamented the moral decay of his society, and angrily condemned it's corrupt rulers. Worked up from a sketch written in 2001. It got no further than a sketch as I didn't have the orchestral tools back then. I can't recall what I was so moved and agitated about, I'm normally very placid. Strings, Horns, Trumpets, Oboes, Flutes, Clarinets, Bassoons, Timpani.

Nocturne For Orchestra, 'In the Dales', by Stephen Gamble

Written between the 25th May & the 1st of June, while on holiday in the Yorkshire Dales. As Beethoven said of his Pastoral Symphony, this is..."More the expression of feeling than tone painting" It's how the landscape made me feel, or as near as I can get to that state of mind and heart. It was a summer evening, the light was fading, but still bright enough to see my way.

Sonata No 7 for Solo Violin, “The Relics of Nicholas Postgate” by Stephen Gamble

In the summer of 2011 I visited St Hedda’s Church at Egton Bridge and was very moved by the relics and story of Nicholas Postgate. He was a Roman Catholic Priest executed in 1679 for practising his calling at a time when Roman Catholic forms of worship were illegal. The fragile nature of the relics, a small cross, a lock of his hair and a worn wooden rosary, seemed to speak of the fragility of human life and endeavour. It brought to mind our Lord’s promise to St Paul’s in 2 C

Meditation on Amazing Grace, For Violin and String Orchestra, By Stephen Gamble

As I was finalising this music on the 1st of January an article popped up from Google, and I was surprised to read that Amazing Grace was first heard on the 1st of January 250 years ago. It seems I had inadvertently written an anniversary tribute. Amazing Grace has always been a part of my life, from the nonconformist churches I grew up in, to playing it as a folk tune on my violin, and singing it in the Anglican services I now lead as a Vicar. The music is a free fantasia o

Article for the May Parish Publications. In Praise of Anglican Dullness.

On 25 March, Dame Sarah Mullally was enthroned as the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury in a service at Canterbury Cathedral. Most of the media coverage concentrated on the fact she was the first female Archbishop, however I was amused to see veteran broadcaster Anne Diamond on GB News (don't judge me) take a different angle, when in an off-the-cuff moment she candidly confessed the forth-coming enthronement of the new Archbishop, “does not excite me.” Her co-host, Stephen Dixon

Sermon for the 5th Sunday of Easter: How are we Saved?

Acts 7: 55 – end The Martyrdom of Stephen 54 When they heard these things they were [h]cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. 55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, 56 and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” 57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; 58 and t

The Leyburn Shawl: Sinfonia for Orchestra, by Stephen Gamble

The Leyburn Shawl is a path that runs along the limestone escarpment just outside the North Yorkshire town of Leyburn. There’s an old story that Mary, Queen of Scots, escaping captivity in nearby Bolton Castle, dropped her shawl as she fled along the ridge pursued by soldiers on horseback guided by hounds. The music is not a retelling of the story, but it does perhaps have a feeling of the landscape and history of the place. It was originally written for solo violin, then orc

Article for the March Parish Publications

Pam Ayres published a little poem on social media recently, here it is... An algorithm’s watching me, I am not certain why, It sends advertisements for things I do not want to buy, It makes me feel uneasy, that upon me it has preyed, And if I could locate it, I would whack it with a spade. I have long enjoyed Pam Ayres, she is funny and gentle and, unlike some modern poets, she makes intelligent observations in easily intelligible ways. The notion we are being monitored onlin

Sinfonia for Strings, in A minor - 'Sinfonia con Rammarico Doloroso', by Stephen Gamble

Sinfonia con Rammarico Doloroso - sinfonia with sorrowful regret. Originally a sonata for solo violin, written in 2009, but arranged for string orchestra in 2026. The movements are ... Preludio: Adagio - Presto -Andante e cantabile - Quasi improvisando - Presto con rabbia ( rabbia means rage) The score can be found at arrangeme.com ( once I have uploaded it)

Candlemas 2026: Bless you - what does that mean?

James 1: 12 - 18 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. 13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it i

Article for January Publications: Onward to the New Year!

In the spring of 1865, in the little Yorkshire village of Horbury Bridge, the Rev’d Sabine Baring-Gould thought the children of his Sunday school should have something cheerful to sing as they marched to the nearby church of St Peter’s for the Whitsuntide festival. Thinking of the journey of the Christian life, he wrote a simple marching hymn, “Onward, Christian Soldiers.” I spoke about “Onward, Christian Soldiers” in my Remembrance Sunday homily, as it is a hymn that can div

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