leavingbethany

An Interview with Lydia

Aemilia Metella Interviews the businesswoman who made a choice Our reporter, Aemilia Metella, interviews the business woman, Lydia, who invited Paul and Silas into her home. A well turned out slave in a green tunic opened the door of the imposing townhouse and showed me a room to wait. Five minutes later, his soft-soled shoesContinue reading “An Interview with Lydia”

An Interview with Anna

Aemilia Metella Interviews the prophet who met the Saviour. Our reporter, Aemilia Metella, interviews the elderly lady, Anna, who knew the meaning of patience. Anna shuffles with the impression of being an old woman, but her lively face tells a different story. I take her arm and with a sigh, she leans on my armContinue reading “An Interview with Anna”

The Easter Story

April 2021 These excerpts are from my novel, Leaving Bethany, and cover the events of Jesus’s crucifixion and his resurrection. Each of the four Gospels give us a list of women who were present at the cross and tomb. However, they each list slightly different names and add that other unnamed women were present. ForContinue reading “The Easter Story”

It’s not just a story

I was ten years old when my grandfather took me to Water Gate Square. We gathered with our neighbours to listen to Ezra, the scribe read from the law. Grandfather was a big man, and as strong as a bear. He’d carried, chiselled, and cut great blocks of stone and put each one into its place to build Jerusalem’s new city walls. But he crumbled as a stone dropped from a great height when he heard the stories of old, and his tears watered the ground.

A Tale of Two Sisters

Has anyone ever asked you, “Are you a Mary or a Martha?” Or “Which sister do you identify with?” It is a question often asked of women, with men being spared this comparison. I know I have, both in the past and when people hear I’m writing Martha’s story. The presumption behind the questions isContinue reading “A Tale of Two Sisters”

Martha’s Mysterious Disappearance

History is written in more than words. Our story is inscribed in sculpture, pictures, and the articles we leave behind. It is a record of how people thought and what they believed the world should be like. A recent Channel 4 programme called “Jesus’s Female Disciples”, raised many questions about the women who followed Jesus.Continue reading “Martha’s Mysterious Disappearance”