The New Statesman has a series of articles by Rowan Williams, Melvyn Bragg, Lucy Winkett, Robin Ince, Vicky Beeching and Julian Baggini under the heading After God: how to fill the faith-shaped hole in modern life.
Michael Binyon writes for Diplomat Magazine about Church Diplomacy.
The Guardian has a video: A vicar’s wedding: ‘He loves God and he loves Stephen’.
7 CommentsAndrew Goddard at Fulcrum asks Can we pray for the dead?
Giles Fraser writes in The Guardian that Assisted dying is the final triumph of market capitalism.
Jenny McCartney writes for The Spectator about The terminal confusion of Dignity in Dying.
Malcolm Brown (the Director of Mission and Public Affairs for the Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England) asks Is the choice to be killed the same as choosing a car ?
Christopher Howse writes in The Telegraph about Imagining Jesus is beside you and about Clever folk being foolish about God.
Justin Welby preached this sermon last Sunday: ‘Thanksgiving and repentance’ – Archbishop on the first black Anglican bishop.
3 CommentsPaul Valleley asks Is Christian unity anything more than a pious aspiration?
This is the uncut version of an article in The Independent.
Jonathan Clatworthy writes on the Modern Church Blog about Spreading the Word – a liberal response.
Eric Hatfield writes about Sermons – not how we learn best?
Gillan Scott blogs Without a moral compass British values lose their way and now we’re seeing the consequences.
Sam Norton blogs Remorseless logic and a Bishop’s rest.
Benjamin J Dueholm explains Why I kiss my stole.
Giles Fraser writes in The Guardian that Using schools to boost the military ethos could be making a comeback.
5 CommentsArchdruid Eileen has 15 Effective Habits of Successful Church Leaders.
Christopher Lamb interviews the Archbishop of Canterbury for The Tablet: Two traditions, one holy ground.
Richard Beck asks How Many People Die By Handling Snakes?.
Christopher Howse writes in his Sacred Mysteries column in The Telegraph about Securing Pugin’s medieval island.
7 CommentsSymon Hill writes for Politics.co.uk that The far-right’s god-whistle politics isn’t going away.
David Keen has ten eight Questions for the CofE to ask itself.
Andrew Brown writes for The Guardian that There’s no such thing as an atheist baby.
N T Wright has been interviewed by J John of the Philo Trust. There is a transcript here: Gay Marriage.
Tobias Haller responds with N T Wright: Wrong Again.
Gillan Scott of God & Politics in the UK writes about Oxfam’s perfect storm, poverty and yet more examples of Christians providing answers.
He has also published this guest post: Christian Aid give their take on the fallout over Oxfam’s ‘perfect storm’ poster.
Bob Morris has written for Law & Religion UK about Abdication? Reigns in Spain and the ‘A’ word (again) in the UK.
The Church of England has published these Prayers for the World Cup.
[Editor’s note: The World Cup is some sort of football competition taking place in Brazil; England is one of the teams taking part.]
Christopher Howse writes for The Telegraph about The battle against church lavatories.
William Turvill of the Press Gazette has been talking to the BBC’s Edward Stourton: British media suffers from religious ‘blind spot’ leading to ‘skewed’ coverage.
Edward Dutton writes for the Church Times about Why atheists are brighter than Christians.
Chris Russell writes for the Church Times about Why evangelism is always non-negotiable.
Ruth Gledhill has interviewed Rachel Mann for Christian Today: Transgender priest Rachel Mann made minor canon at Manchester Cathedral: ‘God did not reject me,’ she says.
27 CommentsNick Baines has been talking to The Independent: ‘You cannot make women bishops just to have women bishops’.
Ian Paul asks Is baptism enough?
The last of the St Paul’s Cathedral series: What I Want to Say Now: Retired Bishops Speak Out is now available to watch online: The Rt Revd Christopher Herbert. [19 minute video]
There is a transcript of the sermon to read online here.
Giles Fraser writes for The Guardian that In Sweden, human darkness is confronted by the arts not the church.
Laurie Brock of Dirty Sexy Ministry blogs about What Needs to Die in the Church.
24 CommentsTimothy Schenck asks To Pew or Not to Pew?
The third of the St Paul’s Cathedral series: What I Want to Say Now: Retired Bishops Speak Out is now available to watch online: The Rt Revd Tom Butler. [13 minute video]
There is a transcript of the sermon to read online here.
Christopher Howse writes in his Sacred Mysteries column in The Telegraph about Mindfulness and Teresa’s gnats.
20 CommentsSpeech of Bishop Paul Colton as Guest of Honour at Launch of Cork LGBT Awareness Week 2014
The second of the St Paul’s Cathedral series: What I Want to Say Now: Retired Bishops Speak Out is now available to watch online: The Rt Revd Peter Price. [15 minute video]
Bob Morris at the Constitution Unit Blog asks Is Britain a Christian country and, whatever the case, what then?
[This is also online at Law & Religion UK.]
Madeleine Bunting interviews Rowan Williams for The Tablet about Life after Lambeth.
Ian Jack writes for The Guardian that It’s hard to better traditional hymns when it comes to remembering the dead.
0 CommentsArchdruid Eileen blogs about The Only Good Pharisee…..?
Matthew Bell has interviewed John Bickersteth for The Spectator: Guns, gays and the Queen – a former bishop reminisces.
Andrew Goddard writes for Fulcrum about Same-sex marriage, clergy and the canons.
Molly Lynch writes for The Yorkshire Post about Fears for Yorkshire’s oldest churches.
The Huffington Post has photos of The Most Stunning Stained Glass Windows In The World.
13 CommentsCole Moreton has interviewed Rowan Williams for The Telegraph I didn’t really want to be Archbishop.
David Meldrum is blogging a series of Lessons On The Way. The latest is 6: Nothing’s that important.
Stanley Hauerwas writes for Together for the Common Good about How to Remember the Poor.
Gareth Hughes offers a spotter’s guide to Anglican dress-up.
3 CommentsBen Myers is compiling a Church attendance manual. Here is part 1: arriving late.
Allison Pearson writes in The Telegraph that Wishy-washy Anglicans like me should speak up for the Church.
Jonathan Clatworthy writes for Modern Church that Hard work is not a virtue.
Paul Vallely writes for the Church Times about What really makes a nation Christian.
Simon Barrow writes for Ekklesia about Easter: actually it’s 50 days, and nothing to do with ‘Christian country’ ideology.
Barney White-Spunner writes for The Telegraph that Village churches need their own resurrection.
Diarmaid MacCulloch has given the fourth annual Princeton in Europe Lecture: What if Arianism had won? [63 minute video]
4 CommentsAndrew Brown profiles Justin Welby: the hard-nosed realist holding together the Church of England for The Guardian.
Giles Fraser writes for the Mail Online: Bless you, Dave, for ‘doing God’. But there’s more to faith than your do-gooding religion-lite: A combative Easter message from the former Canon Chancellor of St Paul’s.
Tim Stanley responds in The Telegraph with Sorry, Rev, but Christianity isn’t just about being nice to people.
David Cameron writes for the Church Times about My faith in the Church of England.
Some Easter Messages:
Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori
Dean Jeffrey John
Archbishop of Wales
Archbishop of Dublin
Archbishop of Sydney
Archbishop of Melbourne
GAFCON
N T Wright writes for ABC Religion and Ethics: Only Love Believes: The Resurrection of Jesus and the Constraints of History.
Jonathan Clatworthy blogs for Modern Church about Resurrection and kingdom.
Holly Baxter writes for The Guardian about The importance of Easter to this atheist.
Also in The Guardian Giles Fraser writes about The one day when Christians and atheists sing from the same hymn sheet.
A N Wilson writes for The Telegraph about Good Friday: the day we forget to remember.
John Dickson has Top 10 tips for atheists this Easter.
23 CommentsThis week’s Church Times carries a special report compiled by Tim Wyatt on sexual violence in Africa: First the rape. Then the stigma. Now the healing?
DARFUR.
“One of the Janjaweed pushed me to the ground. He forced my clothes off, and they raped me, one by one. I did not have any energy or force against them.
“They used me. I started bleeding. It was so painful. I could not stand up… I was sick for seven days.”
This is the harrowing testimony of a 13-year-old girl from western Sudan. It is not an isolated incident. Starting in 2003, the government-backed Janjaweed militia terrorised locals across the region in what appeared to be a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the non-Arab population.
From the beginning, rape was used alongside guns and machetes as a weapon of war…
The main report is available to all, but subscribers can also read the Revd Dr Nyambura Njoroge writing on the gender debate in Africa Teaching men all about women and this leader comment Sexual violence.
The report mentions the efforts of several organisations working with the victims of rape, and who are attempting to change the culture and circumstances that contribute to sexual violence. Here are some relevant websites.
6 CommentsRestored – Ending Violence Against Women
We Will Speak Out
Christian Aid
Mothers of Congo
Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict
Silent No More – Tearfund report
Created in God’s Image – World Council of Churches and World Communion of Reformed Churches report
N T Wright writes for ABC Religion and Ethics On Palm Sunday, Jesus Rides into the Perfect Storm.
Archdruid Eileen of the Beaker Folk of Husborne Crawley writes about the Church of England: Dying on Its Feet.
Alan Jacobs is interviewed by Christianity Today: The Book of Common Prayer Is Still a Big Deal.
Andrew Brown at The Guardian asks Is the internet really killing religion in the US?
Geoff Thompson writes for ABC Religion and Ethics Not Nearly Radical Enough: The Irony of John Robinson’s ‘Honest to God’.
Jonathan Clatworthy writes for Modern Church: Hell: the worst theory ever.
Kathleen Ward blogs on The problem with church growth.
Giles Fraser writes for The Guardian that Forgiveness is not something you feel – it is something that you do.
The Guardian has a regular column What I’m really thinking and today it’s the vicar’s wife.
It has prompted this response from Archdruid Eileen of the Beaker Folk of Husborne Crawley: A Vicar’s Wife’s Life.
Archdruid Eileen offers us Do not Feed the Organist and other useful signs.
Gillan Scott of God & Politics in the UK asks Where will we be in 2024? – Setting out a vision for the future of the Church.
Ben Martin blogs about Experiencing a Bishops Advisory Panel Rejection.
Tony Morgan blogs Stop Doing that Event!: 10 Signs that It’s Time to Eliminate an All-Church Event.
Christopher Howse writes in his Sacred Mysteries column in The Telegraph: Bach and the icon of Jesus’s face.
3 CommentsCatherine Fox writes about Power and Passion.
Miranda Threlfall-Holmes concludes her series in The Guardian on George Herbert with We don’t read the Bible to learn more, but to be fed.
Karen Swallow Prior writes for Christianity Today about Hannah More: The Most Influential Reformer You’ve Never Heard of.
David Keen blogs about Latest Church of England Attendance Stats: Making mud seem clear.
[I covered the release of these statistics here.]
Rachel Held Evans blogs on Patriarchy and Abusive Churches.
Peter Stanford in The Independent offers Ten more commandments: How to save the Anglican church.
Malcolm French blogs that The Anglican Communion Hasn’t Failed.
Tom Brazier blogs that There are no rules.
Christopher Whitmey writes about Managing Diocesan Finances.
4 CommentsGeorge Day writes for and about Fulcrum: Where are we and where are we going?
Anglicans Online has published these two essays.
Steve Caruso Lost in Translation — Aramaic in the Context of Christ Looking at Gallilean Aramaic, the language Jesus actually spoke. It is almost extinct.
Pierre Whalon Surviving Death? Thinking about what it means to die.
Andrew Brown writes for The Guardian that Showing that a story isn’t factually accurate doesn’t diminish its truth.
Tony Benn died yesterday. Some reactions:
Benny Hazlehurst Tony Benn – RIP
David Robertson Christian Today Tony Benn – Lessons for Christians, Politicians and Secular Humanists
Giles Fraser The Guardian RIP Tony Benn: he encouraged us
Christopher Howse has been to Cork for The Telegraph: The ugly duck’s loveliest creation.
19 CommentsDavid Emmott starts his new blog Campaign for Fair Rants with Becoming human.
David Walker writes for The Guardian The church has no choice but to act when faced with the reality of poverty.
Graham Kings writes for Fulcrum Life, Justice and Peace through Mission and Dialogue.
Ted Olsen writes for Christianity Today The Bible in the Original Geek: Inside the world of the new Bible coders—and how they will change the way you think about Scripture.
Richard Fidler of ABC has been in conversion with Diarmaid MacCulloch.
Jody Stowell asks Why are we so afraid of women bishops?
If God is love, then can God also be love, heat and passion? – Part 3 of the George Herbert series by Miranda Threlfall-Holmes in The Guardian.
Giles Fraser writes in The Guardian Secular Lent is a pale imitation of the real thing. I’ll have nothing to do with it.
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